lew: so its uh. its been a while huh. this has been finished for a while, but between a fuckton of summer homework, even more schoolwork with the aps i took, AND college apps (...and a very silly Brook related side project ive been talking about on twitter...), i didnt have time to just... sit down and finish edits. but! i got the edits done bit by bit and here we are. the final chapter of Deify!

again, this was written with my dear friend maddie, who i love, and who has been messaging me like once a week reminding me i had to put up chapter 6. look mads, i finally did it :,)

well, i hope you enjoy!

The landscape flickers stark white and pitch black simultaneously, the shades competing for the right to be seen and both winning and losing. The in between does not exist, a space like silent static both infinitely large and impossibly small. There's no passage of time or concept of life. It's been both a moment since the creation of the first God and millennia past the destruction of the universe. The space in between doesn't care which. The mind, human or God, is not meant to see this place, so it does not try hard to make sense to them. Things simply are not meant to exist here, because here is not meant to exist.

Luffy hates it. Curled up silently, his body aching from his fall, he hates it here. This place, this horrible place Zoro's sent him to, he doesn't get it. He feels everything he felt at the time of his death, fear, excruciating pain, like he can't move. Why did Zoro send him here?

To top it off, he's completely alone. There's nobody around him, there's no souls, just darkness.

Even as Luffy closes his eyes, he can feel the crushing weight of his new reality bore down on him. Luffy's already screamed his voice raw, calling for everyone he's ever known, but no help has arrived. He slams his forehead to the ground but feels nothing, as though he's suspended in the air. He hates this, hates being here, hates that Zoro sent him here... Did Zoro lie to him? Was Zoro plotting this whole time to throw him off the fucking mountain because he was angry that Luffy wouldn't follow the laws of nature? He thought Zoro said he'd get a free ride when he died, that he'd be able to stay with him in his temple… but now?! Now he's stuck in this fucking place, a place he wasn't even aware existed.

Was Zoro that angry about Luffy being annoying? Was that it? Did Luffy really piss him off so much that Zoro's solution was murder? Luffy would go back and apologize if he could, he'd do anything to go back and undo this terrible curse Zoro's put on him. He tried slamming his head into the ground again, but still feels nothing.

He'd go back and watch his brothers die a thousand times, at least he wouldn't be alone then! He'd go back to Earth and let himself starve in front of all the world's greatest chefs cooking all his favorite foods if it meant being near someone again! He'd let Zoro shove him off hundreds of mountains if it meant he got to see someone's face again before he fell! He doesn't want to be alone forever, he'd shred off every inch of his skin one at a time if it meant he didn't have to endure this a moment longer. He has no idea how long he's endured it already. He feels like it could be decades already since he woke up here, but his wounds still feel fresh.

Zoro really, truly must hate Luffy beyond what words could reasonably express if it meant Luffy got stuck here. Luffy doesn't understand it! What did he do? Why does Zoro hate him so much? How does he apologize? How does he get Zoro to forgive him? He wants to be alive again, if only so he could make it up to Zoro. Whatever he did must have been truly and unbelievably horrible for him to deserve this.

Zoro steps into the flickering world of the inbetween, searching for Luffy's soul. The inbetween is long and expansive, and hardly anyone is banished here-it's only happened a couple of times in the millions of years Zoro's lived. To think Luffy would be stuck in this fate...to Luffy, it must be worse than hell.

"Luffy!" He yells into the emptiness, and it's like he's yelling into a padded room, no echo, his voice quieter than usual. Zoro runs through the expanse, looking around for any sign of Luffy he can find. His footsteps change in volume as he moves, sometimes mid step. He doesn't care. He knows if he keeps running, he'll have to find Luffy eventually. He keeps calling for Luffy, hoping Luffy might hear him.

Luffy hears a noise which sounds something like feet on tile, something running towards him. He sits up, looking around, and sees Zoro coming at him. Zoro looks like he's calling something, waving his arms, but Luffy can't hear his voice. Zoro's footsteps begin to sound like the crunching of fallen leaves as Zoro gets closer, as though the space in between's inconsistent reality is deciding what sound it likes best. Luffy doesn't care what it sounds like, though, as he tries to get to his feet despite his injuries. He likes what he sees much more than he cares about what he hears, desperate for anyone but especially desperate for the man he loves. Suddenly, Zoro's voice booms around him.

"Luffy!" Zoro yells, "Just stay put! I'm going to get you out of here!"

Luffy seems shocked to see Zoro, but in this moment, he doesn't think he could possibly be happier.

"Zoro!" Luffy yells back, but his voice is muffled, as if under a pillow. He keeps trying, though it hurts with all the screaming he's already done, trying to push forward to get to him. His hand slips on the fake floors, like it's ice now, like the world can't decide how it'd like to torture Luffy next.

"Just— Don't move!" Zoro says. He doesn't look to be getting any closer to Luffy, but in a moment he's by Luffy's side. He kneels down, trying to get closer to Luffy. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry, Luffy, you were never supposed to end up here. People aren't supposed to end up here."

"Where is here?!" Luffy demands, "I'm all hurt and-this place keeps changing, and I thought you sent me here!"

"I wouldn't send anyone here. I can't," Zoro says, "It's a place between dead and alive. You're clearly very, very dead, so there's no reason for you to be here. It means you can't pass on. I don't know why."

Luffy reaches out toward Zoro with his good arm, the one that doesn't look twisted the wrong way, wanting to touch him.

"So...you didn't send me here because you were mad?"

"No, I— I wouldn't ever do something like this to you, Luffy. I love you, you know that?" Zoro asks, "I don't think I said that to you yet, but I do."

"Zoro could've said that when I was alive!" Luffy laughs, but it sounds nervous. Strained. LIke he's not himself. He moves to learn forward on Zoro, seeking comfort in him and the confession he just made, but he falls right through Zoro's body. Luffy's eyes widen a fraction as he stares through Zoro's body, and Zoro moves a bit so Luffy's body isn't inside his.

