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The scorching desert sands of Alabasta loomed large before the Merry, empty land as far as the eye could see. The sun which had beat down upon them harshly upon the ocean seemed to double its efforts now that they were ashore, its rays scorching every inch of revealed skin as the temperature seemed to rise. How anyone could live here, let alone thrive here, was something Zoro didn't understand. He had seen plenty of island climates in his time as a bounty hunter but this, this definitely seemed to be the most extreme.
While the crew dragged themselves around, moving seeming to be an effort to most of them, Vivi moved as gracefully as she always did, perfectly at home in the inferno of her homeland. She seemed to welcome the extreme heat as she stepped onto the sand, her brown eyes closing as she tilted her face up to the sky, letting the sun's rays caress her skin.
Their plan was simple—or at least, as simple as possible considering they were going toe-to-toe with a Warlord of the Sea. Luffy hadn't really cared for the details, just wanting to make sure everyone knew that Crocodile was his. The rest of them, however, paid attention to what Vivi said, listening as she outlined her plan to stop the Rebel Army and to prevent anymore bloodshed in her kingdom. All they had to do was reveal Crocodile's treachery to the rebels and then stop the man himself. Simple, right?
Nothing was ever simple when Luffy was involved, something Zoro really should know and expect by now. Every plan they made was thrown out the window or completely undone, his captain often doing whatever it was he wanted and just expecting it all to work out. In his defense, things typically did work out, but it didn't mean Zoro liked it.
By the time Crocodile lay defeated in the battle bloodied town square and the first drops of rain in years began to fall, Zoro was wondering if they were cursed or blessed. Everything had gone wrong, and yet, in everything going wrong, it had all gone right. Sure none of their original plans worked and they were just making everything up as they went, but it all worked out. Crocodile was defeated, the Rebel Army stopped fighting, and everyone was alive—well, the important people were. There were substantial casualties from the fight between the rebels and the King's guards, but that was to be expected. The crew was alive and so was Luffy, that was all that really mattered to Zoro.
They were given a private and quite exquisite room in the royal palace to recover in, enough beds for all of them with plenty of room still to spare. They had blearily allowed their wounds to be treated before all of them were crawling into a bed, none of them having the energy to stay awake after the exhausting day of fighting they had just endured. All of them had fought their hardest against enemies that wanted to bring down Vivi's kingdom, none of them giving them an inch and bearing the wounds to prove it.
It was sometime past midnight when Zoro awoke to a door creaking open, someone slipping into the room with a small lantern in their hand. His body instantly tensed, only to relax as he recognized Vivi through the gloom, the princess walking softly across the room towards Nami's bed. She extinguished the lantern before cuddling up to the navigator, the other woman throwing an arm around her in her sleep and drawing her closer.
A small smile played on Zoro's lips at the sight, even as he rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling and give the pair some privacy. While the two had never stated what they were to the crew, it would take an idiot—or maybe a Luffy—to not notice the affection they held for each other. He just hoped they would survive the heartbreak of having to go their separate ways.
Closing his eyes again, Zoro tried to sleep but found that he couldn't. It had been a long time since he had slept in an actual bed and he had never slept in one this nice before. Not to mention, he had grown accustomed to the waves rocking the Merry, the motion a comforting sensation to fall asleep to. And then there was the fact that he was alone in the bed, his body aching at the lack of warmth pressed against his side.
Because of the severity of Luffy's injuries, Zoro had opted to sleep in a different bed, not wanting to risk accidentally hurting his captain during the night. But it was hard, a lot harder than he thought it would be. He was so used to Luffy sprawled atop him as they slept, his body pressing down against Zoro's and his arms wrapped loosely around him.
Blowing out a breath, Zoro sat up and swung his legs off the bed, his eyes already adjusted to the moonlight that seeped in through the large windows. The rest of the crew slept soundly around him, even Vivi having already fallen asleep curled up in Nami's arms. Luffy was in the center of the room, his chest rising and falling evenly as Zoro approached him, watching the motion for a few seconds to reassure himself that his captain was alive, that his heart still beat.
