Luffy was so exhausted by the time the sun came up. He wasn't sure when he was supposed to sleep. Double shifts two nights mean two days and two nights of running or not doing anything in the dark. No chance to sleep during that time. When he made his rounds in the castle, he always felt nervous approaching Zoro's door, but he had a job he had to do. He knocked on the door hesitantly.

Zoro heard the knock on his door his heart started beating faster. He couldn't stop thinking about Luffy being all alone and exhausted all night. He really wanted Luffy be more comfortable around him, even if it was just a little bit.

He opened the door to Luffy bowing like usual. "D-do you have anything to deliver or retrieve?" Zoro heard the stutter, Luffy sounding awkward.

"No, but I'd like you to come inside my room," Zoro said, his voice strong though he was very nervous.

"I have work… I can only stay for a few moments. Is that okay young mast- Zoro?" he asked, still at the door. Zoro said yes. Luffy stood straight and slowly walked into Zoro's room. Luffy had never been in one of the bedrooms here. He was limited to the halls, dining hall, outside a few times and the slave quarters. Well, those were where he was supposed to stay. But he explored during his breaks sometimes. He was terrified of punishment, but boredom was an enemy as well.

Zoro's bedroom was very big. He'd never seen it inside since he bowed the whole time he was in front of the door. There was a large bed with dark blue blankets on it and a dresser and some work out equipment. It was plain, but also very lavish. Luffy stood in the room awkwardly, waiting for Zoro to do something. He walked over to his bed and sat down.

"I'm sorry if I made you nervous last night. I didn't mean to," Zoro said sincerely. Luffy finally looked at him and Zoro saw the exhaustion evident on his face. The dark circles under his eyes and heavy lids.

"There's no need to apologize. It… confused me," Luffy confessed. "We aren't supposed to talk to the masters at all. I'm the only one who has simple conversations with them. And the masters are not supposed to know our names," Luffy explained, looking at the floor. They were also not to make direct eye contact with their masters. Luffy had broken that rule many times, but only with Zoro and his mother. Never with Master. He would be angry.

"I just want to be your friend," for now… "You have noticed I'm an only child and no one is exactly my age."

Luffy's brows furrowed. Things werent making sense. Why did Zoro want to be friends with a slave? "Aren't there other royal families? I don't know since I don't work everywhere."

"No, there's no family living near us who are nice. They all order the slaves around," Zoro replied.

"That's how slaves are treated everywhere I assume," Luffy said hesitantly. He felt presumptuous. "I'm sorry, it's none of my business," the boy said. He bowed and slipped out of the door with an "I have to go".

"Wait!" Zoro said. Luffy stopped leaving, standing right outside of Zoro's door. Zoro was still a master, and Luffy couldn't defy him. Zoro opened his door more. "Will you be my friend?" he asked.

Luffy just nodded once and ran off. He wasn't as fast as usual since he was exhausted. Zoro noticed this, but said nothing and walked into his room sadly. Though he'd finally spoke with Luffy, knew his name and how he wasn't that happy person as a slave, he still had a crush on him. He also knew it would be difficult to be his friend and spend time with him without Luffy being punished. If he was, that would be Zoro's fault and he would feel sick with that. Luffy was obviously terrified of being punished from what Zoro had seen last night.

He hated his dad for doing this to Luffy for all these years.

Luffy almost skipped the Mistress' room where she was, but that would be breaking rules. He knocked on the door and did what he usually did, and like always, he left to get her wine. He almost fell down the stairs on his way to the kitchen. He was thinking about getting coffee again, but he was afraid of getting caught. And he knew Master wouldn't like him asking for something after his mercy when Luffy had gotten sick not long ago.

Suddenly, he longed to not be a slave. He had never known any difference, but the fear he felt last night was weighing heavily on him. What would he do if he actually was punished? He'd always been afraid to, but last night was different. He couldn't breathe he was so terrified. He found all the others who had been punished but were still able to function amazingly brave. Not him. Yes, he was brave enough to do his job, which included talking to the Master.

Luffy only trotted back to Mistress' room, not wanting to trip and break one of her precious wine bottles. But she noticed he was slower today. Her wine wasn't coming fast enough for her liking. He arrived at her door with the wine, doing his best to look normal, though he couldn't do anything about the circles under his eyes, not that he knew they were there.

"You're slower today, messenger boy," Mistress said and pointed her finger towards herself. Luffy never poured her wine for her, but apparently today she wanted him to. He hoped he didn't spill it.

"I apologize. I'm just a bit slow for everything today. I did not mean to make you wait," he said with as much respect as she could. He poured a generous amount of wine into her glass and bowed before he excused himself. It was time to go to the Master to ask if he had anything for him to do, and it was the time of the morning where Luffy went to the kitchen to tell them what everyone wanted for breakfast, though it was that he had to ask Master first and foremost. Then was his wife and Zoro. He would wait while the children slaves cooked until the food was almost done, when he went to alert the masters that their meals were ready. Though his work wasn't the hardest physically, he did an awful lot.

