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When they're in a little dingy, it's a given that they don't have the provisions to stay out at sea longer than a few days. Nor do they want to, really - between the sun, wind, and chill, it can be a miserable experience. The Merry is more luxurious, and the crew eagerly takes advantage of her extra space, her cabins, her bunks, and her baths. Well, Nami and Usopp do. Luffy is roped into pedaling the bike to pump seawater up, and Nami rations out their freshwater to include showers.
They aren't at sea more than a day before they end up at the Baratie (which receives twice-daily shipments of food and water from nearby islands), and then it's a frantic race to Cocoyashi Village. A week there before they're off again, setting sail to Loguetown. But the voyage is going to take a while. Nami plans their route, accounting for delays and planning with Sanji to ensure they have supplies to last between the frequent islands. Much to everyone's delight, Nami allots them freshwater for bathing. Living in close quarters means a smelly crewmate is everyone's problem.
"A navy shower, Luffy! Water only on to get wet and rinse off! Soap up without the water on!" Nami calls after Luffy as he heads to the baths. Luffy calls back an affirmative and disappears below decks.
"We're nearly to the next island, so it shouldn't be a big deal if he forgets," she tells Zoro and Usopp, sitting and standing on the foredeck respectively. Zoro hums in response. He's not concerned if Nami isn't. Luffy had been smelling kinda funky.
"The Going Merry is such a lovely boat, I love that we have a full bath," Nami sighs.
Usopp nods.
"Yeah, Merry explained the whole water filtration system he put in to me, it's pretty neat. The bike is used to pull seawater into a pressurized tank on board, and then it's forced through a filter that removes salt and other stuff." He gestures as he talks, and Zoro watches his crewmates chat with heavy eyelids.
"It's so nice not having to use freshwater for baths, but when I took one last time I still felt a little salty..." Nami frowns.
"Yeah, the system isn't perfect... the water in the tank naturally wants to maintain even concentrations of salt and tries to go back through the filter, but the pressure is supposed to stop it from doing that. So our baths are technically diluted saltwater. I might try tinkering with it later to see what I can do to fix it."
"Usopp, you're the best!"
"Haha, well, did I ever tell you that I actually invented a new form of desalination called De-Sopp-ination-"
Zoro tunes out as his eyes fall closed. He's sleepy in the sunshine and the crew is all safe and accounted for. Sanji is at the helm, Luffy is taking a bath, and Nami and Usopp have moved towards the shrouds, their discussion about saltwater baths moving towards a discussion of rigging.
Zoro jumps to his feet.
He barges into the bathroom - Luffy doesn't seem to care at all about nudity, Zoro doubts he'll mind - and zeroes in on a limp hand dangling from the edge of the tub.
He rushes forward and plunges his hands into the warm water. Luffy sputters and gasps as he surfaces, face flushed and eyes wide. His limbs remain limp, drifting through the water like noodles. Luffy coughs and shudders in Zoro's arms. His neck starts to stretch and Zoro fumbles to cup a hand around the back of his neck. His other arm is braced under Luffy's back, keeping him tilted upright. Luffy stops sounding like he's choking and more like he's just breathing to put space between him and what just almost happened.
Zoro steps back, dragging Luffy's noodley limbs out of the water, and Luffy's face twitches. His eyes are bloodshot. His brow furrows and slowly Zoro watches his limbs contract. It's jerky and uneven - his right leg, a few feet longer than normal, drags across the yellow tile. His left arm snaps back into place with only a little less of its usual vigor. Luffy's neck returns to its normal length and Zoro hesitantly lets go of his head. He drops down to his knees and his boots squelch on the tile. Luffy scrunches his face up and his left hand comes up to tug clumsily on Zoro's earrings. He won't look at Zoro directly, keeping his eyes to the corner of the bathroom as water drips from his body. His chest still heaves from where it is pressed against Zoro's.
