word count: 100

the calm before the glory

…

One by one, their reunions are loud and filled with tears, but Zoro's is quiet, the absence of outward emotion comparable only to the excess of his inner self-hatred for failing, once again, to keep his promise.

He speaks to Luffy in somber tones:

It never should have happened

I should have been there with you

I'm sorry

he whispers underneath the quiet layers of a joyous reunion.

Luffy replies:

For almost forgetting you; me, too.

He takes his rightful place next to a changed man and shivers, the essence of a king seeping into his blood.

The ocean calls.