Luffy was able to visit with Zoro throughout the day, following Zoro's instructions on where to go when when Luffy first made his rounds. When Luffy told his family he was hanging out with Zoro between shifts, they looked at him strangely. When they all frowned at him, he gave a short and edited version of why Zoro wanted to leave. The kids had been the most understanding because, at meal times, Zoro often asked Luffy to follow him, though he sounded curt when he said so.
Luffy gave content smiles when he walked away with the young master. Some of his fellow slaves warned him that, if the two were caught, Luffy would be punished. Luffy went straight to bed after that. He had that thought often, but so far, the two friends hadnt been caught, and Luffy was not suspicious during his many rounds.
Everything else stayed the same. Same routine most of the time, same messages, same way he was treated lowly by Master. Luffy was very thankful that he hadn't been caught stealing food or brewing the coffee yet.
When Luffy confessed to Zoro that he stole food at night before going to bed, Zoro had just laughed. The two rarely spoke about sad topics, but Zoro told him many stories. Zoro had even read a book to Luffy because Luffy couldn't read whole sentences. He was a bit embarrassed about his lack of intellect, but Zoro pointed out many times that it wasn't Luffy's fault at all.
It was only a week before Luffy wore a true smile and laughed his unique laugh. Zoro's face turned red at this because Luffy was just so cute. Luffy truly liked talking with Zoro and playing simple old and dusty board games. The two once thought Mistress had seen Luffy enter the room, so they soon started making fake letters for him to deliver. That way it looked like he went in just to wait for something for him to deliver. Still, it was strange he was entering a master's bedroom, so they only went in there sometimes. Zoro was often stationed at somewhere Luffy had been told so no eyes watched him.
Of course Luffy still did his work as well as he had been before he became sick and sleep deprived.
Zoro found one day that he no longer had a crush on his small best friend. He had fallen in love with him. His favorite parts of the day were when he and Luffy spent time together. He watched Luffy over the weeks, trying and hoping to see any change in the way he looked at him. He tried to not show his adoration openly at the boy.
Zoro had seen Luffy's little portable notepad had drawings in it, and they were good, so he asked to have a portrait drawn of him. Luffy did his best, and it turned out well, but the whole time he was embarrassed. He'd never liked when anyone had watched as he drew. But he didn't want to be rude and knew Zoro would say nothing of his nervousness and if he thought it wasn't a good drawing. But Zoro had loved it and framed it behind his bed so, if either of his parents came in, they wouldn't see it without looking for it specifically.
After a month of successfully secretly and sneakily being friends with Zoro, his heart beat faster when Zoro smiled at him. He didn't particularly like the feeling. It was uncomfortable and he wasn't sure what was wrong with him. He didn't turn red in the face like Zoro did, which made Zoro unsure of Luffy's feelings. He wished Luffy would give him some sort of clue.
Luffy sat in the sunroom with Zoro, talking and eating sweets Zoro took from the kitchen. It wasn't the best weather outside. It was windy and rainy, and no one was working out on the lawn at the moment, which made it safe for both Zoro and Luffy to hang out with each other. Zoro noticed Luffy shoved some (a lot) of candy in his pocket for his friends to eat. Zoro had never really spoken to any of the slaves besides Luffy, so he wondered what they all thought of his and Luffy's friendship. Luffy had completely shut down on that topic. He was never really comfortable talking about his family with Zoro.
They didn't like him much, so he wouldn't give away facts and secrets about them. So Zoro never asked again. But Zoro was fine speaking to Luffy about his own family. He told him that all of his family was the same as his parents. Snobbish and shallow, treating others like they were below them.
Zoro was secretly jealous of Luffy's position. Zoro sometimes would rather be a slave and have a family instead of being rich and having no one. But he never said that to Luffy because he might find it offensive. Or he wouldn't. Zoro wasn't sure. Luffy was unpredictable. Most of times he liked it, but he could never know what Luffy was going to do or what he thought about Zoro. Zoro was absolutely sure Luffy was a genuine friend. He no longer cowered in anyway around Zoro. He was almost always completely happy talking with him.
