Hello! Flaversei here!

Gosh, thank you so much for all of you who have read this story!

I know I marked this as 'complete' before, but I just can't resist the urge to write another chapter as my thanks to all of you.

Oh, and this chapter was a gift to the lovely Jane who has helped me so much! and for those who wanted more of this drunk Luffy.

Anyway, this was set back when Zoro had just met Luffy after Shells Town, so he was still a bit cold with that 'get in the way of my dream and I'll kill you'-kind of attitude. This is what happened between them when Zoro first saw Luffy drunk.

This is mainly about ZoLu nakamaship.

Once again, blame the alcohol for the OOCness! xD

Enjoy!

Charmed by the Captain.

Disclaimer.

© Eiichiro Oda

-x-

Dinghy boat sailed slowly following the ocean's current. Aboard it was two males sprawled across the boat, exhausted from their long journey. The sun was at its highest position and there was barely any wind to cool them down from the heat.

The younger one, with a straw hat hanging on his neck, observed the waters to look for any kind of fish they could possibly eat, while the other man, with three swords sheathed in his haramaki, lazily rowed the boat.

"Zoro… I'm hungry…" whined Luffy as he looked at his first mate.

Zoro groaned. "Whose fault do you think it is? We had about a week's worth of food and you ate all of them. Bear with it 'till we reach the next island."

Luffy pouted. He had imagined sailing in the seas would be exciting and full of adventures, and he had expected an even greater adventure ever since he got his first nakama to join. The possibility of sailing without food had never crossed his mind. Not even once.

"But when? We had been sailing for about… five days? And I haven't seen any glimpse of an island. Are you sure that we are heading in the right direction, Zoro? I got the feeling that we're going in circles… These waters look all the same to me…"

Zoro twitched at the question. "Shut up, you good-for-nothing captain. I know what I'm doing, and I'm sure we're in the right direction! The next island is just… Far."

Luffy narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that we're in the right direction?"

Zoro smiled proudly. "I followed the clouds."

"But clouds are always moving!"

"And there are always clouds above an island so those clouds must be heading to an island too," Zoro stated, idiotically proud of himself.

Luffy frowned. That sounded smart yet idiotic at the same time.

Seeing the disapproving looks on his captain's face, Zoro sighed. "Then why don't you try rowing the boat?"

Luffy perked up at the offer. He was very bored and if he had to stay like that for the next few hours, he might as well jump into the sea for a swim.

Zoro stretched out his sore arms as he moved carefully within the small boat to let Luffy take his place. As Luffy positioned himself, he grinned.

"Hold tight, Zoro!"

Before Zoro knew what was going to happen, Luffy had shouted, "GOMU GOMU NO… SPEEDBOAT!" and their boat was suddenly moving at an inhuman speed that almost sent Zoro overboard.

-x-

An hour passed.

Luffy panted heavily as he let go of the oars and lay down in the boat. Zoro groaned. It was nowhere near enjoyable. For a second, he regretted his choice to join this idiotic straw hat boy. His head ached and he was just about one second away from vomiting when he caught a glimpse of land at the corner of his eyes.

Zoro almost doubted his sight.

"Luffy! An island!"

The famished Luffy looked up. He sat up and as soon as his eyes saw the small island not so far away, a grin made its way to his face. Zoro moved to take Luffy's place. There was no way he would let Luffy row the boat again. No. Please, No.

"Luffy, let me—"

Before he even had the chance to move, Luffy had once again grabbed the oars, shouting, "GOMU GOMU NO…"

"Fuck— NO—!"

"…SPEEDBOAT!"

And at that time, Zoro truly regretted every single second when he thought it would be a good idea to join this guy. It was the worst idea ever.

-x-

Not even fifteen minutes later, their dinghy boat was already docked. Straight after the boat came in contact with the wooden dock, Luffy immediately jumped and ran straight to the busy-looking town. Zoro didn't even bother to stop him.

Forget adventure, he might as well leave this boy right here, right now.

Zoro heaved a sigh. Ah, what was he thinking? Didn't he himself make that decision? Perhaps his hunger and fatigue had messed up his mind.

After making sure that the boat was properly docked, Zoro made his way into the town.

"Now where's the beer and sake?"

-x-

Luffy followed the pleasant smell of food which led him to what he thought was a restaurant — which was, in fact, a host club. Ignoring the noteworthy decorations, important-looking people, exquisite and delicate stuff, he sat in the only empty table, which happened to be the special VIP-only table that had been reserved for the aristocrats.

