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It was a normal day for the Strawhat Pirates. They'd left the execution site of the original King of the Pirates, Gold Roger, days before. All worry from the Pirates was gone, except some guilt on Sanji and Zoro's part. Luffy seemed completely fine and practically pretended that the events hadn't ever happened. Nami and Usopp were enjoying themselves in the sun, having a blast and arguing. Only this group could enjoy a regular fight.
Luffy was resting on his favorite perch of the Going Merry, watching the waves collide with the boat. Even though he couldn't swim, he still enjoyed the majestic ocean.
Then he smelled it.
He nearly fell off the perch, blinking at the scent of burning hair. 'It can't be,' he thought in surprise, glancing behind him. 'I haven't had those in forever.'
Nonetheless, he knew exactly what was happening. He took a deep breath and jumped off his seat, walking calmly down. He started off to his own room, dread pooling in his stomach.
"Lunchtime!" Sanji called, walking out the door and motioning them in. Luffy ignored this. He knew he didn't have time to eat, no matter how much he wanted to. If he let his crew see...
It wasn't a thought he wanted to consider.
He quickly went in his room.
"Where's Luffy?" Nami asked, looking around their long table. It was unusual, to say the least, when Luffy missed a meal. In fact, he had never missed a meal before, for as long as Nami could remember.
Zoro brushed off her alarm. "He's probably sleeping. I saw him go into his room," he said, taking his seat.
Sanji set down the final plate and rolled his eyes. "He dares miss one of my meals?" he growled, frustration in his eyes. He didn't mention he had made this meal just for the captain, his way of apologizing for what happened on the execution platform.
"Let's go get him!" Usopp suggested. He then took his seat, digging into the meal. The other three have him questioning looks before he smirked. "By 'let's,' I meant 'Sanji and Zoro,'" he elaborated. The two men rolled their eyes and stood, headed to the exit.
———
"Luffy?" Zoro called, banging on the door. Sanji sighed and walked over, then kicked the door in roughly.
Both men froze at what they saw.
Luffy was on the floor, banging the back of his head on the ground. His arms and legs were jerking, and his jaw appeared to be clenched up. The most frightening thing was that he was unconscious.
"Luffy!" they both cried, running forward. Sanji put his hands under the kid's head, even though he knew the kid took no pain being rubber. Zoro looked torn between trying to hold the boy down and letting him be.
"Zoro, you idiot, do something!" Sanji yelled angrily. He had no idea what to do and for some reason expected Zoro to.
"What am I supposed to do? We don't know what's happening!" Zoro growled in frustration, kneeling next to the captain.
Sanji looked panicked. "Could something be affecting him? Maybe a Devil Fruit user?"
Zoro shook his head, finally settling on grabbing Luffy's arm. He was being gentle, more trying to ground Luffy to reality than restrain him. "We've been at sea for days and have had no contact with anyone. There's no reason for it to start now and not sooner," he reasoned, barely resisting becoming frantic.
Suddenly, Luffy stopped. His entire body became still. His chest was barely rising and falling. Slowly, the young captain opened his eyes.
"Luffy! Are you hurt?" Sanji asked, transitioning Luffy's head to be in his lap. He didn't understand it, but Sanji felt a strong connection to the small rubber idiot.
"What happened?" Zoro asked. Although he never got an official position, Zoro was more or less like the first mate, and his top priority was to take care of the boy he had come to love.
Luffy looked at them for a minute, trying to figure out what was happening. His head hurt like crazy, but he felt warmth beneath him that was oddly comforting. His mind suddenly clicked the pieces together.
"Hey, guys." Their captain's voice was tired but he didn't sound too pained. "Sorry if I scared you."
The two men sat staring at him for a moment. Then Sanji exploded.
"You idiot! You gave me a heart attack!" he yelled in anger, glaring at the kid. Luffy put on a small, guilty smile.
"Luffy, what happened?" Zoro asked again, still looking at him.
"It was nothing," Luffy assured him, smiling a tired smile.
"It didn't look like nothing," Zoro countered, helping him sit up. Luffy sat down on his hammock-bed between his two worried crew members, rubbing his sore head.
"It happens all the time. Not so much recently, but it used to happen a lot back in my hometown," Luffy explained, yawning.