"I have to go do my run. It's almost lunch time, so you should go to your room," Luffy said with a smile, stuffing a few more candies into his pocket. He no longer treated Zoro as if he were far above him. And Zoro had never treated Luffy like he was below him. When they were alone, they were equals, no matter how they acted in front of the other masters.
"Okay, I'll see you in a bit," Zoro said after waiting a few moments before following Luffy out of the room.
Luffy did a few stretches before he ran down the long halls and to the second story to Master's den to get his dinner order. Luffy reached the room and kneeled, knocking gently on the door frame. Master did not turn around.
"Anything to deliver or receive, Master?" Luffy asked in his emotionless tone whenever he spoke to the masters, now besides Zoro.
"No." Then he gave his order without even giving Luffy time to ask for it. Luffy stood and bowed one more time before he froze. He heard the thump of one of the candies in his pocket fall out onto the wooden floor. He dared not move to pick it up. Instead, he swiftly and silently kicked the candy out of view. Master still did not turn around, though he heard the sound. "Did something just fall?" he asked shortly, sounding accusatory as well.
"My pen fell. I apologize for the disturbance," Luffy said and ran from the room as fast as he could. That was a really close one. He stopped at the staircase and took the multiple candies in his pockets and stuffed them into the toes of his shoes he had hooked around his waist like always.
He knocked on Zoro's door, calmed down enough to stop shaking and his voice not waver. Zoro opened the door and smiled, Luffy not returning it. He had heard the suspicious tone in Master's voice.
"Anything to deliver or receive?" Luffy asked, same as always. Zoro shook his head and gave Luffy his order of food and drink, watching Luffy write his awful hand writing. Zoro never understood how Luffy himself could read it. Luffy bowed and ran to the next stop and then to the kitchen to wait for the dishes to be ready and eat his own dinner.
He had a feeling Zoro chose this dish because he knew the scraps of this dish were Luffy's favorite. His gave a small smile at the thought. He wished he could do something like that for his best friend.
Luffy walked up to the counter in front of the cooks. "I got you guys some candy," he whispered. The others smiled and asked how, just as quietly. "I got them from Young Master," Luffy replied with a grin.
"He really likes you, huh?" one of the girls said as she fixed Zoro's food.
"He's a really nice friend," Luffy said happily. The girl smirked.
She looked back to the food and put the decoration on the dish with a sauce that went with it. "Friend, huh?" Luffy nodded, not sensing the tone of amusement and disbelief. Another girl smirked behind the first. The three boys made no indication they knew why the girls were acting like this.
Luffy was given the leftovers and scarfed it down, and then went off to fetch the family. When they entered, like usual, Luffy and the cooks bowed respectfully. Luffy was about to sit at the slave's table when Master said, "Messenger, come here now." immediately Luffy was on edge, but he walked over to the man, who hadn't sat down yet. He looked at Luffy coldly. Luffy bowed in front of him, only a few feet away. He was caught off guard when he was viciously slapped across the face, a loud "smack!" reverberated in the room. Luffy started to breathe quickly, but didn't look back up at the Master and just kept his hand to his stinging cheek.
"Do you often steal food from the kitchen?" Master questioned coldly. Luffy finally looked up to see the candy he had dropped in between the man's fingers. Luffy shook his head. "Then why did you have a piece of candy?" Luffy couldn't help but look to Zoro, who looked furious.
"I-," Luffy began, trying to find an excuse that wouldn't get Zoro in trouble, but Zoro thought otherwise.
"I gave it to him," Zoro said harshly. He seethed at Luffy's red eyes and the tremors wracking his body. "Do not hit him again," Zoro demanded. His father looked at him angrily.
"Why would you give food to a slave?!" he shouted furiously. Luffy inched away from the angry father. The kids, who had watched angrily, saw Luffy's lower lip trembling and then moved to be in front of him, guarding him from Master. Luffy's worst fear had come to pass, and they'd do anything to keep it from getting worse.
