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Zoro was on edge, to say the least. Muscles taught as he did reps with the heaviest weights he had, keeping count in his head. Meanwhile, his observation haki was stretched as far as it could go. He could sense everyone on the ship. Luffy was with Sanji in the kitchen, crouched on top of the table and rocking back and forth on his heels. Surprisingly, Sanji didn’t push him off. He must’ve been in a good mood today. Nami and Robin were lounging in the shade of Nami’s tangerine trees, probably drinking something fancy. Brook was nearby, playing some string instrument Zoro couldn’t be bothered to learn the name of. Jinbae was sitting against the railing in what appeared to be animated conversation with Usopp, probably listening to one of his very embellished stories. Chopper was in the med bay, concentrating very hard on something he was doing, and Franky was below deck, probably inventing something ridiculous.
His observation haki stretched further than the deck of the Sunny, though. He had to be aware of threats before they boarded. He could sense fish that swam alongside and under the sunny, as well as birds that flew nearby. He needed to stretch it further, though. Just as he had to strengthen his body, he needed to be able to stretch his observation haki so much so that he could take out threats before the rest of the crew even noticed them.
The sea had been too quiet recently. They hadn’t gotten into a fight in a few days and hadn’t even spotted another ship on the horizon. Normally by this time of day at least someone would have attempted to attack them, or they would’ve run into some sort of crazy weather phenomenon or a nest of sea kings, but everything was calm. It made Zoro’s skin crawl.
Oops, he’d lost count of his reps.
He was about to move on to a different exercise when he sensed Luffy coming his way, and then sensed him stretching his arms up to grab the open window of the crows nest. Eyes widening, Zoro put down the weights and braced himself. Luffy launched himself through the window, and Zoro caught him in his arms, stumbling back with sheer force until he fell backwards and landed on his ass.
Luffy now sat on top of him, giggling, while Zoro braced himself on his elbows so as not to be pushed backwards. Luffy looked at him for a moment, and then frowned. Zoro was about to open his mouth to ask what was wrong, what he’d done wrong, wanting to make that expression go away as soon as possible, but Luffy spoke first.
“You’re in pain.”
Zoro nearly sighed in relief. Luffy wasn’t mad at him. “Of course I’m in pain, moron; you just knocked me on my ass.”
"No, it’s not that,” Luffy said thoughtfully, “it’s here.” Luffy pointed at his head.
Huh? Between the workout and his focus on everyone, Zoro hadn’t even noticed. He had a headache.
“I’m fine,” he said, because he was fine. A little headache wasn’t a problem.
Luffy shook his head. “Don’t lie.” He leaned down and pressed their foreheads together, and if anyone asked, Zoro would say the flush in his cheeks was from the workout. “You’re using your haki too much.”
Zoro looked off to the side. “No, I-“
“Do you wanna try something?” Luffy asked.
“Wha- huh?” Zoro said intelligently, surprised by the abrupt change in topic.
“I think it’ll make you feel better,” Luffy said, getting off of him and standing up.
“ 'm fine,” Zoro mumbled halfheartedly, knowing Luffy could see right through him.
Luffy practically dragged him down from the crows nest and below deck. Sanji snickered at him as they passed through the kitchen, and Zoro fixed the stupid curly browed cook with his best glare, which apparently wasn’t as good as usual because Sanji just let out an unimpressed snort and went back to whatever he was cooking for dinner.
Luffy pulled him by the arm into the captain’s quarters, closed the door, and locked it. Zoro looked anywhere but at Luffy, suddenly very aware that he’d chosen to work out without a shirt on. The place wasn’t as dusty as it used to be, having gotten more use recently than ever before. Whatever Luffy had planned, he must want to be private, or he thought Zoro would want to keep private, but judging by the cook’s snickering, he hadn’t kept it that private.
“You’re thinking too much,” Luffy said, crossing his arms with a pout.
“Sorry?”
“You didn’t sleep last night.”
“It’s fine. I take naps, remember?” Zoro scoffed.
“You haven’t even taken one nap today,” Luffy pointed out. It sounded like an accusation.
The smudge of dirt on the floor by his feet suddenly looked very interesting. “You noticed that?”
Luffy didn’t bother answering. Of course Luffy noticed. Luffy always knows what’s going on with his crew. Luffy always knew what his crew needed, and so when Luffy tossed a pillow on the ground and told Zoro to kneel on it, Zoro obeyed without question.
He probably should have been more surprised when Luffy pulled his hands behind his back and tied his wrists together with his sash, but what actually surprised him was that the knot was halfway decent, although Zoro could probably still break out of it if he wanted to.
“Oh!” Luffy said, like he suddenly remembered something, “Sanji said we’re supposed to talk about it first.”
“Why did you ask him for advice?!”
“He took a class.”
“When?!” Zoro asked incredulously.
Luffy shrugged. "Anyway, do you mind if I blindfold you and plug your ears?”
Zoro blinked. That actually caught him off guard. “Um, why?”
“It’ll be good,” Luffy said, not answering his question. “Do you trust me?”
Without hesitation, Zoro said, “Yes, of course I do.”
Luffy gave him a warm smile, making their dim little room seem as bright as if they were outside in full daylight. "Okay, if you get uncomfortable, you gotta say 'meat’.”
“Why?”
“Sanji said we gotta have something called a safe - word.”
“That’s stupid,” Zoro said, idly testing the strength of the fabric around his wrists. It was surprisingly strong, but the knot was a bit flimsy since it was done by Luffy. Still, it did the job. Unless Zoro wanted to put the effort into detangling the thing or tearing Luffy’s sash, it would restrict his movements.
He was pulled from his thoughts when Luffy started untying the bandana from Zoro’s bicep.
