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Chapter Text

The sun was shining down on the Going Merry  and a cool sea breeze was blowing across the deck. It had been 3 days since they had left Vivi in Alabasta and so far it had been an uneventful journey. 

As had become the norm for the crew, they were taking the time to rest and relax before the next adventure. While Luffy had recovered from the majority of Crocodiles injuries he was still not back to full strength. 

He had spent the morning listening to Usopp's tales while laughing with Chopper at the growing ridiculousness. A short while ago the other man and Reindeer had both disappeared below deck to escape the warm afternoon sun. This left Luffy alone swinging his legs over the front of his ship.

From his position on Merrys head he turned to run an eye over the deck. People often treated him like he was an idiot, and in most instances he would agree, thinking wasn’t always his strongest suit. But when it came to his crew and their home he tried to keep an eye on them when he could, to keep them safe. His quick check revealed the girls up in the Orchard and Sanji was making something in the Galley. Finally his eyes came to rest on the Swordsman fast asleep on the deck, arms behind his head and legs stretched out impossibly long in front of him. 

Grinning, he stretched his arms using the horns of Merry to propel him towards the main deck. Landing gently on the deck next to Zoro he flopped down cross legged knees pushed to the side of Zoro's legs. He looked ok from here but Luffy knew Mr.1 had left his mark on his swordsman. 

Luffy knew he trusted Zoro with many things, he trusted him to have his back. He trusted him to protect their home. He trusted him to protect their family. Even with how much Luffy trusted Zoro there was always a small part of him, so small it was no bigger than a grain of salt, that held a place in the back of his head that one day they may lose and they may not make it back. It was rare this thought came into play, his competence kink was more than adequately met by Zoro and his ability to take care of any situation that he faced. It was however more common after their big fights, the fights like the Cat Pirates, like Arlong Park, the fights like that against Baroque Works.

Leaning forward, his hands on his knees, Luffy called out Zoro's name. Which unsurprisingly was met with no response other than a slight snore slipping from the greenettes mouth. Shuffling onto his knees Luffy slowly leaned forward until his head was resting against Zoro's chest. He made sure to put his ear over where his heart rested and curled his body around him till he was comfortable. Taking in a long steady breath he let the solid thump thump thump of Zoro’s heart steady him and wash away any thought of loss. 

He lay there for a while mind slowing like it only did in times like this. Feeling the need for more contact, he slowly climbed on top of the swordsman, splaying himself over the broad chest, moving up and down with the rise and fall of his breathing. The quiet did not last long, the rise and fall making him giggle and bounce. 

Noticing that Zoro's breathing was beginning to break the even rhythm, Luffy stretched up and gently pressed his lips upon the ones below him. Pulling back Luffy leaned in and placed another feather light kiss on the corner of Zoro’s mouth. Another was placed on the other corner, pulling away he rubbed his nose gently against his. The next time he leaned in to kiss him he was pleasantly surprised when his kiss was met by pliant lips moving against his own and joining in the slow languid movements of lips against lips. Pulling away a grin split across his face as the lips chased to follow his own. 

One sleep filled eye cracked open to meet him, while his mouth tilted playfully. A hand moved from the deck to caress his hip while the other slid up to stroke the side of his jaw with his knuckles before curving around to tug him back down. This kiss was sinfully sweet, just a hint of his tongue making itself known in Luffy’s mouth. Time drifted together as they soaked in the affection and care that only the other could provide.

