Even In Death

Luffy sat in his first mate's lap, leaning against his chest while they took a break from the partying. Luffy was waiting for his next serving of meat while Zoro was just finishing his sixth bottle of sake. The room was loud with cheers from fishmen, mermaids and the pirates. The other seven pirates were all eating or resting, so Luffy and Zoro were free to have a quiet conversation without anyone paying much attention.

"I bet Sanji's gonna find out," Luffy said with a small frown. Zoro swallowed his last mouthful of the sake before he tossed it to the side.

"Should'a found out two years ago. But, this is the idiot who couldn't figure out we were gay without seeing us kiss, so who knows," Zoro replied nonchalantly. "Besides, is it really such a bad thing that they know?" he asked softly.

Luffy stiffened. He didn't want the crew to know. He didn't know what they'd think of him if they knew about his problem. "I don't want them to know."

"I know, but I'm sure they'd understand," Zoro said kindly. He rubbed his hand into Luffy's hair softly. "They're your nakama. They waited to meet up for two years for you. And if they don't accept, then they can leave. Plus, Brook died, too. I don't see your skin rotting and turning into a skeleton."

Luffy relaxed into Zoro's caress with a sigh. He knew Zoro was right, but Luffy was just so scared that his friends would be disgusted by him. Or worse, be afraid of him. He had worked so hard to not let anyone but Ace know about his condition.

When he'd started out on his pirate journey, he had desperately wanted a boat with a cabin after Zoro joined, so he wouldn't find out Luffy's secret. But things happened between them in the couple weeks they were alone together on the little dingy and Luffy trusted Zoro enough to tell him. You would tell the person you love that you died every month.

Plus, Zoro would have found out anyways, and it was better for him to be prepared, right? Not just see his new lover and captain drop dead on deck for a couple hours.

Once they had gotten the Merry and had two other crew members, Luffy and Zoro would go to the cannon room below deck and wait out the night in there. That way, none of the other pirates could see Luffy die and reanimate.

It was nicer when they got the Sunny so they just holed up in the crowsnest together and lock the hatch, saying they were taking watch while the others probably thought they were having sex up there and didn't want to risk seeing something they didn't want to see.

"Still... I don't want them to think I'm a zombie or something," Luffy said quietly after being handed another piece of meat, and Zoro was given the seventh bottle of alcohol. Zoro chuckled.

"If you were a zombie, I'm pretty sure you would have eaten me by now."

"I don't like raw meat. Maybe that's why. I'll just have Sanji set you on fire and then we'll see," Luffy joked in a serious voice. Zoro took it in stride and casually said, "I didn't think you were into kinky stuff."

Luffy's face turned red and he smacked Zoro's leg next to him since that was the only place he could reach.

Zoro chuckled. "You asked for it." And he took another long swig of booze. "So, we're leaving soon, right?" he asked quietly. "You said it's happening tonight." Luffy nodded. "What was it like with Reighley? How'd he react?" Zoro, Reighley and Luffy's brother were the only ones who knew about Luffy's problem. And they'd all supported him and been with him those nights.

"He was really nice about it. He kinda freaked out the first time and tried to resuscitate me. I felt bad about forgetting to tell him since I was so tired from that day's training. He didn't think I was scary or anything, he actually thought it was interesting. Then I spent the last sixth months by myself. It was a good thing I'd tamed the animals so they didn't eat me while I was dead." He gave a smile thinking about Reighley. He was a good person.