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The wreckage of the Navy fleet was sinking fast into the depths of the ocean, while the Thousand Sunny charted a course to find an island where the Strawhats could restock and lay low for a while if another ship was sent after them.
It was an unexpected attack with the Marines attacking furiously and seemingly without any plan except to hurt the crew of the Pirate King as much as possible. In the end it took Luffy and his Gear 5 to get rid of them completely, so Sunny could get away to safety.
Zoro was the last one to jump aboard on their already moving ship, and he took in the scene in front of him. Most of his crewmates around Zoro were running on the deck, preparing Sunny for sailing away, now that the imminent danger passed. After years of sailing the seas, he knew how much chaos this attack would once cause, but looking around him now he found the others behaving surprisingly organized and manning their stations.
A few of them were being ushered by Chopper to the infirmary to check and treat their wounds. In the corner of his eye, Zoro saw the cook making a beeline to the kitchen, already predicting it wouldn’t be too long before their ever-hungry captain demanded more food so he could get his strength back faster.
Usopp and Franky were discussing the damage the Sunny took- what they could repair immediately and what they would need new material for. With a frown, Zoro noticed Usopp was favoring his left leg, despite making no complaints about it. Nami took a steadying breath as she directed Jimbei to the right directions for the next island on her map, and patted Chopper’s head once he was done bandaging the deep gash on her upper arm.
Zoro bowed his head to avert any direct eye contact. His hands were restless and he wanted nothing more than to disappear to his training room, to distract himself from the jitters settling in his bones.
As if reading his thoughts (or maybe it was his Haki, flashes of anger and worry that he couldn’t get fast enough under control), Luffy appeared on the deck of the ship, jumping from his place on the Sunny’s figurehead and scanning his crew with a concerned look.
“Zoro, there you are!” Luffy yelled and jumped to cover the distance between them.
Their eyes met for a brief moment and before Zoro knew it, Luffy was closing the doors to their shared quarters behind them, pinning his swordsman to the wall with one hand on his shoulder and a slightly feral grin still present on his lips.
Zoro smiled at him in return, “Here I am.”
In the privacy of their room they looked at each other for a long time without saying anything, only breathing in the same air, hearts racing inside their chests in the same beat.
Zoro wrapped a hand around Luffy’s wrist, and pressed soothing circles with his thumb over the angry red skin upset from the Sea Prism Stone cuffs, ones that the Navy vice-admiral was cocky enough to think would stop or even slow Luffy down. If anything it did the opposite and made the Strawhat captain angrier and more determined to put an end to the battle.
“You’re thinking too loud again.” Luffy wiped the smears of blood still dripping across Zoro’s forehead, dirtying his own hands with the blood of the enemies but he didn’t seem to mind. He leaned in, crowding in Zoro’s space with no room to move except towards him.
Zoro wanted to taste him, to breathe him in and envelop him in a bone-crushing hug.
“Mhm. Then do something about it.” He muttered, the words brushing against Luffy’s lips, but not touching, not yet. He was waiting for Luffy to make the first move.
The Strawhat captain looked wild, his eyes were a bit out of there and unfocused, as if he was still in the midst of the prior battle, preparing to block and attack whoever got too close to his crew, his smile turned mischievous as he faced Zoro and none too gently bit him on the side of his neck, tasting blood and hell.
Zoro sighed in relief as Luffy sunk his teeth into him, again and again, peppering kisses and bites along his collarbones. He tilted his head for more access to his partner's wandering touch and pressed a kiss of his own to Luffy’s wrist, still resting in his loose grasp.
He relished in the closeness, craved it and loved to recognize that glint in Luffy’s eyes where he wanted to make sure Zoro was still standing in front of him. Zoro had been doing the same thing once he stepped back on their ship and their eyes locked, taking note of the way Luffy’s black hair was windswept, brows still furrowed, and the relieved smile that immediately took over his lips once he noticed Zoro watching him.
