It's been a long time, a very long time, since the former first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates - now their captain despite his adamant refusal to compare himself to the man he still refers to as "Pops" - last set eyes on Fire Fist Ace's little brother. He knows his visit to pay respects to the Pirate King is more than a little overdue, but Marco's had his hands full; the blows dealt to Edward Newgate's- no, he reminds himself, HIS crew- during their final confrontation with Blackbeard left the once-grand crew in tatters and it's required several years to gather the survivors and repair the damage.
But he held them together, and it's thanks to his perseverance and determination to honor their former captain and father figure that Jozu - now Marco's own first division commander - is a gigantic silent presence at his side while Vista and the others wait patiently on the ships anchored beyond where the Thousand Sunny's docked in a small natural harbor.
The spiky-haired blond's not quite sure what to make of the scene before him on the brig sloop's lawn deck. He glances upwards at the scowl decorating his companion's face, trying to judge the larger man's reaction. Jozu looks as though he disapproves- but it's difficult to tell sometimes, considering Jozu ALWAYS looks as though he disapproves.
"Oi, you lookin' for my dad?"
Marco turns, frowns.
"Oi oi, down here."
Luffy's son? It's got to be, because even though he's never met the child sitting in the grass beside the tree swing, there's no mistaking the tousled black hair and facial features that appear built for mischievous grins. Also, while the Whitebeard Pirates might have been busy stalking Marshall D. Teach, they didn't fail to notice the flood of news that kept pouring in following the increasingly erratic exploits of the rubber man's crew.
And there had been some decidedly... odd rumors starting a few years ago, right around the time they'd finally caught up with the gap-toothed bastard who'd killed Thatch and led to Ace's capture and execution by the Marines and caused so much heartache for the Phoenix and his extended family.
Rumors supposedly started by eyewitnesses insisting they'd spotted children on the Straw Hat's brig sloop, traveling with the crew, and although no one seemed certain just where they came from or who they belonged to, more than one person had noted their strong resemblance to the Pirate King himself.
As for some of the OTHER things he's heard- well, Marco had immediately dismissed the strangest of THOSE claims as too preposterous for truth.
Although he must admit, reality's already quite a bit stranger than he'd expected.
"If you're looking for my dad, he left a couple hours ago, but if you wanna wait, he'll be back," the boy peering up at him states matter-of-factly, and then tilts his head. "Umm, you ARE looking for the Kaizokuo, right?"€
That confirms his suspicions, answers one question. Well, two questions. He'd been curious about the absence of Luffy's boisterous, very audible and very recognizable voice, which he doubts has changed much since he last heard it.
But it still doesn't explain the two grown men chasing another dark-haired but much smaller child back and forth across the lawn deck. Or the slender woman - Nico Robin, he realizes at the recollection of her wanted poster - seated on a blanket with an open book in one hand and a chubby-cheeked, green-haired baby sleeping in her lap.
"Yes, but if he's-" Remembering there's someone else with that particular verdant shade. "Ah, what about the first mate- Roronoa Zoro, yoi? Is he-?"
"Nah, Dad went too."
Marco blinks, wondering if he's either misunderstood part of the conversation or inadvertently confused the kid. "Your father's with Luffy, or Roronoa's with your father, yoi?"
Oddly enough, this question earns him a frown that clearly states he must be brain-damaged, but before the boy's able to open his mouth and issue what's sure to be a disparaging remark regarding his intelligence, a familiar blue fishman wanders through the door nearby and stops in his tracks at the sight of them.
"Marco-kun!"
"Jinbei, where's-?" He stops short, staring, because the former Shichibukai's cradling a wriggling baby in one arm. A wriggling green-haired baby.
Doubting his eyes, he immediately glances back over his shoulder to check whether or not the baby in Nico Robin's lap is still there and hasn't, in fact, miraculously teleported across the deck. But no, the infant's still accounted for, snoozing peacefully atop the historian's thighs with one pudgy fist grasping a handful of her skirt.
Jinbei chuckles. "You're not seeing things, I promise. There really are two of them."
The older child scrambles to his feet, reaching out to tug the dangling sleeve of the fishman's kimono. "Oi, these guys're looking for Dad. I think." He gives the visitors a suspicious, dubious look.
