#roronoa zoro imagines

[revasserium]

Pining Zoro and blind-to-it Reader?

un-certainly

opla!zoro; 3,422 words; fluff fluff fluff so much fluff, straw hat!reader, fem!reader, (seeminlgy) clueless!reader, lots of pining, banter, teasing, smitten!zoro, the whole nine yards

summary: in which everyone knows zoro's got it bad for you, except for you, of course.

one.

“so… i should just… talk to her.” zoro says uncomprehendingly, blinking at an exasperated nami, who has to take a long, steadying breath to keep from shoving him overboard. the waves beneath them are calm, the day above them, a gorgeous, endless stretch of blue so brilliant it almost pains the eyes to stare.

nami resists the urge to pinch her nose bridge as a dull ringing starts to echo in her ears.

“yes. sweet god — just go up to her and say ‘hey, i think i might like you’ and i guarantee you, things will go from there.”

zoro shifts his tightly knitted arms, squinting at her as if she might be lying or purposefully luring him into a trap, “go? so there’s a chance it could go badly.”

this time, nami really does drop her face into her hands, groaning loudly.

“well there’s always a chance it could go badly —”

“sounds like a bad idea to me.” zoro looks away, eyes still narrowed as the light sea breeze ruffles his hair, a colony of news coo squawking loudly overhead, one of them dropping down to careen towards the going merry, landing on the thick white railings next to them, ruffling it’s feathers as nami pushes off to dig in her pocket for some berry.

“oh! newspapers here!” your voice makes both zoro and nami jump, and a second later you’re bounding up the stairs to the forecastle deck and stuffing some berry into the news coo’s bag. your arm brushes by zoro’s as you lean over to offer the news coo a piece of dried shrimp, which it considers for a second before leaning forward and gobbling up.

nami gives zoro a soft shove from his other side, leveling him with a meaningful look before turning and making a show of going to check on her tangerine grove.

zoro doesn’t have time to glare before the news coo takes off with a pat-pat-pat of wings, leaving you and him very much alone on the sunny fore-deck. he purses his lips, casting about for something to say even as you hum happily to yourself, your arm still painfully close to his as you unroll the newspaper and flip though, blissfully unaware of the inner turmoil of the man standing next to you.

“uh — anything interesting?” zoro asks, desperate for something, anything to fill the silence.

you shrug, “nope… just the usual — uptick in piracy along the coast, tightening of marine patrols…” you turn and cast him a grin that makes his stomach twist inside him like a contortionist from buggy’s freakshow.

zoro clears his throat, thumbing absently at the hilt of his swords before taking a deep breath.

“hey — uh…”

“hm?” you turn towards him, with your wide attentive eyes and your stomach-curling smile.

zoro blinks, his gaze flickering from your soft button nose to the way the wind twines its fingers in the loose strands of your hair. two twin pearls glitter from the lobes of your ears and he feels the tension melt from him as he sucks in another breath.

just say it, nami had said, just tell her.

really, how hard could it be?

“i uh — there’s something i wanna talk —”

“wait, hold still,” you say, your eyes going wide as you lean forward suddenly and zoro’s visions tunnels in around him — you’re close, closer, too close/too close/too close!

your fingers card through his hair and he has to bite back the shiver that rockets down his spine as you pull your hand back with a black-tipped feather.

“the news coo left you a present,” you say, laughing as you offer him the feather.

zoro considers it for a second before taking it from you.

“it could’ve left worse,” he says, recalling the few times that he’d gotten bird shit in his hair.

you giggle; the sound makes him want to scream but instead, he settles for clearing his throat again.

“now, you make a wish,” you say, nodding towards the feather in his hand.

“never heard of that before,” he frowns slightly, “thought you could only wish on dandelion seeds and…” he waves at the endless stretch of sky above you, “shooting stars and stuff.”

your smile is so wide that zoro thinks his cheeks might start to hurt for you.

“haven’t you heard that rules are meant to be broken?” you ask, offering him the feather again. he looks at you, then at the feather, and the back at you.

“okay — i wish —”

you squawk flapping your hand, “no! you can’t tell me what the wish is! otherwise, it won’t come true!”

zoro smirks, cocking an eyebrow, “i thought rules were meant to be broken?”

you blush the most darling shade of red and he decides to take it easy on you (and, honestly, himself). so, he plucks the feather from your hand and closes his eyes, making a soft, silent wish. a wish that, in truth, he’d been making since the moment he met you.

when he opens his eyes, it’s to find you staring.

“kay. now what?” he asks, rolling the feather between his thumb and forefinger.

