"Oh, cooooool!" Luffy exclaimed, pressing his hands against the window of the cable car.
"Yeah." Zoro agreed, his stomach tightening when Luffy turned, flashing him a radiant smile.
"It's so pretty." Luffy breathed out, looking down in wonder at the canopy below.
"The fog's a little menacing." Zoro added.
"I think it's romantic." Luffy reasoned. "It's like we're the only people in the world."
"Yeah? You think so?" Zoro rasped, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Take a picture with me, Zoro." Luffy asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He flipped the camera around to front view, throwing his arm over Zoro's shoulder before the older man could protest. Zoro's body stiffened but he smiled for the photo, a crooked, dashing smile that made Luffy's stomach flutter.
"Delete it if I look stupid." Zoro requested, sitting down.
"It turned out well." Luffy assured him, sitting in the space beside Zoro. His hand brushed against Zoro's knee. He squeezed affectionately before folding his hands respectfully in his lap. "Whaddaya wanna do after this?"
"I don't know." Zoro sighed, looking out the window.
"We could always head back early…" Luffy suggested hopefully.
"You don't mind?" Zoro asked, looking at Luffy from the corner of his eyes.
"What? No. Why? Are you tired?" Luffy asked, worried about Zoro's physical condition.
"I'm fine." Zoro replied, brushing the concern off with a shrug. "It's just, my idea for what to do next involves a certain level of privacy…"
Luffy laughed, his eyes creasing. "Wow."
"What?" Zoro demanded, knocking his shoulder against Luffy's.
"Nothing. You just surprised me." Luffy explained.
"Are you complaining?" Zoro asked, his eyes narrowed. "I thought you were tougher than that."
"Oh, no complaints…" Luffy breathed out, his voice low and thick. "I'm totally on board."
"These mountains are very beautiful." Zoro conceded, looking out the window. "I'm glad I got to see them with you."
"Yeah." Luffy nodded unsurely. "Of course, Senpai."
"Oooh! Ooohh! Zoro! Zor-o!" Luffy begged, jumping up and down in place. "I wanna take a gondola ride! Pleaaase!"
Zoro considered his options. "Yeah, sure."
"Yes!" Luffy cheered, leaping into the boat excitedly. The boat rocked precariously, nearly sending Luffy into the lake.
"Be careful would ya?" Zoro groaned, stepping into the boat with a scowl. Zoro's shoe came down on small slick of water and he slipped. He threw out his arms, trying to correct himself.
Luffy grabbed him easily, catching him tightly in his arms. Zoro looked up into Luffy's grinning face and he flushed with color. Zoro cleared his throat, straightening up without a word to his 'savior'. Zoro pulled down his shirt and sat, his body on fire from where Luffy touched.
The recollection of their first night together flooded his mind, and then the next day. They had spent hours in bed, only abandoning it when they became too hungry to continue. Zoro stared hard at the water, his stomach tight. Zoro feared his body had become strange since every fiber longed for Luffy and suddenly most of his thoughts were rather lascivious. "It's your fault."
"Huh?" Luffy asked. "That you slipped? Sorry, Senpai. I must've gotten water in the boat when I jumped in…" Zoro shook his head. How easily Luffy apologized. Luffy was surprisingly indulgent. Zoro fluctuated between appreciating and resenting that fact.
The gondola pushed off from the dock and Luffy smiled in excitement. He peered over the edge of the boat, pointing out all the fish and other marine life he could see. He sat up suddenly, bringing his phone out of his pocket. He tilted it from side to side with an expectant smile.
"I guess." Zoro surrendered with a sigh.
"Thanks, Senpai." Luffy snickered, pressing against Zoro to fit properly in the frame of the photo. He snapped the picture and instantly scrutinized the result before replacing his phone in his pocket.
The lake was full of sea life and once they reached the other side, on the opposite wharf, there were dozens of seafood restaurants. "Are you getting hungry?" Zoro asked, paying the gondolier.
"I'm always hungry, Senpai." Luffy sighed, rubbing his exaggeratedly extended belly.
"Ain't that the truth." Zoro muttered.
They walked side by side on the wharf, Luffy's hands in his pockets and Zoro's arms folded across his chest. "Anything look good?"
"You pick, Senpai." Luffy insisted.
"If I pick, it'll just be rice balls and fish." Zoro explained.
"That's fine by me, Senpai." Luffy replied. "It doesn't matter what or where or how, I just want to be with you."
"You say that… so openly…" Zoro breathed out, licking his lips.