“Zoro got hurt.” Luffy said without a sense of urgency. A finger poked the newly acquired cut running above Zoro’s hip that he wasn’t fast enough to avoid. The blood dripped down Luffy’s finger and slowly seeped into the green fabric of his haramaki.
“I’ll be fine, captain. The others-”
“The others will be fine, too.” His captain said definitively and leaned down to press a kiss to the new bruises that slowly took shape along Zoro’s torso, the mismatched punches of one persistent marine that made the mistake of going after the weaker of their crew first before Zoro found him.
“It’s nothing, Luffy.” Zoro knew Chopper would chew him out later about not going to him sooner, but they both knew he wouldn’t keep his bandages on for long anyway, he hated how they restricted his movements. He couldn’t move and train properly with them.
Luffy made a disagreeing sound, but didn’t question him further, instead he pressed himself closer again, finding the pulse on Zoro’s neck, his kisses growing more erratic, needy, while the rim of his straw hat tickled the underside of his first mate’s jaw.
Zoro hissed, but not because of the curious fingers smearing his own blood across his abdomen, but at the teeth continuing nipping on his neck and collarbones like Luffy wanted to eat him whole. It set his face ablaze, flustered by the proximity, and at the same time something settled in his chest at the focused attention from his partner. It had been way too long since they had a quiet moment for themselves, and Zoro would take anything he could. He finally wrapped his arms around Luffy’s back properly, bringing him closer into a hug and enjoying the warmth of his sun.
More times than not words weren’t enough for them.
One glance exchanged between them could often explain everything the other was thinking, including stupid and reckless ideas that were supposed to bring them more troubles, but with the luck and skill in between their crew, it usually worked out just fine.
When they used their words, it was with total belief in the other. Zoro especially knew how much Luffy preferred to watch and decide for himself before hearing an explanation. (It was also why he even was on Luffy’s crew in the first place. So many years ago, and some things just never changed.)
Other times, words simply weren’t necessary because a touch was needed more.
Their touch gave them both reassurance when they needed it - seeing their partner alive, breathing, holding his hand or holding his lips in a bruising kiss after narrowly escaping another Marine fleet that was sent to deal with them. Breathing life into each other’s wounds, tasting the blood that poured out of their veins, smearing it against their own skin and knowing that the warmth of it meant they were still alive, still together.
That the wounds would heal with time and they would keep standing by each other’s side.
Sharing the same air for however long they could was enough for them. To lean their foreheads together and inhale the scent of sweat and grime that followed each of their victories had become something like a routine.
Luffy needed the close contact and the anchor of Zoro’s touch, his presence by his side.
If it were up to Zoro, he would be content to watch Luffy smile and feast on his food from across the deck, but if he could choose - then napping beside his captain was always the better and faster way to calm his nerves down.
Now beneath his hands Luffy could feel the rise and fall of Zoro’s chest, his steady heartbeat echoing to the rhythm of Luffy’s own under his skin. It was calming, but the need to be closer soon became scorching.
He carefully mapped the old and new scars with his fingertips, then with his lips, tracing and memorizing the path from one to the other - those that healed after many months and years on the seas, and the ones still fresh and red, jagged edges intruding from Zoro’s skin. He used to frown at them, but lately he just saw them as a proof of Zoro surviving, living and staying beside him.
Without a warning, Luffy slid the sleeves of Zoro’s robe from his arms, tugging it down so it pooled around his waist and spun Zoro around, who let him with a simple shake of head and a chuckle at his antics, hands flying up to prop himself better against the wall.
Seeing Zoro smile always made Luffy’s heart skip a beat - the flash of his teeth, the dimple forming in his cheek, but now Luffy was focused more on the sight in front of him. He sighed in relief as his eyes met the broad and naked back, unmarred by any scars or cuts, only a splatter of sun-kissed freckles over the tanned skin and muscles dancing under his lightest touch, flexing under the pressure of his teeth marking him as his own.