"Because I wanted to! I am a master, too, and I can do as I like with one of my slaves as well." All of the slaves were staring at Zoro as he defended Luffy. Luffy was no longer keeping track of what was going on in the room as he was in shock. He had kept the tears in, but he wanted to flee the room more than he ever had before. Zoro continued to argue with his father about Luffy for many more minutes. The whole time, the Mistress watched in shock. Usually Zoro didn't care about most things. But he was getting very angry now as Master threatened firing Luffy from his job and making him work outside.
"You will not touch him again! You will not fire him either!" Zoro shouted. "If you do either, I will make sure you regret it," he said darkly. Master narrowed his eyes, believing Zoro would do something 100%.
"I will punish him if he deserves it. Like I always have! You have ruined his good track record. Whatever becomes of him will be your fault," Master said darkly. But Zoro wasn't done and threw a fork at his dad, his aim to next to his dad's ear. It flew there and stabbed through the plaster in the wall behind the man. He looked shocked at his son's violence. But he knew, from experience, when Zoro became violent, it got worse as time went on. Master had thought Zoro had taken care of his anger issues. He caved, knowing if he did not stop arguing with Zoro, things would get bad.
Someone would get hurt and he knew it wouldn't be the slaves. Master turned to Luffy, who was cowering behind the children, and said, "Your new schedule includes nights as well. You will sleep four nights a week. That is your current punishment." Luffy nodded shakily, being towed to the slave's table by the kids. Zoro was still seething, and gave his father the most murderous expression he could muster, trying to scare the man. Master tried his best to just ignore him.
Zoro had no appetite but the slaves made his food carefully, so he ate it. He glanced at Luffy's shaking form every once in a while. As soon as Master said, "Clean our dishes," Luffy bolted from the room and down the stairs to the cellar door. He ignored Zoro's calls as crawled through the tunnel to the slave quarters. He was sobbing before he hit the bed. There were a few others who were changing out of their work clothes into the worn sleep clothes.
"Luffy?! What happened?!" one of the slaves who took care of the downstairs cleaning ran to him. Luffy turned onto his back and showed the bright red mark on his cheek. The slap had been very hard, so it still stung. "You got hit…" she said sadly and hugged him. He continued to cry and shake.
"What happened?" the doctor asked, who had run over at the woman's shout. Luffy sat up and untied the shoes from his waist and dumped the contents on the bed. It was a handful of sweets.
"Zoro… gave them to me. I dropped one and Master saw it and thought I'd stolen them. Then he hit me… and Zoro got mad and yelled at him. He threw a fork at him and told Master to leave me alone. Now I have to do night shifts three times a week. I… was so scared! And it hurt and I couldn't breathe and so I ran here," Luffy explained, and then started crying again. "I don't wanna be here anymore!" and then he curled up in a ball on the bed. "And now Zoro's gonna be in trouble, too…"
The two slaves looked at each other sadly. When others came in when it was time to go to bed for most of the slaves, they saw Luffy looking how he'd never looked before: broken and crying. They hurried over to him and asked what was wrong. They were his family, so Luffy really didn't care about showing weakness in front of them. And most of them had been punished at least once.
"Luffy was finally hit," the doctor said sadly. Everyone frowned and felt for him. They offered silent support by just sitting with him.
"I… don't know if I can keep doing my messangering if I'm scared of him every time I see Master…"
"Make it so he doesn't get to you. Just because he hit you, doesn't mean he broke you. Right? Do you want to give him the satisfaction? We don't, which is why we carry on our work as normally as possible even after being punished," someone explained. "Do you think he'd want to punish us if we don't care?"
"Yes, he wants us to react. Slaves aren't just for work, we're for stress relief of the owner as well. Since we can't fight back, we try our best to not respond. It's the same as punching a punching bag if we don't react. Do not let him get to you." Everyone else was nodding, but Luffy had already reacted quite a bit.