“now…” you gently tug the feather from him before opening your palm and letting the wind whisk it away, “you let the sea take your wish. and if you’re worthy, it’ll grant the wish for you!”

zoro lets out a breathy laugh, “if i’m worthy? and how’s it supposed to know that?”

you lean in, and if it were anyone else, he might’ve been annoyed, but with you, somehow, he finds himself charmed.

your voice is conspiratorial as you whisper, “because… the ocean knows all the secrets the sky can’t keep.”

two.

at dinner, with you by his side, usopp detailing some imaginary adventure, nami laughing, sanji blowing smoke rings towards the middle of the fire-lit deck. your cheeks are pink from the wine everyone is passing around and for a second, you bump into him and turn — he turns towards you too —

your eyes catch like unsuspecting fish to a bobbing hook and zoro feels his stomach tug as you grin up at him, the night sky caught in the flutter of your lashes.

he can’t help the way his gaze flicks down to your lips, and then back up again.

“feel like sharing?” you ask, nodding towards his half-finished bottle.

wordlessly, he hands the bottle to you and watches as you bring the mouth to your lips and take a long drink. he tracks the soft bobbing of your moon-lit throat and feels his own mouth go dry at the sight.

across the fire, sanji watches with a growing smile and nami rolls her eyes.

“oi, moss-head — mind if i take a swig too?” sanji asks as you hand back the bottle, dragging the back of your hand across your lips, and zoro turns to pin sanji with a glare.

“get your own,” he says, before polishing off the rest with a few hard sips and tossing the bottle into a rapidly growing pile.

zoro licks his lips and tries not to think about the way your lips had fit around the bottle just right; he tries not to wonder if you’d taste like wine. or, if he’d even have the mind to think that far if you were to let him kiss you.

three.

“… and then, you pull it through… like this?” you slowly bring your arm through a swiping movement, your hands clutched around the hilt of a wooden training sword. zoro sighs, shaking his head.

“uh — not quite — here,” he pushes off from the barrel he’s sitting on to circle around behind you, wrapping one hand around both of yours, the other palm curling around your middle to press against your stomach, “you’re breaking in your waist again — keep your core tight and —” he helps you swing the sword through in a swift arc.

“oh.”

it takes him a second to realize how close you are, how he can feel your entire back pressed against his entire front, how perfectly you fit into his arms, how easy it’d be to hold you to him and never let go.

“so just… practice that a few hundred times,” he says, stumbling back as his cheeks go hot and he feels the inexplicable urge to toss himself into the calm, saltine waves below, if only to cool down just a bit.

“will you practice with me?” you ask, your smile wider than the sky is wide — zoro is sure.

he blinks at you for a second before making a show of sighing and rolling his eyes.

“ah… i guess i could use a bit of practice too.”

he pulls out the wadou ichimonji and takes his stance next to you.

“ready?” he asks.

you nod, glancing over and adjusting your posture.

“okay, how many are we doing?”

zoro casts around for a number, “a thousand.”

“zoro!”

“five… hundred?”

you cast him a look that makes his stomach flip inside him.

“how about we start with a hundred, and then i’ll see how i feel from there?”

zoro clicks his tongue, smirking, “i could do a hundred in my sleep.”

you make a show of rolling your eyes, “fine then — go take a nap!”

zoro huffs as he clears his throat, “right then — let’s start — one, two —”

you squeak as you hurry to catch up, jumping as he reaches out a hand to correct your posture.

up on the foredeck, luffy watches with usopp by his side.

“hey! i wonder if zoro would teach me sword tricks if i asked!”

usopp sighs, clapping luffy on the back even as he shakes his head.

“uh — not that i think he wouldn’t but … maybe you should just… let them do their thing, yeah?”

four.

“i think you really should tell her,” luffy says, slapping zoro on the shoulder, a bit harder than he’d intended. zoro winces, pressing a palm to his chest — still sore from their recent raid.

“i don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

luffy laughs, leaning forward against the railing, “nami said you’d say that.”

zoro fights the urge to scowl as he sighs, his eyes narrowed at the damnably calm horizon. at least if the weather weren’t so nice, he could make up an excuse to leave but —

“really, what’s the worse that could happen?” luffy asks.

zoro grunts, shooting luffy a sidelong look, “oh i don’t know, she doesn’t feel the same and shit gets awkward and —” he waves a hand at the going merry, “the crew falls apart.”

thankfully, luffy doesn’t pause to call him out on for once not denying it.

instead, he lets out a contemplative hum, “hm… yeah, that could happen. but… i don’t think it will.”

inside his chest, zoro’s heart clunks, strange and uncoordinated.

“why? she say something to you?” he can’t keep the curiosity from his voice, the stomach-squeezing anticipation he’d only ever associated with the heat of battle and a really good fight. but now, he feels it whenever you get too close, and he wonders if he can go insane like this — if one day his heart might just give out.

“nope!” luffy’s voice is too bright, too cheerful, and zoro feels himself rolling his eyes before he can stop himself, “i’ve just got a feeling!”