The kiss ended in a series of smaller kisses before Luffy curled up pressing his face into the crook of Zoro's neck and breathing deeply. Zoro wrapped his arm around him holding him in place. Reaching down he tilted Luffy's chin up till he was looking at him again. Searching his eyes he found what he was looking for, before leaning in and placing a chaste kiss against his lips and tucking his head back against his neck. Luffy let out a sigh, he hadn’t realised this was what he had needed. Something simple, no words, just a reminder that for this exact moment in time, they were both still here, both still alive, and for that moment that was enough.

~~~~~~~~~

Sanji stepped out onto the deck from the Galley with a giddy grin on his face. Balanced on a tray were two perfectly prepared Parfaits with delicate fruit and two glasses of chilled juice to compliment them. Only the finest of treats would be acceptable for the lovely Nami and Robin. Turning to head up to the sun bathing platform behind the Tangerine Orchard he briefly glimpsed down at the lower deck, slowing to a stop at the sight. 

The grin turned soft at the image of his Captain and the ship's First Mate laying together on the deck. It was rare to see Luffy not in motion and being his loud exuberant self. This only served as a further reminder of how close they were to losing him, and how much Luffy was willing to sacrifice not just for his dream but also for his Crew, his Nakama, his family. 

As the two men shared another slow, languid kiss, Sanji simply shook his head and continued on his way. He was happy for them, it was rare to find anything real with the life they lived. If anyone deserved that happiness it was his Captain, and if the shitty Marimo gave him that, he would do whatever was necessary to preserve it.

Chapter Text

Zoro yawned, relaxing back against the side of the ship. The open seas were calm today. They had a run in with a Sea King earlier in the day but Sanji had gotten to it first hoping to get something edible off it to replenish their meat supplies. Other than that they have been experiencing an unexpected period of calm. Since leaving Alabasta they hadn’t even had a run in with the Marines, which was a surprise in itself. They were never this lucky. If Zoro was being honest with himself it had him slightly on edge, just waiting for the next fight, the next disaster. 

Shaking his head he tried not to dwell too much on this. He had trained earlier today and would do more later this evening. That would hopefully work off some of the tension and get him refocused. Since his fight with Bonez he knew he had grown in demonstrated strength, but his body wasn’t where he needed it to be. He needed to be stronger, he needed to be faster, he needed to be more. 

A loud laugh drew his attention to the front of the ship. Luffy was hanging upside down from Merrys head laughing at Chopper wiggling back and forth on the deck. Usopp sat nearby working on one of his new projectiles with intense focus and precision. That was until Chopper said something the Captain obviously found hilarious as he promptly fell off the head knocking Usopp over in the process and caused a small explosion to go off in his face. With soot covered face Usopp jumped to his feet, face contorting with anger. Luffy continued to laugh his head off at the ridiculous Sniper from his spot laying on the deck. When Usopp stomped down on his head Luffy only laughed harder jumping up and taking off down the length of the ship dragging Chopper with him. Usopp was in hot pursuit, arms flailing and expletives flying from his mouth. 

Zoro shook his head, planning to try again for a nap while ignoring his crew mates. His eyes snapped back open though at the next pass of the three hyperactive crew mates. The feel of chapped lips on his as Luffy rushed past had his eyes spring open again. He watched as the man's head snapped back into place as he kept running. A smile played at his lips watching him go, he would have kept watching him if not for Usopp stepping on top of him and crushing his knee as he ran past. Jumping to his feet Zoro started screaming and yelling at the long nosed idiot. 

The chaos was added too by Sanji bursting out of the Galley yelling at the other males for disturbing the female members of the crew. He joined the chase with the others now running from him. With how many were now included the others didn’t even notice the captain sliding to a stop in front of Zoro bouncing on one leg while still holding his hat to his head.

Luffy was almost bouncing on the balls of his feet from the joy of being with his crew mates. 

“Zoro, Zoro, Zorrrrro” The captain's grin was infectious as he called out his name. 

The smile finally broke across his face as Luffy stood on his toes to start pressing kisses all over his face laughing between each one. Shaking his head Zoro tried to kiss Luffy back but was unable to make contact with his lips. His eyes started to twitch at the denial of proper kisses. Sighing he tried to cross his arms but was met by his captain wrapping his arms and legs around him and smiling down at him. He tried to glare at his captain but couldn’t keep it up with the smile directed at him. Luffy seemed to finally take pity on him and planted a hard kiss on his lips, kissing him breathless and leaving his lips just a little bit puffy. Laughing, Luffy pressed a kiss to Zoro’s forehead. The kiss came not a second too soon as Usopp grabbed Luffy as he next ran past causing him to spin Zoro around before  releasing Zoro and flailing along behind the sniper, cackling at the top of his lungs.

