Work Text:
“Zoro!”
He pulls his bottle away from his lips, sighing softly before standing so he can answer his captain’s call. If it were anyone else, he’d be irritated about being interrupted, but he’d follow that voice to the ends of the earth.
“Yes, captain?” he drawls, lip twitching with the effort of not laughing at the irritated expression on Luffy’s face. As it often does, the meeting of two ships on the ocean means that there’s a party going on. Though this isn’t the first time they’ve run into this particular crew, they always bring trouble, and they always come back.
As she usually does when she’s around, Boa Hancock has perched on the arm of Luffy’s chair and is hanging all over him, dragging him in to rest against her chest even as he shovels food in his mouth. That, at least, has ceased; Luffy’s arms are crossed over his chest, his lips curled into a frown.
“She won’t listen to me.”
Zoro rolls his eye. “What’s he trying to talk you into?” he asks Hancock.
She wipes the smirk right off his lips when she replies, “He keeps saying he can’t accept my proposal because he’s already got a mate, and I keep trying to explain to him that a mate isn’t the same as a first mate.”
Ah. This was always going to be a problem, Zoro supposes, when their arrangement is nothing romantic.
Zoro has never in his life had the issues most other omegas faced. No, he’s always been too big, too broad, too strong for anyone to assume anything but that the sweet smell of him was something lingering, not his own scent. It was only once Luffy swept into his life that it became a problem.
The request wasn’t something he had thought little about. He’d spent the majority of their trip from the Marine base up until Roguetown thinking on it, actually. He’d dragged Luffy off to the sleeping quarters while the others were stretched out on the deck, and had explained, in quiet tones, that Luffy needed to claim him.
“It doesn’t have to stay forever,” he’d said, “but unless you want some idiot to be able to claim you snatched me from them, you probably should.”
Luffy hadn’t hesitated. He sank his teeth into the side of Zoro’s neck without even thinking about it, and had drawn back licking blood off his own teeth.
“Should I bite the others too?” he asked, and Zoro had shaken his head. None of the rest of the crew were omegas, after all, at least at that time.
He’d asked Luffy to bite his neck, and now it’s biting him in the ass. He looks at the irritation in Luffy’s gaze, and then looks over to Hancock. She’s just as mad.
He lifts a hand, and points at the scarring on his neck.
“Think you’ll find these match captain’s teeth,” he says, and watches as Hancock all but flings herself off the arm of the chair, eyes wide. It satisfies something deep in him to see her acknowledge a claim he doesn’t even have on Luffy, and that’s only doubled when Luffy beams at him.
“He knows the difference,” Zoro adds, intentionally scrubbing salt into the wound, “but I can’t blame you for double-checking. His head’s pretty thick sometimes.”
⁂
After the Amazons have returned to their own ship, the night finds Zoro on the deck that serves as the kitchen’s ceiling. He drags a chair over to the edge so he can plop down in it and lean against the railing, and doesn’t even bother pretending he isn’t touching his claim mark as he thinks.
It’s been refreshed twice. The first time had been after Thriller Bark, when they’d been on their way to the archipelago. Luffy hadn’t liked how weak Zoro had looked, and even though Chopper scolded both of them for making Zoro lose any blood at all during his recovery, he’d been completely helpless under the weight of Luffy’s worry. It had been a little more intense the second time, when they’d been drifting ever lower and lower under the seas, headed for Fishman Island.
They didn’t speak about it afterward, but the memory of the way he’d clung to Zoro, like he was something to lose or something to keep, keeps Zoro up at night. Luffy had made himself at home in Zoro’s lap, nosed against his neck, and bitten him hard. He hadn’t unclenched his jaw for a good long while, and it means that even this long afterward, it’s still plain on his neck if anyone looks for it.
Hancock had clearly not been looking on purpose. Zoro can admit to being a little smug about it, but only to himself.
Every ounce of that satisfaction drains away as he feels his captain try to sneak up on him, though. He’d know the feeling of Luffy anywhere, with or without haki, he’s sure—but haki is what makes him aware of it, as Luffy slings himself up and onto the deck with ease.
“You’re not on lookout,” he observes, and Zoro nods.
“It’s that shitty cook’s turn tonight,” he agrees. Luffy grins broad and bright.
“Oh, good,” he says, and makes himself perfectly at home in his omega’s lap.
He’s not as light as he used to be, that’s for sure. Luffy has always been strong, of course, but the muscle he’s packed on now means that Zoro has to shift them around a little, spreading his thighs so Luffy’s ass will hit the chair they’re in to avoid his weight making Zoro’s legs go numb. Undeterred, Luffy leans back so he’s resting against the railing, and watches as Zoro’s thumb rubs over and over their mating bite.
