#chopper would have jumped on zoro's bandages to wake him up

[brainrotcharacters]

rewatching episode 6: zoro's foolishisms

"we need a doctor" "last i checked we don't have one"

me in my 15th rewatch, still panicking: CHOPPER PLEASE GET CHOPPER SOMEONE FIND CHOPPER

[bluegalaxygirl]

Ruthless (Zosan X Reader) P7

Plot: Beast off the walking dead series. After the governor attacks your people you head back to help plan an attack back. Luffy's not happy with being left out so ends up following only to end up at the governors town.

Warning: Violence, bad language and medical stuff.

Reader is a gunslinger of the crew and the younger sibling to Rick. This isn't accurate to the show but it does contain characters and plot lines, deaths have been added that aren't apart of the show. Zoro X Sanji X Reader, poly relationship, Established relationship, Reader is GN.

P1 - P2 - P3 - P4 - P5 - P6 -P8 - P9 - P10 - P11

Day 5

Nothing changed that day, their routine was normal and people came and went, Brook stopped by and told you about a show he was going to do with Beth tomorrow night and that he hoped you could be awake to see it. During the night Chopper came in to check on them all, Rick was the only one awake or at least trying to stay awake, he started spending more time with Carl and his daughter which tired him out. Your brother smiles at the reindeer before a look of shock covers his face, Hershel walks in behind the doctor on two crutches now being able to walk thanks to the antibiotics you brought when you first arrived. "Hershel" Rick laughs getting up and hugging the man waking Zoro and Sanji who where asleep in their normal positions. Upon seeing Chopper Sanji got up and sat on the metal chair so the doctor could jump up and do his job. Rick pulls away from Hershel and brings over his seat for the now one legged man to sit down on "I can't believe your up" Rick sighs helping the old man sit down, his white beard and hair have grown longer with all the time spent in bed. "I thought its about time i get my ass up and do some work" The old man laughed before turning his attention to Sanji and Zoro "I'll be helping Chopper look after Y/n, Take some weight off his shoulder" Chopper checks over your bandages before turning to Hershel "I'm glad for the help but i can take care of things" The doctor smiles turning back to you and checking your pulse "You need rest young man"

The old man sighs leaning back in his chair "And as for you three, i think its time we set up something more comfy, your stubborn" He turns to face Rick who crosses his arms over his chest "So i know you won't get up and leave for a night when you can be here so, we'll set something up, sleeping on the floor or on these chairs aren't good for you all" He was worried they would get overly tired or sore, and then he would have more people to take care off, plus he knew he would get an ear full form you if he let that happen. "Thank you" Sanji speaks up getting the old man's attention who nods at him. Zoro stands from the floor and walks up next to Sanji looking at Chopper "How are they?" He asks wanting to know what his doctor has to say now he's done. Chopper pulls the sheet back over you and takes his gloves off "Their good but if they don't wake up by tomorrow then i'm going to put a feeding tub down" Chopper sighs turning to the group with a small smile "But there is some good news if their breathing stays like this we can take the oxygen mask off" Zoro lets a smile form and squeezes Sanji's shoulder who reaches up and takes the swordsman's hand.

Day 6

You didn't wake up but Chopper and Hershel waited till the afternoon just in case. Rick watched over you and told you all about the baby girl and Carl, he even told you how the new farm was going along. When Zoro took over the two had quite a long chat about things, it seems this situation as bonded them a little, seeming to talk to each other more often and give a nod to each other every time they see each other outside the medical ward. Zoro sat on the bed holding your hand until Chopper and Hershel came in with a bunch of equipment but when Zoro didn't move Hershel placed a hand on the swordsman's shoulder " You should go and grab a drink of tea while we do this" The old man smiles only for Zoro to shake his head "No, i'm not leaving them" The green haired man's eyes never left your form but the old man sat down in the chair close to the bed and placed his hand onto Zoro's, getting him to look up finally "I understand your worried son but it's best if you go. We'll take care of them" He wanted to say more but didn't. Its very simple and easy when someone is unconscious and thats the problem, you expect someone to fight back a little at the uncomfortable feeling of a tub going through your nose and down your treat, but they don't and that can really upset people. "Please, Zoro" Chopper smiles getting the swordsman to sigh and stand up "Fine, how long?" Zoro groans slowly letting go of your hand "20 minutes" Hershel voices before Chopper can.

Once Zoro had left Chopper looks at the old man confused "I'll only take us two" The doctor whispers wondering why the man would lie "I know, but he needs a brake, plus it'll give the others time to set up the room without anyone in the way" Hershel smiles moving to sit on the bed, so he can assist Chopper. With the oxygen mask now off and a tub in your nose taped to your cheek they set up a bag to help feed you, Chopper stays on the bed with you while Maggie and Glen come in to help set up the room. They place a mattress on the floor at the end of the bed and cover it in sheets along with two pillows. The chairs are moved out and replaced with two wooden chairs along with a cushion on each. Zoro came back early to see Maggie and Glen coming out pushing the sheet aside "What's wrong?" His first instinct was that something happened to you but his fear faded when Maggie smiled at him "Nothing wrong, they just set up the room, made it more comfy" Hershel hobbles over with his crutches getting his daughter to turn and help him "Come on dad lets go" She whispers before walking with her dad out of the medical ward. Glen sighs and watches the two walk way "If you need anything just ask" The young man nods patting the swordsman on the shoulder before leaving.

The room was much more comfy now and felt a lot warmer, Zoro still opted to sit on the bed with you but used one of the blankets to keep himself warm until Sanji came in. "Wow, when did this happen?" The cook asks getting the swordsman's attention, Sanji looks around the room before looking down at you seeing you breathe without a mask. The cook can't help but smiles and lean down placing a soft kiss on the side of your parted lips. "Glen and Maggie did this" Zoro smiles a little happy to see the cook look less sad, he stands up and wraps the blanket he had on around the blondes shoulders "At least now we can get a good nights sleep" Zoro laughs pulling Sanji in for a hug who happily hugs back placing his head on the green haired man's shoulder. The mattress on the floor caught his eye, he liked being close to you but would often almost fall off or have a fear of leaning on you and hurting you in his sleep. Sanji pulls away and places a hand on Zoro's cheek before leaning in and kissing the man "I love you" Zoro lets out after the kiss before going back in for more, Sanji smiles and leans into it "I love you too moss head" The blonde teases only for Zoro to grab the cooks waist and squeeze a little, Sanji laughs and try's to pull away only for Zoro to pull him closer and start tickling the man. Its very rare for him to do this but the cook asked for it, and they both needed a moment of happiness "S-stop, I-Im so-sorry" Sanji calls out being pinned up against the wall as the swordsman stops.

The cook pants catching his breath while still being tense in case Zoro decides to start up again "Behave" The swordsman laughs placing his lips on Sanji's before walking over to you and placing a kiss on your cheek "You too" he jokes before moving some hair out of your face. After Zoro left Sanji sat in the new wooden chair holding your hand, he didn't have much to tell you so he opted to start reading the book that Robin brought a few days ago, It was some kind of poetry book she found in woodbury. He stopped reading when Rick comes in earlier than normal followed by Hershel "Hay, the show's going to start soon, thought you might want to come" Rick smiles seeing the room and you looking a lot better "No it's ok. I'll stay" Sanji smiles back looking down at the book in his hands "I'll watch over her son" Hershel hobbles in sitting on the other wooden chair and placing a hand on the cooks shoulder "Your captain dragged your boy away to join and i think it would be good if you go too" Sanji places a book mark in the book before closing it and turning to the old man then to Rick "Carl said i have to go but i just wanted to see them before i go" Your brother smiles placing a hand on your head "They look a lot better and Hershel's a good doctor, they'll be fine" Rick turns to Sanji before opening the sheet as the cook stands and places the book on the side table. "I'll be back later mi amore" He whispers placing a kiss on your cheek before leaving with Rick.

Hershel stayed with you for a few hours, the room silent since he wasn't much of a talker. Zoro and Sanji spent some much-needed time together along with the crew, they got to know your family a lot more too. Michonne had been working a lot with Zoro and training with him, but they didn't talk much outside of that until tonight, maybe it was the alcohol or the fresh vibe that got them talking to each other about the past but either way they got to know each other a lot more and had more respect for each other. Sanji liked talking with Maggie a lot, she was a sweet girl and took an interest in cooking even attending two of his lessons and being very good at it. He wasn't surprised when he found out she was in a relationship with Glen, he could see the way they looked at each other and was happy for them, but he was surprised how much him and Glen got on. The two didn't talk much but that night they did and found they had a lot of the same ideals and opinions. Rick spent time with Carl and his daughter and managed to finally chose a name for her, Carl was the one who suggested it and it just felt right. Sanji managed to get Zoro to dance with him during a slow song and took the moment to feel a sense of calm. It was a good night with lots of food, drinks and light music.

Day 7

After last night not many people wanted to do much, the booze from the sunny and what they took form woodbury plus the massive amount of food and late night made everyone want to crawl back into bed. Rick slept in one of the spare rooms in the medical ward after Michonne had to drag his drunk ass to bed while Sanji and Zoro slept on the mattress in your medical cell. Zoro flat out on his back snoring away while Sanji lay on top of him, the blankets all over the place, Chopper woke them up when he came in to put stuff in the food bag and was unsurprised how the two didn't have a hang over. Rick did have a small hangover but after a good sleep in and some coffee he felt much better and managed to get out of bed and sit in the chair in your medical cell "Party'd to hard i see" Maggie laughs walking in with Glen carrying plates of food "Oh i'm so sorry miss Maggie" Sanji stands from where he was sitting on the mattress, he didn't realize what time it was and missed making breakfast "Its fine don't worry, we can handle it for one day." she smiles making him sit back down and handing him a plate of food.

Glen hands a plate to Rick and then one to Zoro "We all got together and thought it would be good to practice the skills you've been teaching us and give you all the day off" The young man smiles going back to stand next to Maggie who puts down another vase of flowers which just so happen to be your favorite flowers. Zoro cracks a smile and swallows the food in his mouth "Where did you get them from?" The swordsman asks pointing his fork at the flowers, Maggie adjusts them a little before turning to the green haired man and then looking at Rick "well a local group came round to thank us for getting rid of the governor and gave us a bunch of stuff" Rick's eyes widen but Glen's quick to place his hand on the man's shoulder "It's ok, It's the group that lives in the mill" A sigh of relief leaves your brother mouth, that place is mostly full of farmers, and they've never caused a problem. "They gave us seeds and flowers plus some scrap metal we can use" Maggie smiles taking the finished plates off the three "Me, Glen, Michonne and Daryl have everything under control, plus the people we saved from woodbury have been helping clear out new areas thank to Andrea's leadership" The girl smile bring calm to the group "How is Andrea, i haven't seen or heard form her since we got back" Sanji asks earning a sigh form Glen who leans against the wall, he gives Maggie a nod letting her know he'll explain while she goes to do work.