 Zoro shook his head, covering his eyes and rubbing his face, before dropping back to the deck to check his swords were still in place, regain his balance and finally have his nap.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Chopper was laughing and clapping, every now and then jumping back into the chase. The laps of the deck bringing pink blushes to his cheek. Sanji had suddenly become involved and chased himself and Usopp in the other direction. It clicked with Chopper that Luffy had managed to disappear from the group. Turning the corner the location of the missing captain was clear. Located twisted and wrapped around the green haired swordsman. Laughing his full body laugh at the grumpy look on his face. His laughs were intersected by happy over the top kisses being smacked all over Zoro's face.

As they ran past he was forced to duck as Usopp grabbed their captain around the neck, pulling him off the swordsman and spinning Zoro like a spindle top. Luffy continued to laugh as he was dragged along like a wet noodle yelling to Zoro he would be back soon.

Chopper happily giggled even with Sanji gaining on them. Even with the stress they went through it was these happy times that made him love his family most and never want to give them up. Usopp's ridiculousness, Sanji's determination, Robin and Nami laughing as they watch them from the top deck. Watching Luffy try to reach for Zoro as he went past determined to give him more kisses truly warmed his soul.

Chapter Text

Luffy was bored, that was the extent of his feelings right now. He had already tried to raid the kitchen and been chased out. He had then tried to get Usopp to tell him some of his stories and tales, but he was too busy working on something that would do something, he hadn’t really paid attention. He was considering going to do some fishing when his favourite distraction walked onto the deck with a series of ankle weights in his arms. 

As he watched the swordsman attach the ankle weights he couldn’t help but drag his eyes over his exposed chest. The wam day had already started to bring a sheen of sweat over his tanned skin highlighting the muscles on his arm and back. His shoulder muscles shifted as he moved into a handstand that was more graceful than would normally be expected from the swordsman. Zoro seemed to take a moment to plant his hands in a better position, before lowering himself down to begin his sets. Luffy thought he had heard Zoro tell Robin he was aiming for 1000 a day.

Luffy hopped down from his perch and made his way down to flop on his stomach in front of Zoro. His feet were raised swinging in the air and hands under his chin holding him up. He could tell Zoro was trying to ignore him by the pinch between his brows and how firmly he set his upside down mouth. Luffy lay there swinging his feet watching the steady up and down as his Swordsman continued to exercise. 

The next time Zoro dipped down Luffy darted forward to plant his lips on the older man, pulling back after only a brief moment. The greenette stared at him as blankly as he could, causing Luffy to laugh at how ridiculous he looked upside down. Luffy couldn’t help himself and continued to repeat his move enjoying the sweet kisses he was getting from his lover. Even though Zoro looked annoyed by the captain there was a playful twinkle in his eye.

The next time Zoro lowered himself and Luffy went to lean in, Zoro leaned to the side onto a single arm to avoid him, before pressing back up using both arms. The pout on Luffy’s face felt ridiculous but he couldn’t help but mutter out loud “Zoro is so cool.” When Zoro repeated the maneuver the next two times Luffy went to steal a sweet kiss his pout grew. His feet also came slowly dropped to the deck. 

Zoro sighed, the look on his face showed that he couldn’t keep it up. If it was one thing that Luffy knew about him, it was how much of a pushover he was when it came to Luffy. Luffy didn’t reach out the next time but was surprised when Zoro repeated his one armed pushup, this time using his other hand to grab Luffy by the back of the head and draw him in. Luffy couldn’t help but giggle into the kiss. Pulling away he flopped onto his back with a happy grin on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~

Usopp was surprisingly happy with the progress he had been making. After Alabasta he had been running low on ammunition so he had spent the five days since they had left restocking. He had  also picked up a number of different supplies from Vivi to allow for the invention of new stars. He had spent the majority of the day working on the new explosive star that would burn hotter, for longer but be more contained. This was his second attempt at it after the shenanigans from yesterday had set his research back to the start point. Not that he could be mad, he loved the fun memories he was building with his new family.