“Does it hurt?” he asks, and Zoro shakes his head.
“No, captain. It’s a comfort.” The words are more honest than he’d meant to be, but he can’t take it back now, and isn’t sure he would’ve been able to lie to Luffy anyway. He has no regrets on the matter.
“Hancock tried to say we weren’t real mates because you hadn’t bit me back,” Luffy says, like it’s as simple and meaningless as the weather. It takes effort not to do more than tense up a little, but that makes Zoro’s blood boil. So-called pirate empress or not, he’ll take her tongue. Her stupid fruit wouldn’t work on him, anyway, so she’d have even less of a shot. “But I told her I wouldn’t make Zoro do that, so he can do what he wants if he changes his mind. It doesn’t matter, though. Even if I didn’t have Zoro already, I wouldn’t bite her.”
As if Zoro would want anyone else on the globe to bite him, he thinks, almost bitter until the rest of what Luffy said catches up. He’d been carefully staring forward, but he looks to his captain now, feeling like his chest is cracked open as Luffy presses his cheek to his Zoro’s elbow.
“You wouldn’t?”
“Nope.” Luffy pops the end of the word and grins sharp, reaching out to pinch Zoro’s cheek between his fingers and wiggle his face back and forth for a moment. “Zoro is stuck with me until he finds his mate. But they’ll have to be strong, so they can’t have you unless they beat me.”
“I’d kill anyone who tried to beat you.” The words are past Zoro’s lips before he can catch himself.
“Even if you wanted them to be your mate?” Luffy asks, and Zoro shakes his head.
“I don’t want any other mate.”
“Hmm.” For the first time since he’d come up, Luffy is frowning, thoughtful, and Zoro wonders if he’s answered poorly somehow. It isn’t his fault the only alpha he’d even want is already in his arms, blissfully unaware of the ironclad grip he has on Zoro’s heart. “Does Zoro want to bite me back, then?”
It’s like he’s reached down Zoro’s throat and snatched all the air out. For a moment Zoro actually can’t breathe.
“Never,” he finally manages, “ever let an omega bite you that you don’t want to keep.” He’d do anything for Luffy. He’s dizzy at the idea of Luffy letting him reciprocate the bite, but he can’t take it if he isn’t sure Luffy knows what that means for them, for him. He can’t be that selfish, no matter how badly he wants it. “And don’t offer it unless you mean it. You’re going to do that and hurt someone, someday.”
“I know what it means.” He’s frowning again, but instead of his thinking frown, Luffy just looks irritated, now. “It means I’d be Zoro’s, like how Zoro is mine, but we wouldn’t be able to take it back.”
Zoro looks at him. “Luffy—” He cuts himself off, pressing his lips together as he thinks. He’s bad at this; feelings are hard to put words to. This is why he hasn’t even bothered, and it always seems to work out. The people who understand his actions get it, and the ones who don’t, don’t. He’s always felt like Luffy can read his mind, but it doesn’t feel that way right now.
“That’s something you offer someone you love.”
“I do love you,” Luffy says, and has the gall to look offended that Zoro didn’t know that already. Zoro’s ears are ringing. He feels like Luffy has just slammed his head between his hands instead of speaking. “I wouldn’t have offered it if I didn’t. That’s why I’m saying it’s up to you if you want to bite me back.”
Their faces are close, with the way they’re both slumped toward the railing. Even as stubborn as his expression is, Luffy is undeniably telling the truth—he’s the world’s worst at lying, at least to Zoro. After a moment of silence, he grabs Luffy’s hip with his free hand, steadying him in his lap, and leans in to press their mouths together.
When he tries to pull away, Luffy yanks him back down. Zoro drops his hand from his own neck so he can brace himself on the railing, but he lets himself relax as his captain drags him into chaste peck after chaste peck. Then he’s allowed to lift his head, but it’s only because Luffy is guiding him to his neck, tipping his own head to the side. He shoves Zoro’s face there, and gives him a moment to breathe in the woodsy smell of him. This close to what he wants, what he’s wanted for what feels like a lifetime, makes his head feel like he’s swimming in the stars instead of grounded by the weight of the world in his lap.
“Bite,” Luffy commands, and Zoro does. He’s had Luffy’s blood smeared across his cheek and on his hands and soaked into his clothes, but he’s never really had it in his mouth before, and certainly not on purpose. When Luffy presses against the back of his head, Zoro bites harder, and is entirely unable to choke back the whine in the back of his throat.
