#opla dance series

[fanaticsnail]

Sway - Part 2

Part 2 to the Dance Series. Truthfully, I didn't think this was honestly where the plot was going to take me; yet here we are!

Word count: 6,158 (barely proofred)

Part 1 here, Masterlist here

(Thank you @sordidmusings for brainstorming with me and helping me with formatting. You're a gem and I adore you)

A melodical laugh escaped your lips as the blue-haired Captain of the Buggy-Pirates spun you one last time in the master ring of the large red and white tent. After applauding the minstrels, both of you once again turned to each other, you lacing your arms around his neck and him placing his hands on your hips in response. All smiles, playful and flirtatious held to the lips of both you and Buggy the Clown as you embraced.

Bringing his face towards you, he stooped into you; resting his head against your neck. His chin placed itself on your clavicle before he sighed in contentment, placing then his forehead against your shoulder as you held him against you. You smiled into him, resting your cheek atop his red and white bandana and smoothing your hands over his neck as he raked his hands upwards to circle around your back to embrace you closer against him with both of your eyes closed.

You were the only two people existing in this world you created within the arms of one another to the sway of the music. That was, until, you reopened your eyes; holding them half-lidded as they met with the intense amber eyes of the guest of your captain. You quirked your head at him, furrowing your brows as you witnessed him rise to his feet and beginning his descent from the wooden bleachers to the circular space of the ring where you and your crew engaged in dance amongst each other.

You felt another sigh flee from the lips of the man you were currently embracing, drawing your fleeting attention back onto him as he released you from his tight embrace to meet his eyes with your own. He gazed with his oceanic teal eyes at you, bright and playful attitude with contentment and adoration displayed within his irises.

“Thank you for the dance, beautiful,” he sighed in appreciation, pressing his forehead against your own while fleeing his gaze to your lips before flittering them back up just as hastily; “make sure you keep them all on their toes, I want to watch you dance.”

“Aye, sir,” you smirked at him in a low tone, nudging your chin upwards to break his forehead from its proximity to yours with a playful smirk and arch of your brow.

“Oh-,” Buggy growled slightly under his breath, reaching his white gloved right hand to capture your chin within a firm grip; a playful twinkle taking residency within his eyes, “-you are killing me tonight, sweetheart.”

“I aim to please, Captain,” you jested in return, a small wink shot to him from your left eye as you fled from your proximity to him, remaining only joined by your right hand holding his left. He held your hand in his grasp, stooping to a low bow while placing his brow atop your knuckles in humble appreciation of your attention.

After relinquishing his hold on your hand and turning from you to retrieve an ale, you cradled your right hand with your left and smoothed over the tingling flesh in an attempt to sooth the giddy feeling rising in your chest. You shook your head slightly, dropping your left hand from its clutch while remaining your right elevated as you spun on your toes to a new melody erupting from the minstrels.

Your right wrist was caught to halt your spin by the mysterious guest your Captain had visiting with him, the firm grip pulling you into his chest.

“Allow me to cut in for the next one,” his voice purred to you, the tone he used posing as more of a statement rather than a question. You arched your brow in response, brandishing your arm in a swift rotation to break your right wrist from within his firm grip and circling it around before raising your palm to fall adjacent to your face. You crouched your legs, swaying your hips to the new beat as you prowled your steps to circle the hatted gentleman.

“Ask me properly,” you stated, nudging your chin to the air and quirking your brow at him as a playful taunt, “and I may allow myself to be swayed.”

He arched his brow to you, his hawk-like gaze baring into your flesh at the taunt. He took a moment to himself, deliberating on his next move before he extended his left leg behind himself and bringing his arms out to the side in an elegant and regal bow. Completely taken aback, you placed your right hand against your heart as you witnessed him rise again to his feet and extend his left hand out towards you with his head bowed.

“Will you allow me to sway you?” he asked with a smirk, an air of arrogant confidence falling from him in waves. Your eyes widened at his comment, completely taken aback now by his words. His smirk widened at your fluster, prompting him to take another step toward you to close the distance between you.

You trailed your eyes over his body, trailing from his stance to his thighs before raking them over his torso peeking through his open, leather great-coat. “Sword-master,” your thoughts informed you. He had the stance of a swordsman; from the confident aura, to the muscular and athletic build of his body down to the way he held you fixed within his concentrated gaze.

Rolling your neck to relieve the tension, you rotated both of your shoulders before narrowing your eyes at him and taking his outstretched left hand within your right. He immediately twirled you twice to test the way you felt within his experienced arms, an action to which you executed elegantly. You placed your left hand against his shoulder, your index and smallest finger remaining within the air as you allowed him to equip himself with you.

The first thing you noticed as you fell into his firm proximity was not only the intensity of his gaze and firm hold on your body; but the way the aura of confidence was tangible with the scent that rolled from him.

From his meticulously maintained facial hair, and the way his clothes clutched purposefully against his body to remain intentional and deliberate with every swift action; it was no wonder in your mind that he kept a steady hygiene routine. The radiant scent that fell to you in waves was a mixture of an oceanic salted sea spray, subtle hints of saffron and white peach with undertones of dried tobacco and sandalwood accompanying him. The breath falling from his lips harmonised with the scent, dark plum and cherry with a mixture of peppercorn; the familiar aroma of expensive red wine you were scarcely accustomed to.

His scent was welcome to you, as you were much commonly accustomed to the stale smells of partially dried clothes, salt from the ocean air, and musk from sweat from hours of vigorous physical training to maintain in peak performance state being the scent amongst the crew. You fluttered your eyes closed as you allowed yourself to fall victim to the man currently brandishing you within his arms, inhaling his confidence. Offering thanks to your prior self for your earlier routine of showering and reapplying oils and perfumes to yourself once you changed from your acrobatic uniform before exiting the green room, you reopened your eyes as this man held you within his arms.

“You’re well versed in many dance styles?” he asked with a quirk of his brow as he swept the room with you held firmly within his arms. You broke from your thoughts and side stepped at his confident direction.

“I am, my lord-?” you trailed off in question, as the gentleman currently wielding you was yet to properly introduce himself to you.

“I’m known by many names, my lady,” he smirked, bringing his face in closer proximity to yours; your foreheads almost meeting beneath his feathered broad-hat. He held your gaze as he bore down against you, prompting your body to bend in an outward arched extension as he dipped you low; bringing your back upwards in a quick snap, stealing the breath from your body in shock and exertion before he again whispered to you; “you may call me Mihawk in leu of ‘my lord’, should you so desire.”

You felt your jaw become slightly slack at his deliberate flirtation, feeling a similar heat pooling within your chest and rising upwards to flood your cheeks. In the regular dance nights you held with the Buggy-Pirates; you had managed to respond back onto your dance partners the similar display of their movements as a mirror would to a reflection. The dominant aura falling from the sword wielder was completely foreign to you, especially in consideration regarding your immediate former dance partner: Buggy, your captain and ring master.

Although the blue-haired jester be the captain and leader of the great outcast crew, you found his actions very apprehensive and completely unintentional in direction: catering truly to the mood and manner of his troop while holding himself within the spotlight, centre stage. Dancing reactionary with Buggy came easy to you as you felt yourself lead more under his hesitant ministrations to build his confidence up with your body. Flirtation and playfulness is how you would describe such actions; many a brisk touch of reassurance to him as to indicate all was well and absolutely reciprocated.

This man was something alien to you, his aura something you had not encountered for a long while; and you found yourself relishing within it. He swooped his hand around your neck, prompting you to roll and dive your hair beneath his touch as he turned your body away from facing him to gaze outwards. He clasped his hands around your hips and waist, hoisting you close to himself, flush with your back pressed against his torso. You felt his breath on your neck as you rose your arms upwards to rake your fingertips over your forearm before maneuvering them around his broad-hat to fall against his neck.

He held his right hand against your waist, prompting you to lay your own atop it while trailing your left hand over his jaw slowly and circling it outwards for him to take within his own. Extending your right leg in a swift kick outwards, you found him twirling you in his arms; releasing you from his grip to spin you against him. Reaching forward with his left hand, you allowed him to hoist your right thigh to hook around his hips, pressing his forehead against your own and holding firm his gaze into your eyes.

“You are-,” he breathed, floating his gaze down to your lips as he subtly clenched his jaw, “-spectacular.”

He dipped you again, falling his gaze to your chest as he slowly rose you back upwards. You unhooked your leg from his hips and turned with him, completely succumbed to his every step and attuning your body to his every whisper of movement. You found your eyes closing, listening truly to the music resonating throughout the large tent and to the prompts he displayed to you with his body.

“And you are-,” you smirked at him before you twirled away from his break, prompting him to almost stumble at your movements, “-overly confident.”

Mihawk inhaled a deep breath through his nose as he felt the indication of a subtle mischievous chase befalling from your movements, revelling in the challenge you posed to him. He found a small smirk breaking through his lips as he prowled towards you, bringing your body back to him with a swift motion of his left hand, holding you once again within his arms.

“It is in my nature, darling,” he purred against you, bringing his lips closer to the right side of your jaw. You found yourself giggling at his action, his facial hair tickling against the sensitive skin of your neck and jaw. You brought your left hand up to hold firmly against the scruff of his neck, your lips a whisper away from colliding within the seductive and confident dance but holding firmly away; bodies spinning together while joining foreheads once more.

“When I’m in your arms, I’m yours: your dance partner, your woman. You have my complete and undivided attention always, sir. I’m yours.”

Your words echoed within the mind of Buggy the clown, who’s face was becoming increasingly more beat red beneath his grease-paint the longer you remained clutched within the arms of Dracule Mihawk. His jaw began to ache with how tightly he clasped his teeth shut against themselves. His gloved fists became balled as he sat atop his throne, witnessing how truly fluid and natural your bodies fell within the arms of one another.

He found himself melting as he heard your melodic giggle fall from your lips in reaction to something the warlord had said to you. Although it pained him to watch you engage in flirtation with another man, particularly Mihawk of all of the choices available to you, he couldn’t bring himself to tear his sights away from you both.

His eyes widened and his brows upturned as a rotation of inadequacy befell his mind, invasive and intrusive thoughts of self-doubt falling over him in crashing waves. He chose to do nothing as Mihawk dipped his beloved and favoured acrobat low; clutching her thigh within his firm grip and falling his face to almost initiate contact to the diaphragm beneath her breasts. Her hands fell to lace within his dark locks, raking slowly at the curls beneath his broad-hat.

Yet, he again; chose to do absolutely nothing but sit and almost sulk atop his wooden throne.

It was like he was witnessing the destruction of his favourite pub; burning under the radiance of a raging fire and having the vast quantity of sea water to smother the flame: yet choosing to watch the blaze, becoming bewitched by its beauty. The way Mihawk had absolute control over the engagement, flourishing her as he would a blade; wielding her with expert precision and control: Buggy simply couldn’t get enough of watching the both of you engage in the dance.

He ordered you to dance, expressing his desire to be entertained by witnessing you within the spotlight and in the arms of his crew. He got what he had wanted, so why is he feeling so upset about it? The way Mihawk stalked you, followed by the way you deliberately retreated confidentially away from him only to fall yourself into his outstretched arms once more had a hold over Buggy’s very breath. He didn’t know how to feel, being a rival of Mihawk in a romantic exchange was not something he foresaw himself engaging in; especially as he had yet to pursue a relationship with you romantically.

You had always sought him out to engage with him, reciprocating his physical ministrations and encouraging him with a gentle touch or a caress against his skin. Seeing the way you engaged and thrived within the arms of another, particularly one with as much confidence as Dracule Mihawk, had his throat closing with a foreign restlessness. Should he be experiencing such a huge feeling of jealousy? Why was he happy at the same time?

Almost sensing an air of uneasiness, you stepped your feet backwards to release yourself from Mihawk’s embrace once more; twirling gracefully to face away from him and gaze into the stand.  Mihawk stepped closer to you, prompting you to retreat in equal strides away from him, only to feel his grip on your waist, pulling your neck to recline against his shoulder to gaze into your eyes. You noted in your peripheral vision where the uneasiness was falling from, your captain nearly on the edge of his seat as he held his gaze firmly attached to you.

“I feel I must draw our dance to a close,” you uttered to him, spinning within his arms with your hands raised above your head to give your dance partner complete control over your rotation.

“And why may that be?” he voiced his concern in a voice above a purred growl. He zeroed in his gaze to follow your own; landing on the silhouette of the flashy-fool himself as his leg began to twitch and bob in what you assumed to be agitation.

 “Oh, I see,” he purred against your jaw, prompting your eyes to flitter closed in response, “you harbour affection for your captain.”

Your breath hitched in your throat, prompting you to draw yourself away from the arms of Mihawk; him reaching down and instinctively clasping your hands within his own and lacing your arms around yourself in a criss-cross motion.

“He is my captain,” you muttered your confirmation through clenched teeth, “and I am his acrobat-.”

“-His favourite acrobat,” Mihawk chuckled his corrective taunt against you, spinning you again to face him in his arms again, “and I-,” he twirled you once more around in his arms before drawing you to press flush against his torso; “ –am simply entranced by you.”

The music halted as the minstrels concluded their serenade, bringing the dance to a complete stop as applause rang throughout the red and white tent of the circus. Mihawk raked his hands over the mid of your back and moulded your flesh beneath it. Your eyes widened at the intensity of his embrace, finding yourself slowly sparking an inkling of minor infatuation. His aura was so clearly dominant, the way he held you against himself completely deliberate and intentional.

He released you from his grip, stepping backwards with a confident smirk adorning his lips. Cheers and applause did not sway your wide eyes from the hawk-like gaze of the swordsman in front of you, despite the uproar in praise to the minstrels. You could not help the way you felt, relishing in his adoration of you; a complete stranger to you completely bewitched by your movements as he swayed you within his arms.

You looked past the hatted warlord to see your acrobatic partner returning from the sidelines, his hand capturing the songstress in a gentle touch with red lipstick littering his face; the same hue smudged against the lips of his new lover. You scrunched your nose up as a wide smile came over your face. As Mihawk no longer held your gaze, he drifted his sights over towards the blue-haired captain; who’s eyes were demonstrating absolute rage, uneasiness and something Mihawk couldn’t quite process. Joy? Could it be subtle and empathetic happiness? Surely not.

You returned your sights to the man you shared a dance with and bowed lowly as you addressed him, “thank you for the dance, my lord Mihawk.”

Rising again from your stoop, you reached both of your hands forward, confidently clasping his left hand within your fingertips. You brought his knuckles to your lips, grazing them lightly against your mouth with a small smile. The warlord’s yellow eyes widened at your unbridled affection directed to him, turning his gaze from you to then look at the smirking face of the painted clown-captain; arching a blue eyebrow upwards at the gesture you presented to him.

You released his knuckles from beneath your lips and hung your hands low in front of you, continuing to cradle his hand within your own.

“This is where I take my leave,” you smiled at him, releasing him from your hands with a polite nod; again making eye contact with Jac, your acrobatic base. Jac’s eyes seemed partially glazed over, a love-struck expression held onto his lips and eyes as he walked in toe with his new lover coyly glancing to the minstrels she performed with earlier.

Mihawk was left standing partially dumbfounded as you whisked your body past his, his mind attempting to process your affectionate action as his eyes found again the teal gaze of the man that prompted his initial visit in the first place; who was simply cackling at him with his head tossed back.

In a few quick strides, the great warlord was within proximity of Buggy the clown who’s laughter had teetered off into a small chuckle.

“What entertains you, clown?” Mihawk arched his eyebrow, speaking with a bored tone with a small hint of agitation.

Buggy rose from his throne to gaze at the dancers as they began to commence with another round to the music; his prized acrobat now wrapping her arms around her partner and swaying with him.

“Oh, nothin’,” Buggy shrugged with a smirk, walking over to the bar area of the circus tent with Mihawk in tow, “you just now get to see why she’s my favourite, is all.”

Buggy grasped the handle of a tankard and poured some amber fizzed liquid into it, foam bubbling at the top as it rose upwards in the vessel. Once he filled it, he turned to lean against the bar on his elbows so he could watch his troop continue to spin with each other.

“She’s-,” Mihawk halted his words as he watched you reach up your thumb and swipe the digit over the lips of your acrobatic partner to remove the red tint from it playfully; “-enchanting.”

“Isn’t she though,” Buggy confirmed with a sigh, tilting his head to the sword master before trailing his eyes back to the ring; raising the tankard to his lips and taking a long gulp of the cool liquid. Mihawk reached behind the bar, continuing to hold his gaze firmly on the acrobats dancing in the arms of one another as he flittered his hand downwards to clasp the neck of an undescriptive glass bottle.

He brought the bottle to the front of his torso, breaking the small blade wrapped around his neck away from its leather strap and in a swift motion; utilised the dagger as a sabre to rid the neck of the bottle from its cork. He didn’t bother with a glass this time, his foreign nerves almost giving him away as he brought the glass tip to his lips and took a swig from the bottle; immediately disgusted by the awful sour flavour.

