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The sea is calm, a gentle breeze pushing a little dinghy to some destination unknown, when a thought lurking in the depths of Luffy's mind breaches the surface.
He turns to his newly acquired, and notably first, crewmate, head tilted to the side inquisitively. "Hey, Zoro."
Zoro, brows furrowed since he was roused from his nap, sighs before he responds. "Yeah?"
"Have you ever cut your hair with your swords?"
That causes him to sputter, and his brows to knit even more, nearly forming a uniform shape. From the short time they were together, Zoro could gather that Luffy is a man of great convictions and little filter, but he's starting to reconsider that Luffy probably has… no filter.
Zoro eyes Luffy, trying to see if he was joking, but Luffy's heavy gaze, if anything, tells him his captain is being serious.
He sighs, and scratches his chin. "Well…" Zoro trails off, giving the thought a ponder of his own. "What else am I going to cut my hair with?"
Luffy gasps. "Do you use all three swords?!" he exclaims as he leans forward in renewed interest, eyes open so comically wide they might fall out of his head.
"Idiot," Zoro scoffs, folding his arms. "How am I supposed to cut my hair with a sword in my mouth?!"
"Oh." Luffy leans back, crossing his legs. "I guess." His hands rest on his knees, the fingers on his right hand twitching and tapping on the knee it's resting on.
Zoro narrows his eyes. Luffy stares back at him.
A beat of silence.
"I want Zoro to cut my hair with his swords!"
"Huh?!" was Zoro's immediate gut response. He should've expected that, especially with how Luffy is and the direction the conversation was going, but he didn't. "What even would I cut? Your hair is short enough as is."
"Says you!" Luffy pouts, pointing at Zoro's head.
"Ah…" He reaches up and rubs his short hair. "Point taken."
Zoro sighs again, concedes, and reaches for one of his swords. Luffy yips in excitement as he unsheathes it, the blade glinting in the afternoon sunlight as its owner bares it to the world.
"Do my bangs! Cut my bangs!" Luffy can hardly contain his excitement, arms flailing. "They're tickling my eyes anyway!"
"Okay." Luffy beams at Zoro's prompt response, and stills himself, straightening his back. "...The hat's gotta come off, you know." Luffy giggles at that, and sets his hat off to the side.
Zoro shuffles closer to Luffy, and the boat undulates beneath them. He tsk's, thinking about how much easier this would be on land, but alas, captain's orders.
Luffy is thrumming with anticipation and excitement, the only thing occupying his mind at the moment being how cool it is, that his first mate is going to cut his hair with a sword of all things! That is, until Zoro cups his cheek.
His hand is rough, no softness anywhere to be felt, but his touch is so gentle as it directs his head where Zoro wants it. "Luffy, you're tilting your head back too far." Zoro's voice snaps him out of his thoughts and brings him back to reality. "There we go. I'll start now, so don't move." Luffy wants to nod in response, but Zoro just told him to stay still, so he does.
Zoro works in sections, from left to right, carefully wielding his katana with precise motions to trim the length of Luffy's bangs. Luffy shuts his eyes the moment he feels little residuals of cut hair fall onto his cheeks and nose (it's so itchy, his nose twitches, but he must stay still), although without his vision, he swears he can feel Zoro's presence more keenly than before.
Naturally, Zoro is close to him. Maybe a little too close, as he can feel when Zoro exhales, a dance of a breeze against his skin. Just like when Zoro cupped his cheek, his movements and actions are gentler than Luffy anticipated. In all honesty, Luffy was expecting a really cool slash that would cut exactly a centimeter of hair from his bangs in a singular fluid motion, and a part of him wants to tell Zoro that he doesn't have to be so careful. That he can handle whatever Zoro throws at him. Yet, further, deeper, in the back of his mind, he knows that Zoro knows that. In a space of his mind not as deep as that, Luffy can acknowledge that, actually, he does like this treatment.
Comfortable silence settles between them as Zoro focuses on the task at hand, and Luffy enjoys the attention.
"And…" Cut. "Done." Zoro undoes the bandana tied to his upper arm, and uses the fabric to wipe away the hairs that fell onto Luffy's face. Again, the touch he uses is soft. Maybe even tender. It causes Luffy to go rigid once more.
Once Zoro leans away to clean off his katana and sheath it, Luffy wipes off the hair that landed on his vest before running his fingers through freshly cut strands. The feeling causes him to break out into his signature grin. "Mm…" He relishes in the feeling. "Zoro did a good job!"
Of course, the praise causes Zoro to preen. "Never thought this skill would come in handy for anyone but myself—" He's cut off by Luffy flinging his arms around him with enough force for his arms to wrap around a second time, sending both of them to the floor. "The hell, Luffy?!"
"I'm glad you joined my crew!" Luffy rubs his cheek against the surface his head ended up laying on, which was Zoro's chest.