"Yeah. Because I don't care what anyone else thinks. I care what you think." Luffy said simply. "Strangers, classmates, everyone else. They're all extra. I honestly don't care what people think about me."
"Keep that." Zoro urged. "I swear everything changes the older you get. I didn't use to care and now… Well, I don't give a fuck 60% of the time and 40% of the time I'm too nervous to ask for no pickles at the McDonald's."
"You need to eat the pickles." Luffy whispered. "The vinegar will help your muscles stay strong."
"Okay, Mom." Zoro groaned.
"Let's eat here." Luffy suggested, pausing in front of a little shop. No more than a dozen people could be seated at a time. It looked perfect in Zoro's opinion.
"Yeah." Zoro nodded.
"And if you get too nervous to order I'll do it." Luffy teased. "It's my duty as a man."
"Oh, shut up!" Zoro snapped, slapping Luffy roughly on the back. "Don't get ahead of yourself."
"Now, Zoro." Luffy breathed out, settling into the dizzyingly warm water. "This is why it's the best to be men."
"Hmm?" Zoro asked, nearly asleep.
"If you were a girl you'd be in the other bath. And we wouldn't be together." Luffy explained, soaking comfortably.
"You mean if you were the girl." Zoro corrected, opening one eye threateningly.
"Sure, yeah. To-may-to/to-mah-to." Luffy snickered.
"This is nice." Zoro repeated for the third time in half an hour. "I didn't realize how sore I was until now."
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that, Senpai…" Luffy drawled.
Zoro opened one eye again, glowering at Luffy in disapproval. "Keep dreamin' punk."
Luffy laughed, wading through the large, outdoor bath. He leaned against the edge, resting his head on the stone.
"Where'd ya go?" Zoro asked, turning to look at Luffy.
"I'm still here." Luffy murmured, pushing up and climbing out of the water.
"Where ya goin'?" Zoro asked.
"I think my brain's boiled, Senpai." Luffy admitted, waving his hand in front of his face. Luffy grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist. "But take your time. No rush. Just relax."
"Uh hmm…" Zoro murmured, closing his eyes sleepily.
Several minutes later, Zoro jerked awake in the bath, Luffy's hands cradling his face adoringly, "Don't fall asleep in the bath, Zoro." Luffy stole an upside down kiss, smiling against Zoro's lips. "You'll drown."
"'M awake…" Zoro murmured, his arms wrapping around Luffy's neck.
"Should I carry you to the bedroom?" Luffy teased, kissing Zoro again.
"Like you could, dumbass." Zoro groaned into Luffy's mouth. "Don't go getting ahead of yourself again."
Luffy made a terrifyingly determined face. He pursed his lips in thought before jumping back into the bathing pool, towel and all. He grabbed Zoro, fighting with the now struggling man before tossing him over his shoulder.
Luffy, laughing all the while, waded across the bath, climbing the stairs and out of the bath. Zoro smacked Luffy's back, feeling ridiculous with his ass in the air and his legs dangling down Luffy's chest. He imagined the feeling was like a cat stuck in blinds. He groaned loudly, letting Luffy know of his displeasure.
"We can't walk around like this! There are other people in the hotel, ya know!" Zoro protested. "Put me down…"
Luffy tossed Zoro's clean towel over Zoro's bottom before stepping inside the hall. He moved quickly through the building toward their room, especially since his towel was, at that exact moment, sinking to the bottom of the bath.
"You're lucky no old Aunties saw your dick." Zoro warned before Luffy tossed him onto the bed.
"I carried you here." Luffy beamed triumphantly. "Where's my reward?"
"You weren't arrested for being a flasher… that should be reward enough." Zoro claimed, adjusting his towel more modestly over himself.
"I forgot our yukata." Luffy realized, sinking onto the foot of the bed. "Damn it."
Zoro stood, pulling his jeans on over his wet skin. "You go get the yukata, I'll go get some drinks from the vending machine."
Luffy nodded, pulling on a pair of shorts. "Sure."
"And then we can see if there's anything on TV." Zoro suggested, grabbing his wallet.
"Sounds good to me." Luffy said, kissing Zoro's back as he walked by. "Be right back."
Zoro woke up with Luffy's sweaty leg shoved over his own. He groaned, opening his eyes and yawning. Luffy was still asleep, his face looking younger and sweeter than Zoro could ever remember. Zoro sighed, dropping his head back to Luffy's bare chest.
