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For the first several hours that Luffy spends in the infirmary, Zoro stands guard in front of the closed door, motionless, Wado’s hilt a firm weight in his grip. He doesn’t move as the evening slowly turns into night, as the rest of the crew listlessly follows Sanji’s call for dinner, as Jimbei takes first watch, even though nobody’s going to be able to sleep. He stays in his place until Chopper exits the infirmary, exhausted and with his ears drooping, announcing, “Luffy will be fine.”
Zoro doesn’t exhale in relief, not really. He knew a small naval skirmish would not do Luffy in. Still, something tight in his chest unclenches.
He lays a large hand on top of Chopper’s hat. “You did good.”
It says something about the situation that Chopper doesn’t even wiggle in delight. Instead, he leans into Zoro’s touch until he’s supporting himself by the muscle of Zoro’s leg and sniffles. “He was very hurt.”
“Yes,” Zoro says. “But you’re the best doctor in the world, and you helped him.”
Chopper squeaks. He’s swaying a little under Zoro’s hand, exhausted.
Zoro frowns. “You should sleep,” he says, and picks Chopper up without any further fanfare. He strides towards the boys’ room.
“Zoro!” Chopper says. “I have to keep an eye on Luffy!”
“You said he’ll be fine. Go to sleep so that you can be ready when he wakes up.”
“I can sleep in the infirmary! What if there's something wrong during the night?!”
“Is there gonna be something wrong?” Zoro asks calmly. Chopper wouldn’t have left Luffy alone unless he was sure everything was alright.
“...No,” Chopper says.
“Then you’re going to sleep.”
Reaching the room, he shoulders the door open and places Chopper on the first bunk he sees. Before Chopper has a chance to protest, Zoro removes his hat and places a gentle hand on his head. “Luffy’s strong. He’ll be fine.”
Chopper has no answer to that. Of course Luffy is strong; he can’t imagine him otherwise.
So he listens to Zoro and snuggles into the covers, drowsiness already claiming him. “Wake me up if anything changes.”
“Sure,” says Zoro, grabbing a blanket and tucking it in, making sure Chopper is completely covered.
He’s snoring even before Zoro reaches the door on his way out.
…
He goes to the galley next. The light is still on, and he can hear the banging of pots and pans all the way from the deck. When he enters, Sanji scowls at him.
“Doing your rounds, marimo?” he asks, though his words lack their usual bite.
Zoro shrugs. Sanji looks no different than usual, but there is a cigarette clenched between his teeth, even though he never smokes while he cooks, and his hair is messed up, as if he’s been tugging at it again.
One glance at the countertops shows that several meals have already been cooked. Zoro’s shit at anything connected to the kitchen, but he’s been hurt enough times to recognize the nourishing soups and stews Sanji makes for all injured crewmates. There’s also a familiar pile of comfort foods right next to them, and Zoro notes with a frown that seafood pasta is missing.
Sanji follows his gaze. “He’ll be hungry when he wakes up,” he explains, even though no explanation is needed. Then he starts rummaging through the cabinets, fishing out a plate of onigiri and dumping it in front of Zoro. “Eat. Don’t think I didn’t notice you missing from dinner. I’ll sooner shove this down your throat than have you waste it.”
Zoro grunts in agreement, not even pretending to refuse. He knows from experience that Sanji would just drag him back to the galley if he tries to escape.
They stay silent as Zoro eats. Neither of them is in a mood for a fight, not now. Sanji goes through two cigarettes and another meal prep while Zoro chews and watches him move around the kitchen.
Eventually, Zoro says, “He’ll be fine.”
Sanji snorts. “As if you would have left him alone if he wasn’t fine.”
Zoro shrugs again. True enough.
Still, the words seem to help. Sanji doesn’t light up the third cigarette, and when Zoro licks his plate clean, he gathers it with his usual flourish. “Done eating?” he asks, rhetorically. “Get out of my kitchen, then. I don’t want to have to look at your ugly mug longer than I have to.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, shit cook,” Zoro grumbles, and slides out of the bench. ”And make some damn seafood pasta, would you?”
Sanji startles, but it takes him only a moment to gather himself. “What, my onigiri not good enough for you, shithead?” he says, even as he starts to rummage through his cabinets for pasta. “Get the hell out before I kick you out. Go check on Nami-swan and Robin-chan. They must’ve been frightened.”
