I do not own One Piece.

AN: So I just finished the Thriller Bark arc and it only worked to maddeningly solidify my otp.

Thanks for reading!

Lull

At that time, I could only stand and watch.

'You don't have to go that far!'

'Your body will be torn to pieces!'

'Luffy!'

Stand and watch as he fought till wits end. As he knowingly wrecked his body, without the slightest of hesitation, sacrificing all for his precious nakama. Even then, with all odds against us, his will never faltered.

When I think about it, Luffy, you're the reason I have so much faith in my own strength. But as of this moment...I've never felt weaker.

Shifting my weight onto my forearm, I carefully lift myself up off the mattress. An instant jolt writhes through my joints causing my body to hinge forward. Supporting my arms atop my knees I draw in a steady breath. The mere action is accompanied by a fresh surge of pain across the base of my ribs. Scouring my surroundings, I realize I'm back in Thousand Sunny. The sick bay is empty, but I can hear faint footsteps approaching from the deck.

Briefly I wonder how long I've been out, the last thing I remember being that cooks face before my vision had gone blank.

But no. There was more. That moment. Hell, I can't imagine being able to forget it. Even now, my body bears its trace. The raw, crippling pain, unlike any I'd felt before. It consumed me, tearing into every crevice, every pore, hammering me down to nothing. I was nothing. And it reigned over me. And I was powerless. And through it all, it was his face I saw. His face and all the pain he'd bore. All the pain he'd continue to bear.

And I realized then just how far a disparity lay between us.

"Oi, you're finally up." My attention forces up to Sanji who now stands beside the entrance. His cigarette hangs limply twixt his lips, a thin film of smoke wafting lazily through the air. "Thought you'd be out for at least a few more days."

I try to snort in response but my bravado fails me and I instead find myself coughing pitifully. He merely huffs out another puff of smoke and props himself down onto the swivel chair beside Chopper's desk.

"How long have I been out?" I ask, my eyes casting down momentarily onto my bruised knuckles before shifting back to him. I can't help my irritation on account of his obvious inspection of my body. Instinctively I crack my spine back into place, refusing to expose any more frailty than I've already done. It would be shameful, especially after that display.

He'd tried to sacrifice himself in Luffy's stead as well. The prospect of having anyone else do such a thing...I couldn't stand for it. As such I'd removed him from the equation. Because Luffy was mine to protect and only mine.

"Well?"

"Three days." he finally responds.

I can't say I'm too alarmed. In fact, I'd somehow deemed it to have been longer.

"Everyone is out, still rejoicing with the others. We set sail soon though." His foot taps idly against the floorboards.

"I see."

A lapse of momentary silence creeps about the quarters before Sanji comments,

"You lost a hell of alotta blood." I look up at him and see he's now holding the cigarette between his fingers, gaze fixed on me with an unreadable look. "I was surprised you could still stand."

I now figure he must want answers, none of which I'm keen on providing. I only hold his stare. Unmoving we stare each other down, the dead air consuming us both in suffocating austerity, after which Sanji draws another drag from his cigarette and stands.

"I'll send some food down with Luffy. You must be hungry."

My mind barely registers his statement before I quickly pipe,

"Luffy, how is he?" I briefly rack my brain over how I could've forgotten to mention him sooner.

"Ah. He's doing surprisingly well." he replies, still eyeing me strangely. "In fact, even better than that."

I can't help the stupid grin that wipes across my face.

"Good...that's good.."

So he's okay. That single knowledge is enough to rid me of all discomfort. Because he's okay. And I can tolerate every last bit of pain, as long as he's okay.

"He hasn't left your side this entire time you know." Sanji adds, now beginning towards the door. "I figure he'll be back shortly." he pauses, reaching it and palming the doorknob. He turns to face me, face serious and clearly thoughtful. "But before that...What you did back then-"

"Let it go." I silence him, my scowl already inevitably bared. I don't know if he knows, and I don't exactly care. I don't want to remember, nevertheless speak of that moment. Because the guilt and pain are too much even for me. But the pain, it's different and invisible. Sanji doesn't say much else to this. He simply sighs and nods, continuing his exit. Despite our constant clashes, there's a certain unspoken understanding etched between us two. I find myself mildly thanking him with my gaze.