Wearing a red vest, blue short, sandals and a straw hat, Luffy stuck out like a sore thumb. Around him was anything but cheap, and people had already whispered things about him. Luffy looked around enthusiastically at the desserts served on every table. He searched for a man who could possibly be the waiter to order his meat, yet what came to him were two tough-looking men.

"Hey, hey! Gimme meat! MEAT!"

The men examined Luffy's goofy smile, before nodding to each other and forcefully grabbed the rubberman's hands.

"Wha— Hey! I asked for meat!"

The men paid no mind as Luffy struggled to stay in his seat. As the men pulled him, his stretched out rubber hands earned gasps from people around. The men released his hands in shock and Luffy's hands snapped back in place.

"What's wrong with you guys?! I only asked for meat!"

Just right when the men were about to try again, a woman dressed in the most extravagant clothes walked from behind them and tapped their shoulders gently.

"Gentlemen, let him be. I'm in the mood for some young boy now."

The men panicked and flailed their hands in a futile attempt to stop the gorgeous woman from coming closer to Luffy.

"B-But, Milady! This unknown brat, he's—"

The lady casually sat beside Luffy. She crossed her thin legs and cupped her hands in Luffy's face.

"He's pretty cute, don't you think? Let him be, I said. And didn't you hear him? Bring some meat here."

The men straightened up and shouted, "Yes, ma'am!" in unison before hurrying to the backroom.

Luffy laughed and nonchalantly patted the lady in her back, showing no response to her seductive gestures. "Thanks! You are a very nice person!"

The lady was taken aback by Luffy's casual response, but she paid it no mind. She took the bottle of wine from the table and poured it down to both of their glasses. As she handed the glass of wine to Luffy, she smirked.

"I saved you back there, so you better entertain me tonight, boy. Here, drink up."

Poor lady was the first one to be charmed.

-x-

Some minutes later, the whole host club was centered on a certain straw hat boy.

-x-

Zoro yawned as he walked outside the bar. Thanks to his reputation, he was feared by the whole townspeople and he could get any food and drinks for free.

The moon shone brightly in the night sky. Zoro wandered around the town, his eyes relentlessly searching for a certain straw hat. Despite all his thought about leaving Luffy, truthfully he couldn't bring himself to leave that boy all by himself. Well, surely someone as lively and charismatic as Luffy — yes, Zoro admitted that — would be able to gather a bunch of nakama very soon, but right now he was the only one that Luffy could depend on. Zoro felt responsible for it, which was why he deliberately searched for his captain right now.

…Or maybe Zoro was the one afraid of being left behind?

Zoro shook his head and sighed. It was getting dark and he was just concerned that a boy like Luffy would have nowhere to rest. Right. That was all.

However, having no idea where Luffy went, he decided that it might be better to wait for him on the dock. Luffy might come back later — at least he hoped so.

-x-

Zoro almost fell asleep when he heard noises coming. At first, he dismissed it as he only saw a bunch of women and some odd-looking guys. When the crowd came even closer, however, Zoro became more aware and readied his hand on his sheathed swords.

In the middle of the crowd, a certain straw hat caught Zoro's attention. He immediately sat up, eyes focused only on the straw hat.

…Could it be?

"Oh! Luffy-sama! Don't go!"

"Luffy, darling, please take us with you! We will follow you to the end of the world!"

Zoro twitched. Did he mishear it?

"Luffy! Ah, sweetheart, even your name sounds godly! That straw hat fits you like a crown to a king!"

"Luffy-sama, why would someone as divine as you set out to the rough sea?"

"We would be really glad to follow you to the sea! Please take us, our prince!"

Zoro was astonished. What the heck…?

The crowd stopped just some meters away from him. The straw hat moved forward, and Zoro could hear the familiar-yet-quite-different voice speaking, "Ah, how can I take you guys with me? The sea is really dangerous. I don't want you guys to get hurt because of me."

The women swooned. Zoro was dumbfounded.

A boy emerged from the crowd. Zoro needed to pinch himself to make sure that he wasn't drunk or imagining things.

Luffy, that Luffy was surrounded by beautiful, sexy women who cling to him possessively. Zoro couldn't tell whether they were drunk or Luffy performed some dark magic because he could saw the blushes and heard the cheers and noticed the intimacy, and someone as childish and stupid as Luffy couldn't have done something like this.