Luffy relaxes his grip after a little while, his fingers stroking through Zoro’s short hair, and Zoro gingerly pulls his teeth from his skin. The instinctual temptation to rub his face over the marks is incredibly strong, but he licks instead, doing his best to clean the fresh wound as his captain goes completely lax in his arms. There’s still blood smeared over his lips and chin when he pulls away, but his captain has absolutely no problem giving Zoro the same treatment, the hand in his hair guiding him in for a deeply filthy kiss. He chases the metallic tang of blood on Zoro’s tongue, and nips at it gently when Zoro tries to reciprocate.
They part with a soft, wet sound. Luffy’s the one reclining, but Zoro feels like he’s the one who’s been bowled over; Luffy just looks like the cat who got the cream.
“Zoro’s going to sleep in my bunk tonight,” he says. “That’s what you’re supposed to do with your mate.”
Zoro nods, unable to speak as he looks from Luffy’s contented expression to the angry-looking bite on his scent glands. That sure is what mates do, he thinks dazedly, and then he’s laughing.
“Hey—” Luffy sits up and straddles Zoro, who is now leaning his weight against the back of the chair as he laughs. Even the hands squishing his cheeks can’t stop his snickering; this is ridiculous. Future king of the pirates, and no one in the world can take him away now. There will be no brokenhearted but dedicated second; in the way he’s always been Luffy’s, Luffy is his. There’s so much joy in it.
“Zoro,” Luffy whines, and nips warningly at his old bitemark. "Zoro’s being mean.”
“Sorry, captain,” he wheezes, and wraps his arms around Luffy’s middle tightly. “I’m not laughing at you this time, I’m just laughing.”
Luffy nods, and noses against Zoro’s scent glands. He’s pretty clearly double-checking the truth of the statement, and it’s both startling and exciting that they’re both allowed to do that now. Just like Luffy shamelessly sniffs out the sincerity of others, Zoro can now bury his face in Luffy’s neck and check on him. His cheeks burn at the thought, and then Luffy sinks his canine teeth into the unblemished side of Zoro’s neck.
It’s only fair, but it’s still a shock. Zoro grunts, and then shudders as Luffy reaches up and tugs on his hair, forcing him to give him more room. When he has it, he forces his lower teeth into Zoro’s skin too. Where the previous bite had been only as large as it needed to be to be obvious, this one is clearly meant to be darker. It’s unrealistic, but Zoro swears he can feel Luffy’s canines sinking deeper than they have before, and he knows the marks take up more of his neck.
He’s not sure if he goes boneless because of instinct or relief, but either way, Luffy looms over him when he pulls away. Blood streaks down his cheek, and Zoro lifts a hand so he can smudge it away and then lick it off his thumb.
“Gonna let me clean you up too, captain?” he murmurs, and Luffy nods.
“Not yet though,” he says. “I have to take care of the first one too.”
The collar of Zoro’s coat is going to be stained, but he doesn’t care. If he gets to carry around a reminder of this night, that’s a good thing. Still, Luffy tends to his neck with gentle licks before moving on, humming his content so close to Zoro’s ear that it makes him shudder. Zoro goes easily when guided to tip his head the other way, and melts into his mate a second time when he’s bitten again.
Instead of tugging, Luffy’s hand cradles the back of Zoro’s head as he kisses him afterward, exploring his mouth just as eagerly as he had before. Zoro doesn’t see how on earth this is letting him clean up the blood, but he accepts it anyway, breathing slow and deep through his nose as he squeezes him as close as he can.
They calm down after a while, even with the taste of blood in their mouths. Zoro slumps forward to tuck his face into the unbitten side of Luffy’s neck and rubs his face into Luffy’s scent glands, and Luffy lets him, his arms draped over Zoro’s shoulders.
“Zoro did want to bite, right?” Luffy asks, and there’s no fear in it. Only curiosity. He’s just making sure.
“Wanted to bite before we got split up by Kuma,” Zoro promises, pressing a kiss to the soft skin under his mouth. Luffy’s hands are warm even through the fabric of his clothes, and his chest is warm against Zoro’s front.
“Good. I thought Momo’s sister was going to try to take you.”
That makes Zoro snort. “She couldn’t have me. I was yours already, and I didn’t want her.”
Luffy shrugs. “I know. If you did, I would’ve let you, though. Zoro’s my first mate, but if he wanted another alpha, I wouldn’t get mad at him over it.”
Now it’s Zoro’s turn to nip, just shy of drawing blood. It’ll leave nice little red scrapes behind for tomorrow, though, and the thought of Hancock seeing them in the morning when she comes to say goodbye is a deeply satisfying one. “You never have to think about that again. I’m going to keep biting you, and you’re going to keep biting me, and we’re going to stay mated like this until we die.”
