Zoro hadn't been quite sure what to make of the boy in the straw hat.

The swordsman had been hanging from a slab of wood, baking in the sun, and flirting with death, when the boy had just appeared.

Zoro's first impression was that the meat lover was that he was stupid, an airhead, and had the brain capacity of a 5 year old.

So when the boy in the straw hat had asked him to join the crew of the 'Future Pirate King', Zoro felt a twinge of doubt, and thought, I can leave anytime I want. May as well go along for the ride.

Because the boy in the hat was an idiot, and Zoro didn't know if he was worthy to be someone that Zoro was willing to leave his hands in the life of.

But Luffy was more than that.

Luffy was his captain, his friend, his nakama.

So on Thriller Bark, when Luffy was in danger, Zoro thought that he had long since been willing to put his life in Luffy's hands.

He was willing to give up his life for his captain.

So he went forwards, declared that he would be the strongest—or he would've been, if he had lived—fully preparing to die, knowing that if Luffy lived, if Luffy could keep on smiling… it would be worth it.

It would all be worth the pain, the sorrow, all the hurt and awfulness in life, because Luffy was Zoro's captain, and Luffy would do all this and much, much more if it meant that Zoro could feel even a twinge of joy.

Luffy was like that.

And if Luffy knew nothing about this… if Luffy thought that he healed fast because of his devil fruit, thought that Zoro had sustained those wounds through battle, then it would be all for the better, because then his smile wouldn't be stained with guilt every time he looked at Zoro, and it would all be okay because it was Luffy, and Luffy was Zoro's light in the darkness.

Luffy was spontaneous, too, so when Luffy climbed up into the crow's nest that night and brought two mugs of hot chocolate, Zoro didn't think too much of it.

Then Luffy closed his eyes and whispered softly, "Thank you." As he took a sip of the hot chocolate and took Zoro's hand.

Zoro stared at Luffy, flabbergasted. "…What?" He asked dimly.

Luffy's lips stretched out into a wide smile, but not his usual one. This one was more warm, more soft, something that Zoro thought felt nostalgic, but couldn't quite put his finger on. "You were going to die for me. Thank you."

Zoro felt something strange lodge in his throat. "Did the stupid chef tell you?" He asked.

Luffy dipped his head in a nod of affirmation. "Sanji was scared." He admitted. "I waited. He made hot cocoa while I waited. Three cups. One for you, one for Sanji, and one for me. Don't be mad at him, he was just sad. He was quiet, and I made him talk."

Zoro tried to summon the anger to say 'stupid chef', but found that he just felt drained. "I'm sorry that you found out." He sighed.

"Don't be." Luffy's voice was now odd, sharp and cold. "I—I'm happy that you were willing to do that for me. It's great that I have such awesome nakama, but—" His voice cracked, and when Zoro looked up, Luffy was crying. "I never wanted you to die. I don't want you to. I'm so—so scared that you'll die—" He hiccupped and put aside his hot chocolate, before enveloping Zoro in a hug. "Please don't leave me." Luffy whispered. "Please, please don't leave… you're my nakama, you're not allowed to leave."

"Luffy…" Zoro awkwardly returned the hug, before sighing, "All people leave, eventually. If I died for you and your dream, it would have been worth it."

"It's not!" Luffy sobbed. "It's not worth it! You're my nakama! You can't leave me alone! Being Pirate King means that you're free, and being free means that all your nakama are with you! You're my first mate, Zoro! You can't… you can't…"

Zoro felt his eyes begin to sting, and swallowed as he rubbed circles into Luffy's back. "Yeah." He agreed softly. "You're right. I won't ever leave you. I'm your first mate. Look, I beat Death once, I can beat him again."

"Yeah." Luffy's sobs died away as he pulled away from Zoro and smiled, his familiar, innocent smile filled with joy and unworried. "That's right! Zoro's strong, so you can scare away even Death! Shishishi!"

Zoro smiled, and all the pain melted away.

Luffy's smile was back, and that was all that mattered.

A/N: I dunno how I feel about this one. It's kind of… well, bittersweet? Sad, but happy? Sorry…

Reply to Rina (Guest): I wrote this right after I read your review, so this is for you. :D Hope you enjoyed.