While he waited for food, he usually ate a small meal himself, but only the scraps of the food not put on the plates. He sprinted to Master's den because he didn't want to be late for him.

He knocked on the door, which was open and got on his knees. It was only for him that the slaves bowed to the floor. He demanded more respect than the others.

"Do you have anything to deliver or retrieve, Master?"

"No, not right now," he said curtly.

"What would you like for breakfast?" Luffy questioned, pulling out the small notebook he always kept in his pocket and a dying pen from the clip on his shirt. Master told him what he wanted and Luffy excused himself with one more bow, now heading upstairs to the Mistress, who should be on her way down the stairs already. Master woke up earlier than her to go to work. She usually slept later than him, as did Zoro, who tended to go to bed after midnight. But he usually spent the night in his room, which was why Luffy felt safe to break the rules and drink the Mistress' coffee and steal the food every night.

Mistress met Luffy on the stairs and told him what she wished to eat. Though she was closer to the kitchen than he was, he always got there long beforehand. No one knew what the Mistress did between leaving her room and eating her meal. She wanted a complicated dish with stylized ingredients. Because Luffy had to write so fast, since he was reprimanded for asking for a second time, no one but him could read it.

Zoro answered his door and opened it to Luffy, as usual getting what he wanted for the meal. When Zoro smiled at him, Luffy felt uncomfortable. He had agreed to be Zoro's friend, and he did want to, it was still strange to be treated like something other than a lowlife. His meal was much simpler than his parents. Luffy bowed out of habit and ran back to the kitchen, not slower than he usually was. Mistress had already brought it up, so he would not risk it again.

He gave the orders to the kitchen slaves and sat down, uncharacteristically out of breath. He hated working double shifts.

"I'm fine. Just tired," he replied when one of the kids asked how he was. "I can't wait to sleep again," he said with a genuine smile towards them. All of the slaves were his family, so he was a lot more open with them.

"What did you do all night?" a girl asked as she cooked the eggs carefully. No one liked it when the masters found something wrong with their food. Luffy stood up and walked to the bar separating the large kitchen from the larger dining hall.

"I made coffee," he whispered to them. They all gasped. "And I got caught!" he whisper/shouted.

"Why were you not punished?!" a boy who was cooking the chicken for Master's meal asked in shock.

"It was Young Master who saw me. I spilled on the floor too. He seems nice, but scary, too. What if he is being deceitful and is just waiting for me to do something to be punished?" Luffy told him. After a few moments of small talk with them, the food was almost ready and he scarfed down the scraps he got and ran to get the masters.

The food helped him and he was now running the same speed he usually did. He alerted all of the royal family that their meals were done. Luffy ran off before them so he could bow at their entrance with the kids, like usual for every meal. The cooks never got complimented, but Luffy assured them the food was delicious.

Luffy sat on the smaller table near the wall with the kids, waiting to clean the dishes and for Luffy to have an order. Luffy had brought out his notepad and the kids were playing tic tac toe and quietly talking.

Zoro usually watched Luffy when he saw the boy, but it wasn't like this. Zoro noticed Luffy was actually talking to the others and they were smiling, covering their mouths to try and not laugh. He watched as Luffy put his finger in front of his lips to silence the others even though they were already being pretty quiet. Zoro then looked back to last night and earlier that morning when Luffy looked so blank or uncomfortable. He wished he could get Luffy to talk to him like he was the slave children.

"Clean our plates," Zoro's father commanded, wiping his mouth with a napkin. The kids quickly walked to the table and began to take the dirty napkins and plates to the kitchen to clean. Luffy really didn't have anything to do right after breakfast, since Zoro didn't have classes until later and Master told him to keep an hour away between each time he asked if he had anything for Luffy to do. Usually, during this time, Luffy would just run around aimlessly, but during this break, he felt if he was alone, he was going to fall asleep and miss his rounds. So he offered to help clean the plates.

No one said anything of it as Luffy slipped his notepad into his back pocket and clipped the pen to his shirt and went to the broom closet to began to wipe down the table as the other slaves cleaned the dishes and kitchen.

Zoro had other ideas. He knew Luffy didn't really do anything when he had no assigned task. Twice a day, he visited the outside laborers to ask if they had anything to report. When no one was around but him and them they'd talk leisurely as Luffy helped carry things for them. He had to make sure he took his shirt off and turned it inside out to wrap around his waist to keep his shorts clean from whatever work he was helping with.

Luffy hated free time. He always had to do something. He was restless a lot of the time and sometimes became bored with running around the castle and wanted human contact with his friends. Even when people were on shift, they enjoyed Luffy's visits because he was able to lighten the mood a lot of the time.

"Messenger boy, can I talk to you?" Zoro asked. Everyone froze, even Luffy. The cooks looked at Luffy, alarmed and worried. Was he in trouble? Luffy licked his lips nervously and handed the kids the towel he'd used to wipe the table for them to wash. He then turned around and quickly walked to Zoro. But his smile was gone and his posture was noticeably stiffer than it was when he sat at the table with his fellow slaves.