"Anyway, I'll have-"

"Sanji!"

The voice that rips through the air, allows the scowl drawn across my features to almost immediately vanish.

"Who're ya talking to? Is he-"

"Ah."

I hear from outside the doorway.

Within a second, Luffy's there, a grin the size of god-knows-what on his face when our eyes meet. The instant warmth it provides is enough to knock the breath out of me -though I hate to admit it.

"Zoro! You're finally up!" he exclaims loudly, already rushing towards me.

I inhale sharply when his arms thoughtlessly embrace me and his face digs into my shoulder blade, his body completely straddling me.

"You sure know how to greet the injured." I groan lightheartedly into his embrace. My own arms wrap around his hips. I take in his scent, feel his form against my own and hold him tighter.

I was so terrified to have him taken from me.

"You had me worried." he whispers into my nape. His warm breath resonates against my skin.

"Idiot, like I'd die that easily."

He pulls back with a hearty chuckle, his bright brown eyes smiling. "There's no way ya would, is there?"

Shit, I can barely control my relief. Seeing him here, with that goddamn smile.

His bandaging peeks out from beneath his unbuttoned yellow top and I can't help running my hand over it. Slowly, my fingers trace his chest and stomach, the white gauze concealing most of it. And I can only imagine the scars that lay beneath. I may have taken the pain, but the scars, they're still there, mocking me for all I'm worth.

"Even so..." I look back up at him and catch the small chink that has begun to crease between his brows. "You wouldn't wake up."

"Luffy..."

"... and all the blood." The smile is now completely gone. And the look he gives me, it damn well breaks my heart. But his hold on me only grows stronger. "You were close to dying, Chopper said." He looks away from me. His jaw clenches and I can feel the bitterness radiating from his body. There's a slight trembling spreading through his arms as the mounds of his fists dig into my back." All I could think was, if only I'd defeated Moria sooner, then Zoro...Zoro wouldn't have had to-"

I can't take more of this and impulsively my fingers grip his shoulders and I shake him. Once. Hard. Hard enough to knock some sense into him. Because his ensuing statement ramifies the rage I've been biting back beneath my gut.

The shock of my sudden impulse silences him.

"Don't." I manage through gritted teeth. Because I can't just fucking stand by while he yet again takes it all upon himself. After everything, he still feels responsible. "You're beating yourself up over that? You idiot. You stupid fucking idiot."

I snatch his hand in mine and ram it against my wounded chest. His wide eyes assimilate my action and he shrieks,

"Zoro!"

He tries to forcefully retract his arm, but I hold it firmly in place. And it's as though at this very moment every bruise and ache I'd had the luxury of brandishing for his sake is gone and all that's left is a hollow throb. Because how the hell can I allow myself to feel any pain when he's still blaming himself? When all this pain would still be his to bear had I not intervened. And he'd endure it strongly.

"This is nothing." I assure him. I assure myself.

This is nothing. Nothing like what he's had to endure. All because I'm not yet strong enough.

Like that time in Enies Lobby. You were paralyzed, Luffy. Your body too mangled to even move, yet you refused to stand idly by.

Do you even realize how I felt watching you? How utterly useless? Because I wasn't strong enough, and you were forced to make up for my weakness.

Gripping his wrists, I topple him over onto the bed, fully reversing our previous positions. A small, startled grunt strews past his lips as I do so. My legs are lodged on either side of him while I suture both his arms above his head. And he lays there, apparently powerless, though we both know his strength fully outweighs that of my current debilitated form. Confusion storms his gaze replacing the guilt that had previously occupied it. But I prefer it this way.

Carefully my finger runs down his chest, catching on an up-turned edge of gauze. Grasping it between two fingers I wrench it off and watch the thin material come easily undone.

"What are y-" he begins again, but once more the intensity of my gaze proves successful in silencing him.