A chair had been pulled up against the bed earlier in the evening to assist Chopper as he had cared for Luffy, the chair holding supplies as the little reindeer had cleaned and bandaged their captain's many wounds—the hook to his stomach having been the worst. Anger had coursed through Zoro at the sight of the gaping hole, his tired body thrumming with the need to go kick Crocodile's ass himself for the injury. No one should ever leave a mark like that on his captain. Zoro should always be there to stop it.
Eyes moving away from the bandages around Luffy's stomach, Zoro stepped closer and sat down in the chair, reaching a hand up to carefully brush some of Luffy's hair off his face. He had been given the antidote to the poison on Crocodile's hook in time, but he still had yet to wake up. Chopper had said that sleep was the best thing his body could do, that it would allow him to heal faster than if he had been awake. Zoro wasn't exactly comforted by that, even if their doctor was among the best. He felt like it was better to be awake and responsive rather than unconscious.
Zoro pressed a kiss to Luffy's forehead, letting his lips linger a few seconds against the warmth before pulling back. He carefully tangled the fingers of one of Luffy's hands with his own, letting their hands rest against the mattress. It wasn't the same as being wrapped around each other, but the press of Luffy's skin against his own calmed his heartbeat, tiredness beginning to creep back into his mind. Not one to fight sleep anyway, Zoro leaned back in the chair, his eyes slipping closed. Perhaps in the morning his captain would wake.
Three days.
It took three days before Luffy woke. Three days too damn long in Zoro's opinion. He had spent much of it by his captain's side, only really moving when his body demanded it or the rest of the crew dragged him out of the room. Not that he ever went far, preferring to stay on the palace grounds in case Luffy woke while he was gone. He wanted to be able to reach him fast, to assure him that he was still there and that they all were fine.
As it was, Zoro was out mediating in the garden when Luffy finally returned to consciousness, his three swords placed across his lap and his mind as empty as he could make it. He had been forbidden from training by Chopper as soon as he had been bandaged, the little doctor all but threatening him if he so much as attempted it. For once, Zoro didn't complain, mostly because training would have meant leaving Luffy's side. He had tried mediating in the room, but both Sanji and Nami had kicked him out, telling him to get some fresh air and a change of scenery. His complaints fell on deaf ears and a closed door, the two effectively locking him out. And to rub salt in the wound, they let Vivi in when the princess walked up a few minutes later.
The door behind him opening and steps walking across the sand broke into the silence of Zoro's mind, his eyes blinking open. He recognized the steps easily as Usopp's, having long ago committed each crew's gait to memory.
“Did I interrupt you?” Usopp asked, pausing several feet behind Zoro.
Grunting out a 'no', Zoro twisted around to look at him, eyes drifting across the bandages that still adorned the other's body. All of them had been injured in the fight, but Usopp seemed to have taken the brunt of it in his fight. Chopper had been impressed that their sniper had even survived, his body having been beaten so severely a lesser man surely would have died. He was certainly tougher than he seemed.
“Good,” Usopp said, eyes drifting over to the horizon in front of them. “Luffy's awake.”
Zoro was on his feet before he even realized he was moving, quickly making his way towards the door. “You should have started with that!” he snapped at him as he passed, stepping back into the cool halls of the palace.
Steps hurried after him, a hand wrapping around his arm and stopping him in his tracks. “You're going the wrong way.”
“Shut up,” Zoro grumbled, though he allowed Usopp to lead him in the right direction—even if it was coincidentally in the opposite direction of the way Zoro had gone. He was pretty sure the hallways rearranged themselves for fun every couple hours just to confuse him.
The door to the room they were occupying was open when Zoro arrived, a small crowd having already gathered around Luffy's bed. Chopper was stood on the chair next to the bed with his equipment, trying to assess Luffy's condition as the other spoke animatedly, a hand waving in the air as he described something. Vivi and Nami were on his other side, both looking fond as they listened, a large smile on Nami's face that betrayed the relief she was feeling. Even Sanji was in there, the cook stood near the foot of the bed and near a large cart of food.
Conversation stopped as Zoro entered the room, Luffy actually cutting himself off as he caught sight of him. The grin on his face grew even wider and a rubbery arm shot out, wrapping a hand around Zoro’s bicep and earnestly tugging him closer.
“Zoro! It's been so long!” Luffy all but shouted once Zoro reached his bed, another arm shooting out to try and drag him into a hug.
