Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. None of them. The Goggle Crew belongs to the great Emi-Sama(aka Maggie, my best friend), but are only briefly mentioned in one sentence. Characters Luffy and Zoro belong to Eiichiro Oda. Enjoy!
When you wake up, you see him at once. That's not too difficult, seeing as he's sitting on top of you, quite literally. His face is only inches from yours. «Luffy?» you ask, your voice weak. That battle did a number on you. The Strawhats defeated the Goggle Crew in the end, but they put up a good fight and in retrospect, you think you may have been a little careless. Which is the reason you fainted only seconds after the victory from bloodloss. If your captain hadn't been blocking your vision, you would have seen that your wounds had been bandaged and probably disinfected too. Chopper wasn't the type to slack off when it came to this kind of thing.
Suddenly, Luffy seems to notice you're awake and talking to him. He looks up from the scar you got when you first fought Mihawk and startles you for the second time with the lack of space between your faces. «Ah, Zoro's awake!» he exclaims happily, grinning like an idiot. «I was starting to worry.»
You chuckle, knowing your captain doesn't really do worried. He does pissed at the attackers, searching for a solution to whatever ailed his precious comrades or frustrated because he couldn't find one, but not worried. «It takes more than some lame newbie pirate crew to kill me!» Slyly, he comments, «Well, you fainted nine seconds after the battle.» That catches your attention, and you raise your eyebrows, staring at him. «You counted?» Almost absentmindedly, he nods. «I could tell Zoro was gonna black out, and I couldn't do anything anyway. I thought I might as well get the opportunity to tell you later, 'You fainted nine seconds after the battle! You should take more care' or... something along those lines, hehe.»
«You want me to take more care?» you ask, momentarily distracted, but he doesn't answer. Instead he crawls back a little, so he gets a better view of your chest. Hesitantly, he touches your scar. The touch is soft, almost unnoticeable, a bit like his voice when he asks, «Do you remember when you got this scar?» It's obvious it's a rhetorical question though, so you just wait for him to continue. How could you possibly forget, after all?
«I know I do. 'Cause Zoro... Zoro could have died. Would have, if Mihawk hadn't for some reason held back. Instead, Zoro survived, but I'll never forget what you said back then.» His head is bent so his bangs are shadowing his eyes. «'Cause you said you'd never lose another battle. Why? That would put me in trouble.» By now you're starting to wonder what medicine exactly Chopper gave you and if he accidentally overdosed. If you hadn't known better, you'd have sworn you just saw a tear roll down Luffy's cheek.
«I agreed!» he almost shouts, his voice shaking. You think it's in anger, but you doubt he's mad at you. If you had to guess, you'd say he was actually rather carrying a deep sense of regret for that moment. Which is stupid, because you regret nothing. Swordsmen are supposed to protect, and you do. Only nobody ever mentioned to you that maybe sometimes idiotic, usually hyperactive captains can need protecting, too. Your thoughts wander, but are snapped back into what's happening here and now by his voice.
«But Zoro- I'd so much rather have you lose a battle and stay with us, with me, than win and die afterwards from some internal bleeding or, or anything because you tried too hard as always!» Now you know he's crying, as you can see the tears rolling down his cheeks and the way his shoulders are shaking. In addition, you're guessing he's trying- and failing- to hold back sobs. That's why you do the only thing you can- lift your arms with an effort and embrace him. For a second he freezes, but then he relaxes and stops holding back. He's allowing himself to cry freely. «I just... I don't wanna lose you, Zoro...» he manages to say between sobs. «You're my friend! And I, I...»
You know he's about to confess something he's not really ready to say. Which is why you just continue holding him, trying to calm him down by muttering promises that you'll definitely live, because after all you've promised to follow him to the end of the world- yeah, even to the end of time! You'll never leave him, of course, because he's your friend and you care about him. Over time, his tears stop flowing, but you still hold him. You notice how warm he is, and also how he's clinging to you, as if he's afraid you'll disappear if he lets go. Maybe he is. In addition to that, you can't help but take note of how comfortable it feels to hold him. It's not a perfect fit or anything, but it feels oddly right.
It feels like a very short time, but you know later it was hours. That night, he sleeps in your hospital bed, your arms wrapped protectively around him. He sleeps, and you can't shake the feeling something will never be quite the same again.
You also can't bring yourself to mind it, really.
Well. That was my first fanfic ever, meaning also my first ZoLu. Reviews are appreciated, I don't mind flames, constructive criticism is always welcome and of course I don't mind people just telling me if they like the story or not either. Hope you liked it!