“What kind of wine do you call this?” Mihawk growled in revulsion, turning his sights back to the clown.

“Uh-,” Buggy tore his eyes away from the acrobats, looking down at the dark bottle within the hands of the intimidating warlord, “-the red kind, I think?”

Buggy urged his body closer to the man beside him and tilted his head at the bottle before howling a large and unbridled laugh at the warlord; “balsamic vinegar-” he wheezed; “-it’s balsamic vinegar.”

Mihawk downturned his lips, gritting his teeth in disgust at not only drinking directly from a bottle; but now burdened by the fact that he had openly invited ridicule from the blue-haired captain beside him for unintendedly drinking salad dressing as a balm for his nerves.

The cackle from the clown died down into a soft teeter, following a swift chug from the tankard to relinquish the substance from the vessel and pool to the belly of the genius jester.

“Alright, big boy,” Buggy said, clapping his hand on the shoulder of the intimidating sword master at his side, “let’s get you something you can actually drink. Save that for the salads and cooking onions.”

Buggy casually leapt over the bar and crouched down to retrieve a bottle of red wine, clicking the screw cap and expertly pouring the liquid quickly into a steel goblet. Mihawk rolled his eyes at the enthusiasm and nickname, disinterestedly reaching out to clasp the goblet within his outstretched hands. Buggy smirked, placing the vessel within Mihawk’s grip and turning his sights back to the acrobats as they spun together, hips joining before the base tossed you within the air and catching you effortlessly.

Mihawk took a sip from the goblet, grimacing as he did so and placing it back atop the bar.

“I preferred the vinegar,” he snarled, turning his gaze at the corner of his eyes as he witnessed another member of the crew hold his arms out as if to motion for an embrace from the woman occupying his thoughts. Buggy cackled at the comment, reaching for two shot glasses and pouring from a half-drunk rum bottle to fill them to the brim. He coughed, alerting Mihawk to the new offering; a gesture to which Mihawk readily engaged with. The gentlemen raised their glasses, chinking the rims together.

They both watched as you turned back to your base, swaying your hips towards him as he gestured for you to run into the arms of the other man. The steady movement of the rhythm and melody fleeting from the stage of minstrels had your movements and motions reflected as slow and deliberate.

You smirked at Jac, your base, before turning towards Cabaji; hearing the approaching footsteps of your partner behind you as you fled yourself into the approaching man’s arms. You felt the two firm hands of your acrobatic partner hoisting your hips backwards towards his body while joining your hands with Cabaji; following the direction of your two partners with poise and ease.

Cabaji circled his arms around you, spinning you while side stepping away to ensure Jac had an opening to steal you from his grasp. Reaching down to grasp your wrist, you turned your neck to relinquish the hands of Cabaji from your body as you allowed Jac to twirl you into himself.

The other dancers parted from your movements, opting to witness your fluidity and cheering at each time the two men managed to successfully steal you from the arms of one another. While the acrobat was able to direct you and you actively listened and engaged with his confidence, the way you managed to balance Cabaji’s reluctance and hesitancy was an artform in and of itself.

Buggy’s Adams-apple bobbed as he swallowed the collected saliva within his throat, his mouth remaining dried at the same time as he watched you. Mihawk’s jaw clenched once more, placing the small shot glass back onto the counter; wordlessly gesturing for the painted captain to refill it.

Not a word was spoken between them as they poured shot after shot of the amber liquid, drinking the spiced rum and wincing a little at the burn as it ventured down their throats; completely enchanted by your movements within the arms of the two men.

You sat yourself atop the open knee of Cabaji as he knelt himself to the ground, bringing your lips close enough to flirtatiously almost brush with the knife wielder with your hand caressing his cheek; reaching an outstretched hand to wordlessly beckon your acrobatic partner to steal you from his arms with a curl of your finger.

“Fuck-,” Buggy sighed with his mouth falling slack.

‘-Damn it,” Mihawk cursed under his breath.

Jac clasped your wrist within his fingertips, twirling you away from the blade thrower with ease; towering over you as he did so. The three of you were all smiles, laughter and joyous within your flirtatious interaction.

Buggy and Mihawk continued to brood in complete silence as they witnessed how you balanced and matched the energies of your two completely different partners, both competing for your attention and you managing to effortlessly provide it to each of them with ease.

Cabaji clutched his hands around your waist, prompting you to raise your arms as he spun you into the awaiting arms of Jac, who grasped your hands in response. Cabaji relinquished his hold on your waist, trailing his right arm up to graze across your left arm and clutched your wrist; Jac spinning you around to face away from him while remaining joined at your right hand. Almost wordlessly, the two men began to explore not only dancing with their lady, but maneuvering their bodies to dance with each other in an act of pull and push as neither acted in more dominance than the other.

You arched your back and whipped your hands away from their gasp, dancing to the side of the arena and watching the two men interact and spin with each other before you rejoined them in their movements. The taller acrobatic partner clutched the waist of the knife thrower as he held your wrist and hand within his; all laughs toppling from the three dancers and the crew around cheering them on. Mihawk narrowed his eyes, deep in thought. Buggy again cleared his throat, this time to actively clear it; not to alert Mihawk of any intention.

As the music concluded, the three of you spun one last time in the arms of each other before falling into a warm embrace between the three of you. The knife thrower spun you within his arms before the acrobat reclaimed you and hoisted you into the air. Applause and cheers fell to the air as a compliment to the minstrels and three dancers, to which all involved bowed in response.

You turned from the arms of Jac as he waltzed back over to his new muse, her warm smile and laugh falling from her lips as he approached her.

“You dance well, Cabaji,” you offered in compliment to the man who just wielded you in dance.

“Thank you,” he uttered with a nod of his head, “I couldn’t resist the offer of a trio, especially considering Jac mentioned it earlier on.”

“He actually suggested it to me, too!” you smiled while nodding your head, “honestly, I can’t resist a challenge like that.”

“Agreed,” Cabaji smirked. He bowed again to you in thanks for the dance, leaving you alone in the circular ring of the big top.

“I need a drink,” you sighed to yourself, dancing in an isolated twirl before making eye contact with your captain and his broody visitor. You shot the blue-haired captain a wink before raising a warm smile to your lips and tilting your head; wordlessly asking him if he approved of your dance.

“I’m in love,” Buggy whispered, shaking his head as he unintentionally admitted his feelings to not only himself but to the hatted man in front of him.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Mihawk uttered with an arch of his brow, prompting the blue-haired captain to furrow his brows in a frown and hoist himself up to sit atop the bar.

You watched the interaction between the two of them curiously, witnessing the plotting and scheming going on behind the teal eyes of your captain as he communicated in a low tone with his guest. Apprehensively, you continued your approach towards the bar; your eyes wide and innocent, praying you weren’t interrupting an important meeting between them.

“Permission to approach the bar, captain?” you smiled at Buggy as he jumped back down behind the bar.

“Absolutely granted, sweetheart,” he said as he eagerly gathered a pitcher for you to drink from.

You smiled at your captain as he gathered ingredients to pool together a drink for you, gazing at you lovingly before flittering his teal eyes towards his hatted guest. Mihawk leant his crossed elbows against the bar and hunched over his shoulders, tilting his head down to shield his yellow eyes from sight.

Buggy watched as you shifted your attention to the broody warlord next to you, furrowing your brows at him curiously. As you began to raise your left hand to grasp the shoulder of the man next to you, you halted your movement and looked to the painted face of your captain.

As a relationship was not established between the two of you prior, you felt no need to search his gaze for permission to touch his guest; but chose to do so regardless. As you met back with the eyes of your captain, his eyes softened to you as he gasped out a breathy whimper between his lips; reluctantly lowering his head in a slight bow, lightly nodding his apprehensive approval in tow. You tilted your head at his reaction before continuing to bring your hand down atop the shoulder of the shrouded gentleman beside you, him tensing immediately under your gentle touch.

Feeling his tension, you made to release him from your grip; only to find him turning to face you and clasping his wrist around your hand to bring your palm to his lips and caress them with his mouth while maintaining heavy eye contact from his unblinking yellow eyes. Your breath hitched in your throat as you made to tear your eyes away from the enchanting hold Mihawk held you in to look towards your captain, but finding yourself unable to do so by the way he was looking at you with complete undivided intensity.

You felt a shift in front of you, the fingertips of your right hand now being clasped by your captain as he reached forward from the bar and grazed your knuckles with his red-painted lips.

“O-oh-,” you gasped in shock, flittering your wide gaze between the two men currently openly sharing affection with you; taken aback and completely by surprise at their actions.

The smirk of an overly confident Dracule Mihawk, followed by an almost pleading and doe-eyed expression from your captain was more than you had bargained for when approaching the bar to quench your thirst after vigorous dancing.

“What are you-?” you began, only to have your words halted by the warlord in front of you.

“-Your dancing with your two crewmen inspired us, little muse,” he began, dropping your hand from his firm grip to rest both of his hands against your hips and draw your body to be placed flush against his open torso. The radiant heat from his exposed flesh once again warmed your body, his scent again overcoming you as he circled his bearded chin to hold your firm to his gaze.

“I don’t understand-,” you began, now completely disregarded by your captain.

“-yes you absolutely do, Sweetheart,” your Captain informed you, now hopping to crouch himself atop the bar once more; completely halting your drink preparation to instead bring his white-gloved hand to capture chin within his thumb and four fingers.

Your half-lidded eyes gazed up to meet the blue-green hues of your painted captain who was looking cautiously down at you, lowering his head to apprehensively gaze at you through his long, blue eyelashes. Again, a small lump began to form in your throat at the sudden intensity being demonstrated by these two men.

Before this night; you had no idea your captain harboured such strong feelings other than friendship with you, and the other man you had only come to meet over this past evening.

“I’m not sure what you want me to say, sir,” your lips trembled in response, becoming slightly overwhelmed by the attention drawn to you. Attention from engagement with your craft was one thing, you relishing under the praise and attention of your captain and ringmaster alone as you trained your body hard for his amusement. To have this attention on you for simply being yourself was a feeling completely foreign to you.

“Say yes, darling,” the feeling of warm breath against your neck, the whisper being spoken against your sensitive flesh below your earlobe from the bearded individual holding you firmly against him. Your eyes fell shut under the feeling against your skin while your chin remained supported by your captain, a small gasp escaping from between your lips.

“Yes to what?” you asked, feeling a tingle of approaching flesh against your lips as your captain bore his lips down towards your own.

“You can balance us both,” Buggy’s lips spoke against your own, completely overtaking your mind with his words. You furrowed your brows, eyes remaining fluttered closed as you processed the direction from your captain, him again uttering a whisper away from contact with your lips; “please say you can.”

Your mind became dizzy in its overwhelmed state, the feeling of both of the men’s attention holding firm against you completely encumbering your body. As if sensing your uneasiness, the broad-hat wearing, yellow eyed individual held up his hand to halt your captain’s advance; displaying absolute control over the situation with his actions.

“If it’s too much, dearest, say the word and we will stop,” he murmured, stepping away from you and continuing his firm hold against your painted captain.

Taking a moment to collect yourself, you looked between the two men before glancing to the bar and viewing the fruit-forward cocktail meticulously prepared by your captain. You reached towards the vessel, clasping it in your dominant hand and bringing it towards your lips. Inhaling the sweet scent, you tossed back the liquid and downed the entire contents; swallowing the alcohol without tasting it fully.

You scrunched your eyes shut, overwhelmed by the attention and flooded of the alcohol within your system as you took an apprehensive step towards the two men.

“State your terms,” you uttered, reopening your eyes and beaming your intense stare at the two of them; “I am listening.”

[revasserium]

do you right series/multiple parts for zoro opla X reader. If you do could you write something angsty n maybe reader was a part the butlers crew before n stuff. A lot of angst but also fluff n cute zoro X reader moments. Thxxx

prompt list reqs are: temporarily closed

catch.

opla!zoro; 9,224 words; fem!reader, no "y/n", slowburn, disgruntled companions?? to lovers, fluff and banter, so much banter, nicknames ("kitten", "pretty boy"), semi canon-compliant, tiny bit post!opla, more plot than not

summary: zoro calls reader "kitten", reader calls him "pretty boy" back. story ensues.

a/n: ha. i have no excuses for this... it's not a series/multipart, but i do hope that the sheer length of it kinda makes up for that lol; tagging @dira333 and @bby-deerling

The first time he sees you, it is over daggers and bared teeth, a hiss working up your throat as you glare at him from the balcony of Kaya’s expansive estate.

“You’re gonna need a lot more than that, kitten.” Zoro’s smirk goes slanted as you leap off the thin railings to land noiselessly before him, your curved daggers striking against the edge of his swords with a metallic spray of sparks.

His smirk fades after that, replaced by a wild, jagged grin as he swings both swords around his body in a wide arc — but you’re backflipping up, too high in the air to be fully natural, your feet landing perfectly on the backs of his blades before you’re kicking off again, forcing the blades down and throwing him off balance.

“I highly doubt it,” you bite out, skimming by his cheek with a savage smile as he jerks to the side just in time to avoid having his face split open. But you whip back around and it’s all he can do to parry your blow.

The discordant clang of metal on metal rings out in the otherwise silent room as you both flicker around each other, him as steady as the tide, you as quick as the flutter of a sparrow’s wing.

“Where was that fake butler hiding you, kitten? You’re much better than those other two —” Zoro grunts as he narrows his eyes, digging in his heels as he parries another flurry of your quicksilver blows. Your lips curl in contempt as you swipe for his stomach and catch on the edge of his white-hilted blade.

“He wasn’t hiding me anywhere —”

The world blurs in a whirlwind of flashing metal — it ends with you hissing as you find you and Zoro on opposite ends of the cavernous room, amidst wood splinters and slivers of shredded upholstery. There’s a thin slash oozing blood down the side of his face and a long gash along your arm where his sword had nicked your bicep.

“Then why’re you with him?” Zoro asks, grimacing as he wipes blood from his cheek.

“Because, pretty boy,” you smirk at the way his eyes narrow, “the old tomcat owes me something. And I never forget a debt.”

Zoro’s eyebrow quirks, and for a single second, you can see the cogs turning behind his darkened eyes, “So… you’re only with him until he pays you.”

You grin, Cheshire wide, and a second later, you’re right in front of him, pressing up into his personal space with a finger trailing up the length of his neck. Zoro’s breath catches, and he’s acutely aware of just how open he’d been, how easily you might’ve decided to end his life had you replaced your finger with the tip of one of your curve-bellied daggers.

“That… and I happen to enjoy slicing things up, y’see…” your voice is syrup sweet and sharp as poison even as he jerks away from you, instinct thrusting his swords forward before he can stop himself. But you’re already dancing away with a soft, ringing laugh, shaking your head.

“Gonna have to be faster than that if you wanna catch me… pretty boy.”

You slink into the shadows, giggling even as Zoro grimaces and tries to chase after you, slashing at whispers and shapes in the dark. He makes it all the way down the hallway before Luffy’s voice catches his attention and he doubles back with a final look over his shoulder, an unsatisfied knot tied tight in his stomach.

The second time you meet, it’s over a barrel of dried sardines.

“We pick up another stray?” Zoro asks, frowning as you grin cheekily down at him from the bow of the Merry. He could imagine the way your ears might flick if you had them, the way your invisible tail might twitch from side to side, snide and all too satisfied.

“Yeah! Didn’t I tell you? She’s coming with us!” Luffy grins wide as he climbs up onto their new ship, giving you a hard pat on the back, “Welcome to the Straw Hat Crew!”

“Thanks, Cap!” you smile, slipping off the railings to help with the extra supplies.

Nami sighs as she joins Zoro on the docks, “Sad, desperate souls, like I said — but hey, at least she helped us escape.”

Zoro frowns, “She did?”

Nami rolls her eyes, “Who do you think undid all those locks on the metal shutters from the outside? Geez…”

Zoro grunts, catching another barrel of dried food as Nami tosses it up toward him.

After that, things… do not get better. You’re too quiet, too quick, and Zoro can never quite tell when you mean what you say or if you ever say what you mean. Your laughter sends shivers down his back, and he finds himself watching you, even when he doesn’t mean to.

By the time you’ve all reached the Baratie, it’s become second nature for him to keep his eyes trained on you, to take stock of where you are, to seek you out the first thing after he wakes and the last thing before he sleeps.

“Ah — apologies madam I didn’t see you there —” Sanji smarms as Nami’s eyebrows inch up her forehead. You bite back a grin as Zoro scoffs to your right.

“And… for you?” when Sanji finally turns his eyes onto you, you’re ready for him, leaning forward, your tongue slipping languorously across your bottom lip as you peer up at him from beneath your thick lashes.

“Got any Déesse? Ah, but you must have — an establishment as fine as this?”

Sanji takes a long breath; Zoro feels the air turn sour in his lungs.

