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Zoro was an odd child. He liked kendo and sleeping and not much else. 

Kuina had brought him home from a kendo tournament like an angry lost puppy.

It had been concerning. Kuina had always struggled to make friends, so when she came home with a scrappy kid three years her junior and said they were going to spar in the dojo, Koshiro had no idea what to make of it.

Then he saw them fight, and he understood. Zoro fought far better than any ten year old should. He moved with the precision of an adult, only held back by the confines of an awkward tangle of limbs. More than that, he was fearless, never flinching or complaining about hard training or bruises. 

He seemed oddly… world weary for a child, but he seemed to adore Kuina, in his quiet way. He became a regular fixture in their household, wandering in and out as he pleased like a stray cat. Little Tashigi watched him with the same starry eyes she watched her older sister.

“Will your parents worry?” Koshiro asked once.

Zoro had laughed.

“One time I got lost for three days and they didn’t even notice.”

He was so odd. He knew what drove his daughters. Kuina was fiercely competitive, Tashigi endlessly curious. Zoro had the same drive, but nobody could figure out what it was towards. He was diligent with his training, but practically ignored school. He only put in effort in English class, saying he ‘wanted to talk to somebody’.

When he was fourteen, he dyed his hair green and pierced his ears.  When the school had told him it was unacceptable, he’d stopped going and got a job moving furniture.

“I’m easier to recognize this way,” he’d explained. Kuina hadn’t asked for an answer, so Koshiro didn’t either. 

He could get lost on his way up an escalator, and when he got drunk (which was far too often for a kid so young), Koshiro heard him sing to himself in a language that wasn’t English and certainly wasn’t Japanese.

“What are you going to do when I go to college?” Kuina asked him. “I can’t send you out for snacks without you getting lost. And who will you train against?”

“He can train against me!” Tashigi announced, all of eleven and endlessly hopeful despite impossible odds. She was good, but she wasn’t possessed with it like Zoro and Kuina. If anything, it was learning about swords that possessed her.

“It’s fine. I’m about used fighting like this now. When I turn sixteen, I’m getting a plane ticket and leaving Japan.”

“What?” Kuina asked flatly.  “You’ve never mentioned that. Where? How?”

“I’ve been saving up from work. There’s a place I’ve got to be.”

“Where?” Koshiro asked again, but Zoro shrugged.

“I don’t know yet, but I won’t get anywhere staying here.”

He stared at the window, and Koshiro wondered what he saw so clearly.

From what he could find online, Nico Robin didn’t exist. Sanji Vinsmoke was listed as a missing person in France, and Cuddy Flam had died in a car accident outside of Detroit four years ago. Zoro was sure he was fine, but you couldn’t just search ‘Franky’.

He didn’t have any possible surnames for Nami, Usopp, or Brooke. No luck with Tony Tony Chopper either, but, for all he knew, Chopper was a literal reindeer. Vivi Neferati had an instagram, but she was famous enough to make her hard to contact. Jinbe was similarly hard to reach, but worked as a Chinese diplomat.

Funnily enough, he found Luffy’s family easily. Garp was still a decorated marine, and Dragon courted political controversy with the same fervor as Sanji at a beauty pageant.

But there was no mention of a son. 

Luffy existed. Zoro hadn’t believed in fate much, before he died, but if the universe had pulled him back from the grave, it wouldn’t bring him and not his captain. Had Garp hidden him again? Had Dragon gotten some woman pregnant and never even known? 

It didn’t matter. Second lifetime in, Zoro had accepted that, even if his sense of direction was Absolutely Fine, the way he navigated the world did not match the way other people described it. Even if he knew where Luffy was, he’d probably end up in the wrong place.

But traveling with Luffy, coming back from the dead, he had a bit more faith in fate. He would arrive where he needed to. 

Just maybe a few minutes late.

“A ticket to where, sir?” the woman at the airport kiosk was asking, failing to hide her irritation behind polite confusion.