The three watch the young man as he starts to explain "She's physically ok but mentally not so much, living with the governor this whole time has done some damage, and she told me that she feels like a failure for not stopping the governors plan. Apparently he's planned stuff like this in the past, but she managed to stop it or find a way to make it harder than it needed to be, so he'd back down. This time she wasn't in the loop so had no idea. She's doing what she can to make up for it, to make it up to Y/N and you Rick" Glen looks up form the floor to their leader who looks a little angry but mostly sad "Is that why she left?" Rick asks clenching his fists on his lap. "Yea, When everyone got sick she tried to convince the governor to help since he had the best doctors and medical equipment, he told her that if she joined his group and didn't tell them why then he would. She was shocked when i told her that we never got any help after she left, she was told they did send stuff but it didn't do any good" Glen looks over at you remembering how everyone yelled at her for leaving and not giving them a reason why yet you didn't, you hugged her and wished her well despite everyone being mad at you after words. "I remember Andrea saying they were close so i thought she would at least come and see Y/N but..." Sanji sighs looking down at you "I don't know, every time i ask her to come with us she refuses" Glen shrugs before pushing off the wall "I'll see you guys later, give you some piece before your bombarded again" Glen laughs before leaving.

During the afternoon people came and went, Nami and Robin came back to check on things along with Michonne and Daryl but there were a bunch of people that Zoro and Sanji didn't know. As the day was ending Sanji slept sat with his back to the wall on the mattress while Zoro was snoring in his lap, his face on the cooks stomach using it as a pillow. Rick sat on the bed holding your hand, you felt a lot warmer which was a good sign, but he was still worried. Some noise outside caught his attention and woke Zoro and Sanji up their heads turning to see the sheet move, "Carl?" Rick whispers standing up to stop his son form coming in only for Beth to step into view with the baby girl in her arms. "What are you doing here?" Your brother asks looking over the three kids "It's been a week, we want to see Y/N" Carl looks up at his dad pushing the sheriffs hat that Rick used to wear back, so he could see better. "Please" Beth's voice begged the man. Zoro got up and stretched before helping Sanji stand "Come on Rick, let them in" Sanji walks over placing a hand on your brothers shoulder, Rick thinks for a minute before stepping back and pulling up the chairs for the kids to it in.

Beth hands the baby off to Rick before sitting down with Carl "They don't look too bad" Carl smiles taking your hand making his dad laugh at the comment as he holds his baby girl. Zoro and Sanji have spent a lot of time with Carl, the boy wanted to help out so during the afternoon he likes to join Sanji's lessons and stays behind to help clean up, he likes to talk to the cook when he's having a smoke break outside since he's mostly alone then, but he also wants to help outside too. He helped take care of the walks by the fence at night but there have been less and less of them lately, so he's taken to helping Zoro take watch, its more of an excuse to get to know one of the man who's dating his auntie/uncle. He looks up to Zoro a lot since he's strong but also doesn't sugar coat anything not even to a kid. As for the baby the two boys only got a good look at her last night, Sanji thinks she's adorable while Zoro acts like he doesn't care but deep down he does thinks she's a cute baby.

Beth reaches over and places a hand on your head running it through your slightly matted hair, she sighs and takes out a brush from one of her pockets and sits on the bed next to your head starting to brush through your hair gently while humming. "They really do look a lot better than you decided" Carl points out looking at the three, Zoro told him more about your condition than his dad did, but he didn't want to call the swordsman out in front of him so the boy mainly looked at his dad who leans against the wall. "They do look batter but i was hoping you would wait a while longer" Rick scolds a little, but he can understand the need to see you, everyone else has, he just didn't want the kids being scared of all the iv's and bandages. Beth finishes brushing through your hair and places the brush down on the table "You should brush their hair daily so it doesn't get matted again" she looks up at the three with a stern look, for a 16-year old she acts more like a mother than a teen but then again she had grown up very fast in this world. Zoro lets out a laugh getting a glare from the blonde haired girl, he clears his throat and looks away "Sorry" he whispers trying to hold in his laughter. She doesn't scare him, but she reminds him of you and how you look at him when your mad. "Yes miss" Sanji slightly bows getting the girl to smile. "That's enough scolding us, lets go I'll take you guys to bed" Rick steps away from the wall walking over to the kids.

"Can we stay here tonight please?" Carl begs looking at his dad as Beth joins him "No- n-no" Rick stutters watching both kids start to give him their best puppy dog eyes, it's working too well, so he grits his teeth and looks away. Sanji grabs two blankets and walks over to the kids "I see no problem in it" The cook smiles putting a blanket around Carl and the other around Beth, your brother sighs giving in as he watches Carl take his hat off and lay it on the end of the bed "I'll take first watch" The young boy smiles leaning back in his chair while Beth takes your hand and lays her head down on the bed while sitting in the chair. "Take the mattress" Zoro walks over to Rick patting his shoulder, with the baby in his arms Rick sits down on the mattress and makes a little blanket circle around his baby, so she can't roll off the mattress before he lays down next to her and covers himself over. Sanji turns off the big light in the room only a lantern in on the side table lighting the small room before sitting down on the floor with Zoro. The two share a kiss before they snuggle up to each others side, Sanji lays his head on the swordsman's shoulder as Zoro pulls a blanket over their laps and places a kiss on the cooks head "Night" They whisper to each other before letting sleep over take them.

[whirlybirdwhat]

hold my hand (i’ll hold yours)

read on ao3  rings my little bell sanji n luffy stans come get some food

It’s a quiet moment in the kitchen when Luffy takes Sanji’s hands into his own.

If it were anyone else (even a lady, Sanji admits) he would have pulled his hands away. They can’t come to harm, can’t be risked, not when Sanji has a crew to feed, not when Sanji has a family to feed. 

But this is Luffy, his captain, who had burned governments and conquerors and tyrants for daring to harm his crew. 

This is Luffy, his captain, who protects his crew’s treasures (hats, swords, tangerines, precious hats and books and shells -) just as much as he protects them. 

This is Luffy. 

And Luffy knows not to harm.

So Sanji lets him, carefully letting his hand go lax as Luffy pulls it away from where he’s prepping a meal. His captain’s fingers trail up Sanji’s wrist, mapping veins and skimming over fine hairs before trailing back down, to his knuckles, smooth and unbroken, and to callouses, worn from years of being a cook. 

Luffy’s quiet. Contemplative. Almost in the way he gets while staring out to sea on his special seat. 

His hand carefully traces the lines on Sanji’s palm, running them over and then pushing against the callouses and scars.

Sanji… Sanji knows his hands are his treasure. He can’t cook without them, can’t serve and protect and feed his beloved crew without them. It’s why he fights with his feet - keeping them far away from swords and flames with practiced proficiency. It’s why he keeps his hands in his pocket, lights his cigarette with precision, why he works to keep them safe. 

But - 

He is a cook. 

His hands are tool as much as a treasure, and no one is immune to slipping with a knife or burning with a hand too close to a pan. 

His captain’s thumb brushes over the scar he got from his first time trying to fillet a fish, when the knife sunk in just below his thumb and curving onto the back of his hand - small now, but monumental then when Sanji was eleven and scared of all the blood. Luffy’s hand traces up to when a glass shattered in the kitchen, leaving small pinpricks over Sanji’s hands that left a scar because he was terrified of letting Zeff know he fucked up. His pinkie finger, when Luffy glances by it, has lines of white marks from when Sanji decided to smoke and cook at the same time and smacked his hand right into the over rack. Little mistakes, forged into lessons. Little stories that his captain will never ask about, but Sanji will tell him anyway, after quiet moments like these. 

“Mmm,” Luffy hums, finger just passing by the starburst splotches on his fingertips when Sanji had been trying to work with grease the first time. “Your hands are cool Sanji!”

He looks at Sanji, bright and earnest, and Sanji can’t help but too flush and give a gentle smile, before putting down the ladle to take a drag of his cigarette. “Thank you, captain.”

“Shishishi!” Luffy laughs, and lets go of Sanji’s hands. 

And - well -

He doesn’t get these quiet moments with his captain often. Sanji snatches Luffy’s hand back, prompting another laugh from his captain.

He doesn’t say anything, and neither does Luffy. This time, Luffy just holds Sanji’s hand, gently and smiling, and rests his head down on the counter. 

Peaceful, quiet, and treasure safe, Sanji returns to cooking, captain by his side. 

—

Luffy wakes to warm brown and the gently rocking of the waves. The smell of something chemical is in the air, mixed with something sweet and - 

Oh.

He’s with Chopper, in the infirmary. Cool.

Well, he realizes as he returns to wakefulness, not cool. Bandages are around his chest, digging into his scar even as its clear Chopper tried to be careful, and swathes of white circle around his neck and legs and head. For once, his hands are unbandaged. 

Luffy turns to the side and - Oh.

It’s his cook, pile of bandages by his side, old and fresh, holding Luffy’s hand in his own. 

Sanji, Luffy thinks, quietly, eyes still bleary, as he looks at his cook. His bangs are shielding his face as he carefully traces Luffy’s hand, with soft, calloused fingers.

Oh, Luffy thinks, and lets it happen, sinking into the bed.

Luffy’s hands - Luffy’s hands are rough.  Even rubber, he’s not immune to cuts, the sharpness of ricks or blades, the playing of little boys in mountains that were never quite safe.

(Underneath the scar on his chest are long, faded marks, from a lucky bear strike. He’s never been immune from scars.)

His childhood was filled with fun - with adventure. He ran from dawn till dusk, scrambling over mountain rocks and letting sharp thorns cut into skin without care. They formed tinny scars, most disappearing over the years, fading into tan skinned and warmed by the sun. 

But - here, now, Sanji takes his hand and looks at it with scrutiny. His index finger slips into the groove where Luffy once impaled his hand in defense of a restaurant, his thumb just brushing the spot on his wrist that never quite faded from Porchemy’s spiked fists, made worse by molten gold from a god’s lightning. Sanji is… soft, with Luffy. Like how Luffy is with his hat, or Nami’s tangerines, or Zoro’s swords.

Like Luffy’s hands are treasure’s like Sanji.

(Which is weird. Luffy isn’t treasure. His hands were made to fight, to hurt, to be hurt, to protect. He stretches them out and snaps them back, purging them in fire and blood. 

His hands aren’t his treasure. They’re what he uses to protect his treasure.)

It’s… odd, being treated so gently. His crew likes to do that - treat him gently, with softness, almost like Makino used to. Hands that tousle his hair or bandage his wounds without any hurting force, a gentle hug or a rub on his shoulder or back when he’s napping. It’s weird, and so unlike how it was with Ace and Sabo.

He thinks he likes it though.

Especially as his cook treats him with such care, fingers dipping over fresh scars and new wounds from their latest fight, thumbing gently at knuckles to get a better look at the scratches. Sanji’s hands rub too deep at one point, and Luffy’s skin starts stretching. Sanji doesn’t stop though, only gives a little laugh and continues with his ministrations before finally reaching for the bandages.

Luffy, with glazed eyes, still watches. 

His cook is gentle. His cook is kind. He’s seen it a thousand times before. 

It’s so rarely directed at him, though.

He’s quiet as the bandages get wrapped with careful precision around each individual finger, binding and soothing with salves laid underneath. Sanji’s quick with it, skill in every feature. 

After Sanji’s finished, his head lifts up, just a little, and Luffy can see the bags under his eyes. He’s - sad, but in the proud kind of way, in the loving kind of way. 

