ᴍᴏɴᴋᴇʏ ᴅ. ʟᴜғғʏ (ex_rubber515) wrote in valloic, @ 2024-01-11 09:31:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, one piece: roronoa zoro, ₴ inactive: monkey d luffy |
It was quiet in the men’s room of the Going Merry, save for Luffy’s snoring. Sanji had woken up awhile ago, having elbowed Zoro in the face when he had climbed out of their shared hammock, before showering and preparing breakfast for the crew before heading off to the Crossed Quills for work. Zoro had watched him leave through slitted eyes, something unbearably fond in his face though he refused to name it, before having fallen back asleep. He was definitely colder when alone and it had nothing to do with the fact that he slept shirtless.
But an hour later, he could no longer put off starting his day of bounty hunting and training, because had been getting consistently decent sleep over the last few months and once he was up, it was hard to stay in bed. He had sat up and watched Luffy snore for awhile, before shaking his head with a smile and getting up to use the bathroom.
By the time he returned, he had expected their captain to be up, but he still slept on, hat covering his face and half his limbs hanging out of his hammock. Zoro considered leaving him alone and starting on his own training instead, but as he dressed, his mind resolved itself and he marched over to the occupied hammock.
Then he flipped it, letting Luffy hit the floor. “What do you know about courting someone?”
There was a very undignified yelp as Luffy found himself being dropped to the floor. Not catching on time to the falling he wasn't able to do much more than flop to the ground in a mess of long limbs. With a huff he sat up and shot Zoro a glare as he fixed his hat on top of his head. "Hey, I was sleeping!"
Luffy shifted a little as he got comfy on his new spot on the floor, tucking his legs underneath him. A puzzled sort of look crossed his face. "Courting?" A pause as he tried to place the concept. "Oh, like you like someone!" Because there was a difference, like and like.
He shrugged. "I don't know. Oh! Do they have an evil butler we can beat up?" Because yes, that was about his extent of ever seeing someone trying to "court" another person.
Almost immediately, Zoro became aware that this was going to be a trying endeavor guaranteed to give him a headache. What was he doing? Why was he asking Luffy of all people? It was because Luffy occasionally had a laser focused insight on how people functioned that Zoro did not pretend to understand. It was because Luffy, against all odds, had picked up on his weird tension with Sanji from a few weeks ago, though he seemed content to let it rest now. It was because Luffy was the one person he trusted himself to be vulnerable around, with no limitations.
Now, though, Zoro realized maybe this was not one of those topics that Luffy was a savant about. Zoro internally sighed to himself and rolled his eyes, before explaining, “No. They don’t have an evil butler that we can beat up.” Though it would later be ironic he said this.
It was true that Luffy was not completely hopeless when it came to how people worked, and usually found the things that others didn't. But this was a territory he himself had given very little thought to over the years. So it was one he lacked a frame of reference for. One whose subtleties tended to allude him. Nevertheless he was focused on Zoro and ready to help in whatever way he could.
"Someone else evil we could beat up?" Since that seemed to work for Usopp.
"Maybe you could tell me who it is and then I could help more?" he offered. "Is it someone I know, someone here?" A pause. "Whoever it is, they'd have to be pretty cool because you're… you, and you're one of the coolest people I know. Well you and…" Luffy trailed off and if a literal lightbulb could flash over his head one would right then/
"OH!" He sat up straighter, practically leaping to his feet. "Oh oh oh, oh..." Words. They were useless anyways.
He loved his captain, truly, he did. Watching his face morph from cluelessness to sudden enlightenment was something else and he felt a flood of affection watching his stupid face. But that also meant that the flerken was out of the bag and Zoro had to say something here. So obviously, he settled for a lame, "Yeah. That."
That being Sanji. But hell if Luffy or anyone would get him to admit to that explicitly.
Luffy let his elbows rest against his knees, settling into stillness again as he thought it over, chin in hand. He supposed it made sense. There'd been all that weird tension since he'd arrived, probably before though he couldn't say one way or the other. Feelings probably did weird things to people.
"Well, for one -" he started and looked back up at Zoro. "You could try being nicer," was offered with a shrug. Usopp had been nice to Kaya and she had liked that.
"If I was nice to him, he would think something was wrong with me," Zoro snorted, crossing his arms and sitting down on a nearby couch that his swords slept on during the night. “And I already have him yelling at me, asking me what’s wrong with me, I don’t need to add that to the list.”
He was nice to Sanji, but in other ways that weren’t obvious. He made sure that they always had money by giving Sanji all the money he earned collecting bounties. Made sure that the man’s shampoo and bodywash was in stock and not only because Zoro had started to use it for himself too. When Zoro saw the kitchen on the Merry running low on something, it was mysteriously stocked again by the end of the day.
So, he was nice to the man, but he never made a show of it when he was. Zoro’s actions always spoke louder than his words.