"Luffy, don't panic," Zoro says, rather unhelpfully, "You did die, remember? You're a spirit, you're not tangible right now."

Luffy shakes his head, lifting his hand to fruitlessly try and slap Zoro on the chest, trying to make himself able to touch Zoro.

"I hate this!" He bites out, "I can-I can touch the ground, but not Zoro?!"

"I know, it sucks," Zoro says, "But Chopper's fixed your body up, and I'm going to take you back and revive you. Then you can touch the ground and me and everything else."

"How will Zoro get me out?" Luffy asks, "He can't pick me up."

"Well..." Zoro says. He taps the floor. "I was just going to open a portal below us, and we'd just fall through it."

"...Oh." Luffy looks at the false ground, staring at nothing. "I guess that works."

"Sweet," Zoro says. He taps the ground again, closing his eye and thinking about Chopper. Portals out of this space are just as hard as portals into it, but one opens below them soon enough.

Luffy falls through first, Zoro's falling more controlled. It's extremely clumsy for Luffy, tumbling through the portal until he lands in the real world once more, right into his body.

"Zoro!" Chopper gasps, "That took forever-you were gone for hours!"

"Was I?" Zoro says, looking over to Luffy. His body is clean and healed, not even a scratch to show for everything he'd been through. "It was only a few minutes for me... Not that it matters now. Luffy's soul is back."

"I patched him up completely-which I'm not supposed to do, you know!" Chopper huffs, in an angry way that looks by no means intimidating since he's not exactly scary looking. "You're lucky I like you."

"Yeah, I am," Zoro says, laughing a bit to himself. After all this time, Chopper is still ready and willing to help him without question. He really is lucky Chopper still likes him, isn't he? "Come on, let's revive the love of my life. He's been pretty excited to meet you."

Chopper nods, hopping onto Luffy's bed.

"...Um, Zoro?" He puts his hand over Luffy's chest, waiting for Zoro to place his down too so they could work to revive Luffy. "Before we start, I wanted to tell you that I really, really, really missed you."

"I missed you, too," Zoro says, "And whether this works or not, I promise I'm not just gonna vanish on you once it's over. I... want to be part of your lives again."

"Th-that doesn't make me happy! Asshole!" Chopper shrills, bouncing up and down. "Okay, let's revive Luffy! But don't tell Robin and them. We'll get in trouble."

"Right," Zoro says, "Thanks again, Chopper. I really owe you."

With that, Zoro puts his hand on Luffy's chest, right by Chopper's.

There's a warmth that spreads through Luffy as they use their domains to work through the revival. Zoro weaves the death from Luffy's body and Chopper weaves life back in. Zoro isn't quite sure how long this is supposed to last, as it was at this point they had failed to revive Merry. However, he refuses to let himself feel nervous or doubt their success for even a second. Luffy can't afford him losing concentration.

Luffy's body abruptly jerks like its been shocked. His back arches, then falls back on the bed as his heart restarts.

"Did it work?" Zoro asks, he and Chopper pulling their hands away. Zoro watches, anxious, as Luffy's chest begins to rise and fall again. He reaches over, grabbing Luffy's hand, feeling for a pulse. Luffy's hand is warm, and under Zoro's fingers he can feel the beat of Luffy's heart. Luffy groans seconds later. His eyes are unopened, but he's clearly awake.

"He's going to be exhausted." Chopper explains, "The healing process is no joke on a body, even if he was dead."

Zoro nods, sitting down on the bed next to Luffy. He holds Luffy's hand in both his own, watching Luffy's expression.

"Hey, Sunlight. Can you hear me?" Zoro asks, voice soft. Luffy groans again, shifting.

"Zoro?" He rasps.

"The one and only." Zoro grins. "Guess what? You're alive. How's it feel?"

"Feels like I'm hungry," Luffy mumbles, squeezing Zoro's hand as tight as he can.

"Makes sense," Zoro snickers, "Get some rest, and once you've slept, I'll fly you down to the next town and you can eat as much as you'd like. Cost be damned, alright?"

"Zoro doesn't have any money." Luffy laughs a bit, quietly. "It's cold."

"Do you want my cloak?" Zoro asks, "You lost it in the fall, but I grabbed it."

Luffy nods, so Zoro lies it over him.

"Are we on top of the mountain?"

"We are. Chopper helped me bring you back, but he's giving us some space right now." Zoro looks up to Chopper, who's pretending not to watch them interact as he hides behind a book he's clearly not reading.

"Mm… that's nice." Luffy smiles, pulling Zoro's cloak tight around himself. "And my brothers?"

Zoro frowns, pausing.

"Luffy, do you... remember what I told you the other day, about the rules for being allowed to revive people? Like, how many people I'm allowed to bring back, and whether or not someone who's been revived gets to…?" Zoro asks.

"Not really." Luffy responds.

"You're really going to make me say it, huh?" Zoro mutters, "Luffy, we can't bring Ace and Sabo back."

Luffy's eyes open at that, wide. He looks at Zoro, as though he's expecting Zoro to be joking.

"We can't?"

"I'm... sorry, Luffy," Zoro says.

"We can't bring my brothers back," Luffy whispers, "All this way, and..."

"Can you sit up?" Zoro asks. Luffy doesn't seem to care much for the question, but he sits up anyway, though he's so exhausted he feels like he might just fall back over. Zoro immediately wraps his arms around Luffy, pulling him into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Luffy. But I promise you, I'm not going anywhere. Brothers or no brothers, you won't be alone ever again."

"But my brothers..." Luffy whispers, leaning against Zoro with limp arms. "They both died for nothing."

"They didn't die for nothing. They saved you. That's not nothing," Zoro says.

"Zoro wasted his one revival on me." Luffy insists, shoulders shaking. "My brothers-we could've had my brothers again!"

"It's not a waste!" Zoro says, "Would you rather I have left you in that place?"

"No!" Luffy insists, "Why can't I exist with my brothers at the same time!?"

Zoro wishes he had an answer for Luffy, but he doesn't think any answer would make him happy.