“Luffy!” Chopper screeched, jumping up and down on the chair. “Stop! You're still injured and can't go around throwing things at yourself!”
“But it's Zoro,” Luffy protested, his arms still wrapped around Zoro even if there were several feet between them.
Chopper crossed his arms, expression firm. “No.”
Fondness rushed through Zoro at the exchange of words, a smile growing on his face. Luffy would be just fine if he was already arguing with their doctor.
“Hey, Luf,” Zoro said, gaining his attention and stopping him from trying to get around Chopper's rules. He stepped closer until he could bend down and carefully wrap his arms around him, giving him a gentle hug. Luffy, forever incapable of being gentle, squeezed his arms around Zoro's body tightly, upsetting many of his injuries. But Zoro wasn't going to complain. He had waited three days for this and wasn't going to let anything ruin it.
They only broke apart after someone cleared their throat, reminding the two of them that there were other people in the room. Truthfully, Zoro really didn't care and would have happily stayed wrapped up with Luffy, but he figured that the others probably wanted to talk to him as well. Luffy was their captain too after all. Luffy didn't let him go far, however, a hand keeping him near the bed side.
“I brought you some food,” Sanji said, pushing the cart closer. “Figured you'd be hungry.”
Luffy's other hand shot out and dragged the cart closer, Nami and Vivi moving before it slammed into them. All they did was laugh, however, watching as Luffy began to inhale the food as if it was made of air.
The crew spent the rest of the day around Luffy's bedside, relaying various accounts of their individual battles and what had happened during the time Luffy was asleep. Not that Luffy really cared. All he cared about was that there would be a banquet the next day to celebrate them and that Crocodile had been taken away by the Marines.
By the time night fell things almost seemed back to normal. The room was no longer full of anxious energy as the crew waited around Luffy's bedside, waiting for him to wake up. There was more laughter in the air and everyone's spirits seemed to have lifted.
“I missed Zoro,” Luffy murmured as the rest of the crew melted away from his bed, each of them heading to their own. It was the first time the two of them had been alone—or relatively alone—since Luffy had woken up.
“I missed you too,” Zoro whispered back, stroking Luffy's hair. He was once again sat in the chair at his bedside, one of Luffy's hands held tightly in his own. The steady thumping of his pulse against Zoro's thumb was reassuring, stating that he really was alive and awake. That this wasn't just a dream and that he really was okay.
A small but genuine smile grew on Luffy's face, fondness oozing from the expression. These types of smiles were Zoro's favorite because they were mostly reserved just for him, a concentrated version of the grin he usually wore.
“Nami said you stayed with me nearly the entire time,” Luffy added, nudging his head into Zoro's hand to encourage him to continue his motion.
“Of course I did. I wanted to be here when you woke up but her and the shit-cook kicked me out.”
Little laughs left Luffy at that, his eyes squinting shut as his smile grew. “That's okay. Zoro needs to take care of himself too.”
“I have been.”
Luffy tilted his head as he regarded him, his dark eyes looking like inky pools in the night. “You're hurt.”
“Just a few scratches.”
“A few?”
Zoro shrugged, earning another laugh from Luffy. “I'll be fine.”
They sat in silence for a bit, Luffy's other hand having landed on their intertwined one as he gently thrummed his fingers against the skin there. “I learned how to cut steel,” Zoro finally offered. He hadn't told Luffy about his fight yet, having let the rest of the crew speak first. Interest sparked in Luffy's eyes at that so Zoro explained about the man he had fought and his devil fruit ability, the way his whole body could turn into a blade if he wanted to.
“You're so strong!” Luffy exclaimed when he was done, much too loudly for the quiet room. Zoro dropped the hand that had been petting his hair to cover his mouth, raising a pointed eyebrow at him. “Sorry,” Luffy murmured against his hand, his lips curling upwards into another small smile against Zoro's palm.
“So are you, captain,” Zoro told him fondly as he pulled his hand away. “You beat a warlord.”
“Of course I did! I promised Vivi I would after all.”
Of course it was that simple to Luffy. He said he would do something so of course he did it. In his mind, there was no other version, no version where he didn't keep his word. Come hell or high water—or in this case, an injury to the stomach and poison—Luffy would still do what he promised.