“Of course we do — a woman of taste, hm? And… for the rest of you?” Sanji’s voice flatlines as he looks over the rest of the crew.

Zoro snorts, rolling his eyes, “A beer for me and… a few for my friends.”

Sanji shoots a curt nod his way before recounting the table’s orders, “A few beers, a milk —” he dips his head in Luffy’s direction, “a normal water in a normal glass,” a smile at Nami, “and… a bottle of Déesse — any preference on year, miss?” He twinkles in your direction.

“Oh… surprise me.”

Sanji sweeps into a theatrical bow, “Right away,” before gliding away from the table.

Everyone starts talking all at once —

“Why’re you ‘miss’ but I’m ‘madam?’”

“Great fighter, that guy — did you see him roundhouse that other guy in the face —”

“Wow… don’t tell me that worked on you?” Zoro scoffs as he turns to look at you.

You shrug, “Sometimes, it pays to meet people on their level, hm?” Then, your smile turns saccharine as you tilt your head, eyes flickering towards the triplet of swords caught in the small gap between the plush seats and the pillar to Zoro’s right.

“Right. Whatever.” His lip curls. Nami sighs, leaning her head back against the studded velvet seat backs.

“The two of you are gonna be the death of us…” she muses, laughing as you curl back into your seat with an exaggerated pout and Zoro ticks his tongue against his teeth, feeling heat crest up into his cheeks.

And later, it’s you who tries the hardest to talk him out of his duel with Mihawk, a dull, feline glint to your eyes as you glare at him from across the wide kitchen counter —

“You couldn’t even beat me in single combat — what makes you think you’d be able to best Dracule Mihawk, huh?!”

Zoro snarls as he rounds on you, “It’s not like I was really trying.”

“Seemed like you were doing a lot more than trying to me!”

“You were the one who ran away.”

“Yeah, because I didn’t have a death wish!”

“So you admit that you would’ve lost to me.”

Your eyes narrow into slits as you hiss, “Yes, just like you’ll lose if you go through with this.”

A muscle feathers in Zoro’s jaw as he slowly peels his eyes away from you and turns back to the methodical work of polishing his swords.

Later that night, you find him sitting in the Merry’s kitchen with his eyes closed, arms crossed, his swords lined up just so on the suspended table in front of him.

“You can stop sulking. I know you’re there.” He opens a single eye to peer at you as you melt out of the shadows near the door, your own arms knitted tight across your chest.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“I’m meditating.” His eyes slip back closed.

You leap deftly onto the table and cross your legs, looking down at his row of swords.

“You’ll need more than a good meditation session to beat that old hawk.”

Zoro’s eyes snap open, his words taking on a hard, metallic edge, “What would you know about it?”

Your grin is crescent moon sharp as you tilt your head; you reach forward as if to tap a finger against the sheath of one of his swords. There’s a dull thump as Zoro makes to tug the sword away, but a second later, you’ve got his wrist pinned to the table’s marred surface. Your face is half an inch away from his and he can taste the heat of your breath on his lips.

“See? Not nearly fast enough,” you tut, still grinning as Zoro yanks his arm away.

“If you’re trying to change my mind, you’re doin’ a shit job.”

“No,” you sigh, jumping off the table, your feet eerily silent as always. You make it all the way to the door before turning to glance at Zoro over your shoulder. There’s an inscrutable look on his face as he watches you, and you allow him one last, little smile.

“I just… thought you should be well-rested for your own execution.”

The next morning dawns too bright, too early, the sky too blue and perfect. It’s a blood-hungry day, so your grandmother used to say, the kind of day that aches for disaster. You shiver as you walk silently behind Usopp and Luffy, trailing in Zoro’s shadow as he makes his solemn way to the docks to face Mihawk.

There’s a quick exchange of words before Mihawk’s eyes slide onto you; the faint upward tick of his eyebrow is the only indication you get that he recognizes you. But then, he’s cocking his head, and musing aloud —

“They say it’s good luck to have a cat on a pirate ship, but I’m afraid this one won’t do you any good today, Roronoa Zoro.”

“Oh god… he’s really doing this, isn’t he?” Nami’s hand slips into yours, squeezing tight, her voice nothing more than a terrified whisper.

You give a brief nod, squeezing back. On your other side, Usopp swallows hard, but Luffy doesn’t seem all that worried.

It’s a quick, brutal, and decisive fight, but you watch as Mihawk pulls back at the last second, Yoru slicing through the air, much slower and softer than you knew it could. Nevertheless, Zoro’s blood splatters the creaking wood beams below as he collapses. You feel your lungs slowly calcifying as everyone rushes to Zoro’s side but you stand there, frozen, the world tunneling around you, the wild thumping of your heart echoing in your ears as Mihawk slates you a single look before turning and strolling off back toward the Baratie.

You slip away in the chaos of everyone trying to get Zoro back onto the ship.

“Come to seek revenge for your little boyfriend?” Mihawk asks, casually leaning up against the near-empty bar in the Baratie’s mouth.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you reply, voice clipped. Your fingers are curled into fists at your side, nails digging into the flesh of your palms. Mihawk gives you a single once-over before tutting.

“I see you’ve been sharpening your claws.”

“I see you haven’t,” you bite back. Mihawk rolls his eyes.

“Dear, dear — if even you’ve noticed something then I really am getting rusty. Though it has been hard to find a good sparring partner ever since Shanks lost his arm. Careless man.”

“Why’d you really let him live?”

Mihawk pauses in his rather thorough inspection of his nails to look up at you, lips twitching.

“I meant what I said — the world needs a few more wildcards and… I have a feeling he’ll be coming to find me soon enough.”

“You don’t take on students.” You don’t quite manage to keep the bitterness from your voice even as Mihawk shrugs.

“Just because I haven’t before, doesn’t mean I won’t ever. Now run along — I think your little swordsman friend might need some help, hm?”

You open your mouth to argue, but you hear the distinct sounds of Luffy’s voice echoing out from the kitchen, high and desperate, followed by the base rumble of Zeff’s voice. You slink into the kitchen between the flapping doors, watching as Sanji scrambles to gather Zeff’s knives.

“I’ll get the fish,” you offer, making nearly everyone jump as you reach for the freezer box.

No one has the time to ask any more questions as Luffy leads the way back to the Merry.

Nami’s eyes are wide and over-bright when you set the yellowtail on the table next to Zeff, and the whole room watches with bated breath as the old chef starts to work. Wordlessly, you tug out the large curved needles and place them at his elbow. He spares you a grateful grunt as he grabs them.

You take three steps back, letting out a long breath as you press your back to the cool wood of the doorframe, watching as Zeff stitches Zoro back together.

You spend the next two and a half days curled up in the small chair next to Nami’s bed, dozing every so often, at other times humming, or keeping still as Nami, Usopp, and Luffy take their turns next to Zoro’s sleeping form as well. You’re reciting a childhood nursery rhyme when Zoro finally wakes up.

“I thought cats were supposed to be quiet…”

“— and all the king's horses and all the king’s men — oh… you’re awake.”

“What about the king’s horses and men?” Zoro’s voice is thick and gravelly from disuse, but there’s that familiar twist to his mouth as he turns slightly to blink blearily up at you.

“It… it doesn’t matter — I should go tell Luffy —”

“No, finish the story, kitten.”

Your voice catches in your chest, and after a second, you sigh, dropping back into your seat with a resigned little laugh.

“All the king’s horses and all the king’s men… couldn’t put Humpty back together again.”

Zoro hums, “Wow, cheerful little kitten, aren’t you? You always pick such nice things to say at a sick person’s bedside?”

“No, just the ones that really deserve it.”

Zoro laughs, the sound a base rumble that makes him wince, his hand shooting up to clutch at his chest. You lurch forward, catching yourself before you actually touch him, hovering there as Zoro opens his eyes and a strained sort of silence thickens in the air around you.

Like this, you’re acutely aware of the heat rising off of Zoro’s skin, the fact that his shirt is still pulled open to accommodate the thick bandages wrapped around his torso, the taut skin of his stomach, flexing as he takes in shallow breaths. Like this, you can count the freckles scattered across the bridge of his nose and see the pinprick black holes threatening to take over his eyes as they dilate.

It isn’t till you both hear the clatter of footsteps and Usopp flings himself into the room that you jerk back, blinking as Usopp gasps for breath, gesticulating wildly, rambling about Luffy and fishmen and a fight that’s broken out at the Baratie.

You glance down at Zoro, who sighs, letting his eyes fall shut.

“Go.”

“You stay put.”

“Right, like I’m goin’ anywhere anytime soon.”

Zoro grunts, and you spare him one more sharp look before following after Usopp.

Three days later finds you all back at sea, with a newly minted member in tow, chasing after Nami’s shadow.

It does not take long to track her down, and when you do, the fight is — if not quick, then at least decisive. You’re not the only one who notices the stiffness in Zoro’s limbs as everyone eats and drinks their way through a whole night of merry-making.

“Back for seconds — must’ve liked it!” Sanji crows, slapping another spoonful of food onto Zoro’s plate.

“It was okay.”

“That plate says different.”

“Not hungry?” you jump slightly at Nami’s voice, and you lift your eyes just in time to see her eyebrows kick up. She cocks them at you before settling down by your side.

“Not often that you’re caught off guard — something must really be bothering you.” You can hear the edge of forced lightness in her voice, and your eyes flicker to the fresh bandage on right arm.

Events of the past few days flash behind your eyes and you cast her a small grin.

“Just thinking…”

“Sounds like trouble.”

“It does seem to follow me around, doesn’t it?”

Nami regards you with a curious look before scoffing, “Don’t you mean ‘us’?”

You frown, turning towards her. She slates you a glance before darting her eyes back to the party.

“In case you haven’t noticed… ‘Trouble’s kind of our middle name. If you don’t like it, then…”

Her voice trails off then, and the playful smile flickers like a flame caught in a sudden gust of wind. You press your lips.

“Never said I don’t like it.” You return her smile and see her firelight catch again.

“C’mon then — no more sitting around —” you let yourself be pulled to your feet, the pair of you stumbling towards the large bonfire where several of the villagers are strumming at battered instruments, though the music they make is no less brilliant for it.

“Ah, now there’s a sight for sore eyes,” Sanji says, tapping a bit of ash off a freshly lit cigarette as Zoro scrapes the final bites of food from his plate.

“Hn.” But his gaze lingers on the light-caught shape of you, a black dress hugging the curves of your waist and the bend of your hip, cascading out as you spin beneath Nami’s arm. There’s a softness about you he’s never seen before — something more than the damnable feline grace with which you fought or the steel-lined quickness and skill that forever nipped at his heels like a hungry dog, reminding him that he still had so much more to master, to learn — no, this is something else entirely.

Something lissome and light, something tantantalizing and sweet.

Something… lovely.

And it stirs something inside him too — something not at all sweet and light, though… no less tantalizing.

A semi-inebriated Nojiko manages to pull Sanji into the fray, and a moment later, you glance over to meet his eyes. A line catches then, hooked from the center of his chest to the dark, mesmerizing flash of your eyes, Zoro feels himself tipping forward.

Until he actually is, and there’s a bottle being pressed into his hand by a stranger he doesn’t even glance at.

He finds himself at your side, somehow, everyone spinning around the bonfire like marionettes on a massive stage, his limbs loose and a smile tugging wide his lips. At some point, he thinks he might’ve felt your hands in his, but then again, waking up the next morning face down in a pile of hay, a headache pounding behind his eyes, he thinks it’s probably just his imagination.

They set course for the Grand Line proper then, and everyone settles into a kind of routine. Though despite everyone’s initial protests, Zoro can be seen at the bow of the ship every sunrise and sundown, running through katas, grunting and wincing occasionally when his wound threatens to reopen, at which point you’d appear like a vague, disgruntled shadow, and shoo him back to bed.

“I’ll never best Mihawk if I don’t get better —”

“Exactly.” You pin him with a hard look; he can almost see your hackles rising as he huffs and slumps down into his hammock. You relax slightly, perched atop a rather precarious pile of barrels, but Zoro knows better than to doubt your balance.

“You’ll never beat him if you don’t get better first,” you repeat, narrowing your eyes as Zoro scoffs, pointedly twisting to face the other way. The ship rocks the hammock to and fro, and after a while, Zoro feels himself drifting off into that ever-familiar limbo of half-sleep, his mind wandering through the avenues of his memories, images coming in watercolor flashes, seeping into his vision.

“Tell me something,” he says, his voice low, his eyes still closed.

“Hm?” you barely make a noise, but he feels your presence in the corner of his room, has memorized the specific size and shape and weight of you such that he could pick you out of a moving crowd with his eyes closed, his face turned the other way.

“What do you want to know?”

“You had plenty of stories when I was unconscious — don’t you have more?”

For a moment, you don’t speak, and the silence is filled by the rhythmic creaking of wood, the soft splash of water against the ship’s hull, the occasional cry of seabirds, and the dull, muffled sounds of laughter and conversation from above deck.

“Once upon a time, a kitten was left by the roadside in a tiny village by her mother, who was sick and didn’t have enough milk to feed all her children, but it just so happens that a great big hawk was soaring overhead and took a liking to the kitten. The hawk picked her up in his great talons and brought her to a castle on an island, surrounded by thorns and briars and the most beautiful roses the kitten had ever seen. There, the hawk set her the task of hunting down mice so he himself could go after bigger, juicier prey — for you see, the hawk had long dreamed of becoming the greatest hunter in the whole wide world.”

At this, Zoro shifts to turn back towards you, peering open one eye to watch as you leaned back against the wall of the small storeroom he’d claimed as his own, one of your knees propped up, your arm hanging loosely over it, your other leg dangling down over the side of your barrel, your heel occasionally knocking against the wood with gentle little thumps.

You take a deep breath and glance down at him, a sad, faraway look in your eyes as you continue —

“Eventually, the kitten got very good at catching mice — she grew faster, stealthier, learned to sharpen her claws and teeth, learned to hide amongst the beautiful roses in the garden until the mice grew complacent before she struck. But no matter how much she begged, the hawk would never let her hunt bigger things. And then one day… the hawk took her up in his giant claws again and tossed her onto the beach — told her that there was nothing more he could teach her, and that she ought to find her own way in the world.”

You sigh, shaking your head, “What a liar…” you murmur, almost to yourself as you lower your eyes to your hands, “he never really taught me anything…”

And this time, it’s Zoro who remains silent, letting the quiet seep through the floorboards like the thick, morning mists, rising off of the water’s surface before the sun bakes it all away.

Then, he swings himself off the hammock and makes for the door. Before he can reach it, you’re in front of him, blocking his path with a bright glint in your eyes and a challenge in your smile.

“I’ve rested,” he says, plainly, taking half a step back.

“You’ll never get better like this —”

“Exactly,” he throws the word back in your face before sighing and looking away, “so… help me.”

You blink, staring up at him as he stares right back at you.

“Help you how?” You resist the urge to look away, swallow down the bitterness crawling up the back of your throat — I can’t even help myself —

“Mihawk trained you —”

“No,” you spit out, your shoulders tensing as you glare up at Zoro, “he didn’t — he did everything in his power not to —”

“Tch — you lived with him on that island and he trusted you with keeping the — the mice away —” a vein ticks in Zoro’s jaw as you watch him stare down at you, your heart thumping warm and wild in your chest, “just because he didn’t personally hold your hand and teach you his technique… doesn’t mean he wasn’t training you in his own way.”

You swallow hard.

“So what? It’s not like I can ever beat him.”

“You might. Or I might. If we help each other.”

You ball your fingers into fists, “What makes you think either of us stands a chance against him?”

At this, Zoro’s smile goes slanted — a raw, wild, blood-beat thing.

“Because I’ve seen you fight and I think you’re good. And… I know I’m good. Or at least, I know I’ll get there.”

There’s a certain quicksilver edge to the shape of his words that makes you look up, your eyes meeting his like the colliding cores of two tidally locked stars — something terrible and magnificent, a catastrophe of gravity and inevitability.

Your mind spins and for a second, you can almost see it, that distant future in which Roronoa Zoro becomes the best, better — even — than the best. The greatest in the world. You lean back, your gaze appraising.

“Tell you what — if you get good enough to catch me once… I’ll take you to him.”

Zoro frowns, “What do you mean?”

Your grin quirks and you lilt your head, “Exactly what it sounds like — you get fast enough to catch me, and catch me properly then… I’ll take you to his island.”

Zoro stares. And then, his own grin stretches to match yours.

“Deal.”

Things change after that, the mornings and evenings no longer finding Zoro alone at the bow of the ship, but always with the shape of you flickering around him, the bright, hungry gleam of sun on steel flashing around you.

“Too slow —” you gasp, dodging beneath one of his swipes as he grunts and swings downward, nearly catching the tips of your hair as you spin away.

“But — you’re getting there,” you grin, holding up a hand as you lean back against the side of the Merry, your other hand pressed to your chest.