“Luffy!” Zoro couldn’t hold back a moan at Luffy’s handling of him, in response he only got more of his captain’s cheerful laughter.
Zoro enjoyed the touch of his partner's hands on him, proud of his scar-less back displayed for his captain. He meant it when he said that scars on his back would bring him shame. He meant his promise he would never be defeated, not for as long as he was the right-hand man of the Pirate King.
“See? All good.” Zoro breathed out, “All here.”
“All here,” Luffy nodded and bit down gently on the skin of his shoulder, tracing kisses along the skin and relishing in the noises and sighs that left Zoro's mouth, wrapping his hands around his waist to hold him closer to himself.
Luffy loved leaving marks around Zoro’s back, knowing he was the only one Zoro let so close, whom he trusted fully, all of him belonging under Luffy’s scrutinizing gaze and hungry bites that he covered him in from neck to his lower back, pressing his nose to the warm and salty skin from sweat and battles, living, alive .
Whenever Luffy had this impulse of wanting to make sure Zoro was still there and in one piece underneath his hands, he plastered himself to his side until that feeling slowly ebbed away with the rise and fall of Zoro’s lungs. It felt like he was losing a part of himself, otherwise, with empty arms or his side vacant, it wasn’t right. He needed to feel the warm blood spill over his teeth, skin taut and hot, to hear Zoro’s laughter and encouragement when he devoured him, so could truly stay with him forever.
Zoro was often lost but when Luffy bit him, again and again - sweetly and taking his time, or harshly and hastily, full of spit and saliva and blood that he kept licking right off of him - it made him feel like it was the only place he ever truly belonged to. With Luffy around him, kissing and biting wherever he reached, Zoro would give him anything he needed, anything he wanted.
Luffy looked at him with this indescribable hunger and want, something Zoro never saw on his face around anyone else, and Zoro offered himself on a platter wordlessly.
The first few times it happened, it made Zoro feel hazy, made him feel whole while being torn apart by his captain, seeing the red staining his grinning lips, dripping down his equally red shirt and swallowing the drops of blood and sweat from his skin. He craved his attention more than ever after that, to feel his touch on his body and soul, communicating the same words without saying anything.
It was similar to the bloodlust of a battle, his swords calling out to him to obliterate anything in his path, anything that would be an obstacle to Luffy, his king, and with that he could seek only Luffy’s arms and lips which were capable of quenching his thirst for something that even the strongest of drinks couldn’t satiate. Only Luffy and his presence could put a calming balm on his soul, making him feel safe and loved.
It was the affirmation of closeness, the warmth of their bodies, lips and hands roaming around limbs and hair, tugging off clothes and prodding bruises and wounds fresh and old, whispering to them soothingly, kissing them to feel better, keeping each other in the palm of their hands.
Zoro knew he would never find someone else who made him feel this way. Both Heaven and Hell could try to come between them and he would fight tooth and nail to win and see his captain alive and breathing in the end, or he would die trying by his side.
Something changed with Zoro’s next exhale.
He shifted his weight in Luffy’s arms, biting off a wet muffled noise that could have been both chuckle or a sob.
“Zoro?” Luffy asked into the hot skin under his lips and nudged his cheek into Zoro’s back to offer him some comfort. He didn’t want to separate from his first mate, especially if something was wrong. “Do you want some space?”
“No. No, it’s just a lot. I like this, you know I do.” Zoro found the hand that wound around his torso multiple times to keep him in place, and tangled their fingers together, squeezing them almost painfully.
“You don’t usually do all this, this much.” Being lavished with attention wasn’t something new for Zoro, but Luffy never paid so much attention to all those details that made Zoro laugh or hurt or think about how much training he would have to do.
Sometimes, Zoro thought it all went over Luffy’s head, but he had been surprised many times just how perceptive Luffy could be. That he paid more attention to him especially after battles. He should have guessed Luffy saw right through him each time he wanted to disappear to train, reading him like an open book.