Luffy got up and moved to sit next to Zoro on the couch, shoulders touching. "I don't think he would," he pointed out and nudged Zoro a little.
"Sometimes it seems like you're mad at him, but you're not, so maybe he thinks you are too?" A pause. "I thought you were mad at him," he pointed out. Which, in Luffy's opinion anyways, was most likely counter intuitive to trying to "court" someone, making them think you were mad at them. But then again, what did he know.
"He might like to know what you're thinking," he added.
The tense way Zoro had been holding his shoulders melted away when Luffy came to sit next to him. He wasn’t slouching really, but he did feel comforted by the touch of the other man next to him. This time audibly sighing, he rubbed his hand over his face. “We talked a little. About the thing. He knows I’m not mad at him. But…” He gave a frustrated grunt, closing his eyes. “I still don’t think he gets it.” Huffing out his frustration, he sat up straighter, hands to his knees. “This is stupid. It’s a distraction from our goals anyway.”
They had two different paths. Eventually, they would diverge. What was the point of starting something now? Nodding to himself, he injected more conviction into his next words. “Yeah, this is stupid. He doesn’t like men anyway.”
"There can be other goals," Luffy said, paused and frowned a little. Mostly he tried not to think about the way Vallo was different. There was no Grand Line, no One Piece. No Pirates even, and no way to become King of the Pirates. He was thankful his friends were there, and the Merry, and there were lots of new adventures - but it wasn't the same.
"I don't think it is stupid, Zoro," he said, with conviction in the words. "How you feel isn't stupid." Luffy's head fell against Zoro's shoulder as he kept talking. "Besides, how do you know who Sanji does or doesn't like unless you ask him." Simple really.
It was a simple answer to that question. Stupidly simple, really, but Zoro didn’t want to admit it to anyone. But Luffy wasn’t just anyone. He was Luffy. The one person that Zoro allowed himself to be vulnerable with.
Leaning his head against the top of Luffy’s, he explained, “I’m afraid of what his answer would be.” And that was the real answer to why he hadn’t been direct with their cook.
Luffy found himself settling into a quiet as he thought about it all. He liked to think Zoro didn't have anything to worry about. Zoro was a good person, he was a skilled fighter, he was handsome - anyone would like him. Or like him even. So of course Sanji would. How could he not.
Zoro liked Sanji and Sanji would like him back and they would… well Luffy wasn't exactly sure from there, only that it would be different. Of course it would be different, and what if they didn't want him around anymore. People who liked each other usually wanted to spend their time with each other, what if they didn't have time left over for him.
Luffy swallowed the bad feeling down and focused instead on Zoro, and what would make Zoro happy.
"I think you should have more faith in him," he said. "Maybe the answer is yes, maybe it isn't - but Sanji is your friend, he will be your friend even if the answer is no." He paused for a moment. "You are a brave fighter, Zoro, be brave with this too."
He couldn’t help the smile at the surety in Luffy’s voice. It was hard to feel down about anything, even this situation, when Luffy had such a strong conviction in something. Maybe it would be okay, if Zoro was a lot more honest about how he felt with Sanji. Maybe even if Sanji didn’t reciprocate, it would be awful.
But like their captain said, he wouldn’t know unless he did something about it.
“You have a lot of faith in me, Captain.”
Luffy sat up a little straighter, pulling his head out from under Zoro's so he could turn on the couch and face him. He reached his fist across to bump lightly against the front of Zoro's shoulder, letting it linger, a fond smile on his face. "You haven't given me any reason not to, First Mate."
Zoro had always had his back, and Luffy would always have his. Whatever would happen between Zoro and Sanji, would happen. Luffy just wanted them both to be happy.
"Now, you woke me up so you need to go eat with me," he said lightly with a grin.
It felt good to have someone as good as Luffy was, to believe in him. The smile on Zoro’s face morphed into a laugh. “I have to train and actually work up an appetite before I watch you gobble down a mountain of food, Luf.” Zoro sniffed at the air, before leaning forward to sniff again, this time at Luffy’s shoulder playfully. “And you seriously need a shower, you smell like meat sweats. So you go do that and I’ll meet you in the galley when we’re both done.”
No doubt Robin would beat them both there and have a cup of tea going already. That was, if Luffy bothered to do what he said and not just pick him up and drag him to the galley right then. It honestly could go either way. But Zoro needed a bit of quiet time for introspection to go over what they had just talked about, before he was ready to face the day.
Luffy laughed when Zoro sniffed him and playfully batted him away. "Hey, I smell fine." Which, no, he probably did not.
He regarded Zoro for a moment, debating whether to just haul him out to get food or do what had been asked, settling on the latter. "It will all work out, Zoro," he said with a smile, gaze focused on Zoro. He gave a clap on Zoro's shoulder after a moment and stood.
"I'll come find you after I'm done," he said and started off towards the showers.