“a feeling.”

“yeah! and — have a little faith! the straw hat crew isn’t that fragile.”

with that, and another hearty clap to the shoulder that leaves zoro hissing in pain, luffy clomps off towards the kitchens, where sanji is already doing dinner prep. zoro lets out another sigh as he straightens, carefully stretching his arms to test the range of motion.

above him, a flock of migratory geese fly southward in a soft, arrowhead formation. zoro holds up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he watches them pass overhead.

a single feather flutters down towards him and he finds himself reaching out to catch in the palm of his hand.

a wish, huh, he thinks, twirling the feather between two fingers before casting around to make sure no one else can see him. satisfied that everyone else is either too far away or below decks, zoro closes his eyes and makes a wish —

alright roronoa, please. don’t fuck this up.

five.

“ahem.” zoro clears his throat after dinner, making a point to down a couple more drinks than usual. he’s never been one to believe in liquid courage, but… it couldn’t hurt, right?

“can we, uh, talk?”

you smile a smile that threatens to crack his chest wide open, nodding.

“sure! what’s up?”

across the room, sanji visibly stills but nami catches his eye and shakes her head ever so slightly.

“c’mon… not in here,” zoro says, jerking his head towards the hallway that leads to the decks above.

“what’s got you so secretive all of a sudden?” you ask as he leads you all the way up to the crows nest, reaching down to help tug you up, letting his hand linger in yours as you grin up at him.

“i’m allowed to have secrets,” he says, turning to stare out at the darkened sea, the summer moon hanging low and full-bellied over the glittering waters, the stars winking like so many all-seeing eyes.

“we all are, but… i thought we’d gotten all your big ones after that one night the whiskey bar —”

zoro coughs, “alright, alright — don’t need to bring that up again.”

you laugh, leaning forward to pillow your cheek against your crossed arms, propped up along the edge of the crows nest.

“so? what’s this new secret, then?”

zoro swallows, “uh — wouldn’t exactly call it new.”

“alright then, an old secret.”

“not super old, either —”

you turn to look at him, half-exasperated, half-amused, but when you catch sight of his expression, you still, pressing your lips.

“zoro? is… everything okay?”

he ticks his tongue against his teeth and lets out a long breath, as if bracing himself for something before he says —

“yeah. i think —” he clears his throat again, trying to recall what nami had said about just saying it and he tries again.

“i think i might like you.”

the coil in his chest feels tight enough to snap, but you’re quiet as he turns to steal a glance at you.

“oh,” you say, you expression curiously contemplative as you look out over the darkened seascape.

zoro has to physically stop himself from shaking you by the shoulders — say something, goddamnit! say anything!

“so…” he says, knitting his arms across his chest instead.

you turn towards him, your eyes bright as twin stars.

“you think you might like me, right?” you ask, and for a second, zoro can only blink down at you, completely thrown by your lack of reaction. of all the things he’d imagined you doing — everything from getting angry to apologizing to throwing yourself at him with an impassioned speech about how you’d felt the same since the beginning — this was not one of them.

“uh… yeah, pretty sure that’s what i said.”

you cock your head, a quick, bird-like gesture that makes zoro’s heart skitter inside his chest, threatening to leap from his mouth as you continue to stare up at him, completely unabashed.

“ah… so what do you think we should do then?”

zoro stares, “… do?”

“yeah, because if you’re not sure if you like me… we should do something to make sure, right?”

and it’s then that he sees the soft, playful uptick of your lips, the glittering darkness behind your eyes. the tension in his chest seems to loosen even as he lets out a breath, chuckling before quirking an eyebrow and taking a step towards you, caging you in against the crows nest’s edge.

“mm. you’re right — i can think of a few things we could try, though.”

“yeah?” you voice is little more than an exhale on the wind, but it’s the last thing zoro tastes before he finds his lips on yours.

as far as kisses go, zoro would later think back, it was a pretty damn good one.

it started as a slow kind of kiss, a soft, unfurling of breath on breath, and then lips on lips. the ghost-friction of promises made and kept and unbroken, the first spark to a fire that had been threatening to consume him since the moment he’d heard you laugh.

and then — just like that, he’s kissing you. and you’re kissing him back, the gravity and inevitability of it making his head spin even as he presses in closer. it is sweet and warm and trembling — soft and hard and deepening. he runs his tongue along the seam of your mouth and savors the way you gasp open for him.

just him.

he swallows it like he wants to swallow you, reaching up to sink his fingers into the silk and gossamer of your hair, pulling you so close he can feel your heartbeat thrumming against his chest, your nails as they curl into the linen of his shirt.

it takes everything inside him to pull back, and everything else left not to dive right back in again. you’re both panting, a little breathless, and zoro — a lot relieved.

