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Zoro was nervous, closing his fists harder than he should as he looked at the lake his captain had chosen to bathe in. It was an isolated and secluded place, surrounded by tall pine trees and a bunch of volcanic rocks. He had no idea how Luffy found this, nor if they would find their way back to the island’s coast with the terrible sense of direction of theirs. All Zoro knew was that he didn’t want to be there, that he didn’t want to be naked in such crystalline waters in front of him due to his… circumstances.
They showered together a while back, but since it was in a spot where there were two waterfalls, Luffy’s attention was all over it, thus allowing Zoro to get in the ponds without having to worry about being seen. This time, there was nothing that could serve as a distraction. Luffy might not be looking at him right now, but he would, eventually. And when that happened, he would ask questions, because Luffy always did that when faced with things he didn’t understand.
It was his quirk, being invasive and disrespectful with the usage of his words. Zoro didn’t have a problem with that. He even found it funny when he would enrage their enemies by saying something offensive about their looks, way of speaking or walking, but he wasn’t ready to be insulted by Luffy because of it, regardless if he wouldn’t mean it in that way.
The only person of the crew who knew about that was Nami, given that she was the same as him though more open, more confident. Zoro felt so inspired by seeing her giving two fucks about what the others would think, stating so firmly that she was a beutiful woman no matter the lack of the upper part and the extra in the down one. Usopp accepted it naturally, Sanji did it too but Zoro wasn’t sure if it was because Nami was a woman and he loved them passionately no matter what, but Luffy–– Luffy didn’t react. He just looked at his navigator, blinked three times and continued eating as if nothing had happened.
When Zoro talked with her about that, asking how she was feeling regarding the captain’s reaction, she only shrugged. ‘Sometimes it’s hard to read Luffy so, for now, there’s no way I can tell what he is thinking. As long as he still treats me the same, then I could care less.’ Nami said, and she was right. Luffy’s behavior towards her didn’t change a bit after that. He still used her pronouns, still treated her as a woman and never said anything minimally insulting. But still, they didn’t know if Luffy had truly understood what Nami’s words meant.
And if he asked anything to Zoro now, he had to explain it. They were in a relationship, after all. One that didn’t have a label, but a healthy and caring relationship nevertheless. He had to tell Luffy about such an important fact about him, but gods gave him the strength to do so, because the longer he looked at his smiling captain calling him to enter the water, the greater his fear of taking off that last two parts of his outfit became.
One push would be enough. His pants were loose, so one simple push would be enough to finish this off.
“Zoro?” Luffy called as he went to the shallow part, wet inky hair falling all over his face, making him look more cute than he already was. Somehow, it was a comforting view for Zoro. “Why are ya takin’ so long? C’mon and get here!”
He wanted to do it. Gosh, he wanted nothing more than to be engulfed by this lake and relax. But there was a price to pay, one that Zoro wasn’t prepared for.
Zoro grabbed his pants by its sides, swallowing dry after pushing it down just a little.
He raised his head to check on Luffy. The captain had submerged a little. Perfect timing. Quickly, he began to undress, kind of sloppy because of how fast and shaky his hands were. His right leg got off first, then his left, and in seconds he was just in his underwear.
He took off the last remaining piece at the same time Luffy emerged again. His heart sank when he saw his shining black eyes looking at him, accompanied by a bright smile.
Then, Luffy stared.
Of course he stared at the lack of that, making Zoro want to cover himself up for the first time in his life. He didn’t have an issue with his vagina in general, seeing it just as a part of his body like his arms, though one that he used to pee and bleed from time to time. With his – now non-existent – breasts was another story, one he solved a little while after he left the dojo and found a nice doc who helped him for a fair price. The scars left were easily mistaken for ones caused by battle, nowadays more than before thanks to the new one made by Mihawk, so he never cared about wandering around shirtless because those disgusting things didn’t exist anymore. Only his stiff, strong and scarred pecs.
