His Fault | Monster Trio

26

"They didn't escape in the end, I made them leave." Luffy admitted, standing up from the ground, wiping his lips.

Looking down at his hand, he made a tight fist and perched his head upwards to stare at his first mate.

"Did you see what their ship looked like?" The Captain asked, keeping his fist closed.

"Yeah, the Cook and I both saw it." Zoro confirmed.

"It looked just like a Marine ship, but completely vandalized by weird claw symbols."

"Claws?" Luffy gulped, tightening his jaw.

"Yeah. I think that's what I saw, at least... Just like the streaks on your back."

Zoro gave the younger man a concerning look, crossing his arms.

Luffy looked over his shoulder, turning his view away from Zoro for a moment.

Before their silence grew awkward, a sound coming from within their bedroom startled both of the young men.

Peaking their heads through the window, the Captain and his Swordsman lowered their guard when seeing Nami invading their bathroom with a basket full of clothing.

"Oh, it's just her. She did mention something about doing laundry a few minutes ago."

Zoro whispered, keeping a hand against Luffy's head, caressing his hair.

Feeling the palm of his hand being combed through his dark locks of straight hair, Luffy allowed himself to be indulged by the tender moment that was unraveling in between him and his lover.

His hand remained still, yet the power his touch had against the younger man's body was almost magical.

"Sorry... Just for a little bit."

He leaned closer towards the older man, catching him off guard with a soft hug, one that barely touched his body, but all at once, felt eternal.

The Swordsman took the unexpected embrace he earned from his Captain as his way of expressing how relieved he was that the tension he had been under, was finally over.

This was a special moment for the couple.

No wars, no worries on what Island they would find ahead of the vast sea their ship sailed freely across, and no thoughts on ever encountering another predator on the Sunny.

At night, Zoro's shadow is the only figure that is cast by the moonlight whenever the sea is free of the grayish midnight mists that invade the ocean's silent ambience.

Unbeknownst to Luffy, the Swordsman has been sitting by his doorway to sleep there at night, to make sure that no one enters his bedroom.

And even without knowing about his act of kindness, Luffy could feel a presence keeping him safe whenever he falls asleep now, never knowing it was his very own first mate.

In addition to guarding the door, Franky also sealed up the windows after Luffy told him a white lie, insisting that the wind in his room was "keeping him from sleeping at night,".

Eerily enough, after Franky boarded up the Captain's windows, the coldness he lied about feeling before, was now seeping through his bones every time he tried to sleep.

The memory of seeing Kiri sneaking into his window wouldn't fade from his complex mind.

His memories would remain disturbed by one trauma after the other.

Because just when he thought that everything was over, he was forced to relive the same scene, leaving him with twice as much pain as before.

"Whew! Oh god, what's dying in here?!" Turning his head over to Nami, Luffy could see her bringing a bag up to her face, tempted to untie it.

"NAMI, WAIT!" He shouted, extending his arm out to try and take the item away from Nami.

Before he could reach the girl, he saw Zoro bolt into the bedroom, bumping into Sanji who ran right past him.

"Nami San! Chopper discovered how to make crystals while working in the lab! He-" Nami's eyes lit up with a set of dollar signs beaming through her pupils.

"I'll handle that later, thanks, Sanji Kun!!" She squealed as she took off immediately.

Sanji lowered his head, sighing.

"Don't think I plan on thanking you or anything like that." The Swordsman raised his eyebrow at the suited male who was lighting a cigarette in between his teeth.

"The best reward someone like you could give me is your very silence." Sanji divulged with his frenemy.

"I never did this with the intention of being thanked either, who said I needed the appreciation?" The man ended his sentence with a cold-blooded tone of voice, walking away.

As his steps were nearing the exit more and more each time, Luffy's conscious couldn't bare to silence itself any longer.

Zoro froze, standing a few feet away from the younger, watching as he gripped tightly onto Sanji's hand, turning him over.

"Thank you... Sanji." He overheard the boy say, standing closely in front of the lighter haired man who was adjusting his necktie.

Before Luffy's hand fell limp again after releasing Sanji's shirt, Sanji held onto it and stared directly into his Captain's eyes.

When he brought his lips closely towards Luffy's ear, the brunette man's breathing hitched.

"Did you show it to him?"

His eyes landed on Zoro who was looking over at him and Sanji, observing their every move.

"No." Sanji gave Luffy a look of disappointment shortly afterwards, gently turning over his hand.

The power in Luffy's tight fist started to weaken as he gave in to Sanji's soft hand, allowing him to see what he already knew was hidden within the boy's hand.

Buried into the palm of his hand was a large cut that was unevenly sewn with stitches that were overlapping a tiny gadget hidden underneath the wound.

"We'll have to try it again tonight."

"Don't say it too loud..."

"Zoro won't hear us, he's still standing over there."

"Maybe he won't, but they will." Luffy warned, looking down at the gadget lodged inside of his skin.

By the time a red light started to blink persistently right where the item was, Sanji understood the meaning behind Luffy's words.

"They can hear us!?"

"They can see us too... It's over, Sanji."

~~~