It’s not even a thought in Luffy’s mind as he squeezes Sanji’s hand in his own and gives his cook a blinding grin. He can’t quite muster up the energy to give a laugh, but he hopes the love in his eyes will be enough.

Sanji jumps, whipping around like he got caught red-handed, before alighting on Luffy’s face. 

“Shitty-Captain,” He grins, odd without a cigarette in the corner. “Let me go get Chopper for you, alright?”

He’s only an inch up before Luffy summons all his energy and squeezes Sanji’s hand, pulling him back down.

“Stay,” He rasps, quiet, tired, black on the edge of his vision. But it’s enough.

“Aye-aye, Captain,” Sanji says, squeezing his hand back and nestling further into the infirmary bed. His voice grows softer. “Aye.”

Luffy gives him another smile, unable to feel the callousness of Sanji’s hands through his bandages, but feeling the warmth just the same, and falls asleep, precious cook by his side.

[crashing-comets]

Panic

A little warning, panic attacks and blood. 

Let me know any mistakes or anything like that!

Take care of yourself!

Usopp was working in his workshop on some new pop green balls. One of the plants in the corner let out a little growl wanting attention. The man-eating plants were excellent company when he is alone. Usopp leans back on his stool and lets out a huff, his new idea was a little more complex than he intended. He scratched his head and stood up, and headed towards the door. He patted the plant’s head as walked out on the deck. Luffy was sitting on Sunny’s head, watching the water hit the ship’s side. Chopper was last seen in his office, and Zoro was training in the crow’s nest. Sanji was serving the sunbathing girls near the farther set of stairs, and Franky and Brook were sharing different ideas from music to minor fixes on the ship. The StrawHats would be docking on a nearby island for supplies. Usopp smiled and looked up at the sky, not a cloud in sight, perfect weather for drawing. He grabbed his sketchbook and sat leaning near the gallery door. He started to sketch, and Sanji stopped in front of him. 

“What are you drawing?” Sanji crouched down, trying to look at the sketch, but Usopp pulls the book to his chest, embarrassed.  

“Nothing!” He squeaked, Sanji hummed and walked back into the gallery. He cautiously looked at what he sketched, and it was a small sketch of his mother. He sat there for a moment, ‘Did she look like that?’ he jumped at the thought. He forgot what his mother looked like. His mood dipped, and he continued to try and get the perfect image of his mother, but after a while, he became frustrated and threw his pencil on the ground. After making minor changes to the portrait, he couldn’t see the true one. He crumples the sides of the paper as small tears built at the corner of his eyes. He got up and grabbed his pencil, and returned to his workshop. He shut the door and locked it, and the dam broke. Fat tears rolled down his face, and he rubbed the corner of his eyes as he sat in the far corner of the workshop. He pulled up his knees to his chest and took a look at the sketchbook before throwing it across the room with a huge thump. He tightened his grip on his elbow as he hid his face in his arms. He sobbed, and with every exhale, he could feel a slight sting on his elbows. It seemed to be hours passed before the sobs slowed to a small hiccup. Usopp pulled his head up and wiped the tear streaks on his cheek. Usopp shifted his position when he heard a knock on the door. 

“Oi Usopp, the shitty cook, said that it is dinner time. Come on.” Zoro’s voice boomed through the air. Usopp placed a hand on his lower stomach, and he wasn’t very hungry. Usopp sat there for a moment, and Zoro slammed on the door harder. “Hey, come on.” Usopp jumped and shuddered. 

“I’m not too hungry, so I am going to skip lunch.” 

“It’s dinner.”

“Right!” Usopp started to pick at the skin around his knuckles. “I need to finish this project, you know?” he chuckled a little at the end.

“Alright.” Zoro sighed and walked away. Usopp let go of the breath that he didn’t know what he was holding. He felt something sticky on his fingers and found blood was dripping from a wound he made on his knuckle.

“Shit.” He whispered and grabbed a small towel on his worktable. He squeezed the towel around the wound. The knuckle throbbed with his heartbeat, and his eyes started leaking again. He moved back to the corner and hugged his injured hand to his chest. 

“How could I forget her?” he whispered to himself. Another knock on the door made him jump. This time it was Sanji.

“Hey idiot, you missed lunch as well. Pause that project!” Usopp starred at the door in a panic. He could let Sanji see him in this state. After all, he forgot his own mother’s face. How could someone want someone like that on their crew? What was Luffy thinking! He moved through the thoughts at a thousand miles an hour, and his breathing kicked up. Sanji called him again, but Usopp couldn’t hear him. His thoughts were too loud, and his breath was gone from his lung. ‘I forgot his mother and my father forgot me, that’s why he left. I am useless on this ship. Why am I  here? I’m going to die on the next island. How could I let Luffy down like this.’ His thoughts suddenly stopped as a pair of rough hands were placed on his cheeks and softly patted them. Sanji was kneeling in front of him, patting his cheeks and whispering his name. Usopp looked past Sanji and looked at the door that was broken into pieces on the floor. Franky would have to fix that later. He grumbled at the thought of Franky’s disappointed look when he learns about the door. Sanji pulled his jaw towards him and said his name, but it sounded like static in his ears. Usopp looked at Sanji in confusion as he grabbed his chest and felt it move at an incredible speed. He realized what was happening, and he had a panic attack in front of Sanji. He remembers getting them when he was younger, but he had his mother to calm him down. The thought of his mother started a whole new train about how much he missed his mother, and he began to see black dots in his vision. Sanji took Usopp’s hands and placed them on his shoulder. “Usopp, if you can hear me, breath with me, okay?” Usopp could feel his hands lift and lower as Sanji breathed. He started to follow Sanji’s calm breathing and the black spots disappeared. 

It felt like an hour before Usopp’s breath was semi-stable, enough for Sanji to release his hands from his shoulders. He placed one of his hands on Usopp’s cheek and patted it to get his attention. 

“Hey Usopp, you doing okay?” His voice was softer than usual, and Usopp seemed to notice as well. Usopp’s head jumped up and looked at him. He took in a breath.

“I’m sorry.” He bowed his head and whined at the sharp pain that came from his knuckle. Sanji first noticed the blood that stained the towel and then saw the tears that started to fall slightly faster as he held Usopp’s wounded hand. 

  “Do you want me to call Chopper?” Sanji said in a low voice. Usopp’s eye’s widened, and he shook his head.

“No, I’m fine!” He said it a little too fast for Sanji to be confident in the answer. Sanji patted his cheek, picked Usopp by the knees and the back, and walked out of the workshop and to the infirmary. Luckily Chopper was still eating dinner, so Sanji placed Usopp on the bed, which was a little out of it to realize what was going on, and grabbed some bandages on the shelf and some ointment that he has seen Chopper use for his cuts. 

“Wanna tell me what happened back there,” Sanji asked, sitting next to Usopp and turned him towards him. He pulled the towel off Usopp’s finger, and the blood flaked off with a slight snap, waking Usopp from the trance that he was in. 

“What happened,” Usopp said, looking around the room then down at his finger. 

“You tell me.” Sanji opened the ointment and placed it on his fingers. He rubbed the cream on the wound and caused Usopp to wince. “Sorry.” He took the bandages and started wrapping the finger. 

“I think I had a panic attack.” He watched Sanji wrap his hand. 

“I could see that. Do you wanna talk about it.” 

“Not really.” His voice dripped with defeat. Sanji finished his wrapping and looked at Usopp’s face. Usopp was still looking at his hand. 

“You know that everyone is here for you, right?” 

“Yeah, I just. It’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I just was freaking out for a moment.”

“Usopp.” Sanji’s voice was demanding and challenging, wanting answers, but a part of him knew that he wouldn’t get them tonight. 

“I’m fine, I promise.” Usopp waved his hands in front of him. Sanji sighed and got up from where he was sitting, and made his way to the door.

“Fine, but when you need to talk. Come to me.” With that, Sanji went out the door and left Usopp with his thoughts. He was debating if he should spill to Sanji about what happened on his way to the men’s sleeping quarters. 

“I’ll talk to him later. Maybe.” Usopp hopped into his bed and went to sleep. 

[whereistheonepiece]

Let's be sad. It's sad hours. Prompt: Zoro gets critically injured and Sanji has to get him back to the ship. Or you can swap them.

Send me writing prompts. Status: Closed.

Cracks knuckles. Okay. Let’s get sad. And experimental. Let’s get sad and experimental.

-

It’s not supposed to be like this.

Sanji, teeth clenched, glances at the man in his arms. Zoro, limp in Sanji’s arms, head lolling against Sanji’s chest, is so, so heavy in Sanji’s arms. He no longer has the strength in him to hold onto Sanji’s neck, and the only reassurance Sanji has that he isn’t already dead is his shallow breathing. That is little comfort to Sanji as he dashes towards Thousand Sunny, running as if Death itself is there to lay claim to his soul.

A sob catches in Sanji’s throat. “Almost there, Zoro,” he says, voice reduced to a whimper. “Almost there.”

Chopper, on all fours, can barely keep up with Sanji. The tactical side of Sanji’s mind registers Chopper looking over at him and saying something to him, but Sanji doesn’t have it within him to take in what is being said. All that matters is that Chopper is there with him and is aware of the situation. The less that Sanji has to worry about, the better. He’s barely managing as it is. Maybe Chopper’s offering to carry Zoro on his back, like he’d done when Sanji had first scooped the swordsman into his arms, cradling him like he would a small child. If Zoro were conscious, he’d object to being carried in such an undignified manner.

The thought does nothing to comfort Sanji, only grabs hold of the dull weight in his chest and squeezes.

“Please, Zoro,” Sanji says, choosing to keep his gaze on the ship, because if he looks back down at Zoro, sees the slight part in Zoro’s lips as he fights to breathe, sees the color drained out of his face, sees how small and young Zoro looks in this state, he might just come undone and give Chopper even more work. 

And Sanji needs to be strong. For Zoro.

Sanji bites down on another sob, crushing it between his teeth. “Please.”

It’s not supposed to be like this.

-

They make it to the ship. Sanji kicks himself up into the air and carries Zoro to Chopper’s office, leaving the ship’s doctor behind to catch up.

-

“Take off his shirt!” Chopper’s frantic cry. “It’s in the way. We need to stop the bleeding!”

Sanji, lips set in a grim line, strokes Zoro’s feverish face before he complies. He has to force himself to pay attention to the words coming out of Chopper’s mouth now.

-

“I need you to leave now, Sanji,” Chopper says, deathly calm.

“But don’t you need my help?” Sanji says.

“You’ve done all you can,” Chopper says as he works, his hooves steadier than Sanji’s hands would be in his place. “It’s up to me now.”

“But–”

“SAN-JI!” Chopper’s staring up at him like a cornered animal now. “YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BE ANY HELP TO ZORO IF YOU GET IN MY WAY!”

Sanji backs up a few steps, staring at Zoro, still pale, still small, still struggling to breathe. He swallows glass and turns. “Okay, Chopper. Okay.”

-

Sanji has relocated himself just outside of the medical bay, propped up against the wall, ready to jump to his feet as soon as Chopper walks out the door with news. He’s on his third cigarette now. He has his head tilted to look up at the sky, but he doesn’t take that vast blue in. 