"I'm sorry, Luffy," Zoro mumbles.

Luffy just cries into Zoro's shoulder, holding onto him. He cries for an ungodly amount of time, until it gradually dies down and he's way too tired to continue. Zoro cradles Luffy, petting his hair.

"Get some rest. You've had a long, terrible day," Zoro mumbles. Luffy shakes his head as he doesn't want to, moving his arms to grip onto Zoro's shirt. Zoro sighs, but he doesn't blame Luffy. Luffy did just die, after all. He just had the deepest rest any human will ever have.

"Okay. Do you want to talk to Chopper?" Zoro asks. There's not much he can do, after all, but try to take Luffy's mind off of everything. "You we're excited to meet him before."

Luffy raises his head a bit, then puts it back down. "...I'm not excited anymore."

"I guess that makes sense," Zoro says. He's spent centuries around those mourning the dead, but now that it counts, he can't find one good thing to say. Luffy closes his eyes and just leans on Zoro, clinging.

"...Is there no way for me to see my brothers?"

"Not unless you want to try out dying again and see if you can pass through this time," Zoro says. That in itself is another issue, though. Zoro has to figure out what's stopping Luffy from reaching the Afterlife before Luffy dies for good. Luffy grumbles, irritated and exhausted, moving his legs until they're wrapped around Zoro too, forcing the God to carry him. Zoro pulls Luffy close before standing, Luffy held tight. He'd been sure that they would succeed, and now—

"Uh, Zoro?" Chopper asks, stopping Zoro in his thoughts, "The other Gods want to talk to you."

"The other Gods?" Zoro blinks, still not entirely used to the one eye. "...About what? I just saw all of them this week."

"You did just break the laws of nature. Well, we both did," Chopper says, "So I think you're just gonna get yelled at."

"Great," Zoro mutters, "I don't want to have to put Luffy through another portal, especially now that he's alive again..."

"I'm coming." Luffy grabs onto Zoro's shirt, white knuckle in the fabric. "I'm not staying here by myself."

Zoro's shoulders slump. He's sure if he tried to put Luffy down now, he'd probably just tear his clothes with how tightly Luffy's gripping him.

"Do they want you to come too, Chopper?"

"Yeah, we've both gotta go," Chopper says, "...We could use one of my portals. They're a lot less harsh."

"Alright, fine. But I'm not happy about it." Zoro grouches, watching Chopper summon a portal. He adjusts his hold on Luffy, hoisting him a bit higher. Luffy barely relaxes his hold, exhausted as he is, as Zoro steps through Chopper's portal. Zoro has to bend over just to fit, but the portal itself isn't terrible. The process feels warm, in a way that's just barely tolerable. If this isn't harsh, Luffy wonders what Zoro's feels like.

The place they land in is very bright, the light making Luffy squeeze his eyes shut more. He barely looks around, instead burying his face in Zoro's shirt. Maybe he should've taken Zoro up on that nap, after all.

"They're in the meeting room?" Zoro scoffs, "I guess this is serious."

"You broke the laws of nature," Chopper mutters. He leads Zoro into the meeting room, where everyone else is gathered.

The meeting room is large with ten large and elaborate thrones in a circle, each throne reflecting the power and domains of his family members. Franky's, for example, is large, comfortable, elaborately constructed metalwork. Usopp's, meanwhile, is an old but lush tree bent to be suitable to sit on. Zoro's own throne is the smallest and least elaborate due to the lack of faith in him, though he's never really used it. He's only been up here maybe three times. As Zoro is busy making his way to the throne, Chopper takes his seat. Everyone else has gone quiet to watch Zoro. Robin clears her throat pointedly, gesturing Zoro to his seat. He shuffles over, sitting down at the table with them, Luffy in his lap. Luffy's still too upset to even try to open his eyes.

"Zoro." Robin folds her hands, "You are aware of why you're up here, yes?"

"You guys really like making my day more difficult?" Zoro tries.

"Yes," Sanji answers immediately, leaning forward from his place on his throne, decorated with symbols of flame. "Absolutely."

"I don't want to hear a thing from you," Zoro snaps. This whole mess is Sanji's fault, after all, even if Sanji doesn't realize it.

"Ouch! Don't be so damn touchy." Sanji frowns, wondering why Zoro got so snippy with him that fast. Usually it took a couple more jeers.

"You broke the laws of nature," Robin says over their bickering, commanding their attention. "You revived a dead human."

"Yeah. My original plan was to do two, so I think in the big picture I actually did pretty good, as far as law breaking is concerned," Zoro says.

"This isn't something to joke about, Zoro." Jinbe protests, "You are breaking the first rule we set when you figured out you could even do this."

"Yeah, well, special case," Zoro says, running a hand through Luffy's hair. Luffy's eyes are closed and he isn't saying anything, though when Zoro glances down and sees the serious look on Luffy's face he knows Luffy is listening.

"A special case doesn't matter!" Jinbe says, "You shouldn't be reviving humans-what if others found out about it?"

"What about it? Humans have been begging me to revive people since they learned how to pray. Nothing would change," Zoro says.

"Then they would start thinking of things they'd have to do for your good graces to get loved ones revived." Jinbe says, "They'd all want to be your special case."

"Yeah, we got one human who managed to get in my good graces in 2000 years. I think we'll be fine," Zoro says, "You're forgetting to account for how much humans hate me."

"But how much would they love you if they knew you could revive their loved ones? I bet you'd get a shit load of supplies at your temples." Sanji points out.

"What temples? I don't have any left. The last one burned down," Zoro says, looking down at Luffy. He really, really doesn't want Sanji to realize what happened and say it, because the last thing Luffy needs right now is another punch in the gut after everything else.

"Wait, that was your last one?" Sanji frowns, "Jesus, Marimo, if you told me I wouldn't have burnt that one down and would've gone for a statue or some shit! See what happens when you don't keep in touch?"

"You're so fucking stupid," Zoro sighs. He feels Luffy pull away from him to look at Sanji, and everyone they've run into the past few days who knows what happened to Luffy goes especially quiet.

