Author's note: I've had several people ask if Zoro's serpent half references a particular species of snake. His coloration, anatomy, and certain elements of his behavior are based on Eunectes murinus, the green anaconda.

xxx

"Okay, okay, we're on the ship- now put me DOWN," Zoro insists, one hand pushing at Luffy's chest while the other latches tightly onto the railing of the staircase beside the main mast before his captain's able to move past and carry him through the men's quarters' door. "I can w-" He makes an aggravated noise. "Well, alright, I can't WALK exactly, but you don't gotta carry me!"

He could probably wriggle himself free since Luffy's toting him along modified bridal style with the last few feet of his tail trailing over one shoulder, but he's not too keen about the thought of face-planting into the lawn deck if he can't catch himself using his hands before he hits the ground. God knows he's embarrassed enough already, being treated like a particularly unwieldy sack of potatoes.

Evidently unsure how to let go without dropping him when there's no longer a pair of feet to set him on, Luffy performs an awkward squat and tries to literally lay him down on his back, apologizing with a hasty "oop, sorry" when Zoro clings to his shoulders and knocks his hat askew in the effort to claw his way upright again. "I just thought it'd be faster if I helped…"

"C'mon, I'm not THAT much slower." Indignant, the swordsman relaxes his stranglehold and eases away, letting Luffy get a good look at how the thickest portion of his snake half's more than capable of supporting his human torso and allowing it to remain vertical even when it's not coiled beneath him. "I might look 'n feel a lot heavier now, but y'gotta remember this thing's like one gigantic muscle." He raises the end of his tail and curls it like he's flexing a bicep.

"Marimo, if he HADN'T hauled your scaly, mossy ass all the way to the ship, you'd still be back there wandering around in circles 'til somebody slapped some cuffs on you and hauled you off to the auction hall."

"Oi, they could TRY. Or you forgetting who helped you cut down that Pacifista? Ah, hi, Franky. Brook."

"You only kept up because Luffy THREW you at the thing to free up his fists," Sanji argues. "And I COULD'VE taken it out on my own."

"Bullshhhit," Zoro retorts, wincing internally when his irritation turns the curse into an unintentional hiss that makes Franky and Brook exchange a look of surprise and Chopper take an involuntary step backwards.

Luffy doesn't react to the sound; his eyes are on the ground, his expression more delighted than disconcerted. "Oi, Zoro… didja know your tail, kinda like, twitches when you're mad?"

Now twice as flustered, Zoro gathers the appendage in question beneath him, looping the tip around one of his coils to prevent it from continuing to flick back and forth- only to have Franky, who's somehow produced a measuring tape from the middle of one gigantic palm, begin scolding him in a mild tone for making it more difficult to ascertain his exact length.

"We don't have time for that," Nami tells the shipwright, hand on his forearm. "There's no way those Pacifistas were here alone. We need to get out of here."

Sure enough, the heads of passersby on the nearby docks are beginning to turn towards the entrance of the grove as commotion rises in the direction of the island's interior.

Glad for the distraction, Zoro uses the coils under him to push his torso higher, moving hand-over-hand up the railing so he's in less danger of toppling over while balancing on his tail for a better look at whatever's happening. "Yeah, you heard Perona. She said she overheard reports the Marines were gonna be comin' after us, but that doesn't mean there's not a shit-ton of them here already." He looks down at Luffy. "Sencho?"

The others follow his gaze, and the captain, who's climbed up to stand on the platform circling the mast, nods decisively. "Let's go!"

"On it," Franky declares, retracting the measuring tape back into his palm with a loud snap before hurrying off.

Until the coating's activated and the ship can descend, there's not much to do but wait, so Zoro turns his attention to the harbor, fingers tightening on the railing when he sees there's at least two vessels approaching. One he's never seen the likes of before- and one with the unmistakable sails of a Marine warship. "Oh, shhhit- USOPP, GET YOUR ASS TO A STARBOARD SIDE CANNON!"

The sniper's rushing in that direction when the unidentified ship abruptly cuts across the path of the Marines' bow, forcing the men behind the cannons to stand down. There's someone shouting. A haughty feminine voice cutting across the water to the Sunny, berating the Marine captain and his officers.

"Who the hell-?" Zoro squints his remaining eye as he strains to make out the face of the woman raising her voice, cursing his lack of a spyglass like those Usopp and Sanji are clutching to their faces. He catches a glimpse of long dark hair, large dangling earrings- and then the majority of his fellow male crew mates lose their shit.