His chest and stomach are now fully displayed, slender yet strong, but marred by uneven blotches of discoloration and tears. It grows increasingly difficult to contain my upset as I survey the damage across his battered skin.

"Just how far have you been pushing yourself?"

I recall the new techniques he's now forced to rely on. The strain they place on his body more than obvious. Yet he contines to do so, without a second thought, in order to protect what's important to him.

My jaw clenches.

This isn't how it should be. I swore to protect him. As of late, I've been failing to do just that. And that's it isn't it? The pain from these wounds is superficial. With time its traces will cease to exist. But this pain that comes with finally understanding all the suffering his body has had to endure, all because I haven't been strong enough to protect him...Fuck it's surreal.

"Luffy..." I whisper apologetically as my face nears his navel.

I lay a soft kiss onto the skin and feel him tense. Carefully, my lips begin to scour every currently accessible inch of his abdomen, layering it in my lips caresses; every tear, every bruise, every single blemish. These scars shouldn't be here. And I wish nothing more than for the feel of my lips to erase them all.

I look up when I hear Luffy chuckle.

"That feels good..." he says, and I can't help but smile.

I sigh and shake my head, edging upwards to meet his face. My fingers thread into his perfectly tousled black hair, and my spare hand removes the straw-hat he's still donning. He only stares.

You're so clueless...

Without words I press my lips against his. He utters a surprised yet inviting sigh. We allow our warmths to mesh as one. The familiar softness of his lips instantly raptures me. There's a certain comfort that retains form in our lips embrace, and it envelops me like the very oxygen I breathe. I allow it to numb every other previously inescapable sentiment in favor of this tender sensation. Beneath it brews this bestial desire amplified by my new awareness. And I want him. I fucking want him so badly. Seeing him here is not enough. I want to show him. Show him I'm here. Will continue to be here, right beside him.

I don't know if he can sense my sudden desperation but his lips part, allowing me complete access to his warm mouth. I don't waste a minutes time before my tongue is hungrily lapping at it's depths, sucking and nipping at his tongue, and rejoicing over every jolt I can feel washing through his body. I allow myself to drown in his taste. And it's as though I hope this one kiss will brand him forever and convey all the things I wish I could say.

That he's mine, and he's here. And I'll be fucking damned if I let anyone or anything take him away from me, if I let anyone hurt him again.

He inhales deeply and I can feel the nubs of his fingers digging into my bandaged back. The fresh pain that weaves across my axis frees a grunt from my lips. But I find myself promptly dismissing it because god these sounds, these delicious sounds he's producing have awakened an entirely new hunger in me. I bite down on his lower lip and hiss when he returns the favor alongside such a lusty moan I have to fight the better part of my mind against believing no such sound is even possible.

It's only when I'm sure my lungs are damn near ready to give out on me for lack of steady oxygen that I pry myself free of him.

His breaths are ragged, a thin line of saliva trails from beside his parted lips to the very tip of his chin and he watches me through half-lidded eyes, glazed and sated, staring so deeply into me that I can practically taste every bit of want brewing beneath those luscious chocolate eyes.

He's beautiful. My captain.

"Zoro..." Luffy finally speaks. It's uncharacteristically low and there's a quiver lacing his words. "You've never...like that...before..."

My thumb grazes the apples of his cheeks, now swelled with a rosy hue, his eyes waning shut as he basks in my tender ministrations. A smile tilts my otherwise sombre lips, and my pointer lazily drifts from his cheek to the inner corner of his ear, before rerouting and continuing down the side of his neck. I revel in the subtle prickling of his once peach-smooth skin beneath my touch and feel my desire spike. It's then I pursue to mimic the action with my achingly expectant mouth, greedy for more of him. All of him.

Luffy mewls when my lips trail down his jaw, latching onto the supple skin just beneath it and sucking with about as much control as I can harvest. My calloused hands carry up and down his waist as my mouth's service intensifies, my restraint proving to be as fragile as glass. But his taste overwhelms me, clouting my senses with his intoxicating essence. And I want all of it. I nip at the tender flesh, knowing just how fragile of a spot it is for him and am rewarded with a buck of his hips. I strengthen the action, teeth gnawing full tilt, and he whimpers. The mound of my arousal struggles against the confines of my pants, throbbing longingly at those pleasurable sounds from my captain.