Zoro is soaked now, he realizes, arms around his captain, kneeling next to the tub. Luffy's right leg finally returns to its usual state and he kicks Zoro's hip. Zoro grunts and Luffy grunts back. His heel digs into Zoro's hip again and Zoro shoots Luffy a glare. Luffy still won't look at Zoro, but this time his foot makes it around Zoro's waist and digs into his back. Oh. Luffy's left hand, looking a little stretched out, flops over Zoro's wet shirt and after a long moment of concentration, returns to a normal size and shape to weakly cling to Zoro's shirt.
Luffy's breathing is slowing down now, and he coughs a few more times before settling fully. Zoro sits with his captain wrapped around him. Saltwater baths. Luffy must not have realized until it was too late.
Abruptly, Zoro lets go of Luffy and he falls with a squawk.
"Zoro!" he whines. Zoro throws his towel at him.
"Come find me, next time," he says. No use in the future Pirate King drowning in his own bathtub.
The next week, Luffy finds Zoro napping on the massive coil of anchor cable in the foc's'le. It's nice in the shade, just a bit too hot in the sun.
"Zoro!" his captain calls. The man in question cracks an eye open. Luffy grins down at him, standing in the midday sun. "Bath time!"
Their bath time routine is born.
Mainly, Luffy wraps himself around Zoro a lot to avoid drowning. Zoro tried sitting outside the tub the first time, but just ended up getting his clothes soaked. Getting in with Luffy is the simplest solution. Luffy's limbs stretch easiest, but his neck goes sometimes too, or more rarely his waist. The stretch depends on how Luffy's weight is positioned, among other factors Zoro hasn't quite figured out yet. Keeping his head supported is key so his neck doesn't stretch.
Luffy seems to enjoy the process. He's always tactile and this is just an extension of that. It's a routine they only do together and in this specific setting. He always comes out of the baths sleepy and this leads its way into Zoro's preferred part of the routine - a post bath nap. Luffy curls up with Zoro somewhere - on deck, in a bunk, their common area, the foc's'le on some coils, anywhere - and they fall asleep together. It's the only time the crew ever sees Luffy asleep during the day voluntarily.
The crew, of course, notices this routine. They live on a boat, and the Merry is not huge. Nami raises an eyebrow the first time Luffy announces that it's bath time in front of everyone and drags Zoro off, but she doesn't say anything. Zoro's face burns. It's almost worse than if she said something. Usopp does say something - he says "You guys take baths together?" and Luffy just grins and says yes.
"Uh, okay, I guess," is Usopp's eloquent response.
Sanji stares at Luffy, and then at Zoro. His expression is unreadable, but his eyes do bug out a little. It's fine. Everyone does stuff on board that's a little weird. Nami takes forever in the head. Usopp gets seasick more than everybody else. Sanji farts a lot. This is just Zoro and Luffy's weird thing that they do. It's fine.
Everyone gets used to each other's quirks. Luffy doesn't brush his teeth often enough for everybody's tastes, so people remind him. Usopp hangs up a hammock in the crew's quarters that he sleeps on when he feels seasick, which happens less and less as he gets used to living on a boat. Zoro takes to sitting in the crow's nest to get some alone time. No one says anything to Zoro about it, so he puts it out of his mind. It's just another part of living together. Luffy can't take a bath alone, so Zoro does it with him.
They leave Drum Island in a hurry, with a new crew member who has never even been out on a boat before. The novelty of the experience keeps Chopper happy and excited through the night, and he eagerly accompanies Vivi and Karoo on watch that night, though he falls asleep halfway through.
The next morning, Usopp shows Chopper around the Merry. Chopper gawks at everything, the masts, the sails, the rigging, Nami's tangerine trees, the figurehead. He's blown away as Nami points out the direction of the wind and how it fills the sails to push them forward. Drum Kingdom had a small economy and only a handful of trade agreements with other islands remained from the last ruler, the rest crumbling away under Wapol's iron fist. Drum Island had little need for large ports or ships. Being a winter island also meant that sailing on and off the island was dangerous for nearly half the year due to ice floes surrounding the island and jamming rivers during winter. Chopper spent his life on the interior of the island.