"You did what?" Luffy asks, surprisingly calm.

"I lit Zoro's temple on fire." Sanji says, just as calm. "What? Why the hell is everyone giving me that look? I've done it to his past temples, I made sure it was empty!"

"It wasn't empty," Luffy bites, pushing on Zoro's chest. "Let me go. Let me up right now."

"It wasn't?" Sanji repeats. Zoro is about to protest, considering Luffy just woke up from being dead and needs to not be moving so much, but he decides to lift his hands.

Luffy climbs out of Zoro's hold on shaking legs, glaring at Sanji with all the intensity of the sun blazing on a summer day. It reminds Zoro of how Luffy was after the fire, barely able to stand but held aloft by sheer determination and rage. In a way, it makes sense. Luffy's been holding off on grieving with the promise his brothers would be returned, and now that this promise has been broken, he's stuck back where he started. Directing his anger at Sanji is just another way to ignore his broken heart.

"You took them," Luffy growls. "You took my brothers, you-!" Luffy launches across the room, Usopp slamming his hands down quickly and catching Luffy with a quickly grown tree, wrapping around his waist. Luffy slams his hand into the bark, crushing a few of the clovers that are starting to grow from it.

"I didn't know they were in there!" Sanji says, but he looks upset. Though some of the other Gods have domains that relate to death, such as Franky's destruction, Jinbe's disaster, and Vivi's war, none of them are really as comfortable with it as Zoro is.

Zoro gets up out of his chair to go to Luffy, though Luffy is too busy smashing his hand into the tree to care about whatever Zoro has planned to say.

"Let me out!" Luffy yells. The tree starts to splinter under his fists. "My brothers are dead because of him!"

"Yeah, I know," Zoro says, "But you're on trial right now, and as much as I'd love to see you hit the shit cook in the face, I really shouldn't let you go after him, and none of them are going to."

"I'm gonna fight him," Luffy growls, "I'm gonna make sure I hit him!"

"You're not really listening to me," Zoro says, lowering his voice some so the other Gods don't hear. "You're not supposed to be alive right now, Luffy, and the others are deciding whether or not you should stay this way."

Luffy looks back at Zoro, a fist still raised, and frowns.

"They're deciding if I'm gonna die again? But Zoro's in charge of death. They can't."

"They can. I'm in charge of death, sure, but there's a lot of ways to die," Zoro says. He takes Luffy's fist in both his hands, careful, pointedly ignoring everyone's eyes on them, then whispers, "Just calm down right now until we get out of here, and then I'll help you find a way to beat Sanji up later."

Luffy lowers his hand, clearly unhappy with the result, but nods. Sanji seems resigned, sitting back in his chair, almost like he really was just about to let Luffy beat him up.

Zoro touches the tree holding onto Luffy, and with a bit of help from Brook the wood dies and rots away so Zoro can pull Luffy out. He carries Luffy back to his throne, then sits down with Luffy in his lap again. Luffy seems to be in a begrudging sort of acceptance, at least for now. Zoro wraps his arms around Luffy, sighing.

"So, I broke the laws of nature," Zoro says, returning their attention to the meeting to keep it off of Luffy's attempted assassination. "But I don't think Luffy was supposed to die then."

"If he died, that means it was his time, intentional way or not." Robin says, "What makes you think he wasn't supposed to?"

"When humans are about to die, I can tell by looking at them. Luffy showed no sign of dying," Zoro says, "And his soul can't enter Afterlife. He was stuck in between."

"In between? Not many go there." Brook hums, tapping his skeletal fingers on the table. "Are you sure he showed no signs? Nothing you missed?"

"I'm sure. I'd been watching extra careful with Luffy, too, ever since I noticed that I can't foresee how he'll die," Zoro says, "He had no death I can see, had no omens, and can't pass on."

"Perhaps he's just meant for the in between," Robin says, "Many of the first souls were."

"There's no fucking way I'm leaving him there," Zoro says, tightening his hold on Luffy a little more. Luffy holds onto Zoro just as tight.

"I'm not going back there. I'm not. I don't care."

"That place is hell. You'd have to be a special sort of terrible to be left there for eternity," Zoro says, "Luffy may be irritating sometimes, but I'm not damning him to that."

Luffy tucks himself into Zoro, almost smug in the face of the other Gods.

"If you can't send him back, then what can we do?" Nami rests his chin in her hand, frowning, "Just let him keep living. It's not a huge deal."

Zoro glances at her a moment, and if she notices he looks grateful, she doesn't acknowledge. He just owes her a visit later is all.

"I'm not letting him stay dead until I figure out why he can't pass on," Zoro says, "You guys can do me this one favor after everything."

"We can, yes." Robin hums, "But once you can figure out the proper way to let him pass on, he needs to pass on, Zoro."

Zoro nods. If he wants Luffy to live a long life, he just has to literally never figure out why he can't reach Afterlife until Luffy is old.

"Understood," Zoro says.

"Does that work for everyone?" Robin looks around, "Zoro works to figure out why Luffy cannot pass on, and he passes on when he figures it out?"

There's a long silence. Nami watches the room, making sure no one objects. Usopp, Jinbe, Franky, and Brook-all those Luffy met on their quest-stay silent. Vivi, who's heard all about Luffy through the others and knows how much Luffy means to Zoro, doesn't object. Chopper just seems relieved no one called him out for his involvement in bringing Luffy back, though none of them are surprised. He idolized Zoro when he was younger. Sanji is silent, staring at the ground in front of him.

Nobody disagrees, and Zoro lets himself a moment of relief.

"Are we done here, then?" Zoro asks, standing with Luffy in his arms. He really wants to leave before everyone else changes their minds (or worse, they want to talk to him about family issues).

"Are we?" Robin questions, "Should we be discussing the fact you've agreed to come back to us?"