Something in Zoro's heart twitched. He could feel a pang of — jealousy? — something. It was unknown whether Zoro was jealous because Luffy got all the girls or because these strangers cling to his captain.

The Luffy that he knew was a playful boy with a stupid big grin and a reckless behavior and a messy appearance. So how could the Luffy in front of him look so mature and firm and gentle and how the heck could he make a face like that? Why did he wear an expensive-looking fur mantle and a shirt instead of his red vest? When and how did this happen?

Zoro had almost concluded that he got the wrong person when this unknown Luffy spoke up to him, saying, "Were you waiting for me, Zoro?"

That voice. Whose voice was it? Zoro didn't remember Luffy having such a mature and serious voice like that. Eh, could he even get serious? This Luffy might and might not be the Luffy that Zoro knew, but anyway, he couldn't go anywhere without his captain. He needed to be sure, so he asked, "Uhh, Luffy? Are you Monkey D. Luffy?"

A stupid question, indeed.

Luffy laughed. A rich laugh that earned pleased squeals from the women again.

"Silly Zoro. Take a good look. Can't you even remember your own captain?"

He walked closer to Zoro, sharp eyes locked on his. Zoro frowned and tried to figure out what triggered this change of attitude in the childish boy he had just seen several hours ago. Could it be that Luffy was actually someone like this from the beginning? Well, they had just been together for a very short time, so Zoro couldn't say that he really knew his captain very well. Although it might be annoying to sail under a playboy like this, Zoro wouldn't complain as long as Luffy didn't get in the way of his dreams.

So Zoro was about to let this one slide away and accept the change in Luffy when he smelled something good, familiar and addictive.

Oh. Luffy's breaths smelled like wine. Zoro raised an eyebrow. Could it be…?

"Luffy? Are you drunk?"

Luffy shook his head. "No. Not drunk."

But as he spoke up, the smell of alcohol became more obvious.

"You drank wine, didn't you?"

Luffy tilted his head. "What's a wine? Is it good?"

Zoro ran a hand through his hair. He looked back and forth between Luffy and the crowds behind. Now he could see it. The drowsy eyes, faint hiccups, alcohol smells, and the way he walked sloppily signed that this boy was drunk. Zoro was exasperated.

He stared at the gorgeous lady behind Luffy and asked, "Woman, did you see this guy drinking some wine?"

The lady smiled seductively and replied, "Yes. Oh, yes, of course. I was the one who gave it to him. And ahh, he was so good. No one in the host club was as good as he is."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Wait. What? Where was he? And… Good? Good in what? What did he do?"

The lady chuckled. "A host club. And he was really, really good at talking. He was really sweet and ahh, I feel like I can spend the rest of my days with him…"

The lady moaned, and once again, Zoro was dumbfounded.

This crowd swooned and followed him all the way here just because he… What? Talked to them? Really? How lonely can these people be?

And if the Luffy right now was really drunk, then Zoro bet that all these people would immediately leave once he got back to his usual self. Heck, Zoro already got a headache just by spending several hours with his good-for-nothing captain.

Then he realized that townspeople who got curious with the crowds have also gathered around. And judging by the look of the infatuated crowd — still screaming Luffy's name — it didn't seem like it would be possible for Zoro to just walk his way out. Not to mention that his captain was totally, completely, utterly, helpless. The Luffy right now looked so magnificent but Zoro knew better. He knew relying on his captain wouldn't get him out of this mess.

He took a deep breath and rubbed his temple. Oh, what did he do to deserve this kind of bad luck?

"Zoro? Are you okay? You looked stressed." Luffy asked, a sincere worried expression on his face.

Zoro replied with a glare, but Luffy only tilted his head. "Are you tired? Sleepy? Do you need to rest? Oh, then we have to find a place to stay. You shouldn't sleep outside. It's cold. If you sleep outside you will catch a cold and I don't want—"

"Shut. Up."

Before Luffy managed to finish his sentences, Zoro's hand was already covering his mouth, tightly gripping his jaw. If Luffy wasn't made of rubber his jaws would probably be crushed by Zoro's inhuman grip by now. If looks could kill, someone would probably be dead by now looking at Zoro's face.

Luffy stopped and nodded. But his fans' reactions were completely different.

"You beast! How dare you act so violent toward an angel like him?!"

"Shame on you! Go rot in hell you moss-head!"

"Apologize! Apologize to Luffy-sama! How dare you touch his face with your filthy hands!

"Moss-head! Marimo! Repent for your sins!"

"Lowlife like you has no right to touch a divine being like our sweetheart, Luffy!"

