Shimotsuki was a very traditional village. Boys liked girls, and girls liked boys. Girls had certain duties and roles they played in society and so did the boys. It wasn't supposed to be any different than that. Kuina had been different though, she wanted to learn swordsmanship, and she was good at it too. Other boys in the dojo would scoff at her and call her terrible things, older women from the village would give her scorn filled looks when she didn't act all 'proper'. Even Sensei had made it clear that he expected her to lose interest in swords and pick up other more befitting pastimes for a young lady. She never seemed to care about all that, she'd just hold her head higher. He thought she was the strongest person he knew, so when she started blurting nonsense about how she couldn't be a strong swordsman because she was a girl the night of their last duel, he gave her a piece of his mind. It was all a bunch of bullshit, who cared that she was a little different. They would show all those people who looked down on them.
He realized as he grew older, after Kuina had died, he may have been a little different too. He hadn't understood how she could have said what she did that night or how she felt, until he started to experience it for himself.
Guys in his class started to talk about cute girls from different parts of the village. They flirted with girls, went on dates, and a few of the boys who were from wealthy families even became betrothed. He figured his own disinterest was simply because he was so focused on training. He didn't have time for silly things like romances.
Until Haru.
Haru had moved to the village when Zoro was almost fourteen. He was the same age, and height, as him, but he had a darker tan that made his hazel eyes pop, and shoulder length black hair that he had tied up. He joined the dojo on a Wednesday, and Sensei had paired them together so that he could guide Haru through the different rules and chores they had, as well as showing him around the grounds. He knew on Friday why he didn't care about the girls.
They had become close, very close. Five months in, Saga had made a joke that hit a little too close to home for comfort, and Zoro found himself questioning everything they did together. Did people know? Could they tell? A few months after that Haru met a girl and started to spend more time with her. The day Haru told him he liked her Zoro just smiled and nodded along, encouraging his friend to tell him more. Later he took all his frustration out on a training dummy, he had broken his bokken and punched it instead. He punched until his knuckles bled, and then he punched some more. It wasn't until it was almost pitch dark he felt Sensei pulling him back from the dummy and holding him close as he finally came undone. Tears and snot ran down his face as words tumbled out of his mouth, against his will, laying his heart out to Koshiro, who simply sat, listened, and rubbed his back. Eventually the crying stopped, and his sensei picked him up and carried him back to his own private housing at the dojo, setting him down on the kitchen floor, and carefully set about cleaning and bandaging his hands. When he finished he knelt in front of the young teen and gripped his shoulders firmly, ducking his head to force Zoro to meet his eyes before speaking.
'Why does it bother you so much?'
'It's not right.' His sensei quirked a sad smile.
'You have fought for your place here at the dojo, and perfecting your technique, and to be the top student here. You have always fought for yourself. Why aren't you fighting for yourself now?' He ruffled the green hair on top his head. 'Zoro, people will always try to tell you what is right and wrong. However, those are their own views of life, and they may not always align to other people's views. Never let anyone tell you you are less then you are, or wrong for being you. There is absolutely nothing wrong with who you are or who you choose to love.'
He was great at what he did, and nothing would change that. If people didn't like him for one little thing that was their problem.
He eventually decided it wasn't anyone's business who he liked, but if anyone ever asked he wouldn't lie or change the topic like he had in the past. He'd be honest and true in who he was.
He hadn't thought much of it, because the subject of his love life never came up among his friends. They still flirted with girls and made jokes about his lack of interest, but no one seemed to ask. Or maybe they didn't want to know (those were the thoughts that hurt the most).
To the day he left the village, it never came up. That was fine by him.
He learned that places outside his island weren't so traditional, and that many people didn't care about who was with who. Sure, there were still people who had the same opinions as people from home, but they weren't people he couldn't take care of if need be.
He had his first kiss two months after leaving home in a gay bar he had stumbled upon, with a guy who had joined him at the bar to drink and chat. It felt right, and the rest was history.
XXX
Nami had caught them snuggled up with each other early in the morning after Luffy had kissed him. He pretended to still be asleep as he listened to her move around her boat before stopping at the side where their boat was just a hop away. He feigned sleep, even when Luffy woke up and started an easy conversation with their new navigator, leaving his side cold and open to the light breeze. He eventually fell back asleep, his injury making him sleepier than usual.
He woke to Luffy and Nami crashing back into the boats, picking up paddles and pushing away from a shore Zoro hadn't known they had been on. Luffy was laughing and telling a crazy story about some guy stuck in a box, with Nami filling in bits and pieces as he talked.