"Ah. If you'd like to speak with Luffy-kun or Zoro-san, I'm afraid they're both occupied at the moment, but I'll be happy to talk with you until they're available. It's been quite some time, hasn't it? I imagine you've some stories of your own to tell."
Marco exchanges a look with Jozu, who stares back at him impassively. He offers a helpless shrug. "Sure, I suppose we can wait, yoi."
"Ace, would you mind taking your brother while I-? Ah, thank you."
"These guys ARE okay, right? 'Cause they're acting kinda weird," Ace mutters as he accepts his younger sibling and hugs the squirming five-month-old against him, scowling up at the startled, almost bug-eyed expressions on two of the three adults' faces.
"They're fine," Jinbei assures him, smiling. "They're old friends, and I'm sure Luffy-kun will be happy to see them."
"If you say so." The boy hesitates, giving the gaping men another searching stare. "... I'm gonna go sit with Robin-san 'til my dads get back." He glances down at the baby tugging stubbornly at his shirt in a clumsy effort to climb him. "Oi oi, hold still!"
Leaving the fishman behind to explain a few things to the confused Whitebeard pirates, he heads for Robin and her blanket, protectively tightening his grip on his small charge and scolding Sabo loudly when the wildly giggling two-year-old comes hurtling past.
Sanji slows to a walk as he draws near before stopping beside them with his hands on his hips, struggling not to puff like a locomotive as he watches Usopp continue in hot pursuit of their nakama's energetic offspring. "Shit, doesn't he ever- run out of energy?" Loosening his collar, he looks down at the baby in the historian's lap. "Maybe I'll lend you a hand instead, Robin-chan."
Ace snorts. "She doesn't need a hand. They're so little, all they do's eat and sleep. And poop. They can't even roll over yet!"
"Exactly," the cook agrees, reaching out to ruffle the sparse grass-colored hair of the twin his much younger crewmate's holding. "No running requi- oi, settle down there, pipsqueak- you'll fall on your head if you don't stop thrashing around like a fish on a line."
"He wants down." The eight-year-old deposits the baby belly-down on the blanket beside Robin and his sleeping brother, whereupon he promptly pushes himself up on both arms and starts fussing loudly. "Oh, man, lookit- he's trying to crawl again."
"I don't think you're going anywhere yet, kid. Damn, he's getting pissed, isn't he?"
"Yeah, I'll say."
Momentarily discarding her book, Robin retrieves the agitated infant and lifts him to her shoulder, patting and rubbing his back until he begins to calm. She smiles when he cranes his neck to watch Sabo and Usopp's progress across the lawn, uttering a faint whimper. "Ah, you want to join them, don't you, Tachi-chan? I know it's frustrating, but don't worry, you'll learn eventually."
"Robin-chwan's so good with babies," Sanji sighs, although the dreamy smile slides off his face a moment later. "I still can't believe Marimo, naming kids after swords. What the hell."
"Types of swords," the older woman corrects, laughing softly. "And I think it's actually quite clever." She regards the twins with gentle amusement. "The samurai of Wano often carry the shorter-bladed tanto paired with their tachi longswords."
"Yeah, I saw that letter Marimo sent Kinemon. It's just-"
"I think it's cool," Ace interrupts, glaring up at the cook. "Don't make fun of my brothers' names!"
"I'm not," Sanji replies dryly. "I'm just saying it's so damn typical of that shitty swordsman, deciding to name a baby after a blade."
"Oi, if they were your kids, you woulda just named 'em after food or something, so don't bust on Dad."
"Right. Apple and Avocado. Cabbage and Califl- wait, nevermind, califlower's not green. Ah, Cabbage and Celery? Spinach and Asparagus have a nice ring to 'em, but they don't start with the same letter."
The eight-year-old's now snickering despite himself. "I'm gonna tell Dad you're talkin' shit about their hair."
"I already talk shit about HIS hair. And don't curse, okay?"
"Oi, but you say stuff like that all the time!"
"I'm an adult. Wait ten years and then you can say whatever the hell you want." He lowers his voice. "Besides, if Nami-san hears us, I'll get fined by default since Marimo's not here."
"Hope you got some beli, then, 'cause she's right behind you," Ace states calmly, pointing past him.