“Outta breath, kitten?” Zoro asks, smirking as he slowly sheaths his sword, sweat glistening along the planes and grooves of his chest.

“Hardly.” You flick him a disapproving look but there’s a tiny smile that threatens the corner of your mouth as he scoffs, reaching for a rag to dab at his forehead. You can’t help the way your eyes linger on the strong, sturdy ripples of muscles that flex along his back and shoulders as he straightens up either, and when he catches you staring, it’s all you can do to hold his gaze.

You don’t give him a chance to gloat. Instead, you swing your knives around your fingers and cast him a grin.

“Breakfast,” you say.

“Mm,” he agrees, just as Nami comes padding up onto the main deck, stifling a yawn and squinting at you both with a mildly disgusted look on her face.

“How the hell are you guys up so damn early all the time?”

“Ah, they say that cats are diurnal creatures — so they’re most awake at dawn and at dusk. As for the moss-head… I’ve heard that idiots don’t need as much sleep. Not as much brain to rest, y’know?” Sanji remarks, smirking as he brushes by Nami with a wink.

Zoro scoffs, wiping off his blade with a rough cloth, “It’s called bettering yourself. Not that you’d know what it means. All this time and your congee’s still runny as f —”

“Says the guy who can’t tell the difference between sunny side up and scrambled eggs —”

You sigh, ducking around the squabbling pair with a long, sinuous stretch.

“So… how goes the sparring, hm?” Nami asks, her voice dripping with innuendo as she follows you into the kitchen, her sleep-blurred eyes now sharp, her grin moon-sly and teasing.

“It goes,” you say, opening a cupboard and rummaging around for anything that catches your eye.

“I see… and is it going somewhere in particular?” Nami drapes herself across the long couch, her eyes tracking you as you move from cupboard to cupboard, and finally stopping in front of the fridge.

You hoist yourself up onto the suspended table, a glass of milk in your hands, “Depends on where this particular place is.”

Nami shrugs, “Dunno… just seems like Zoro’s spending a lot of time following you around like a lost little puppy these days. When was the last time he’s left you alone for more than say —” Nami makes a show of checking her watch, “15 minutes?”

“We’re just training together — and he doesn’t follow me around all the time —” but even as the words leave your mouth, Zoro ducks into the kitchen, his eyes skipping from you to Nami and back again.

“Waiter said we’re on our own for breakfast.”

“I’m good with milk.” You hold up your glass even as Nami snickers and Zoro nods, rummaging through a few cupboards until he pulls out a bag of jerky. At this, Nami’s eyes slingshot between the pair of you one last time before she sighs dramatically and saunters back out of the room, muttering something about conning Sanji into making proper breakfast.

The quiet twines around your ankles, soft and familiar. Zoro leans against the counter, the small bag of jerky untouched as he watches you sip at your milk. Heat curls along the curve of your spine as you feel the weight of his eyes tracking your lips, the bright pink flash of your tongue.

You swallow.

So does he.

“You’re getting faster.”

“You’re getting stronger.”

Your words overlap like the pages of a book, flipped through too fast.

You blink, and then — laughter. Your’s startled and shy, his soft and… you turn just fast enough to catch him duck his head the other way, shoving his hand into the bag of jerky. He clears his throat.

“Thanks.”

“What for?” you work to press some of your usual purr back into your voice, but it sounds strange and tinny in the wane morning light.

“For…” Zoro hesitates, and for a second, you find yourself leaning into the smooth weight of his voice, as if you might be able to catch his next words in the palm of your hands like bruised fruit.

“Alright — outta my kitchen, mosshead — lovely ladies like these should always start the day with a well-balanced meal.”

Sanji kicks open the door and Zoro glares. You’re already hopping off the counter, quiet as starlight, grinning behind Sanji’s back even as Zoro sighs.

“It’s not your kitchen, waiter. I’ve got as much right to be in here as you do.”

You try to slip away but Nami’s hand darts out to catch your wrist.

“Not so fast… kitten.”

Your entire face flushes at the word.

“I don’t know what you’re —”

Nami’s satisfied smile is more Cheshire than cat but you allow her to drag you up to the bow of the ship, half-concealed by her tangerine trees. Up here, the air tastes briny and sweet with morning air. Up here, you have you squint against the sea’s shattered glass light, cast up towards the dawning sky.

Nami leans against the railing and casts her eyes out towards the distant horizon. There’s always been a sun-kissed quality about her, the brilliant orange of her hair, the darkening patches of freckles scattered across her nose-bridge. You let her press her arm to yours and feel the warmth and soft of her skin.

“So. Zoro, huh?”

You sigh, looking down towards the dark emerald of the waves below. You watch as the water froths against the ship’s hull, peeling away in roils of white lace.

“A little cliche, if you ask me — y’know, the swordsman and the knife-girl? But… I guess it makes sense.” There’s a lightness to her voice that makes you laugh, a solidness to her words that makes you powerless to contest them.

“They say it’s good to have hobbies in common,” you offer, hoping to match the playfulness in her voice. Nami chuckles, making a noise at the back of her throat.

“Oh yeah, I bet ‘bodycount’ means something totally different to the two of you, huh?”

You let a real laugh break though then, your head tipping back and reveling in the sound. The rapidly rising sun casts everything in a dreamy, slant-wise glow — golden hour, you think you’ve heard it called. But you wonder if it’s might just be more amber than gold, standing here, laughing with Nami, you feel for the first time, a weight shift and slip from your shoulders. Like shedding a thick coat after a long day’s travel.

Then, the light shifts, a thin fog of clouds dulling out the sun’s light as Nami fixes you with her too-sharp eyes.

“He’s going after Mihawk, isn’t he?”

You sober as well, wetting your lips. “Eventually, yeah.”

“And… you’re helping him.”

You nod.

Nami sighs, dropping her chin onto a the heel of her hand.

“You… really think he can do it? Beat Mihawk?”

You take your time scanning the horizon. Without the transcendent glow of the rising sun, the waves are cooler, darker, and you know better than most the monsters lurking just beneath the surface.

“Mihawk’s only human,” you say. To which Nami scoffs.

“Right. That makes it loads better.”

You instinctively reach for where you knives would be, the empty loops on your belt like a persistent itch in your fingertips.

“At least it means he bleeds red just like the rest of us.”

Nami nods as you push away from the rails, retracing your steps into the kitchen where you’d left your knives.

Sanji is halfway through grilling mackerel with a steaming pot of miso soup bubbling on the stove. He gives you a wink and a knowing grin as you wander in, jerking his chin towards the hanging table where Zoro is running an oiled cloth along the length of his sword.

“In case you were lookin’ for your knives,” Sanji’s voice is silken tofu smooth as he turns back to his cooking.

Zoro doesn’t look up as you reach for your knives, laid out perfectly, already cleaned and oiled.

“I was doing mine anyway,” Zoro says, by way of an explanation.

You smirk, reaching out to tuck each one into its spot on your belt.

“Thanks, pretty boy, altruism looks good on you.”

You slink from the room before you can hear Sanji’s witty taunt or Zoro’s biting retort, a satisfied heat stirring steady at the base of your stomach.

The languorous days slip into sun-soaked weeks, and though it takes longer than anyone would’ve liked for Zoro’s wound to heal, it does. And the scar, well —

“I think it looks awesome!” Luffy says, clapping Zoro on the shoulder as you tug away the gauze to inspect the long thin strip of puckered skin, a few shades lighter than the rest of Zoro’s chest.

“Yeah, real… manly-like,” Usopp adds, arms folded, leaning against the far wall, fighting an expression between impressed slightly queasy. He backpedals immediately as Zoro casts him a dark look.

“N-not that you’re not real or manly already or anything like that! It just uh — adds to the allure, y’know?”

Nami makes a face, “Yeah, I don’t know about allure…”

Sanji grunts.

“When did this become a museum exhibit?” Zoro snaps, frowning at the entire crew, gathered around him as you unstick the last of the bandages from his now healed stomach.

���We just wanted to make sure you were alright, Zoro!” Luffy says, rummaging around for a snack now that he’s satisfied his first mate is properly healed.

“I’ve been fine for weeks,” Zoro says flatly as Usopp joins Luffy and Sanji wanders towards the window to let out a puff of smoke.

“Can you lean back a bit — I think it’s still not completely healed by your —” you frown as you try to press Zoro back, your palm splaying against his stomach as your free hand traces at the waistband of his pants towards where the large gash tapers into his right hip.

Zoro hisses between his teeth and the room goes deathly quiet.

You look up to find everyone staring, and then half a second later Nami leaps to her feet, talking loudly about a part of the East Blue map she wants to finish, Usopp stuttering after her about checking the knots on the main mast, and Sanji dragging Luffy by the scruff of the neck, insisting that they set up the fishing lines for the day.

The door slams behind Luffy and somehow, the room feels more full than it had been just a few seconds prior. The silence pulses between you, thick and pitched and expanding.

You clear your throat delicately, lowering your eyes back to the task at hand, doing your best to ignore the uncomfortable heat now creeping up the back of your neck.

“Can you —”

Zoro leans back wordlessly, propping his arms against the table, his hips shifting forward to allow you access.

You gently tug down the material of his waistband several inches to reveal the tip of the wound, still a bit raw and red, possibly from the friction of his clothes, or just his general lack of regard for his own recovery.

“Yeah, it’s still not all —” your voice cuts off as you look up to find Zoro staring, and the burgeoning hunger you find there stills your heart in your chest. It’s a strange, base, animal thing, caught in the swirling darkness of his irises, but he holds his breath, and so you do yours —

“Healed…” you swallow hard, reaching for the thick, pungent balm sitting by his left hand.

With slow, methodic movements, you uncap the balm and dip your finger into the sticky surface, reaching forward to run the tip along the soft redness of Zoro’s skin. Thinking back later, you might’ve been thankful for the sharp herbal fragrance of the balm to distract you from the deeper, muskier smell of Zoro’s skin, salted as it always is with sea and sweat, tempered with the unmistakable scent of steel.

But right then, all you can think about is the sharp cut of his hipbone as it slants down, and down, and —

You pull back when you’re done, making to wipe your hand on a piece of washcloth when Zoro catches your wrist in one smooth movement, pulling you up till you’re chest to chest, your body slotted between his spread open legs.

“Zoro, what —”

“Caught you —” His voice is nothing more than a whisper, but you feel it rumbling through his chest to yours.

“— You’re losing your touch.”

You narrow your eyes, “Not a chance — I was distracted, that’s not fair —”

You try to tug your wrist away only for him to tighten his grip. A fist-like something clenches inside your stomach along with his fingers. Fire licks at the base of your belly before climbing up your spine.

“Hn. All’s fair.”

You watch in near slow motion as his eyes flick down to your lips and back up again; you’re helpless to do else but mirror the movement. With your wrist still caught in his grasp, it’s almost too easy for him to pull you forward, to tip you into him till you’re nearly spilling over, till you’re scrambling back with half-caught breaths and wide eyes and your other palm pressing firmly to his chest, where you can feel the fluttering beats of his own heart caught just beneath your touch.

“I-if you’re gonna make a move, at least wait till I’ve finished wiping off my hands,” the words come tumbling out, more a reflex than anything else, but it makes Zoro blink and lean back just a few inches. His grip on you eases ever so slightly, and you tug your wrist from his grasp, expecting him to snap to, to jerk away, to blush or apologize, but instead, all he does is watch you mutely wipe at your hands with those dark, hungry eyes.

When you’ve finished, he quirks an eyebrow as if waiting for you to make the next move.

At this, you huff, rolling your eyes, “Come on*,* pretty boy — you can’t expect me to dress your wounds and make the first —”

The kiss is quick and searing and over all too fast, as most first kisses are. The second kiss is more patient, a slow easing in, a teasing of lips and and a testing of tongues. The third is breathless, hedging on urgent. The fourth — well the fourth is cut short by Zoro pressing his forehead to yours, the both of you panting.

“Wh — what the hell was that?” you ask, gulping down great lungfuls of breath as Zoro scoffs.

“C’mon kitten, don’t go gettin’ shy on me now…” Zoro smirks even as you lean forward to try and nip at his bottom lip, eyes flashing. He tilts your mouth back to his, and words are lost for a few more moments before you find them again.

“Who said anything about getting shy? I just wanted an explanation.”

Zoro makes an abortive noise at the back of his throat as you nose into the place under his jaw and graze your teeth along the skin there.

“C-can’t a guy say thanks for someone dressing his wounds?”

You pull back with a soft hiss and a sly smile; it’s the first time you’ve ever heard him stutter.

“Don’t tell me this is how you’ve been thanking all your savoirs. I’ll have to go compare notes with Zeff —”

At this, Zoro grunts, wincing slightly as your belt presses against the inside of his hip where his wound is still raw. You pull away, startled.

“Sorry — I didn’t —”

“Hey.”

Zoro tugs you back with soft hands and an even softer smile, “Not sure I liked having you talk about Zeff while we were…”

You break him off with a helpless laugh and he joins you a second later. And then, before either of you can say more, Usopp’s voice echoes down from above deck.

“Land ho! Land ho!”

You glance back at Zoro, who slips off the table and has the decency to rearrange his clothes. You share a meaningful look before trying to pull away but Zoro once again catches your wrist.

This time, his lips are set and his eyes are just a tad bit harder than before.

“Don’t forget, kitten, you still owe me an island.”

You pause, peering at him beneath half-lidded eyes as your head lists first to one side, and then the other.

His eyes track yours before ticking down to your lips once more, where your tongue traces a path his own had run along not so long ago.

“You should know by now, pretty boy, that I never forget my debts.”

And just like that, your wrist slips from between his fingers, and Zoro’s left with nothing more than the taste of your mouth and the flicker of your shadow as he steps into the dim hallway.

Loguetown is a bustling place, a bleached button pressed into the chest of the East Blue, bright as a Marine’s new uniform. People blow through like fall leaves on the wayward wind and ships of all shapes and sizes dot every bit of tangible coast, their masts foresting the skyline until it’s barely visible from the docks.

“Need new swords,” Zoro announces as the crew all gather on the creaky boardwalk.

“Same. Could do with a few more knives,” you nod.

Nami tuts, rolling her eyes, “Well I’m getting a new wardrobe.”

“I’m gonna get some lunch!” Luffy grins widely as Sanji sighs, digging in his pockets for a fresh light.

“Looks like we’re stuck with the grocery shopping,” he says, nudging Usopp.

“Uh… I was actually gonna go check out some tech shops to find some parts for…” Usopp trails off as Sanji pins him with a look before shrugging, “Or… I mean, I don’t mind doing groceries first and then looking for parts.”

“Good man!” Sanji smiles, clapping him on the back as he frog-marches Usopp towards the market.

“No getting into fights, got it?” Nami looks between you and Zoro, “we need to be discreet.”

You bat your lashes, “Us? Never! We’ll be sweet and soft as kangaroos.”

Nami frowns, “Wait — kangaroos aren’t —”

You laugh, flouncing off towards town, “Never said they were!”

Zoro sighs before following after.

“It’s not your first time here,” he says after a while. It’s not a question, so you don’t provide an answer, contenting yourself with looking around at all the new shop fronts that had popped up since you were last here, and all the old haunts that have been here since what you’re sure is the inception of time itself.

“Where are we going?” he asks after several more minutes of turning down seemingly random streets.

You flash him a grin, “I know a place.”

When you duck into the arms shop, Ipponmatsu glances up from over his bulbous nose before doing a double-take. His eyes narrow to slits.

“You! You nearly robbed me blind the last time you were here! Get —”

Drop a bag of clinking Berry into one of the sword bins with a feline smirk, drawing a long finger against the hilt of some unnamed blade.

“There. That should set us even. And… you did try to swindle me first. Plus, I’m here on proper business today — my friend is in the market for some swords.”

Ipponmatsu’s eyes remain slits, but his fingers twitch as he edges toward the bin, snatching the sack from it and clutching it to his chest.

Zoro glances around at the various blades hung and displayed around the surprisingly spacious shop. The distinct unctuous tone of your voice doesn’t go unnoticed by the shopkeeper, but he seems too distracted by the sack of Berry to snipe any further.

“Well,” Ipponmatsu gruffs after a few more seconds, “I’m watchin’ you… oh…” his eyes slide from you to Zoro and then to the Wadou Ichimonji at his side. Zoro almost feels the man’s jaw go slack for a second before he slams it back into place.

“E-esteemed swordsman, sir! That blade — at your side — if I might just take a look —”

You’re perched on the cashier’s counter faster than either of them can blink, one leg crossed over the other, feet hanging idly off the side, a palm pinning Ipponmatsu’s greedy hand to the surface, an almost bored expression on your face as you squint down at his fingers.

“Hm… don’t they say that swordsmen ought to take good care of their hands? I could feed a whole family of mice with the dead skin of your cuticles.”