Just for that, Zoro flips him a bird on the way out and goes to check on Usopp and Franky instead.
…
He finds them in their workshop, fixing the paint on Franky’s body.
A Marine managed to get a lucky hit at his back during the fight. Any other person would have been run clean through, but Franky only got some scraped-off paint from the back of his shoulders, and the Marine received a metallic fist to his face. Franky’s sitting cross-legged on the floor, with Usopp frowning at the joints of his shoulder, holding a paintbrush in his hand.
Franky notices him first, which makes Zoro frown. Usually, Usopp would have clocked him the moment he appeared in his field of vision. Or even before; he’s sure Usopp is using Observation Haki without noticing more than anyone else on the crew.
“Zoro-bro,” Franky greets him with a smile. “How’s Luffy?”
“He’ll be fine,” Zoro says. “Chopper fixed him up.”
The paintbrush in Usopp’s hands trembles, and the red paint accidentally crosses onto the yellow line around Franky’s shoulders. “Ah!” Usopp yelps. “Sorry!”
“No worries,” Franky says. “Just wipe it down quick before it dries.”
Usopp scrambles for a nearby rag, his movements clumsier than usual. His usually steady hands refuse to calm down; he almost drops the rag twice before he manages to wipe off the paint.
Zoro decides there’s no use in hesitation, so he goes straight to the point. “It’s not your fault.”
Usopp flinches as if he’s been struck. His shoulders hunch until they are almost up to his ears. He stays uncharacteristically silent.
“You did your job,” Zoro continues even as Franky places an enormous hand on Usopp’s back. It’s so big that it almost envelops him entirely, and Usopp leans in seemingly by instinct. “You’re the sniper. You stayed away from the fight and guarded our rear. You did everything right.”
“But I didn’t notice that Marine!” Usopp bursts out. “I didn’t notice him, and Luffy got hurt!”
“Luffy got hurt because he is the captain, and it’s his job to protect us,” Zoro says, as steady as a mountain. “He would have done it for every one of us.”
“But he didn’t!” Usopp wails, dropping his face into his hands. Franky exchanges looks with Zoro and draws him further to his side. “I was the only one weak enough to need protection.”
Zoro nods. “So you get better,” he proclaims, and Usopp stills. “If you think you’re too weak, you train until your Haki is so strong that nobody can sneak up on you.”
Usopp looks up, staring at him with wide, glittering eyes. There are tears streaming down his face, but his hands are not shaking anymore. “Yes, you’re right. I have to train. I have to get stronger.” He squares his shoulder as Zoro and Franky look on in approval. “I’ll start tomorrow.”
“Good,” Zoro says, a grin slashing across his face.
He turns to leave but not before meeting Franky’s eyes. Franky nods at him and shuffles even closer to Usopp, drawing his attention to another scratch on his shoulder.
Zoro leaves, knowing that Franky will make sure Usopp goes through the night alright. Franky is dependable that way.
…
He finds Robin in the second place he checks. She isn’t in the library, and that surprises him, but when he approaches the aquarium, he finds her sitting with a glass of juice and a book in her hands. She looks up when she hears him enter.
“Zoro,” she greets him and puts the book down.
Robin looks normal enough. At first sight, she appears more composed than Sanji and Usopp. But Zoro knows her well enough to notice the emptiness on her face and the dull way she stares at the walls of the room. He would bet the miniscule amount of beri Nami allows him to keep that Robin has not read a single word of that book.
Zoro sits down beside her and stays silent. Robin doesn’t need comfort and something to do the way Sanji does, or someone to tell her hard truths the way Usopp needed him to. She’s not like Franky either. Franky, despite everything, handles fear and possible loss better than most of the crew. Robin has lost too much to be unaffected.
Over their time together, Zoro has learned that Robin mostly needs someone to stay. So he sits silently and waits for her to talk if she wants to or to go back to her book if she thinks that would help.
Robin doesn’t wait for long before leaning towards him and resting her head on his shoulder. “I heard Luffy will be alright.”
Zoro nods. He has no doubt that Robin has monitored the entire process of Chopper patching Luffy up with her eyes and ears. She’s probably still watching over him.
“He’s too tough for some stupid Marine to do him in,” Zoro states.
“Of course,” Robin laughs. “He won’t allow anything to stop him until he becomes the pirate king.”
