Note that this fic contains mentions of group sex. Nothing particularly graphic, but please be advised that if the idea of group sex offends you, you should probably steer clear of this fic.
It had started out as just Zoro and Sanji; two healthy young men trapped at sea for extended periods of time, never sure when they'd be able to burn off some of that pent up frustration next. Every time they made land, something would happen before they could reach that point of relief, and then it was back to the ship for another long haul out at sea.
Zoro couldn't have cared less who started it, but Sanji always remained adamant that it was Zoro's fault. Things were always tense between them in one way or another, so of course it had started out as fighting, pushing and shoving, wrestling across the floor until they found themselves ripping each other out of their clothes when the galley was dark and the others were fast asleep. Their first time was awkward, their second time enlightening, and then it became their routine. A couple of nights a week, just to let off some steam, they met up in secret in search of sweet relief.
They included Nami because, well, she caught them. Despite all of their attempts to keep their secret, it only took Nami needing a glass of water to shatter it into a million pieces. They weren't even aware of their audience until they were finished and had collected themselves to find her leaning against the door frame. She looked cool and collected, but the flush on her face suggested she might have enjoyed the show more than she was letting on.
They had to explain themselves to her, or rather, Sanji felt they had to explain themselves to her. Zoro didn't really give a shit about what kind of conclusions she would pull from what she had just witnessed, but the cook was beside himself with worry. He didn't want his "precious Nami-swan" to be scarred by what she had just seen and he certainly didn't want her to misunderstand the nature of their relationship. So he and Zoro sat down to explain the details of their arrangement to her.
It turned out Nami was far from scarred by their activities. Quite the opposite, in fact. She was curious. She wanted in on their little arrangement; no-strings-attached relief from pent up sexual frustrations sounded pretty appealing, and knowing she could trust Sanji and Zoro helped make the decision for her. Sanji agreed immediately, stars in his eyes at the prospect of getting to enjoy some personal time with the object of his deepest desires.
Zoro was less enthused. An extra person involved in their affairs seemed like more work than it was worth. Refusal was never an option to Nami, however, and instead she offered an ultimatum to help sweeten the deal. If they could leave her satisfied at the end of the night, she would deduct money from his debt. If they failed, she'd add to it.
Zoro couldn't argue with Nami about money, especially since (thanks to her) he didn't have any. She got her way easily enough, and the next time they planned to have one of these private sessions, they would have to invite her along as well.
Nami joining in certainly made things interesting. For one thing, if Sanji had been expecting her to be fragile, delicate and innocent, he was wrong. Nami took charge of both of them sometimes. She ran the show, sometimes demanding pleasure of her own, sometimes more content to play with them. It worked out well for the three of them, and their sex life was much more exciting with three people.
Even Zoro could begrudgingly admit that Nami was a good addition. However, he missed the more private moments he had with the cook. He looked forward to the rare times during the month when Nami would decline their invitations and he could have Sanji to himself. The cook, as much as he enjoyed Nami's presence, didn't seem any less interested in returning to their initial arrangement.
Usopp joined them because of Nami. He had a school boy crush on her and noticed when her relationship with Sanji and Zoro changed. The change was so slight it was hard to believe he caught on, but people in love tend to notice even the slightest details about the object of their affection. So, he decided to investigate.
He weighed his options carefully and then cornered Zoro one day while the swordsman was napping. It was a smart choice. Asking Nami might've given away his feelings for her, and Sanji would never reveal a lady's secret. Zoro, on the other hand, didn't know the meaning of the word "secret", and he certainly never showed Nami any special treatment.
Sure enough, with a little pressing (at the risk of his life, he might add), Zoro revealed the nature of their relationship.
"I want in," Usopp demanded, showing far more confidence than he felt.
"What?" Zoro cocked his eyebrow in disbelief.
"You heard me! I, Captain Usopp, brave warrior of the sea, want in on your… uh, thing."
"Our sex?"
Usopp visibly flinched at the word but nodded. "Yeah, that."
Zoro shrugged, leaning back to relax again. If three worked, there was no reason not to try for four.
"Sure, meet us in the galley tonight."
Usopp nodded shakily and walked away on trembling limbs.
Usopp's addition was not nearly as interesting as Nami's had been, at least not at first. The sharpshooter was unsure of himself and uneasy in what was quickly becoming a crowd of people. The first few nights Usopp was with them was a learning experience for the young man. Fortunate for him, he had three different teachers, and he learned quickly. After that, four people turned out to be just as much fun as three.
Nami enjoyed having someone so willing to follow her orders without complaint join them, and Zoro was glad there was someone to distract her from the cook sometimes. Sanji liked having someone who admired him so much in the party and took Usopp under his wing as a pupil. This paid off well for Zoro in terms of pleasure received. Usopp was a good sport and a team player, but he was also successfully getting closer to Nami the way he wanted. Everyone benefitted from the arrangement.
When Usopp grew more comfortable with their activities, he started to get inventive. It took about a month for Usopp to get entirely comfortable and intimately familiar with them, and another week passed before he brought in his first invention. Usopp's inventions were always met with a fair amount of suspicion, especially as he explained their uses. But they turned out to be successful… very successful, and that was how Usopp made a great thing even greater.
Robin joining brought things to a whole new level. She wasn't invited to join them right away, their distrust of her keeping them from doing so. Their group sex had always worked out so well because they loved each other to varying degrees and with that love came trust. No one was quite sure they could trust Robin at first, and if they couldn't trust her, how would she possibly be able to work with them?
But something began to change. There was a shift in their relationship with her. When it had changed they weren't sure. Sometime while they were up 10,000 meters in the sky? Before that, maybe. They had probably reached different conclusions about her at different times, but the next time they were gathered together, there was a group consensus that she was nakama, no matter her past.