Ipponmatsu yelps and tries to jerk free but your hold is firm, and Zoro has to fight down the amused grin twitching at the edge of his mouth. He’s felt first hand how strong your grip can be, how unnervingly quick the pressure is there, slicing off circulation with the precision of a blade.

“W-what do you want?!” the shopkeeper looks wildly between the pair of you.

You shrug, “Like I said, we’re in the market for some swords. I’d just like to make sure we keep all the dealings above water, hm?”

Ipponmatsu glares at you for a second longer before all the fight goes out of him and he slumps against the counter.

“Oh, alright alright! Look at the damned swords — it’s just… you’ve got a mighty good blade there. You’d do well not to lose it, ” he jerks his chin towards Zoro’s blade, “or get it stolen,” his eyes flash back to where you’re now cheerfully perusing a collection of knives in the far corner, the space you’d inhabited on the cashier’s counter static with your absence.

Ipponmatsu rubs as his wrist. Zoro nods.

“Yeah. I know.”

“Don’t worry — I’ve got no interest in katana’s. I prefer more subtlety myself.” You swing a pair of serrated claw knives around your fingers as if testing them for weight before putting them back.

All in all, it takes half an hour, a cursed blade, and some groveling on Ipponmatsu’s part before you and Zoro stroll out of the arms shop with two brand new katanas strapped to his side, and a fresh set of throwing needles tucked into your belt.

You take off in a random direction and Zoro follows after. You pass through a wide open square brimming with people and slip into a dark alley between two buildings made of carved marble so white it almost hurts the eyes.

Zoro is quiet as he walks behind you, until he isn’t.

“So, what’s the story?”

“Oh… just something from a past life of mine,” you answer offhandedly, fluttering your fingers through the air.

“Yeah? And how many of those have you got?”

You shoot him a piercing look and a crooked grin, “Some number between one and nine — take your best guess.”

Zoro falls silent again as a pair of drunken sailor careen by, arm in arm, belting a sea shanty.

After a while, you turn, “Hey, how’dyou know there was even story to begin with?”

Zoro ticks up an eyebrow, his hands resting one on top of the other over his newly obtained sword hilts as the pair of you wander through the tributary streets, ducking under awnings and slipping through crowds.

“With you, there’s always a story.”

He feels your eyes on him first, and he lets you watch him for a while, his own eyes slipping from store fronts to shop windows. Occasionally, he lets himself linger on the reflection of you and him — him made of so many solid, hard shapes, and you, soft as water, quick as light, elusive as any shadow.

“Then… how do you think this one ends?” you ask, your eyes meeting his in a reflection of a window across which you can see the a vague Nami-shaped pile of expensive clothes.

“This one?”

“Yeah. Ours.”

Zoro grunts, letting his gaze flick away, “What makes you think it’ll end anytime soon?”

He catches your smile and you let him, “Who said anything about soon?”

He feels the prickle of heat as it crawls up his neck and clears his throat.

“Well then, maybe when I become the World’s Greatest Swordsman.”

You frown, suddenly contemplative.

“So… it’ll end when you beat Mihawk?”

Zoro shrugs, “Might. Or it might not.”

Your frown deepens as you turn to face him proper. Through the glass, Nami catches sight of you and is waving you in, pointing at a rack of clothes glittering in sequins and patched in colors you’ve never imagined putting on your body before today.

“No? Won’t that be when you become the greatest in the world? When you beat him?”

Zoro turns, and there — just there, caught in the light of his eyes, the spark of something as he looks down at you. There’s a smile pressed between his lips that’s part mischief, part hesitancy, and all earnest truth.

“World’s a big place. Might have to check around to make sure there’s not a better swordsman out there, somewhere.” His voice is low, hope twisting beneath its rippling surface.

You feel your heart skittering your chest, the warmth in your stomach crystalizing into something more than simple curiosity and harder than desire.

“Ah… right. That does pose a problem, doesn’t it?”

Zoro makes a consenting noise.

“So,” he says, with a tone of light finality as he turns back toward the window behind which Nami is now twirling in front of a mirror in a truly lurid dress of hot pink.

“So…” you say, feigning an air of defeat as you sigh, “I guess you’re stuck with me for a while yet, pretty boy.”

“Hn.” Zoro, for his part, doesn’t sound too upset with the proclamation.

Just then, Luffy’s voice shouts from behind you both and you turn to find him waving.

“Zoro! You have to come look! There’s a guy at the market selling Sea King Meat!”

Then, Nami finally pokes her head out from inside the clothing store, now sporting a pair of blindingly bright disco pants.

“C’mon! There’s like a million dresses I put aside for you to try!”

You and Zoro turn back to each other in a single, stolen breath. Your eyes collide, and Zoro smiles. A small, brilliant, unguarded thing.

“Go on, kitten. I’ll catch up to you.”

You toss him a wide, lingering grin.

“Right. You’d better.”

Zoro waves as he turns towards Luffy, “Don’t worry. I will.”

[miirohs]

in the middle of the night [r.n.z]

pairing: OPLA!Roronoa Zoro x Reader wc: 1.0k cw: there is a reference to something that is canon in the series, as well as one piece spoilers an: damn thats crazy my drive suddenly came back after years of being gone anyways this was inspired by swim by chase atlantic and middle of the night by elle duhé. note that if the tension is not tension-ing its bc i cant write tension.

Zoro felt more lost around you than anyone else.

You were chaotic and proud, kicking up dust and blowing it to the wind, and yet he liked you. He wasn't sure if he was in denial or acceptance about it.

Though for someone so loud, He knew almost nothing about you and anyone who asked you would only receive a smile, teasing them with tiny pieces dangled over their head like bait.

It irked him a little, if he was going to be honest.

No matter how hard he seemed to slash his sword at the pitch black sky, you seemed to linger in the back of his mind.

He paused for a moment, huffing as he turned the blade in his hand. Trying to cut air didn't seem to help a single bit.

As he leaned against his sword, the atmosphere seemed to have shifted. The wind was slowly dying down, the sound of crashing waves being the only thing he could hear for a heartbeat or two. He could have even fell asleep leaning against his katana if he really tried.

"Fancy yourself a little midnight training?"

He whirled around, tip of the katana aimed directly at your throat. You sat on the railing behind him, hair ruffling in the wind as you watched him with an amused smirk.

His grip on the katana didn't waver, but he lowered the blade slightly, still watching you. "What do you want?" He muttered, tone gruff as he sheathed his katana.

"You're always so serious, Zoro," you complained, swinging your legs idly over the railing. "And you're not, so i guess that balances out," He said, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"The way you talk to me , i makes me think you really do hate me," you hummed, leaning forward on the rails, trying to close the space, "Do you though, Roronoa Zoro? Or are you avoiding me for some other reason."

You both paused, and for the slightest moment you could have sworn you saw his eyes narrow slightly.

"Whatever. Anyways, I'm going back to bed," Zoro muttered quickly, turning his heel on you as you jumped down, light as a cat on its feet.

"Wait, Zoro. I have something to ask of you." He paused. You weren't just going to let him slip away just yet.

"What if we have a little duel? Just me and you." You said, traipsing to his side. "If you win i'll tell you whatever you want to know."

He stiffed up slightly and you grinned. You had him right where you wanted him. Bingo.

"Deal-" He muttered as you breathed a sigh of relief, holding out a hand. "But don't expect me to go easy."

You jumped, tumbling across the floor shocked by the sudden strike. Your hands reached for the sword behind you as you got up, leaning against the railing.

"You play dirty, Roronoa."

"We're not having an official match. After all, you're the one who wanted this," Zoro retorted, a menacing look on his face as you got up.

"You're right," you conceded, a smirk playing on your lips. "No official match. Just a little midnight sparring to lighten the mood"

He came for you again, but this time you were prepared, blade catching the moonlight as you struck him.

He managed to block, and from there you were stuck in a pas de deux.

Your swords continued to clang, and you continued to doge effortlessly, almost dancing on your feet as you got closer.

"Come on marimo, tell me this isn't all you have!" You said sing-songy, pushing him back once again.

It was obvious from the look on Zoro's face that he didn't expect the skill level you had from you. While you did gain a lot from watching him fight, this also wasn't your first rodeo.

As he swung for you again, you managed to hit his side with the spine, sending him back a foot or two.

"Oh you've done it now," He snapped, charging at you once again, "You just had to do that, didn't you?"

Out of nowhere, he striked harder, moving fast as you had seen him move in the field. You, for once, struggled against defending the blows, as he randomly disappeared and reappeared.

For a solid moment, his blade scrape against your eyebrow, and you stumbled. He managed to disarm you, forcing you back into the corner you had come slinking out of, sword to your throat.

You could feel the tip barely pressing against it as you breathed deeply, grinning.

"You got me," you conceded, your voice laced with a playful tone. "But you'll have to admit, that was a hell of a fight."

He grimaced, clutching his chest slightly as he watched you through hawk eyes.

"Where the hell did you get all that from? I didn't even think you knew how to hold a sword?" He hissed, pressing the katana a little deeper on accident.

The feeling of warmth trickling down your skin told you everything, and you reached up, holding the blade firmly into your hands. It dug into your skin, yet the smile never dropped off your face.

"I wasn't just a dancer. I use to be a pirate too." He pressed a little more, and you winced.

"I was... apart of the black cat pirates, three years ago. It was around the time Kahladore- or should i say, Kuro, went missing. I saw my chance and i ran." You whispered, watching him carefully. There was no telling what he would do with the information.

"Have you kept this a secret from all of us this whole time?" He gawked. You only blinked, taking time to process the question.

"Nami knows. She's the only one i told, except now i've told you too," You admitted, looking up at him through hooded eyes.

"How do i know you're not going to-"

"Betray you all? Do you think that lowly of me?" You refuted, pushing his blade away from your neck.

"Now let me ask you something, Roronoa Zoro? Do you like me?"

The silence seem to stretch on, thickening every moment you sat there. He didn't say anything, and you sighed. "Shame. I thought i might get something out of you, but i maybe i was wrong about it."

You sat up on the rails, arms outstretched as you leaned back, hair whipping wildly in the wind as you shut your eyes, "shame, it was a wonderful night."

A sudden yank back awoke you, a yelp escaping your mouth as you skidded and landed on him.

Wait.

You landed on him.

Your cheeks flushed as you scrambled back, at a loss for words.

"Uh... I'm- oh, i'm just going to go to bed-"

Zoro watched you with an amused glint in his eyes as you stammered out your intentions.

"Y/n."

"Yes?" You mumbled, burning feeling spreading to your ears as he called you back.

"Maybe i do like you."

"What?" You squawked.

"Maybe I have liked you," he repeated, his voice softer this time. You were sure if there was a little more light, you'd see a faint blush coloring his cheeks.

A smile spread across your face. "I just knew it."

"Don't rub it in." He grumbled, rolling his eyes as you sat up, gleeful.

"I won't," you replied with a mischievous grin, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "But I have to admit, it's nice to finally hear you say it."

Zoro shifted uncomfortably, his usual tough exterior momentarily cracked by his confession. "Yeah, well, don't make a big deal out of it."

You chuckled, warmth settling in as you got up from his side. "Of course not. This can just be our little secret."

He nodded, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Yeah, our secret."

As you climbed down the steps, you paused, turning around.

"Also, if you tell anyone about the fact that i can use swords, i will find you and duel you to the death."

"Sure you will."

"Will too."

"Will not."

"Will too."

[thefandomdirtymind]

Opla!sanji and a siren/mermaid???

A/N IMPORTANT:  Hi anon ! Thank you for your request, as a big fan or mermaid/siren I was so thrill by the idea ! I had tried many things here and I hope you will like it !

The Mermaid Dream

OPLA - Vinsmoke Sanji

Sanji series : SFW Shiny Offering - NSFW The Small Favor

* English is not my first language, I tried really hard to correct myself but, I hope you will excuse me if some mistakes are still there.  

---

The notorious floating restaurant The Baratie was, like every other night, completely full. At every table of the large dining room were sat the most famous and wanted Pirates. Adding to the hubbub of their conversation and squeaking of their utensils against their plates, the waiters, in a urge to offer the perfect service and then earn their tips, looked like a swarm of bees dancing around elegant honeycombs. 

The kitchen wasn't any more quiet. In every corner or the overheated room, the crew of cooks was running to prepare the many dishes ordered. Only stopping a millisecond to put the plates under the warming light and watch with nervous eyes if Zeff, the renowned chef and owner of the place, was preparing himself to punish somebody, hoping there wasn’t them.

Even the opened mouth of this unusual boat establishment, occupied by a respectable bar, was crowded and noisy. 

Nervously standing behind the luxurious burgundy velvet curtain, your palm sweaty, you briefly closed your eyes, trying to hear the sound of the wave crashing against the ship hull. It wasn't the first time you were performing for the Baratie. But, you knew that each time was risky. The mermaid folks weren’t still welcome everywhere, most of the population were scared of being bewitched by your voices and the others had used your people to commit crimes and atrocities.

It was why you always wore a long gown covering your temporary legs and politely declined any trace of liquid they would offer you. It only takes a drop of water or a stubborn scale and your life would be in immediate danger. Of course Zeff was aware of what you are and would never let nothing happen to you. But, you couldn’t only count on him to protect you, you had to be cautious.

“ Miss Y/N it’s time, everythings is okay ?“ A polite waiter asked you, the golden cord in his hand,ready to unveil you to the loaded room. Nodding of your head, opening your eyes, you let the noise of the water calm your last knocked nerve before lifting your head to face your public.

The first note of your song, played by the musicians behind you, starts to fill the now quiet hall. It was mostly for you a faceless audience, only a few were really counting : like his. 

Still dressed in his cook uniform, his back against the wall, arm crossed against his chest, Sanji was smiling, waiting for you to operate your tour de force. As you know, the blond sous chef had, so far, never missed one of your performances, even if it had meant being punished by his mentor.

Signing your song, your voice flowing like the water of a peaceful river to finish in a waterfall. You open your eyes under a thunder of applause. Still in his corner, Sanji was clapping his hand with fervor, his face radiant of joy like if he had just discovered a new method of cooking. 

Later that night, as you emerged yourself in the oversize bathtub of your personal dressing room, your fins resting on the copper border and the last scales on your breast taking his place. You smiled. You knew that you shouldn’t think of him, loving a human when you couldn’t keep a pair of legs longer than a few hours was ridiculous. However, you couldn’t stop yourself. Aside from Zeff, he was the only one knowing your secret and never made you feel uncomfortable about it.

Three knocks at the door extracted you from your thoughts followed by the sound of the key in the keyhole. You aren’t kept captive in the Baratie, but for your safety, Zeff had a long time ago asked you to lock the door, preventing anyone to simply walk on you as you were unable to freely move, stuck like a fish in a tank. Usually, your only visitor at these hours was the old chef coming to thank you for the show and often tell you stories about his time of piracy. 

But, it was Sanji who entered the room, this time dressed in a navy suit, a tray in his hand. 

“ Good evening Madam, I thought you should be famished after such an enchanting show “

“ I’m not really a Madam you know Sanji “ You smiled, amused even if the fact that you truly aren’t a human woman stung your heart a little.” I’m indeed hungry, thank you”  

“ Nonsense. You are more a lady than many that I had served in this crappy restaurant “ He replied, approaching the coffee table of the bath to put your plate and silverwares as he pulled himself a chair '' Salmon with his creamy lemon sauce, I prepared it myself with caution. “ 

“ It smells fantastique “ You smiled, lifting your upper body enough to be able to eat. “ Hmm, that's delicious, I truly had nothing like this in the whole sea” 

Here again, that proud smile was plastered on his face, making you regret your own nature as he looked at you eating his own kind of tour de force. The vicious cramps traveling your fins,was another. Trying to keep your expression blank, you couldn’t sadly stop the moan of pain you let escape after a particular strong one. 

“ What happened Miss Y/N, something wrong ?!” A concerned Sanji asked, his hand cripping the side of the tube, ready to take action and extract you of the water if needed. 

“ It's nothing, the side effect of being too long on two legs instead of…fins.” You confessed, embarrassment coloring your cheeks. “ It takes me a lot of energy and control to keep the form of my legs, i’m just exhausted, it will be over  when I will leave after the closing of the restaurant” You reassured him, touched by his worried tone. 

“ I see, then why are you pushing yourself to do those shows if it’s hurt you afterward ? Does Zeff know ? “ 

Eating your dinner, you slowly nod of the head, remembering the first time the old man discovered you crying of pain in the tube. He had at first, like Sanji, been worried,but, hearring you out he had finally accepted the fact that he couldn’t make you change your mind.  

“ It’s worth it. For the moment I can’t, people aren’t ready yet, but one day, I want to sit on this stage in this form. I want people to know that they don’t have to be afraid of us. We can sing without bewitching them, we don’t chase them if they fall in the water. when we shed tears, it’s from pain, not to make a profit of their medicinal effect. That’s my dream, that one day I will be able to show people that we are good, not monsters. “

“ It’s an admirable dream “ Sanji smiled, a tenderness in his eyes.” If somebody is capable of such a thing it’s you.  After all you didn’t have to talk or sing, I had been spellbound the minute I saw you and I'm sure that the audience could say the same. “

Looking at his sincere face, you felt the warm sensation of hope blooming in your scaly chest. 

