Disclaimer: I do not own One-Piece nor any of it's characters. Those belong to Oda Eiichiro.

Nunya Bizniz

Chapter Twenty: Progress

After the little prank Rachel and Missy played on Luffy things went back to how they normally were, which was anything except normal. With the two sisters having 'fled the field' Zoro broke away from his fight with Sanji. This left the cook in a stunned stupor. The cigarette that had been in his mouth fell when his jaw dropped open at what the swordsman did next. Sheathing his swords, Zoro leapt over to the Nunya and went below deck. Seeing as Luffy was still on the Sunny, Sanji couldn't think of an excuse for Zoro to go over there. The only ones that were on board Nunya at this time were...

A righteous fire lit within Sanji's eyes. His body started to move towards the metal ship. However, something caused him to trip and he fell flat on his face. He looked back to see what had happened. A pair of Robin's arms were disappearing as petals from their previous grip on his ankles. Nami came up and knelt next to Sanji. "Why don't we let things play out how they will?" she asked sweetly. "Will you do that for me Sanji-kun?" She smiled sweetly and tilted her head in an innocent fashion.

Sanji's eyes became filled with hearts. "Anything you want Nami-swan," he swooned. Nami gave a sweet giggle and stood to her full height. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked away, a sway in her hips. She joined up with Robin and the two shared a look. Sanji was so focused on his feelings he never noticed.

When Ace jumped over to the Nunya, almost no one noticed. They were all too busy keeping Sanji from interrupting. Sabo and Luffy had followed behind him. Sabo, understanding what it was that Ace was getting at. Luffy joined because the two of them had motioned for him to do so. The three brothers made their way below deck.

Missy went to the room they had set aside for books and literature. She forced open the door since some of the books fell in front of it. Though that issue seemed to be a bit redundant. There were so many books in the room, stacked in piles or on shelves that a person could barely fit inside. "Maybe I should get rid of some like Rachel suggested," Missy mused. She took a long look at the various titles. "Or maybe not, I might want to read them again." Missy picked up five books that looked interesting to her, again, then headed for the deck. She decided to sunbathe as she read. "This should keep me occupied for an hour or two." (In case any readers are wondering, yes, the person Missy's character is based off of can read that fast. Sometimes she pisses me off. Since I know she's also reading this... : p)

Rachel had gone down to the dock. She busied herself by switching the ramp over to the manual crank system. She needed a release that being stuck in the rooms on either ship couldn't give her. She stood straight when she finished with the switch. Rachel started to stretch to work out the kinks. Just as she was relaxing from the stretch two arms wrapped around her waist like a set of steel bands. Tensing, Rachel looked down to the arms. They were wearing a familiar green coat. Before she could do anything else Rachel felt a weight on her right shoulder. She looked to see that Zoro was resting his chin on her. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"You ran away before in Dressrosa," Zoro said. "I've been waiting for another opportunity to talk to you, but there's too much going on. I thought that I would make an opportunity instead."

"Talking, is that what you call grabbing me from behind?"

"No, I call this keeping you from distancing yourself from me."

"I'm surprised that you didn't get lost trying to find me."

"Don't try to change the subject."

"Damn, saw through me."

Zoro squeezed Rachel tighter to himself. "Will you talk without me having to chase after you again?"

Rachel nodded her head slightly. Zoro felt the movement and released Rachel enough so that she was able to turn around. "You don't have to hold me to talk," she pointed out.

"I like holding you," Zoro admitted. "I realized something recently and I'm not going to let this opportunity slip away."

"What did you realize?" Rachel asked.

"When I saw you hanging for life from that building," Zoro started. "Then again when I thought that you might become a target of Doflomingo, I felt my blood run cold. There have only been a few times when I've felt that about anyone. Once or twice with Luffy, but it's become less common after our training. I felt it when I learned my dear friend in childhood passed away. The thought of loosing you before I had a chance brought those feelings back."

"A chance at what?" Rachel asked. She was fighting not to hold her breath. She didn't want to bring her hopes up in case she was wrong.

Zoro tightened his hold on Rachel once again, pulling her closer. This time the two of them were facing each other. "I think you know," he whispered. Zoro then brought his lips to Rachel's, picking up where he left off in Dressrosa. Once again, Rachel didn't allow him to dominate the kiss.