The blond whirls so fast, he nearly gives himself whiplash, but the navigator's nowhere in sight and Ace bursts into hysterical giggles loud enough to prompt curious glances from Jinbei and their visitors on the other side of the deck. "You little-"
He's interrupted by a yowl. Disturbed from his nap by their banter - and possibly by his twin brother's continuous fidgeting - Tanto's fixing them with a grumpy scowl so reminiscent of their absent first mate that Sanji completely loses his composure and nearly loses his balance as well when he's overcome by helpless laughter.
Curiosity peaked by the sudden commotion, Sabo abandons his game of keep-away and meanders over to flop down on the blanket next to Robin and his younger siblings. He's shortly joined by Usopp, who looks relieved at the chance for a break as he takes a seat.
Blowing a stray curl away from his face, the sniper gives Sanji's knee a sharp poke with his forefinger, disrupting his merriment. "Oi oi- why'd you- bail on me, you jerk?"
"Erk, erk, 'An-gi gerk!" The toddler beside him echoes gleefully, prompting loud snorts of amused derision from Ace and Usopp and muffled chuckling from Robin.
"Bet you think you're the height of comedy," the blond glaring down at him mutters sarcastically, although he's also doing a poor job of masking a smile- an attempt that fails completely when Sabo flashes a cheeky, familiar grin before turning away to babble an enthusiastic greeting to his little brothers.
The kid might be a complete terror, but he's also undeniably endearing, and it's a relief to see that - potentially thanks to inheriting his dark-haired father's sunny disposition - he's been largely untroubled by the events of the last twelve months or so.
No nightmares- or at least no dreams severe enough to leave a lasting impression- and a growing desire for independence that, along with his habit of sprinting from point A to point B, keeps the entire crew on their toes.
The two-year-old's also unofficially declared himself junior custodian of the twins, retrieving whichever toys he finds worthy of their interest and - much to Zoro's dismay and Luffy's endless hilarity - trying to help with feedings and diaper changes, an unrequested offer of assistance which almost inevitably ends in disaster.
Recalling one incident that left his green-haired nakama's scowling face streaked temple to chin with diaper cream and his trousers splotched with the same white substance in the pattern of numerous small handprints, crumpled shirt clutched in one hand and howling, ointment-besmeared offspring thrown across the opposite bare shoulder as he stalked towards the bathhouse, the cook finds himself grinning like a loon.
The swordsman has, however, grudgingly acknowledged that watching Sabo dutifully restore a dropped pacifier to its rightful owner is probably "the fucking cutest thing anybody's ever seen," and Sanji's willing to bet he's right.
Brat's got us ALL wrapped around his little finger, and he knows it too.
He raises one foot to prod Usopp's ribs with his toe. "I haven't got all day to play tag with you idiots. You want lunch, don't you?"
"EAT," Sabo declares loudly upon hearing what he considers one of three magic words - the others being "breakfast" and "dinner" - and fixing him with wide, hopeful eyes. "Eat eat? 'E go eat?"
"Kid, you're just lucky you've got Luffy's metabolism, or you'd be one damn round little butterball and we'd need to roll you everywhere."
"B'uh ball!"
Ace snorts, rolling his eyes. "Well, whatever you're making, I hope you're making a lot, 'cause you know Dad's gonna be starving when he gets back."
"Yeah, they've been at it- what-" Usopp glances skywards, gauging the current position of the sun and doing a quick mental calculation. "-three, almost four hours now? And I guess we're feeding those guys now too, right?" He gestures to where Marco and Jozu are regarding Jinbei with dumbfounded fascination as the fishman articulates some point of his ongoing tale with a wave of one webbed hand.
"Shit..." Eyes narrowing as he considers the contents of fridge and pantry in regards to the necessary number of place settings, not to mention the appetites of certain ravenous crewmembers, Sanji excuses himself and heads for the staircase and his kitchen, muttering under his breath while he debates the most effective way to stretch their available comestibles until tomorrow's visit to the markets. Maybe if he just throws the meat and whatever's left of the vegetables in a pot-
His plans for stew are momentarily delayed as he encounters Nami rounding the deck on the dining hall level, and he hastens to open the door for the navigator before she drops the large parcels of mail she's juggling under one shapely arm or the spyglass gripped in her free hand.
"TWO birds today," she exclaims cheerfully once inside, dropping the packets onto the sofa and setting the spyglass carefully on the table beside the Den Den Mushi. "I think we got three weeks' worth of letters all at once!"