Brook's rambling. The cook's making a strangled sort of screeching noise, no surprise there. Even Usopp's mouth is hanging open. Chopper's looking back and forth between them, unaffected but excited by their excitement, while Luffy's raised a hand to shield his eyes as he peers curiously in the stranger's direction.

And then Zoro hears Robin, who's speaking to Nami, mention the Kuja and the Pirate Empress and he knows EXACTLY who's unexpectedly assisted them.

Hooking an elbow over the railing, he lashes out, his katana rattling at his hip as he snatches the spyglass from Sanji's nerveless fingers with his tail tip and flips it into the air where he can grab it one-handed. Ignoring his crew mate's immediate shouts of protest and the foot that smacks into his mottled side.

It's her alright. He's never seen the woman before, but he read about her and her sisters and her island of women while digging up everything he could about snakes outside the normal non-speaking and strictly belly-crawling variety, and he'd learned a lot more from Mihawk, who'd not only met her but attended the same meetings as a fellow Shichibukai. Or at least the ones she deigned to attend, anyway. Because according to his mentor, she's-

"Oh, it's Hancock!" comes Luffy's bemused voice from below, and the swordsman nearly drops his stolen spyglass at the recognition in his captain's tone and the way the Pirate Empress turns her head to look towards him at the sound of his voice.

How the hell do they know- … wait, what the fuck- did she just WINK this way?

The woman starts to glance away again- only to do an abrupt double-take, her head swinging back in the Sunny's direction, and Zoro feels a chill shiver up the human half of his spine as he realizes she's not looking at Luffy this time but staring directly at HIM. At first she just seems confused- likely wondering what exactly she's seeing, although he's not quite sure HOW she can even see him from that distance- but then her fine brows furrow into a frown and the set of her mouth tightens into a moue of displeasure.

"Oi, Zoro?" Usopp calls from the lawn below. "Why's that Shichibukai glaring at you? Do you know her too?"

"I have absolutely no fuckin' clue."

"Marimo, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO OFFEND THAT- THAT GODDESS I'VE BEEN BLESSED TO WITNESS IN ALL HER GLORIOUS SPLENDOR, YOU INCONSIDERATE-"

"STOP KICKING ME, YOU ASSHOLE," Zoro snarls down at Sanji. "I didn't DO anything! This is the first time I've ever seen that woman before; I don't know why she's pissed at me!"

"Uh, it's not anything Zoro did… I think for Hancock, it's more that he exists…"

Taken aback, the swordsman shoots Luffy a look of disbelief.

The rubber man's grimacing. "It's a long story, okay? She doesn't like guys in general 'n they're not allowed on the island, but when I ended up there she decided she wanted to marry me or something 'n I dunno WHY but obviously I said no 'cause- y'know-" He gestures back and forth between Zoro and himself. "-so she, like, kinda really, really hates Zoro…"

"You?" Sanji moans. "You spent the last two years on the ISLE OF WOMEN and that beautiful GODDESS wants to marry YOU?"

Zoro ignores the cook's whining, continuing to stare at Luffy while he struggles to process what he's just heard. Not so much that Pirate Empress Boa Hancock hates him with a passion even though they've never exchanged a single word OR that she's apparently head-over-heels for his captain - although these things are both extremely strange in themselves - but that Luffy assumed- ASSUMES- they're still a couple after being separated for two years.

Honestly, he'd be glad- he'd be happy as hell- if he wasn't so goddamn anxious about what Kitetsu's done to him. Right now, Luffy doesn't appear to have any qualms about picking up their relationship right where it left off- but will he feel the same way once he understands the full extent of the changes?

I've had this body for over a year but there's STILL shit about it that seriously freaks me out…

In any case, concerns about his boyfriend's reaction to discovering just how weird things could get if they pursue their previous intimacy will have to wait, because Franky's returned, hauling himself over the portside railing and hollering for everyone to get ready because the buoyancy bag's been deployed. And sure enough, the coating on the ship's surface is inflating, rising around the crew and past them to form a massive bubble dome over the main deck.

Zoro scans the area directly below to make sure he won't land on anyone, then releases the staircase rail, landed heavily on the grass with his tail looped in loose coils beneath him to break his fall. Twisting around to face Luffy, who's practically vibrating with excitement where he's standing on the bench before the gathered crew, asking Nami if they're ready to go.

The Sunny's submerging, seawater creeping up the hull, lapping even with the lawn deck and then rising above it, moving up the sides of the bubble dome.