The last few days were good, he'd say, only because he didn't say what really came to mind. He hated that about himself. Luffy could say whatever idiotic thing he was thinking at any time. The last few days were wonderful, truthfully, even though his body ached and he had concerns over Luffy's drug use. Could he call it that? What the hell were poppers anyway?!
Zoro hadn't felt like this since high school. He couldn't remember a time when every little touch and every little smile made his heart pound dangerously fast in his chest. It felt so good he didn't even have the nerve to be embarrassed.
Luffy stirred, possibly feeling Zoro's heavy gaze. Luffy blinked awake, rubbing his eyes sleepily. His eyes focused on Zoro and he broke into a grin, his warm hands trailing down Zoro's shoulder. "Morning, Zoro…"
"Morning." Zoro responded, enjoying the close contact.
"What do you wanna do today?" Luffy asked, scratching his lower stomach, just above his groin.
"This." Zoro said, throwing his muscled arm over Luffy and pressing him deeper into the bed. "Shhhh…"
"Open Air Museum or hiking?" Zoro asked, looking through the brochure that came along with their breakfast tray.
"Neither." Luffy decided. "Let's go play pachinko!"
"I'm twenty years too young and thirty-five pounds too light to go to a pachinko parlor." Zoro refused.
"Boo!" Luffy complained, folding his legs beneath him on the bed.
"I refuse." Zoro maintained.
"Well you're no fun." Luffy groaned.
"It's a waste of money." Zoro argued. "What's the point?"
"Fiiiiiine." Luffy drawled. "Whatever. Let's go hiking then."
"It's our last day. We should get a good look at Mt. Fuji before we leave." Zoro pointed out, counting his money quickly.
"Aww," Luffy pouted. "Do we really have to go back?"
"Unfortunately." Zoro muttered under his breath.
"Do we really?" Luffy asked, his eyes glittering dangerously. "We could just run away together."
"Don't be ridiculous." Zoro whispered, pushing his wallet back in his pocket. "People are waiting for you to come back."
"I told you." Luffy breathed out. "Everyone else is extra."
"Usopp is extra?" Zoro pressed, his brows knit together expectantly.
"Usopp would forgive me." Luffy retorted. "My friends are cool."
"Come on." Zoro said, looking over at Luffy with a peculiar expression. "Let's go."
"Tell us everything." Robin drawled, her straw squeezed between her full lips. She sucked the last drips of lemonade from her glass before waving it toward their server in gesture.
"Mostly everything…" Nami corrected with a shrug.
"Keep it PG." Usopp pleaded, pressing his hands together in gesture.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Robin-dear…" Sanji cooed, pouring Robin more lemonade. "Nami? Anything I can get you right now?"
"I'm good." Nami replied, flashing Sanji a small but sincere smile.
"Oh of course you are! You're like an angel!" Sanji exclaimed.
"I could go for some more tea, if you don't mind…" Usopp pointed out, gesturing to his empty cup.
"Yeah, alright. Hold on." Sanji muttered.
"That guy has problems." Usopp complained once Sanji was out of earshot.
"Back to business…" Robin snipped impatiently. "How'd it go?"
"It was good." Luffy said simply, folding his arms across his chest. He leaned back in his chair, balancing on two legs.
"And…?" Nami asked, shaking her head expectantly.
"It was fun." Luffy added with a grin.
"What kind of fun?" Robin asked coyly.
"It was the good kind of fun." Luffy replied.
"Damn it, Luffy!" Nami barked, smacking Luffy upside his head.
Luffy's chair dropped back to the floor and Luffy groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "That wasn't nice, Nami… I was just answering your questions…"
"Not very well!" Nami complained.
"Did you both have a good time?" Usopp asked.
"Yeah. We did." Luffy said with a thick laugh. Luffy's face was twisted into an involuntary grin. Luffy made a devilish face and leaned toward Usopp as he spoke, "And I told ya he'd be a needy bottom. Hell yeah he is…"
"So things are progressing on that front?" Robin asked, nodding her head in understanding.
"Oh, yeah. It's great. We got to the hotel and then he told me he wanted to do it…" Luffy nearly shouted, his voice exclaiming in excitement. Everyone at the table made a noise of victory, their bodies leaning in close to hear Luffy's continuation. "We did it the first night and then again the second and third night. And the fourth day we didn't even leave the ryokan, we stayed in bed all day… doing it…"
"Wow." Robin breathed out, her eyes wide.
"Nice." Nami agreed with a nod.
