A Sea of Reasons

by Zoete9

There were so many reasons they shouldn't have worked, so many ways it all could have gone wrong; but they never cared about any of those possibilities, more focused on the sea of reasons that made it all feel so very right. 50 different snippets of ZoLu throughout their adventures.

Author's Note:

Hey there! Wow... so, it's been a while since I've posted anything on my account. Honestly, I shouldn't even be playing with ZoLu when I've got two stories I should be updating. I'm afraid the inspiration is just not coming, guys, for those of you that read my SasuNaru (Bonds Reawakened), or the ever-neglected NaruHina (Invisible). Nevertheless, I wrote 50 sentences with 50 different themes (I call them Prompts).

If you enjoy this type of style, me and my awesome beta-sister, C.C., have written these (with different words/themes/prompts, of course) on various Soul Eater pairings in an ongoing fic called Individual Moments. They are on our joint account, DualInsanities222, which is in my Favorite Authors section if you are unable to find it for whatever reason. C.C also has two fantastic SE stories going right now, so if you read our Prompts and happen to like her writing style, look up CuteCat213. Enough with my rambling, though!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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#1 - Lure

Zoro never was quite sure how Luffy managed to lure him into becoming an outlaw, he'd even thought he'd gotten on the wrong ship- but then he'll see that grin, so alive, purely Luffy, and remember that reason in heartbeat.

#2 - Bounce

Luffy trips over air and bounces across the deck, stretching some strange contraption far too excitedly as he lands in a heap, "Look, Zoro! It's called a slinky, and I guess you're supposed to-" and the swordsman raises his eyebrows at the forlorn expression that appears when the slinky decidedly snaps -one half of the coiled plastic even whips his captain in the face- but then Zoro just smiles and ruffles Luffy's hair.

#3 - Solitude

Zoro always thought he was damned to be alone forever -Love? Companionship? But, wait, someone could fall in love with him...? How laughable!- so imagine his surprise when Luffy comes barging into his life with a vow to change all that.

#4 - Message

"Captain's orders," Luffy breathes, and his swordsman shudders at the fingertips ghosting up, down and all around, simultaneous with the hand dragging his head lower and lower by the back of his neck with each second that passes- there's no resistance whatsoever, because Zoro's received the message loud and clear: Captain's Orders are law.

#5 - Abyss

Luffy's eyes were like twin abysses, Zoro abruptly decides; darkly mysterious, and once you've fallen in, it's nearly impossible to climb back out.

#6 - Descent

Their landings are always less than graceful and more than a little painful when Luffy rockets them onto the ship, but neither of them mind so much when it gives them an excuse to be tangled together before the moment's gone and they remember they have an audience.

#7 - Honesty

His brutal honesty, despite how much trouble it often caused, is something Zoro loves the most about Luffy.

#8 - Enigma

Zoro is one huge enigma to Luffy; just when he finally thinks he can guess what course of action his first mate's going to take, the man will do the opposite and it's back to square one for the ever-pouting captain.

#9 - Caught

An amusing chase with threats of drowning ensues when Zoro finds out Luffy had stumbled upon his chocolate stash -the collection so secretly kept that not a single member of the crew knew it even existed- and used his rubbery, candy-grubbing fingers to shovel every last one down his god forsaken esophagus.

#10 - Anxiety

If Luffy kept falling into the ocean, Zoro was one hundred percent certain that he would be prone to daily panic-attacks by the time they docked at another island -SPLASH!- that dumb ass.

#11 - Sensible

The Straw Hat Captain had a very valid and sensible reason for constantly throwing himself overboard: he smirked as the sea-water came into contact with his skin, awaiting the pair of reliable arms he knew would circle his waist and the comfort of being pressed into a solid chest while the surface rushed to greet them for the tenth time that day.

#12 - Dance

When Luffy fought, it looked like he was dancing; Kuina had, too, before her talent was nipped at the bud, and Zoro smiles wistfully at the comparison: he'd lost that marvelous sight only to gain its worth back ten-fold.

#13 - Trust

Luffy trusts Zoro to find his own way back to the ship, back home after another long adventure; Zoro convinces himself that Luffy is home in hopes that his determination to return never wavers.

#14 - Blood

Blood didn't bother Zoro, but something inside him screams that it's all wrong, horror and disgust washing over him like a tidal-wave when it finally registers: the red coating these trembling hands isn't his own- it's Luffy's.