But having Luffy staring at it made him feel so fucking uncomfortable about his body, a shitty and sickning feeling he hadn’t dealt with in ages. Zoro wanted to get dressed again, hide somewhere no one of his crew would find him and vanish, because the serious way Luffy was looking at him could only imply that he was disgusted by it.
Zoro took a deep breath before he could do something he might regret. ‘Talk first, act later’ the cook used to tell. A good advice, even if it was used by him to woo women. Talk first, clear Luffy’s mind and measure his own actions according to how the boy would react.
“Luffy, I…”
“IT’S GREEN!” A loud, energetic scream cut him. Luffy standed up, pointing at Zoro with a larger smile than before. Nobody had ever looked at it with so much joy. “I KNEW IT WAS GREEN! SUUUUUUUUUUUCK IT USOPP! YOU OWN ME 40 BERRIES”
When it clicked, Zoro almost had a stroke.
“YOU IDIOTS MADE A BET ABOUT MY PUBIC HAIR COLOR?!” Zoro screamed back, dumbfounded with the youngests ability to come up with weird stuff. Luffy nodded so hard that he hit his face in the water. “WHAT THE FUCK, LUFFY?!”
“Usopp said that it was naive of me to think that ya would be green down there too. So I said that he was dumb because hair is hair no matter where. Then we made a bet!” Luffy stated, proudly of his logic. Zoro groaned and pressed his face. “That can only mean that Nami and Sanji’s are the same color, right, Zoro?! I shoulda made a bet on theirs too!”
Zoro sighed, entering the water once and for all, thinking of how long it would take to drown himself. “I don’t know, Luffy. Please don’t ask me that ever again.” God, sometimes his captain was so embarrassing.
“Okay, if Zoro says!” Luffy walked towards him, grabbed him by his wrist and took him to the spot he was. “Stay in this area! I dunno if there’s any dangerous fish around and I don’t want Zoro to be bitten by some mean fish.”
“Wait, you didn’t check it before getting in?”
“No? The water is clear after all. We can see if something approaches us, though not in the deep parts!”
They both immediately look down, confirming Luffy’s statement. They could see the soil, a small shoal of baby fish, a few stones and, lastly, their genitals. Zoro flinched, remembering that he had to bring the topic up again.
“Luffy, do you know that I am…?” Zoro tried, leaving him to fill the space so he would know if Luffy understood it, or if he just straight on believed that cis males had those too.
“Uhum!” He nodded, to his surprise and relief. “You’re the same as Nami!” Good, they were on the same page here.
“And that doesn’t bother you?” Zoro cautiously asked. Luffy frowned, looking offended.
“Of course not!” Luffy said, fuming and hitting his chest with his closed fist. “Zoro is Zoro! And Zoro is a handsome man who I love veeeery much!”
Zoro’s eyes opened wide.
Warmth spread through his body after hearing that thoughtful, lovely claim. Handsome man, his words echoed in his mind. He averted Luffy’s gaze, knowing that if he looked at him right now, he would cry a ton.
“Heh, I love you too.”
In the end, there was nothing to fear. Luffy might be slow and naive towards some stuff, rude and disrespectful towards others, but he was always understanding when his nakama was involved. This energetic little gremlin would certainly change the world’s perspective after becoming the Pirate King. Zoro wanted nothing more than to watch that in person, side by side with this extraordinary human, protecting Luffy’s dream exactly like he did with his.
“Zoroooo~ I’m gettin’ dizzyyyyy~” Luffy slurred as he wrapped his arms around the swordsman’s shoulders. Zoro hugged him by his waist, making sure he stayed above the water level after he simply took his feet out of the ground.
“You’ve been in the water for too long.” Zoro said, nuzzling his head. His captain giggled. “Want to rest on my back?”
“Yes, please!”
He helped Luffy to move towards his back, accommodating him there. Then, Zoro grabbed his legs to hold his body, while Luffy placed his chin on his right shoulder.
It didn’t take more than five seconds for him to hear a slow, deep snore next to his ear. He laughed, starting to walk around the lake, exploring it carefully to not wake Luffy.
If at some point Zoro cried from happiness and relief, only the little fish that swam beside him would know.