"He had green hair too!" Luffy exclaimed, once he had finished his retelling of their small adventure. He cocked his head to the side, as he looked at the top of Zoro's own head, before smiling wide and stating, "I like Zoro's hair better though." He leaned in and ran his fingers through the short, light green strands. Hand palming the back of his neck at the bottom of his hairline and pulling the swordsman toward him, leaving a sloppy kiss at the corner of his mouth.
Zoro could see Nami in the corner of his eye, looking pleased. As if she had found the last piece to a puzzle she had been trying to work out for some time. Zoro felt his face warm as he wiped at his face, but he knew the damage had been done, there wasn't any lingering evidence to be seen anyway. He couldn't avoid it at all, she knew for sure now.
He couldn't place why Nami knowing concerned him. He hadn't cared about people knowing about his sexuality for quite some time. And she certainly wasn't a threat to him, he could hand her ass to her if she had things to say. She didn't say anything though.
She clearly didn't care, and he felt dizzy when that realization hit him.
XXX
So far in the short time they had known each other and the even shorter time he and Luffy have been together (he supposed), it was Luffy leading, doing, and giving. Luffy made it all seem so easy. He would kiss him and touch him without warning and without hesitation. He made it seem so easy, he felt odd not knowing how to respond. Maybe he should just try talking to Luffy about it. A real talk about this thing between them. The only problem was that he needed privacy for something like that and he was stuck on this boat with Nami, within earshot at all times, and nowhere else to go.
Thankfully they made land at Gecko Islands a day later.
They meet a funny guy named Usopp, who talked big and had nothing to back it up. They meet Kaya, who is gentle and sweet. They meet Kuro, who is an asshole.
Thank goodness for that, because that meant a fight, and he loved a good fight. Zoro found he also loved watching Luffy fight. His strength was alluring and ferocity captivating. He was disappointed when it was over. Usopp lead them back to Kaya's house where she and the weird sheep guy, Merry, invited them in for food and rest.
It was the largest house he'd ever been in. They were given their own hall to stay in that had more then enough rooms for each of them to have their own. Nami was quick to pilfer through them all and chose the biggest one she could for herself, kicking Luffy out. Zoro raised an eyebrow as he watched her, he was starting to get a better idea of this girl as they spent time together and she was something else. She was a good thief for one, could hold her own well, was quick to use anything to her advantage, and seemed to enjoy the finer things in life. He liked her, even if she was a witch for that stunt she pulled on him earlier to get up the oil slicked path.
"I guess Nami wanted that one." Luffy laughed from where he had just been physically deposited from the room and had the door closed in his face.
"You know as Captain you could have told her to find another room." Zoro drawled from where he was leaning against the wall watching the ordeal go down. Luffy just shrugged.
"I don't really care which room I get, and Nami really wanted that one, so it doesn't matter." He picked himself up from the floor and grabbed Zoro's arm as he passed, dragging him a little way down the hall and into a room. A bathroom. Zoro watched as he started the water in the bath and discarded his clothes into a pile in the corner of the room. He turned back to Zoro hands on his hips, not even caring that he was completely naked, except for his hat. Zoro felt his face grow hot as he refused to let his eyes wander. "Why do you still have your clothes on?" Those words certainly kicked Zoro into motion.
He removed his swords and placed them propped against the corner, away from the bath so they wouldn't get splashed. His pants and haramaki came next, as Luffy investigated the bath and all the soaps by its side. He was careful in peeling his shirt off, trying not to open the scratches on his chest from those cat guys. The dried blood pulled unpleasantly on the wounds and by the time he had his shirt off there was a new sluggish flow of blood working its way down his front. He grabbed a hand towel and wet it in the sink, dabbing the cuts and wincing at the stinging sensation. He did this until Luffy sounded behind him.
"Zoro!" He whined. "Help me." Luffy sat slumped in the bath holding onto the sides weakly. The water for the bath must be sea water. He snorted when he saw the water sloshing over the sides. The bath was large, and could probably fit three people comfortably, he noted as he climbed in next to Luffy and pulled the plug to drain some of the water out.
"Put less in you idiot." Luffy's head leaned against his shoulder as he took one of the random soaps and smelled it. It was mild and wouldn't make him smell like a flower which was good enough for him. He started to scrub himself clean, and grabbed Luffy whenever he felt like he was sliding to far into the water. Once he was done with himself he shrugged the younger off his shoulder and turned to start scrubbing his captain clean. Luffy was ticklish and wouldn't stop squirming.
