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The look on Luffy’s face when he realized that he’d gone from having EDS to being made of rubber was something Shanks would never forget.
He watched the boy suffer his entire life. The constant and chronic pain, the endless doctor's appointments, the medication that overflowed from every cabinet in the house.
Shanks had watched for years as the pain drained the life from Luffy's eyes day by day. As he slowly lost hope.
Then, he ate the gum-gum fruit.
At first, it didn't sink in. They were all so caught up in the panic of it, and—yes—the anger. Devil fruits are not easy to come by! For Luffy to steal his only one right from under him, he was more than a bit pissed.
It wasn't until his next visit to Makino's bar that he was hit with the realization.
And hit by Luffy.
The second one definitely hurt more.
Shanks got completely bodied by a seven-year-old—going on eight—Luffy. Before he could open his mouth, he saw it.
That spark.
Luffy's eyes—once dull—now shone with the hope he had before his diagnosis. Before, his life was filled with an endless cycle of doctors and pills and pain and—
"I'm stretchy!"
"I know, Luffs," Shanks says as he stands, holding the boy in his arms. "I was there when you ate my fruit—"
"No, Shanks! I'm stretchy!" Luffy insists.
To prove his point, Luffy stretches one of his limbs and lets it snap back into place. He grins brightly at Shanks, silently waiting for him to get it.
When he does, he swings Luffy around until they're both shrieking with joy.
Around him, Shanks hears the rest of his crew coming to the same conclusion. Cheers fill the room, and Beckman calls for a round to celebrate. Makino even sets out a glass of milk for Luffy.
Later that night, they take turns throwing bottles of medication into the ocean.
"Isn't this pollution?" Luffy asks.
"Pirates don't care about pollution," Shanks says.
Beckman pinches his nose and shakes his head. "Quit teaching the kid your idiocy."
Shanks squawks in offense. Luffy laughs next to him. He can't help but smile at that laugh.
For the first time, Luffy truly sounds like the child he is. Without the weight of a chronic illness on his shoulders. He sounds free.
He silently prays that Luffy will always be free.
"Ehlers-what?"
"It's a chronic illness. I used to have it."
Zoro squints at Luffy from his side of their shitty little boat. Luffy honestly isn't sure why he even brought it up. Normal people wouldn't be able to understand.
"Used to? You don't anymore?" Zoro asks.
"My devil fruit..cured it. It was a hypermobility condition," Luffy explains.
"And rubber is already hypermobile."
"Pretty much.."
Zoro stares at him. Luffy stares at the water.
"You don't sound happy," Zoro states bluntly.
"I am! Of course I am. I just..I guess I miss it? That sounds stupid, but, I never imagined my life could be what it is now.."
"Yeah, I get it. When you've lived one way your whole life, it's hard to imagine something else."
"Exactly!" Luffy shouts, "I know I'm so lucky, and anyone would give the world to be me, but all my feelings are so complicated!"
Zoro chuckles as Luffy throws himself to the floor of the boat. They rock on the water slightly.
"Eh, you'll figure it out. Lucky or not, they're your feelings."
Luffy hums, choosing to stare at the stars. If he focuses, he thinks he can hear their twinkling.
It's quiet for a while. Luffy assumes Zoro has fallen asleep again, which he does a lot. It kind of reminds him of Ace sometimes, with how fast it happens sometimes.
Then, Zoro speaks again.
"I really do get it, y'know."
"Get what?" Luffy asks.
He sits up to look at his friend. This time, Zoro isn't looking at him, instead, his eyes are on the water.
"It's called ME, or, really, chronic fatigue syndrome," Zoro says. "It's like..have you ever stayed up multiple days in a row?"
Luffy nods, because of course he has.
"It's being that tired. Just..all the time. And no matter how much sleep you get, it doesn't help."
Luffy nods again, and he waits for the rest. It's never just one thing with chronic illnesses. There's always more.
EDS wasn't just the flexibility or his limbs popping out of socket. It was also the constant bruises, the chronic pain, the dizziness, and—yes—the fatigue.
"I get headaches and body aches a lot. I'm in pain more often than I'm not, and I'm dizzy more often than I'm stable," Zoro explains, "And I-um..it sounds stupid to say I don't think good, but.."
"Brain fog. Makes it hard to think, to remember stuff," Luffy cuts in.
Zoro nods slowly. "Yeah..somedays it's better, and I'm so fucking productive. But other days I can't even get out of bed..I can't even bring myself to move, I'm so tired."
Luffy knows that feeling. Knows what it's like to just lay in bed all day, too exhausted and in too much pain to get up.
"I'll take care of you."
"That's.."
"You'd do the same for me," Luffy says.
He believes it, too. He's known Zoro for three days, and he believes it with all his soul.
"Yeah..I guess."
Luffy pretends not to see the tears in Zoro's eyes. He looks up to the twinkling stars and grins, bright and free, like he was always meant to.