“Doesn’t matter. Just pick one,” Zoro told her. “Cheapest you’ve got. And… in a couple of hours.”

“Well, we’ve got a cheap flight to… Tancredo Neves International leaving in four hours.”

“Perfect.” It took him three hours to get to his gate, but that was fine. He was finally leaving, over the seas instead of on them, going back to his captain. Going back home.

Zoro wandered Belo Horizonte, not bothering to look for anything in particular. When he got tired, he slept in a park, swords jammed into an unassuming ski bag at his side

Every time he turned a corner, he half expected to see his captain’s grin. He wasn’t even sure what to look for. Black hair didn’t stand out, and he couldn’t be sure what age Luffy would be, let alone that he’d have a straw hat or a scar. Every time he saw a particularly bright smile, no matter who wore it, he’d worry that was his captain and he was walking away.

It’s fine , another part of him said steadily. You’ll know. It doesn’t matter if he’s a baby or an old lady or a stray dog. You’ll know.

And still he managed to find Luffy’s face somewhere he didn’t expect, grinning up from a newspaper on a cafe table.

It was younger than he’d ever seen his captain, his hair was shorter and the scar on his cheek had been switched out for a faint one on his upper lip, but it was Luffy. Even the blurry grey photo was so much brighter than his fuzzy memories from a lifetime age.

“Can I see that?”

An old man looked up from the sport’s section, brow furrowed.

“Que?”

Zoro sighed. If he’d known he’d be meeting Luffy here, he would have studied the damn language, but he couldn’t do much about it now. He pointed at the newspaper, held out 20 real, and mimed an exchange.

After a brief, confused interaction, Zoro had the newspaper section in his lap, phone out as he tried to translate the article.

It wasn’t an obituary, but that was about the best news it gave. 

At least he knew where to find his captain.

.

Nobody tried to stop him from going in. Zoro had never needed Haki to intimidate. He walked through the hospital, ignoring everything around him.

As always, he arrived right where he needed to be.

A bit too late.

Luffy was not in gentle repose on the hospital bed. Even pale with blood loss and hooked into the IV, his arms were thrown back carelessly and he snored like an elderly pug.

It was frustrating, being sixteen again. Zoro could remember being almost thirty (fuck, he never thought he’d live that long), how his anger dulled and settled into his bones, but now it raged around him like lightening.

Luffy was so small, smaller than he’d been when Zoro had first met him, and somebody had hurt him. They’d left bruises all over him, something that would have been impossible before. The newspaper said they’d shot him in the back. 

He wanted to find who had done this and hurt them .

He wanted to go back and make himself get a flight a year ago.

Instead, he sat by the bedside taking Luffy’s hand, still surprised to find fragile skin instead of rubber.

“I’m here, Captain.”

Luffy didn’t respond and Zoro didn’t wake him. Even angry and guilty and overwhelmed, part of him felt more at peace than he had in years. He was back home, content to just sit and bask in Luffy being real and here .

Luffy took another hour to wake up, blinking gummy eyes. 

“Zoro?” It came out in a pain-killer induced slur, but in a blissfully familiar language, one he hadn’t heard in a lifetime. “You really here?”

“I’m here, Captain,” Zoro repeated, and Luffy’s face lit up.

“You know I’m Captain!” He looked up with shining, hopeful eyes. “Zoro, do you know about Laugh Tale?”

“Of course. I stood there with you, Captain.”

Luffy’s grin widened.

“You remember too! I thought maybe I’d be the only one to remember.” Luffy grabbed his ears to pull him closer. “I missed you so much! I’m still mad at you, you know, for going and dying on me.”

Zoro laughed, even as his gut twisted.

“I know. I’m sorry. How long did you sail? After-” after he died. Of course he was sorry. He’d abandoned his captain. But, selfishly, he was glad it had been him first. He didn’t think a single Strawhat had wanted to outlive Luffy, but Zoro thought maybe he was the only one who couldn’t.