He sees red.

Red. 

The flesh on Zoro’s abdomen was red and ripped and–

Sanji closes his eyes, suddenly aware of every atom that makes up his physical form vibrating. He brings a shaking hand up to his forehead, drags his palm down his face, as if he can wipe the images, the guilt, away.

No such luck.

The wave of despair and fear and self-loathing that hits Sanji is breathtaking in its size and devastation. It has Sanji curling in on himself, arms wrapping around his knees, face pressed into the material of his pants as he sobs and he screams and he screams and he screams and–

-

It’s not supposed to be like this.

It’s not supposed to be like this.

It’s not supposed to be like this.

It’s not supposed to be like this.

It’s not supposed to be like this.

-

“Sanji-kun?”

Sanji jolts awake, sees Nami standing over him. He should greet her, get to his feet so he can properly look her in the eye, but all he can do is sit there and stare. 

Nami gazes down at him, lips pulled down in a frown, brow creased with worry. She sighs and sits down next to him, folding her legs underneath her. “Zoro’s doing better,” she says, clasping her hands together around a knee.

Sanji opens his mouth to speak and finds that he can’t.

“The worst of it is over,” she continues. “Zoro’s just sleeping now.”

Sanji tries again to speak until he’s successful. “Why didn’t Chopper tell me?” His voice is small. He’s too tired to even be angry.

“He said you needed to rest,” Nami says. “Don’t be mad at him, Sanji-kun. You three have been through a lot today.”

Sanji shakes his head slowly. “I’m not the one who’s in a hospital bed right now, Nami-san.”

“Yeah, well…” She hesitates. Sanji can see her chewing the inside of her cheek. “Chopper told us how you were there when–” She stops when a strangled sound escapes through Sanji’s teeth.

Sanji grabs fistfuls of his hair, trembling next to Nami as he tries to hold it together. He can’t see her now that he has his eyes closed, but he feels her delicate hand on his shoulder and that only makes it worse. He doesn’t deserve this kindness, not when he’s the reason why Zoro’s like this in the first place.

But he says none of this to Nami.

The seconds of tense silence morph into minutes–or maybe no time has passed at all–before Nami finally speaks again. “You can go in there if you want,” she says. “Chopper says it’s okay.”

Sanji helps Nami to her feet. She stares at him solemnly before she pulls him into a hug. Sanji hesitates for a moment, too shocked to move, before he returns Nami’s embrace, closing his eyes and enjoying this small moment.

“It’s going to be okay, Sanji-kun,” Nami says. She sounds morose, but she doesn’t sound uncertain like Sanji has felt since Zoro fell in front of him. Sanji is grateful to Nami for her kindness, for her strength when he’s having a hard time feeling strong. “Zoro’s going to be okay.”

“Thank you, Nami-san,” Sanji says when they separate.

She puts on a small smile for him. “And don’t worry about dinner,” she says. Sanji blinks. He’d forgotten all about dinner, but one glance towards the medical bay is all he needs to quash any rising feelings of embarrassment within him. “Robin and Franky have it covered. And we’ll take care of breakfast, too. Just…go be with Zoro. Okay?”

Sanji stares at her, his lips parted, his heart swelling with emotions he can’t begin to name. “I… Thank you, Nami-san.”

Nami nods and she leaves, sending one more tiny smile his way before Sanji is alone again.

He gently pushes the door open, stepping quietly into the med bay. Chopper is gone, leaving Sanji alone with a sleeping Zoro. Zoro, with the entirety of his body wrapped in bandages beneath the neck, lies quietly on the cot. His color has returned and Sanji stands in the doorway and watches Zoro breathe, hypnotized by each rise and fall of his chest as his lungs take in and expel a full, healthy breath.

Sanji sniffs and walks over to the cot, falling to his knees next to Zoro. He grabs one of Zoro’s hands in his. Zoro doesn’t wake. Tears pooling, Sanji allows a small sobbing sound to leave him that is equal parts relieved and guilty. Holding Zoro’s hand in both of his, Sanji brings it to his lips and presses a kiss into the bandages.

“Hi,” he says to Zoro’s sleeping form. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

-

Sanji wakes to the feelings of Zoro’s fingers in his hair. Having fallen asleep kneeling in front of the cot, face in his crossed arms, Sanji’s face is warm as he sits up, sighing through his nose as his brain wakes up with the rest of him. He blinks and sees Zoro staring at him, tired smile on his lips.

“Hi, Cook,” Zoro says and it’s the most beautiful sound Sanji has ever heard.

Sanji blinks again. “H–” he starts to say, stops when he hears himself. He clears his throat and tries again. “Hi, Marimo.”

Zoro tries to sit up and immediately grimaces. 

Swallowing, Sanji gently presses his hand into Zoro’s chest, coaxing him into lying back down. “Don’t move.”

“Did–” Zoro begins. Sanji sits back against his heels, grabbing Zoro’s hand, staring at their interlocked fingers. “Did everyone make it out okay?”

“Yeah.” Sanji’s voice is so quiet he wonders if Zoro can hear him. “Yeah, everyone got out fine.”

Sanji hears Zoro shift on the small bed, hears it creak in protest as he sees Zoro let go of his hand. He looks up and sees that Zoro’s moved himself closer to the wall, leaving more room for him. Zoro gestures at the freed up space, then beckons Sanji to come closer.

Swallowing the weight in his throat, Sanji carefully joins Zoro, lying on his side to face him. They stare at each other in weighted silence. Sanji is content to stay like that, watching Zoro, listening to him draw in his next breath, but Zoro has other ideas. “Are you okay?” Zoro asks.

Sanji blinks. “You’re asking me that?”

“Yeah.”

Sanji shakes his head in disbelief. “Zoro, I’m not the one who’s laid up in bed.”

“Yeah, well.” Zoro shrugs, which is awkward while lying down. “I’m sure you’ve worked yourself into a frenzy over this.”

“‘Over this?’” Sanji sits up. “Zoro, I saw you fall. You–you didn’t get up. You could have died if Chopper–if I–”

Sanji exhales sharply, drags his fingers through his hair, which has seen better days. Zoro stares up at him, lays his hand against Sanji’s arm. Sanji sighs, leans into Zoro’s touch. “But I didn’t die,” Zoro says, like it’s that simple. “Isn’t that enough?”

“NOT WHEN I’M THE REASON WHY YOU ALMOST DIED!”

They stare at each other while Zoro tries to sit up. The pain sets in immediately, twisting Zoro’s face in agony as he tries to move. Sanji swallows and pushes down on Zoro’s shoulders, perhaps a little too roughly, and he grimaces as Zoro winces when his back hits the cot. “Lay down, idiot,” Sanji hisses. He sighs, stares down into his lap while Zoro wheezes next to him and the cold fingers of guilt close around Sanji’s heart.

“So that’s what this is all about,” Zoro says. “Cook, it’s not your fault.”

“Isn’t it?” Sanji says, staring at his limp hands. “If I had been paying better attention–”

“You were watching out for Nami.”

“If I’d been paying better attention,” Sanji repeats, firmly, looking into Zoro’s eye, “you wouldn’t have had to do what you did.”   

Zoro blinks. “I don’t regret what I did.”

Sanji sighs again, smooths down the curtain of hair hanging in his face. “I know you don’t.”

“Okay. So why are you so bent out of shape about it?”

Sanji looks at Zoro incredulously. He doesn’t know whether to strike Zoro for saying something so breathtakingly stupid, to light a cigarette, or to scream. “Zoro… Are you serious?”

“I did what I did,” Zoro explains. “And if it’d gotten me killed, then that means I wasn’t good enough.”

Sanji lunges, grabs hold of Zoro’s shoulders, grips him tight enough to bruise. “Don’t say that!” he shouts in Zoro’s face. “Don’t you ever say that again! Damn it, Zoro! You–you can’t treat your own life like it’s worth nothing!”

Zoro blinks. “Do you remember what I said when I fought Mihawk that first time?” he asks.

“I DON’T GIVE A SHIT! FUCK, ZORO!” Sanji shoves Zoro and sits back, staring back down into his lap. “You–I need you…to think about how it would affect me if you died. If you can’t do that for yourself then, shit, do it for me.”

Sanji looks back up into Zoro’s eye when the swordsman says nothing. It’s needy and selfish of Sanji to say this, but if it can get Zoro to care about his life, even just a little bit, then he doesn’t care. If it keeps Zoro alive, then he doesn’t care.

Zoro takes in a few more breaths. Sanji lays his hand on Zoro’s chest, watches as it moves up and down as Zoro breathes in and out. “Okay,” Zoro says. “Then I’ll get stronger. For us.”

Sanji lets out a sound. He’s not sure if it’s a laugh or a sob. He hides behind his hand as he tries to smother the sounds coming from him. He curls in on himself, shoulders trembling as the dam breaks and there is nothing he can do to stop it.

“Cook.” A hand on his arm. “Cook. Lay down.”

Sanji has enough presence of mind to obey, lying down on his side, back facing Zoro. A familiar set of arms wrap around Sanji and pull him closer until he’s pressed up against Zoro’s chest. “I-I can’t stop, Zoro,” Sanji sobs.

“It’s okay, Sanji,” Zoro murmurs near Sanji’s ear. “It’s okay.”

Eyes shut tight, Sanji clamps his hand over his mouth, not wanting to alert the rest of the crew because right now he can hardly tolerate Zoro seeing him in this state. He’s so close to Zoro, feels his warmth, but it does nothing to stop the sounds from coming out of Sanji. He has no choice but to ride this out, to live with the knowledge that Zoro’s dream had almost come to an abrupt, senseless end because of a careless mistake on Sanji’s part. So Sanji, pressed against Zoro on the hospital bed, failing to stifle his crying, vows in that moment that he'll get stronger so Zoro never has to worry about him again.

[visualfallacy]

Go the Fuck to Sleep

For a while, when it was just the two of them, that was that. And then came Nami and Usopp and Sanji, and everyone else after that, and Luffy had clearly started something, because somehow one of the things that Zoro always learned about his new crewmates was when they slept, and when they didn’t.

Companion (sort of) to my fic Sleep is a Beast, Polar and Bear.

Usopp’s first night on the Going Merry involved very little sleep at all, since both Luffy and Usopp were way too excited, but in the following days Zoro learned that Usopp was a very restless sleeper.

Given Usopp’s story-telling and his general outlook on life, Zoro was thoroughly unsurprised to learn that their new sniper had fairly frequent bad dreams, during which he, also unsurprisingly, yelled and thrashed. When Zoro laid a hand on his shoulder to wake him up, Usopp would then jerk awake, wide-eyed and frantic. But he also calmed down fairly quickly, the solid unjudging presence of Zoro and the quiet creak of the ship restoring normality to Usopp’s world – as much as there ever was.