"And Luffy, you're possibly the most important slave to them. You alert them of things that are very convenient. If you suddenly stop working well, what will they do? If they make it worse, you might start to 'accidentally slack off a bit'," the oldest woman said with a mischievous smile. "Think like cause and effect. He hits you, you stop working as well. He doesn't hit you, you work the same again. You have leverage here that we don't have. We are all replaceable, but you're the best one to have this job, right?" Luffy had stopped crying as he listened.
"And apparently you have Young Master backing you up, right?" Luffy nodded.
"Do not let him have satisfaction." Luffy nodded more firmly, wiping his arm across his face to get rid of the tears. Then there was loud thundering as all of the children came running in, looking furious.
"Luffy! Are you okay?" one of the girls asked, the same one who smirked at Luffy saying Zoro was a friend. Luffy nodded.
"I'm better now. What happened after I left?" Luffy asked, his voice no longer shaking. She smiled at him.
"Young Master was furious. After you ran out, he called your name, but didn't follow you. His anger came back once you were out of sight and he looked like he was about to kill Master. Oh it was entertaining when he quickly left after Young Master went crazy. He threw things all over the hall, missing hitting Master with a plate. We didn't even care we were smiling as it happened. And guess what! He cleaned up the mess himself."
"I guess he isn't so bad after all," said a boy, who laughed at the memory of Master fleeing. "Master deserved everything he got." Luffy smiled warmly that Zoro was so angry that Luffy had been upset.
"I'm going to go see him. I'm okay now, don't worry. I'll stay away from where Master usually is at this hour," Luffy said and left for the celler closest to the stairs.
"He's probably still cleaning up the mess he made, so you you should try the dining hall first."
"Thanks," Luffy replied and ran as fast as he could. He could hear everyone laughing as the children elaborated about Master's reaction and face. Luffy smiled at this.
When he entered the dining hall, he saw the incredible mess Zoro had created. Broken silverware everywhere, and even one of the tables was on its side.
"Wow, you made a mess," Luffy commented. Zoro looked up as he swept up glass. He dropped the broom and hurried over.
"Are you okay?" he asked, touching Luffy's cheek. The red mark had faded after a bit of being in the slave's quarters. Zoro looked very concerned.
"I'm okay. Are you? Did you get in trouble?" Luffy asked, smiling at Zoro's immensely relieved expression to Luffy's words.
"I did make a huge mess and attacked my father. From a distance. But he can't really do anything about it. I'm stronger than he is, no matter if he attacks people more than me. He has no leverage over me. I'm sorry about the candies," he said sadly.
"I stuffed the rest in my shoes, so my family still got some. Thanks for standing up for me. My biggest fear was being punished, since I never have been before. But everyone told me how to deal with the fear of Master." Luffy smiled warmly about thinking of his family helping him. Zoro asked what they said. "They said I have leverage over the situation. Since I'm the only one who can do this job, if he hits me, I'll just go slower. If he wants to me to go fast like usual, he won't hit me. I don't know if it will work, but they said to not give him the satisfaction of a reaction."
"You're lucky your family is there for you so much," Zoro said wistfully.
"Well, we're all slaves, so it's only natural we're all really close. Plus I was raised by them," Luffy told him. "Why did you get so upset? Surely you've seen us punished before."
Zoro was quiet for a moment. "I'd never seen you punished. That look on your face, and they way you were shaking… it was painful and infuriating to watch. I'm sorry, it was my fault." Luffy started to protest on this point. "I didn't say it was my fault fast enough." Luffy frowned.
"I don't blame you." Luffy paused to let his words sink in. He then asked, "Are you always that violent?" Luffy didn't sound afraid, just curious." Zoro shook his head. "Why did you go so far for me? Master is probably mad at you."