Curious, the cook snaps the twine securing one bundle and fans its contents across the leather, his eyes darting over the array of envelopes. Some list return addresses, others are merely labeled with the addressee's name, leaving him wondering once again just how the gulls manage to successfully deliver messages ANYWHERE, let alone to the well-traveled Sunny.
Makes you curious how much shit just gets lost.
Nami, sorting mail briskly beside him, reaches over to snatch a magazine half-buried in the pile and add it to the others she's set aside.
"Is that all Chopper's?" He asks incredulously. "How many medical journal subscriptions does he- ah, Nami-san, this one's for you."
"Who-" Turning over the envelope, she spots the little mikan doodled next to her name on the front and smiles. "Noriko!"
"Got another one from Luffy's grandfather. No, wait- there's two from him," Sanji appends, squinting at the untidy scrawl of their captain's full name sans title before tossing both letters down and grabbing what he hopes is the most recent newspaper. "Bet he's writing about dropping in for a visit again; Marimo's gonna be thrilled."
"I don't care what Zoro says. The man's welcome to visit all he likes, if he's willing to keep the boys in clothes. Hand-me-downs only last so long before there's more patches than original fabric. Especially when it's Sabo wearing them."
"'S right," agrees Franky, who's wandered in to catch the tail end of the conversation. "One of these days, somebody's gonna grab our little bro by the waistband and his pants are gonna tear right off him, just like an expensive hooker's cheap negligee."
Sanji promptly smacks the shipwright with the rolled-up paper, valiantly resisting the urge to ask his crewmate for elaboration concerning whatever the older man knows about such ladies and their attire.
Nami, far more amused than offended, bites her lip to avoid snorting obnoxious laughter and turns her attention back to the unsorted mail.
There's another piece for Chopper- a bulky package printed with "Tanuki-san, c/o Mugiwara & Crew" in the neat, almost anal-retentively neat letters of Trafalgar Law's hand- and now she does laugh aloud as she displays it to her crewmates. "The only doctor I've ever met whose writing I can actually READ."
"Oi oi, this one's got nothing on it," Franky says suddenly, stooping and extending the smaller hand from his right palm to pick up a slim envelope. He frowns, flapping it slightly. "Doesn't seem like there's anything in it, either. Y'think somebody forgot to- ah, hang on a sec, maybe I'm wrong."
Raising his arm so the envelope's illuminated by the early afternoon sun streaming through the porthole, he gives a confident nod at the small, square-shaped shadow inside. "Huh. Looks like it ain't empty after all. There's SOMETHIN' in there."
Amusement forgotten, Nami finds herself staring at the unmarked letter, a chill shivering up her spine. "You don't think- Franky, that's not-" She pauses, taking a deep breath. "What if it's-"
Sanji, newspaper dangling forgotten from his nerveless hand, swallows audibly before finishing with what he's sure their red-haired nakama's thinking, his gaze darting between her suddenly pale face and the envelope. "-a photograph?"
He's not entirely sure why she jumped to such a ghastly conclusion based on such little evidence, but whatever the cause, her sense of disquiet's highly contagious.
"A photograph? No, no way," the cyborg insists, looking slightly alarmed as the reason for their unease dawns on him. "Not big enough and-" He tests the envelope between thumb and forefinger. "Nope, Curly-bro, see? Got too much give."
"... negatives?" The cook asks tentatively, too rattled to make objection to Franky's use of a nickname he detests. "I mean, I don't know WHY they'd send us something shitty like that, but who the hell other than Aokiji or that guy would mail us a goddamn blank envelope?"
"Maybe as proof they found something?" Nami suggests helplessly.
"... maybe we oughta let Haramaki-bro open it. Uh, just in case."
"Are you shitting me?" Sanji hisses. "You really think it's a good idea letting Marimo see something like that? If one of those assholes got the bright idea to send us some shitty picture of him-"
"Then give it to Luffy and let him decide what to do with it!"
"And watch Marimo flip his shit anyway, seeing our captain ready to kill somebody over whatever he finds in there? No. Fuck this."
"Whoa-!"
"Sanji-kun!"
Slipping behind the kitchen counter with the envelope he's snatched from Franky's hand, the cook addresses them over his shoulder as he hunts for an old paring knife. "If it's something-" He clenches his teeth momentarily. "If I open it and it's something they don't need to see, I'll burn it. And you never saw the damn thing, either of you."