"Yes?" Luffy asked Zoro after he bowed to him.

"Please come with me," Zoro said, surprising Luffy. No one said "please" when they gave an order. The two walked out of the large dining room and into the hallway, out of view of the still shocked kids working in the kitchen. Luffy followed Zoro obediently as they walked down the hall, but not to Zoro's room. Instead, Zoro lead him to the sun room. Luffy had never been at the part of the castle because it wasn't in his domain. He mostly stuck to the upstairs hallways and the kitchen and sometimes the entrance hall to go see his fellow slaves. He rarely went to the first floor.

Luffy's eyes widened as he was lead into the room. It was very pretty. Three of the walls were made up of only glass, as was the room. Ivy was growing up the glass walls and wrapped around the roof. There were flowers outside, that were very well taken care of. But of course they were, since slaves did the gardening as well, and he helped them sometimes. Zoro sat at the table, but Luffy continued to stand. He didn't have permission to sit yet.

"You can sit," Zoro told him kindly. Luffy sat, sitting up straight and resting his arms on the glass table.

"May I ask a question?" Luffy asked.

"You don't have to ask for permission to do anything when you're with me, okay?" Zoro replied kindly.

"Why do you want to be my friend? And why now?" the slave questioned. "I've been here with you for as long as I can remember. I see you multiple times a day."

Zoro licked his lips and then spoke the truth. "Five years ago, I walked through the tunnels and watched all of the slaves talk with each other. Everyone seemed to happy, and it looked like you were the life of the party. And… you have a nice smile," Zoro told him shyly, his face pink. Luffy furrowed his brows.

"Should I go get the doctor? Your face has turned red," Luffy said. If Zoro got sick, it would be on him and if Master knew Zoro was talking to him, both of them would be in a bind.

"It's fine. It's just hot in here."

"Oh okay. So… why now? Five years ago is quite a while," Luffy said hesitantly. He didn't want to seem rude or nosey.

"I was always nervous you'd say no to being my friend," Zoro said. The truth was he was too flustered to have a real conversation with the boy he had a crush on.

"Why did you think I'd say no?" Luffy questioned.

"You're a slave and I'm one of the 'masters' in the castle. I thought you'd hate me because you are technically my slave. You have to work for me, so I felt that you would have a grudge against me due to our positions," Zoro concluded, watching Luffy's face warily.

Luffy didn't answer for a moment, not sure how he was supposed to reply. He decided to use the truth. "None of the slaves hold a grudge against you. You don't really interact with most of us besides meals and my messages. You haven't ever punished any of us as I know of. I am the only one who thinks that you don't like being here," Luffy said. "Oh, I apologize for my bluntness. It is not my place to say such things-"

"You're right, though," Zoro cut him off. "I don't like being here. I don't like having slaves or seeing them punished. I dislike my father because of his cruelty and he dislikes me as well. I hate it here."

Luffy looked at him sadly. "You never considered running away?"

"No. There's nowhere for me to go," he replied simply. "Have you guys considered running away?" Luffy looked uncomfortable. He didn't know Zoro personally much. But it wasn't as if Luffy was admitting to the planning of a mutiny.

"Some have… but most of us can't read or write or know beyond basic math. We don't have an education and don't have any skills in living on our own. We couldn't function outside of the castle, as much as we hate to admit it." Zoro frowned at this. He had never cared about math or history, but he had a feeling those working unwillingly would want an education. He took his for granted.

"Why can you?"

"My job requires writing. I only know basic words to read and write. No one else would be able to read my writing, but it seems to be improving. I don't know math except addition and subtraction," Luffy told him, slightly embarrassed. But he knew it wasn't his fault he had basic education. Probably lower than that, actually.

"I have tried teaching the others how to read, but I'm not very good at it," the slave said. Zoro smiled. Luffy was so kind.

Luffy then asked the question he'd been wondering about the moment that morning Zoro asked him to be his friend. "Won't Master be mad if he knows we're friends?" Luffy had a feeling he'd be punished if Master found out, and it scared him. He didn't know if being friends with Zoro was worth that. He'd never say that, though. It would be cruel to say that to him when he so badly wanted Luffy to be a friend. His only friend. Yes, Luffy was a slave. But he had a family. Zoro had no one. Luffy didn't know if he was going to be his friend out of fear, pity or just wanting to be his friend, too.

"We'll keep it a secret. I'll take the blame if we're caught being friendly with each other. We can just visit with each other at your breaks. Does that sound okay?" Zoro questioned. He was worried Luffy would say no due to his fear of punishment. Zoro honestly didn't know which of the two his father would get angry with. Probably both, but he hoped he'd get more than Luffy. After all, Luffy had to follow orders. He'd just say he forced Luffy to be in his company.

"Okay," was all Luffy said in response and sat relaxed a little bit. The two had a pleasant conversation, but Luffy was still slightly worried.

Zoro really wanted to see Luffy's smile. He didn't want to see this nervous and somewhat fearful expression towards himself. He would make him smile and laugh if it was the last thing he'd do.

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