hello !

Returning from Sabaody with wings was surprisingly relaxed, all things considered. Everyone returned with aspects added (like wings) and aspects removed (like an eye).

When they spontaneously sprouted while training, Luffy didn’t even know how to handle them. Rayleigh had to pause training to give a brief lecture on how to take care of himself more, especially with the addition of the tiny wings on himself. (Luffy didn’t really pay that much attention to it. He got distracted by a beetle.)

Once reunited with everyone, many many questions were asked by everyone, and only a few of them were answered. Most of them came from Chopper, curious about if he was maintaining them properly. Luffy reassured the doctor that he was.

Or, at least, he thought so.

It was a few days after leaving Fishman Island when they started to feel itchy. They had started feeling that way as soon as they reached the surface. Luckily, nobody pried him of any information. Although, he did catch a few unreadable glances from Zoro.

Everyone on The Thousand Sunny knew Luffy loved every one of his crewmates, but he loved Zoro differently. And the swordsman loved him right back. A symbol of that was a single golden drop earring that hung on the captain’s ear. The announcement of their relationship earned a few “finallys” and beri being passed around.

Currently, it was in the dead of night. The only people awake were Luffy and Zoro. The latter of the two was up in the Crow’s Nest, training. Luffy sat on the figurehead with a scrunched up expression.

His wings were bothering him again. They uncomfortably fluttered in the gap in between his cardigan. It was getting to be unbearable for the winged rubberman. With a groan, his face fell into his hands.

“Luffy,” called out a voice. The captain quickly looked up and turned around to see Zoro standing there. He didn’t have his swords with him. Instead, there was a thick, leatherback book underneath one of his arms. The swordsman’s face was still unreadable.

“H-Hey, Zoro!” his partner greeted him back with a smile.

Zoro could tell there was something off about the greeting. “Luffy,” he repeated. “Is there something going on with your wings?”

Luffy started sweating bullets and looked away. “N-Nooo,” he tried to deny. His lips were now pressed together tightly.

With a sigh, the swordsman continued, “I already know it’s about your wings.” With no denying it now, the captain shamefully ducked his head downwards. Shaking his head, Zoro turned his body around and looked over their shoulder. “C’mon. I can help.” Looking back up, Luffy hopped off the figurehead and followed his partner to the bottom of the ladder that reached the Crow’s Nest. Zoro gestured for the captain to jump on his back to carry him. Luffy complied and wrapped his limbs around him securely. It was a mistake not being careful, because it agitated his wings. Sensing the distress, Zoro quickly climbed up the ladder, until they were finally in the room.

The swordsman carried his captain all the way to a futon he had set there, instructing him to keep sitting on his knees while he gathered a few things.

Luffy's hands balled up into fists on his thighs. They separated from his crew and trained for two years to be stronger. Now, this was a new thing bothering him! He thought things were gonna be better after getting stronger! Instead, he was left with two additional appendages he didn’t know anything about that were causing discomfort.

He froze when he felt the futon underneath him shift and two hands carefully grab the collar of his cardigan from behind. “Is it okay if I…” Zoro trailed off, waiting for permission. Luffy nodded as a response. His cardigan was slipped off, leaving his upper body bare. Even though the gap in the back gave the swordsman access to his wings, he’d still like some cleanliness for what he was about to do. The clothing was laid out in between them underneath the rubberman’s wings. “I’m gonna touch them now,” he warned. “Even if it feels uncomfortable, it’s to alleviate it.”

“Alright,” Luffy breathed out, unsure of his actions. Carefully, Zoro reached over and carefully brushed a hand over one of his wings. A spike or soreness shot through Luffy’s spine. His mouth kept shut, muffling a groan. This was all a part of the process.

Zoro’s hands carefully grasped some feathers and his fingers started to carefully rub them. Luffy groaned again, feeling his swordsman’s hands run through them. His index and pointer finger lightly squeezed over each individual feather, carefully moving through from the base to the feather to the end. The captain’s eyes shut at the feeling and his face started to heat up, both from the way Zoro was touching his wings and how interesting it felt. Although, he was right about how it would eventually start to feel better. It was starting to feel nice.