The sound of a throat being cleared broke the two apart. Zoro growled menacingly in his throat and turned to see who had interrupted them. Ace stood in front of the doorway, arms crossed. Just behind him was Sabo and Luffy. Sabo was holding Luffy back. "Let Ace take care of it," he was telling him.

Rachel tried to pull away from Zoro, but his grip remained. She let out a groan, being seen like this before she even had a chance to settle her own feelings was unnerving. Zoro moved one hand and weaved it through her hair. Rachel knew the gesture was a way to soothe her anxiety without words. She took the silent comfort for what it was.

Ace started to steadily approach them. Sabo hanging back with a grip on Luffy's shoulder. "I have a few things I want made clear and to make clear," he said. "First off, swordsman, I think you should explain yourself. What exactly is it you want from my sister?"

"Only for her to return my feelings," Zoro answered.

"What are your feelings?" Ace demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"For my peace of mind," Ace said. "As well as that of Rachel's and the rest of our siblings, you're going to have to say it."

Zoro didn't flinch or hesitate. "I love Rachel," he answered. One of the things Zoro prided himself on was being a man. A true man didn't shrink away or hide from his duties. He knew that he would have to face this moment. He also understood that he would have to tell Rachel exactly what it was he felt.

"That's a little sudden," Ace pointed out. "Don't you think?"

"I doubt it's as sudden as you think," Zoro returned. "We first met four years ago. Then we had run ins every now and then. The more we ran into each other, the more I learned. The more I learned, the more curious I got. My curiosity caused me to think of Rachel often. I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

By his explanations, Luffy stopped pulling against Sabo and stared. Ace was nodding his head in understanding. A slow, lopsided grin spread across his face. He was now looking Zoro in the eye. "Rachel and Missy don't exactly have normal circumstances. Will you stick by her even then?" Ace asked. He watched as Zoro nodded with a determined look. "You know what this means now, right?"

Rachel closed her eyes as Ace got closer. She was waiting for him to challenge Zoro. Her eyes snapped open when she felt another arm go around her shoulders. Ace had the both of them in a hug. "Welcome to the family," he grinned.

"What the hell?" Sabo demanded. "If I had known you were going to cave like that I would have let Luffy go."

Ace let go of his hold and looked at his two brothers. "Are you kidding me?" he asked. "After you've lived with these two as long as I have you'd be just as happy that there was someone out there willing to be with them. Can't say I'm surprised that it was Rachel that got the first hook up though."

"Why is that?" Sabo asked.

"I've seen the way Missy and Law pass looks," Ace pointed out. "Personally, I'm not going to touch that one with a ten foot pole."

"I still don't get it," Sabo admitted. "If the two like each other, then it's a no brainer."

"Yeah, not so much." Rachel broke into the conversation at this point. Zoro was still holding onto her. "Law's going to have one helluva fight on his hands if he ever wants to get involved with her."

"Why's that?" Luffy asked. His sudden voice startling them. They all thought he would still be too angry to talk.

"Law is the embodiment of everything that Missy hates or is afraid of," Rachel explained. "First of all, we're lucky to get Missy on a boat at all. Law travels the world in a yellow submarine." Rachel paused a moment to laugh at her own joke. She cleared her throat and continued on with the explanations. "To surround Missy with water is going to send her into a panic attack. That's why she never goes with me to Fishman Island. There's only one way down there, after all. The second reason, ever since she was a kid she had to receive weekly shots from her doctor to help her with her allergies. Though she doesn't need that any longer, the memory lingers. That's why she also hates doctors. Like I said earlier, Law has a lot of hurdles to cross if he wants a relationship with Missy."

"Poor bastard," Ace solemnly said. "I can only wish the best for him." The rest of the men nodded their agreement, including Zoro.

"Since this is resolved," Sabo broke the atmosphere. "Let's head back up top. There's a couple of plotting women we need to talk to." Sabo turned around and left. Ace followed behind, not surprised that Sabo noticed the interference of Nami and Robin.

Luffy looked after them in confusion. He turned to follow, but stopped. He looked over his shoulder to Zoro. "You're my best friend, Nakama and first-mate," he stated. "But Rachel is my sister now. If you hurt her you should probably run."

"I understand Captain," Zoro nodded. He only called Luffy that when he was showing his respect or it was serious. In this case, it was both. Luffy then walked out of the dock, shutting the door behind him.

Rachel stiffened when Zoro's gaze returned to her. "Alone again," he said.

"Did you mean it?" Rachel asked.