Thus, when Chopper balances on the railing, he is taken by surprise when the Merry heels further over when a gust blows, and he falls in.
Zoro dives in after him. Usopp tosses Zoro a line and Zoro hauls Chopper back on board. The reindeer is crying, sopping wet and looking rather defeated as he sprawls on deck. Zoro frowns down at him - sure, it was scary, but he's fine now, right? Luffy always bounces back as soon as out of the water.
Usopp rushes over with towels, patting the little doctor dry as he sniffles bonelessly from deck.
"I need my medicine," he mumbles as Zoro scoops him up.
"Medicine?" Nami pipes up. Everyone has gathered to see what happened, crowding around him on deck.
"M-My acetaminophen...." he slurs. He seems disoriented and Nami hurries to find the medication in his little backpack. Zoro brings him to the crew's quarters and sets him down in his bunk, pulls the covers up to his chin. His fur is still a little damp even though Zoro had toweled him off pretty thoroughly. Sanji brings him some water and Chopper drinks the whole mugful with his dose. He falls asleep almost immediately after.
"Zoro, what happened? I thought he just fell in?" Usopp asks. Zoro shrugs.
"He did, I jumped right in after him. Nothing attacked him."
"Let's keep an eye on him, just in case. We can't have our doctor falling ill," Nami says.
Sanji brings Chopper dinner in his bunk that night. The next morning, he seems more himself, waking up with everyone else for breakfast. He seems more embarrassed than feverish now, and apologizes for worrying everyone.
Chopper finds Luffy after breakfast, and Zoro is privy to their conversation by complete chance as he climbs the shrouds for watch.
"Luffy, does falling in seawater always feel so bad? I felt like I had a high-grade fever. My whole body was so heavy, I couldn't even lift my arms... it was so painful. I've never been in the ocean before. I felt like I was delirious."
Zoro pauses his climb to look down. Chopper is pressing his hooves together nervously, head ducked. Luffy's face is obscured by his straw hat.
"It sucks!" he says. Chopper mumbles something else and then Usopp darts out of the galley, dishes finished, and announces that he has invented the best game in the Grand Line to play. Zoro turns his gaze back to the sky and keeps climbing.
The simple phrase sticks in Zoro's head and wiggles around when he's not doing anything, when he splays out on deck to nap, right before he drops into meditation, the moments when he wakes up and he's still a little disoriented.
It clicks when Luffy finds Zoro for a bath.
The shower stall isn't big enough for both of them and Luffy is impatient, so they rinse and soap off trading spots. The bath fills with warm water and keeps them from being cold as they stand outside the shower stall and drip fresh water onto the tiles. Zoro steps into the bath first - Luffy had nearly cracked his head the second time they did this, stepping into the water only for his knees to immediately give out - and then Luffy crawls in too. He has a minute of wiggling before he stops being able to move, so he wedges himself into the end of the bath with Zoro and leans into him.
As Luffy goes limp, it clicks for Zoro. Seawater. Chopper. Devil fruit users. Rubber man Luffy. Luffy in seawater. Right now.
Their routine is typically pretty sedated. Luffy likes getting his hair combed. Zoro enjoys sitting in the hot water and letting his muscles relax. Zoro has started to accumulate a number of aches that hot water seems to relieve, though his ankles are particularly bad. It's a relative oasis from ship hustle and bustle. This time, Zoro eyes the back of Luffy's head as he runs a brush through it. Luffy's face is flushed and his eyes are closed as Zoro brushes, taking care to avoid his ears. Luffy did not like people touching his ears, Zoro found. He knows lots of weird things like that about Luffy now.