Coming back to himself he put the eyedropper down, these 10 shots would do for now he could test them out properly in the next fight. He had also made enough of the tried and tested stars to fall back on if there were any problems later on. 

Packing up his stars into his pouch and cleaning up the ingredients he prepared to go do his afternoon checks of the sails and run his maintenance checks. He broke into laughter at what he found on the deck. A frustrated and grumpy looking Zoro was still balancing on his hands looking to be mid workout. Their ridiculous captain seemed to be doing his best to distract the swordsman. Deciding to take pity on Zoro, Usopp shouted out to the Captain, “Luffy, come help me with the sails!” The pout the younger man gave him had him laughing but he pulled himself away from Zoro coming to help waving goodbye to him as he went. As Luffy came to his side he looked at him with a strong intensity, “Zoro is so cool.”

Chapter Text

It had only been a small Marine ship that had caught up to them that day. Barely twice the size of Merry, but the Marines had been ready for a fight and had been out for blood. The increased bounty makes the Straw Hats a juicier target. Zoro was still sporting a crazed grin from the small scuffle he was part of, even as skilled as the Marines were they were no match for his crew. Now though he was sitting in the Galley with the rest of the crew, they had been feasting and drinking for the last hour and the alcohol was hitting him in just the right way. 

He had been discussing what possible islands could be ahead of them and what islands they were hoping to find. Both of their ideas and hopes got more outlandish as the night progressed. Zoro was also finding it harder and harder to focus with the way Luffy was dancing and kicking, and the occasional smile that would be aimed just at him. 

The next time Luffy sat down for a moment Zoro quickly said his good nights to Robin and stood up. Making his way to the table he squeezed Luffy's shoulder and dragged his hand down the length of his arm. Taking the rubber man's hand he tugged it so he could get him to follow him out of the room. 

As soon as the door closed  Zoro turned, pushing Luffy hard against the wall. His mouth came down to crash against the smaller man. Teeth clinking against each other and far too much tongue and spit. The kiss was a hot mess, and Zoro couldn’t get enough. He pushed closer till his whole body was pressed to Luffy running his hand down his side as his tongue slid into the other man's mouth trying to claim dominance in a losing battle. Pulling back a small string of spittle joined them as they both breathed heavily. Luffy’s eyes were looking into his, both pupils blown wide with arousal. His face was flushed from the alcohol and coated with a thin layer of sweat.

 “Zoro, bunk room, now.” Even in his current state Luffy's voice held an unsettling amount of control. Zoro nodded, picking him up by the ass to carry him like the Koala he was. The path was made by muscle memory alone as Luffy had returned to attempting to devour him as they went. Tongues, lips, teeth clashing in a sloppy mixture as they moved towards the bunk room. How they even managed to make it without separating would be a mystery to Zoro to this day. 

Zoro moved towards the pile of fabric and tarps at the back of the room, after many failed attempts in the hammocks he had found this the easier way to be intimate with his lover. Dropping the man onto the pile he turned and took off his shoes and shirt. Sitting them at the end of his space. Turning back around he moved back to the captain and froze, sighing. In the 15 seconds he had been away the Captain had passed out and was lightly snoring with his mouth wide open. Rubbing the crease forming between his eyes he leaned down and picked him up again in a princess hold. Moving towards Luffy's bunk he slowly laid him down, and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. When he started to pull away Luffy reached up and pulled him back in. 

“If you want me to stay we are going to have to switch places,” whispered against the smaller man's hair. A grumbled ok was his only reply. Picking him up again he sat on the hammock and got himself comfortable, arranging Luffy on his chest with his face pressed to his neck. Another kiss to his neck was the last conscious movement by the captain as he returned to sleep. Zoro lay there stroking Luffy's hair and trying to not think about the discomfort in his pants.

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Nami’s face was hot and flushed, her head was swimming and her cheeks hurt from how much she had been laughing. She always enjoyed the nights they celebrated. They could forget all the stress that they faced as pirates on the ridiculous Grand Line and just be themselves. Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Sanji had been in fine form; the dancing and singing had been loud and over the top. Zoro and Robin had sat in the corner matching each other drink for drink watching over the rest of the crew.

Now that she thought of it, Zoro had disappeared quite a while before the others and so had Luffy. The thought made her blush even deeper, the pair's relationship had been growing since before she had been with them. She was just glad that they now had the Merry and the necessary space to let them have their moments without constantly tripping over them.

