Not so Lonely Nights

Yo

First time writing anything for One Piece, please be kind. I know there are a few inconsistencies compared with canon but it's quite short, so I hope you can handle it.

Takes place right after Luffy's fight with Usopp.

Anyway, here goes nothing.

~ ~ ~

It hurt.

Zoro didn’t have to think long as he wondered if they’d ever had such a cheerless night, since he joined Luffy. They hadn’t. Even out of food there had been more liveliness than there was now, and even with Vivi’s constant worrying, Luffy’s unshakable faith in himself and in them had always made for jokes and merriment.

Luffy’s faith hadn’t been shaken. No, he still believed in himself, Zoro felt sure of, but Usopp’s farewell had shaken them all. And it had hurt Luffy in a way that no outsider could ever claim to. It had shaken Luffy’s faith in his crew.

And it hurt seeing Luffy like this.

He had hardly said a word since he came back from the fight, just quietly helped cleaning the ship of his possessions. He hadn’t even tried to steal any of Nami’s oranges when he was charged with carrying her trees, something Nami undoubtedly had decided as an indirect way to offer him one and to cheer him up.

“It’s heavy,” He had said, just before coming back onto the ship.

And Robin was still missing.

Zoro’s frown deepened. He hadn’t exactly trusted the woman, but now was just a straight out bad time for her to betray them. Luffy was vulnerable, even a fool could have seen that, and he needed all the support his crew could give him. He didn’t need to be worried about Robin’s whereabouts.

And here they were, lying in a real bed in a room they had rented in town, none of them sleeping. Sanji had gone off who-knows-where, Chopper had been allowed to sleep in Nami’s room, and they were probably crying more than sleeping both of them. That left him alone listening to Luffy being quieter than the sword man had ever seen him.

There was no doubt about it; Luffy was as sleepless has he himself was. Zoro cursed silently, sighed heavily, and turned around away from the wall to chance a look at Luffy.

He squinted slightly, trying to see through the darkness. It was easiest to see Luffy’s dark mop of hair against the white linens, but then something glittered slightly in the thin beam of moonlight entering through the closed curtains.

Sighing again he placed his feet on the floor, deliberately making enough noise that Luffy would hear him.

Luffy removed his hand from his eyes. “Z-Zoro? I thought you were asleep.”

He smiled, knowing his captain probably couldn’t see it and made his voice just a little softer than it normally was, “Luffy, I knew those thin blankets wasn’t enough, I can see you quivering from here.” A lie, of course. Luffy could keep himself warm in those God-forsaken shorts, no matter if the weather was causing everyone else to don hat and scarf. Of course unless someone made him aware of the temperature.

“What do you mean?” Luffy’s voice was still slightly uneven.

“Yosh, scoot over, Captain.” He padded softly across the room to join his captain, his bare feet cooling fast on the naked floor. He hoped faintly that Sanji wouldn’t return before they got up. Luffy’s silence was deafening.

Standing over him, not getting a reaction, Zoro felt a sudden doubt. It wasn’t really that he was an expert in emotional messes. Maybe this hadn’t been the best idea. But how could he back down when his captain was lying staring up at him almost unemotionally, tears even now tracing glittering trails into his hair.

Zoro crossed his arms over his bare chest, demanding at least a reaction before he backed down. If Luffy didn’t want him, then he could at least have the courtesy to reject him properly.

Relief flooded Zoro as Luffy’s grim face was lit with a pale smile. “Heh, I can always count on my first mate, huh?” And with that Luffy sat up, the covers falling to his lap as he shifted further against the wall.

Not waiting, more for his own sake than Luffy’s, Zoro quickly lied down and dragged Luffy’s body close to his own making sure the covers covered his backside properly.

After a few seconds he felt Luffy’s careful smile against his collarbone, and had to concentrate hard not to shiver. Luffy was still not himself, it would be tasteless, not to mention honourless, to test his limits.

Luffy burrowed further against Zoro’s warm body, sighed slightly and quieted again. No, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates wouldn’t falter, he was strong.

Just tonight he needed some extra warmth.

~ ~ ~

It's likely I'll continue the story.

R&R please. It makes me happy ^^