Zoro's starting to wonder if his family can read his thoughts and never told him. If so, he's real sick of it. However, he feels a lot less awkward about this topic now than he did a month ago. Before all of this, he couldn't imagine being in a room with everyone, talking about his possible return. Now, though, with Luffy's life no longer in the balance… he finds he isn't really nervous at all.

"What is there to talk about?" Zoro asks, "I... You guys made an effort. I'll make an effort, too."

"Good." Robin nods. "I wanted to make sure we were on the same page."

"It's good to have you back, Zoro," Chopper says.

"This is the first time we've had everyone together in what, 2000 something years?" Franky says, "Can make a guy a little emotional!"

Sanji is silent through the whole discussion, everyone starting to warm up to each other once again, even when Usopp informs Zoro that he's been spreading the true story about Merry through temples, to clear up Zoro's name.

"I can't change that you're the God of death, but I can change that particular story," he says.

"I appreciate it. Really," Zoro says, "I'd rather not find out what happens if I run completely out of priests. Another good reason to let Luffy live."

"But you still don't have any temples left." Nami says.

"I... I'll figure something else out, I guess," Zoro says, "Maybe this is another story worth spreading. Zoro actually made up with his family, include him in your joint temples and whatever."

Usopp laughs, "No offense Zoro, but I don't want my plants to die."

"...What about the empty temple?" Nami offers.

"The empty— I guess I could try..." Zoro says. He looks down at Luffy, "Hey, wanna be the first mortal to go on a tour of Skypiea?"

"I was the first mortal to do a lot of things, I think." Luffy mumbles, clearly still unhappy. "But okay."

Sanji stands, pushing his throne back. "...Can I talk to you two out of here?"

Luffy glares at Sanji immediately, as if angry Sanji's even trying to talk to him.

"Sure," Zoro says. He lowers his voice, whispering to Luffy, "I did promise you I'd let you get a hit on him."

"I wanna hit him more than once." Luffy grumbles, letting himself be carried out of the meeting hall with Sanji on their heels.

Zoro stops outside the hall, turning and facing Sanji. The outside is just as grand and impressive as the inside, but this is not exactly something Luffy is worried about right now, even if he'd usually find it something worth checking out.

"Before you say anything, I've got a promise to keep," Zoro says, setting Luffy on the ground. Even though he probably shouldn't be, he's pretty excited about this.

Sanji nods, Luffy immediately rushing forward and punching Sanji in the face, square in the nose. It's hard enough to send gold blood spewing out of it, but Sanji doesn't seem to be bothered by it.

"I'm sorry." Sanji says, looking at Luffy. "I deserved that. I probably deserve a lot more, too."

"My entire family is dead, my house is gone, I nearly died," Luffy says "Then I tried to bring them back and actually died, got sent to some weird pocket torture dimension for several hours, and all you've got to say is you're sorry!?"

Zoro would usually be enjoying Sanji getting pushed around, but with how upset he looks, he can't find it in himself to really find any fun in this. He's glad Luffy's getting this out, getting to confront him the God who burnt down his temple as a joke...He's glad, sure, but at the same time, Sanji is the god of Charity. He isn't used to dealing with death, he tries to avoid it as much as he can, countless times interrupting when Zoro was about take lives of the starving by blessing them with food and warmth.

"I don't know what else I can say to make this alright." Sanji admits, "I don't...I want to make this better. I want...Is there really no way for his brothers to return? Can't I help in a way?"

"...Hey, Luffy, didn't I promise you something to eat earlier after you came back?" Zoro says. He's very aware that suggesting Sanji can make a nice meal to repent for the murder of Luffy's siblings is... an insensitive stretch, but he's pretty sure the only thing Luffy is going to accept right now is beating Sanji to a pulp. He might as well get Luffy a nice meal out of this. "He's the God of food and cooking."

"Yes, I'll make you anything you want!" Sanji insists, "It'll be the best meal of your life. I can even make food to bring to your brothers."

"Bring to my..." Luffy trails off, looking to Zoro. "I never made Ace and Sabo a grave or anything."

"I can bring it directly to them," Zoro assures him, "I should probably go talk to them anyway. They were pretty worried about you, and... the basin is broken, so they have no idea you're alive..."

"Can Luffy interact with them up here?" Sanji asks Zoro, "I could bring the food to your temple."

"Can I?" Luffy asks, turning to Zoro. Zoro hums. He hadn't actually thought of that...

"You should be able to..." Zoro says, "Come on. I'll show you how to get there. He can meet us there with something for you to eat."

Luffy grabs onto Zoro, hopping into his arms unannounced so he could be carried there.

"Will they be ghosts?"

"The dead are usually intangible, like you were in between, but in my temple they aren't," Zoro says, catching Luffy easily, having expected it. "Come on, I'll show you to where they are."

"Ill start preparing the food." Sanji says, "I'll join you once it's done..." He seems to want to apologize again, but doesn't want to push it, so he steps back and lets Zoro carry Luffy away.

Luffy holds tight to Zoro, excited again for the first time since finding out his brothers couldn't be revived. He finally seems to take notice of his impressive surroundings, too, his love of exploration causing him to point out things to Zoro he wants to see after he's seen Ace and Sabo. Zoro grins a bit. Luffy really must be the luckiest man alive, going through everything he has and still coming out smiling for the light at the other end of the tunnel.

Ace and Sabo pace the floors of Zoro's temple, wrought with worry.

"Do you think Zoro's found him yet?" Sabo asks, biting his lip. "Why'd the basin have to explode? I just want to see him..."

"Good for nothing God... How does the God of death lose someone's soul? That's like if... uh..." Ace trails off, "I'm too mad at him to think of a comparison, but it's still stupid. If he comes back here empty handed, I think we should overthrow him and become the Gods of death ourselves."

"You know, you should really watch your surroundings before you say something so blasphemous." Ace turns when he hears Zoro's voice, but doesn't get to see Zoro before being tackled into a hug by someone incredibly familiar.

"Luffy!" Sabo exclaims, seeing the form now clutching onto Ace. He shoves himself into the hug as well, boxing Luffy in. "Holy shi-You got his soul out!?"