“ I would never use my magic on you, you know Sanji aren’t you ? “ You replied, wishing you had not misunderstood his words. 

“ I know, Madam. The things I feel every time I'm near you aren't an illusion, no lies could be that strong…” 

Your heart racing like if you were hunted by a shark, you gently placed your hand on his, tangling them affectionately. 

“ Sanji, would you walk me to the deck tonight…” You demanded. The walk, situated at the tail of the building, wasn’t very long, but it would let you spend a lot of time in his company before having to go back in the water. 

“As you wish Y/N “ He promised, watching your tangled hand. “ I should go, the restaurant will close soon and the old man will probably look out for me.”

“ See you later, I will wait for you outside, near your usual smoking place” You confirm, gripping the side of the tub in excitement. 

“ I will be there, see you later “ He replied before going out, leaving you alone to realize what just happened.

--

The half moon was high when Sanji got out of the closed Baratie.Without realizing it, he had replayed in his head every of your smile and phrases during your conversation, still amazed that you returned his affection.  But as he arrived at the meeting spot, his heart missed a beat. 

A hand against your mouth, flanked by two customers previously kicked out, you were fighting for your life, your fragile leg giving up under you as you tried to get yourself free.

“ Let her go now” He ordered, rage filling his veins. How could they dare touch your perfection and try to steal you from him.

“ Mate, go back inside mind your own business !” One of the pirates replied, trying to move you.  

“ I say, let her go. “ Sanji repeated, taking his fighting stance. The men were larger and heavier than him, but with his training and under your terrified gaze, he couldn’t lose. 

It didn’t take long to put them down. Sadly, you join them when your knees buckle due to the loss of energy. 

“ Y/N are you okay ? “ The blond jumped, catching you.

“ Yes I…need the water...I…I’m sorry” You said, tears filling your eyes. “ They said somebody saw me coming out of the water, they were waiting for me, Sanji…I can’t sing here anymore…” 

“ I will inform the old man, he will find the person and you will be able to sing here as long as you want.” He promised, caressing the side of your face. “ Let me put you in the water, your skin is cold and you shake of exhaustion  “ 

“ No wait I wanted...I wanted to…never mind” You said, avoiding his gaze as your legs disappeared. 

“ What ? Tell me  “ He insisted. 

“ I wanted to kiss you…during the time I have legs…like a normal girl but…they're gone…I’m sorry it’s stupid.”  You sigh, embarrassed. 

“ A normal girl…Madam, don’t lower yourself to that, you’re fantastic as you are and I would never want anything else. Now if you let me “ He reassured you, lifting you in his arms in a bridal style before gently putting his lips against yours.  

Kissing him was like breathing underwater :soft,warm and perfect. As he gently retreated his mouth, you could still see that something was in this thought. 

“ You can sing here as much as you want but…I think I have a proposition for you. Yesterday a guy offered me a place in his crew, the Old man pushed me to go for it…find the All blue.  Please, come with me…You could show people like you wanted that you not what they thought, I will protect you and these crew seem really good” 

The offer takes you by surprise, you never could imagine The Baratie without him. In fact, you couldn’t imagine yourself singing there anymore if he wasn’t even there to watch you perform, nor could you think of your life without him in it. 

“ Okay, if they accept me I will follow you” 

—

The straw hat crew didn’t just accept you, you became a member of the group. 

Swimming  along the boat, signaling at Sanji to be ready,you take some speed and jump grabbing the dangling rope, letting you perform Luffy's favorite number : The flying mermaid.

Helped by your previous momentum, you rise above the lower deck and fall in the arm of Sanji, always waiting to catch his precious mermaid.

[kookoofufu]

Actually you know what would be sick for opla season 2? To have the warlord meeting introducing Doflamingo and Kuma. So at the end of alabasta when the straw hats are sailing into the sunset with robin, we cut to the warlord meeting to replace Crocodile. Mihawk's already there, we introduce Sengoku, plus Garp with Koby and Helmeppo (i don't think they'll be a big part of s2 so it'll be a nice cameo). Suddenly, Helmeppo grabs his sword and swings at Koby, who is distressed and confused. "Stop it, Doflamingo, I know this is your doing," says Garp. And out of the shadows steps the evilest bitch of the series in his giant sunglasses and giant hot pink feather boa, laughing menacingly with his limp wrist (it's the strings but the opla audience won't know that). And next to him is Kuma with his bible. What a combo (plus we get their 'bounty cancelled' posters). Mihawk says something sassy and scathing, Koby is lowkey losing his shit, and then we hear the sound of tap dancing as a mysterious voice from the shadows mentions for the first time: Blackbeard.

[layla4567]

~MASTERLIST~

i opened requests btw (sorry if it took me a while to answer them)

🔥: spicy/smut ❤️: fluff 😢: angst (just a little)

Marvel

Peter maximoff:

Imagine with quicksilver ❤️

One shot/ Peter maximoff ❤️

Imagine: a relaxing shower 🔥

You know what I mean ❤️

I'm not doing it 🔥❤️

Nursing day ❤️

Loki:

Headcanons of Loki ❤️

Imagine with Loki 🔥

Headcanon: Loki as a dad ❤️

Nightmare ❤️

Headcanon: Loki notices that you are on you period ❤️

Celtic ballad ❤️

In the meadows 🔥

The waterfall 🔥

SFW alphabet ❤️​

NSFW alphabet 🔥

I don't trust you 🔥

Plushie ❤️​

Dance for me 🔥

You're being mean ❤️​

Awful things to you 🔥

Shoot ❤️​

The stars are closer ❤️​

A merry christmas (lokius) ❤️​

Mobius meet your child with loki (uncle mobius) ❤️​

LOKI SERIES (OTHERS CHARACTERS)

Too close (Brad wolfe/Hunter X-5) ❤️​

Scars (Brad Wolfe) ❤️​

Steven Grant/Marc Spector/Jake Lockley:

Little imagine with Steven Grant ❤️​

I'm just a librarian (canceled) ❤️​

headcanon: the boys with pets ❤️​

Bucky:

Headcanons of Bucky ❤️​

Adam Warlock:

Would you help me? ❤️

Adam Warlock headcanons ❤️🔥😢

Drabble (wandavision AU) ❤️

Teach me ❤️

Namor:

A lullaby, a lotus flower and a cardinal ❤️

Evan Peters

Colin Zabel:

Magic night 😢🔥(it's just suggestive)

Vaccines are good ❤️

Evan:

Lingerie ❤️​🔥​

Birthday girl ❤️​🔥​

The bear

Luca:

Working together ❤️​

Will Poulter:

Behave well 🔥​

Gotham

Jeremiah:

That's how the money works 🔥​(suggestive)

Lewd pollen🔥​

Bruce Wayne

Let me take care of you ❤️​

Star Wars

Cal Kestis:

May the force be with you ❤️​

I'm right here 😢​❤️​

Are you afraid of the dark?

Mr. Tophat:

My Ballerina 😢​❤️​🔥​

Are you lost? 😢​

The hunger games

Coriolanus Snow:

Until the birds stop singing 😢​❤️​

One Piece Live Action

Opla boys with a short reader headcanon ❤

Time for hugs (Luffy sfw drabble) ❤

Sanji with a mechanic reader headcanon ❤

The straw hats hearing your laugh for the first time ❤

Sanji with a fem reader with long hair (headcanon) ❤

The medical (sanji) ❤

Me gustas tu (Luffy) ❤

Until we meet again (Mihawk) ❤🔥

Sweet as peaches (Sanji fluff drabble) ❤

Until we meet again pt2 (Mihawk) ❤

A whole new world (Shanks) ❤

A whole new world pt2 (Shanks) ❤

The straw hat with a spanish speaker ❤

Wild west au/ monster trio 🔥

Opla men with a spanish speaker pt2 (mihawk, buggy and shanks) ❤

Sanji with a reader who loves to collect trinkets (headcanons) ❤

Morning routine with Sanji ❤

Take off the sails

Monster trio buying sanitary pads ❤

Valentine's day is for fools ❤

Until we meet again (final part) ❤🔥

Old men with a short reader (buggy, shanks and mihawk) ❤

Halloween costumes with the straw hats ❤

Strawhats with a tall reader ❤

REQUESTS

Hot cocoa (Hunter D90-Loki series) ❤

I'm right here (Cal Kestis-Star wars)

Dance for me (Loki-MCU)

My silly little man (Mobius-Loki series) ❤

Visitors (Mobius) ❤

Sanji with a rapunzel fem reader

Are you lost? (mr.tophat)

A little bit of mischief (D90 loki series) ❤

OTHER

Ken (Barbie 2023) with a reader who wears glasses ❤

..............................................................................................................................

[thetempleofthemasaigoddess]

Bellona’s masterlist

Separate masterlist for the Tolkien Legendarium (All media)

Separate masterlist for Beast in Black (OPLA Mihawk x reader)

Fanfictions

Solomon Kane

Solomon Kane

Bride of Christ, Bride of Man

The witch's companion

*****

Willow

Graydon Hastur

The bride of the flautist-prince

*****

Father Brown

Bunty Windermere

Sweet serenade (part one) (part two) 🌞

*****

One Piece (Live Action)

Sanji

Chocolate-flavoured lips (part one) (part two) 🌞

Gentleman caller

Red-Haired Shanks

Flowing like a river (part one) (part two) 🌞

Let me breathe for you (part one) (part two)🌞

The hills turn crimson as I take your hand in mine (part one) (part two) 🌞

What do Gods know of love

The Heart of Thago (part one) (part two) 🌞

Roronoa Zoro

The art model

Life drawing

The gift of the pink dragon

My swordsman

Usopp

Bird-shaped letterbox

Sweet dreams (part one) (part two) 🌞

*****

One Piece (anime/manga)

Silvers Rayleigh

Chapter seventeen

Bartolomeo the Cannibal

Dancing in moccasins

Roronoa Zoro

His fourth sword

Yamato

The song of the lone wolf (part one) (part two) 🌞

*****

Lost Boys/What We Do in the Shadows

Laszlo Cravensworth

Abendrot

*****

Headcanons lists

Centurion

Titus Flavius Virilus

Being a Pict spy and falling in love with Virilus would involve...

*****

Ocean's 8

Rose Weil

Being the group's bodyguard and being in love with Rose would involve...

*****

Father Brown

Bunty Windermere

Getting married to Bunty would involve...

*****

Yellowstone

Jamie Dutton

Being Jamie Dutton's daughter would involve...

*****

One Piece (Live Action)

Red-Haired Shanks

Red-Haired Shanks headcanons

Being a native of Foosha Village and falling for Shanks would involve...

Cabaji the acrobat

Being part of Buggy's crew and developing a relationship with Cabaji would involve...

Roronoa Zoro

Marriage of convenience and public sex with Roronoa Zoro

Your boyfriend Zoro being transformed into a girl would involve…

Being Zoro's dance teacher would involve...

Sanji

Sanji being kidnapped by your father and the two of you falling in love would involve...

Being part of a rival crew and becoming Sanji's lover would involve...

Usopp

You and your boyfriend Usopp taking care of a child would involve...

*****

One Piece (anime/manga)

Yamato

Being Kaidou's prisoner and falling in love with Yamato would involve...

Flame Emperor Sabo

Friends with benefits to lovers with Sabo

*****

What We Do in the Shadows

Nandor the Relentless

Being a vampire and discovering Nandor is your ancestor would involve... (part one) (part two) (part three) 🌞

*****

🌞 denotes complete multiparters.

Videos masterlist - movies - part 1

Videos masterlist - movies - part 2

Videos masterlist - movies - part 3

Videos masterlist - TV series - part 1

Videos masterlist - TV series - part 2

Headcanons masterlist

[auxiliarydetective]

Upcoming Projects

Aka ones I have planned but might never finish because I'll run out of energy, but I do nonetheless want to do them!

These are in no particular order, by the way, so don't see this as a roadmap or something - I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm not creatively dead. Cursive ones are one's I'm currently actively working on/cycling between

Cora's Live Action poster Done!

Something for Luz and Anita related to dancing

Introduction (meaning fic snippets, manip, moodboard + playlist) and potentially a poster for my new OPLA plot bunny

Bull Randleman content - which will probably involve Anita too because I am forever an OC gremlin, but the focus should be on Bull

A continuation of Cora's fic Done!

My portion of the super secret sideblog @daughter-of-melpomene and I are working on

A fic of Varsha and Henry failing at communication because of cultural issues and stupidity

Fleshing out my LOTR OC and attempting to acquire and watch the series

The fic snippet I wanted to write related to the Bob Andrews Halloween costume @maxwellshimbo posted

Sketches of Varsha's relationship with the League

Reworking my pinned post and with that the megaproject that is the OC MASTERPOST REMAKE

A history of Gol D. Roger's travels posted on my sideblog for @starcrossedjedis

Fleshing out my OFMD OC and actually watching the series

A drawing of Varsha and Enola (LXG OC by @daughter-of-melpomene - she and Varsha would be besties!)

Stained glass window style drawings of my OCs

Other stuff that I'm probably forgetting right now or that other people will inspire me to make or that randomly pops into my brain whenever inconvenient

So yeah, that's it. For now. Knowing my brain, this list will probably grow longer. I'll also be progressing fairly slowly because I have adult and uni stuff to be doing

[vavivuvevo10]

KPOP! BTS!

Hmmm.. speaking about my life. Kayanya 60% bagian hidup gue adalah KPOP. Dulu emang ga suka kpop. Alay lah atau ga oplas lah, banci lahh kkk sekarang malah kualat. Asal mula suka kpop itu karna awalnya dikasih tau kdrama. Jadi waktu itu gue yang buta banget sama kpop akhirnya disodorin drakor , kalo seinget gue waktu itu namanya To The Beautiful You drama tahun 2012an lah ya.. itu yang main Minho Shinee & Sulli ex-f(x). kangen banget masa dimana gue liat si minho dengan kulit tanningnya, trus senyumnya itu loh wkwk. Awalnya cuman nonton 1 drama tapi lama-lama gue jadi demen banget sama drama lain. Kalo ga salah waktu itu drama yang gue tonton tuh kaya The Heirs, I can hear your voice, Heartstrings, Playful Kiss, You who came from the star, Love Rain. Pokoknya jaman gue masih tergila2 sama actor korea gitu. Tapi lama-lama gue jd suka kpop. Awalnya itu suka SNSD karna waktu drama To The Beautiful You gue suka dengerin ost nya, apalagi lagunya Taeyeon-Closer. Disitu naksir banget sama suaranya Taeyeon. Suaranya taeyeon tuh ga cempreng tapi bikin adem aja kalo ada high notenya. Trus jadi ngebiasin sosok leader snsd ini deh. Trus lama-lama jadi kenal boygrup juga kaya Exo, Suju, Shinee, 2pm, Infinite. Tapi pas saat itu gue malah fans berat nya artis SM mungkin karna mukanya cakep2 sih. Nah ditahun 2014-2015 tuh baru gue ngalamin break antara hidup gue & kpop, udah mulai berenti dengerin lagu kpop, trus kalo udah ada berita kpop cuman “Oh iya” aja. Pada saat itu juga gue kurangin nonton drakor, intinya pada saat itu gue bosen sih. Gue lebih milih nonton series barat waktu itu nontonnya PLL saking bingung gatau mau nonton apalagi. Sampe akhirnya di tahun 2016 pas jaman semester 2 kuliah saat itu gue  sering dateng main ke asrama temen sekelas gue. Disitu gue liat sosok 7 makhluk dalam  beberapa koleksi foto artis kpop dikamar dia hahhaa waktu itu gue tau temen gue itu emang suka kpop (sangat) nah trus gue tanya tuh, “itu idol korea? Siapa sih?” trus kata temen gue “oh itu bts vi, mereka lucu-lucu gue ngebiasin Jin” awalnya pas denger nama-nama membernya agak terlihat lucu sih, “Rap Monster” “V” “Jungkook” “Jin”  bikin ngakak lah., tapi akhirnya gue menyadari bahwa BTS bikin gue kembali ke dunia KPOP sih. Literally mereka berhasil membuat gue suka lagi sama Kpop. Waktu itu yang bikin gue tertarik sama BTS adalah Mv mereka yang judulnya Dope. Kalian pasti tau lah itu lagu hits banget (pada masanya) dan gue sampe ulang trus berkali-kali. Trus gue malai menjelajahi Dance Practice mereka, reality show mereka, dll. Jadi sampe sekarang gue merasakan terbangkit kembali menjadi seorang kpoper. Untuk suka dukanya sih banyak, pertama karna KPOP hidup gue jadi terisi meskipun gue lagi LDRan ya ngerasain kesepian di malam hari. Tapi kalo dibilang dukanya sih banyak. Gue ga bisa trus cerita tentang KPOP ke orang-orang yang terbilang seleranya normal aja, karna mereka selalu meremehkan KPOP. Ok segitu aja pengalaman gue tentang KPOP. Gue bakal cerita lagi soal kenapa gue suka BTS. But not in this article . See ya!