A sigh. "Yeah, yeah," Zoro replies, in a tired tone, but notably not irritable. "Now, gonna resume my nap time."
Luffy didn't need to be told twice, Zoro's rhythmic patting motion on his back also sending him to sleep. This touch is also gentle… is Luffy's last thought as he fades into unconsciousness together with Zoro.
When the time comes for Zoro to cut his hair, Luffy insists he watch.
"Okay, but don't do anything distracting," Zoro agrees, but not meeting his eyes as he speaks about the end of his condition.
Of course, Luffy agrees without a second thought, as he cannot miss this opportunity. He watches with a trained gaze as Zoro unsheathes the same sword he used on Luffy.
Immediately, Luffy notices a difference in the way Zoro cuts his own hair compared to how he cuts Luffy's. His actions are nowhere near as careful and tender like when he trimmed Luffy's bangs. No, he chops away at hair he regards as too long with sharp, quick movements, but maneuvering the blade carefully so as to not cut himself.
Despite the discrepancies, Luffy thinks it's so cool all the same, and naturally whoops and shouts about it to Zoro, who takes it all in with a proud smile. Luffy likes it when Zoro can smile proudly like that, and when Zoro can be honest with his words like just now. He is kind of like Sanji in that way—they both have a hard time saying what they mean, sometimes.
Yet, the thought still lingers. Why was Zoro so careful with him? Because he is the captain? Because Zoro was scared of hurting him by accident? Neither reasoning sounded quite right, but he hears Sanji announce that it's lunch time and lets the thought simmer on the back burner for now.
At the lunch table, when Luffy tries to sneak a piece of Usopp's meat off his plate as he's distracted by a conversation with Nami, he feels a strong gaze on him. Looking away, he notices that Zoro is looking at… no, through him? And there's a tinge of pink on the tips of Zoro's ears. The observation costs him whatever he was going to steal, as his hand is smacked away by an angry Usopp.
Luffy laughs, not even sad nor apologetic about being caught. Instead, he voices his finding. "Zoro, your ears are pink!"
"Stupid, what's that about?!" Zoro yells in retaliation, the pink color deepening.
"I dunno, looks good on you though." His comment is followed by his signature chuckle, and some gasps from select crewmates around the table.
Zoro gapes, and then sputters. "What the—" His features tense, then he lowers his head and pushes his plate towards Luffy. "This is what you wanted right? Just take it," and with that he abruptly stands up and leaves.
That wasn't what Luffy wanted from Zoro, but oh well. He wasn't going to complain about more food being handed to him, but Zoro's reaction did earn a belly laugh out of Luffy. He really sucks at saying what he wants, Luffy muses.
Everyone's yelling and the commotion surrounding him fades into white noise as he continues eating. Pink kinda suits Zoro, though.
As pirates, being at sea for long stretches of time is inevitable. Therefore, haircuts have become more or less a routine activity for the Straw Hat crew.
Robin and Nami typically take care of each other, something to do with women's intuition about hair styles… Luffy can't remember the reason exactly, but that's how it is for them, with the exception of Usopp helping here and there at times. Sanji isn't allowed to get his hair cut by either Robin or Nami, as the previous two times they've tried, his nose wouldn't stop bleeding and Chopper nearly had a heart attack seeing all the blood lost. Therefore, Usopp is typically the one to cut his hair (much to Sanji's chagrin). Brook and Franky never seem to need a haircut.
Zoro cuts his own hair, as per usual, and he cuts Luffy's as well. No one cares to mess with their routine.
And as Zoro trims Luffy's hair for the umpteenth time, a rough, calloused hand guiding his head with the most tender touch, Luffy understands. Zoro handles him gently not because he doesn't want to harm the captain.
No, Luffy realizes it's because this is Zoro's way of showing affection. He doesn't know how to use words, so he shows Luffy what he can't say through his hands and his actions. How did he not come to this conclusion before?!
Luffy's heart beats faster as Zoro leans in to check his handiwork after brushing away the cut hairs with a towel. Zoro's lips twitch into a slight smile, showing he's satisfied with the result. Luffy doesn't need to look into a mirror to check either, because if Zoro is pleased, then so is he.
"All done." He brushes Luffy's bangs, though they just fall back into place.
Luffy grins at him, and thanks Zoro in the way he likes best—he leans in, closes the gap between them, and seals their lips in a brief kiss.
They separate, and Luffy winds his arms around Zoro’s shoulders. “Thanks again.” He laughs, and Zoro cranes his head down so their foreheads can rest against each other. “Love you!”
The confession wrings a blush out of Zoro, who can’t seem to get used to it. “Yeah,” he replies, one hand resting on Luffy’s waist and while the other smooths unruly black locks. “Love ya too.”
Maybe Zoro can use his words after all, but his actions speak the loudest.
And Luffy wouldn’t have it any other way.