"Don't make me say it again," Zoro said. "I acknowledged my feelings as any man should. It was hard enough saying it in front of your brothers."

Rachel relaxed and nodded, accepting his words. She knew men always had a hard time voicing their feelings, at least the strong men. It was her experience that the strong ones that were worth it believed actions spoke louder than words. Zoro fell into this category. Men that didn't express their feelings through either method weren't worth the effort. Then finally there were men that were too vocal with their feelings. They were too emotionally unstable and needy for her taste. "I love you too," she whispered. She opened her mouth to say more, but her words were cut off when Zoro's lips were once again on hers.

Like in Dressrosa Zoro was demanding more, trying to dominate the action. Rachel refused to back down at first. It was annoying Zoro, which was Rachel's plan. When he got a little more forceful, Rachel finally gave in. Now that her brothers voiced their opinions and essentially given their blessings, Rachel wasn't going to stop her own feelings. Rachel let out a moan. Once she gave into Zoro he renewed his efforts. The kiss became all consuming as if Zoro was imprinting his claim over her.

After a few minutes Zoro pulled away. "When did you know?" he asked.

"That I loved you?" Rachel asked. Zoro only nodded in response. "I'm not entirely sure," Rachel admitted. "I had a crush on you when I bumped into you that first time. But I fought my feelings so hard. It wasn't until right after Missy and I had the Nunya built when I finally gave in and allowed myself to hold hope you might feel something for me too."

"What changed your mind then?" Zoro asked.

"That is a secret," Rachel grinned. "I have to have something to hold over you to keep you on your toes."

"I could always kiss you until you caved."

"You could try, I certainly won't complain."

Zoro let a sly grin spread. "I might try that then. For now, I'm curious about what were you doing in here," he said.

"I was switching the ramp so I could lower it," Rachel answered. "I wanted to take LB out for a spin and relax."

"Will you be wearing that outfit I've always seen you in before?" Zoro asked. He looked up, as if imagining what Rachel would look like.

"It's the best clothing for riding LB," Rachel confirmed. "Why do you want to know that?"

The grin never left Zoro's face. "I've been wondering what it would be like to ride on that little boat of yours," he said instead. "I think I'll come along with you."

"What makes you think more than one can ride it?" Rachel asked.

"I had to watch you leave me twice on that thing," Zoro growled. It was clear the thought of it taking Rachel away from him again didn't sit well with him at all. "Do you think that I didn't notice there was a bit more space on that seat? Enough, at least, for one more person?"

"Alright, fine, you can come with me." Rachel waited a minute, but Zoro still didn't let her out of his arms. "Are you going to let me go get changed or what?"

"What do I get in return?"

Rachel let out a huff. "We've been a couple for, what, ten minutes and already you're this demanding?"

"Damn right." Zoro then took another kiss from Rachel before he let her go.

The sound of the ramp lowering drew Missy's attention away from the second book she was reading. She marked her page and stood. She looked over the rail to the see that the ramp had indeed been lowered. She watched as Rachel pushed LB down the ramp without anyone on board. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Taking LB out, duh." Rachel rolled her eyes up at Missy. "I thought that would have been obvious since I rolled it down the ramp."

"Do you need someone to come and lift the ramp back up?" Missy asked.

"No thanks, we got it."

"'We', who's 'we'?"

"'We' is me and you'll see."

"Damnit Rae!" Rachel laughed as she began to manually lift the ramp again. Missy stormed towards the stairs. She was going to get down to the bottom of this if it killed her. Zoro was lingering near the stairs, but Missy didn't pay it any mind. She had to catch Rachel before she hid on her. Otherwise it would be damn near impossible to find her.

A minute after Missy went below Rachel came dashing up. "Is everything good?" Zoro asked. "I thought your sister was coming to interogate you. I didn't expect you to come up so soon."

"Tried to interogate me," Rachel corrected. "She can't very well do that when I hide. You have no idea the many places that are good for that."

"So she walked right past you?"

"Funny isn't it?" Rachel started laughing. She was walking to the side of the rail as she snapped her life jacket in place. "I even hid in plain sight. Girl never saw me."

"How can you hide in plain sight?"

"With talent and practice. Ever since I was a kid I could always find the best hiding places. I had to be good at it." The two reached the edge of the boat. In the water below, LB drifted in the waves. Rachel checked to make sure the key was secured around her wrist. Then she turned and faced Zoro. "So this is how it's going to work. I'll jump in and climb on board first. Watch how I climb on board. If you still want to ride you have climb up like that too. Otherwise you'll tip LB and send us into the water. Okay?" Zoro nodded once in understanding.