Zoro froze, unsure of what to say. He could tell him it was because they were friends, but that wasn't all of it. He hated seeing the person he loved terrified and hurt. He hated seeing his adoration run from the room crying, and was so fast Zoro couldn't catch up with him. This was a good moment to tell him. He was going to someday, and he'd become impatient about the subject. He just could never find the right time. This was the right time.
"I hated seeing it because I didn't want to see the person I love hurt," Zoro said, his face red. Now the ball was in Luffy's court. He worried at the pregnant pause between them.
"I think... I love you, too," Luffy said, his face not pink at all. He'd really realized he loved Zoro when he stood up for him so intensely. "But I'm a slave," Luffy said sadly. "That relationship wouldn't be good… you'll get in trouble." But Zoro didn't care about Luffy being a slave at all. He would make their relationship good.
He didn't reply to Luffy's sad words and gently took Luffy's face into his hands and leaned forward to press his lips to the black haired boy in front of him. Luffy couldn't help it. He melted into Zoro's kiss. He'd never kissed anyone, so he didn't know how to. He did his best to have Zoro lead. He didn't protest when one of the hands holding Luffy's cheek went around him and pulled his waist to Zoro so their bodies were closer. Zoro's kiss stayed soft because he didn't know how Luffy would react if the kiss became more intense. But when Luffy hesitantly wrapped his arms around Zoro's neck, because it just felt right to, Zoro became a little more forceful, grateful Luffy didn't respond negatively. When Zoro's tongue entered Luffy's mouth, the slave pulled away, breathing heavily.
"I'm sorry. I needed to breathe," he said breathily. Zoro grinned at him and hugged him tightly, grinning. After pining over Luffy secretly for five years, his favorite fantasy came true, and it was better than he'd imagined. "What will happen if we're found out that we love each other?" Luffy asked, the wording making Zoro grin wider. "I don't think my family would tell anyone. They might not like it, but the kids saw everything you did, so maybe you are redeemed for being a master."
"We'll make sure mother and father don't find out. We've been secretly meeting for a while just being friends," Zoro said.
"Will you get in trouble? ...Will I get in trouble?" The last part was a little quieter.
"I don't care if I get in trouble. But if you do, father won't like that much. I already told him he'd regret it if he harmed you or fired you from your job. He will believe me. This is not the first time I've been violently angry, no one was usually around when it happened. And I clean up the mess I create myself," Zoro explained calmly, not hugging Luffy anymore, but holding his hand.
They headed down the second staircase, single file that wasn't as safe or convenient but was near. It opened from a wooden door and the steps were narrow and made of wood. It used to be a way for slaves to go up and down from the first floor to the third. There was no doorway to the second floor. But they had stopped being used because they were dangerous.
The two walked to the sunroom, the place they usually went for privacy. Zoro sat down and Luffy followed. Luffy sat on the table instead, finally convinced Zoro wouldn't reprimand him in any way, even if it was for something small.
"My family said Master ran away from you. Is that true?" Luffy questioned. He wished, if it were true, that he'd seen it himself. Zoro chuckled.
"Sort of. He left the room while I was still on my… rampage. But he did look shaken and walked quickly. So your friends are right," Zoro said, and then paused before asking his own question. "Luffy, what happened after you left the dining hall?"
Said person looked down in embarrassment. "I went back to the slave's quarters and fell apart. Then everyone cheered me up. And the kids came in laughing about what happened after I left. They told me I should go see you, so I did."
"Is it wrong to be jealous of your position? That it would be privileged? That I, a rich master, would rather be a poor slave?" Zoro looked awkward as he finished his string of questions.
"No. I know you're lonely, and it's true that I have a family who loves me. So I don't think that's privileged or offending," Luffy assured him. "Do you have any other family? Maybe they're not near. People you could live with happily?" Luffy asked, holding Zoro's hand on the table. "You don't like it here, correct?"