"Revived him, actually," Zoro says, "But that means we can't revive you, so... we're visiting."

Luffy wiggles in their hold, trying to adjust so he can hug both of them at the same time.

"I can visit whenever, right?! Right, Zoro!?"

"I..." Zoro sighs, "Yeah, but you can't be here all the time. You're still technically not supposed to be here."

Ace and Sabo close Luffy in their hug again. Zoro's exhausted attempts to pretend the rules still matter to him don't really phase them.

"It'll be like we never left." Ace promises, squeezing Luffy and Sabo. "We can stay together!"

"You're just lucky I like you enough to be breaking all these rules for you, Sunlight," Zoro mutters. Luffy laughs him off.

"Thank you, Zoro." Sabo turns to look at him, "To think, we were just losing faith!"

"Yeah, you're not the first. But hey, at least I've got one of you before you converted," Zoro laughs, "By the way, the guy who burned your temple down is coming soon to cook you an apology feast."

"The guy who burnt our temple down?" Ace repeats, "Who?"

"God of cooking, fire, charity, and forgetting to check that temples are actually empty," Zoro says.

"Sanji?" Sabo says. "Of all the Gods, I didn't expect him, but it was quite the fire..."

"Yeah, well, you know how it is with siblings," Zoro says.

"We got killed as a result of a sibling rivalry?" Ace questions, incredulous.

"Well... when you say it like that..." Zoro mutters. "It's… very much a 'go big or go home' sort of thing with Gods."

"Right. Well, I know I never killed anyone in a sibling rivalry," Ace says.

"Well, it's done now," Sabo sighs. Zoro walks past them.

"Come on, into the temple. I have a dining room we can wait in."

"What's Zoro got a dining room for? No one gives him food," Luffy says. Zoro shoots him a look, but he doesn't notice.

The dining room is nothing special. It's simple, wood furniture without any of the shiny ornaments present in the others' dining rooms, and there aren't too many chairs. Most notably, the table is broken, as are half of the chairs.

"...It's a little bit in need of fixing." Zoro mutters, "But it works."

"...Right," Ace says. Luffy's holding onto him and Sabo as they walk, both because he missed them and because he's still exhausted. They find places to sit, and Luffy practically melts into one of the broken chairs, sighing and leaning on the table with both his hands wrapped up in his brothers clothes.

"He's going to be like that for some time." Zoro explains to the brothers, "Being revived does that to you."

"I still can't believe you dropped our brother off a fucking mountain," Ace mutters, as Sabo rubs Luffy's back next to him.

"I didn't mean to." Zoro says, "I don't even know what happened. I got angry and suddenly the mountain crumbled."

"All the plants died," Ace says, "So all the roots shriveled up and the mountain lost stability. You knocked the floor out from under you."

"...At least we both fell?" Zoro offers pathetically.

"Yeah, but he died," Sabo says.

"And now he's not dead!" Zoro says, "I broke the laws of nature for him, give me some credit."

"No," Ace says.

"I'm hungry," Luffy whines, "I haven't eaten since... Hey, hold on! We didn't even eat breakfast!"

"No, we didn't." Zoro says, "I intended us to climb the mountain today, it's a days trip. But then you died."

"Zoro's the worst," Luffy mutters, looking off to the side. "The worst boyfriend ever, I want a new one."

"I'm the-I'm what?" Zoro stands up quickly, his broken chair clattering onto the floor. Sabo and Ace stare at Luffy, then turn to Zoro, scooting closer to Luffy.

"The worst boyfriend ever," Luffy says, not noticing Zoro's shock. "What?"

"We aren't-Since when were we dating?" Zoro asks. He confessed to Luffy earlier, sure, but there wasn't agreement on a relationship, since they were preoccupied with Luffy's situation…

"Zoro took me dancing and told me he loved me. I figured..." Luffy says, "Zoro's kind of dense."

"I didn't take you dancing, we were forced into dancing..." Zoro mutters.

"Does Zoro not want to date me?" Luffy asks.

"I mean, I do..." Zoro says, "I do love you and all that..."

"And all that?" Ace mutters. This is probably the least romantic way of asking someone out that Ace has ever seen. Then again, it's not like Luffy has ever been super romantic.

"Then what's the issue?" Luffy asks.

"This is weird, doing this in front of your brothers," Zoro says, "The fact that I'm not human is something we'd need to think about. What about a few years down the line when you're old and I'm not?"

"That's okay, we'll figure it out. A bunch of the other Gods date humans," Luffy says.

"...Yeah, I guess." Zoro grumbles. He shouldn't be surprised at Luffy's optimism, really. That sunny disposition is part of why Zoro fell for him in the first place.

"So Zoro should date me," Luffy says, "Cuz we were kind of already doing it."

"I guess we kind of already are." Zoro says, "So fine. We're dating."

"Good!" Luffy grins, satisfied. He smiles, wide, and Zoro can't help but feel like everything he'd been worried about a second ago will all work itself out. Luffy's luck is like that.

"Now that you've got that figured out," Ace cuts in, "Zoro, quit stealing our moment."

"He started it!" Zoro points at Luffy, "I'll just leave if I bother you guys that much!"

"Don't leave yet," says a different voice. Zoro looks back to see Sanji, wheeling in a large cart of food. Godly food doesn't ever go bad, so he's not worried about making too much for them to eat. "I've got food for the rest of you."

"I don't need to eat." Zoro grumbles. Luffy shoots up at the mention of food, letting go of his brothers.

"I know. It's for them, remember?" Sanji says

"Right." Zoro steps back as Sanji puts the plates on the table, looking at them, hoping this would be… a decent peace offering.

"This had better be good!" Luffy says, "You have a lot to make up for!"

"I put my all into it." Sanji says, "I know it wont make up entirely for… well… killing you both, but..."

"No, it won't," Ace says, as Luffy digs in, "But if this is good, then—"

"It's good!" Luffy yells, cutting him off.