He also talked. A lot. Because of this Zoro knew that mostly, Usopp’s nightmares had to do with giant flesh-eating plants, or poisonous glass spiders, or enormous sniper-crushing babies. Some of these terrors fuelled the stories Usopp told to Luffy, and later on Chopper, suitably embellished with Usopp’s own bravery. The bad dreams ramped up after any particularly nasty fight, but would always settle down afterward, and Usopp seemed to regard them as fair trade for a healthy, active imagination. Zoro learned that once Usopp had given the dreams voice, and set them apart from his own personal terrors, they held no power over him.

So when Usopp babbled, Zoro listened.

---

Sanji – the asshole – kicked. On the cook’s first night on the Going Merry he had thrashed so much during a bad dream that he’d fallen out of his hammock. While this was admittedly amusing to Zoro, it was hilarious to Luffy and Usopp, who had howled with laughter and Sanji had then made everyone, including Zoro, suffer as a result.

Unfortunately any attempt on Zoro’s part to calm the cook during his bad dreams had resulted in countless bruises on Zoro’s thighs and arms from Sanji’s restless – and stupidly fucking powerful – legs.

Now, though, Zoro knew to leave those sorts of dreams well enough alone. When Sanji had room to fight, Zoro knew he was gonna be fine. All Zoro would need to do was deliver a sharp poke to Sanji’s back through the mesh of the hammock or, later on, thump the underside of Sanji’s bunk hard enough to rattle the frame. Sanji would wake with a start, deliver a glare with half-lidded eyes, or sleepily curse Zoro, and then he would roll over, and go back to sleep. Problem solved.

It was the other sort of dream that Zoro had to watch out for – when Sanji was curled into the foetal position so tightly that in the morning watching him unfurl was painful, for all the stiff muscles and cracking joints. Zoro never asked what caused those dreams – like hell Sanji would ever share something like that with him – but he knew they were far worse than the others, if only because they made Sanji’s spirit go sad and small, and then Zoro would be reaching for his swords before he realised what he was doing.

The first time one of those dreams happened, it interrupted Zoro on the way back from appropriating a midnight snack from the larder. Zoro looked down at Sanji’s tense and unhappy form with a frown. Then, following some half-formed thought, waved his half-eaten sandwich under the cook’s nose. Sanji, ever so slightly, uncurled.

Which led to Zoro sitting at the galley table, surrounded by small piles of herbs, squares of muslin nicked from Chopper’s bandage stores, and pieces of string. As Zoro clumsily tied the small bundles of herbs closed, struggling to knot the piece of string with large fingers, a distant part of him pointed out that he was a grown man, and this was a fucking ridiculous activity.

Zoro ignored the voice and resorted to using his teeth to tighten the knot. He wondered how long it’d take the herbs to loose their scent, and whether Sanji would notice the infrequent pilfering of his rosemary. Or if Sanji would notice the bundles tied discreetly above his hammock, wedged in the nearby wall, and buried in his pillow.

Whatever. Sanji slept better from then on, and Zoro would deny any involvement to his dying breath.

--

Nami had this stubborn thing about what she called a ‘proper sleep schedule’. Zoro supposed it was some sort of hopeless attempt to introduce a sense of grounding into the pretty shitty life she had led under Arlong. In practice, what it meant was that when Nami had nightmares she didn’t just give up and stay awake like a normal person (Zoro), but tried to get back to sleep. Which would get her stuck in a loop of nightmares that, for the continuous waking up and low-level dozing, had her trapped in a hellish half-lucid world that was dark and unforgiving.

It felt shitty to Zoro – as he stood outside Nami’s door, a couple of nights after she joined the crew proper – and he could only imagine what it must be like to live it. Unfortunately, Zoro couldn’t just walk in there. Nami had very strict rules about privacy which, while mostly for Sanji’s benefit, apparently still applied to the rest of the male crew – and Zoro was not going to betray Nami’s fragile trust like that.

All Zoro could do was try and interrupt the cycle by making enough noise outside Nami’s door to wake her up enough that the next time Nami fell asleep it was, hopefully, dreamless.

Not too much noise – because then she’d yell at him (though that worked too) – but weight training on the directly adjacent deck worked; as did jumping jacks (which Zoro, personally, loathed, but – sacrifices); bouncing Usopp’s hideously annoying rubber balls against the wall (which during the day Zoro would have personally fed to the sniper through sheer irritation); and a variety of other odd pursuits that, if Nami were thinking clearly, she would have perhaps stopped to question.

Anyway, they seemed to provide enough proof of an outside world that Nami could shake off whatever it was that was giving her night terrors – probably Arlong, that asshole, and Zoro was deeply thankful Luffy had punched the damn fish into oblivion – and get some actual rest.

---

Chopper was scared of monsters – not the normal ones in the closet or under his bed, but the ones he sometimes turned himself into. When the monsters rose up in Chopper’s sleep, Zoro could feel them too, looming in the back of consciousness and namelessly threatening Zoro and the people Zoro loved, his new nakama and Doctrine and Hilulik-

Which is how Zoro knew Chopper was slipping into a nightmare; other people’s ghosts had always had a way of sticking to Zoro. Yet another reason to chase away his friend’s nightmares.

The nightmares left the littlest doctor trembling violently in his smallest form, trying desperately to be brave but clearly terrified by the residual terrors his mind had conjured up. Zoro honestly found this situation pretty easy to fix, because all it involved was – and there was no other word for this – cuddling.

It’s fine, Zoro told himself determinately, Totally Manly, because his crewmate needed him and he could meditate just fine with a ball of fur in his lap as without.

---

Robin, who was perhaps the only member of the crew who had as many sleepless nights as Zoro, seemed to have perfected the cat nap. Zoro wasn’t entirely sure what it was in her past that gave her such bad insomnia, and seeing as it made her damn near suicidal Zoro was just gonna go ahead and adopt Luffy’s standard Don’t Ask Don’t Tell position when it came to his crewmate’s past. So Robin grabbed sleep at random times, an hour here and there when nothing much was happening and was unlikely to happen. Zoro got the feeling that the habit had been developed over years of practice, and it was not going to change soon. Sometimes Robin napped at night, but she never slept for more than a few hours at a stretch.

Once though, she did, accidentally.

One night, not too long after Water 7, Zoro was halfway through a set that even he was starting to get bored with, when something caused him to jerk with sudden alarm towards the door of the crow’s nest. There stood Robin, pale and somehow… less, than usual. Zoro had seen her enter the women’s quarters at the same time as the rest of the crew went to bed, to catch a few hours sleep like she usually did before she woke and spent the rest of the night reading. Zoro rapidly surmised that Robin must not have woken up after two or three hours like usual, but had slept for – Zoro squinted at the position of the moon, visible out the windows – maybe five hours.

And fucked if Zoro knew what to do with this one, having little experience with Robin specifically and women in general. But all Robin did was walk – stiffly, like a puppet – to one of the benches against the wall and sit down. Her face was shadowed, but she waved one arm vaguely at Zoro. Zoro took this as an indication he should resume his set, which he did out of a lack of anything better to do. After a while, the tight, awful feeling that wound around Robin like a coiled spring eased, and the tense lines of her body softened slightly. The simplicity and rhythm of Zoro’s training routine had seemed to help, somehow.

After that, Zoro had clocked Robin’s naps, and anytime one stretched to anything more than three hours he made sure to do something loud in her vicinity. It probably wasn’t necessary, but it made him feel better.

---

Franky built the Sunny with enough bunks for all of them, but he himself was easily twice the size of any of them. Zoro wondered about this, until the night he took a wrong turn. The Merry’s replacement was much larger and unexpectedly unfamiliar, and Zoro was looking for the cellar for a night-cap when he found the engine room instead. The engine room, and Franky, who was dead asleep and snoring, partly curled around something that to Zoro's untrained eyes might have be a boiler. Subsequent, less accidental, excursions to the engine room in the quiet hours of the night satisfied Zoro that Franky was generally a heavy and undisturbed sleeper.

Until, that is, one of those rare nights spent ashore. The small town welcomed any ship that looked like it might perk up their island’s economy, including pirate ships. The Straw Hats spent a fun day causing minor havoc – well, Luffy did – and then found themselves passable accommodation to spend the night. Franky tried to slip off back to the Sunny, but Nami pinned him with a glare and said that if she was forking out for the luxury, then everyone was going to damn well enjoy it. Franky’s shoulders tensed, but he laughed like it was no big deal.

Zoro frowned. He didn’t buy it.

And so at least one of them was entirely unsurprised when Zoro and Franky plowed into each other at two a.m. in a darkened hallway.

It was of course Zoro who was left rubbing the sore spot on his head (because Franky was made of metal), but he wasn’t surprised.

“Zoro!” Franky said sheepishly. “Don’t suppose you know where the can is in this place?”

Zoro shrugged, his nose and left eyebrow still smarting. “Outside, in the back alley.”

“Cool, thanks bro.” Franky started to head off. “Goodnight!”

Uh huh. Zoro waited a few minutes, and then followed Franky downstairs into the deserted dining area.

He joined Franky at a small table. The cyborg dwarfed the furniture in the room; he looked like an adult sitting at the kid’s table.

Franky didn’t look surprised to see Zoro joining him. He reached down and popped open his chest – revealing that most of the storage space was used for cola – and pulled out a pack of cards.

“Poker, blackjack?” Franky offered.

Zoro wouldn’t have had the first fucking idea. “How about Go Fish?”

Franky laughed at that and dealt out the cards.

They were several rounds in when Franky rolled his shoulders with a noise like sliding metal. Zoro waited.

“Can’t usually sleep off-ship,” Franky said, eyes on his cards.

Doesn’t want to, Zoro mentally translated. But he merely said, “Any sevens?”

“Go fish,” Franky said. “It’s weird, you know? Like I lie down and all of a sudden everything’s itchin’ and achin’, phantom limbs and organ rejection and shit. Any Jacks?”

“Go fish,” Zoro said, also keeping his eyes on the cards. “It doesn’t happen during the day?”

“Nah,” Franky said, drawing a card from the stack, and matching four cards out from his hand. “Doesn’t happen on-board my girl, either."

Zoro made a thoughtful noise. "Kings?” Franky handed over two cards.

They played a few more rounds without further conversation.

“Sunny,” Franky murmured, as the stack got lower, “Sunny, she keeps me human.”

And afterwards, on those away-nights – ashore, away from Sunny – Zoro and Franky whiled away the evenings with conversation, cards, and cola.

--

When Brook joined the crew, Zoro fully expected to add another regular stop to his nightly nightmare-be-gone patrol, because boy was that some tragic backstory. But after several hours of skeleton jokes, Zoro started to wonder. He found a time to corner Brook and straight up ask him.

“Do you even need to sleep?”

Brook somehow managed to look sheepish, despite his complete lack of facial muscles. “Well, yes and no, Mr Swordsman.”

Zoro scowled at him, because his question was a little more meaningful than ‘can you poop?’ and sleep was an issue near and dear to his heart.

Brook hastened to explain. “I do not need to sleep, but sometimes I find it highly beneficial to do so.”

“You mean, to give your consciousness a break?” Zoro asked uncertainly, not entirely sure he wanted to follow that particular train of thought down its tunnel.

“Yes, exactly!” Brook beamed toothily at him. “Yohohoho,” he added, encouragingly.