"It was perfect." Luffy sighed. "And the food was so good. I mean, he bought me everything I saw. He didn't even complain about it…"
"Let's back up a minute, not to be rude, but you, uh, topped right?" Nami asked, propping her chin on her hand as she spoke.
"Yeah." Luffy said, rolling his eyes at what he took to be a very stupid question. "Of course."
"How did that work?" Nami asked, tilting her head. "I'm just thinking schematics and all. He's just so big and muscle-y and impressive and you… you're…" Nami shrugged.
"I'm…?" Luffy asked.
"As an outsider…" Nami began, raising her hands inoffensively. "I just think it looks like it should be the other way around…"
"I told you BL manga was dangerous." Usopp said seriously, slamming his hand down on the table.
"Sorry, Nami." Luffy snickered. "I'm a top." Luffy gestured with his hands, rolling his hips forward lewdly as if in copulation.
"Okaaay…" Nami drawled, waving her hand dismissively. "Whatever you say."
"To be completely honest, it confused me at first too." Robin whispered. "Especially when he only goes for the hunky, muscled type…"
"Eh. I just do what feels good." Luffy shrugged. "And by that I mean feels good for both parties…" Luffy wriggled his eyebrows. "I'm a beast. No lie."
"So…" Robin pressed curiously. "Do anything special for his first time?"
"He was a virgin?" Nami scoffed in disbelief. "But he's so hoooot…"
"Eh. Eh. Eh." Usopp shrieked. "Warning. Warning. Too much information! Too much information!"
"We're both dudes." Luffy replied simply. "He said he wanted to do it. We did it. I went slow. That was it."
"Hmm." Robin sighed critically. "I wish men would put more effort into things."
"I put plenty of effort into it." Luffy snickered impishly. "And, man, he took it like a champ."
"Gal-lala-la-lala-la!" Usopp groaned, pushing his fingers into his ears.
"Well, he let you do it again, that's a good sign…" Nami reasoned.
"I wasn't worried." Luffy said a little sharply, eyeing Nami.
"God bless Bara." Robin said simply, pulling her hand to her chest as if deeply moved.
"Amen." Luffy added, clapping his hands together.
"What are you doing here?" Franky asked, standing up at his full height.
"I came to return the book." Zoro answered. "Ya know, refuse it and whatnot."
"Yeah?" Franky asked stiffly.
"Yeah." Zoro snapped.
"Well good." Franky muttered, rolling his shoulders.
"Yeah." Zoro nodded, his voice gruff.
"Did ya have fun on your damn vacation?" Franky growled.
"Yeah, I did." Zoro barked.
"I, uh, heard Luffy went along with ya." Franky admitted, his eyes narrowed.
"He did." Zoro breathed out, his brows knit together.
"And how was that?" Franky demanded.
"It was good. Yeah." Zoro retorted, folding his arms across his chest.
"I'm glad." Franky snarled.
"Wanna grab a beer after work?" Zoro asked simply.
"Yeah, sure. Sounds good to me, brother." Franky replied, nodding in acceptance.
Zoro nodded and stepped around Franky, who took up most of the hallway, walking toward the boss's office. He rasped his knuckles against the door loudly before stepping inside. "Zoro! How was vacation? I expect you didn't do much more than sleep…" his boss chuckled.
"Hakone was nice." Zoro said simply.
"How surprising. I didn't expect you to actually go anywhere." His boss admitted. "You're not officially back until Monday. What are you doing here?"
"I came to return this." Zoro announced, placing the omiai folder down on his boss's desk. "Thanks for thinking of me, but not right now."
His boss sighed and shook his head. "Refuse it in person."
"What?!" Zoro hissed. "Why should I have to?"
"You've had it a week." His boss explained. "It would be rude not to arrange a meeting."
"You-" made me take the damn thing, Zoro finished in his head.
"I think when you meet her you'll change your mind. She's a beautiful girl. She's smart but modestly so. She's older than you, but you're not a salaryman, you can't be too picky…"
"You want me to set up a meeting to turn down this girl?" Zoro asked, furrowing his brows.
"It'll be impossible to turn her down once you've seen her."
Zoro sighed deeply, his gaze settling on the floor. He really wanted to shake his boss. "I'll see you Monday."
"We should've invited Robin and Luffy." Franky complained, downing the rest of his bottle.
"Yeah." Zoro murmured in agreement.
"I could call…" Franky suggested. "I'm sure they'd come over…"
"If you want." Zoro replied, sinking his bottle into the bin.
"What did we talk about before?" Franky asked, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. "I mean before we started hanging out with them?"