“Huh- what are you- Oh,” he said as Luffy tied the bandanna over his eyes. He couldn’t see, but at least he had his observation haki, except his head throbbed when he tried to push his haki hard enough to replace his vision. He winced at the pain in his head, then hissed at his own show of weakness. Unfortunately, it didn’t go unnoticed.
“Stop using your haki,” Luffy commanded.
Zoro tensed up. His observation haki had been active to some extent, almost all the time since they’d entered the new world. He had to stay alert, had to protect the crew, had to-
He hadn’t even realized his breathing picked up until he felt Luffy’s warm hand on his chest. “They’ll be fine. I’m here,” Luffy reassured him. “I won’t let you or any of the rest of the crew get hurt. I promise.”
Zoro nodded, finally letting go and plunging himself into darkness, now only aware of the sounds in the room, the hand pressed against his chest, and the soft pillow beneath his knees. The throbbing in his head faded to a dull ache.
“Good boy,” Luffy cooed, running his fingers through Zoro’s hair and making his insides feel all warm and fuzzy. “Always so good for me.”
Zoro leaned his head into the petting, silently asking for more. Luffy obliged, massaging Zoro’s head with both hands.
“Feeling better?”
"Yes, captain,” he confirmed, no longer bothering to pretend he’d been totally fine before. There was no point. Luffy always knew.
“Should I continue?”
Zoro nodded, trusting whatever Luffy had planned.
Luffy stuck something in his ears. Had he stolen Nami’s earplugs? Oh, he’d definitely stolen Nami’s earplugs, the special ones Franky had invented for her. Zoro knew because he couldn’t hear anything at all. Total silence. At some point, later, he’d wash them to avoid both him and Luffy getting a beating, but he wasn’t thinking about that right now.
He couldn’t see a thing. No matter how much he strained his ears, he couldn’t hear anything, and with his hands tied behind his back, he couldn’t reach out for the familiar figure of his captain. Luffy wasn’t touching him anymore. He didn’t know where he was. His heart leapt up to his throat. For Zoro, there was a fine line between relaxation and panic (not that he’d ever let anyone know that), and he was on the verge of crossing it.
A warm hand landed on his shoulder. Zoro would recognize the feeling of Luffy’s hand anywhere. He squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, telling Zoro he was still here, that nothing happened to him in the three seconds he hadn’t been touching him.
Zoro mentally scolded himself for his own stupidity. How could he think something would happen to Luffy? How could he panic like that when he should have kept his head? How could he forget he could easily break the bonds around his wrists or reactivate his haki if he really needed to check? Stupid, he thought, weak.
Luffy’s other hand landed on his back, massaging the muscles that were sore from working out, making him forget his self-scolding.
Under Luffy’s care, Zoro found himself relaxing, tension leaving his muscles one by one as Luffy massaged them. His hand never leaving Zoro’s skin, even for a second.
Without his sight or hearing, each touch felt hot and intense, forcing his attention away from his thoughts and to the hands on his back, pushing and prodding at each muscle until it went lax. He started at the base of Zoro’s neck, working out all the knots before moving down his back, going between his shoulder blades, then down to his mid and lower back. Eventually Zoro gave up on trying to think about anything other than that sensation, and he became putty in Luffy’s hands.
At some point, he slumped forward, and would have hit the floor face first if Luffy hadn’t caught him. Zoro let Luffy take all his weight. He was so strong. Zoro was grateful. One of Luffy’s arms wrapped securely around his chest, supporting him, and the other rubbed soothing circles on his back. His mind felt fuzzy. He felt good.
When Luffy had worked all the kinks and knots out of Zoro’s back, he shifted so that he was in front of Zoro, with Zoro’s head resting in the crook of his neck and arms wrapped securely around him. He breathed deeply, taking in the salty scent of his captain. He smelled like home.
Luffy started tracing patterns in Zoro’s back, fingers running methodically across the smooth skin. He could’ve been drawing pictures or writing words, or his movements could have been random. Zoro didn’t try to make sense of it. Luffy must have been saying something because Zoro could feel warm air ghosting over the back of his neck. He shivered, pressing himself further against Luffy. In response, Luffy’s arms squeezed him tighter, holding him close. One of his hands moved up Zoro’s back to play with the hair on the back of his neck, then further up into the hair on the back of his head. Zoro was boneless, floating in a sort of half-conscious bliss. Luffy’s touch was the only thing that mattered. He let out a sigh, feeling air pass his lips but not hearing it.
They stayed like that for a while, with Zoro floating in that state, not knowing how much time was passing or thinking about anything beyond the warmth of Luffy’s body, supporting him, or the soothing sensation of Luffy’s hand in his hair. Eventually, just as his legs started to go numb and he registered the uncomfortable prickling sensation, Luffy pulled the earplugs out of his ears, gently undid the bindings on his wrists, massaging them as he did so, and slowly lifted the blindfold from his eyes.
Zoro blinked, grateful the light in the room was so dim.
“How do you feel?” Luffy asked, rubbing Zoro’s bicep.
“Mmmmmm,” Zoro said helpfully.
“Shishishishi,” Luffy giggled, “good?”
Zoro nodded; his mouth felt dry. Luffy helped him get to his feet and led him over to the bed before letting him sink into the mattress.
“Stay here for a second. I’ll be right back,” Luffy said before running out of the room. Zoro was halfway to falling asleep already. He really did need sleep. What was it that had kept him from sleeping before? He couldn’t remember. The only problem was that he was so thirsty, and his stomach was starting to rumble.
As if reading his mind, Luffy came back with a bottle of water and a bowl of rice. He ended up helping Zoro eat it, and when he finished eating and drinking, he fell back onto the bed, and with Luffy running his fingers gently through his hair, fell asleep.