Zoro splashed water in his face and laughed as Luffy sputtered and weakly splashed him back. Once he was done Luffy hauled himself up on the baths edge, only his feet left in the bath. He seemed to snap back to himself without the water to weigh him down and started to kick water at Zoro. They continued like that for a few minutes each trying to out dodge and out splash the other until a loud banging on the door stopped them.
"You guys better not be doing what I think you're doing, 'cause I have to use that bath too!" Nami yelled through the door.
"What's she mean?" Luffy asked as he climbed out of the bath and grabbed a towel to dry his hair. Zoro's face burned and he hid his face in his hands. "What?" Luffy cocked his head to the side.
"Nothing." he choked out. "We'll be right out!" He called and hoisted himself out, and hastily wrapped a towel around his waist grabbing both their piles of clothes, and his swords, as he passed and unlocked the door to find Nami waiting outside. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and was tapping her foot, glaring at him. "We weren't doing anything," he protested with a glare that would make lesser men weep. Nami just narrowed her eyes at him, obviously not believing a word as Luffy strolled out with the biggest fucking smile on his face, grabbing Zoro's arm once again and dragging him into the room across the hall. All while naked.
"Sure." She mocked. Zoro ground his teeth in irritation, only relaxing once the door to the room closed and cut off the view of Nami suggestively winking at them. Two seconds later he laughed as he heard her muffled outrage through the door. "WHY THE HELL IS EVERYTHING COVERED IN WATER?" Whoops.
Merry came by with clean clothes for the night and took their dirty ones. He left with a comment that dinner was in ten minutes. Which was all it took for Zoro to find himself alone in the room. He apparently couldn't compete with food. Zoro took his time dressing and tucking his swords back at his side before he left to follow.
It only took fifteen minutes to find the dining room. Luffy was already eating everything in sight as he sat down next to him. Kaya and Usopp were seated across the table from them and Nami at the head of the table. Merry went back and forth between the kitchen and the table never stopping the flow of food. Zoro piled his plate high with anything he could get his hands on and ate fast, knocking Luffy's hand away when it strayed to close. Eventually he moved on to trying to grab food from Usopp's plate, who was distracted by his conversation with Kaya.
They were cute, Zoro thought. Kaya and Usopp. An odd match, but his ridiculous stories made her laugh and smile, and she looked at him like he was the most important person in the room. Usopp made ridiculous loving faces at Kaya when she turned away to talk to Nami and Zoro briefly wondered if this is how he and Luffy looked to other people. Like a couple of love-sick fools who were head over heels for each other. He shook his head trying to dislodge the idea. No, they didn't look like that. He wasn't in love with Luffy, they had barely known each other for long. He was just interested, and Luffy was interested back.
It was nice. He wasn't sure what they had going on, but was nice.
He went back to eating, at a much slower rate after that. He really needed to talk to Luffy about this.
He excused himself once he was done and made his way back to the room. Leaving the other four to continue their conversations and feasting. He needed to nap. Once he had finally found the right room he collapsed on the bed. He thought about Luffy. He fell asleep feeling light and relaxed.
XXX
When morning came he woke to a quiet room and hoped to never leave the warmth of the bed. Those hopes were quickly dashed when Luffy burst through the doors and jumped on him, talking a mile a minute.
"Zoro, Zoro, Zoro, guess what! Usopp is coming with us! He joined the crew and he's coming with us. Kaya said she'd give us a boat too. Not like the ones we have. A real one! I can't wait to see it, it's going to be so cool. OH! Plus, she's giving it to us for free, which Nami is super happy about. Can you believe it? Usopp and a boat." He jumped on the bed shaking Zoro out of any semblance of sleep he had. He laughed as he collapsed on the bed next to the green haired pirate and pawed at his face. "Oi, are you listening?" Zoro smacked his hand away and glared at him.
"Usopp joined, we have a boat. Anything else I missed, Captain?" Luffy thought about it before shaking his head.
"Nope, that's it. Breakfast should be soon. Do you think they'll have bacon?" Zoro snorted and closed his eyes. So much for a quiet morning.
"Probably."
"Good." Then he rolled on top of Zoro, propped up by his arms at both sides of Zoro's head and dipped in for a kiss. This time Zoro was prepared and raised up on his elbows to meet him halfway. It was different from the other kisses they had shared. It lingered. When they pulled away Luffy gave him a small smile he couldn't resist. Zoro wrapped an arm around the younger pirate's shoulders and brought him back, bumping noses with him in the process. Luffy laughed against his lips and eagerly returned the kiss. Luffy's hand found his hair and then his earrings, giving a sharp tug that hurt a bit too much. Zoro's mouth opened to disapprove, but his objection was replaced with a soft muffled gasp as Luffy used the opportunity to deepen their kiss. The tongue exploring his mouth was a welcome change he decides to meet head on, pressing more firmly into Luffy. They only broke apart for air, leaving them gasping. Luffy leaned in for another and they were forced apart by a knock at the door. Luffy rolled off Zoro to answer with a bounce in his step.