"Nothing." Zoro answered.
"Hmmm… Makes sense…" Franky nodded. "It's so quiet, it's spooky, brother…"
"Sorry." Zoro mumbled, popping open another bottle of beer.
"So…" Franky drawled expectantly.
"Yeah?" Zoro turned to look at Franky. "What?"
"Did ya do it?! Come on! I know you're weird about personal information but I'm curious as hell, brother…" Franky pressed.
"What?! That's not your business…" Zoro groaned.
"Hey! You brought it up first…" Franky accused. "I was wondering if he made you sleep on the floor or if you had separate rooms…"
"Wait. What?" Zoro tilted his head to the side in confusion.
"Did you sleep together?" Franky demanded.
"Like in the same bed…?" Zoro asked unsurely.
"Yeah! What the hell do you think I mean… Whoa! Wait a minute…" Franky chattered excitedly. "Did you…? Oh, God… Finally! Hallelujah, brother!"
"Shut up." Zoro snapped, slapping his palm against Franky's broad back. "You're giggling like a little girl."
"Start answering questions. I'm just gonna keep asking. I can get hella annoying." Franky warned, his eyes narrowed in delight.
"We shared a bed." Zoro said simply before taking a large gulp of his drink. "And you're always hella annoying."
"Goooood." Franky drawled. "And then…"
"And then Franky minded his own business." Zoro chimed.
"It's too late for that, brother." Franky breathed out. "Either you tell me or Robin tells me. And she won't leave out a damn dirty detail."
"Yeah." Zoro groaned, nodding his head. "Yeah we did."
"Did what?" Franky asked coyly.
"Just die." Zoro growled. Franky laughed, smacking his knee. He shook his head, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. "I mean it. I hope you choke."
"You're so mean." Franky complained, wiping his face. "And weird. I mean, wouldn't most guys be bragging outright? You got laid. Whoo hoo! I'll buy you the next round to celebrate, brother!"
"I won't say no to beer." Zoro said with a crooked smile.
"How was it, anyway?" Franky asked. "I mean… was it good?"
"Yeah." Zoro admitted, his skin flushing with color. He played it cool, keeping his head up and his shoulders square. "It was good."
"Well I'm happy for you." Franky said, lifting his bottle as if in a toast.
"Poppers don't show up in drug tests do they?" Zoro asked suddenly.
"Poppers?!" Franky nearly spit out his beer. "What the hell?!"
"Never mind." Zoro mumbled.
"No. Sorry. You can't just leave it like that…" Franky argued. "Come on. Out with it."
"Luffy's weird." Zoro said simply, folding his arms over his chest. "Nothing else to say."
"I'm really confused." Franky whined.
"That's fine." Zoro insisted. "I shouldn't've asked anyway."
"Sounds like that string bean knows how to party…" Franky murmured in surprise. "I'm impressed." Franky sat back on his barstool, his thick arms crossed. "I can't imagine doing a dude though. Don't you miss it? No titties bouncing in your face…" Franky made a face. "Well, I mean, I guess you wouldn't miss it, but normally…"
"It seemed normal enough." Zoro replied, drinking his beer.
"Well I'm glad you figured it out, brother." Franky admitted, wiping his forehead in gesture. "I was worried you'd be looking up instructional videos with his legs around your neck."
"Why would his legs be around my neck?" Zoro asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion. And then he understood. He made a ridiculous face, turning away from Franky quickly.
"Brother… no… no way… I won't accept it…" Franky groaned, shaking his head in refusal.
"Accept what?" Zoro growled through clenched teeth.
"He, uh, didn't, uh, top you did he, brother?" Franky whispered.
"Yeah. So?" Zoro said so matter-of-factly it dissolved Franky's reply. Franky nodded and shrugged, Zoro repeating the gesture.
"I'm glad we came out." Franky realized. "It's nice to talk just you and me sometimes. I mean, I miss the little woman but it's nice."
"Yeah." Zoro agreed.
"You're gonna call Luffy the moment we leave aren't you?" Franky asked suddenly.
"Email." Zoro confirmed.
"Yeah. I'm gonna call Robin." Franky confessed. "But it was still nice hanging with you."
"Yeah." Zoro agreed, smiling crookedly. "Sure."
"Hey, Senpai." Luffy flashed a brilliant smile, his dark hair falling into his eyes. "What's up?"
"Come in." Zoro instructed, stepping aside.
"Didja miss me?" Luffy asked, kicking off his sandals. "I was kinda surprised you emailed me so soon."