Zoro still wasn’t happy despite Brook’s ineffable and slightly manic optimism, because Zoro had just added ‘ghost ship’ together with ‘permanently conscious’ and come up with ‘Not Good’. He resolved to keep an eye on Brook in any case.

It turned out that Brook didn’t sleep so much as switch off. Quite frankly it had creeped Zoro out, the first time he’d checked on the musician, because when he was unconscious Brook looked like, well, a skeleton. And nothing more – like Zoro could just pick up one of Brook’s bones and he would fall apart or crumble to dust. On the upside, it also seemed to be that when Brook’s consciousness took a hike, his subconsciousness went with it, which meant no nightmares as far as Zoro could tell. Zoro wondered how long it had taken Brook to learn that trick, on a ship full of dead nakama, and suspected that as much as Brook’s ‘sleep’ was restful now, it hadn’t been for a long, long time.

---

Sometime in the gap between Thriller Bark and Sabaody Zoro wonders how many more people Luffy’s going to adopt into his crew. He hopes it’s less than five – there are only so many hours in a night.

---

There's kind of a part 2 on AO3

[grimtwin]

Favorite ZoNa moments?

All of them of course!

Their first time meeting! Zoro saves Nami from Buggy’s crew as they made to attack her for refusing to kill Luffy. Fending off something like five or six attackers easily, Zoro casually asks her if she’s okay. 

Then on Usopp’s island, where Nami and Zoro are trapped behind an oil slick. Nami steps on Zoro so she can safely cross, while Zoro gets stuck. A short while later, when a couple of Zoro’s are taken from him, Nami tries to retrieve them. Even after taking a brutal hit from Jango, she’s able to kick Zoro’s swords to him, which kind of annoys him, but she has this cheeky, “is that how you thank someone?” line, and Zoro gives her his thanks, before whooping ass. That and his terrified reactions every time she’s attacked during this fight with the Black Cat Pirates.

Then we jump to Arlong Park for a few more scenes. This is one of the biggest shipping moments for the two, for a lot of fans. After getting nearly bisected by Mihawk, Zoro’s pretty banged up, and gets taken prisoner by Arlong’s crew. After some cheeky back and forth between Zoro and Nami, Arlong says some pretty fucked up things about Nami being a cold hearted witch who would even forget Bell-mere’s murder for money, which clearly upsets Nami. That doesn’t go unnoticed by Zoro, who then throws himself into the water. He’s bound at the legs, with his hands tied behind his back, and one of the most gruesome wounds we’ve ever seen in OP...so no way is he getting out of that. Until Nami dives into the water and drags him back up that is. Kudos to Nami’s strength here btw, she’s gotta be strong as hell to do that. Anyway, Zoro calls Nami’s bluff here, telling her he knew that she couldn’t have let him die and to stop acting cool which infuriates her enough to stomp on his back. She then asks why he has so many bandages on, and in the English dub, he flirts a bit by saying he didn’t have another shirt and didn’t want Nami to be distracted by his chest/abs, to which she immediately punches him as hard as she can in his Mihawk wound.

After a dramatic flashback and Nami stabbing her arm to slice away the Arlong tattoo, Luffy and the crew go to kick Arlong’s ass. It’s here were we get the next short, but sweet moment that I like. Zoro’s wound has been hit a few times, he’s got a stupid high fever, is damn near dead on his feet at this point, but he’s fighting Arlong in order to give Sanji and Nojiko time to save Luffy’s life. He gives Nami a thumbs up, saying he’s good, but in his weakened state, Arlong gets the better of Zoro, and is holding him by the throat. Its then that Arlong tears away Zoro’s bandages, and that’s when he, Nami, and the rest of Cocoyashi’s villagers see just how fucked up Zoro is right now. Zoro’s got this death glare that startles Arlong to his core, Nami’s lets out a horrified gasp, and Arlong knows he has to kill Zoro here and now because it’ll be too dangerous to let him live. Well...that is until Luffy finally shows up, freed from his stone prison at the bottom of the ocean, grabs Zoro by the shirt color, and throws him several hundred yards to the back of his head lol. 

I suppose the next instance would be at Whiskey Peak. The crew has just made it to the Grande Line, and survive a hellish wave of storms...all thanks to Nami, and no thanks to Zoro, who was napping. When he wakes up, Zoro is interrogating Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9, who jumped on their ship, and just when he’s about to uncover some secret, Nami shows up and beats Zoro’s head in. She’s pissed he was sleeping during all the chaos, and even though Zoro tries to get tough with her, she just beats him some more. We all know who wears the pants...or short skirt in that relationship. Later, the crew are happily welcomed into Whiskey Peak’s village, where a massive party is thrown for them by the villagers. The crew is having a grand ol’ time, drinking eating, partying their asses off and we see both Nami and Zoro engaging in a drinking contest. Zoro “goes down” around the 13th tankard of booze, while Nami “goes down” around the 15th. It’s then that we learn that the village is one of 100 Bounty Hunters, who aim to kill/capture pirates making their way into the Grand Line. Just as they unveil their big secret, Zoro appears on top of a house, in one of the most bad ass moments of his up to this point in the series. He was faking being drunk, saying no way would he trust a village welcoming pirates into their midst. He then announces he knows they are Baroque Works, and proceeds to beat the shit out of the entire village in a dope ass fight.

And after that tussle, Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine’s Day show up! It seems they have an intruder in their organization, and it’s Miss Wednesday, aka Princess Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta! They’re on the hunt when Mr. 8 pleads with Zoro to go save her, as he is actually Igaram, Vivi’s royal guard. It’s then that Nami appears, agreeing to help Vivi..but at the cost of one billion beri! Zoro questions what she’s doing there when Nami says the same thing he did earlier, that she couldn’t trust a town welcoming pirates, and that she could handle way more booze! These two are can handle their drink alright. Nami and Igaram negotiate, and after coming to terms, Nami commands Zoro to go save Vivi! He immediately refuses until Nami counters that her contracts are HIS contracts as well, and that Zoro still owes her payment for the money she lent him at Loguetown. She guilt trips the ever loving hell out of him, and Zoro has no choice but to run off and save Vivi. 

Now we’re at Little Garden, the isle of giants and dinosaurs. The Straw Hats food reserves are low at this point, so Zoro and Sanji decide to have a contest of who can bring back the bigger dinosaur and most meat, very much like Dory and Brogy did 100 years prior. After some running around, Zoro kills his prey and is trying to make it back to the ship when he gets lost; big surprise right? During his search for the ship, he suddenly sees Nami leaning against a tree and happily calls out to her with a big ol’ smile on his face...but cut to black. It was all a trap set up by Mr. 3! A wax dummy of Nami, who has now captured Zoro, Nami, and Vivi! More stuff happens with the other characters, before we’re shown that Nami, Zoro, and Vivi are attached to this big candle with a spinning top that, as it melts, will spray a wax coating over the trapped victims, turning them into statues. Zoro being cool as shit, decides that if they’re just going to die as statues, he’ll cut his feet off and go kill Mr. 3 before this can happen. Just as he goes to do this, an action which horrifies both ladies at his side, Luffy, Usopp, and Carue show up, and Zoro stops about half way through his legs. The pooling blood freaks Nami out, who berates him. A short while later, things are looking bad for Luffy, Usopp, and Carue, so Zoro decides if he’s going to become a statue, he’s going to strike a cool pose. Again Nami gets angry with him, and Zoro jokes with her that she should have taken a better pose too. All three, plus Brogy are completely encased and wax...until Usopp, Luffy, and Carue set them on fire! The wax melts, Zoro, Nami, and Vivi burst out of the towering flames, and take out Ms. Valentine’s Day and Mr. 5 in one shot! 

Next, we fast forward to the Alabasta Kingdom. For years, Shichibukai and leader of Baroque Works, Sir Crocodile, has engulfed the country in a civil war, all for the goal of gaining access to a poneglyph, a stone with the location of an ancient weapon known has Pluton, carved into it. And under his employee are the assassins partners Mr.1, Daz Bones, and Miss Doublefinger, Zala. During all the chaos of the final battle, these two would become Zoro and Nami’s opponents, tricked into following the Straw Hats away from Princess Vivi. Zoro tells Nami to stay quiet and hide, but it’s the assassins golden rule to take out those that are weakest first, so they immediately go to attack Nami. Just before Mr. 1 is about to cut her down, Zoro comes to her defense just in the nick of time once more! (In the anime he gives her a cocky grin) The two separate to take care of their own battles, both bloody and brutal, and after Zoro and Nami prevail, Zoro collapses in the street in need of a nap from blood loss. Nami finds him soon after and smacks him awake, but since she’s had her foot and leg stabbed through by Miss Doublefinger’s needles, she can’t walk to well, and gets a piggy back ride from Zoro as they search for Vivi and their friends. 

Onward to Jaya! This one is short and sweet. After Luffy and Zoro take a massive beating from Bellamy and his crew, a fight that held no meaning for the Straw Hats so they just didn’t counter, Nami is thoroughly pissed at for being mocked and made a fool of. Later on, when Luffy goes to confront Bellamy for stealing Norland’s gold, Nami asks Zoro why he didn’t go with Luffy to fight. A small, but cute, argument breaks out between the two. They fight like an old married couple! Just get hitched already dammit!

Further still, it’s up to Skypiea! Here we have a lot of good moments between the two. After Pagaya and the people of Skypiea rat the Straw Hats out to Eneru, the Going Merry is attacked and dragged off by some massive sky shell fish. And on the ship, are Robin, Chopper, Zoro, and Nami, where they’re carried to an area  where they are meant to be used as sacrifices for Eneru and his warriors. While trying to leave the sacrificial alter, the crew is attacked by Sky Sharks, which try to eat Zoro right away. He gets soaked during the scuffle to kill the sharks, and strips his shirt off, to which Nami goes into his room and then tosses him a new, dry one. Nami warns Zoro that God and the guardian priests are in the forest and are too strong to compete with, but Zoro tells her he’s never prayed to any god because he doesn’t believe him him. Chopper thinks this is cool as hell, and Nami cries, saying she doesn’t know Zoro lol. So Nami, Robin, and Zoro leave the alter to go check some things out, and during their trip, some delightful arguing and banter takes place, and Zoro saves Nami from several sky sharks and a sky alligator trying to devour her. He had been taking the lead on their journey but slowed down to walk behind Nami so he could protect her more easily.

Later on, during a hellish battle set up by Eneru, involving his forces, the Straw Hat Pirates, and the Shandian Warriors, Zoro are fighting alongside with the gargantuan sky snake Norla. In the ensuing chaos, Norla swallows Nami and Aisha appear in the midst of the battle, and are attacked by some goat men under Eneru’s command. Zoro, Wiper, and Gan Fall protect them...but soon after, Gan Fall, Nami, and Aisha are immediately swallowed by Norla. In a fit of anger, shock, and urgency to save Nami, Zoro tries to swiftly deal with his opponents at the time, Ohm and Holy, who activate a cage of iron cloud barbed wire to trap the combatants inside, while also fending off Wiper’s attacks. After defeating Ohm and Holy, the ground beneath his feet is blown away by Eneru and everyone falls to an area below. In all that, Norla spits up Gan Fall, Nami, but then Eneru attacks the snake, and fries it with a massive electrical attack. Zoro, seeing this, is terrified for Nami, until she pokes her head out from behind a rock, revealing that she’s fine. Zoro almost looks annoyed that he was caught looking so scared.