True enough. That kind of statement doesn’t require an answer; it’s not like anyone on this crew would disagree. Luffy will become the king, or he will die trying, but he certainly won’t get defeated by some unimportant Marine who got a lucky hit in.
So Zoro wraps his arm around Robin’s shoulders and keeps her company. It’s obvious that she doesn’t want to talk anymore, and Zoro is happy to stay silent until she stops staring emptily at the far wall. He doesn’t leave until she picks up her book again and actually starts turning the pages.
When she looks up to watch him go, her eyes are clear and present, with no dullness to speak of.
…
When there is an injury on board, it’s generally agreed amongst the crew that Brook shouldn’t be left alone. Doubly so, if it’s Luffy in the infirmary; Brook has already lost one crew and captain. No one wants to leave him alone while he frets about the possibility of losing another.
So when Zoro climbs up to Nami’s tree grove, he’s not surprised to find Nami and Brook together. Both of them are directly on the deck, Nami lying down on the wood and looking up at the stars while Brook sits towering over her, plucking at the strings of his violin. It’s hard to read a skeleton’s face, but Zoro’s had a lot of practice, and the despondence is visible in his every movement.
At least it’s a clear night, without any fog. It would have been a lot worse if there were fog.
Nami fixes him with a sharp stare as soon as he climbs up the stairs. “I heard Chopper get out of the infirmary.”
“Luffy will be fine,” Zoro answers and drops down to lie beside them. He makes sure to brush against Brook as he does so. Brook seems absentminded, but he doesn’t flinch away from the contact, so Zoro throws his legs over Brook’s shins when he takes his place.
Nami smiles brightly at his words. “He better. That idiot! I’m going to charge him a fortune for all the emotional damages he inflicted with his stupidity. I was worrying over nothing, and he’s going to pay for it!”
“Witch,” Zoro grumbles. “Attacking a man when he’s already down.”
Nami whacks him over his head. “He deserves it for making us worry like that!” She tilts her head to look at Brook. “Right, Brook?”
“Ah—” Brook looks up from his violin and seems to finally notice that Zoro is here. “Zoro-san, hello. Has Chopper-san finished with the captain’s care?”
“Yes,” Zoro answers, digging his ankles harder against Brook’s shins. Nami surreptitiously shifts her position so that her shoulder is leaning against Brook’s hip. “Luffy will be fine.” He doesn’t mention that he already said that.
Brook inclines his head and plucks another tune.
“What are you playing?” Zoro asks. If there is one thing that can bring Brook out of his memories and back into the present, it’s music. It would have been better if he had a guitar, to stop any possible association with Thriller Bark, but Brook always reverts back to the violin when his past is too close.
“Hmm,” Brook hums, and it comes out pitch-perfect. He looks down until he meets Zoro’s eyes. “An East Blue lullaby. I thought, perhaps, that our captain would like to hear it while he sleeps.”
Nami’s smile becomes gentle. “That’s a great idea, Brook,” she says, patting his leg. “Our captain has a thick head, but I think this might actually go through his hard skull.”
The opening is so obvious that Brook can’t resist it. “All of us have hard skulls, Nami-san! Because all of us are bones! Hahaha, skull joke!”
Nami feigns annoyance even as she leans more heavily into Brook. Zoro closes his eyes and listens as Brook stops plucking the strings and produces a bow from somewhere, starting to play an actual melody.
And huh. It really is familiar. Must actually be from East Blue.
…
He leaves Jimbei for the last.
It is still Jimbei’s watch, so Zoro climbs onto the crow’s nest without really knowing what to expect. The others were easy; they’ve spent so much time together that Zoro knows intimately what they need when their captain is out of the picture. But Jimbei is new, and this is the first time since Wano that Luffy has gotten injured. Zoro doesn’t know how Jimbei will react.
Jimbei is sitting at the bench by the window. He turns around when he hears Zoro climb up and inclines his head towards the seat beside him.
“Zoro,” he rumbles, folding his hands in front of him so that his sleeves overlap. He looks composed, perhaps as calm as Franky in the face of Luffy’s injuries. When Zoro plops down on the bench, Jimbei’s lips stretch into a smile. “I have seen you making rounds on the ship. Is everyone well?”
Zoro shrugs. “Well enough. Chopper is exhausted, but he says Luffy will be okay.”
