Disclaimer: As usual, I do not own One Piece or any of the characters!!

Author's Note: This takes place after Enies Lobby! So there are some spoilers.

Enjoy!

Much Needed Sleep

Zoro crept quietly through the halls of Galley-La as he made his way towards the company's infirmary. Everyone else was fast asleep in the temporary lodgings the Iceburg had let them use after their harrowing escape from Enies Lobby. Only one crew member, besides Zoro himself, was currently not sleeping there and that was Luffy. The valiant captain of the Straw Hat pirates was resting peacefully in the infirmary.

Chopper had demanded that Luffy be able to rest somewhere privately after the young captain kept trying to run around and wreak havoc in the crew members' room. Luffy of course had protested but that didn't last all that long especially after the reindeer had slipped him a small sedative. After Luffy had been squared away in the infirmary, everyone else had succumbed to exhaustion and had fallen asleep as soon as they had reached their respective beds. Except sleep had eluded Zoro and after the countless attempts at trying to fall asleep without the comforting snores and murmurs of his captain, the swordsman had enough and went in search of the infirmary.

It took Zoro twenty minutes to find the infirmary, even though he'd been there only an hour or two ago when he'd carried a peacefully snoring Luffy there as Paulie led the way. After three tries, several wrong turns and ending up back in the shared crew quarters twice, Zoro managed to make it to the quiet infirmary. The swordsman opened the infirmary door and quietly as he could and winced when the door creaked loudly. He paused for a moment before entering and listened to see if he had disturbed anything but only silence met his ears.

Zoro closed the door after himself as he made his way into the room. The room was a standard infirmary; four beds were located on each side of the room, all of them with privacy curtains and a cupboard of medical supplies. A small light illuminated a small portion of the room and cast shadows along the walls. Zoro walked towards the last bed on the right side and slowly pulled aside the privacy curtain.

A small, genuine smile spread across the green haired teen's face as he drunk in the sight of his slumbering captain. For once Luffy wasn't sprawled haphazardly across his bed but he was lying there peacefully and his hair was askew in the most adorable manner. The swordsman moved swiftly and sunk into a chair placed at the side of his captain's bed. Sitting there, finally able to be near his Luffy, Zoro was able to feel his exhaustion finally seep into him.

The events of Enies Lobby were still playing through his mind even though his body was beyond exhausted. Zoro was the last person to worry about Luffy because he has been with the careless captain the longest and he knew how Luffy thought. But when Rob Lucci had effortlessly thrown the younger teen through the Galley-La ceiling, Zoro had instantly feared for Luffy's life. It was the very first time that he had felt that Luffy might not be able to survive this battle.

But it wasn't until he had seen Luffy face down on the floor with Lucci standing a few feet away, bleeding and unmoving that Zoro actually thought that he was truly going to lose the young man that had save him from death. As the memory of seeing his captain bloody and motionless gripped him, the swordsman moved his chair closer to Luffy's bed and grasped the slumbering teen's hand. The fear that had taken root in his heart had not faded and he was beginning to wonder if it ever would. The members of CP9 had been stronger than anyone they'd fought before and now that they had declared war on the World Government, Zoro was left to wonder if he'd be able to protect his captain.

"Mm... Zoro..."

Luffy's sleep filled voice reached the older teen's ears and he raised his eyes to look into the drowsy but bright eyes of his captain. "Yeah, Luffy?"

"S'ok... We'll make it. I'm going to be the Pirate King after all and I have the greatest swordsman in the world at my side. So stop thinking and sleep, idiot," Luffy spoke drowsily.

Zoro blinked, wide eyed in wonderment and he was not all surprised that his captain had known what he was thinking. He just smile at Luffy and nodded. "Alright. Since you say so I guess I'll just have to believe you."

"Good," Luffy laughed softly.

Luffy's smile was one filled with exhaustion but it was brighter than ever. Zoro couldn't help but believe his captain when he smiled like that. "Then I'll leave you to your rest." Zoro stood and turned to leave but a hand encircling around his wrist stopped him. "Luffy?"

"Sleep here... I know you can't sleep without me," Luffy teased lightly.

"You're right," Zoro spoke honestly and was rewarded with an even bigger smile from his captain. "Move over."

Luffy hurriedly made room for his first mate and as soon as Zoro was lying beside him, he pounced and wrapped himself tightly around the swordsman, snuggling close. With his captain in his arms, his exhaustion finally overcame his worried mind and Zoro fell into a restful and much needed sleep while Luffy's gentle snores and murmurs sounded sweetly in his ear.

END