I could continue on, but this is crazy long as is...so this is a good stopping point!

[laromurl]

One Piece Fanfiction

Zoro Roronoa x Nila Faurgard (OC)

A/N: this is just part one of I don't know how many.

Nila heaved in and out trying to control her rushing heart but the pain of her missing arm was too much. Her head was buzzing. Blood and dirt blurred her vision. She stumbled from tree to tree trying to get away from that maniac but all she could muster was keeling over on her knees, begging for her father to return. How could he leave her? How could he look her in the eye and order Fro to keep going? Her own father threw her to the sharks.

She didn't know what island she was on and the sea prism cuffs were cutting off her fruit powers. She had no way to defend herself. She let herself become too confident against a warlord but this time Ace nor her father were here to save her. He was right. She was too weak. Too stupid and arogant. And now she was going to die.

Nila made it towards edge of the forest. Her head was burning hot and she was caughing out blood, she was weaving in and out of consciousness. She suspected she had a few broken ribs.

She stumbled closer to the clearing of the shore and toppled over when her legs couldn't hold her up. The ghost of her right arm was in defeaning pain and she was slipping more and more in to unconsciousness. She was closer to giving up than ever before.

Fuck you father. I'll kill you. Her eyes rolled back and she fell on her face.

"Oi, Sanji. Is that a girl crawling towards us?"

Nila heard the voice and looked up to find a couple of figures running towards her bombarding her with questions. Her vision was too blurry to tell how many or who it was. But she didn't care. Worst case scenerio they would finish off what Doflamingo started.

"H-Help m-me." She managed to whisper and passed out.

Her saviors were Sanji, Nami, Franky, and Usopp from the Strawhat Pirates. They had just landed on that island expecting to find some resources.

They approached her carefully, Nami calling for the girl to be okay. She didn't know what to do but she knew they couldn't just leave this half dead girl in an island that had just been invaded by Navy. She probably was their victim. She turned to the boys. "Let's take her to Sunny." She turned to Franky to ask him to pick her up but he was already kneeling. "Do you think she was the one the Navy was here for?" He asked.

"I don't know. But..."

"She is dieing. The Navy just left." Sanji finished.

Usopp protested, jumping back from Franky and the girl. "Eh. Wait wait, what if she's one of those navy soldiers? This could be a trap!"

Sanji brushed Nila's blood plastered hair to the side and thought for a second. He noticed she was a beautiful girl so his concern for her multiplied incredibly. "She's harmless." He cooed making the others roll their eyes.

Franky picked her up carefully and ran with her to Sunny. She was losing so much blood. Her hand dropped from Franky's arm and Nami saw the sea prism cuff. "I don't think she is with the Navy." She said pointing out her wrist.

Noone said anything until they got back on the ship and presented her to Chopper. "Ehhh!!! Who is she?" He asked. He hurried to get the room ready for her. Her breathing was already getting low.

"We found her in the forest by the abandoned city. Can you save her?" Nami was concerned.

Luffy and the others were already running back to the ship as soon as Nami called Zoro and Robin.

Of course, Luffy asked about the mysterious girl as he was trying to butt into the room but Chopper held a strict no coming in policy while he worked on her.

While they waited for a few hours outside the room, Chopper worked on Nila nonstop. He didn't have an arm to reattach so he cleaned her wound and sewed it. She had lost an incredible amount of blood it was surprising that she was still alive but it was a good thing, there was someone else from the crew with the same blood type.

Chopper used his transponder to call for Zoro. He was relunctant but he complied when Nami persuaded him with a few head slaps. He didn't know this woman so he grumbled all the way into the room.

"Thank you." Chopper smiled. "She will thank you I'm sure." He pointed at the girl in the bed and Zoro's face went pale.

He knew this girl. She's alive! Just barely but with his help she would be okay.

Zoro grimaced and held his arm out for chopper. "Can she be saved?" The worry in his tone was subtle but Chopper caught onto it.

Chopper prepped Zoro's arm and nodded. "Zoro, you know her?"

Zoro watched her carefully. Her face was scrunched in pain and the blood was still over her eyes but he nodded. "Her name is Nila Faurgard. She's a pirate. I thought she was dead."

Chopper attached him to the IV and made sure he was okay before going out an conveying this news to the rest of the crew.

The last name Faurgard rang a few bells among a couple of the older members. "Faurgard used to be the name of the warlord from twenty years ago." Robin pointed out.

"Yes I remember." Brook laughed not out of hilarity. "He was a cruel warlord. He killed a bunch of Navy men because the Navy didn't let him kill some civilians that went against his order. He's a terrible man." He added shaking his head.

"And the girl in there is his daughter?" Nami asked. Her concern wasn't for their safety but for Nila's.

"I told you she could be dangerous!" Usopp didn't waste a second to freak out about her.

"She's not dangerous." Franky butted in. He had his eyes closed and was shaking his head. "She is always running away from her father. She used to come to water 7 and ask for help but noone wanted to fight Nero. After a while she never returned. We assumed the poor child was dead. There was a rumor that her father turned her brother in to the Navy to prove a point to her."

"Not even the Navy want to touch her." Brook added. "Nero Faurgard has become a nuisance more than a threat."

"Zoro seems to care." Chopper pointed out. "He seemed 'worked up' when he saw her."

The others said nothing. It wasn't odd to see Zoro worried about someone, specially his friends, but it was always intimidating. He almost always was going to fight someone but Nila had run the Navy off this island.

After a few hours the crew dispersed and went back to sea. No further words had been exchanged about Nila but she was on everyone's mind. Just how powerful is she? Would her father attack them to get her back? Does she really not have an arm?

Nila was still unconcious three days later. Chopper, under Zoro's watch, kept an eye on her arm for infections. Zoro didn't want to be there when she woke up and so spent most of his day guarding her room from the outside. He wanted to make sure that she wouldn't attack them. The only people who were allowed go in the room would be Chopper, Sanji, and Nami.

Three more days passed and she was no longer in peril but she had a high fever and had yet to wake up. In the middle of the night, she began to shake and talk loudly in her sleep that it woke up Zoro from his nap. He went in, not wanting to wake an exhausted Chopper, and changed her bandages. That calmed her down a bit.

He replaced the towel on her forehead and dried her face off from the sweat. Zoro looked at her face a little longer than usual. He had never done this but if he had just taken the time to really pay attention he would have seen this woman. The one who wanted to get away from her life. He could have seen the strength in her heart.

He noticed all the scars he had left her throughout their many encounters. The scar on her left cheek was barely visible now and the one above her left eye was really light. He remembers the fights where he gave those to her.

Now that she was with them, she felt responsible for her. She had asked him to save her multiple times and all he did was try to turn her away. He clenched his teeth becoming frustrated with himself. He shouldn't be feeling so guilty.

He didn't understnad why it was affecting him so much but she was alive. He should have believed Nila all those years ago.

Nila grumbled in her sleep before her eyes fluttered slowly. She opened them. She was in the dark, confused and dazed. A dim candle stood on the stand beside her, poorly lighting the man that sat there. She stood up too quickly once she realized who it was and fell over the bed in trying to use her non exitant arm.

"Faurgard! Don't move." Zoro scorned. He picked her up, holding her carefully even though he was irriated with her and the feelings she provoked in him.

"Let go of me...Roronoa." She managed to say between heaves of breath. She still wasn't good. Her head was killing her and her arm opened again sending a throbbing pulse through her shoulder. She bit her tongue to stop her whimpers. Zoro was a pirate hunter as far as she knew, even if he hadn't caught her before, he didn't help.

"Let me..."

"Oi, Zoro what are you doing to my patient!?" Chopper bellowed. He had heard the commotion and immediately ran down to look. He wasn't pleased finding Nila in his arms, half dazed with blood soaking through the bandaids.

"She fell." He threw her on the bed. This time not careful. "Take care of her." He humphed on his way out. He took his seat guarding the door again.

[petite-neko]

Stability - 2

Fanfiction: Stability Story Summary: It wasn’t because he was self-conscious or ashamed. No, it was because he was afraid. His greatest fear was being alone after all. Characters: Luffy, Zoro, Chopper, Nami, Ace, Sabo, Law Pairing: Eventual LawLu Rating: T Warnings: Swearing, AU/UA, canon-typical violence, angst A/N: Here’s part 2. When I’m coherent I’ll work on part 3

.xxx. = Time/scene skip

.+++. = PoV change

Read on Ao3

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

“These are for you Luffy.”

Vivi was smiling at him, her outstretched arms holding a few wrapped items.

Luffy blinked, tilting his head. “For me?”

That smile widened and Nami came up behind Vivi as well. She had that somewhat scary smile on her face – that one that knew everything. But, in this case it wasn’t that scary. They both nodded.

So he didn’t wait any longer, taking the gifts and tore off the wrapping. Clothes. They were clothes of some sort – like sleeveless shirts but… short.

Nami came up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You can use these instead of the bandages. We asked Chopper, and he said they’re fine and to use them like you use your bandages.” She was smiling at him. “So don’t wear them all the time. And you can put them on yourself, instead of coming to one of us to do it.”

And Luffy just stared at the gift.

Vivi was still smiling down at him. “And if you break all of them, just send me a message, as I know you fight all the time.” She said with a soft laugh. “I can always get you some more somehow.”

“Thank you!” He laughed, feeling tears in his eyes and wrapped the two of them in his arms.

.+++.

They always ensured to just let each of their new crew members know eventually about everything. Mostly it was because they kept getting into more and more dangerous situations, and they couldn’t afford to risk a shocking discovery in the middle of a battle. Of course, everybody took it with ease. Nobody had a problem with it.

The general populace never knew. There were a select few people that knew, such as those who knew Luffy before he set out to become a pirate (Ace, the Redhair Pirates, Luffy’s hometown), and then there was the doctor from Nami’s hometown. Vivi and Carue knew as well, being there when Luffy had admitted it to the crew. (Not to mention Vivi was unofficially a Strawhat, even if she couldn’t be with them.) Bon Kurei, too, knew. But mostly that was because of his devil fruit, and he made no comments or judgements on Luffy either. Nor, did it seem, did he reveal Luffy’s secret, even when they were enemies or captured by the Marines.

And, in Water 7, they found out that Luffy’s grandfather also knew. And supportive to boot. Just not in the case of his piracy.

If they found anybody who had been opposed to their captain – well, the Strawhats would ensure that they paid.

.+++.

He woke up, finding himself surrounded by women. He could hear them mumbling things, but he didn’t quite understand it. His head hurt…

…Where was he?

“…doing here?”

“…mushrooms.”

“…she doing alright?”

“Oh, she’s waking up.”

Luffy sat himself up. What had happened? …Wait a minute

He was naked!

“Where are my clothes!”

He quickly brought up his knees to cover himself. Shit. Shit. Shit. A bunch of strangers just…

(He could hear them, all talking about him. No. Not him. Her. they said. She they whispered. That girl.)

“Shut up! Shut up!” He demanded, covering his ears.