Zoro gritted his teeth. These damned cursed bastards…

His hand was on the sheath of his swords and he looked like somebody who was ready to kill. These poor people didn't know who he is, it seemed…

Without further ado, Zoro unsheathed his Wado Ichimonji. Its blade glistened beautifully under the moonlight. Townspeople who came to watch immediately ran and hide, screaming his name, "Pirate Hunter Zoro!" in fear. But not for this infatuated crowd. They stood still. Some showed fear, but they didn't run. How tenacious.

Zoro put on his best smirk and positioned his swords between him, Luffy, and the crowd. However, much to Zoro's surprise, Luffy put his hand on top of the sword, pushing it down slowly.

"Zoro. Sheathe your sword."

thump.

For the first time ever, Zoro felt a slight feeling of fear. Luffy's words chained him, immobilizing his movement. Zoro didn't know how it happened. He turned his face to look at his captain and suddenly he lost all of his rages, and all that was left was a feeling of inferiority. His whole being was alarmed with the mere presence of Luffy. It felt as if his instinct told him not to mess with this guy.

Luffy didn't smile. His lips formed a straight line and his eyes shot a beastly look that Zoro had seen many times before when he was up against infamous pirates. He didn't know Luffy could make a face like that. After that prince-charming act, now he became so serious like this. Is this also because of the alcohol?

Zoro was unwilling to show his fear, so he glared back and put on a challenging look. He couldn't acknowledge the fact that he was afraid of this brat.

"And why do I have to listen to you?"

Luffy didn't waver nor move an inch.

"Captain's order."

And at that exact moment, Zoro knew he had lost. He did not know how to explain it. Those words felt absolute and carried a weight Zoro couldn't explain. Although it felt odd, he surrendered.

So he took a deep breath and looked away. He sheathed his sword and murmured a "Fine, I understand." before turning his back against Luffy.

Zoro didn't need to turn his face to know that Luffy was probably grinning now. "Now that's my Zoro."

'My'?

The use of possessive pronoun before his name made Zoro shiver. He turned his back to complain and scold the brat, only to find Luffy stumbling forward in a drowsy manner. Zoro didn't need to think before he reached out his hand to prevent his captain from hitting the ground.

"You okay, captain?"

Luffy mumbled something inaudible that made Zoro raised an eyebrow. He straightened up the rubber body and tried again.

"Luffy, what's wrong?"

Luffy looked like he was about to fall any time now. His eyes were barely open and Zoro could feel hardly any strength from his captain. Perhaps he didn't even hear the question because Luffy didn't reply.

Oh.

"Okay… Lemme guess. Sleepy?"

Luffy nodded.

Zoro ignored the loud shouts from the annoying crowd as he tried to come up with a way to get out of this mess and get a place to sleep. Damn he was also getting drowsy.

Just a few seconds later, Luffy gave in to his drowsiness and let himself fall into Zoro who readily catch him with his hands. The crowd insisted on taking Luffy away 'from this green beast' and Zoro knew he had to come up with something to get out of this mess without hurting people. When a stupid idea crossed his mind, he frowned.

Fine. Let's finish this.

He took a deep breath before he held Luffy and carried him up on his arms, causing the crowds to shriek and spit out curses. Zoro kept a stern face. He tried to be careful while handling Luffy as not to make him uncomfortable in his sleep. Acknowledging the safety he felt from Zoro, Luffy snuggled and leaned on Zoro's chest. Zoro couldn't fight back a smile.

So he stood there, facing the crowd with Luffy sleeping in his arms, looking so peaceful and comfortable in his first mate's arms. The angry and irritated looks the crowd was giving him made Zoro smirk. He put on his most intimidating face as he walked forward and stated, "This boy here is my Captain. I won't let weaklings and nobody like you lot lay a hand on him. He is my responsibility. If you got any problem with that, talk to my swords. They will treat you nicely."

The crowd shivered, and Zoro enjoyed it.

"You hear me? Now make way, give us a place to stay. I insist."

The crowd, however, was still reluctant to let their prince charming being taken away by a random green beast. Some had shown fear, but the rest still had this challenging look on their face. But when Zoro sent his deadliest glare, they whimpered. Still, move they did not.

Zoro groaned. These people sure were persistent like his Captain. He tried again.

"What are you looking at?! Make way, I said. Hurry before I start cutting you up."