#15 - Sunshine

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine~ You make me happyyyy~ when skies are grey! You'll never know dear, how much I love you-" despite the sweet meaning of the lyrics his 'serenading' captain is shrieking at him, Zoro promptly claps his hands over his ears with a violent cringe.

#16 - Fear

Luffy simply doesn't understand other's fear in death, but that's only because he'd disregarded it- after all, he has a Zoro to cuddle and they don't.

#17 - Annoy

There was a reason Zoro was always so annoyed with that Love-Cook; Luffy notices and has his first mate's cheeks flaming just a few words later, "It's okay! I don't love Sanji, just his cooking. Besides, Zoro's special to me!"

#18 - Crush

Luffy will never tell him, but during that millisecond it took their worlds to collide, he had already developed a crush on Zoro; it was the size of the ocean he demanded they sail together.

#19 - Control

It always seemed like the crew wanted to chain Luffy to the ship to gain some semblance of control, but Zoro would slice off those bindings and follow without complaint; he understood it was in his captain's nature to be free and wreaking havoc everywhere he went.

#20 - Ashes

When there's finally nothing left of her but a whisper of ash floating atop the water, Zoro is still holding tight to his captain and pressing kisses into the crown of Luffy's hatless head as the onslaught of tears continues: "Merry would want you to stop, Sencho."

#21 - Count

Rare as such a practice occurs, Zoro will lie awake in the darkness, counting the number of times those three little words have fallen past his lips and hoping like hell that he gets the chance to say them again.

#22 - Wake

The dream is escaping him, dripping off in rivulets like the sticky sweat lathering his body before he even has time to decipher what had made him so afraid- although, he thinks that perhaps he's figured it out during the few moments it takes his heart to stagger in his chest, when his gaze lingers on the still form upon his first mate's bunk and he realizes he is not imagining the wetness staining his cheeks.

#23 - Mixed

Luffy's having mixed feelings about his self-sacrifice, Zoro decides, when the take-it-to-the-grave secret is spilled and his captain attempts to throttle, kiss and rant all in the same instant: "Stupid Zoro! It doesn't make sense for me to be the Pirate King without you as the World's Greatest Swordsman!"

#24 - Life

Most of the Straw Hats understood that they had abandoned their previous lives behind at those daunting shorelines, and maybe they missed the serene lifestyle; but the moment deep charcoal and blazing green meet in a fond gaze, Zoro and Luffy would both agree that this new one is infinitely better.

#25 - Pole

He's hanging from the mast when it happens, ignoring Franky's protests in favor of staring at Zoro like nothing else in the world matters, which is actually what prompts Luffy to wonder: at what point in time did he fall so deeply in love?

#26 - Tape

The smile is hard to keep at bay when he spies it; a horrendously wrapped present with his name scrawled on it, scotch-tape plastered everywhere to prevent the paper from peeling off ("They lied, Zoro! It's not invisible!" and the other just snorts and pulls him in for a hug, "It's fine, Luffy.")

#27 - Bottle

Zoro likes to think that Luffy loves him more than platters overflowing with meat; Luffy did the same while imagining bottles brimmed jarringly full with sake.

#28 - Wind

The wind whipping through his captain's hair, the vivacious grin that makes his breath stutter, a kiss that lights his blood on fire; they all bring a new realization: Luffy's beautiful.

#29 - Shield

He hates that the world isn't as bright a place as his captain believes it to be, but he'll try to act as a shield from that truth, because maybe then Luffy could continue pretending just a little while longer.

#30 - Paper

The day that newspaper arrives (the smile was missing, and the wrongness of that causes his stomach to twist dreadfully), Zoro drops to his knees before his dream's greatest threat and he begs for strength, because Luffy needs him.

#31 - Wheel

Luffy knows he shouldn't do it -he's the captain, after all- but he sits back and is content to let Zoro take the wheel anyways.

#32 - Ice

"Zoro... you've got-" Luffy giggles, leaning over to lick the dot of ice cream off his first mate's nose teasingly, and can only gasp -cone dropping to the floor in blissful, thinly veiled surprise, a low groan escaping without permission- when Zoro kisses him, tongue probing each crevice to, apparently, verify something: "Definitely my new favorite flavor."

#33 - One

All of his nakama had undying faith in him, Luffy knew, but Zoro was the one who saw beyond his strength.

#34 - Trip

Those damn flip-flops had to be the most annoying kind of footwear in the entire universe- so when Zoro finally trips Luffy, he's quite satisfied to have the clacking noise gone and a lapful of confused captain.