Finally, somebody brought him a blanket and covered him up. He was trembling, and all he could hear was those words. Those words that described somebody that he wasn’t.

“G-Give me my shirts back. Please.”

“What’s wrong, young one?”

Luffy looked up at the only one that hadn’t referred to him incorrectly. Her voice was thick with an accent, and she made some sounds that resembled a cat.

“Give me my shirts back!” He demanded. And his pants too. But his shirts first.

The old woman gestured with her staff and a single shirt was brought over. It wasn’t the outer layer, but the inner one. Well, that one was the most important one at least.

“Your other one was destroyed and in tatters.”

Luffy quickly snatched it before putting it on, letting the blanket cover his lower half.

(There. That was better. Much better.)

“You seem calmer now.” The old woman noted.

Yes, yes of course he was. His top was dealt with. Not to mention these women around him had stopped their chatter and whisperings. And so he nodded.

“Hmm….” And then the old woman leaned in, closely looking at his face. Her head tilted, hand going up to her chin. “So, tell me what brought you here.” There was a pause and she continued to look at him. “Girl.”

Luffy flinched and narrowed his eyes. “I’m not a girl!”

(All the women around him were talking again. Saying stuff like how and why and what and just asking questions all to themselves.)

The old woman held her hand up, clearing her throat.

“Boy, then, is it?”

(There were gasps all around, but a stern gaze from the old lady stopped them from talking even more.)

“That’s right! I’m Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King!”

And after that, all of the women in the room just… jumped him.

.xxx.

The next thing he knew, he was in a prison cell, a blanket still covering his lower half – but, hey, at least they kept his undershirt on.

His head was starting to hurt less. And he was starting to remember now.

Kuma. His nakama…

He wrapped the blanket around his waist awkwardly and walked up to the bars.

The women were outside of the cell, staring at him.

His clothes were mostly missing. Apparently his shirt was ripped. But what about his pants? And Rayleigh’s vivre card! And his hat! And Ace’s vivre card!

“Where’s my hat?”

When Luffy looked through the crowd of women, he found one that was wearing it. “Ah! There it is! Give it back!” The bars were going both ways, but he could still stick his hand through it. With a grin, he stretched out his arm, snatching his hat back. Ah, yes. Much better. Undershirt, check. Hat, check. Some more clothes would be nice too…

(This time these women were whispering better things about him. Him. His. That boy.)

Yes, this was much better.

“Oi, do you know where my pants are?”

They said his shirt was tattered, right?

“Ah, your pants were ruined too. Here, we made you new ones.”

(Okay, scratch that, this wasn’t better at all.)

Frills. Flowers. Girly things.

“I’m a guy, dammit!”

And, just like that, the women became aggressive again.

“As I thought. Typical.”

That woman looked like a guard.

“We save your life, and you show no gratitude?”

Wait – wait… “You saved my life?”

But they didn’t want to listen. Even though he apologised.

“Men are forbidden from stepping foot on this island.”

…An island forbidden to men? What kind of place was this?

“Elder Nyon says that, even though your body is that of a woman, your spirit is that of a man. And that makes you a man. And, by being a man and setting foot on this island is a crime.”

He tried to apologise some more. Tried to insist that he didn’t mean to be here. That Kuma had sent him flying here. He didn’t know.

But they just held their arrows at him, not giving in.

“Just let me go! I made a promise to my nakama!”

Damn it all. Looks like he just had to run.

.xxx.

Impel Down had been chaos.

But now they were on their way to Marineford, on their way to the war.

Luffy was disheartened to learn that Bon had stayed behind to get them free, but he understood it. It wasn’t fair though.

But the thought of Ace kept him going. He needed to save Ace.

(He remembered, too, something that Bon had said to him: Iva. The miracle worker. “Hey! Maybe she can help you out Mugi!”)

Luffy placed his hand on his chest. His undershirt had melted away from Magellan’s poison. The only thing keeping it in place was bandages…

He glanced back to Iva, and he remembered when Iva had…

"Iva?"

"Yes Mugiwara-boy?"

"Do you think you can fix me? I wanna be myself, and Bon told me that you could help me with that.” Luffy looked over to the sea and hugged himself. He remembered his friends and their smiling faces. Vivi’s laughter and her present. How many did he have left on the Sunny?

“Bon-boy did mention someving like vat.” Iva had nodded thoughtfully.

Luffy blinked. “What do you mean?” Bon had…?

“He said to make sure vour upper body was covered and vrapped. Tightly. Combined with the fact vat vour clothes had all been burned away, and how he referred to you, it vasn’t too hard to figure it out Mugiwara-boy.” Iva flashed a smile at him. “Very vell, it may be uncomfortable given your circumstances but Vi’m certain you are more than villing. Hormone Injection!”

The stab in his side was a pain he had been becoming familiar to, unfortunately. There was more pain. Here and there. As his body changed. It wasn’t just pain either but… strange sensations as well. Shrinking and growing. “A-Ahh! Weird. I feel…”

His voice was changing, getting deeper… coarser.

His face felt funny. As did his neck. No. Everything felt funny. A weight was lifted from his chest, but something else happened lower.

“I-I…” He was dizzy after all of it. His voice – it was similar but different. It wasn’t quite that of a stranger, but he wasn’t used to it.

“M-My voice.”

He lifted his hands up to this throat – feeling a pronounced bump there. He felt his face – wider, it wasn’t like before. And then his chest.

“Gone! They’re gone!” The weight that was lifted from there wasn’t just literal either. No, it was symbolic too. A weight that no longer held him back or pushed him down. Gone! They were gone!

He laughed, wrapping his arms around himself.

(He could hear Iva laughing softly in the background.)

And then he pulled open his pants to look down.

“Shishsihi!” He laughed.

Complete. Whole.

This was who he was.

“Thank you Iva!” He said, and just jumped onto the Queen, wrapping his arms around them.

.+++.

“Luffy!”

Why? Why was that bastard here?! Such a reckless idiot! “Don’t come here! This is my mistake! Don’t go butting into my business!”

That damn fool! Why couldn’t he have minded his own business?

“I don’t give a damn about any of that! You’re my brother!”

…There just was something about Luffy’s voice right now. It was different. Maybe it was just the war. Maybe it was just the fact that it was Luffy’s voice that was the only one he could truly hear right now. That it was his voice that stood out in all of this chaos…

Whatever it was though, it sounded different.

(He could still hear other voices and understand their words however. But it was like a muffled buzz. Confusion. Astonishment. What? Ace’s brother? No way? Roger had another son?)

And now it was Sengoku’s voice that boomed out for all to hear. “Don’t be fooled! These two are foster siblings! Luffy’s father is not Roger, but Dragon the Revolutionary! Both of these siblings carry cursed blood in their veins! Don’t let this rookie take control of the war!”

Well, at the very least Sengoku wasn’t that heartless to reveal Luffy’s biology to the world…

(If he had, everything be damned, Ace would have tried attacking the bastard.)

“You idiot!” Ace screamed out to Luffy. Damn it all. If Luffy hadn’t….

“Ace! Stay there! I’m coming!”

And came he did.

.xxx.

“Hey, hey, that’s my little brother you are attacking there.”

After the two of them dealt with the swarm that came at them, Luffy had just… pounced at him, wrapping his arms around him tightly.

“Ace!”

…Wait a minute… Something was missing! And Ace pulled Luffy away and took a long, good look at him. No way! No way!!

“Luffy!” He was beaming down at his little brother. “You’re—”

“I know, right?” And Luffy was grinning up at him with sparkling eyes. “Iva fixed me up! I even have–”

“Luffy! Watch out!” Ace grabbed the arm that tried to slice his brother in two before blasting the offender away. “Let’s get out of here. Tell me all about it later.”

And Luffy continued to grin up at him before nodding and laughing.

To think, Luffy finally was in the right body…

God… he was so happy right now…

.xxx.

…Where was he?

(Explosions. Screams. Agony. Loss. Pain! Oh God! The pain!)

There was frantic beeping. People yelling. Hands on his shoulders.

“Calm down. Calm down. It’s alright. You’re alright…”

The beeping was settling down now. And his head… it was foggy... It wasn’t enough for him to lose consciousness yet.

“Wh-Where am I?” He croaked out. (Why was his throat so dry?)

“I’m Trafalgar law. A surgeon. You sustained major injuries, but I was able to resuscitate you. You’re currently on my ship…”

That voice drifted off and he couldn’t decipher the words anymore. Injuries? Was that why he remembered those sounds? Memories began to flood in now.

(”Leave! Get away from here my children!”)

(”Ace!”)

(”Die!”)

Ah… shit…

Luffy… Luffy… Luffy was…. (For some reason he couldn’t even muster the energy to panic about his brother.) “Luffy…” Even his voice was weak. Tired. Exhausted. “Luffy… where’s Luffy?” The world was spinning. He could barely think… “…And the Old Man? Where is he…?”

Those hands were on his shoulders again.

“Mugiwara-ya is recovering in the next room.” The same voice spoke calmly to him.

Oh, Luffy was safe. Ace felt his lips curling into a smile as relief flooded over him. Good… Good….

.+++.

Law sighed as he sat at his desk. Dealing with these two brothers was exhausting. He needed to keep both of them heavily sedated, and they were each concerned about the other’s wellbeing.

Luffy had been the first to recover, and he would constantly look into the window to Ace’s room. And, since Ace would regain consciousness from time to time, Law had to keep the man under constant sedation. Well, at least until Law was certain that sudden movements wouldn’t tear or rupture anything.

Thankfully he didn’t have to really worry about that with Luffy. Sure, he had to tell the idiot to not overexert himself, but moving around was fine.

(Although there was that time when Luffy had finally begun to move around on his own that made him question himself. Did he mess up on the dosage he had last given Luffy? Certainly, it was plausible considering how tired he was and that he was treating multiple patients. For one of the first things out of Luffy’s mouth – aside from inquiring about Ace’s condition – was: how do I pee? And, as Law thought about it more, it only made him believe more and more that he had probably accidentally given Luffy Ace’s dosage of sedative and painkillers. Which produced a rather unfortunate scenario for him, as his crew had left to check up on Ace and he was the only one there to answer Luffy’s awkward question. So, woe he went, since his obviously high patient was rather insistent on lacking the knowledge of just how to empty his bladder.)

Eventually, Ace had become fit enough for Law to take him off of the sedatives.

When he had come to, it was apparent that Ace remembered the few moments that he had been conscious and when Law had to calm the man down until the sedatives kicked in.

Tears were flowing down his cheeks.

“The Old Man… he’s dead, isn’t he?”

Law could only nod solemnly.

Thankfully, it was Luffy who came in to support his brother, so Law didn’t have to attempt to do anything else.

.+++.

“Luffy – you’re… you’re…”

Luffy was beaming at Nami who was staring at him, her eyes wide in awe.

“I know right!”

Nami hugged him. And Usopp, and Brook, and Franky… Robin used giant arms while Chopped was hugging Luffy’s head. In fact, the only two had hadn’t joined in on the massive groups hug was Zoro and Sanji. But, when Nami spared a glance behind her as they began to walk, she could see the two men placing their elbows on Luffy’s shoulders, smiles on all three faces.

It made her smile as well.