Nami was the one to extend the invitation to her. Everyone had different levels of interest in Robin, but Nami's desire to have another female in the mix was what prompted her to act first. She expected Robin to refuse at first. The older woman seemed so sophisticated and mature; surely she wouldn't be interested in such promiscuous activities with a bunch of horny teenagers. The moment Nami asked, however, Robin merely responded: "I wondered when I would get my invitation."
Robin came bearing experience, and her devil's fruit came in, well… handy. It took her one night to change their activities from hodgepodge sex to organized pleasure. She praised Usopp for his inventions (which left him glowing with pride for the remainder of the night) and showed them how to make the most out of each of them. And those hands. No matter what they were doing, there was always an extra pair of hands to provide increasingly pleasant sensations.
It was sometime after Robin joined them that Luffy finally caught them. How it had taken the curious captain so long to catch his crew in the act (especially when the act took place in the galley more often than not) was a mystery, but he finally did.
Usually, they tucked Chopper into bed on nights they wanted to have sex. Sanji baked his favorite kind of cookies, and they treated him to warm milk and lulled him into a deep sleep. No one wanted to involve their little doctor, not out of a lack of love or trust for their nakama, but because Chopper had, on more than one occasion, made it clear he had no interest in human sexuality. He probably guessed what they were up to – his sense of smell was able to detect when someone was running a fever, so it didn't leave much room for doubt. But he never mentioned it to them (aside from when he gave them checkups and advised them on safe practice, in a vague sort of way) and they never told him.
No one was sure why they didn't think to include Luffy. He just didn't appear to be very interested in that kind of thing. His mind was on adventure, there didn't seem to be time for sex. Usopp had tried to hint at it a couple of times, but Luffy had obliviously misunderstood and changed the subject, so eventually Usopp let it drop.
When he caught them, he didn't seem all that surprised. He stared blankly at the mass of sweating bodies, strewn about in various positions and breathing heavily from the onslaught of sensations they'd been experiencing, frozen from the moment they had heard the door opening. They stared back in wide-eyed shock. There was no simple way to explain what was happening here, and there was no lie they could make that would be believable.
"I swear I didn't come to steal food," A pause. "What are you guys doing anyway?"
"Luffy," Sanji growled, still managing to sound irritable even though he was currently trapped between Usopp and Robin.
"Luffy," Nami sighed. "This is uh…"
It was Zoro, of course, who managed to answer Luffy's question. "Having sex," he stated.
"Oh." Luffy looked over them again, taking another step into the galley. "Can I watch?"
Luffy's role was different. He wasn't usually an active participator in their group. He preferred to hang back, sit by the outside wall and watch his nakama in the act. It should have been unnerving, it had been at first, but over time they discovered there was a certain exhilaration that came with being watched by someone else. They felt some kind of need to deliver an exciting performance for him and worked harder to that goal.
Sometimes Luffy joined in, but not as openly as the rest. Everyone was there seeking pleasure, but Luffy seemed keener on giving it than receiving it when he was in the right mood. He liked to touch; with playful, pleasant touches and occasional vocal observations that were blunt and yet strangely flattering. He never asked for anything in return and rejected offers his nakama made to give him something more.
There were times he was absent altogether, though they invited him every time. Luffy would just shrug it off and go to bed with Chopper. He never did so with any hard feelings. Sometimes he really just had no interest or desire in attending. When and how actively he participated depended, like everything else, entirely on his mood.
Water 7 spelled the end of their gatherings. Robin and Usopp left, Merry burned, and none of the others had the heart to try to continue something like that. Even when things were amended, Robin returned to them and Usopp rejoined, there was a lull in which they couldn't quite bring themselves to fall into the same dynamic. Something changed about their relationship. The same love and trust was there, but it felt different now, more fragile.
Some things remained. Zoro and Sanji could still be found together, sitting in comfortable silence that looked tense and uncomfortable to any outsider. Nami and Usopp remained practically attached for a week when he came back. Wherever one was, the other could always be found just a short distance away, and sometimes they seemed to gravitate towards each other for no reason other than the need to assure each other they were there.
It was Franky that saved them. Though they hadn't gotten together since they'd been separated, Robin took some time to explain to Franky how things had been for them before. It was her way of inviting him, though she never said it outright. She piqued his curiosity with it until he was the one requesting they all try together. The news spread between them slowly, met with uncertainty at first, before they agreed it was time they put the past behind them and tried to rekindle what had been there between them.
The night was tentative and slow. They no longer needed to gather in the galley (much to Sanji's delight) as the Thousand Sunny was much larger than the Going Merry had been. They tried the first night in the aquarium room as it was more comfortable than a storage room or the hold. It started out carefully. They grouped into pairs, almost afraid to stray too far from their partners. Luffy watched quietly, not moving, seeing how his nakama would react.
The tension in the room broke when Sanji moved to plant careful, tender kisses onto Usopp's neck and down his chest. That left Zoro to welcome Robin back, and Nami to get to know Franky. Pairs became groups, crewmates gravitating together out of curiosity or desire, and eventually they combined into a single unit moving together as one, seeking out a common goal.
Luffy smiled from his position on the bench as he watched, and his smile gave way to joyous laughter as Robin's hands grew from the bench like delicate flowers and began to tickle them. She spared him a gentle smile before turning to return her attention to Nami and Sanji.
A time would come when they would be separated again. Things would become straining, hectic and heart breaking for all of them in the future. But if that first night reunited together taught them anything, it was that the Straw Hat Pirates had bonds that were too deep to break.
A/N: I have so many headcanons about this stuff I thought I would take a stab at writing it. It proved to be more difficult than I anticipated. I hope you enjoyed though and any and all feedback is welcome!