After Luffy's hair is untangled, Zoro maneuvers him forward to set the brush on the edge of the tub. Luffy grunts. Zoro grunts back. Zoro had shortchanged Luffy, he normally spent longer on Luffy's hair. But he doesn't want to keep Luffy here. Chopper's description of being in the water is far too fresh in his mind. Even if Luffy seems unaffected. Zoro scrubs a quick hand through his own hair. It's too short to really need brushing.
Luffy's head flops into Zoro's jaw.
"Zoro!" he whines. Zoro pokes him away.
"Stop whining."
Luffy's black eyes watch Zoro's hands, hawklike, as they come out of the water. Instead of grabbing the brush, Zoro grabs the edge of the tub.
"Zoro! My hair!" Luffy cries, like Zoro had forgotten he had any.
Zoro rolls his eyes. He stands up and Luffy lists forward, mouth open in betrayal.
"I'll brush it for you in a second. C'mere." Up Luffy goes, Zoro's hands under his arms to scoop Luffy out of the water. His legs twitch like he's trying to kick and Luffy's right hand overstretches, hand clumsily smacking the brush and then falling and pooling in the tub.
"Zoro!" Luffy is indignant now. Zoro is unrepentant.
"In a minute, Luffy," he repeats. Luffy is set down on a stool and Zoro throws his towel over his head and scrubs. Best to get him dried off sooner rather than later. Luffy splutters, limbs snapping back into place. He wrenches the towel off his head and bats Zoro away.
"OY! Stop it!" he yells. He lurches up and nearly runs into the wall, hurriedly yanking on his underwear and hat and slamming open the door. The rush of cold air feels bad on Zoro's skin and he shudders. Luffy disappears.
"Luffy! Pants!" Nami yells from on deck, and Zoro shuts the door. He dries off and gets dressed. Normally Luffy sticks around. Normally Luffy leans his face into the meat of Zoro's arm and follows Zoro, a finger tucked into his haramaki as Zoro finds them a spot to lay down out of the way (Zoro is good at this, having been tripped on many times mid-nap). They lay down together and sleep, or Luffy tells Zoro about the clouds he's seeing, or what people on deck are doing, or something new and fun he found out, or what he hopes to find on the Grand Line, or he plays with Zoro's earrings or brushes his palms against the shortest part of Zoro's hair at the base of his neck. Zoro doesn't love idle chatter, but Luffy never expects Zoro to respond.
Zoro finds a coil of rope in the foc's'le and lays down. There's enough room in the coil for another person. Luffy would fit no problem. It's unnerving that he's not there. Post-bath naps with Luffy have become the routine. Zoro has done the routine. So where is Luffy? Well, he hadn't quite done the routine. He had skipped quite a few parts. But even this abridged version requires Luffy, his body insists. Bathtime is followed by naps.
But Luffy is not there.
Zoro gives up trying to nap and shifts to stretching and meditation. But he cannot find his calm. He sits with his thoughts instead, frustrated and annoyed at how poorly his afternoon had ended up going.
Luffy showers alone, for the first time in a while. He soaps up and rinses off and the whole thing is over in maybe 2 minutes. He stands in the bathroom and drips fresh water on the tiles. The cheery yellow bathroom is quiet and empty.
Luffy likes bathing - likes it enough that he knows he likes it. He liked bathing as a kid too, splashing around in the chilly river with Ace and Sabo, finding cool rocks and trying to catch the glittering fish as they flashed beneath the water. Taking a bath on the Merry is different but Luffy likes it just as well. The yellow tiles are warm and inviting. Getting his hair combed makes his scalp tingle and shivers run up his back and his hands flap. Zoro makes sure to never touch Luffy's ears even though it would be super easy to do that. Sometimes Luffy plays with Zoro's earrings after they take a bath, which is fun because of the smooth, cool texture they have. But even if he doesn't, he and Zoro always take a nap after a bath which Luffy especially loves because he's always tired after baths. Falling asleep during the day never makes much sense to Luffy because there's always something to do during the day. But naps after baths is the exception, because that's what Luffy and Zoro do. But Zoro had been weird about bathtime last time, and Luffy doesn't want to take a bath with Zoro if he's going to be a dick about it.