#35 - Fox

Zoro never thought the day would come when Luffy, of all people, shouted across the ship with such a nickname hanging from his lips that it rendered even Robin speechless and incapable of cracking a perverted joke: "Hey, Zoro! Wait for me, you foxy swordsman!"

#36 - Addict

Sweetly beautiful in appearance, yet sinfully intoxicating regarding his taste: that's the brand of drug his captain was and, as Zoro dives in for another kiss, he realizes there is no hope of rescuing him from this newfound addiction.

#37 - Finger

One fateful day, Luffy slams his first mate's hand in the kitchen door, thus the chosen form of apology rears its head: what is unmistakably a warm, slimy tongue envelopes his throbbing finger and Zoro decidedly loses all coherent thought process.

#38 - Light

It's in the light of the bonfire that Nami finally questions it: "Zoro... isn't being with Luffy a lot like romancing a rock?" and the man sighs, wrapping an arm around their captain's waist, "Yes. Yes it is, but the idiot is my rock."

#39 - Time

With time, anything is possible; even falling heels-over-head for someone who threatened to dice you up only a couple hours after the initial meeting- should you "jeopardize his ambitions" anyway.

#40 - Fate

Fate was cruel ("I'm sorry... she fell down the stairs, Zoro."), but he's begging for a change in luck this time around, hopes he's not making a fool out of himself for wanting the words said with such a blinding smile -"Don't worry, Zoro. I won't die!"- to not be a lie.

#41 - Grateful

Luffy is grateful for the many hours Zoro will lay sprawled haphazardly on the deck- it means he gets as many chances one could ever want to snuggle up on a muscled, albeit scarred, chest in the sunshine -and if his first mate ever squeezes just that little bit too tight subconsciously, for once, Luffy never utters a single word.

#42 - Dream

When Mihawk next sees them, he remembers the times where the most important thing to Zoro was his dream -"To be on top, the greatest!"- and judges, with restrained contempt and slight jealousy that, maybe, his successor has stumbled upon something far more precious than ambition.

#43 - Glass

Luffy's eyes got oddly glassy whenever he saw flames, "Come on Luffy," which is when Zoro pulls him away.

#44 - Clip

"Luffy... why are you wearing one of Nami's clips? And are those pigtails?" Zoro's already promising himself that he'll never leave Luffy alone with the girls again even before the reply comes from Robin's disturbingly smiling mouth, "We felt it best that he get in touch with his feminine side."

#45 - Shade:

Zoro doesn't know how much he's lost when that tattered straw hat withdraws Luffy's eyes into the shadows, and he vehemently denies seeing a tear trail down the trembling lips that eventually whisper, "See you later, Zoro..." even as a pit forms in his stomach, as the words, frosted in the silence, cut deeper than any of his katana ever could.

#46 - Bin

Robin decided long ago that she would never miss a moment of their more intimate practices and, being the closet-pervert that she was and forever will be, the archaeologist finds it quite hilarious that they still haven't seen her hand/eye combination that pokes out of the laundry bins in the men's cabin.

#47 - Yell

When Luffy leans his head closer to him, Zoro assumes the captain is only aiming for a kiss and closes his eyes in hopes of drifting to sleep, which is precisely why the unsuspecting swordsman yelps when pain erupts from a specific spot on his neck; the culprit smiles as if they've done nothing wrong, and Zoro shoots him a withering glare as the jaws begin to snap at his collarbone: "OI! NO BITING!"

#48 - Bitter

It's bittersweet when they reunite after two agonizing years apart, because neither of them know what to say nor where they stand with each other, especially when Luffy finally asks what the swordsman had long-anticipated: "Why didn't you listen to me? Why didn't you just run?" and Zoro tells him like it is, "Because that wasn't my captain giving orders- it was you, Luffy. And you wouldn't have gone with me. I couldn't let you fight alone, couldn't... leave you."

#49 - Knot

"But Zoro, It's just two knots," the captain huffs and pokes at the red string tethering his and Zoro's pinky fingers; the swordsman only smiles, hooking his pinky around Luffy's, as if making a promise, "Nah, it's a link. You ever heard that legend about red thread, Luffy? It means we're together, always and forever."

#50 - Danger

Dangerous, frightening, a demon; Luffy knew they called his first mate all kinds of intimidating names, but here and now, when Zoro is sliding his fingertips so cautiously down his sides, pressing feather-light kisses upon random places, and simply being as snuggly as one could get... the captain can't possibly bring himself to believe any of it: "Love you, Zoro..."