The crew watches with widened eyes and open mouths, and his captain's laughing in giddy excitement, but Zoro finds himself holding his breath, fingers resting on the solid handles of his katana- for all the good they'll be should the dome begin to leak- and heart pounding harder in his chest. Less concerned for himself than for the ship and the others.

But when the water closes over the bubble, far above their heads, it holds.

He releases the air trapped in his lungs- slowly to avoid issuing one of those startlingly loud hissing noises- and turns his attention back to Luffy, who's looking at each of them in turn as he issues what- for him- constitutes a fairly elaborate speech. Thanking them for "going along with" his "selfish whims" and while Sanji and Usopp are joking, calling him out for being the same as always, Zoro's chest aches upon hearing those self-deprecating words.

If there's anyone who's suffered during these past two years, it's Luffy. Whatever agony the swordsman himself endured during his unexpected transformation, he suspects it's nothing compared to what his captain felt following the events at Marineford.

His gaze strays to the enormous starburst of scar tissue crisscrossing the younger man's chest, visible within his unbuttoned shirt as he raises both arms and shouts the order to "SET SAIL!" and the sight of it makes his breath catch in his throat again. Just as it has every time he's gotten a glimpse of the damage since Luffy bounded through the doorway of Rayleigh's home, stopped dead in his tracks, and bellowed "ZORO'S GOT A TAIL!" to the nakama piling up against his back.

They need to talk about them, sure- but they also need to talk about Marineford. And Ace.

Wherever this whole thing goes with us… whatever happens, happens. He might be one the toughest people I know, but it doesn't mean he can carry the weight of THAT by himself. 'N even if he CAN, it doesn't mean he SHOULD. Zoro squares his jaw, lifts his gaze back to Luffy's jubilant face. Either way- I'm not gonna let him do this alone.

xxx

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. This fucking SUCKS, Zoro groans to himself. Damn it, Sencho, why'd you hafta go after that frickin' kraken. Nevermind the fact that he'd been just as eager to attack the thing himself, although he'd been a lot more interested in EATING it than taming it.

That'd been before he'd discovered just how goddamn cold it was in the darkening ocean depths surrounding the Sunny. Because while the lawn deck inside the bubble dome had certainly been getting chillier, it'd been a sauna compared to the inside of the much smaller flutter-kick bubble once he'd departed the ship with Luffy and Sanji.

He'd been alright at first, unhindered by the coating as he'd undulated his serpentine lower body through the water to slice apart one of the kraken's tentacles with a brutal santoryu attack. But then he'd backed off on Luffy's orders to let his captain try throwing a punch at the creature instead, and the moment he'd stopped moving, the intense cold had started seeping into his joints and stiffening his muscles.

When the current had swept the three of them away from the ship, it'd been a near thing. If Luffy hadn't flung an arm after him and caught him around the middle, he's not sure he would've had the energy to swim for the other bubbles. Even now that they've all crowded into one bubble, he's huddled between his crew mates with his tail coiled as tightly around himself as possible, fighting to stay awake. His body doesn't like this, and it's determined to sleep until the cold goes away.

And the deeper they're swept, the colder and darker it gets, until he's shivering uncontrollably and slurring his speech through chattering teeth when he tries to tell Sanji to quit whining about how tightly they're packed together and how he'd much rather be sharing such close quarters with "Nami-san and Robin-chan." The cook doesn't even need to raise a hand to fend off the sluggish tail swat attempted at the back of his skull. It falls too short to connect.

Zoro's actually on the verge of losing consciousness entirely when heat flares along his opposite side, and he's largely unaware of his body moving instinctively towards it, but after a few minutes, his brain registers that he's no longer shivering. It's not until he wakes up enough to recognize the sounds he's hearing as muffled laughter, however, that he registers he's curled around Luffy. And not JUST curled around his captain but trying to cram himself inside the rubber man's open shirt to get as much direct contact with his bare skin as possible.

It's pitch black and before he can stop it, his tongue flickers out in a futile attempt to scent the air beyond the bubble. It elicits frantic thrashing and a deafening SCREECH from Luffy- an expulsion of garbled howling laughter that might be something along the lines of "ZORO, THAT'S MY ARMPIT!"

Luffy. Sweat. Barbecue sauce? Sanji. Cigarette smoke. Some atrocious aftershave. Shoe polish. Sweat underneath it all. Holy shit, the cook REEKS.

He struggles not to wretch, jamming his face against Luffy's chest and fighting to breathe more shallowly, prompting another yip of surprise.