“Got another seven years. Wasn’t as fun, without everyone, but there were some good adventures! This one time we… w-we...”

Luffy’s eyes were drifting back shut already.

“You can tell me once you’ve rested. I don’t want to keep you up too much.”

And part of him wasn’t ready to hear about everything he’d missed.

“Is your hat somewhere? Should I get it?” he asked instead.

“Nah. That hat was for one adventure. We’re gonna go on a new one now. After we find everyone. But now I’ve got my swordsman, so it’ll be okay.”

Zoro rested his head against Luffy’s shoulder.

“I’m glad you were okay though. Without me,” Zoro said, and he meant it, even if it hurt. A crew needed a navigator and a doctor. A crew with Luffy needed a cook, but they didn’t really need a swordsman.

“It was hard, without Zoro. I mean, I missed Usopp and Robin too,,” Luffy said, putting a hand on Zoro’s head. There was a slight possessiveness to the gesture that Zoro found embarrassingly comforting. “But... I always thought ‘I don’t have to worry because Zoro’s there’. So if I wanted to go sleep or eat or play around, I knew everyone was safe. But it wasn’t like that after. I had to be watching all the time and… it was hard. And I couldn’t let myself miss you because I had to be strong.”

Fuck it hurt. And Luffy probably wouldn’t even talk like that if he wasn’t drugged to hell.

“I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere, so get some rest.”

“Promise? You won’t leave or be a dream?”

“I won’t leave or be a dream. Promise.”

Luffy wouldn’t let up until they crossed pinkies, then fell right back into a dead snore. 

Zoro watched him longer. Seven years.

Usopp had been the first to leave. It had been a happy thing, really. Kaya was pregnant, and Usopp tearfully told the crew that, as amazing as his father’s adventures were, he was old enough to admit he wished Yasopp had been less of a legend and more of a father. They visited a few times and Usopp was happy, devoted to the twins. There was another on the way when Zoro died.

Losing Robin had been horrible, but she went out with no regrets, a blazing light of truth and defiance. Even then, Luffy had been the only thing that got them through it, and Zoro had been the one to get Luffy through it, given him a place to sob and voice the regrets he couldn’t show the others.

And Zoro had died. Had left him alone for seven years. He wanted it to be shorter, for his abandonment to be less horrible. He wanted to be longer so the pirate king could have lived forever, but Luffy was designed to burn bright and fast. Zoro had never had any kind of illusions about the kind of king he was swearing himself to.

He didn’t sleep. He sat the on floor by the bed, watching each nurse and doctor for signs they were going to poison Luffy. Luffy woke once, elated to learn Zoro had jerky (something he had brought in case he needed to bribe a Luffy who didn’t recognize him into friendship), then falling right back asleep.

He managed to talk with an English speaking nurse and… the situation wasn’t good. Luffy had managed to piss off a gang and been beaten and shot. Most of the injuries would heal, but the spinal damage was far beyond the point of hoping for miracles.

He could be dead, Zoro reminded himself. Luffy was here and alive and wasn’t going to give up his adventures just because his legs weren’t cooperating. Hell, he’d seen his captain drag himself across the deck by his teeth. His job wasn’t to sit around feeling guilty, his job was to clear the path forward.

Well, whatever was needed. Maybe they could find Chopper soon. He didn’t like leaving Luffy’s health in the hands of some stranger.

Thankfully, he’d slept on the plane, so, as the hours ticked by, he was able to stay awake and suft the internet, occasionally glancing over to Luffy to assure himself he hadn’t disappeared or died.

And then somebody was shouting at him in Portugese.

“Can you yell at me in English?” Zoro asked, rubbing his head to get his bearings.

There was a brief pause.

“Sure. Who the fuck are you and what are you doing in Luffy’s room?”

Zoro looked up and saw a dead man. 

To be fair, Zoro had died just as much as Portgas D. Ace had, but it was still strange to see him. He had to swallow his relief at knowing Luffy had his brother back.