All the fighting and tension left Luffy’s body just like that, “Oh, I get it,” he mumbled with a hint of sadness in his voice. “It was a tough battle.”
“I should have done more. Should have done better.”
“You did everything you could. And we are all here.”
“They got hurt.”
“So did you.”
“This doesn’t count.”
“It should.” Luffy said, insistent, and instead of poking Zoro’s wound again he unwinded from him after pressing a last kiss to the center of his back, and crossed their room to pick up a small first aid kit residing in the desk drawer. “Come here.”
Zoro shook his head but followed Luffy to sit down on their bed. He didn’t make a sound while Luffy cleaned and bandaged the cut with memorized movement, hands steady from years of practice, even if a certain precision was missing from his care, something that made Zoro crack half a smile. Nonetheless, soon enough Zoro had a fresh and clean bandage wrapped around his waist and an unhappy captain hanging around his neck and occupying his lap.
“You always do this.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know.” Luffy gestured to his whole being, “putting yourself down, pushing us away.”
Zoro averted his eyes and made a noise of complaint, but they both knew he couldn’t argue with that, Luffy was right about it.
“I promised you I wouldn’t be defeated. By anyone. And when each of them gets hurt it feels like I’m losing.” Zoro hid his face in Luffy’s neck, gritting his teeth, “I can’t lose. I need to get stronger.”
Fingers gently caressed through his hair, massaging his scalp, and in any other situation Zoro would promptly fall asleep against his captain.
“You always get stronger, but we do this all together.” Luffy spoke in the next moment, his voice reverberating across Zoro’s ribs, sending shivers down his spine. “Zoro. You mean so much to me. You have to know that.”
Zoro smiled with calmness only Luffy’s presence in his sight could bring him. “I do know that.” That was something Zoro never had to question, something that Luffy told him without spelling out the meaning of his often closeness.
“Good. Good. Because I can’t do this without you.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I-” he cut himself off, suddenly feeling a hot wave of embarrassment spilling across his cheeks.
“Mhm? Tell me, Zoro, you’re thinking something funny.” It was cute when Luffy pouted like this, wanting to hear all the words that Zoro could share with him.
Zoro looked up at him, with nothing but honesty in his eyes and on his lips. “I - I need you. I know you know that, but I think I needed to say it out loud for once.”
Luffy smiled brightly at him, “Of course I know that. I need you too. I’ve always needed you beside me, so you need to let us take care of you, too. I don’t want you to leave or worse.” You can’t, you can’t.
“I wouldn’t dream of that, captain.” Zoro sighed, and the feeling in his chest got lighter to breathe through, like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. He didn’t understand why now, he always knew Luffy loved him, needed him, but perhaps it was nice to hear it from the other’s lips as well. “I think I’ve always loved you, since the first time you saved me.” Zoro mumbled faintly, barely a whisper in the quiet of the room as they settled into each other’s arms.
“You joined my crew knowing barely anything about me. It’s thanks to you, that I could become the captain I'm today.”
“And now I belong with you. I always did and I always will.”
Zoro took Luffy’s face in between his palms, thumb softly caressing the scar under his left eye. His eyes were glazed over, shiny like he had to blink away any stray and unwanted tears, and Luffy stumbled over his thoughts with panic seizing him for a moment because it had been so long since he'd seen Zoro so vulnerable.
Lately, the Grand Line was getting full of tougher crews, unpredictable and ruthless, and a persistent thought appeared back in Luffy’s mind. What if he couldn’t protect them? It didn’t let him breathe sometimes, flashbacks of Ace in front of his eyes even though it had been years since that incident, and a sick stomach when he smelled burning meat. Fire and smoke. Glimpses of all the times he had lost someone and couldn’t do anything to protect them.
“Breathe, Luff. I’m with you, we’re all safe.”
“It’s too much sometimes.” The worry. The love.