With the soothing, he heard a cracking sound with it. Confused, he looked back to see Zoro lightly squeezing something around some of his feathers. It flaked off into little white sheets on the cardigan placed below them. “Whazzat?” he asked.

The swordsman glanced up at him, still handling his wings. “That’s the sheath from pin feathers,” he explained. “When feathers grow, they form a coating to protect them. Birds usually preen to get rid of them. I’m guessing this is why they were bothering you.” He glanced back to the bench with the large book. “That book over there? It’s about bird development.”

“Ah,” was all Luffy said and turned back around. Still, he felt more embarrassed that Zoro knew about taking care of his wings than he did. But, it was rather sweet that he took time to research ways he could help. His wings were feeling much better now as Zoro continued to help preen him and get rid of his pin feathers. After a while, his hands moved up to his shoulders and started massaging them. Okay, this definitely helped the soreness. Luffy’s head instinctively craned back and he gave a pleased noise. His lips curled up in a smile.

He barely noticed his hands slip away and the sound or a bottle uncapping. Luffy looked over his shoulder to see Zoro pouring a bottle of translucent liquid in his hands. He looked up and explained, “This is to help with. Birds naturally have oil they rub on their wings to keep them flexible and waterproof. Chopper specifically made this type of oil just in case.” Luffy gave a nod and turned around, stretching out his wings so his partner could have better access. He could hear the swordsman give an amused huff at the action.

The oil itself had the faint scent of coconut that made him a bit hungry. When a cold hand made contact, he made an involuntary noise with a full body shiver. Zoro ended up laughing at the unexpected reaction and continued to maintain his wings. Through the gaps in between his feathers, he made sure every part was coated in the oil. Once he was done, he grabbed a hand towel and wiped his hands clean. “That should do it. How do they feel?”

Luffy craned his head (and stretched his neck) to look at his wings. They didn’t seem as rumbled as before. His white feathers looked so smooth and clean. With a grin, he chuckled, “They feel really good! They’re not bothering me anymore!” Out of happiness, his wings started involuntarily flapping, sending small droplets of oil everywhere.

Zoro raised a hand to shield his face from the droplets. “Easy with the flapping, captain,” he cautioned. “It was just applied.” Luffy stopped flapping. Zoro’s mouth opened in a yawn as he gathered the towel, cardigan, and bottle of oil. “I’m probably going to bed after I put these away. You can go back to what you were doing before-”

“Wait,” his captain said. The swordsman stopped speaking and looked at Luffy. His body was turned around fully to face him. His cheeks were starting to get a little pink and hands started fidgeting. “Could I…join you?” he asked with a pleading look.

The green-haired swordsman couldn’t say no. With a delighted huff, he accepted, “Of course, Luffy. You’re always free to.” Luffy pumped his fists up with a cheer and wings fluttered. “Careful with your wings again!”

After everything was put away, they both settled down on the futon. Luffy was laying on top of Zoro with his legs kicked up. His head was nestled in between the swordsman’s firm chest. He was glad Zoro felt comfortable with how his chest was, because he liked it too. (And, they were perfectly at eye-level, which was a bonus). One of his hands lazily brushed through the two earrings on the swordsman’s ears, making them have a slightly soothing chime. The rubberman’s gaze looked up at Zoro’s facial features. He wasn’t asleep just yet. He just had his eyes closed. “Hey! Zoro!” he whispered.

Zoro cracked his eye open and whispered back, “What is it, Luffy?”

That’s when the captain suddenly leaned up and delivered a quick kiss to the swordsman’s lips. Pulling back with a grin, he smiled at how surprised he looked. “I love you,” he quickly said.

After a moment, Zoro smiled and grinned back. “I love you, too,” he sincerely replied, leaving in to kiss his giggling captain again and again.