Sanji's swearing, squirming, evidently trying to put distance between them. "GODDAMN IT, YOU BASTARDS BETTER NOT BE MAKING OUT OVER THERE. Don't you dare think I won't kick both your nasty, horny asses right out of this shitty bubble!"

"We're not doing anything!" Luffy protests, arms tensing and only now does the swordsman realize they're wrapped around his torso, hugging him close. "Zoro was freezing so I used Gear Second!"

"I was too but you didn't hear ME complaining," the cook mutters, perhaps not as quietly as he meant.

"Saaanji, he's part SNAKE now, remember? 'N snakes don't like the cold! Marguerite said so- she told me the Kuja gotta be super careful when they leave the island 'cause if they take their snakes anywhere too cold, they gotta make sure they can keep 'em warm."

"… for the love of- why the hell didn't you just stay on the ship, idiot moss?"

This time Zoro's got enough energy to slap Sanji's shoulder with the back of one hand. "I was FINE 'til we ended up d-down here. Or at least doing alright." Then more quietly. "I didn't think it'd be that big a deal. I mean, I'm not ALL snake…"

He's fully awake now, but there's no way he's budging, not when he can tell Luffy's already beginning to cool off as his body resumes its normal temperature. The heat produced by Gear Second won't last forever, and he isn't sure how many times Luffy can activate it before he needs to refuel. And refueling means food.

"Oi, where'd the kraken go?" he asks, lifting his head so he can rest his chin on his captain's shoulder. "Wasn't it right behind us?"

"He was…" It might be dark, but Luffy's tone is the same as when he's got that perplexed, mildly disgruntled expression. "Maybe he can help us find the ship again!"

"I guess," Zoro says doubtfully. He can feel Luffy shifting, letting go of him to push at the closest portion of the bubble wall. Beside them, the cook gives a grunt of protest and mumbles something about needing a cigarette, and Zoro decides on the spot that if he tries to light one, he's going to straight-up constrict him. Their air's already limited without somebody setting shit on fire and wasting the remaining oxygen.

"OOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Luffy screams suddenly, voice oddly muffled as though he's pressing his face against the bubble but still loud enough to make his nakama both jump and, in Zoro's case, hiss. "OI, OCTOPUS GUY! OVER HERE!" He sucks in another huge breath. "WHERE ARE YOUUU?"

Wincing, Zoro starts to fumble a finger into one ear in case the rubber man continues yelling- and hesitates, squinting into the darkness. "Oi- oi, anybody else see that? That weird glow over there?" He points, realizes he can barely see his own hand in front of his face and lowers it. Beside him, he can feel Sanji twisting, turning to look in the same direction.

"-the hell?"

There's an orb in front of them, floating in the water like the moon hanging in the sky and emanating a sickly green light that's slowly intensifying as it moves closer, until the interior of their bubble's bright enough to see dim silhouettes.

"Ooo-" Luffy breathes, only for his gasp of interest to rise into a screech of dismay as the huge needle-sharp teeth and gleaming, flat black eyes directly behind the angler fish's bobbing lure loom into view.

Zoro grabs for the handles of his katana, a single snarl of "FUCK!" exploding from his lungs because the weapons are wedged between his own body and those of his crew mates. There's no way he'll be able to draw in time. He can hear Sanji cursing as well, unable to maneuver into a decent kicking position. Which means Luffy doesn't have the leverage for an attack either, and this has the potential to turn ugly very, very quickly.

Taking a deep breath, he braces himself.

What happens next, he's unsure how to describe. Still yelling, their captain's glaring at the approaching fish, one hand pressed flat against the bubble wall and the opposite arm once more clutching Zoro around the middle, when his eyes - now visible in the increased illumination - abruptly WIDEN. An invisible wave of SOMETHING- something that can't be seen but can most certainly be felt, making the swordsman's stomach drop sickeningly and his heart stutter in his chest- slams through the glimmering skin of the bubble and hits the angler fish hard enough to knock it to one side.

It tilts crazily, gives a massive shudder and then rolls belly-up and begins slowly drifting past them.

Zoro and Sanji exchange an awed glance before turning simultaneously towards Luffy, demanding an explanation. "What the hell was that?" "Is it DEAD?"

"Nah, just knocked out," Luffy tells them cheerfully. "It'll wake up in a couple minutes." He perks up, pointing into the gloom. "Oi, there he is!"

Sure enough, a tentacle substantially dwarfing their bubble is snaking towards them. The first of several. One snaps up the stunned angler fish like a toy and the kraken's bulk emerges from the shadows just in time for them to watch the unfortunate creature disappear into its maw. The orb vanishes, plunging them back into darkness.