Luffy hadn't filled up the tub - he's not that stupid - but he still sits down in it anyways. The porcelain is cool against his skin. There's a lot of empty space around his body. Was the tub always this large? The faint steam from Luffy's quick shower has already dissipated. Luffy watches his arm hair stand up straight. He curls in on himself to brush his lips and chin against the fuzzy texture of his forearm for a few moments. Then he uncurls. Luffy waves his arms around as if mimicking splashing. He still doesn't fill up all the space.
It would be nice to be able to take a regular bath every once in a while too... but the Merry doesn't seem to have non-saltwater baths. The knobs only have red and blue on them. Luffy sits in the tub for a little longer. He picks at his toes. His butt goes numb against the cold tile. He spins around to wedge himself perpendicular to the length of the tub. His shins press flat against the wall of the tub and his back is pressed evenly into the opposite side. Luffy tucks his arms into the tight space between his chest and his thighs and curls his head to rest on his knees. His breathing is loud in the cavern of his body. Every breath in makes his body take up a little more space and every breath out makes him shrink back down. The tub is bright white and he closes his eyes.
He turns his head to the side once his face starts to feel too warm and damp from his breath. He stares at the shower stall. There's still a sprinkling of freshwater droplets and a small wet spot near the drain. There's a brownish spot of grout between some of the tiles on the floor. Luffy's eyes catch on the familiar brush sitting on the rack of bath items they keep next to the sink.
Luffy stretches an arm out to grab it. He runs the brush through his hair. The brush catches on a tangle and he yanks it through. And then his hair is brushed. He tries brushing a few more times, but it just doesn't feel right. Zoro must do something different.
Luffy perks up. Zoro!
He frowns. Zoro. He's not sure why Zoro was being weird about baths, but Luffy doesn't care about that any more. He wants his hair brushed.
"ZORO!" he yells. There's a crashing noise, thumping as someone thunders across deck, and then Zoro slams the bathroom door open.
"Luffy!" he gasps. His eyes are wide and he stares at Luffy, naked in the empty tub.
"Brush my hair," Luffy tells him.
Zoro stares.
Luffy stares back.
"Stupid! I thought you were in danger!" Zoro yells. He's kind of sweaty. But he's stepping in the bathroom anyways. He sits down beside the tub and takes the brush out of Luffy's hands, smacking him on the head with it.
The bathroom seems smaller now that there's two sets of breathing bouncing off the tile. Luffy reaches for the knobs and Zoro smacks him again with the brush.
"What is your problem?!" Zoro snaps. Luffy bats Zoro's stupid hand away.
"What is YOUR problem?!" he returns. "I want a bath!"
"You're going to kill yourself!" Zoro yells.
"Zoro is here! It's fine!"
"You can't just-! Isn't it painful?! Chopper got super sick when he fell overboard, but you want to sit and stew in saltwater!"
"It's fine! I don't care!"
"You're going to get sick, idiot!"
"I always take baths! Zoro is here! It's fine!"
Zoro groans. Luffy growls back.
"Fine. Wait here, and don't turn on the water." Luffy huffs. "Yet."
Zoro stands up and leaves, and Luffy is left alone in the bath. Zoro even took the brush. Luffy turns on the water so that just a few drips come out and then turns it off again. Just because he can. It's his ship, isn't it?
Zoro takes forever, but he comes back with a plate of cured meat, and two mugs of water. Luffy's attention hones to a fine point. Zoro kicks the bathroom door shut. Luffy's hand stretches to snag a few slices off the plate before Zoro can even set it down. Zoro scoffs around the brush in his mouth. He sets down the food and drink on the edge of the tub before removing the brush from his mouth and setting that down too.