Walking past the open door to the boys bunk room he heard the loud obnoxious snoring of her captain. Stopping in the door she could just make out the shape of the Swordsman lying in his hammock and on top of him a snoring Luffy. 

“Zoro,” she quietly called out. “Luffy ok?”

A nod of the head as the swordsman leaned down to kiss his forehead. “Yeah, I think he just overdid it tonight. He should be fine in the morning” 

“Ok, sleep well,” she said as she walked away shaking her head. For two of the strongest, most ridiculous people she has ever met, they were both ridiculously soft with each other. It was sickening.

Chapter Text

Luffy was sitting on the front of the Merry looking out over the port town they were docked at. His feet were tapping together with excitement to go. He had promised Zoro this morning they would go get lunch together, after last night he was looking forward to it. A movement caught his eye from the horizon. Standing up he looked at the edge of the island, there was definitely something there. 

“Usopp,” he yells, waving up at the crow's nest. When he has eye contact with the sniper he points in the direction, watching as he pulls on his goggles to confirm what the Captain had seen. 

“Marines, looks to be about five ships, they seem to be from the same squadron as the ship from yesterday.” Luffy nodded, shooting himself towards the Galley. He landed next to Nami, who was also looking out using binoculars after hearing Usopp. 

“We aren’t going to get out of the cove before they get here. If we try they will probably blockade us in. I don’t even know if Merry could make it with the repairs still outstanding.” Luffy nodded along only really getting the general gist of it. 

Starting to stretch his arms and look Nami dead in the eye, “So we go meet them and we kick their asses.” When she nodded her agreement he walked into the Galley and looked at his other heavy hitter. “Zoro, Sanji, marines incoming.” 

Both men instantly stood to attention and began moving to prepare. Zoro grabbed his swords and followed Luffy down onto the deck. Nami seemed to be organising the others and giving directions to Sanji, so that would give them a few minutes. Luffy looked at Zoro, he had his hand on Wado and was leaning heavily against the edge of the ship, eyes fixed in the distance. 

Walking up to him Luffy leaned into his space. “Let’s deal with this quickly, I want to go get meat later.”

Zoro was grinning down at him. “These marines should be no problem.”

Luffy also grinned before abruptly taking Zoro's jaw in his hand and squeezing it. Stretching up he crashed their mouths together. Hard, fast and full of promises, the kiss made clear everything Luffy would never say to Zoro in words. 

Pulling back, Luffy slapped Zoro gently on his cheek. “Don’t lose!” Laughing at the look on his face he shouted he was leaving and arms swinging wandered off the ship in the direction of the marines a bright grin on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~

Robin has been enjoying a relax, after the small fight yesterday she had been happy they had found the small island with a quiet well protected cove to rest in and do repairs. The Merry was not doing too well, there were definitely areas of the ship that needed more work than others and only so much Usopp could do. 

The sound of thumping feet on the deck overhead made her slowly lower the book she was reading to her lap. Her head snapped to the door as it flew open banging loudly on the wall. Nami stuck her head in breathing heavily, chest heaving. “The marines from yesterday had friends, five ships are coming in fast around the island. They are coming in too fast, we won’t clear the cove in time.” The last part answered Robin's unasked question. Looks like they will be having another fight today. She stood quickly to follow Nami out onto the deck. The Marines were not far off and she could see them quickly approaching the entrance to the cove. 

“The Merry can’t take 5 ships, we are still repairing him from yesterday.” Nami nodded towards the deck, “the boys are going to go meet them at the cove entrance to try and draw them away from Merry and the village. Can you stay with the ship and protect Merry if they somehow get through.”  Robin agreed, and moved to get into a position that gave her the most line of sight of the ship. 

She could see Usopp and Chopper preparing the cannons and Nami was now talking to Sanji. It looked like she was giving him directions so that the other two wouldn’t get lost. Scanning the deck she found Luffy and Zoro in a corner. Luffy had pressed Zoro against the side of the ship and was wearing a fierce look on his face. Zoro was flushed and breathing heavily, his lips gleaming with spittle and puffy red. She took her eyes away from them to look at the incoming ships. They weren’t far off now. Looking back at the men she saw Luffy already off the ship and Zoro watching him move.

“Sanji, Zoro you have to move, we don’t have much time.” Sanji looked up with a bright grin splitting his face. “Yes, Robin,” he shouted back. The swordsman took a quick breath, gave a nod to Robin and ran to catch up with Luffy. A small smile crossed her lips, for someone so serious Zoro really was a pushover.

