Chapter Text
Everything is calm on the Sunny when it happens – the waves are gentle and the crew is lounging around on the deck as it lights up in blue and suddenly there were Zoro was napping is someone else, lying face first on the grass.
“What the hell-”
“What just happened?”
“What happened to Zoro?”
And then the figure groans, pushing off of the grass and everyone freezes.
Because that is still Zoro, only clearly older.
“Why am I back on the ship,” he mumbles and then he takes a good look at the crew.
They all stare at each other.
“Oh that damned Torao,” he groans as he runs a hand down his face. “You guys just left Wano, didn’t you,” he says, noticing the way Jimbei and Yamato stand on the side unsurely.
“We did,” Robin says and Zoro can see the gears turning in her head rapidly.
“5 years then,” he says.
“5 years what,” Usopp echoes from behind Franky.
“You time-travelled,” Robin says, to the others’ shock.
“Like the samurai? Is time-travel really such a common thing?” Nami asks, hands on her head.
“It is slightly different. I think it’s fair to assume he was swapped with our Zoro since he disappeared.”
“Torao’s awakening is such a pain. Man just shambled me through time,” Zoro grumbles.
“Then Zoro went to the future?!” Luffy gapes.
“How do we get him back?” Chopper worries.
Zoro scratches his head. “Eh, I’m sure the guys will figure it out over there.”
Luffy bounds up to him. “You look so strong,” he admires because he can feel the strength and confidence radiating off of him. “Fight me!” he challenges with a grin because of course he does.
An amused smirk appears on Zoro’s face. “You’ll have to be serious, or I’ll send you flying.”
“That’s what I want to hear!” Luffy laughs and then he’s already coating his right hand in haki.
“Wait Luffy hold on–” Nami tries to stop him because the idiot never stops to consider the fact they’re on a ship and then Zoro’s unsheathing Wadō to block it.
Black lightning crackles in the air and a gust pushes them all backwards.
Luffy’s eyes widen at the Conqueror’s haki pushing back against his own and then his face splits in a wild grin as he coats his other hand for another blow.
The lightning crackles towards the heavens and the waves churn around the ship as the crew grabs hold of whatever they can.
And then Luffy’s jumping backwards, skidding on the grass and laughing with that wild look in his eyes. “Zoro can use it too!”
“Would the Pirate King expect anything less?” Zoro asks with his head tilted as he sheathes the white blade, and it makes Luffy giggle.
“That’s great and all, but now look at the sea!” Nami fumes, gesturing to the rough waves crashing against the hull as she tries to fix their course.
“Zoro’s so amazing!” Chopper gushes with stars in his eyes.
“There’s no way that bastard can use it,” Sanji seethes, grinding his cigarette between his teeth.
“Is Zoro ever going to stop getting stronger,” Usopp mumbles with a hint of jealousy.
The waves get gentler as Luffy grins up at his future first mate and Zoro looks back at him softly.
“Well, let’s not just stand here,” Sanji sighs and heads up the stairs to the upper deck. “Let’s get some food."
In the dining room they get a good look at him. Zoro’s signature green hair is longer, slicked back and the lines of his face are rougher. The three earrings still dangle on his ear, matching the golden lining on the black coat he’s wearing over an unbuttoned white shirt.
“So you could tell us about things that are going to happen?” Usopp wonders and Zoro cuts him short.
“I’m not going to say anything,” he says and looks at Luffy. “Right, Captain?”
“Shishishi, yeah, I don’t want to know!”
Robin’s sharp eye catches the glint of gold on his hand as he takes a sip of his drink.
“Oh, you’re married?” she asks casually, as if that wouldn't create havoc.
Usopp spits out his drink, Luffy makes a sound that sounds like ‘gah!’ and Sanji curses as he almost cuts his fingers.
“Say WHAT?!”
“Is it real gold?” Nami asks with a glint in her eyes.
“Hands off,” Zoro shoos her away.
“Who?” Chopper asks with wonder in his eyes. “Who’re you married to?”
“I’m not saying. This is enough of a mess as it is.”
“Don’t tell me–” Usopp says with wide eyes as he points an accusing finger at him. “Hiyori was all over you on Wano.”
Zoro rolls his eye as the cook predictably explodes behind the counter.
“What? Momo’s sister?” Luffy’s voice is displeased and Zoro hides a smile. “Objection!”
“Luffy, you can’t just object to Zoro’s wedding,” Nami chides, used to their captain’s antics. “Besides, it’s already happened, or more like– it hasn’t happened yet,” she confuses herself.