"Why?" Zoro asked, his eyes narrowed. "We always hang out on the weekends."
"Yeah, we do." Luffy nodded in agreement. "I just thought you might have gotten sick of me over vacation."
"Why? Did you do something you feel bad about?" Zoro asked, eyeing Luffy with playful suspicion.
"Nope." Luffy said simply, shaking his head and pursing his lips together.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Zoro offered.
"Ah, come on, Zoro." Luffy breathed out, walking to the kitchen. "I'm just gonna make myself at home."
"Hell no, you aren't." Zoro snapped. "Don't you dare eat all my food."
"I won't… I won't…" Luffy chuckled, ducking into the fridge. "I'm just gonna get some water… and then…" Luffy searched the fridge, moving aside countless bottles and cans of alcohol. "And then I'm gonna eat you."
"You aren't doing that either." Zoro breathed out.
"Why not?" Luffy groaned in disappointment.
"I have to go back to work on Monday." Zoro explained.
"It's Friday!" Luffy protested.
"I know… it's…" Zoro paused. He couldn't bring himself to say what he was thinking.
"Sooooooo…?" Luffy drawled hopefully.
"Luffy, actually there's something I need to tell you," Zoro began hesitantly. "It's no big deal, but it's better to just be upfront about it."
"Yeah, sure. Go on." Luffy replied, sitting down on the arm of Zoro's couch.
"My boss tried to set me up on an omiai." Zoro explained. "I refused but he's making me go refuse in person. It's fucking annoying but I'll take care of it."
"Oh." Luffy murmured. "When did he do that? You've been out on vacation."
"Oh, yeah, well, when I went in today for my check he mentioned it, I guess…" Zoro replied.
"He must not know you very well." Luffy reasoned, blinking slowly. "I can't ever imagine you and a girl together."
"Yeah, well, I assume I look like a normal person!" Zoro exclaimed defensively.
"Did you tell him you were seeing someone?" Luffy asked.
"No. I guess I never got around to mentioning it." Zoro responded quietly.
"Okay, well, don't be too mean when you turn her down." Luffy replied.
"Yeah, sure." Zoro nodded, relieved at Luffy's nonchalant reaction.
"Hey, Zoro…"
"Yeah?"
"We're together right?" Luffy asked, his voice low.
"I…" Zoro began unsurely.
"Don't say 'I don't know'. That's really starting to piss me off." Luffy groaned.
"I've always thought that these things were things I wasn't interested in." Zoro spoke up suddenly. "It might take me a while. I'm not used to this." Zoro snarled in exhalation. "It's fucking confusing as shit."
Luffy nodded slowly, trying his best to remain patient and understanding. "Yeah."
"Wanna watch a movie?" Zoro asked, looking toward Luffy hopefully, willing him not to leave angry.
"Sounds good to me, Senpai." Luffy replied with a smile. "We can cuddle on da couch."
"And if it's too late, when the movie gets over…" Zoro began. "You can just stay over here."
"Maybe." Luffy countered. "It depends on your behavior." Luffy chuckled, despite himself.
"What?" Zoro asked, his brows knit together.
"I told myself I wouldn't sleep over until you said 'I love you'. Well, you said it on vacation, so…" Luffy smiled happily.
"That's why?" Zoro muttered under his breath.
"I'm pretty damn resilient, Senpai." Luffy declared. "But I still get nervous."
"You don't need to be nervous." Zoro insisted, feeling his stomach twist with guilt.
"You're flighty. You get mad way too easy. You aren't honest. You won't commit." Luffy began to list off, his eyes sparkling dangerously. "And you're going to meet a woman for an omiai." Luffy smiled handsomely, and it nearly broke Zoro's heart. If Luffy could say such terrible things and still smile like that… "I have every right to be nervous."
"You used to be so carefree." Zoro remarked. "You're so serious now."
"I can't wait around forever, Senpai." Luffy said. "I'm only young once."
"You're 20 years old. You're hardly an old man…" Zoro reasoned.
Luffy swallowed a thousand replies. He didn't need to get heavy. He knew he had made progress. He knew it for certain. He needed to be patient and understanding. He needed to be selfless for a short while.
Luffy nodded. "You're annoying but I love you."
"Nice." Zoro groaned.
Luffy snickered. "So… If I promise to be gentle can we fuck?"
Zoro opened his mouth to protest in embarrassment, but something stopped him. He cleared his throat and looked away, his face growing hot. "Yeah, okay, but only once. Do you hear me?!"