“Friend of Luffy’s,” he said, meeting dangerous fire with hard steel, but he stepped aside to let Ace sit at his brother’s bedside. 

It was quiet, almost. Ace talked to Luffy in soft Portugese, gentle and heartbroken, before turning back to Zoro with a glare. Zoro had only ever gotten Polite, Charming Ace, but it seemed he was going to get his personal introduction to Ace Looking for a Fight. He couldn’t blame the guy. He’d like to cut some people up himself, right now.

“He never mentioned you,” Ace said.

Zoro shrugged.

“Not surprised. He probably didn’t think it was relevant.”

“You’ll excuse me why some armed guy is standing by my injured brother’s bedside. Looking to finish him off?”

“I would never, ” hissed Zoro, “hurt Luffy. And if I’m from some local gang, you’d think I’d be able to speak the language.”

“What do you know about him, then? Something you couldn’t have just Googled.”

It’s a harder question than it should be. There was no pirate king in the world, and Luffy’d already said he’s looking for a new adventure this time. What else could have changed? He knew Luffy like his own lungs, but he didn’t know who he'd become.

So best to start with the things that could never change.

“He loves meat. And adventure. Can’t lie to save his life. Cries at pretty much anything.”

“So you’ve talked to him once.”

Zoro looked down at the bed. He didn’t know Luffy’s past, not the one Ace knew, but Luffy had never cared about the past.

“I know when he wakes up, he’s gonna be pissed. He’s going to refuse to believe he won’t walk again. He’s going to yell and scream and do his best to fuck his back up worse. And then he’ll accept it and half an hour later, he’ll be genuinely excited about some dumb wheelchair attachment.”

Ace was quiet for a moment, then stepped forward and smoothed back his baby brother’s hair.

“So it’s true? Really no chance he’ll walk again.”

Zoro nodded.

“Fuck.”

“He’ll be okay.”

Ace sighed, taking the chair that had been left for Zoro before they realized he was planning to stay sitting on the floor.

“It was a dog,” Ace said quietly, after a while. “Some sick fuck kicked a dog, and Luffy fought him. Hadn’t known the guy was in a gang, just couldn’t stand the idea of an animal getting hurt.”

“Wouldn’t have stopped him.”

“Yeah.”

They sat by the bed, keeping a quiet vigil. Ace fell asleep at some point, but Zoro couldn’t rest, trying not to choke on regret.

He sent a text to Kuina instead.

[landed safe] 

She texted back within three minutes.

[Where the hell are you?!]

[hospital in brazil]

It took a bit to calm her down and assure her it was a friend who was injured, even longer to convince her he actually has a friend besides her. When he finally looked up, Ace was awake and looking at him strangely.

“Something’s not right about you.”

“If you’re going to try and start shit again-”

“Look, I believe you. The way you look at him- I can tell you care, but there’s something you’re not telling me. If Luffy made a new friend, I’d have been hearing about it, but you act like you’re his long lost wife or something.”

Zoro rubbed his eyes in frustration. Damn D’s. Too stupidly perceptive for their own good.

“He ever asked you about Laugh Tale?”

“Yeah. He asks that stupid question to new people sometimes. Don’t know what the hell it means, but he’s always huffy about it, like anyone even knows what a Laugh Tale is.”

“It’s an island,” Zoro said. The island. The locus of all Luffy’s original dreams.

Ace looked him over, eyes not dancing with mischief or anger. It was a bit overwhelming, being looked over by eyes like that. Then he nodded.

“Okay.”

Zoro snorted..

“That’s it?”

“There’s things about Luffy I know I don’t get. You’ve just got to accept it. If you understand… whatever it is he can’t explain, good.”

It was an uncomfortable amount of emotional sincerity between two people not programmed for it, but Zoro felt obligated to return the gesture.

“I’m glad he’s got you,” Zoro says. “I’m glad you’re here. Thank you for… always taking care of him. If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay with him while he recovers.”

“I’m sure he’d like that.”

