A/N This was a piece I originally wrote and submitted for the lj community onepieceyaoi100's Seek-N-Find challenge. It turned out decently, but I think I killed the original idea trying to keep it below 300 words. So I went back and did some revamping, and now I present it to you for your enjoyment. One Piece and its characters are © Eiichiro Oda, Shueisha and Toei Animation.

He pushes Chaka back against their headboard, then places kisses on the man's face. First his forehead, then the tip of his nose, then the chin. Follows tendons in the neck that lead him to a broad shoulder, a muscled chest.

He places his lips to white bandages, feels the rumble in the other man's chest before he hears the deep voice ask him if he's healed enough for this. His fingers go to his own bandages before he can stop himself, but there's only a mild ache at the applied pressure. He replies that if they go slow, he'll be ok. Moves to nuzzle skin as he reflects that after all that's happened lately, Chaka deserves tonight.

Muscles tense under his lips, and he realizes that last part was said out loud. He feels dark eyes bore into the top of his head, and curses his tongue. He wonders if he can avoid the subject if he keeps going down Chaka's body, but knows better, because this is Chaka after all. And sure enough, he only reaches the top of the stomach before fingers under his chin force him to look up.

There's a question in those eyes that he really doesn't want to answer, that he doesn't even have the words to form a rational answer to. He places his hand on Chaka's forearm and leans forward to press his lips to the inside of the wrist, smiling a bit as Chaka's hand moves automatically to cup his cheek.

"I'll rephrase," he replies into tan skin. "It's been two months since the last time, and I spent one of them sorta dead. We have earned a little time to ourselves tonight."

They sit there for a moment, studying each other. Then Chaka's finger slide along his jaw line until they tangle in the hair at the back of his neck, and he allows himself to be pulled forward till their lips meet. He knows this is not over, but also that the other man will accept that for tonight this is all the answer he can give.

He cannot explain to Chaka that he can still remember how his mate had looked when he'd came home; several pounds lost to not taking the time to eat properly, eyes shadowed and weary, shoulders tensed under the weight of too much responsibility.

He wouldn't change what he did to stop the bomb, nor does he regret the reasons he did it for, but that doesn't absolve him of the consequences of his actions.

Even if Chaka would never even think to blame him.