Chapter Text

Zoro was breathing heavily, swords still in hand, eyes wide and scanning for more victims to fall upon his blade. They had been fighting for almost an hour and the waves of Marines had seemed to have no end. Luffy was still squaring off with the Captain, a zoan type devil fruit user who looked to be some type of frog. Zoro had been running defensive for his Captain, keeping any of the lower marines from interfering. The smell of blood and gunpowder wafted around him hot and thick.

Still feeling his heart pounding in his chest and the adrenaline flowing through his veins he quickly wiped down and sheathed his swords. Pulling his bandana off he wiped his face before wrapping it back around his arm. Taking a breath he tried to calm himself before turning to face the fight going on behind him. The breath left his lungs in a gasp, so suddenly he almost choked on it. Luffy hadn’t won yet but it was close if the grin on his face was anything to go by.  He had a trickle of blood running from his forehead and his chest shined in the light from the sweat, blood and dirt that now covered him. The muscles under his skin rippled and moved and coiled just like a predator about to capture and take down their prey. 

Zoro swallowed, trying to get oxygen to his brain. His blood however had different plans and was making a direct beeline south instead. The focus he was directing at Luffy made his pants tighten noticeably. Had there been anyone else around that wasn’t unconscious he would have had felt more self conscious but as it was he doubted the marines captain would remember any of this going forward, if he did manage to survive. 

Reaching down he adjusted his pants to be more comfortable, squeezing himself to try and take a bit of the edge off. Watching Luffy twist and turn through the air, landing brutal punches and devastating kicks, it made his mouth dry and the blood that wasn’t currently in his dick was burning under his skin. Zoro's heart was still racing as Luffy landed a final devastating barrage to the Marine Captain’s chest, sending him flying backwards into a building. 

Both men stood staring at where the Marine had landed to assess if he would be standing to continue the fight. As the dust cleared it became obvious the fight was done. The Marine was almost bent in half, blood trickling out of his mouth and eyes rolled into the back of his head. 

Luffy turned around to face Zoro, his chest heaving and a victorious grin on his face which could only be described as animalistic. His eyes roamed over Zoro and he felt a shudder run down his spine as Luffy's eyes landed on the obvious hard bulge in his pants. With that look it was like the fight was about to begin all over again. Both men stalked towards each other, both still running on the adrenaline and blood lust coursing through their veins. 

As soon as they were close enough Luffy launched himself at Zoro wrapping his legs around the swordsman's waist to provide him the height advantage. Zoro on reflex caught the man, his hands coming to rest on the other's ass, squeezing and massaging the cheeks he held. Luffy's hand came up to hold his face in a firm grip that displayed the normally playful captain's strength and ability to control. At the same time Luffy was looking at him with intense eyes, waiting for permission, Zoro pressed his hardness against Luffy and gave a slight nod.

With this being all the consent needed Luffy greedily attacked Zoro's mouth with the same ferocity he would use in a fight. A hand coming up to thread through his hair and tugging hard on it. Tongues, Lips, Spit and sweat all mixed into a heady flavour of something that Zoro always associated with Luffy. When Luffy started tearing at his clothes like an animal denied its treat, Zoro had to pull back. He could taste blood in his mouth and he wasn’t sure if it was from earlier or from Luffy, but his erection gave an excited twitch at the flavour. 

Looking around he saw a house that seemed to be mostly intact. Moving towards the building to get some privacy, Luffy seeing his plan let him move undistracted for about two feet. At which point he got sick of waiting and proceeded to bite down hard on the swordsman’s shoulder, close to his neck. Zoro caught himself as his legs buckled at the bite, a loud moan escaped his lips. The pleasure and pain was almost too much for him in his current state. Swatting at Luffy's ass cheek he picked up the pace, stepping through the hole in the wall and checking it was empty. 

His relief that the house and bedrooms appeared to be unoccupied was short-lived. Luffy managed to get his hand inside his shirt and while pinching Zoro’s nipple, he attached himself to the side of Zoro’s collar bone. Biting and sucking on the flesh there, marking the swordsman, staking his claim on him. The additional stimulation was too much and Zoro dropped to his knees moaning Luffy's name and grinding their erections together with wanton abandon.

Luffy had the same manic grin on his face when he looked back at Zoro, already his eyes were blown wide with lust and unbridled need. Leaning in he pressed his lips to Zoros again, “Love you”, was whispered before pushing him towards the small bed in the corner.