“May I ask who officiated you?” Robin chimes in.
“Uh, Nami did,” Zoro answers without thinking, which he regrets immediately because Robin's smile turns sly.
“That’s interesting because the third in command can only officiate weddings if it is the Captain and First mate who are getting married.”
“Damn you Robin,” Zoro grumbles.
“You don’t mean–” Usopp's jaw hits the tabletop, along with a few others.
“You're married to Luffy?!” they all shriek but Zoro ignores them to look at his captain instead, who stares back at him with an open and surprised face, lips slightly parted.
“But I– Zoro’s never–” Luffy tries to process this new idea.
“It’s just another promise I made to you,” Zoro tells him, and that is a statement with a lot of weight so Luffy breathes,
“Oh.”
Zoro takes off his ring and hands it to him. Luffy takes it with fumbling fingers and turns the golden ring around in his palm to look at the letters and numbers carefully carved on the inside.
“It’s got my name on it,” he says quietly as Nami, Usopp and Sanji lean over his shoulder to look at it curiously.
“Okay, you can keep it,” Luffy decides and hands it back.
Zoro chuckles as he puts the ring back on. “Why, thank you.”
“What do you mean okay,” Usopp says, looking like his world has been turned upside down.
“Well, it just means Zoro’s gonna stay by my side until the end, right?”
It’s a little bit more than that, Usopp wants to say, but Zoro’s face softens.
“That’s the idea, yeah.”
“So we’re going to have a wedding? I can’t wait,” Jimbei laughs.
“I’ve never been to a wedding!” Yamato exclaims enthusiastically.
“Hold your horses, the date is three years from now,” Nami points out.
“I gotta start building those captain’s quarters,” Franky muses, already making plans in his mind.
“Oh,” Luffy says as something crosses his mind. “I guess Hancock’s gonna be pretty pissed.”
The crew looks at him questioningly.
“Oh god don’t remind me about her,” Zoro grumbles with a sour expression on his face.
“Why would she be pissed,” Sanji says with dread.
“Well,” Luffy starts and he actually thinks about his words before speaking. “I kept having to turn her down.”
“She’s into you?” Usopp gapes as the crew stares at him with various expressions of shock and Sanji falls on his hands and knees.
“For real?” Nami says, a little amazed.
“Isn’t that just like our captain,” Robin giggles.
Sanji looks about ready to rip his hair out. “You’re going to choose this marimo–”
“Oi,” Zoro interjects.
“–over the most beautiful woman in the world.”
And Luffy’s brow furrows as he looks at Sanji because of course he would–
“Hey, you’re talking like Zoro here isn’t a catch,” Franky chimes in.
That seems to make Sanji’s brain short-circuit.
Zoro sighs and drops his arm to the side and his shirt slides a little with the movement. Luffy would recognise that red, gnarly skin anywhere.
He stands and Zoro looks at him like he already knows what he is up to.
Luffy opens up his shirt and there it is, burned skin spanning all of the left side of his chest, over his heart. A wound meant not to hurt, but to kill.
“I’m gonna kill him,” Luffy says, his calm voice contrasting with the rage in his eyes and the others gasp and still in the wake of his anger. His other hand moves up to his own chest, the same kind of scar burned into it, and the crew understands immediately.
“I know,” Zoro says evenly, looking up at Luffy’s face.
Luffy’s chest clenches and it’s suddenly hard to breathe because that bastard killed Ace and Luffy trained two years to make sure something like that never happened again, and yet here Zoro was, almost having suffered the same fate at his hands.
And Zoro can see all of that play on his face; he saw it all when the scar happened and he detangles Luffy’s hand from his shirt and brings it to his lips.
“Hey, it’s alright,” he breathes against his knuckles, lips brushing his skin and eye never leaving his captain’s and Luffy’s heartbeat kicks up like in gear five.
Luffy opens his mouth to say something but all he manages to do is gasp for air as his face burns under Zoro’s tender gaze. Zoro had only used that tone of voice with him once before – when Luffy had fought Usopp and Robin was missing and Luffy cried against Zoro’s shoulder in their tiny hotel room – and Luffy could never forget about it.
“Ah, okay,” he mumbles and Zoro bites back a smile as Luffy sits back on his seat, pink cheeks hiding under the brim of his hat.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Franky says as everyone stares at the captain who suddenly got shy.
“You made Luffy blush,” Usopp gapes.
“Yeah you’d think I knew how to,” Zoro says because he is his husband, or will be, or whatever, but it’s a bit more suggestive than he intended because Luffy’s face is positively flaming now.