Luffy’s laughter could raise Zoro from just about any mood, he thinks, and it does now. No matter how annoying the idea of another alpha trying to make a move is, neither of them have to worry about it now.
“That made you almost as mad as Hancock does,” Luffy teases, and Zoro pulls away a little so Luffy can see just how unimpressed he is with that statement. It only makes him laugh more, and Zoro guides him down into a kiss which mostly-fails to get him to stop. Luffy keeps talking, and Zoro keeps kissing him. “Mm, wait, stop, I like when Zoro gets mad at Hancock— Zoro— Mmph— Zoro.”
Luffy’s still grinning when Zoro lets him pull away, and he rests his cheek against Luffy’s collarbone, looking out over the ocean beside them. Luffy rests his head atop Zoro’s, and they're quite for a while.
⁂
As promised, Zoro sleeps in Luffy’s bunk. Zoro’s eyes snap open with the first ray of light through the window, and he finds himself all tangled up in his captain’s limbs, thoroughly anchored in place. He could probably do his morning routine even with Luffy hanging off him, asleep, but he lets himself sleep in for once. It lasts all of an hour before he’s so restless he can’t stand it, and he extricates himself with care, leaning in for a moment to rub his cheek against Luffy’s scent gland before stepping outside.
As bright and early as it is, the Amazons have still latched themselves to the Sunny again. A few of them stare as he walks past, and while that isn’t unusual, it doesn’t leave his skin crawling this time. These bites aren’t out of pity. These bites aren’t out of obligation.
Still, he’s kind enough to stay away from Hancock until he can’t anymore, his coat cast aside as he moves through the practice he’s been doing since he was a child. He’s on the grass deck, but the click of Hancock’s heels coming down the stairs means that’s going to come to a close quickly, he suspects.
“Good morning, worm,” she says, tone sugar sweet as always. He grunts back, and continues through his poses.
“My, I didn’t realize my questions last night would make you this upset.” The words are teasing, but there’s heat under the surface.
“You ever carried on a conversation while swinging a sword?” he retorts, and promptly slides Wado Ichimonji back into its saya. When he turns to Hancock, her eyebrows raise.
“No, it certainly seems like my words upset you last night,” she insists, gesturing to her own neck with a grin, and he snorts.
“I think you’ll find my captain did this of his own volition,” Zoro says evenly, and leaves it at that.
Hancock’s eyes go dark and thin as she squints up at him, but their conversation cuts short.
“Zoro,” Luffy whines from the door of the men’s quarters, and stretches his arms out to wrap around Zoro’s shoulders several times. It’s the sweat from his practice that makes Zoro think to reach up and steady Luffy by the hands so there’s no risk of them slipping off, and he grunts softly as Luffy snaps against his back with a drowsy hum. “Zoro was supposed to sleep in my bunk last night,” he grumbles against Zoro’s neck, and Zoro nods.
“I did, captain,” he promises, pointedly ignoring their visitor in favor of turning his head so Luffy can hear. “I woke you up when I got out, but you fell back asleep.”
“Stay next time.” Zoro rolls his eye at the grumbling, but nods all the same.
“Aye.”
“Did you come to see me off?” Hancock asks, and Zoro looks over at her again, his face a carefully blank mask. Luffy lifts his head from Zoro’s neck, and Zoro sees the exact moment Hancock’s eyes land on Luffy’s mating bite; just like both of Zoro’s, he’s sure Luffy’s is dark, bruising all around the actual puncture wounds. Her lips part, and Zoro tenses, but she lets her mouth snap shut again as Luffy untangles himself from Zoro.
“No,” he huffs, shoving Zoro’s shoulder gently and then wrapping his arm around him. “I came out because I’m mad at Zoro for letting me get cold.” Looking down shows that Luffy’s not quite smiling, expression too tight for that, but the expression isn’t aimed at Zoro; it’s aimed at Hancock. “But if you’re leaving soon, we’ll see you again sometime.”
It’s a dismissal. Even the Snake Princess can’t do a damn thing to Luffy, and all three of them know it. Everything is silent for a moment, and Hancock exhales.”Okay,” she says, and surprises Zoro by smiling a little. “We were planning on leaving after making breakfast, but your chef thought he’d charm one of us by supplying it himself. Letting you know we were leaving was the last thing we had to do.”
She moves forward, and Luffy lets go of Zoro long enough to let her hug him even as Zoro bristles at his side. As they watch her ship leave, Luffy is popping piece after piece of candy in his mouth, a gift from one of the Amazons.
“Take one,” he tells Zoro, and against his better judgment, he does. It’s so overly sweet he almost can’t stand it, and Luffy snickers at the faces he pulls.
He takes another just to see his mate smile.