“Her country is safe now because of you.”
They both quieted as they turned to look at the sleeping princess, her form pressed tightly against Nami and her arms wrapped around her, as if she was afraid the other would vanish from her arms if she loosened her grip. It was both cute and heart wrenching, knowing that as much as they found comfort in each other it wasn't likely to last.
“You don't think she'll come with us, do you?” Luffy finally asked softly, gently tugging on their joined hands so that Zoro would look at him. “Every time you look at her and Nami you look sad.”
“She's a princess, Luf.”
“But she's our friend.”
“Be that as it may, she has a duty to her country. Everything she has done has been for her country. She's not going to abandon it now that Crocodile has been defeated.”
A frown grew on Luffy's face, his gaze flicking back over to the sleeping women. “But I want her to come with us. So does Nami.”
Zoro pushed a stray lock of hair away from Luffy's face. “I would love for her to do that as well, but it's her choice. I think we need to be prepared for her to not come with us.”
The frown deepened on Luffy's face. “Zoro won't ever leave, will he?”
The question caught Zoro off guard, his eyes blinking rapidly as he looked down at Luffy. His captain was still looking in the direction of Nami and Vivi but his gaze was unfocused, as if he wasn't really seeing them but looking at something else, distant futures where he had to contend with his friends leaving him, with Zoro leaving him.
“Of course not! I would never leave you.” Using his free hand, Zoro cupped Luffy's jaw and gently turned his face so that they were looking at each other, Luffy's eyes finally coming back into focus. “You're my captain, Luffy. I could never leave you.”
“Please don't.” Luffy's voice was barely audible even in the nearly silent night. He fixed a burning gaze on Zoro, the hand that held his tightening. “I don't ever want you to.”
“And I never will,” Zoro assured him. “I'll follow you until the end of time.”
A ghost of a smile flickered across Luffy's face but it was gone so quickly it was like it was never there. He shifted a bit on the bed, making more room on the side Zoro was sat at. “Sleep with me?” he asked, as if he ever needed to ask, as if Zoro hadn't been restraining himself this entire time from crawling into bed with him.
The bed creaked softly as Zoro climbed into it, settling against the plush mattress before drawing the blankets up around him and Luffy. Luffy snuggled against his side as soon as he was settled, an arm wrapping across Zoro's chest while his head burrowed against his neck.
“I love you, Luffy,” Zoro murmured, pressing a kiss to the crown of Luffy's head.
Soft shishishis pressed into Zoro's neck as Luffy laughed. Lips pressed against the artery in his neck, hot breath wafting over it. “I love you more.”
Rolling his eyes fondly, Zoro wrapped his own arm a bit more tightly around his captain before he let his eyes close, feeling the way the other fell asleep against him. He felt more at ease now that Luffy was once again awake, the other barreling through his healing process at an astonishing speed. Before long he would be back to his normal, boisterous self and they would be back at sea, chasing adventures with the wind in their hair and the sun at their backs. But for now, they were safe and the world was peaceful. They had fought a hard battle and had come out victorious, their friend no longer having to worry. Vivi could finally rest easy, knowing that her country was safe and her friends would always be there to help her should she need it.
Zoro didn't envy the princess for the hard decisions she had to make, even more so when it came to matters of the heart. He knew that no matter where Luffy went he would follow, even if it was to hell itself he would follow his captain wherever he led. But Vivi had responsibilities, responsibilities she couldn't easily ignore or cast off no matter what her heart might want. It wouldn't be easy, and it would be painful for everyone, but Zoro hoped that she would be able to make peace with whatever it was she decided to do. And if she chose to stay in her country—the choice that she seemed to be getting ready to make—he hoped that her and Nami would still be able to find a way to make it work. Both of them deserved to be happy.
Luffy shuffled softly against Zoro, snuggling closer to him as if he could melt them into one being. Zoro knew he would never be able to give Luffy up, no matter what the world might demand of him. He was glad that he would never have to face that agonizing decision, that he could remain at Luffy's side no matter where he went. And he would forever thank the seas below and the sky above that he could do so, that his path would never take him away. That he could face the world next to Luffy and never have to stray.