A smile arose on his face when the now-terrified crowd had begun clearing the way and looked genuinely scared. He quickly made his way through the crowd and walked to the plaza, ignoring the sobs and cries from the crowd that had lost their prince charming.

Yeah, serve them right.

-x-

Zoro lay down on the carpet below after he had put Luffy down in the bed. Those fans of Luffy had rented a very nice room for their prince charming to stay, Zoro was thankful of that.

He could still smell the faint smell of alcohol, but it was great that Luffy was already asleep and there were no more annoying crowds following him.

After all the craziness he had gone through today, Luffy's snores didn't even bother him anymore as he closed his eyes and let his drowsiness take over his exhausted body. He enjoyed the moonlight that shone through the window into the dark room, the peacefulness, the breezy winds, and sense of safety.

It was just right before he totally fell asleep when Zoro felt a thud in his arm. He peeked through one eye to see Luffy beside him, but Zoro was already too sleepy to care.

"Thanks, Zoro. You're really reliable." Luffy whispered.

There was silence before Zoro let out a sigh and spoke out, "Luffy… Why did you stop me back then? You should've known that I won't cut innocent civilian… And you looked so angry back then. Didn't you trust me?"

When Luffy tilted his head, Zoro expected a stupid-nonsense answer, but what came out were,

"I know you won't hurt them. But in return, they will hurt you, and you will feel bad about hurting civilians. Which was why I stopped you before you regret it. And I was mad because those people were so noisy and they said bad things about you. I don't like it."

Zoro's eyes were wide open at the simple answer he got. He opened his mouth to complain but no words came out. So he just sighed and said, "I see. Thanks, Captain."

Luffy replied with a little smile that made Zoro wonder whether the boy was already sober or not.

But when Luffy lay down and snuggled closer to him, Zoro decided that it must be the latter.

Luffy mumbled things Zoro didn't hear mostly because he was currently busy with his own train of thoughts.

"-till the end?"

Zoro blinked his eyes. "Uh?"

Luffy turned his face to stare into the swordsman. The sudden action caught Zoro's attention.

"Will you stay by my side until the end?"

There was this hidden sadness in his eyes and Zoro was left speechless. Luffy looked like someone who had no idea of the cruelty of the world, how could he make a face like that?

"Well-"

"Will you leave me someday?"

Zoro swallowed his words. He could see the visible fear in the boy's eyes and he wondered whether it was because of the alcohol or Luffy was being honest. But Zoro was sure about one thing,

"I won't. Sure, you're annoying as hell, but I already make a promise, didn't I? I won't leave you, Captain. I will stay by your side. Until the end."

Upon hearing the response, Luffy's eyes lighted up almost immediately. A wide grin made its way to his face and Zoro found it contagious. How could this boy change his mood so fast?

"Thanks, Zoro!"

Zoro held out one hand to stop Luffy from crushing him with his hug. Grumpily, he said, "But promise me you will never drink alcohol again. It's so damn annoying to clean up your mess."

Luffy tilted his head. "What's an alcohol? Is it good?"

"Ah.. Things like beer, rum, wine, and things like that. The thing you drank earlier? That's alcohol."

He pouted. "Oh, that bitter drink? Ew, I don't like it!"

Zoro grinned in amusement as he patted Luffy's hair. "Good. Never drink that again, okay?"

Luffy nodded his head in agreement. "And my head hurt because of that and I feel dizzy and..." His voice trailed off as his eyelids got heavy and he yawned. "...sleepy."

Zoro chuckled at the sight as he got up and carried Luffy back to his bed.

"Go to sleep, Captain."

-x-

Zoro might find Luffy annoying with all of his weird antics, but he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it.

He liked being with this guy. He's honest and Zoro was sure that he could trust Luffy with almost everything.

-x-

Eventually Zoro finds himself unable to leave. As time goes by and crewmates come one by one, he is sure about one thing. This crew is his family, his treasure. And Luffy is his Captain. He's prepared to go to the end of the world for them, really.

Roronoa Zoro has been charmed by the captain, and he does not mind it at all.

When he finds himself — or other crewmates — doubting their Captain's words or actions, Zoro will say the words that managed to bring him down. The two simple words with so much authority, the words 'Captain's order' — and then he will find himself oozing with confidence and trust that their Captain will never lead them astray.

As a matter of fact, his Captain will be the Pirate King, and Zoro shall be there by his side all the way until the end.

THE END!

No more chapter after this. I hope you like this one.

Feel free to post your thoughts in the review box below!

Once again, thank you so much for reading!

-FVsei-