"I think Luffy's forgiven you." Sabo takes a plate for himself, much calmer in the way he eats.

"I haven't forgiven him!" Luffy says, "He has to cook for me till I die! Then I'll forgive him."

"I can do that." Sanji nods. "Especially since now you're dating Moss."

"Moss?" Luffy snorts, "I like that. I'm gonna call Zoro that too."

"Don't." Zoro growls, making a nearby plant wither into nothingness.

"Zoro's no fun," Luffy says. He finishes his plate, then turns and hugs Sabo. Sabo completely ignores him, which Zoro finds surprisingly cold until he realizes Luffy is just trying to use the hug to get to Sabo's food, which Sabo's clearly used to. Sabo acts patiently, pushing Luffy's hands away while also managing to eat his food.

"You aren't getting any, Luffy." He says after a moment, "Not even if you hug me."

Luffy makes an incoherent whining noise, pressing his face against Sabo's shoulder. When Sabo snubs him, he tries the same tactic on Ace with the same result. After growing up with Luffy doing this as a kid, it doesn't work in them. Not anymore, at least. Zoro muses on how Luffy's current tactic would probably get a bit of food out of him, but the brothers seem so unbothered. Ace eventually turns and tips Luffy's chair over, sending him to the ground.

Luffy yelps when hits the ground. Part of the chair's arm breaks off, though Luffy doesn't seem to notice. He sets his chair back, frowning.

"Ace and Sabo don't need to eat!" Luffy complains, "I'm starving! They can't starve!"

"We can still taste it, though." Ace says, without looking up from his food. "And it tastes delicious."

Sanji quietly slides a plate toward Luffy out of nowhere, enjoying their reactions to his food.

"Thanks!" Luffy says. He's in a much better mood than he was before, enjoying getting to eat with his family again. All the time they'd spent crossing the country to see Chopper, and this is all Luffy had really wanted the whole 'd wanted his family back, and he got it, even if it wasn't in the way he meant it to.

The three of them spend hours together, running around after eating and making a mess of the temple. Luffy drags Sanji into it at one point, an impromptu game of hide and seek that Zoro watches play out—ignoring the jealousy that bubbles up since he wasn't close enough to be grabbed by Luffy.

He's forced into the next game, easily finding all the hiding players, to which Luffy declares that he is now super bored with that and wants to do something else.

Something else ends up being laying on the clouds of Skypiea with his brothers, reminiscing. Zoro leaves them be, talking quietly to Sanji. He knows Luffy shouldn't be up here, they really need to get moving... But Luffy seems so happy, it's hard to convince himself to take Luffy away. He can only dig himself a hole so deep, though, so eventually he steels himself enough to tell Luffy they've got to go.

Zoro sighs and walks over to where Luffy and his brothers are laying. They go quiet when Zoro approaches, though Luffy's got a smile on his face.

"Hey, Luffy," Zoro says, "You can't stay here forever, you know."

"Aww." Luffy complains, the disappointment laced in his tone as blatant as can be, "but we were gonna hang out more."

"I know, I know," Zoro says, "But you'd hang out forever if you could, and you really can't. You're not supposed to be here."

"I could stay here. It wouldn't be an issue..." Luffy mumbles, wiggling closer to Ace, clearly reluctant to leave.

"Maybe if you were dead," Zoro says, "But the living can't be here."

"I was dead," Luffy says, "Does that count?"

"No," Zoro says, "Come on. We should find Chopper. His portals are probably the kindest to living humans."

"Can I come back eventually?" Luffy asks, squeezing onto Ace.

"Yeah, you can," Zoro says, even though he definitely shouldn't, "Come in. We can check out the other temples while we look for Chopper, if you want, cuz I don't remember which one is his."

Luffy grins, pushing himself up at the idea that he can explore and he can come back later.

"Okay! So I'll just see Sabo and Ace later. That's fine! Let's go look around."

"You'll like it," Zoro says, "It's all some pretty impressive stuff."

Luffy hugs his brothers, bidding them farewell. Zoro's surprised by how easily he lets go, but then again, Luffy is one who moves forwards easily. He catches up to Zoro quickly, linking their arms.

"Zoro's temple could be impressive, too."

"It used to be," Zoro says, "I wish you could see it."

Luffy hums, "We could always rebuild it. Once Zoro gets more people knowing the truth, then he'll get a better temple."

"Hope so. Wonder if you'll live to see it?" Zoro muses.

"Maybe!" Luffy says, "I've got a couple years left in me, right?"

"I don't actually know," Zoro shrugs, "I still can't see when or how you'll die."

"I'm a mystery." Luffy nods, proud of himself.

"That's not a good thing," Zoro mutters. He doesn't like feeling like his time with Luffy could end at any moment, but... Despite everything, Luffy seems happy at least.

They walk along the paths of Skypiea for quite some time, passing by other temples. Usopp's is one of the first they pass, completely lush with greenery and trees that all move freely within the temple, Luffy distracted by it. Strangely enough, being up here, looking at all the temples, Luffy felt like he was missing something. Something apart of himself.

"Like it up here?" Zoro asks, throwing an arm around Luffy. Luffy wraps his arm around Zoro's waist right back, walking in step with him.

"Yeah! It's all fluffy. I wish I could live up here."

"Maybe once you're dead," Zoro laughs, "Then we can spend eternity together."

"How often can I visit?" Luffy asks

"As often as I visit Chopper, I guess," Zoro shrugs, "Which I'm going to try to do a lot. I owe him that much."

"Zoro and Chopper needed to see each other again." Luffy muses happily, "Hey, Zoro, can we go look at that empty temple?"

"The... I guess," Zoro says, "I don't think I've ever visited, if I'm honest..."

"Then let's go!" Luffy says, "Maybe Zoro can make it his new home."

"What would I need another temple up here for?" Zoro asks, amused, "I've already got my own."

"You could get a better one." Luffy says.

"What makes you sure that it's better?" Zoro asks, "My temple is good!"

"Zoro's temple is falling apart. His chairs are broken!" Luffy says.