Zoro was right that Luffy only had two stages of grief. He started with heartbroken denial. After all, he was used to facing down the impossible, and insisted he would just walk again. The nurses looked at Zoro like he was a monster as he held a steady, blunt line. Each time Luffy insisted he would walk, Zoro flatly told him no, he would not walk and nothing would change that. Luffy could do a lot with willpower, but some things were set. There was some yelling and some crying, a bit of silent sitting, and then he jumped right to acceptance, back to smiling and trying to figure out how to adapt his fighting style.

His preferred method of transportation, however, turned out not to be any of the cool wheelchairs he’d looked at. Luffy clearly loved his bright red chair, outfitted with a wide camber and sports treads, but favorite way to get around was Zoro.

Zoro couldn’t say he minded much. After everything, he was having to constantly shut down overprotective instincts that said not to let Luffy out of his sight. It was comforting, having him close, and he cheerfully followed Luffy’s demanding directions over to meat stands and cool statues and street performers. 

It was hard not to be weird. He smelled like seaweed and barbeque and Zoro wanted to just bask in how solid and real and alive they both were. He had to force himself to talk in English instead of slipping into Japanese, or, more temptingly, the shared language of another life.

Thankfully, Luffy was a bit weird himself. Usually, you could believe he just liked to be carried because he was a demanding asshole and Zoro could get him over steep curves and into trees, but Zoro noticed how he’d rest his head against Zoro’s chest, right over his heart.

“Zoro’s alive,” he’d said once, firmly, almost an order, pressing a hand to Zoro’s sternum.

I’m sorry, Zoro had wanted to say. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to stay with you. I’m sorry I put you through that. I’ll do better this time.

“What? Did you think I was a zombie or something?” he’d said instead. 

Today was a sunny day, so they sat in the park, watching sunlight shimmer through the leaves.

“I can’t wait to find everyone again,” Luffy said, grinning widely. “Hey, who have you found?”

“Hm… a couple from my hometown but- Oh, Tashigi’s my friend’s little sister. She’s such a little nerd. It’s adorable. I found Vivi and Jinbe online, but I couldn’t find a way to reach out to them. Saw a lot of people from Wano, actually. Never saw Izou though.”

“Izou’s in America with the Whitebeards! Ace lives with them! And Sabo works for my dad! And I got to see Dadan and Gramps and lots of people, but you’re the first crew. Oh! I’ve talked online with Franky though. He doesn’t remember, but he’s going to give us a house.”

It was too much information to digest at once, but if he took time to digest it, Luffy would just keep going.

“How’d you find Franky?”

“Easy! I found what city Ice Pops was in charge of, and then I looked for places named Franky in that city! He owns a really fun looking bar. He didn’t know who I was, but I told him I was going to need the best house.”

“And he just agreed to do that?”

“Pretty much!” Luffy said, confirming there had probably been some life and death moments involved. “Oh, I have to message him and make him add ramps now. I should have done that already though, just in case somebody else couldn’t get in. Bodies are so fragile here!” 

“So what’s the plan?” Zoro asked.

“I like your plan! Let’s just get some money, buy plane tickets to wherever, and things’ll work out!”

“Well, where are we getting the money?”

“We take it from a bad guy.”

Zoro put a hand on his ski bag.

“Can we start with the asshole who shot you?”

Ace was pretty sure it wasn’t sexual. Sabo had been left to give Luffy ‘the talk’, and Luffy had made it very clear that he knew what sex was and thought that it was dumb and gross and wanted nothing to do with it. And, with Luffy’s filter, he probably would have found out if anything had changed via text.

It was a relief honestly. It wasn’t like he couldn’t handle the idea of his little brother having a sex life. It was more he couldn’t handle the specific problems of Luffy having a sex life. 

Ace had gotten into plenty of trouble, especially when he first moved in with the Newgates. His most vivid memory was of Haruta walking in on him sitting on a table in the mechanics shop. He’d been buck naked, had second degree burns across his chest, and was trying to get out of a pair of handcuffs with bolt cutters. Haruta had not been impressed.