Luffy's arms suddenly wrap around my neck, fingers knitted in the bright green hairs of my nape. He pulls me in, recapturing my lips. I complacently oblige, allowing our tongues to once more mingle -this time much more desperately than before. He bites my lip hard enough to draw the mild taste of metal and I suck hard enough bruise the flesh of his decadent lips.

"Zowo," he speaks into our lips passionate encounter, but I don't ease up. I can't for the life of me. Hell, he's so fucking delicious I want to ravage that sweet tongue, those soft lips, till there's nothing but chafed skin. "we-shooden-be-wooen-dis-waight-mow." he still tries, and I understand, but that changes nothing.

I need this now more than ever, I want to tell him. Have our passion cleanse this pain-ridden palette that has become my body. Replace it with his being and nothing else. And I'll revel in every twinge and ache that overcomes this body of mine in the process.

Ignoring his input, my hand strays atop his bulging groin. He gasps when I begin powerfully kneading at his erection through his red jeans.

"Mng!" Luffy wrenches himself from the kiss with a heavy moan. But I quickly replace the absence of his lips with his exposed nipple, stirring the bud into arousal.

He squirms wildly beneath me, breaths broken. His hips thrust upwards purposefully, finding my own clothed erection and with unearthly precision repeatedly thrashing against it, the lewd action squandering every last bit of restraint left in my body.

God he's so fucking sexy.

I lance up, hastily undoing his jeans, tugging the garment down his slim waist and past his feet, finding to my utter unhinging he isn't wearing underwear. A wet smile slides across his lips as his own hands work to disarm my pants, dragging them down to my knees alongside my boxers. He bites his lips sensuously at the view of my erection, the sight flaring my carnal instincts.

I instantly dive between his legs, parting those lean, tanned, sinewy thighs and propping myself between them. I steel myself shortly when the recurring ache of my battered form doubles in its assault over my insides. But the sight before me wins my attention.

Luffy exhales a shuddering breath when my thumbs caress the inner juncture of his thigh and pelvis, the thin flesh a niche of pleasure if ever any as I can already feel his body quivering in ecstasy at the contact.

Before I can move forward, I stop, eyes roving Chopper's desk for a specific necessity.

"Zoro," Luffy whines, bucking his hips a few more time in desperate anticipation.

"Hold on," I rub his thigh soothingly. "there's gotta be something we can use here."

I'm about to stand to sift through the desk's contents for some lubrication or any substitution when Luffy grips my arms. I watch wordlessly as he takes my right hand and brings it to his lips. He tucks three fingers inside his scorching mouth, tongue swiping feverishly at the digits, graciously lathering them in his spit, while he sucks and hums - especially loudly.

My dick throbs viciously at the display.

"Luffy..." I try to oppose, with however slim a resolve, but he only stares at me...pleadingly, prying the fingers from his lips.

"Just this once. Please Zoro. I want you so bad."

And that was all it took. My lips swoop in, grappling Luffy's in a brief but soul-sucking kiss, biting especially hard upon parting. My index finger, decked in Luffy's saliva, rubs against his puckered hole, practically twitching with want. It's me it craves so badly and the thought destroys me.

My free hand curls around his stiff shaft, providing few swift pumps. His breathing hikes, a thundering wave visibly coursing through his body. He practically reels over when the hand is replaced by my tongue running up the length of his equally heated erection.

"Ooh..." he groans blissfully, arm falling limply across his eyes as my tongue laps at the juice dripping like sap from his slit before sucking the head of his cock temptingly into my mouth.