"I-I'm not sure Zoro would want you to see him like-"
"I DON'T WANT TO SEE HIM LIKE THAT EITHER." He sees both of them flinch and abruptly realizes he's shouting, the envelope now partially crumpled in his fist because the thought of seeing the swordsman- their crewmate- their NAKAMA-
Bruised and bleeding. Vulnerable. Violated.
Sanji feels as though he might vomit, detesting the images that flash unwittingly and most definitely unwelcome through his mind, but he stubbornly denies the impulse and chokes down the acidic taste rising in his throat. "Nami-san, I- I'm sorry, but somebody needs to make sure. So Marimo and- so Zoro and Luffy don't have to, and besides, it's-"
I can't make everything right, can't undo all the shit that happened, can't fix a damn thing, but I can do THIS, he thinks, challenging her disapproval with his gaze, direct and unshrinking. "I need to do this, okay? So they don't have to."
She doesn't respond, looking away and crossing her arms uncomfortably across her midsection, refusing to justify his decision- but Franky's nodding in agreement.
Finally locating the blade, he slides the point under the sealed flap and tugs it upwards, nearly slicing himself as well when his fingers twitch inadvertently at the unexpectedly loud rip of pulp fibers parting.
His hands are shaking when he sets down the knife and clumsily parts the envelope's severed layers to peer cautiously inside, his stomach performing a nauseating backflip.
"S-Sanji-kun?" Nami says again, voice small and tinged with fear. "Is it-" The remaining color drains from her face as the cook turns towards them, his expression unreadable, and her fear sharpens into panic. "I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT." Her own empty fingers have latched onto the hem of her tanktop, white-knuckled where they're strangling the fabric. "Just tell me- is it-?"
Motionless beside her, Franky's staring at the envelope as though it's a bomb set to detonate the moment anyone moves.
"It's a newspaper clipping." Sanji exhales slowly, trying to decide if his discovery's better or worse than the dreaded negatives. Surely even the less reputable tabloids wouldn't publish THAT kind of photograph...
He tweezes the folded scrap free with index and forefinger, and after a moment's hesitation, smooths it open.
There's no photographs, only text. Weak-kneed with relief, he gropes blindly for the stool he normally keeps tucked out of sight beneath the counter and drops onto it, nearly missing the cushion but barely noticing because he's reading, slowly at first but then more quickly as he recognizes the gist of the article. And utters a short, strangled guffaw of disbelief and shocked amusement.
"SANJI." The navigator's beginning to sound more aggravated than frightened. "What the hell does it SAY?"
Unable to speak, the cook shoves the newspaper clipping across the counter at her, and she picks it up with some reluctance. Her mouth drops open as she scans the headline.
"Bicycle-guy musta found SOMETHING," Franky states unnecessarily from where he's reading over her shoulder.
"Yeah, well, whatever it was, it's gone now. Along with a shit-ton of other stuff, apparently."
"But why did-?" Nami lowers the article, her wide-eyed amazement settling into shrewd calculation. "It was probably easier- and safer- to destroy everything. By wiping out that much information, nobody will know exactly WHAT the saboteur wanted." She indicates the envelope and its contents. "And if the message went astray, there was no connecting it with us OR whoever sent it."
"Bet they're thinking they committed the perfect crime," Sanji snorts, reaching for the cabinet overhead to retrieve his battered pack of cigarettes from behind the tea cups. "Would've been nice if they didn't scare the shit out of us, pulling it off." He pats the breast pocket of his button-up shirt, assuring himself that his lighter's inside. "If anybody comes in whining they're hungry, let 'em know I'm out back and lunch'll be running a little late. After dealing with THAT bullshit, I need a goddamn smoke."
xxx
Outside on the lawn, Marco's regarding Jinbei with an air of incredulity as the fishman finishes relating his greatly condensed - and respectfully censored, given certain details better left unshared - explanation of what the Whitebeard Pirates have missed over the past few years.
"-and thankfully they've left us largely-" The former Shichibukai falters, searching his vocabulary for a better word because "unmolested" might not be the most appropriate terminology. "-err, untroubled- since that night."
"... that must be a relief," the Phoenix offers weakly, clearly unsure how else to respond. "-especially to Luffy and, ah, Roronoa, yoi..."