[fanaticsnail]

An Apology from FanaticSnail:

For all of you who viewed my most recent post that I have since deleted: I would like to apologise. For context, it was the conclusion of the Swing-Sway-Shag and now "Shimmy".

I posted it and immediately afterwards I decided I was not happy with the turn of events and decided to retract it from Tumblr to develop the plot a little more before reuploading it.

I feel like we all deserve a little more than exclusively 2,400 of explicit smut without plot. The characters deserve better, you guys deserve better and I feel like I have more in me to give to these characters before I bid them farewell and move on towards another project.

If you managed to sneak a look at the words I'd written - I will be keeping them in, just fleshed out a lot more to aid in the dynamic than just an assault of graphically written imagery between the broody warlord and the charismatic clown with our acrobatic reader.

Again, I'm sorry. I'm looking forward to releasing it once it's truly completed and resolved.

Love you all, and I aim to not disappoint you with this next chapter.

(EDIT: new chapter has now been uploaded and doubled in word count)

[fanaticsnail]

Rivalry-anon here with another train of thought, biggy is insecure but elated to be mihawks rival...what an intimidating confidence boost!

Mihawk is livid 😂

Ahhhh, you're killing me anon!! I love the dynamic so much, I CAN'T 😭.

I also like the idea that reader is blissfully ignorant of the whole thing, that just brings me so much joy.

(Picture source 2001 Moulin Rouge: el tango du Roxanne)

[fanaticsnail]

I hear your concerns about writing Luffy dancing Bachata since he's so playful and the dance is very sensual. HEAR ME OUT: DRAMATIC SPINS USING HIS GUM GUM POWERS. Like he goes to spin you and he just spins you to 4 feet away by just stretching his arms.

It would be funny AND adorable😌

Ok I hear you loud and clear. I love it 😍

[fanaticsnail]

The Buggy Dance fic is sooooooo gooooood!! I know that we all came here for the you-know-who (and let me say that the Acrobat&Captain's relationship are just chef's kiss) but omg the way you describe the crew is amazing?? Them having regular dance nights, being friendly and having fun together, practicing different dance styles, captain dancing with all of them on the regular basis?? I want to cry how well written it is an how much I wish we saw that in-canon. That's the way i love to imagine the Buggy Pirates and I am in love how you describe them.

P.S. May I recommend you the soundtrack for Cirque Du Soleil's 'Curios' show? I find that it fits pretty well with the general mood of the crew :)

Aww, thank you so much! I really try to get into the why behind the stories (specifically one shots) for it to make sense properly in my head. I always like to do a deep dive on how it all functions, specifically if any background or OCs are needed for the plot to plot.

I feel like the Buggy-Pirates need that type of absolute trust, rapport and comradery for it to properly function in my mind. As a former acrobat, there's nothing worse than a dry-dynamic with nothing to build upon.

I just had a look at the soundtrack titles, and I'm already in love. Thank you for suggesting it!! Steampunk telegram, chef's kiss 🤌.

As much as I am so excited to write the trio, the epiphany that came to me for Zoro (with some prompting from a new friend who would like to remain anonymous [AND CHEF-HUSBAND for some reason!]), his one-shot will be up next: hopefully later today.

I'm so glad you enjoy reading my writing. I will definitely add more Buggy to my repertoire. After the 15-part series, I just needed to mourn a little bit and work on something different. Now I'm back on track and loving it!

I so appreciate you taking time out to write this, really spurs me along and makes it happen ❤️. So much love to you 😘

[fanaticsnail]

If you ever need visuals/inspiration for the dancing prompts I am HERE.

Mihawk (tango):

You obviously are familiar with Mr & Mrs Smith and the ICONIC Morticia and Gomez dances. However, may I suggest;

"Cell Block Tango" - you know I had to include it.

"Shall we dance?" (2004) - so sensual and intimate. Poetry in motionm

"Take the Lead" - there's a tango in a detention centre with two people (which is what I was thinking of), but there's also a lovely sandwich tango (iykwim)

And my personal fave: the introducing the tango scene from the story of Vernon and Irene castle - and old movie, black and white, but my GOD the CHEMISTRY. The CUNT. The FLUIDITY. The subtle but adoring smiles and glances.

Luffy:

Ok the Bachata for Luffy is perfect and I don't want to change it but I would like to offer up for your viewing/imagining pleasure: La Cucaracha. Simple, sweet. Folk dance. Gives young love. Lots of Luffy vibes. Just imagining them dancing in a town square.

Otherwise, no notes. The song is amazing I can't wait.

Buggy (swing):

Songs wise:

Tangled up - Caro Emerald (specifically the Lokee remix)

Dancing with the devil - Elle & the pocket Belle's

And idk how swing they are necessarily but; I don't have a name for it by Steam Powered Giraffes, Gentlemen by OR3O (or even All eyes on me by OR3O, but that's less of a love song and more angsty), vending machine of love by the stupendium

Zoro (Capoeira):

I love this. When I heard(read) "dance series" I immediately knew a dance fight style would KILL. I never knew Capoeira before this so I have to thank you for introducing me because *chefs kiss* muah.

I couldn't find many Capoeira scenes in movies or shows, but from what I did see there's a lot of break-dance-esque leg action. So I gotta suggest the Eggsy vs Gazelle fight from Kingsmen. (Side note: the kingsmen movies are actually so camp).

If you don't know, Gazelle is an antagonist with prosthetic legs that are basically spears and she fights with a lot of slashes. The scene is beautiful. Lots of legs swinging, lots of fists flying, very lethal. Lots of physics defying and frankly reality bending moments that fit into the drama of anime fighting, specifically one piece.

Now idk where it would fit but I would kill myself if I didn't mention the Naacho Naacho dance scene (essentially a dance battle) in the movie RRR (seriously good movie, it is v long tho). It's an Indian movie set during the war of the English colonisation. One of the main characters has a crush on a white girl who invites him to a party, and his friend tags along for moral support. They use the power of friendship and dance to defeat a racist white guy who thinks that they're not sophisticated bc they don't even know how to dance any of his fancy dances (which aren't even english dances, by the way) by dancing a dance that gets everyone to join bc it's so fun, and they manage to continue dancing as everyone falls around them bc of the pace and stamina needed. If you watch none of the scenes I've suggested, please watch this one.

Honourable mentions;

Zendayas dance off in dancing with the stars (https://youtu.be/2Iw951fviP4?si=_Bj4Wav5pcpYyLIZ)

And it's not necessarily a romance song and the context is icky but the tempo and the cunt in 'Papi' by Todrick Hall and Nicole Scherzinger from 'Straight Outta Oz' (musical) is unmatched, and there's a music video with some dancing.

Oh my gosh, yes 😫. I love all of these things.

For the Mihawk Tango/Pasadoble; immediately my mind went:

-Zorro & Elena from The Mask of Zorro: Soooo enemies to lovers

-Mr & Mrs Smith, the drama and disaster: I love it

-AND!!!!! El Tango de Roxanne from Moulin Rogue: Need I say more? The DRAMA, The EMOTION, AHH.

-TAKE THE LEAD is where my brain went YES!!!!!! The dominant gentleman lead, the DRAMA I LOVE.

For the Luffy Bachata its a bit more tricky for me to find an appropriate reference for it because he's so PLAYFUL and less sensual than the way it.

-Mr & Mrs Smith has the Mondo Bongo scene that I think about quite regularly for references.

-I also am on the dance side of TikTok currently, these vids keep popping up and I adore them.

Now, for the Buggy Solo I'm having some conflicting thoughts. He deserves a soft little dancey dance, but I could also see it getting VERY ANGSTY very quickly.

My song choices are as follows:

-Sway by Mr Bubes himself.

-Express Burlesque by Christina Aguilera just screams Buggy to me.

-The improv style that Emeline brings to this dance off is just MENTAL, I love it. Like, soooo playful my brain can't process it.

ZORO is REALLY TRICKY.

However, my inner teenager went immediately here, to Aang and Katara's dance in the caves.

I will need to check out RRR again, it has been a hot minute.

Shanks as a Jig is superb: @sordidmusings has me in a chokehold with this suggestion and as a former Irish Dancer myself, I simply can't imagine anything more FUN than THIS. Like, as a violinist, this is going to be so much fun to write.

Hobbits dancing on a table, The Jolly Roving Tar is just immediately speaking to me. I could also see the circular jig from Disney's Tangled being incorporated with the entire crew.

The Buggy x Mihawk Sandwich is just writing itself at this stage, my brain rot is simply drawn to the dynamic and I can't even process it.

Masterlist Link for when they drop!

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AAAAAAAAA!!!

how dare you

How dare you seduce me with pining glances and sweet fluff and then twist a knife in my back with angst!!!

(/j I loved it)

Did you have a visual in mind for the dancing? (If so please share) I, personally, have a soft spot for the dance scene in Cinderella (2015). Though, if you're looking for a more upbeat dance (which I think is possibly more of a tango? Idk how to classify dances) the dance scene from Waltz for Ava Che is an honourable mention.

I'm sorry, it was meant to be cute and fluffy but it got very angsty very quickly! I honestly can't wait to write the rest.

I had a few reference videos that I was using for the dance. The list are as follows:

The Enchanted dance scene between the two leads was in the forefront of my mind. I also had to look for some ballroom references, and came across a few historical-type references. I also admit the Cinderella dance was also playing around in my mind: "they're all looking at you" being the quote that comes to mind from that; the smiles, the glances, the sighs - I love it.

I also absolutely adore the scene from one of my childhood favourites: Anastasia.

Honestly, the Indila song was being blasted from my tv and I was literally holding up a glass of Cab Sauv in my loungeroom; dancing a waltz by myself in my oversized Frog and Toad Pajama top and imagined how it was going to go (how pathetic, right? 😭🤣).

EDIT TO ADD: Damon and Elena from TVD was also heavily influenced in the pining aspect

Music seriously moves me, and I love thinking in detail about how scenes would play and attempting to relay them to the best of my abilities on paper.

I love a good pine; also a good wine 🍷👌

Masterlist here for the rest of the dance series.

[fanaticsnail]

Blade Song

Another part of the Dance Series. Thank you to a beautiful anon who reached out to give me some thoughts and prompts to utilize to bring this piece together. Masterlist here. Also, thank you @sordidmusings for being an absolute legend and helping me with the tunes.

Word Count: 5,065

(First time writing for Zoro!)

The warm embers of an open fire glowed a vibrant shade of red against the sandy shore of the beach. The sun had only just started to become eclipsed by the vast coastline of the ocean, prompting the last rays to tint the air pink as its last farewell. Sounds of singular plucked guitar strings harmonised by the crackle of dried wood in the fire, many among the large troop had risen to their feet to sway their bodies in time to the rhythm; all the Straw-Hat pirates amongst the crowd.

Well, apart from one member.

Zoro lay reclined on his back, his arms cradling the back of his neck as he gazed at the purple hue of tinted clouds beginning to depart in favour of gentle starlight. Peaking out of the corner of his eye, he views Nami spinning amongst the dancers, linking arms with Luffy before laughing and plonking to the ground; becoming exhausted from the vigorous movements.

Shifting downwards onto your knees beside him, you release a gentle cough to alert him of your presence. He shifts his gaze up to meet your position, a wide smile welcoming you as you raise a large bottle of beer to indicate for him to take it from within your hands. You slid your hand to the bottom of the beer bottle to make it easier for him to take it from you without needlessly touching him.

“For me?” he asks, propping himself up onto his elbow, still partially reclining against the sand.

“Of course,” you smirked and nod your head to him, waving the bottle in front of him. He chuckles and grasps the neck of the bottle, nodding in thanks as he gently takes it from you and immediately swigs from it.

You giggle a little, turning your attention back to your troop dancing amongst the crowd; Sanji leaning down to Nami in a polite bow with his right hand extended to ask her to dance. She politely shakes her head to decline, prompting the blonde chef to seem slightly disappointed by the outcome.

“Oh, poor Sanji,” you raise your eyebrows upwards and fall your lips into a tight, thin line; tsking your lips in pity. Zoro looks up at your face, furrowing his brows before turning to look at the chef.

“Why ‘poor Sanji’?” he asked you, taking another swig from the bottle.

“Oh,” you gasped in surprise, not realising your pittance was released from your lips, “its just; he’s a really good dancer and finally has the opportunity to show off his skills and Nami just rejected him,” you shrug.

You turn your sights back to look at Sanji who appeared to be sulking a little more, going back to the food vendor and asking for a drink to drown his partial sorrow. Zoro furrowed his brows deeper in thought, looking between both you and the chef.

“You’ve danced with him, then?” Zoro asked you nonchalantly, again raising the neck of the glass beer bottle to his lips. You brought your attention back to the swordsman at your side, scrunching up your nose playfully at him.

“He’s actually yet to ask me,” you smiled at him, “but I’ve seen him dancing with a few of the women here, and he’s superb.”

Zoro grunted a little at your reply, his voice gruff as he drained the last of the contents of the amber liquid within the bottle. He sighed in contentment as the alcohol hit his stomach, enjoying the slight buzz it brought to him.

“Do you dance, Zoro?” you asked him curiously, arching up your eyebrow to him.

“No,” he replied immediately, without a semblance of hesitation from within. You giggled at his hasty reply, urging your body closer to his position on the sand.

“Not even for me?” you pouted playfully.

“Not even for you,” he nodded without looking at you, exhorting a crease in your brows in response.

“Oh,” you replied, shifting your body back away from the close proximity to the swordsmen.

Zoro was one of the Straw-Hats you found it the most difficult to build rapport with; his gruff exterior intimidating for the cheery and jovial attitude you brought to the crew. Luffy immediately took a shine to you, bouncing off each other’s perpetual warmness to spark joy throughout the crew. Nami began her relationship with you slightly more standoffish, but her exterior cracking the more you hyped her up with subtle jabs and challenges. Your favourite of the challenges you had put to her included: placing a wager on whether she could literally steal the pants off a marine without them noticing, which she absolutely could; a sight to see for the Straw-Hat crew to enjoy together.

Usopp enjoyed confiding in you with his insecurities, prompting a more mentor-mentee relationship to develop between the two of you as you navigated throughout his fears and worries in your travels. Sanji was different. He flirted hard with both Nami and you, as the only women on board. Nami would absolutely not entertain his flirtations in the slightest, whereas you would always reflect the flirtation back onto him; causing a red hue to rise upon his cheeks in response. Everything was always playful with him, never taken further than a brush of a lip upon your knuckles, or a warm rub of the shoulders to comfort your crewman.

That was your role: ships chief negotiator and guidance councillor, building rapport and comradery through playfulness and joy. Zoro was yet to crack under your cheery disposition, which prompted you to seek him out this evening; praying he would finally warm to you. Truthfully, you had begun to develop feelings of great fondness for the swordsman. The way he protected the ship as a loyal knight would to defend the honour of the crown drew you to him immediately.

Zoro sighed, placing down the bottle and fully rising to a seated position as he continued to face away from you. You turned your gaze away from him and looked off to the side, bringing your hands to rest on your bare upper arms to bring warmth back to your skin. The departure of the sun’s rays always brought a chill to your body, the sea breeze carrying the cold and pricking to raise your hair follicles in response to it.

“I, uh-,” you began, turning back to look at Zoro’s face once again, “-I’ll just go then. Sorry to disturb your night, swordsman.” He turned back his face towards you, the subtle orange glow from the fire highlighting his features. You nodded with a smile, rose to your feet and turned to bring yourself back to the merriment of dancers on the beachfront.

Zoro’s eyes trailed you as you extended your hand to one of the men among the beach goers, effortlessly swooping to the sandy dunes and maneuvering your body to sway with them to the beat. You were all smiles and all touches; drawing your hands to the necks, shoulders, forearms, waists and hands of those who you danced with. Zoro watched as the men would effortlessly spin you, grasping their hands and bodies to hold you closer to them and sway to the beat.

Nami approached Zoro, sitting herself down on a tall log next to him as they watched you entwine yourself now within the arms of your captain; his cheery laughter prompting you to radiate the warmth within yourself and join with his joy.

“Not dancing, swordsman?” Nami asked him, quirking her chin to the side to acknowledge him. Zoro grunted in response, continuing to watch as Luffy spun you in his arms, capturing you within his supernatural arm extension to constrict around your waist.

Nami kicked her right foot against Zoro’s left thigh, prompting the green-haired swordsman to frown up at her position next to him.

“You know she likes you, right?” she asked him, narrowing her eyes and smirking down at his sat position. He shook his head slightly, looking back to the captain and the councillor as they swayed their bodies close together to the beat.