As I do so, my first finger slowly eases past his tight ring of muscles, finding little resistance alongside Luffy's current sexual entrancement. I thrust the extremity carefully while continuing to orally pleasure him and feel the cavity expectantly pulse around my finger. I refrain my primal temptation, continuing to patiently prepare the writhing beauty in my arms. The second finger is in. I make sure to provide an exceptionally strong suck to his tip, my eyes still trained on him, watching as his head dips repeatedly into the mattress, a surplus of moans raining down from his quivering lips.

The third finger is equally readily sucked in, the guy's rubber qualities baring its teeth. I don't know why I bother. Mostly to tease him I suppose. Crooking my fingers inside him, I angle them and thrust in measured strokes for a certain spot. A resounding cry of pleasure spills from his lips at the action, my goal having been met.

His hands tangle in my hair, yanking me away -to my surprise, his muscles now clamped viciously on my intruding digits.

"Please. Oh god, please just fuck me Zoro!"

And damn it all if I don't nearly lose it.

He slopes upwards, shifting to a sitting position on the bed and swiftly wraps his lips around the base of my dick.

"Shit..." I groan as he desperately begins to suck me, tongue slap-dashing across every viable inch of my heat, focusing mainly on the especially tender veiny underside. Snatching his hair in my palm, I hiss and nearly spill my load when he moans onto my flesh, sending a tendril of vibrations to honor his presence.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

God that mouth is sinful.

I regain my bearings long enough to remove Luffy's lips from my dick, promptly driving him back onto the bed. He openly sprawls himself, legs spread-eagled invitingly, and exposing that glorious entrance.

"Zoro," he beckons and I quickly obey, prepping myself perfectly along his canal and pressing the head of my now saturated prick against it. He sucks in broken breaths as my thickness breaks past his initial barrier, plugging the remaining distance as he accommodates my thick girth with incredible ease. "Hnnn..."

My insides melt at his welcoming warmth, and I lean in to capture Luffy's lips in a chaste kiss. My initial movements are steady, moderated, basking in his sweltering insides, their rich caress, before -unable to contain myself any longer- withdrawing near fully, pivoting my hips and barreling back into him without restraint, something he welcomes with enthusiasm. A dull throb pelts my spine and sides at the unwarranted action towards my already banged up body, but I only smile, this pain nowhere near paralleling in intensity against the savory feeling of Luffy's embrace or even remotely as relevant.

His back arches, legs hooking onto my back as my thrusting intensifies and I'm fucking him with all I've got. His moans speak pure sin, body writhes wildly beneath me, head dives back into the bed exposing that luscious neck. My lips fasten onto it and his arms snake around my own neck as though for dear life as I suck and lap at his throat.

My body throbs, a red pain reeling through my core, but it's accompanied by the building fire generating from mine and Luffy's passion, consuming me. I indulge in the pain and pleasure, unable to decipher between the two as it no longer even matters.

Because I'm lost in him.

"Shit ...Luffy...I'm so close."

Reclaiming his erection in my palm I begin to stroke, watching as his hip lifts up into my touch.

"Hnn-ghah! Me...mmm...me too Z-zoro..."

It takes only a few more seconds before his body spasms in my grasp and his seed is gushing out of him in strong gusts. His tight cavity convulses around me, tightening so powerfully and coupled with such a sinful cry of fulfillment from my lover's lips, my own body explodes not too long after. I grunt as my cock releases every bit of my juice into his hot insides, his hole continuing to clench onto my dick as though milking it for every last bit of my semen.

Luffy sighs as I slide out of him. My body flops atop his in the throes of my orgasm, before rolling over beside him as we silently ride out the remainder of our sexual high, our thick breaths twined around our contented bodies.

After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Luffy looks over to me and smiles serenely.

"That was -"

"Luffy," I cut him short. My hand grips the side of his head, our faces aligned, my own face hard. "I'll become stronger."

Confusion storms his gaze. "Zo-"

"Depend on me."

He silences, meeting my unfaltering gaze. The befuddlement drains from his eyes and his demeanor is replaced by an atypic firmness. He doesn't say anything else, only wraps his arms around my waist and settles into my chest.

I embrace him. Exhaustion finally settles over me and the world slowly fades to black with him still in my arms.