Zoro removes his katanas, leaning them in sentry against the wall. Luffy curls up at the end of the tub, mowing through the meat Zoro had brought him. He lays his cheek on the edge of the tub and watches idly as Zoro strips and washes. It's an efficient process. And then Zoro is finally ready.
He turns the knobs and Luffy yelps as the cold water splashes onto him. The water warms as it fills the tub, and Zoro nudges Luffy with his foot.
"Move over."
Luffy shuffles closer to the spigot and Zoro climbs in. He's tucked behind Luffy at one end of the tub, their feet kicked out towards the spigot where it pours water opposite them. Zoro's leg hair is a dark green.
The water laps at their stomachs and Luffy grabs the brush from the edge of the tub, hands it to Zoro and turns around. Zoro acquiesces, and Luffy hums as the brush runs through his hair. It still doesn't feel quite right.... Luffy leans forward and dunks his head in the water. The white of the tub mixes with the yellow tile as the room spins. He wobbles as he sits back up. His limbs start to feel loose. Luffy's hands feel stiff and swollen where they lay in the water. He slumps back and into Zoro.
Zoro shifts around a little before he sets the bristles of the brush on Luffy's hairline and pulls back. It's a million times better than when Luffy did it himself. Luffy's hands twitch underwater and a buzzing feeling trickles down his spine. The water creeps up his chest, a vague line of warmth. The last of Luffy's core strength slips away like water bleeding down a drain. Zoro bends his legs to hook his knees under Luffy's arms and keep him from slipping underwater.
Zoro reaches forward and shuts off the tap, and Luffy's body moves with him. Was he really so upset earlier? This is the best thing ever. Why did he try to not take a bath. That was so stupid. The water is warm and Zoro is warm and Luffy is so happy. He always feels a bit dizzy in the bath, like everything around him is too slippery for his senses to latch on to. Zoro's brushing is gentle and rhythmic and he always manages to get exactly the same spots every time which makes Luffy's chest feel tight and his hands want to shake and flap. He brushes from one side of Luffy's head to the other, and then back again without brushing any spot more than any other.
Luffy's stomach feels strange, like he ate something that won't settle, even though all Luffy has had today was breakfast (miso soup, some grilled fish Usopp had caught the day before, at least 3 bowls of rice, and a handful of some kind of pastry), a mid-morning snack, and the meat Zoro had brought him. It almost feels like he has something under his tongue. He gags, just a little. Luffy wiggles - it's a minute movement but Zoro can feel it. He sets down the brush and picks up a mug, pressing it to Luffy's lips and tilting it back. Luffy drinks, not having realized how nice water would be until he's drinking. The water is still slightly cool. It feels strange to drink something cold when he's sitting in warm bathwater but the sensation isn't unwelcome. Some of the water spills and the streaks of cold down his face and chin make Luffy want to shiver. The mug runs dry. Zoro sets it down and Luffy hums.
Zoro shuffles Luffy around until he's flipped over, pressing his chest into Zoro's. His arms, stretching slightly of their own accord, settle sort of on either side of Zoro, so it's kind of like a hug. Luffy can't do much more than that with his arms. He tucks his face into Zoro's neck and giggles at the squelchy noise of skin on skin. Zoro's arms come up around Luffy and he breathes deeply.
"Stupid. Is this really what you want?" Zoro asks. Luffy hums.
"Bathtime with Zoro is the best."
Zoro's breathing hitches and Luffy hums. They sit together and breathe in the steam of the bathroom. Luffy's eyelids grow heavy within minutes and he sags further into Zoro. He feels heavy all over. A bitter taste seeps into his mouth and down his throat and Luffy clings Zoro's breathing instead, tries to lick the last scraps of the meat Zoro brought him from his teeth.
The bathroom spins idly around him, adrift and moving further away.
Luffy doesn't want to leave. Zoro sits with him still. His breathing is rhythmic. Luffy can feel his heartbeat in his hands and feet.
The spigot drips.