~~~~~~~~~~

The straw hat crew ran into the centre of town, all breathing heavily with different bruises and scrapes spotted across them. It had been a tougher fight than they had expected. Yes they knew it would be tough just by virtue of the sheer number of marines there were. Add in the devil fruit bearing Captain and they had quickly been separated to handle different parts of the fight. Thankfully they all seemed unharmed and the Merry was still floating. 

After checking in with each other they realised that two of the crew were missing. Luffy and Zoro hadn’t made it back to the town centre. The crew looked around at each other and let out a collective sigh. Even on an island as small as this one, leave it to their Captain and First Mate to still manage to get lost and not make it back to the town centre.

Knowing they had to go look for the two the group went silent, rationally they all accepted that the quickest and best way to find them was to split up. The problem came about that after any kind of fight the crew tended to be a bit raw. Most of them came from practically nothing so they all got a bit overprotective of the others. Even as the newest member Robin had already started to fall into the same habit, needing to check on each member in turn, often asking to hold their hands or touch their faces to confirm she still had them. 

As a group they turned and started to head in the direction that they had last seen Luffy and Zoro. They started calling for them, but had no luck actually locating them. They knew they were in the right direction though, more than a few houses had chucks missing and the ground had scores in it that could only have been left by the swordsman. Also it seemed he had decided to clear a section of forest as a number of trees were also felled close by. 

Chopper's ears started to twitch, “Guys, I hear something over there. I think it's Zoro, and it sounds like he is in trouble.” The small reindeer was pointing to a half destroyed cottage on the edge of town. They rushed towards it, Sanji taking the lead in case there was any danger. They were almost there when they all heard Zoro shout out as well from a back room. 

Sanji stepped forward and kicked the door in ready to fight. Before the others could follow though he grabbed the door, stepped back and closed it again. His face had gone a bright red, and his mouth was opening and closing over and over. Turning away he reached into his pocket to grab another cigarette and lit it. “Zoro is fine, Luffy too. We should just… wait… over there maybe…” He walked away quickly to go sit on one of the fallen down trees, the blush not subsiding. The two women gave each other a confused look and went and looked through the cracks now in the door, immediately blood started to flow from both of their noses and they quickly turned away.

Usopp immediately caught on to what had happened with his crew mates and started to laugh at the ridiculousness of not only the situation but the two lovers. Chopper though didn’t seem to quite get it. “Are you sure I shouldn’t check on them, what if they are hurt from the battle, Zoro sounds hurt.” He began to walk towards the door, reaching for the handle. Luckily Usopp ran over scooping him up, “Sorry Chopper not until you are older.”

The little reindeers confused face had everyone laughing now, for such a skilled doctor he was still so young. The remainder of the Straw Hats moved over to where Sanji sat to get comfortable. Though they could have returned to the Merry there was no guarantee the other two would ever find their way back. They would wait and Chopper could have a look at them and they would collect the other two once they were done. After all, they were a family.