“What are you talking about?” he murmured with a growl-like undertone. Nami rolled her eyes at the swordsman and angled her chin upwards at the interaction occurring between the two Straw-Hats engaging in a variety of twirls and sways to the music together.

“The ship’s councillor, Mr Oblivious,” she teased him, prompting his scowl to deepen, “surely you’ve noticed by now.”

Zoro shook his head at her, prompting Nami to roll her eyes with a long groan and maneuver herself to sit on the sand next to him; off the log she sat on prior.

“The way she is with you,” she commented, gesturing to you as you spun Luffy within your arms and trailed your hands to land on his waist, “the way she restrains herself with you.”

“Restrains herself?” Zoro asked, sitting upright and paying closer attention to the dance between you and Luffy, “what do you mean?”

Nami groans and sits closer to Zoro, nudging him with her shoulder, “watch them. Pay attention to her.”

Zoro rolled his eyes and began to narrow his gaze onto the way you were dancing with Luffy; all hands, swings and grazes: touches. Zoro’s eyes widened slightly as you laced your arms around the captain’s neck as he placed his arms around your waist, hoisting you into the air in a spin before you both collapsed onto the sand below; all smiles and laughter.

The swordsman shrugged his shoulders and continued to watch the interaction between you and Luffy; you placing your left hand on his right shoulder, he bringing his left hand over his front to clasp it around the back of your hand; both heads tilted back in laughter.

“Her hands?” Zoro asked, his monotonous tone raised in question.

“Yes,” Nami confirmed with a nod, “her hands, Zoro.”

Zoro shook his head, not quite understanding what the navigator was attempting to tell him.

“Look, Zoro. You are as clueless in navigating romance as you are in navigating a ship,” Nami groaned, placing her hand on Zoro’s left forearm, “she loves physically. She finds comfort in touch.”

“So?” Zoro asked, shaking his head, “what’s that got to do with me?”

“So,” Nami says slowly, rolling her head to lull back at the sky, “she doesn’t touch you, does she?”

Zoro furrows his brows in thought, shrugging off Nami’s grasp on his shoulder before trailing his eyes to zero-in on the Straw-Hat crew still dancing together. He recalls the way you have approached him so far; always with a small gift to present to him: a beer, a plate of food, a tool he required for maintaining his swords. You would sit close enough to him to be actively in his presence, but without making any physical contact with him. Praising his swordsmanship as he practices movements and motions above deck, you would watch him while notarising specific items you would need for the next upcoming adventure. All his thoughts falling back to you expressing your comradery with him in every way apart from physical.

He watched as Sanji returned from the vendor, an empty beer bottle clasped in his firm grip. He watched as Sanji placed the beer bottle on the sand next to him and extended his right hand out towards you as an invitation to dance while simultaneously hoisting you to your feet from your position on the floor. Zoro’s eyes widened before narrowing as you accepted the chef’s invitation with a wide smile and allowed yourself to be thrust flush against his body; legs lacing themselves together to join at the hips, swaying and tastefully gyrating to the rhythmic guitar.

The chef spun you in his arms, turning you to face away from him while circling both his and your arms around himself and continuing the sway. You both would take small steps to the left and right before Sanji effortlessly spun you twice to face against you once again. Zoro ignored the way his chest began to feel heavy under the weight of him viewing you both dance together, his breath hitching as Sanji’s hands wove themselves against your hips with a warm blush creeping up the chef’s face. Zoro couldn’t tear his eyes away from the movement of you reaching your hands up in the air and raking your fingertips against your forearm as you allowed Sanji to manipulate your body as an instrument of artistry.

“You’re an idiot,” Nami sighed, Zoro tearing his eyes away from the dance between you to scowl again at her.

“What are you talking about, Navigator?” he growled under his breath.

Nami smirked, turning her gaze to the captain as he waved her over towards him with a beckoning gesture. She placed her right hand on the dunes below, springing herself to her feet in a swift motion. Reaching an arm out towards the swordsman and grasping his left wrist, she pulled him to his feet and stepped into his intimidating proximity to utter in a low tone, “the sooner you realise you like her back, the easier it’s going to be for everyone.”

The navigator smirked, turning away from the standing swordsman to bring herself into the outstretched hands of her captain, laughing as he spun her into a dance again.

Zoro was left perplexed, not really certain what he should do with the nonsense spurted from the navigator. He found himself stalking the perimeter of the dancers slowly, keeping his eyes trained on the chef and the councillor as they continued to embrace one another.

He hadn’t given much thought to romantic encounters of late, training his body through strength and agility to become the world’s greatest swordsman to finally beat the title away from Dracule Mihawk. Seeing the way you swayed with the chef, now arching your back up into his torso and falling your hands slowly to find the back of the blonde’s neck with small shifts in your hips, he couldn’t help but picture you performing those movements with him.

You were always so careful with him; so cautious to not cause him any discomfort as he slept, ate or trained. The way you so cautiously and playfully asked him to dance, only for him to immediately shoot you down weighed heavy on his heart now, the pit growing stronger the longer you remained in the blonde’s arms.

Zoro found his teeth clenching as he watched Sanji lean his head against your neck, his lips almost meeting your clavicle as he raked his arms over your back and held you in a tight embrace, flush against his body as he spun and dipped you. You arched your back further, keeping the chef’s body against you as you leaned into him. The swordsman never felt the desire to study how to dance rise within him. He was now regretting never learning how at this very moment.

The tempo of the guitar began to slow, bringing the dance to a close. You and Sanji broke away from each other, laughing and applauding the musicians in appreciation of their craft. Zoro’s eyes beamed on the chef reaching his right hand out in search of your own, bringing your knuckles up to brush against his lips with a gentle caress. A melodical giggle presented itself through your lips, a coy smile drawn to your features as a small pink blush spread across your nose and cheeks.

Zoro needed to hit something; something that doesn’t matter to the performance and smooth sailing of his ship or crew. A growl released itself from his lips as he briskly began his descent towards the ocean shore, away from the view of the gathering of individuals dancing together around the fire.

“Thank you, Sanji,” you laughed as he released your hand from his grasp.

“Any time, love,” the chef replied, his yes falling on the ship’s navigator as she cheered for the musicians gleefully. You trailed your sites to follow his, looking at your orange-haired crewman.

“You going to try Nami again?” you quirked your head up at him, his eyes falling back to you in response to your question.

“After the bitter taste of rejection the first time?” he smirked with a light chuckle, “not in the slightest.” You scoffed at him, turning to view the crowd again; searching to locate your green-haired crewmate.

“He went down to the shore,” Sanji spoke beside you, a knowing smile drawing to his lips, “just in case you want to face your own rejection a second time.”

You rolled your eyes and lightly tapped Sanji’s shoulder to reprimand him, “I’ll tell you what, chef-.” His gaze softened in your addressal, nodding for you to continue on; “I’ll go get the swordsman and face my rejection, if you go to our navigator and face your own. Deal?”

You held out your right hand as indication for him to shake it. He clasped your hand within his own in a the perfect balance of a gentle but firm grip, uttering; “deal.”

As your pact was sealed, you turned from your blonde chef and walked down the dunes towards the shoreline as Sanji shook the hair away from his eyes and huffed out any inhibitions preventing him from approaching the navigator with an offer to dance.

Returning back to the log with your equipment laying against, you reequipped your cutlass and in its scabbard around your waist as you began your trek towards the foam of the ocean as it waded against the shore.

You brought your hand up to your brow as you narrowed your eyes in search for your green-haired, ear-pierced swordsman; falling your sights onto his as he effortlessly maneuvered himself while wielding three swords in a flowing movement. Your gaze softened as you watched him spin slowly with the blades, brandishing them with complete control and fluidity.

Gasping, you could almost see his movements slow in motion; focussing on his firm grip on the blades as his eyes bore down in complete concentration and control. You zeroed in on the flex of his forearms as he brandished his swords outwards, sweeping them throughout the air and halting them outwards, facing their tips to the sky.

Sitting yourself down on the dunes, you placed an elbow against your knee and cradled your face in your palm; watching the swordsman as he continued to flourish his skills with his blades outwards and inwards; the wave’s gentle crashing against the beach the soundtrack to his movements.

Time seemed to stop and slow as you watched him brandish his blades, spinning and turning with the perfect combination of control and ferocity. You couldn’t get enough of him, tilting your head and taking your bottom lip between your teeth as you unabashedly gawked at him.

“Don’t think I don’t see you there, Councillor,” Zoro called to you, his voice slightly muffled by the blade clutched between his teeth. You jolted your body back, unclenching your teeth from your lip as you looked down in shame.

“Apologies, Swordsman,” you spoke in a low tone, forlorn as you began to rise to your feet to turn back away from him. He took his third sword away from his lips and sheathed it at his side along with the other two in their scabbards.

“I didn’t say I minded your gaze,” he confessed with a smirk, trailing behind you in his approach.

You halted your retreat, turning back to face him once more with a furrow in your brows and a quirk in your jaw. His smirk softened a little as his eyes met with your own. You shook your head as you stepped closer to him, still remaining out of his reach and general proximity.

“I can’t get a read on you, Zoro,” you admitted with a small nod, “you either hate me more than anyone else among the crew or you’re completely indifferent towards me as one would be a complete stranger.”

Zoro took a step towards you once more, stalking forward and bringing his body fully into the sphere of your personal space. You chose to not budge or maneuver your body away from his, tilting your head to bring it upwards and quirking it to the side.

“Fight me,” he uttered, his eyes half lidded as he spoke in a low tone.

“What?” you furrowed your brows in question, shaking your head a little while floating your eyes between his two brown orbs through your eyelashes.

“Fight with me, I should say,” he smirked as he reached his left hand forward, initiating first contact between you as he clutched your right hand in his firm grip.

“Zoro-,” you began, trailing your gaze away from his eyes and looking at his hand placed against your wrist. He took a closer step into you, bringing his right hand up to clasp your wrist; dragging his left hand to lace themselves within your fingers.

“-I won’t dance,” he uttered in a low, monotonous tone; trailing his eyes to your fingers as he smoothed over your wrist, “but I can fight.”

He stooped his head downwards, his eyes closing at the proximity while smoothing over your skin with his thumb, rotating in gentle circles.

“If this be the only way I can draw you close to me,” you whispered lovingly up into his face, “I will gladly cross blades with you.”

A small smile draws itself to the side of Zoro’s lips as he reopens his eyes, seeking your own eyes to hold his attention and affection.

“Draw your cutlass, Councillor,” he murmured lowly, leading you down to the coastal shore by your hand to place your shoeless feet on firmer flat sand. He reluctantly released you from his grasp, turning away from you to retract his blades from their scabbards.

“I am no match for your skill, Swordsman,” you uttered while retracting your blade from its place against your hip and raising it, “but I will do my best to keep up with you in our dance.”

He quirked his head to the side with a smirk on his features, placing his third sword between his teeth once more. You drew your sword up to your face and held your non-dominant hand out to the side to ready yourself for his relentless attack.

Charging at you, his arms drawn back; you side-stepped him as he thrust his right sword at you. Continuing to avoid and evade his attacks, you circled to reach behind him to strike. He leapt within the air and spun his legs outwards to retreat from your advance.

Circling back around and side stepping your attacks, he brought his torso closer to you; the large gash from his dual with Mihawk pulling your attention to his chest. He followed your gaze, halting his next movement as you stopped your own.

He stepped closer to you, parting his lips to drop the white blade from his teeth and fall it to his open and awaiting hand. You flit your eyes up to search his as he spun and nudged his legs toward you, his swords now all clasped in his hands. You widened your eyes in shock as he began to sweep his blades at your feet, prompting you to flee from his advance towards the ocean away from him.

You jumped a little as your toes were met with the cool salted water, prompting you to lose your concentration slightly at the shock. You felt the blunt end of a blade snap itself against your dominant hand as a small reprimand at your action, bringing your sights away from the waves and back to the swordsman in front of you. He continued to trail you in a circle, lowering his body towards the ground as a predator would stalk its prey.

“See,” you said, flicking your sword down at your feet while circling your body away from the water, “I’m absolutely no match for you with blades.”

Stopping his relentless pursuit, he drew his body closer to you and swept his three blades off to the side.

“And I am no dancer,” he smirked before falling the small twinge of a smile from his lips.

You shook your head at him, a small smile pulling at your lips at the interaction. You continued to hold the distance between the pierced swordsman and yourself, raising the tip of your blade at him to halt his advance. He trailed his gaze, holding firm to your every movement in preparation for an oncoming attack.

“You can topple marine bases, slay enemy pirates, collect high bounties with ease,” you taunted him, narrowing your eyes as you gestured to his body with the tip of your steel, “but you cannot handle partnering a woman in dance?”

He growled in response, his eyes narrowing at your taunt; “if you want to be swept off your feet with crude gyrating and twirls, go back to the blonde chef you like so much.”

You dropped your smirk, widening your eyes at his comment and flourished your blade off to the side in a sweeping motion.

“Is that what you would like, Zoro?” you asked him, reducing your voice to little above a whisper, “to have me thrust into the arms of another?”

Zoro’s jaw tightened behind his lips, his teeth clenched firmly at the accusation. He offered no verbal response, prompting your brows to twinge a little in sorrow. You shook your head and flourished your cutlass, placing it back into your scabbard in a swift movement.

“So be it,” you said with a curt nod, bowing in a deep curtsey to the swordsman, “thank you for the invitation to cross my steel with yours, but I fear our little spar draws to an abrupt close.”

“We’re not done yet,” he uttered darkly, approaching you in a slow prowl.

You rose from your curtsey, a small smile pulling at your lips as your eyes met once more; “I will go and seek out someone else to join in crude gyrating to the music performed at the fire side-.”

Your words caught in your throat as the swordsman retracted his blades within his scabbards, closing the distance between your bodies in a swift motion and towering his body over yours. He stooped his body towards you, his face being a whisper away from colliding with your own. Your breath hitched in your throat at his proximity, feeling a heat pool over and rise within your chest and flood your cheeks with a rosy tinge.

“I said-,” he tilted his head while whispering intimately close to your lips, “-we’re not done yet.”

A shudder broke through your shoulders, a small whimper falling at his tone escaping from between your parted lips. He reached his hand up to brush some fallen strands of your hair behind your ear, you leant your body in to his touch with closed eyes. Trailing his fingertips down, he clasped your chin to firmly prompt you to reopen your eyes to look up at him through your eyelashes; his own brown orbs half-lidded as they bore down on you with intensity.

Flittering your gaze between his eyes, you arched your back up to him; no longer cowering away from his touch but embracing it.

“You no longer desire me to return to Sanji-?” you asked him in a breath under a whisper, trailing your gaze to stare at his lips.

“-I desire you,” he uttered in a low tone, bringing his lips to graze along your jaw alongside his fingertips. Your eyes fluttered closed as the brush of his lips trailed upwards towards your ear, breath hitching as you felt his mouth press down tenderly at your jaw.

You brought your hands up to circle around his neck and toy with the hair at the nape of his neck, your fingertips brushing against the long gold-drooped earrings hanging from his left earlobe.

“You desire me enough to dance with me by the fire?” you gasped as he increased the amount of pressure against your neck, trailing open-mouthed kisses back up towards your chin and the corner of your lip. You felt him smirk against the corner of your mouth before he broke away from his subtle trail.

He pressed his forehead against your own, closing his eyes as he whispered his response; “no.”

Your shoulders immediately dropped, your arms releasing the swordsman from your grasp. You broke from his embrace and stepped away from his close proximity.

“You toy with my feelings, swordsman-,” you began, only to have your words be halted by Zoro.

“-I don’t know how to dance,” he chuckled, shaking his head while trailing his left hand to rest behind his neck, “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Shock overcame you, your gaze trailing the open shirt of the swordsman down to his thighs and calves before bringing them back up to his torso and flittered down to his forearms.

“Let me show you how,” you uttered hastily, bringing your body back within its earlier intimate proximity; holding out your hand as an invitation for him to grasp it, “just take my hand.”

He turned his gaze down to the ground, muttering below his breath; “what am I doing?” before he reached out his left hand to clasp around your right, allowing you to pull him into a closer proximity.

“I am your sword,” you informed him, placing his hand to the small of your back, “and you are my master.”

Zoro released a small growl at the words you uttered, truly relishing in his title you bestowed him.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself now, Swordsman,” you warned him playfully, placing your hands upon his shoulders with a small giggle. His grip settled on your waistline, smoothing his arms and hands over your hips.

Off in the distance by the side of the large bonfire, small plucked strings of the guitar trailed its way to melodically converge against the crashing of the waves to create a sweet harmony within each other. Both worlds began to collide; the ferocity of sword wielding against the subtlety of a gentle sway of your hips.

“Now,” you said, rolling your neck up to gaze into his half-lidded eyes as he held your attention, “wield me. Tell me with your body what you want me to do, and I’ll follow you anywhere.”