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"Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him"; John 13:5
"Love is a sacrament that should be taken kneeling"; Oscar Wilde
It started at the very beginning, during the first days of their adventure, back at home in the East Blue. It started even before Nami, when all his world changed in the dawn of Luffy's smile.
They were both sleeping head to toe in that little boat Luffy had probably stolen from somewhere, with no space and even less food. Those easy days are Zoro's fondest memories and when he thinks about them, his heart aches. The sun was high, and they were both excited. Zoro usually didn’t get excited, not unless he could sense a good fight was coming, but for some reason Luffy’s mere existence made him feel the adventure approach. They talked a lot, because Zoro was quiet but Luffy was not, and the swordsman found himself telling Luffy things he never had told anyone, ever. Luffy asked, and Zoro answered, and at that time they used to laugh a lot. At night all the stars took meaning in the reflection of Luffy's eyes, and his new captain used to rest his head on Zoro’s chest, falling asleep with no care in the world, completely trusting this swordsman he had just met.
It started because, from the very beginning, Luffy wore flip-flops. He still does, actually. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining or if they are in a desert, because Luffy does not care. He always wears flip-flops, and consequently, he gets his feet dirty. Sometimes it’s blood, someone else’s or his own; other times it's just dirt, but usually, Luffy’s feet are covered in little grains of sand. Different sand from different beaches, different countries, different lands. Zoro remembers each and every one of those islands, and he’s envious of those grains of sand, because he would like, also, to stay right there, at Luffy’s feet for all eternity.
Zoro noticed it, the dirt at his feet. Obviously. Zoro noticed everything. And, for some reason, while they were setting sail after ducking in some random island, Zoro sat Luffy in the bow of their little boat and washed his feet. It had been improvised, Zoro taking off his shirt and plunging it into the sea, while Luffy laughed that laugh of his, looking at the sky and pointing funny shapes in the clouds. However, this quickly became a habit, and with time, Zoro improved the setting. Now, he leaves a chair for Luffy in Sunny’s bathroom, and he takes one of Nami’s soft clothes, warming up clean water and pouring it into a pail. He then adds soap, and that’s usually when Luffy appears, poking his head through the bathroom door. Zoro always, always smiles at him, that smile he has only for his Captain. When Luffy sits down, Zoro kneels before him, and with the same care he shows to his swords, he takes off Luffy’s ridiculous flip-flops. Once the shoes are removed, he swipes the cloth between Luffy's toes like a caress, under his sole and then the arch, seeing how the dirt and the blood disappear in the water, smiling when he sees the sand disappear and finds himself, still, at Luffy’s feet. As always. As it should be. Meanwhile, Luffy sits still watching with intent each and every one of Zoro’s moves, and the swordsman feels his captain’s eyes on him, and his chest hurts because he has never felt so much love. It is so intimate, so soft, that Zoro doesn’t recognize himself. He’s not soft, nor gentle. His love is fierce and strong, and he uses it to protect his crew, to protect his Captain. But during these moments, Zoro’s love becomes gentle, and he kneels before his Captain, adoring him. Devoted.
No one of the straw hats has ever told them anything, not a single comment. Zoro is glad, he wouldn’t know how to explain it, or what to say. As with many things in their strange family, it is what it is. It’s like those moments Nami needs between her trees, like those nights Sanji spends awake in the kitchen. No one needs to know everything, some things just happen, and this is Luffy’s and Zoro’s only. Another strange tradition the two of them share.
And then Sanji disappears and Luffy goes after him, and Zoro can’t go because Luffy needs him with the rest of the crew. So he spends weeks in Trafalgar Law’s submarine, wondering who will clean Luffy’s feet after the battle. He hopes no one does.
Those are difficult weeks. Zoro doesn’t like to be trapped, he likes to feel the wind and the cold and the sea. Underwater, inside of the submarine, the world doesn't look like it did, not anymore. The days go by without a change, and they do not see the sun, or the stars. Zoro finds himself training harder than ever, trying not to think too much about Sanji, about Luffy. He sleeps badly, so he searches Usopp and listens to the stories he tells the Heart Pirates, who watch the sniper with wonder in their eyes, and Zoro knows all of the stories and all of them are bullshit, but in them he can hear the wind and Nami shouting, and Brooks music. When Usopp tells a story, he can hear Luffy’s laugh.
And then they arrive to Wano and suddenly Zoro is alone. He hadn’t been alone in a long time, not since the two years he spent in Kuraigana Island. However, he doesn’t feel the despair he felt then: he’s not actually all alone, his nakama are there, somewhere in Wano. He misses Luffy, he does, but being in Wano feels a lot like home, for some reason. He spends his days drinking sake and wondering between the cherry trees, observing the samurais, resting before the great battle he knows is to come. Nevertheless, he still thinks of his Captain, and of the grains of sand on his feet, where Zoro isn’t, where Zoro should be.
But Luffy returns, as he always does. Chaos breaks out, as it always does, and now Zoro is smiling, he’s whole again.
Sanji is fine. Nami is fine, and Brook, and Chopper. They’re all okay, and Zoro breathes and gets ready to fight. It’s the hardest battle they have fought yet, and Zoro nearly dies a couple of times, as usual. Kaido is strong, and King is strong, and when he sees the Reaper, he really thinks that’s it. Zoro doesn’t believe he’s going to make it, not this time. Faintly, he wonders who will clean his Captain’s feet now.
He wakes up, and he hears Chopper crying (his Chopper, his little genius) and hears Nami and Ussop’s relieved shout, and he sees Franky’s tears, and Sanji’s smile, and Brooks's violin and he knows, he just knows Robin is looking at him with so much love in her eyes, Jimbei by her side. He’s with his family and when he turns Luffy is right behind him, laughing, laughing, laughing. They all go together to have a bath, and Zoro is happy, he really is, but he can’t wait for the others to leave. He wants Luffy all for himself, they have a tradition to keep.
The last one to leave is this strange guy Yamato, and Zoro wonders if he’s coming with them. He knows Luffy likes him. So Yamato leaves, not before commenting off-handed that he should’ve known that Luffy was a God, and Zoro looks at Luffy and Luffy just smiles at him while he kneels.
“What are you doing?” Zoro asks, feeling his Captains' hands as they hold his feet.
“Returning Zoro the favor, of course.”
So he sits while Luffy kneels before him, a smile on his face, cleaning Zoro’s feet.