"Yes, and-" A quick glance around the deck to make sure the Straw Hat's first mate is still absent. "I recommend addressing Zoro-san by his given name. He won't be offended by the familiarity, I assure you."
"Easy enough..." Marco agrees, stealing a sidelong look at his first division commander to see how the larger man's reacted to this request. Not to mention the entire unlikely truth behind the children's presence.
But despite his astonishment earlier, upon learning the Pirate King's eldest son shares his name with their old crewmember, Jozu's regained his grim expression.
He supposes he shouldn't be surprised.
Jozu's Akuma no Mi lets him change parts of his body to diamond, he reminds himself wryly, gaze dropping to the grass beneath his sandals. I can turn into a bird. What Roro- Zoro- what ZORO's body can apparently do isn't really a whole lot stranger when you think about it.
"Captain."
He straightens, attention drawn once more to the pirate beside him.
"Look." Jozu's voice is a deep, growling rumble, but his tone's soft, observant and almost regretful as he watches the playful interactions between the small cluster of children and adults on the blanket a few yards away. "If he was alive to see this-"
The group's been joined by a thick-ruffed stag Marco instinctively recognizes as a fellow Zoan and- is that a skeleton? Yes, and both of them greeted warmly by their fellow crewmates, the middle-aged boy- Sabo- and the blond certainly recognizes THAT name from Portgas D. Ace's stories of his childhood- immediately pouncing on the deer and standing on tiptoes to throw both arms around its neck while the older brother looks on, laughing, and the two infants watch with rapt, bewildered fascination from their guardian's lap, and Marco's abruptly aware his eyes are burning, stinging madly behind a veil of tears, gladness and sorrow striking a joint chord in his chest.
Pops... Pops, this was your dream, wasn't it? Your treasure? This was what you were searching for when you gathered us together. When you named us your sons.
xxx
"Goddamn it- Sencho," Zoro groans, flopping his head to the side so he's got a better view of the heavily panting, sweat-lathered younger pirate sprawled to his left. "I don't- think I can WALK."
"Me neither," his captain agrees breathlessly, rolling over to drape an arm across his bare middle.
"Ugh, get off-! You're all warm and soggy. Quit dripping on me," he grumbles, making a face as he gives a half-hearted shove at the elbow nestled against his ribs.
Luffy wheezes laughter. "Zoro kinda sounds like- he just got laid."
"Oi, shut up- so do you." The swordsman lets his eye drift shut. "Don't have- enough energy for that." He nudges his partner's side again near the armpit, prompting tired laughter and a weak and highly ineffectual attempt to escape the tickling sensation. "Maybe later- when I don't feel like my heart's gonna explode outta my chest."
"Mmm," the rubber man offers in wordless agreement, squirming closer until he's resting his head on Zoro's chest and tucked snugly alongside, and this time the green-haired pirate doesn't protest despite the uncomfortably sticky sensation of perspiring skin and merely runs his fingers through Luffy's damp hair, regarding him with lazy but fond contemplation.
"You got dirt on your nose."
"Shishi- I got dirt all over me. So do you."
Dirt. Sweat. Bruises.
Which isn't particularly surprising, given the chunks of missing sod, upturned soil and scattered loose tufts of grass where they're lying. Not on the lawn deck - this type of sparring's too dangerous to non-participants and the surrounding environment to take place on the ship itself, as evidenced by the fallen trees and split rocks that succumbed during their battle - but in a meadow well away from any populated areas on the island where they've stopped.
"Do it again."
"Shit, Luffy, I'm TIRED."
"Just one more time."
"... you're an asshole," he groans, but he complies, summoning barely enough energy to bring Asura to the surface once more. "I hope you're- not expecting me to do anything but lay here." The latter of this sentence is spoken in triplicate, but true to his word, he doesn't budge despite the additional limbs now present on either side of him. He's just too damn worn out.
"It's getting easier, though, isn't it? And not as scary?"
"Yeah, it's-" He breaks off, suddenly flustered as his captain leans past his ear towards the closest of the extra heads. "O-Oi, don't do that. It's weird." This time his voice emerges from only two mouths; Luffy's pressing a casual yet somehow very thorough kiss to the lips of the third. "Sencho-"
"What's weird about it? It's part of Zoro, isn't it?" The younger pirate starts to kiss him again, palm cradling the jaw of the head he's addressing, but then he dissolves into snickers. "You're not JEALOUS, are you?"