Suddenly the blue hue of Law’s Room spreads around him. “Torao sure took his sweet time,” he sighs as he stands up. “I guess it’s goodbye then,” he says to the crew.
“Ah– Zoro,” Luffy says and he’s standing next to him unsurely, eyes wide and cheeks red and Zoro smiles because dammit he’s always so adorable.
“Take care,” Zoro says gently, knuckles grazing his cheek and Zoro can only hope the younger him will know what to do with the way Luffy looks at him, and then he’s gone, 21-year old Zoro crashing unconscious on the floor where he was standing.
Chopper’s at his side in a flash, checking for damage and he sighs, relieved, when he finds nothing of concern. Luffy hovers, not sure what to do as Franky carries Zoro over to the couch.
“I’m gonna get some fresh air,” Luffy says and then he’s gone, hat swishing behind him.
“Is Luffy-san going to be okay?” Brook asks worriedly.
The others don’t have an answer to that.
Zoro wakes up not long after that and the crew hovers around him anxiously. Zoro sees his ship and his crewmates and says, “That was one fucking weird dream.”
“Actually, Zoro, that wasn’t a dream,” Robin explains. “You were sent to the future and future you was sent here.”
Zoro stares at her for a short while before groaning and flopping back on the couch. “Gonna have a word with Law next time I see him,” and then he notices the lack of straw hat and flip flops in the room. “Where’s Luffy?”
They all open their mouths, with various excuses in mind certainly, but Robin’s always a quick thinker. “Keeping watch,” she says.
Zoro stares at her for a second before he accepts the answer.
“Zoro, future you was so cool!” Chopper gushes. “You used Conqueror’s haki against Luffy!”
“Did I?” Zoro hums, thinking back to what Kaido said on Onigashima.
“What’s the future like?” Nami asks, unable to help it.
“Kinda weird. But not bad,” he says and it’s the kind of vague answer Luffy would expect from him. “Gonna talk to Luffy.” Zoro notices the way the crew fidgets as he stands and it makes him uneasy.
He finds Luffy outside the dining room, leaning against the railing with a thoughtful look on his face.
“Ah, Zoro, you’re up,” Luffy smiles as Zoro approaches him. “You alright?”
“Yeah, just fine,” he says and then because he hates beating around the bush, he asks, “What’s wrong?”
Luffy turns his gaze back to the lower deck. “Nothing’s wrong.”
Zoro sighs. How many times do they have to do this?
“You know you can’t lie to me, Luffy.”
Luffy glances at him before tilting his hat over his eyes. “Hehe, stupid me,” he laughs sheepishly, but it sounds sad to Zoro.
“Seriously, you’re worrying me.”
And for a moment Luffy’s reminded that this is the exact same Zoro than the one who looked at him so lovingly, only younger.
“Did anything seem different? In the future?”
“Well, everyone had changed, but I landed straight in battle. Didn’t get to talk much,” Zoro says as he observes Luffy’s profile carefully. “Though I guess the most different thing was the way you looked at me.”
And that makes Luffy turn back towards him, something like worry and anticipation swimming in his eyes, but Zoro’s never been a coward. He stares back squarely and maybe that encourages Luffy a little.
“Did I- was I wearing a ring?”
Zoro blinks and thinks for a second. “Oh, I think you were,” he says and Luffy averts his eyes again.
“Was I?” Zoro asks because Luffy’s just too easy to read, and the straw hat captain doesn’t say anything for a minute.
“Yeah,” he breathes at last.
“Is that what’s bothering you?”
Luffy looks back at him. “It’s not bothering me! I just- never thought,” he searches for the right words. “I never realised there could be– more,” he says and makes a swishing motion between them with his hand.
“And you would like that?” Zoro asks, head tilted, just to be sure.
Luffy looks up at him, cheeks pink but a determined frown on his face as he nods.
Zoro’s shoulders lose their tension as he gestures at Luffy. “Then come here.”
And Luffy doesn’t waste one second, crashing into Zoro’s chest as his arms wrap around him.
“You looked at me like I was something precious,” Luffy says quietly into his robe.
Zoro hums. “That’s because you are,” he says and it’s that voice again, the one that makes Luffy feel like a kaleidoscope of butterflies.
Luffy smiles into Zoro’s collarbone.
And time works in mysterious ways, sometimes it ripples and stretches, and things fall back into place, and if he looked, the world’s greatest swordsman would notice the date on his ring moved back by two years.