Zoro hears a barely audible "oops" from Luffy, feels him shrug and then lean forward again to press his face against the bubble wall.

"OOOIII! I FED YOU, OKAY, SO THAT MEANS YOU'RE MY PET NOW!"

"… what kind of logic is that," the swordsman mutters and hears Sanji give a bemused snort. He jabs the cook with a elbow even though secretly he agrees that he's just asked a very silly question. Luffy's logic is- well- Luffy logic, and that's that.

The kraken also seems undecided whether this declaration has any truth behind it, but at least it's not slapping them into oblivion or trying to eat them. Instead, it's moved closer, until one enormous pupil is level with the bubble, visible in the glow of a passing swarm of tiny phosphorescent deep sea jellyfish.

If I could just get a sword loose- just ONE- I could stab it in the goddamn eye, Zoro thinks, fingers tightening on a katana's handle- and he knows without looking that it's Kitetsu. He can feel it clamoring eagerly in his head, begging for blood. Knock it off, you bastard. You're not the one in charge here. Besides, you already got a piece of that thing earlier when I sliced up that one arm.

"Take us back to the ship," Luffy's telling the sea monster peering at them, voice firm and unwavering.

Hearing his boyfriend's voice taking on THAT tone- the one he's always privately considered the "don't you dare fuck with me or I'll flatten you" tone- Zoro can't help grinning, because when he hears Luffy talking like that, he knows it doesn't matter whether or not the kraken intends to obey. If the thing decides it's going to follow up its angler fish snack with a trio of human tidbits then, one way or another, Luffy's gonna kick its ass.

Kitetsu doesn't appreciate the distraction. It works on him harder, prying around the edges of his mind, trying to get his attention.

He gives it a mental push, driving it backwards. Settle down, damn it. Now that we're with him again and we're headed to the New World, you'll see plenty of fights. You don't need this one.

The presence crowding his head makes a final attempt to slip past his guard, finds itself once again firmly rebuffed, and eases away sulking.

Zoro relaxes marginally, allowing his body to lose a little of its tension where he's resting in the semi-circle of his captain's arm. The cold's beginning to creep back in, raising goosebumps on the human half of him wherever it's not in direct contact with Luffy. The other half- the scaly half- isn't affected in any way that's visible in the dim light cast by the jellyfish pulsating back and forth around the bubble, but that sluggish torpor's returning to his muscles and stiffening his spine.

"Take us back to our ship." Luffy orders again more sternly, an authoritative growl that holds a little of the same force he utilized against the angler fish earlier, and a chill grips Zoro that's got nothing to do with the cold. More a thrill than a chill, if he's going to be completely honest with himself. "Take us back. NOW."

The kraken FLINCHES, the pupil of its eye constricting and quivering. Then, slowly, the pupil expands back to normal as the creature raises a tentacle tip to cradle the bubble in one of the numerous suction cups lining the inner curve of the appendage. Bringing them close to its body to protect them from the rush of seawater as it thrusts all its remaining legs behind it to propel itself forwards, carrying them away from the teeming jellyfish.

Pleased, Luffy sits back laughing and hugging Zoro tightly- using both arms now- and he can feel his face flushing in the dark, but he doesn't try to pull away either and thankfully Sanji must be too busy craning his neck and squinting into the black void outside the bubble to see where they're headed to pay any attention to what they're doing beside him, because he doesn't say anything.

The swordsman thinks he'd probably die before admitting it, but- being held feels pretty damn good. He's never been a particularly touchy-feely kind of guy, but he'd gotten accustomed to being jumped on and manhandled and- yeah, okay- cuddled since joining the Straw Hat crew, and after two years of scant physical contact mostly limited to incidental brushes during training sessions and post-transformation care, he's been feeling sort of, well, touch-starved.

He settles his coils more snugly around Luffy's middle, curls his tail tip around one of his captain's ankles, and utters a soft grunt as he's squeezed harder. And he doesn't let go even when the water around them begins to brighten again OR when Sanji exclaims aloud at the sight of an angler fish even larger than the one they'd previously encountered with a stout sea-giant towering over it OR when Luffy whoops "OI, LOOK, IT'S THE SHIP!" right beside to his ear and directs the kraken to continue swimming full-speed ahead.

If any of their nakama ask why he's wrapped around Luffy like the strip of nori securing the seafood in a piece of nigiri sushi… it's no big deal, really. He's just trying to stay warm, of course.