Zoro narrowed his eyes. "Now isn't the time to fall asleep," he growled, staring Luffy down.
"The episodes make me really tired," he explained quietly, rubbing his eyes.
"Episodes?" Sanji questioned.
"Yeah. It's what I call my seizures. I have something my doctor once told me was epilepsy," Luffy said, stretching his arm out to get his hat. It had fallen on the ground during the time, and it felt like a comfort to have it back on his head where it belonged.
"You're gonna have to tell us what this is. We don't know that sort of stuff," Zoro said, crossing his arms. Luffy was full of surprises, but this was one he actually wanted to know about.
So Luffy spent the next few minutes explaining all about seizures, epilepsy, and how he knew one was coming on earlier.
Then Sanji smacked the back of the rubber kid's head.
"Moron, this is something we should probably know about!" he bellowed angrily.
"Why didn't you tell us?!" Zoro demanded.
Luffy looked between the two of them, and then looked down. "W-well...if you knew...it's weakness...and I can't..."
Sanji looked confused. "Luffy, it's a medical condition. It isn't weakness," he insisted.
"Luffy, were you afraid to tell us?" Zoro asked, passively looking over the child.
Luffy paused, then nodded slowly. "I was afraid you'd leave me if you knew I had it," he whispered, tears in his eyes.
Understanding dawned on the crew's faces. The cook and swordsman both paled slightly, unsure of how to comfort their captain.
Finally, Sanji spoke. It wasn't the best, but he tried to be gentle. "You said you knew it was coming. From now on, tell us. The others don't have to know, just us. If you were to have one and fall into the sea...you could be really hurt," he said, sighing.
"And I don't want to have to dive in every time you have one. So let us know," Zoro said, fondness hidden by annoyance in his voice.
Luffy looked up at them, smiling. His eyes looked truly grateful, and that was all the thanks they needed.
"So, do you want to take a nap or come and eat?" Sanji asked, standing. "Because we're all enjoying steaks."
That was the magic word. Luffy grinned at him before standing. "Alright, I'll eat a steak and then take a nap. I'm beat."
Zoro and Sanji followed him out, then exchanged smirks. They'd do anything for their captain, even being softies in front of each other.
———
(Two Weeks Later)
Finally, Zoro was about to get the well-deserved nap he needed. He had waited for so long to finally get this rest, plowed his way through two marine bases and a carnivorous island, and he wasn't going to let anything get in the way of it.
"Zoro?"
His eyes shot open at hearing his captain's voice. He looked at him, not sure whether to be annoyed or concerned. The look the rubberman was wearing said it all.
No nap after all. Zoro found that he didn’t truly care.
"Oi, love-cook," he called, standing. Sanji looked down from serving a sun-bathing Nami long enough to seem annoyed, but Zoro’s serious stare had him setting down the tray.
"Sorry, Nami. I've got something important to tend to," he commented, smiling at her. She smiled understandingly and nodded, leaning back again. Sanji and Zoro both followed their captain into his room.
Suddenly, Luffy froze while standing. His body started jerking, and that was all it took. Zoro sat down as Sanji lowered Luffy's hatless head into the swordsman's lap, sitting down next to him and gently taking the boy's hand. Sanji took the captain's hat and set it on a nightstand.
They waited out the next few minutes, careful to make sure Luffy wasn't hurting himself.
When he finally stopped and opened his eyes, he inspected their faces.
"Are you alright, Captain?" Zoro asked, helping him sit up. Luffy smiled at him, starting to laugh.
"Yep, 'cause you're here," Luffy explained, grinning. Sanji smiled and lifted him up, setting him gently in his hammock.
The cook ruffled the boy's hair gently. "Sleep, rubberman. I'll have some food for you when you wake up," he promised, standing. Luffy looked appreciatively at them before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.
The two watched him fondly, seeming to wait for him to be deeply asleep before Sanji stood.
"Yo, Blades-For-Brains, you coming?" he asked, walking to the door.
Zoro turned around and smirked at him. "I'll be out later, crap cook," he said, looking back to the boy. Sanji smiled and turned around, headed to the kitchen. Zoro looked back at his sleeping, snoring captain.
He smiled fondly. "Sleep tight, Captain."