"To be fair, I don't usually have company," Zoro says, "And you broke one!"

"But I still think he'd like to live in a nicer place. So we should try the empty temple." Luffy says

"Sure, fine," Zoro snickers.

The empty temple is located on a hill, much like the one where Luffy used to work. It's set up more like a pavilion than a building, with large open windows and few walls. East of all the other temples, it's placement and architecture mean that in the morning the sun shines through the temple when it rises. It's over run, however, from years of not being kept. There's dozens of weeds around the grounds. Luffy walks through a large patch of dandelions, taking in his surroundings.

"Looks like Usopp's had his share of fun over here." Zoro snorts as he kicks lightly at a patch of dandelions. "There's nothing in the temple. Not even a statue."

Luffy doesn't answer Zoro, focused on the entrance. He approaches, putting an uncharacteristic amount of care into where he steps. Zoro follows silently, noticing that the clovers and dandelions Luffy walked on don't die the way everything else near them does on his approach.

The open temple seems especially welcoming to Luffy, who walks inside. The temple seems especially filled with gold, and on the ground below him is a large sun pattern.

"Zoro said Gods felt some... pull, right? When they found their domains?" Luffy asks.

"Yes, a pull." Zoro nods, stopping in the archway that led to the sunny, gold filled room Luffy stands in. He narrows his eyes suspiciously at the surroundings, the way Luffy fits in so well, like he was painted into the temple. The way the clovers bent and turned toward Luffy to face him, like plants looking toward the sun.

"...It's like your body has been walking your whole life to just lead you to your domain." Zoro explains further, observing Luffy's reactions, "To find your calling is something that changes your entire being."

"Right," Luffy says, "And then... How do you answer that, once you feel it?"

"You just...do what you feel is right." Zoro says. "When Merry died, I felt like I had to guide her to a safer place. What does your body say to do?"

Luffy stops in the center of the sun pattern, then turns back to Zoro. When he meets Zoro's eye, the room seems to fill with light.

"Then Luffy claimed his spot in the heavens as the new God of sun, luck, and happiness. He returned to meet the other Gods once more, Zoro on his arm, and we welcomed with open arms to Skypiea and beyond.

Luffy married Zoro later that year, and the Gods worked to spread the word of their newest addition. In the years that followed, numerous temples were built, such as ours!" The priest gestures around himself. The temple is lush with clovers, the lucky little plant thriving in places Luffy loved. The walls are decorated with a gold trim, which was meant to represent and reflect the sunlight Luffy commanded. The temple also housed a feeling of love throughout the grounds, which could be easily felt by any who entered. The priest then gestures to an impressive second altar. "Of course Zoro is included in this. He became the God of devotion at their wedding, finding his third domain through his loyalty to Luffy, and willingness to bend the rules for the man he loved."

A man smiles to himself as he leans on a broom, listening to the story.

"What're you doing over there, huh?" Another person says, talking quietly as to not disturb those gathered nearby. "You've heard that story thousands of time. You've lived that story, Sunlight. You aren't a temple worker anymore."

Luffy grins at his husband, sweeping some dust at him. He's disguised as a human, abandoning his shimmering gold robes for his preferred red vest.

"Zoro knows I just like exploring our temples."

"Yeah, yeah. I guess it's nice, getting to see these fancy ass buildings." Zoro bypasses the dust to sweep Luffy up in his arms, forgetting that he was trying to be quiet a second ago. He sets Luffy down again, but hovers near him. They've been together for roughly a decade now, so Zoro's become used to close contact. "Come on. I bought supplies around town, so we can set off again soon."

"Ohh! You repaired our ship, right?" Luffy quickly takes Zoro's hand in his, pulling him out of the temple and leaving a patch of clovers where he once stood. "Decaying all the wood like that just cuz he got cranky..."

"Yeah, yeah. Franky built it, though. It can take a lot more than a temper tantrum," Zoro says, laughing. Luffy's heart still swells when he hears the sound, one that he's been hearing far more often as of late. They head in a direction Luffy isn't actually sure is the docks. He doesn't really mind, though. He likes the exploration, he always has.

"Where to next, then?"

"We're visiting Nami and Vivi next, in Vivi's desert." Zoro squeezes Luffy's hand as they walk, pressing against him slightly, "Usopp's kinda mad we aren't visiting him for the fourth time this week, but he can live with it. I think he has a liking for you. Oh, and Chopper wants us back at some point too."

"I haven't been to the desert in a while," Luffy muses, squeezing Zoro's hand. He looks up to Zoro beside him, grinning softly.

"Hey, Zoro?" Luffy says, "I'm really lucky to have met you. I'm the luckiest man on Earth."

Zoro smiles at him, kissing Luffy's forehead.

"That's rich, coming from the God of Luck himself."

"Where does Zoro think I got all that luck from?" Luffy grins, leaning his head on Zoro's arm. Zoro is the luckiest thing that's ever happened to him, after all. Even more so than being a God, or going on amazing adventures to see fantastic and unbelievable places. In the end, it's his time with Zoro he cherishes the most.

Zoro's once said that Luffy made him feel like he's relaxing in the sun. Luffy had loved the idea back then, as Zoro had held him close and whispered his feelings. Now, Luffy couldn't be happier to be the God of the sun.

lew: and that's it! we're done! thank you so much for sticking with us through this fic, sporadic updates and all. it means the world to me and mads. we loved every review we got here and on ao3, and we're both really happy we got to share this story with you! congrats to everyone who called luffy being a god, btw, you were right! i just love luffy/sun imagery. its my favorite.

let us know what you thought in the reviews if youd like, and most of all, i hope your day is wonderful!

(and hey. psst. like sun god luffy stuff? my friend anna (tumblr/twitter user vivrcard) is writing a fic abt sun god luffy and moon god zoro if youre interested... the fic is on ao3. it's called "Sunkissed/Moonkissed" and her name is cienfleur. since her birthday is the 5th, i thought i would shout her story out) (...plus like. its good)