Zoro smirked. What a dork.
"It's our clothes." The younger pirate chirped bouncing back to the bed. Zoro pushed himself up and out of the bed to grab the clothing being handed out to him. Once changed, he flopped back on the bed, joined by Luffy where they exchanged a few more enthusiastic kisses. He should probably talk to Luffy now.
"Luffy?" He huffs as Luffy straddles his hips and starts kissing down the side of his neck.
"Hmm?"
"What are we doing?"
"Kissing." It was almost like déjà vu. Luffy's hands were working their way down his chest and back up his sides. It felt good. Too good. He snapped himself out of his daze and grabbed Luffy's wrists, pulling back from the lanky pirate. That grabbed Luffy's full attention, and he looked down at Zoro with confusion.
"What are we doing? What's going on between us?"
"What do you mean?" Zoro pushed himself up, causing Luffy to remove himself from where he sat atop Zoro.
"You said you liked me, and I like you back too. But that's all that's been said. We haven't discussed this." He gestured between the two of them, now seated on the bed facing each other. "Are we together? Or are we just having some fun? Do you want more than that?" He couldn't read what Luffy was thinking, his face looked blank as he talked, and it was making him nervous. Maybe he hadn't understood what was going on correctly. "I'm fine if you just wanna fool around a little." Shit. Why did he say that?
"Zoro's stupid."
"Excuse me!" Why did he think this was a good idea again?
"I like Zoro." He could feel his face pinch in confusion, as Luffy looked at him expectantly and crossed his arms. "I like Zoro." Luffy said again, slower, as if it cleared everything up. He squinted at Luffy, trying to pick up on anything he was missing. Luffy pouted at him and then caught his face between his hands and pulled him closer. Zoro had to scramble to keep himself upright. Luffy brought him close enough that he could feel Luffy's breath on his face has he spoke again with an unexpected seriousness, "I like Zoro." He pulled him the rest of the short distance, placing a soft press of his lips against his forehead and let go.
Zoro blinked and leaned back to take Luffy in completely. He was relaxed and calm, watching Zoro's reaction with his wide eyes. He felt slightly less confused.
"Yeah?" His voice is so soft and spoken as a whisper. He almost doesn't recognize it as his own.
"Yeah."
"I like you too." Luffy offered a blinding smile.
"I know!" Zoro offered a pillow to his face. The little shit.
Luffy grabbed for his own pillow and they traded blows, which turned into wrestling, which turned into lazy kissing until Nami popped her head into the room, announcing breakfast was ready. She squawked when Zoro, face burning, hurled one of the forgotten pillows at her for interrupting. Didn't she know how to knock?
After breakfast they all headed out to see their new ship. Going Merry is a nice ship, Zoro must admit. They move what few things they have from their small row boats on board, and then load the supplies that Kaya and Merry graciously offer them as well. They have a ship and a small crew of four, they could probably be considered an actual crew by now.
XXX
Luffy decides that it would be fun to see how long it will take them to make-out in all the different rooms on Going Merry. Two days it turned out, which was two days longer then Zoro expected. It would have gone a lot faster if they hadn't been interrupted as much as they were. It seemed that their crewmates were just as excited to explore all the different nooks and crannies of their new home as they were. For different reasons.
Nami caught them twice on the first day. Laughing at Zoro's expression which she kept referring to it as his 'caught with his hand in the cookie jar' face. His hands were certainly not in the cookie jar or anywhere near close. Zoro refused all of Luffy's protests to try again, until the second day. That's when Usopp walked in on them in the hold.
Apparently, Nami had not informed him of the nature of their relationship, if the screaming was any indication. Zoro had originally been looking for a nice place to take a nap away from everyone else. The cooler air in the hold offered the perfect environment to do just that. That's where Luffy found him two hours later. Zoro was brutally reminded for someone physically smaller then him, Luffy had a lot more strength, as Luffy pinned him up against the wall. It was once Luffy's hand had found its way up his shirt to stroke his chest, and Zoro was sneaking his own hand lower down the younger pirate's spine to his backside, that Usopp found his way into the storage area.
Zoro's head whipped around in the direction of the intrusion and glared at their newest nakama as Luffy happily continued kissing and nipping across his bared throat. He had been just about to tell the marksman to go away when Luffy had nipped at the right spot just below his ear and firmly groped his pectoral, causing an embarrassingly whiny moan to escape his mouth instead. Usopp had paled rapidly and his eyes widened, moving back out the door as he yelled.