"I don't know," Zoro admits sheepishly. "I mean, it's me but it's- not- uh-"
"Fiiine," Luffy huffs, rolling his eyes. "Then I guess I just gotta kiss all three of you, huh." And promptly - to his spouse's alarm-tinged amusement - he proceeds to make good on that promise, until the first mate can't remember why he was complaining.
"Shishishi... I thought you were tired."
"Wha- OH. SHIT." Face- FACES- blazing, the swordsman jerks back the hand that's crept down the seat of his partner's shorts to firmly grip his rear, only to watch its solidity waver and then fade from existence as Asura retreats. "... jeez."
Expression smug, his captain rolls off him and stretches out in the grass, arching his back like a cat begging for a belly rub, and despite his exhaustion, Zoro can't help feeling a flare of interest at the sight of the taut, sweat-slicked abdominal muscles above those low-slung shorts.
Interest- and a bit of envy. Frequent training's gotten rid of the extra pounds he gained while carrying the twins, but it's been a struggle to lose that soft pad of flab in his lower abdomen. Even though he can drink again, the shitty cook's been stingy with the booze, claiming he doesn't need more of a beer belly than he's already got.
Luffy might think it's "cute" but I'm gonna regret it the second some Marine or some challenger tries to nail me in the abs during a fight. The gut's gotta go.
He hauls himself upright with effort and moves over the rubber man, leaning down to kiss him- and then abruptly feigns collapse.
"OOF! Zoro, get off- you're heavy!"
"Sorry, can't move. Some idiot captain made me use my last little bit of-" He grunts as Luffy seizes him around the torso and rolls, switching their positions and pinning him flat in the grass. "Ah-"
The younger man hesitates at his muffled gasp, scanning his face closely for signs of discomfort, but Zoro's already relaxing beneath him, too drained and content to feel anxious about being trapped on his back with someone straddling him. To be honest, unease is probably the LAST thing he's feeling right now.
"You okay? Maybe I shouldn't have-" His captain stops, the concern on his face fading into a self-satisfied smile as he shifts his weight. "-oh. Zoro, you're-"
"-not as tired as I thought, apparently," he snorts when his body responds to the pressure with an involuntary twitch, raising his hands to grasp the other pirate's hips. "Nah, much as I'd like to do something about this-" He gives a half-assed little nudge against the bottom pressing down on him. "I really am too worn out."
"Mmm, you sure?" Luffy gives an experimental wiggle, eyes going half-lidded at the reaction it produces.
"We should-" He swallows, distracted by the pulsing ache in his groin. "We've been gone a while; we should get back, get showered and spend some time with the kids before we go to the dojo this afternoon."
To his mingled relief and disappointment, his partner stops teasing him and reaches down to touch the old scar dividing his chest, expression now sincere and contrite and maybe a little worried as well. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"
"Yeah, it's been way too long since I visited." He's tempted to add that the place is just really damn hard to find, but even as directionally-challenged as he can sometimes be, he knows that's not a valid excuse. Even if he can't quite remember how to get to Shimotsuki, there've been plenty of opportunities to return that he's let slip past in the last few years. Plenty of people who could've directed him if he'd happened to mention he wanted to find or was looking for the village, not to mention a navigator who likely already had it labeled on her maps, and a captain and crew more than willing to indulge a visit to his home island.
Hell, we've visited all of theirs. More than once too. Maybe I kept stalling 'cause I wasn't so sure I wanted to see the place again.
Whatever the case, he's finally ready to go back, which is why Sunny's currently anchored in the same bay where - unbeknowst to the Straw Hats - Luffy's father Monkey D. Dragon and his Revolutionaries docked their own ship during their visit to the Isshin Dojo a little more than twenty years before.
"I meant the other part," Luffy says quietly, his eyes gone solemn and searching. "You definitely wanna-"
"Give up Wado?" He forces himself to say it aloud, testing how it makes him feel, and while there's a faint pang of regret in his chest at the thought of surrendering the katana that's traveled with him for so long, it doesn't hurt anywhere near as much as he expected. "Yeah. I guess there's a chance Koshiro might wanna reforge it, but-"
I'd rather just leave it with her.
"You sure you really want me to come along? 'Cause if you wanna do this by yourself-"
"Nah, I'd rather have you there." He gives Luffy a small, slightly lopsided smile. "Sometimes I wonder what Kuina would've thought of you. Guess we'll never know- but you can still visit with me."