Without waiting for more, Rachel jumped over the rail and into the water below. Zoro watched from above as she swam to LB. Rachel went to the back of the vessel and pulled herself up, legs on either side of the seat. Rachel then scooted forward until she was as far forward as she could go. She looked up and waved to Zoro.

Zoro removed his coat and swords. He refused the life jacket Rachel had tried to hand him while they were still at the dock. Without any warning, Zoro also jumped into the water. He did as Rachel before him and swam to the back of LB. He pulled himself up just as Rachel had done. He scooted forward until he was pressed up against Rachel. He then had his arms wrapped around her. "You don't have to do that," Rachel said. She looked over her shoulder at him. "I won't try to knock you off if that's what you're worried about."

"It hadn't even crossed my mind," Zoro said. "I'm just holding you since we're so close anyway." Rachel rolled her eyes, but turned back to the front. Rachel set the safety key and started the engine. Zoro wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was fascinated by the boats the girls used that moved with a type of engine he hadn't seen. The dials from Skypeia were one thing and Franky's machines were another. The engines these two used were on a different level than any he had seen.

"Are you ready?" Rachel asked. "If you're going to hold on to me then I'm not going to hold the engine back." Zoro's only response was to hold her tighter. Rachel had an evil smirk that Zoro never got to see. "You asked for it," she warned. Rachel pulled the throttle that served as the right handle back all the way. LB shot off, away from the Nunya, with a jerk. Zoro was a little shaken at first, but his grip held firm.

Missy gave up on looking for Rachel after five minutes. If she hadn't run into Rachel on the way to the dock, then the woman had slipped past her. Back on the deck, she heard the high pitch whine of LB's engine. "Totally blew past her," Missy sighed. She then looked out at the water, looking for the little craft. Missy's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She expected to see Luffy, Usopp or even Chopper riding. Nami was also within the realm of possibilities. Never, in her wildest dream, did she expect to see Zoro riding 'bitch'. "Keeping that one to myself for later reference," Missy laughed evilly.

Two hours later, Sanji was serving the evenning meal. Since the Nunya was still charging, using it's kitchen to cook was out of the question. So everyone had gathered in the galley of Sunny, it was a bit of a tight fit. Sanji busied himself by making sure that there was plenty of food laid out for everyone on the table. He wasn't paying too much attention to the seating. If he had then he would have freaked out. When they sat down, Zoro had pulled Rachel closer to him than was strictly necessary. Nami and Robin had smiled at the sight. Their conversation with Ace and Sabo earlier had clued them in on the new couple. It was just nice to see confirmation of what they already knew.

Usopp and Chopper were shocked at the sight, but kept to themselves. Brook was devastated that one of the pretty women was taken. Franky wiggled his eyebrows suggestively to Zoro when the swordsman looked at him. His only reaction was to glare at the cyborg. Bortolomeo was in geek nervana. He was actually there to witness the blossoming romance of one of the Straw Hat crew members, the first-mate no less, and someone that he hoped would be considered another Straw Hat or at least an ally. Law ignored the whole situation, it didn't concern him after all. Missy sat next to Rachel and whispered. "Girl, you got it bad." Luffy, Ace and Sabo already knew so they behaved as normal. Hack was another that believed the matter didn't concern him. Kinemon and Kanjuro held each other as they cried over the loss of oogling one of the pretty girls. Momo wasn't too concerned, he still had the opportunity to take a bath with her. He was still a little boy after all.

Once the meal was over, everyone started to filter out slowly. Before Rachel could stand up, Zoro pulled her in for another kiss. The sound of glass shattering had everyone looking. Sanji was standing there, hands open. At his feet lay the shattered plate that he dropped. "Since when did this happen?" he demanded.

"Early this afternoon," Nami smiled. "Isn't it great Sanji-kun? You helped it happen too, when you started flirting with Rachel."

Zoro, smirking, stood up from his spot. He pulled Rachel up with him and the two left the galley. Sanji sat down at the table. "Moss-head got a girl before me?" he asked, shocked. He laid his head on the still dirty table. One of his fists pounded on the wood repeatedly. "Why him?" he wailed in demand. "It's not fair! It just isn't fair!" Sanji's fist continued to hit the table as he cried over the fact that Zoro got a girl before him.