In his defense, he got better about it. (Though that was partially because Ace eventually let Sabo give Marco and Pops ‘The Guide to Minimal Things Being on Fire During Ace’s Manic Episodes’)

Anyway, Luffy was less self destructive than Ace, but he had absolutely no restraint. Best case scenario, Luffy got some poor sap to think sex was a good idea, then got tossed out the window for saying something horrible and blunt. Worst case scenario, he got somebody pregnant. Nobody in their family had the first idea of what to do with a child, and Ace couldn’t see Luffy being the one to change that.

It took him ages to get Luffy alone, and even then, ‘alone’ was really just Zoro napping under a tree out of earshot. 

He was happy Luffy had somebody. Sabo had his friends on Dragon’s staff, Ace had the Whitebeards, but Luffy just had them. Plenty of people just couldn’t handle Luffy. Even people drawn in by his charisma got burnt out or scared off. And Luffy was picky about people too.

Still, how did this guy drop into Luffy’s life and become fused to his hip? Had Luffy actually traded his legs for a guardian spirit?

“Hey Luffy, what’s the deal with Zoro?”

“What do you mean?”

Ace sighed.

“What is he to you?”

Luffy brightened.

“Zoro’s my swordsman.”

“Why the hell do you need a- nevermind. Are you two together?” Luffy started to respond when Ace realized he was about to get a literal answer. “Is he your boyfriend?”

Luffy bit his lip, little brain clearly chugging away as hard as it could before he turned for support. He threw a pebble at Zoro’s head.

“What?” Zoro growled.

“Zoro! Are you my boyfriend?”

Zoro blinked the rest of the way awake, looking mildly confused.

“We’re kinda old to be boyfriends.”

“You really aren’t,” Ace said, but was ignored by both.

“Can we be husbands then?” Luffy asked.

“Why husbands?”

“Cuz marrying somebody is a promise to stay with them.”

“Okay.”

Zoro laid back down and resumed sleeping.

“No, we aren’t boyfriends,” Luffy confirmed.

“You have to actually get married to be husbands. Which you can’t do. Because you’re fourteen.”

Luffy stuck out his tongue.

“Don’t be dumb, Ace. I don’t care about laws. Zoro’s mine.”

Poor Zoro. More importantly, poor Ace. He hated when he was the rational brother. He needed Sabo.

He picked up his phone to open a text chat.

[BO i think lffys getting married and its my fault send help]

[What did you do?]

[asked him if he was dating sword guy. he wasnt sure. theyve decided to be husbands!???]

He’d been filling Sabo in on the appearance of Luffy’s mysterious internet friend with a ski-bag full of swords.

[Kill him?]

[no luffy likes him. just hurry. we need u here]

[I know. How’s he doing?]

[2 damn cheerful as always. p sure hes taking it better than me tbh]

It was why he couldn’t hate Zoro, really. The boy knew Luffy, knew how to help him through this without letting him ignore it. He indulged him without taking his shit, followed his strange tangents and stranger demands with patient fondness, and was fearless in the face of Luffy’s temper and his idiocy.

[I’ll be in Monday night.]

Ace knew it was breaking Sabo’s heart not to be there. He would have happily dropped everything, but, unfortunately, the government was making things incredibly difficult because of Sabo’s connection to Dragon. Nothing Dragon was doing was illegal, but Sabo insisted that at least two of the attempts on Dragon’s life were CIA, and it was almost impossible for any of them to get flights.

“Sabo’ll be here Monday night.”

“Ahhh, it’ll be so cool having Sabo and Ace and Zoro all together.”

You could tell Luffy had no doubt he was the luckiest person on Earth. 

“Never change, Luffy.”

“Why would I?”

Sabo flew in and got straight to helping Luffy plan his cool new moves, but he knew he couldn’t just fuss over Luffy.