Zoro shifts slightly, water chirping as he sloshes it around. Luffy's feet don't move but his legs stretch, first at the shins and then at his thighs. His knees stay stubbornly compressed. His chin is still resting on Zoro's shoulder, and when he opens his eyes he can see that Zoro's arm hair is stood up on end. The beginnings of goosebumps chase up his arm. He can't see Zoro's face from where he is, and he can't move to change that, but he does hum. Zoro grunts back, and they breathe a second longer. The steam has faded. Luffy's fingers and toes are numb and his face is warm.
Zoro gently shoves Luffy off of him, propping him against the other side of the tub as Zoro shifts to stand up. He leans back down to hook his hands under Luffy's arms and up Luffy goes, water and limbs sloughing into the tub. Zoro steps out and Luffy's hands and feet drag, caught on the edge of the tub. He manages to get his left leg to start contracting, but his other limbs are not so responsive. Zoro sets Luffy down on a small stool and scoops his limbs out of the bath. Zoro's towel is green - Nami picked it for him, said the color matched his hair and it does - and Luffy's is, of course, red. Luffy had picked his towel. Zoro drapes Luffy's towel over drooping shoulders, and Luffy reels in his right hand this time to clutch weakly at the towel. He's shaking, just a little.
While Zoro dries off, Luffy drips on the floor. He swings his head in a slow arc back and forth as his body control returns. The bathroom spins still, but it's like getting your sea legs, Luffy reckons. It's just a matter of getting used to the movement. His limbs start to contract again as he dries and Luffy's tongue stops trying to rebel against him. His limbs still feel weak and he tips over to lean against the tub because he's tired. His cheek presses into the cool porcelain and relief soaks into his overheated face.
By the time Zoro is dressed, Luffy has all his limbs back, and pats himself dry with his towel. His hair drips and this time when he shakes his head, water sprays off of him.
"Watch it!" Zoro grunts at him. Luffy just laughs.
"Sorry, Zoro!"
He fumbles on his underwear and shorts, electing to only button them, because his fingers are still too clumsy for the zipper. Zoro pulls the plug on the bath and water gurgles its way down the drain. Luffy's vest is easy enough to shrug on and that too is left open. He is too busy for buttons, even the big ones that Makino sewed on his vest especially for him. Zoro waits by the bathroom door with his swords at his hip, holding Luffy's hat and the other mug of water. His hair is still damp. Luffy follows on unsteady legs.
The Merry is too squat to heel much, but there's decent enough wind that Luffy and Zoro make acute angles as they walk across the deck. Luffy hurries forward to press his face into Zoro's shoulder with a grin. His limbs feel like they're swinging wildly, like he can't control them fully yet. Zoro hands him the other mug of water without saying anything. Luffy grabs it with both hands, drinks all of this one too.
Zoro pries open the hatch to the crew quarters and climbs down. Luffy follows much slower, hands clumsy around the rungs of the ladder.
Zoro heads for the couch, setting his swords down on the sole and laying down. Luffy flops down too, squishing his left shoulder between the back of the couch and Zoro, leaving his right arm to be cast over Zoro's chest. His left arm is curled into his chest, pinned under his body. The bridge of his nose is tucked into Zoro's jaw and Luffy feels Zoro's right arm come up to rest on the center of his back. Luffy wraps his right leg around Zoro's and tucks his left foot under Zoro's ankle. Zoro grunts. Luffy huffs a small chuckle and wiggles to settle closer in. He can feel Zoro's breathing and heartbeat like this, smell the soap they both use. Luffy hums, closing his eyes to the way the room spins still. He's a little cold but Zoro is nice and warm. Zoro's free hand comes to rest on Luffy's shoulder. Luffy can feel the callouses that Zoro has scrape gently on his skin. Luffy's hands twitch and he presses his smile into Zoro, too sleepy and weak to flap properly. He hums quietly and feels sleep draw around him like a warm blanket, safe and clean.