"I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" That had pulled Luffy from his task as he looked toward the now closed door.
"Huh, was that Usopp?"
"Yeah. I'm gunna kill him," he turned his dark look to his partner, "after I kill you!" He smacked Luffy lightly on the side of his head.
"Hey! What'd I do?" That pout was going to be the end of the swordsman, he just knew it.
"Why didn't you stop when he barged in? You didn't stop when Nami caught us either."
"Why should I have stopped?" He sounded genuinely confused at the prospect, stepping back to regard the green haired pirate, whose cheeks were dusting with hints of red.
"'Cause it's embarrassing being caught like that!" Luffy looked at him for a short time in which Zoro realized he was trying to figure something out.
"Why does that bother you?" Zoro felt he had been punched in the chest with that one question. 'Why does it bother you so much?' He could still hear the exact tone his sensei had used. He squirmed uncomfortably in his place as Luffy waited for an answer.
"I don't know." It wasn't a good answer, but it was the only one he could offer, because he didn't, in fact, know.
He hadn't hesitated to take a bath with Luffy, and nothing had been awkward between them while they were messing around and ruining Kaya's bathroom. He had been slightly embarrassed by Nami's accusation that they had been getting it on in the bath, but nothing more. In fact, he hadn't felt anything other than happy and carefree when he was with Luffy.
He didn't care that Merry had caught them in the same room together, when they had been offered separate rooms, without clothes (who even knew what he thought). He didn't care what Kaya thought, if she had noticed how he shifted his chair closer to Luffy's when he sat down. He just didn't care what anyone thought.
At least he thought he hadn't.
Because he had cared when Nami saw them in the dinghy, and he cared that Usopp had just walked in on them and screamed like a banshee.
'Why does that bother you?'
'I don't know.'
He wanted to be with Luffy. No one was going to take that from him.
'There is absolutely nothing wrong with who you are or who you choose to love.' His sensei was right. There was nothing wrong with it.
He had decided long ago that if anyone had a problem they would have to suck it up or become acquainted with his swords.
So why did it bother him so much to be seen with Luffy like this.
"I'm sorry." He thumped his head back against the wall looking at the ceiling.
"Zoro's being stupid again." He huffed.
"Don't I know it." A hard pinch on his arm brought his attention back to Luffy. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"
"Only I can call Zoro stupid. Anyone else does it, I'll beat them up," the corner of his mouth tugged up into a small smirk, "even if it's Zoro saying it." Fuck. The flutter was back.
"Okay, Captain."
"Wanna keep going?!" Luffy stepped back into his space and looked around the room hopefully. "We haven't done anything in that corner yet." He pointed over to the right of them, where there was a stack of crates.
"Nah. I'm gunna go down to the quarters and take a nap."
"But you just had a nap." Luffy protested as Zoro steered him out of the hold.
"Which you interrupted." Zoro countered. "I'm still tired." He yawned, proving his statement. "Maybe later. You should probably make sure Usopp hasn't pissed himself. He looked kind of freaked out." Luffy readily agreed and bounded off in search of the marksman.
XXX
It turned out Usopp had also retired to the men's quarters after leaving Zoro and Luffy in the hold. He froze as Zoro lowered himself into the space and looked frantically around for a quick escape but found none.
"I didn't know you guys were in there, I swear!" He babbled, pleading for the swordsman to spare him.
"It's fine, relax." Zoro rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he sat down on the couch, watching Usopp out of the corner of his eye. Zoro remembered how he had paled at the sight of his two crewmates in an intimate moment. "If you got a problem wi-"
"NO!" Usopp cut him off. "No, no problem! I just wasn't expecting it. Sorry again, for bargin' in like that." Zoro felt relief flood through him.
"Don't be. Nami sure as hell never is." Usopp perked up at that.
"So…Nami knows too?"
"Yup." He pops the 'p' as he kicks his boots off and reclines on the sofa, trying to find the comfiest position.
"Oh." A pause. "So are you guys dating or-" Zoro cut him off with a sharp glare, and flared nostrils. "Right, sorry, not my business, bye!" Usopp rambles as he scoops the mess of gadgets he had been tinkering with into his bag and scrambles up the ladder onto deck, finally leaving Zoro alone.
Zoro closes his eyes and reclines back into his spot, breathing slowly through his nose. Between Usopp, Nami, and Luffy, there was no way he'd ever get a peaceful moment to himself anymore. He should probably try meditating.