Post time-skip. A short drabble, originally posted on deviantART. Shockingly, not about Usopp…
It was a particularly hot day, although the Straw Hat crew knew well that on the Grand Line, that could change at any moment. Most of the guys had taken off their shirts, and Nami had stripped down to a skimpy bikini that had Sanji drooling into the cool drinks he'd just prepared.
Luffy sat on the railing of the ship's deck, his head in his hands as he watched Zoro lifting ridiculously heavy weights. The sun made the swordsman's sweaty body glisten, and his many scars stood out sharply.
The dark-haired captain jumped down from his perch and approached his first mate.
"What's up, Luffy?" Zoro asked, putting down his weights.
Luffy didn't answer. Instead, he reached out his left hand and touched the giant scar that slashed across Zoro's bare chest. He reached up with his other hand and brushed the scar that cut across Zoro's closed left eye.
Zoro froze, surprised by Luffy's unexpected touch. His hands were cool against his sweaty body.
"Did it hurt?" Luffy asked abruptly.
"Huh?"
"Did it hurt?" Luffy repeated insistently. "When you got these scars?"
Zoro's first instinct was to puff out his chest proudly and deny it. But Luffy's intense gaze made him hesitate.
"...Yeah," he admitted. "Kinda. A lot."
"Hmm," Luffy answered, looking unimpressed.
Before Luffy could pull away from him, Zoro reached out and placed his hands on Luffy's scars. The pinkish cross on his chest and the old scar below his left eye.
"Did these hurt?" he asked his captain.
Luffy didn't answer for a moment, silently looking up into Zoro's one open eye.
Then he grinned and laughed.
"Nope!" Luffy declared. "Didn't hurt a bit!"
"Good," Zoro answered, smiling. "You have to be tough to become King of the Pirates."