When Luffy realized that funny feeling in his chest happened often only around Zoro, and once their relationship grew into something else than friends or captain and his first mate, it gave him impossible new levels of strength, he loved Zoro. It was obvious from the beginning, honestly, but he loved everyone in such different ways. Almost losing Zoro in front of his eyes over the years had nudged him closer to his first mate, his overprotective side taking over, where once he would keep a distance and knew that Zoro would always be alright, he stayed close to him whenever he had the option.
He could worry so much sometimes that his heart wanted to leap away from his own chest so it could rest beside Zoro's every time they reunited after a bigger battle. It was too much, this feeling, overwhelming.
If it were anyone else, Luffy would feel very uncomfortable just by the proximity, that seeming dependency of pulling them together, but he was not, because on the other side of that perpetual pull was Zoro. It was his Zoro, and he never felt like he was restricted when he was with him, on the contrary - thanks to his partner Luffy always knew his path would be clear ahead of him. He could count on Zoro to help him overcome anything, to help him become a better captain and better man, and he knew if he needed to turn to him for anything, he would find him there beside him.
“I know.” Zoro said. The words Luffy wasn't able to articulate and push past his lips were still understood so simply, without being spoken out loud, as if Zoro could read his mind. How warm that made Luffy feel, to be so seen and cared for.
“The ‘what if's are the worst. What if I can’t stay beside you? Protect you and the others?” His younger self wouldn’t let himself feel such doubts so openly, it was almost unthinkable to let himself despair over something that might or might not happen. But over the years Luffy began to share more of his feelings with his crew on rainy days when he was bored, with Zoro in the middle of nights when either of them couldn’t fall asleep. He knew they could overcome anything together, he just had to let them know how much they meant to him. Just like with Zoro now. His first mate could be even more stubborn than Luffy, but it was worth every second to see all his other sides - the caring one, the fierce and protective one.
Zoro knew the feeling very well, the ups and downs in struggling to put his feet ahead of him despite the crushing fear of failure. In fear that one misstep would cause him to lose another friend, a ghost of Kuina fluttered in his mind, sternly promising him she would win against him no matter what. It still hurt, even after all those years the pang in his heart echoed that he wouldn’t see her again, that he would never stand opposite of her with a sword at the ready.
Before he met Luffy, he didn’t have much to lose except his life and his dream, but now.. he couldn’t imagine a future without Luffy and without all the Strawhats beside them.
“Then we always have to try,” Zoro said in the end.
Luffy blinked at him slowly, head titled until a new smile appeared on his lips. “You’re right. We always have to try.”
Zoro could feel Luffy's breathing slowing down just like his own, and this was an exhilarating moment in such a different way than where it was heading before. Zoro didn’t mind the change of the pace one bit. He didn’t need Luffy in any other way than let him come close to him, arms wound around his shoulders so close he could hide his face in his chest and inhale all the sweat, blood and something that was only Luffy. To finally relax and let go of his own worries, because he had his whole world resting in his lap.
Maybe minutes, maybe it was hours, passed around them in peaceful silence while Luffy leaned his forehead against Zoro's, eyes closed and small smile of pure bliss on his lips. Without a word spoken in between, they rested in each other’s arms like pillars of comfort.
Luffy nudged his nose against Zoro’s, meeting him halfway for a slow kiss, a first one on the lips after the whole day, and poured all his love for Zoro into the touch, something that Zoro returned with the same lazy affection, no longer hurried and in frenzy, but instead with gentleness he usually saved for savoring his favorite drinks.
“You should get some rest, Zoro.”
“I have the next night watch.”
“I’ll stay up with you, then.” Luffy’s brilliant grin answered him and Zoro knew there was no room for arguing once Luffy decided on something.
Perhaps one weakness that Zoro was aware of and that didn’t bother him in the slightest, was knowing he wasn’t strong enough to ever tell his partner no, at least not in such situations when the promise of spending more time together was just on the horizon.
“As you wish, captain.” he leaned in and kissed Luffy with all of his devotion, biting down not-so-gently on his bottom lip and pulling a delightful moan from Luffy that sent his heart racing in his chest again.