The most important person in my life - other than the kids, of course - meeting the person who USED to be the most important, he thinks as he watches his captain nodding enthusiastically. Well, meeting in spirit, anyway, since we'll be standing at her gravestone.
"I wanna thank her."
"Hmm?"
"If Zoro hadn't met her and made that promise, maybe he never woulda ended up on that Marine base, and then I-" Tapping his own chest. "-might've never met Zoro. You coulda ended up on somebody's else's crew." Luffy offers him a wry smile. "Or maybe you'd still be a bounty hunter or something- just another guy after the Pirate King's head."
"Maybe there's really something behind that old saying, eh? Everything happens for a reason?"
"Something like that." His captain sinks down again to wrap both arms around him with a sigh, cheek nuzzling against his chest. "And if I didn't have you, I wouldn't have the kids either. Ace and Sabo and the peas."
Zoro snorts. "They've got names. They've had names since they were like two- three- days old, and you're STILL calling 'em that."
"I know, but-" The younger pirate's smile splits into a dazzling grin. "I can't help it. Every time I look at 'em or think about 'em, I remember Zoro saying they looked like peas when we first saw 'em during the scan. And they're green too, so..."
"Guess I finally got somebody that looks like me, eh?"
"Two somebodies!" Luffy laughs, giving him a little squeeze. "Robin says we're- uh-" He squints as he attempts to recall the historian's words. "-very ass-tickly pleasing? 'Cause me and Ace and Sabo got black hair, and you 'n' the peas got green."
"That's aesthetically pleasing, dumb-ass. But, yeah, she said that to me too. Bunch of stuff about onyx and emeralds and symmetry."
Discussing the twins starts a longing ache in the swordsman's chest that's no less disconcerting for its familiarity and far more intense than anything he's ever felt for Wado. He doesn't think he'll ever get used to that sudden, impulsive desire to drop whatever he's doing and rush home to hold his children. A feat far more easily accomplished with the younger two, who're still at the age where they prefer being in someone's arms to being in a crib or on the floor.
Sabo's too damn squirmy and doesn't wanna hold still for more than a couple minutes, and Ace- forget it. He thinks getting cuddled is "so embarrassing" that he usually gets pissed and throws a fit when you so much as hug him in front of anybody.
If there's glaring similarities between his eldest son's behavior and his own typical reaction to unexpected public displays of affection, he chooses to ignore it.
"Oi, you ready to go back?" Luffy asks, mouth quirked in mirth because he's noted his first mate's wandering attention and knows exactly what it means.
"Yeah, I guess we better rescue Usopp and the cook. Sabo's probably got 'em tearing their hair out by now, runnin' circles around 'em on the lawn deck. Almost makes me wanna stay here and take a nap while I got the chance."
"Uh huh, well, I think Zoro really just wants to go home and snuggle some babies," his captain teases, leaning forward to kiss his nose, and the amusement and joy dancing in the younger pirate's eyes state without speaking that while Mihawk was right about his needing to confront his fears, his former mentor was entirely off the mark about something else that's equally important.
It's a look of trust and placid assurance that once again brings home the realization to which Zoro's been slowly adjusting over the past few months.
I CAN be more than just the World's Greatest Swordsman.
Swordsman. First mate. Crewmate. Nakama. Lover. Husband. Father.
Despite what he's believed for a long time, they're not a frustrating array of different roles he needs to separately maintain and carefully balance. No, they're all facets of the same roughly cut gem, all things that make him Zoro, and to the people that really matter- the people that love him- he doesn't need to be perfect. He just needs to be himself.
"Sounds like a plan, Sencho. Grab a shower, raid the kitchen, snuggle some munchkins." He breaks into a smile that's easily as wide as the one now spreading across Luffy's face, deciding that he's not quite so tired after all. Not when the rest of his family- when the rest of THEIR family- kids and crewmates alike are waiting for them to return to the ship. Waiting for them to come home.
Energy revitalized by the same thought, the rubber man's already bouncing up, reaching down to grip his forearm and pull him to his feet while delivering a "shishishi" of pure delight that almost makes him want to laugh aloud himself.
He settles for favoring his spouse with an audacious grin. "Oi, race you to the bathhouse? Last one there changes the next dirty diaper."