“And you have already checked up on everyone else,” Jimbei concludes, warm with approval. “Am I the last stop on your journey around the crew?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm,” Jimbei hums, gazing out of the window and at the endless expanse of the dark sea. “I think it will take me some time to get used to someone else checking up on me. I was a captain for so long that I forgot how it feels for someone else to carry on that kind of responsibility.”
“You’re a Strawhat now,” Zoro says with rock-hard certainty. As soon as Luffy claimed him as one of his, Jimbei had become part of this crew. That means he’s Zoro’s responsibility, former captain or not.
Jimbei chuckles, delighted. “Yes, I am. And I’m grateful for that every day.” He turns his head to meet Zoro’s eyes. “You are a very good first mate.”
“I’m not the first mate,” Zoro says. This is the one thing he won’t budge on. Luffy’s never called him his first mate, and so Zoro isn’t. It's as simple as that. There’s only one title Luffy has ever given him, and it’s a thousand times better than any other position in the world. “I’m Luffy’s swordsman.”
“Yes,” Jimbei agrees. “That you are. But you also act like an excellent first mate. Take it from someone who used to be a first mate and captain both. Any captain on the seas would be lucky to have a second-in-command like you.”
“Well, nobody else is getting me,” Zoro says, standing up. Jimbei is obviously okay. There is no need to stay any longer to check up on him. “I will sail these seas by Luffy’s side or not sail at all.”
Jimbei rumbles out a laugh. “As I said. An excellent first mate.”
…
Once he is sure the whole crew is taken care of, Zoro goes back to the infirmary.
This time, he lets himself inside. Luffy is lying on the bed, bandaged from head to toe, but his breathing is steady, and his presence in Zoro’s limited Observation Haki blazes as strong as the sun. Zoro closes the door silently behind himself. Ignoring Chopper’s desk and chair, he approaches the bed and folds himself down on his knees in front of it, placing his swords by his side and in easy reach.
He doesn’t sleep. He wouldn’t have been able to even if he tried; not while Luffy is lying injured and Zoro is in charge of keeping him and the crew safe. The chances that someone would reach them without Jimbei noticing are minimal, but Zoro will not risk it. Not while Luffy is unconscious and unable to defend his crew.
So Zoro kneels beside Luffy’s bed as hours pass and tracks his chest as it rises and falls in steady rhythm. The slow passage of time doesn’t bother him, and he allows himself to sink into an almost meditative state, calmed by the familiar rocking of the Sunny and Luffy’s quiet breathing echoing in the silent room around him.
It’s only when the first rays of the sun start peeking through the window that Luffy stirs. Zoro stares as Luffy blinks his eyes open and meets Zoro’s gaze, confused at first and then more aware as he registers his surroundings and Zoro’s position by his bed.
“Zoro?” Luffy croaks. “How is everyone?”
“Nobody else is injured,” Zoro reports. “Everybody is okay.”
“Good,” Luffy proclaims. “Food?”
“Soon,” Zoro answers. Sanji would have felt Luffy wake up. As much as Zoro hates to admit it, his Observation Haki range is better than Zoro’s. He’ll have a whole feast ready by now.
“Great,” Luffy says, and then trains his eyes on Zoro’s face, as piercing as the sharpest sword. “And how is Zoro?”
Zoro closes his eyes and swallows. When he opens them again a moment later, Luffy is still staring at him, unblinking.
Zoro sinks forward until his head is resting on Luffy’s bed, next to his chest. This close, he can hear the steady beat of Luffy’s heartbeat, familiar and reassuring. Sometimes, he thinks he knows that rhythm better than his own heart.
A large, warm hand lands on the back of Zoro’s head. Zoro closes his eyes under the reassuring weight.
“I’m okay too,” he says honestly. Luffy is awake. Zoro is okay.
“Good,” Luffy proclaims once more, as steady as the calmest sea and just as powerful. “Zoro did good.”
Zoro’s shoulders relax. He sinks further down into the mattress and allows himself a moment of comfort under Luffy’s calm eyes and firm hand.
In a moment, someone will barge into the infirmary when word goes out that Luffy is awake. In a moment, Zoro will be surrounded and enveloped by his whole crew, all of them alive and well and in one place.
But in this moment, there is Luffy and his heartbeat and his hand against Zoro’s head, and Zoro’s finally okay.