Ace and Luffy were accepting. They came from a world where, sometimes, Japanese swordsmen fell out of the sky, immediately re-arranged their life around you, and casually agreed to marriage. Honestly, Sabo wasn’t shocked, but he was too nosy to roll with the punches.

Besides, he couldn’t pass up the chance to mess with his new brother-in-notlaw.

Luffy and Ace were both passed out after a big day, and Sabo walked up to Zoro with a smile. 

“Take a walk with me.”

“Kay,” Zoro said, standing up with his swords. They walked out into the cool night air. He appreciated the lack of fear from the man.

“So, Zoro Roronoa, what brought you from Japan to Belo Horizonte?”

Zoro shrugged. He didn’t seem surprised by the interrogation or what Sabo knew.

“Luffy needed me.”

“News of his accident didn’t hit the news until after you were on the plane.”

“Yeah. I found out after I landed. But I always planned to come see Luffy when I had the money.”

“So you dropped out of school, worked for two years, and spent all your savings to come see some internet friend?”

Still no reaction to the amount of information.

“I didn’t drop out for Luffy. I dropped out because it was bullshit. And he’s not some internet friend.”

It was strange, because Sabo looked into Zoro’s cellphone communication and there were no records of him talking to Luffy. No text messages, no phonecalls, no shared chatrooms. 

“And how long have you two been a couple?”

This one was important. Fourteen and sixteen was already more of a gap than he’d like. He trusted Luffy’s judgement usually, but Luffy tended to take things at face value. He’d probably go on a date with just about anybody if they offered to pay for the food.

“Guess that conversation with Ace. He’s always been-” Zoro trailed off a bit. “He’s important, but I’ve never cared what we call it. But…. nearly losing him, I- you know.”

Sabo didn’t. Shit, talking to Dragon about his feelings was easier. Time to get this conversation back to shovel talk.

“Are you sleeping with him?”

To his credit, Zoro didn’t flinch at that either.

“I don’t know how it’s your business, but no, we aren’t having sex, and I doubt we will. Luffy doesn’t care about that stuff. But if something changes, I’m sure the idiot will tell you immediately.”

“Then are you kissing him?”

For all his bluntness with the previous question, Zoro turned bright red to this one.

“Not- we haven’t. I mean, I don’t know if he wants to...”

“But you’d like to,” Sabo said with a grin. 

“I didn’t say that!”

“Adorable. But we’re not done. He said you know the answer to his Laugh Tale question?”

“Yeah.”

“Ace wants to just drop it, but I’m more curious. He’s been asking that damn question for years, and you’re the first person to give an answer he liked.”

Zoro shrugged.

“Why’s it matter? You know or you don’t. If he wanted to explain, he’d explain.”

“Look, Luffy’s an open book, but he’s got something he won’t talk about. I don’t know what happened to him or when, but I knew it hurt him, and I know it’s why he asks about Laugh Tale.”

Zoro gazed out into the darkness, searching for words. He looked so much older than sixteen, and Sabo didn’t just mean his height or jawline. Luffy had that same weariness to him sometimes, and most people thought Luffy was about twelve.

“If it’s any comfort, I think he doesn’t mind people not knowing, mostly. He thinks the unknown is fun. Leaves room for more new adventures.”

“You’ve never seen the look on his face when people answer wrong then.”

“It’ll be different now.”

Oh, Sabo would not be letting him off that easily.

“And why’s that, mysterious stranger who Luffy literally never told his beloved brothers about?”

“Because he didn’t need everybody to get it. He just needed somebody to.”

Sabo let the conversation fall again.

“We’re leaving soon,” Zoro said finally. “Luffy doesn’t want to wait any longer.”

“Where are you going?”

“Dunno.”

It’s so stupid. Two teenagers with no plan, no money, one recovering from a near death experience, both of whom barely speak the same language. And Zoro seemed fine with that, fine with jumping into the unknown together.

Sabo relaxed. It looks like Luffy had found a good match after all.