"I have grandparents a couple towns over. They're on mother's side, so they aren't royalty or anything. They aren't rich but are nice people. I don't see them much since father doesn't like their 'lowly status'," Zoro said bitterly. "This castle feels like a jail sometimes. Because I have nowhere to go, I'm stuck here…"
"Would you want to live with them?" Luffy questioned. They had spoken about how Zoro didn't like it here, but they'd never gotten so deep into the subject.
"It would be nicer living with people who care. I'd rather live somewhere small and cozy. I don't like such a huge place. It was fun as a kid because I could run around. And I wanted to do what you did," Zoro told him. Luffy asked what he meant. "I know you used to play hide and seek around the castle with the kids at breaks," Zoro said with an amused smile. "I really wanted to play with you. Even though I was 14 at the time. It still looked fun. That's a big reason of why I like you. You're fun."
Luffy grinned. "Do you want to play now?"
"What? Now?" Luffy nodded. "Uh… sure," Zoro said, unsure.
"Have you never played before?" Luffy asked in disbelief. Had Zoro never even played simple games with others? Zoro turned slightly pink in the face.
"...No, I've never played before... Someone hides while the other looks for them?" Luffy nodded. Those instructions were a bit self-explanatory from the title of the game. "Are there other rules or anything?"
"Well, there could be a time limit, or distance limit. Suh as only using the first floor. Can I be the one that hides?" Luffy asked excitedly. He hadn't played the game in a while. Once the kids were old enough to start working every day, they were unable to play secretly on the deserted floors.
"Okay. Only the third floor. And the time limit is five minutes and then, if I don't find you, you have to meet at the staircase," Zoro instructed happily.
"You've obviously never played before. You'll need more than five minutes," Luffy told him, smiling in amusement. But he was also a bit sad. Zoro had to wait until he was 18 to play hide-and-go-seek. Luffy would make it enjoyable.
"Alright, ten minutes then. I have a watch, though. How will you know ten minutes are up?"
"Don't worry, my internal clock is sharp. I have to know when one hour is up, so ten minutes is nothing. We have a little less than an hour before I have to work the night shift and ask for any last minute requests from Master and Mistress. But we can play at night too, in the dark of course. That might be harder for you though," Luffy explained. He knew the castle like the back of his hand. As a child, when he wasn't too fast at running but got the job done respectfully, he'd explore fearlessly during his breaks. As he aged, he lost some of that rebellious nature. He stole food, but that was it nowadays.
"You know my castle better than I do?" Zoro asked, an eyebrow raised. Luffy grinned and nodded.
"Alright. But I'll find you," Zoro swore. Luffy just smiled, a hiding place already in his mind. The two quietly walked up the main staircase to the third floor.
"Okay, close your eyes and count to two minutes. Ready?" Luffy asked as they stood at the top of the stairs. Zoro was grinning as he closed his eyes. "One, two, three!" Luffy counted and ran away. Zoro began to count.
Luffy ran to the vent in the wall near the inner corner of the main hall and pulled out the bars very quietly and crawled in, putting the bar back on behind him. He waited with a smile. He'd never find Luffy there.
Zoro wandered around quickly, searching every empty room made for visitors that never came, and the long hall the stretched around the building. Luffy was nowhere to be found. Five minutes were up and Zoro was now running around the third floor barefoot. Finally his expensive watch showed it had been eleven minutes since the start. He frowned and walked back to the staircase so see Luffy smirking at him next to the bannister. Zoro smiled and ran to him. He loved when Luffy had diverse expressions because he could compare them to the first night Zoro had spoken to him. Every new smile Luffy gave him he saw as a treasure.
"Where were you?" Zoro asked once he reached Luffy.
"A vent," Luffy replied simply.
"But I looked in those," Zoro said, confused. Luffy grinned.
"You obviously didn't look too far into them," and then he gave a short laugh. "Your turn," Luffy instructed.
For the remaining time before Luffy's last official stop, Zoro spectacularly failed at their game. It was finally time for their game to end and Luffy to go make his last round. He was nervous that he was going to act afraid of Master on accident. Zoro told him he'd wait in his room for Luffy.
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