“so…” you say, your tongue flickering out to lave across your bottom lip.

zoro doesn’t try to stop his eyes as he tracks the spine-tingling motion.

“so?”

you grin, biting back the shiver that chases through you at the deep, base rumble of his voice, echoing from his body to yours.

“what’s the verdict? have you decided if you like me yet?” you ask, batting your lashes even as he watches your own eyes drop down to his lips. a dark, warm, purring satisfaction curls inside his chest at the way your pupils dilate, black as the night, bright as all her favorite stars.

“hm,” zoro hums, leaning down to skim a knuckle along your jaw, slowly guiding your face towards his again, “dunno… jury’s still out… might have to try it a few more times. y’know… just to be sure.”

“mm…” you sigh as he leans down to graze his teeth along your pulse point, fingers tightening around your waist as he feels you tremble in his arms, “y-yeah… wouldn’t want you to be —” you hiccup as he sinks a soft bite into the juncture of your neck and shoulder, “uncertain.”

“no…” and his voice is all groan and gravel as he lets himself breathe you in, “we certainly wouldn’t want that.”

bonus.

far below, beneath the decks of the going merry, sanji takes a long pull from a post-dinner cigarette, his lips twisting into a concerned sort of frown.

“it’s been a while since they’ve been up there. think we should go check on them?”

luffy shugs, still happily picking at the remains of the turkey carcass sitting in the middle of an oblong plate.

“they should be okay — i mean, they say that no news is good news, right?”

“uh, not sure that applies to this kinda thing,” usopp says as he makes to peak out of the nearest window.

nami swirls her drink, “i think they’re fine. and we’d hear if zoro threw himself off the crows nest, right?”

across the table, sanji blinks and luffy pauses in his munching.

“whoa, you think he’d really do that if she rejects him?” usopp asks, his face going a little pale.

nami rolls here eyes, “no.” and then a moment later, “but really, we’d hear him if he jumped, right?”

luffy licks his lips, shrugging, “dunno, probably though. he’s pretty heavy so he’ll make a pretty big splash.”

sanji taps a bit of ash into his empty bowl and lets out a long suffering breath.

“yeah, y’know really, no news is good news.”

[shouyuus]

chapter five: true love's kiss

roronoa zoro; 4,063 words; fluff, hurt/comfort, no "y/n", enemies to LOVERS (the lovers happen now), dreams as a literary device, first kisses, possessive!zoro, happy endings, sanji is a tease but a good friend

summary: in which love does conquer all, actually

a/n: phew!!! and here we are friends! the last chapter!!!! thank u all for the lovely comments and for sticking this through! it's def my longest fic to date (and i think will be for a while... 21k is a lot of words lmfao); anyway, enjoy all the fluff! it's def earned i think!

< to the table of contents

By the time the fighting ends, the rain is coming down in great sleet-gray sheets, washing the deck of the last remnants of blood, even as the Merry tips this way and that, tossed over the waves of a careless sea.

Zoro kicks bodies over left and right, slinging them over the edge of the ship as he checks each face, grimacing as he thinks to himself — no, no, no.

“Zoro!” it’s Sanji that finally manages to drag Zoro upright, pinning him to the edge of the ship, shaking him by his shoulders, “what the hell are you doing?!”

“Her body!” Zoro shouts, shoving at Sanji’s rain-slick hands, “I have to find it —”

Nami has both arms wrapped around herself as she takes two steps forward, her bright hair stuck to her cheeks in tangerine streaks.

“Didn’t she say she’d show up at the last place she fell asleep?”

Zoro stares at her, wide-eyed, for three solid seconds before he scrambles out of Sanji’s grip and makes for the crow’s nest, taking the ladder three rungs at a time. He nearly rolls across the tiny crow’s nest as he forces his way through the trap door, his eyes whipping wildly from left to right, but there’s already a sharp, relentless dread ossifying in the marrow of his bones as he leans over the edge and shouts —

“She’s not here!”

It’s Usopp who answers, “What about your room?”

Zoro tumbles out of the crow’s nest, skidding down the length of the mast, but by the time he manages to get below decks, Nami’s already standing in his opened doorway, a hand pressed to her mouth.

Zoro races to her side and feels his breath freeze in his lungs.

Because you’re there, tucked into his hammock, your cheek pressed into his pillow, a blanket tucked around your shoulders, your eyelids fluttering as if they’d caught you in the middle of a particularly active dream.

In stumbling steps, Zoro makes his way to the edge of the bed, his shoulder bumping Nami’s as he inches by. He drops onto a wooden barrel and buries his face in his hands. Behind him, he hears Nami slump to her knees with a sound that’s caught halfway between a sob and a laugh.

Relief crackles through his veins like so much static electricity. Vaguely, he registers the sounds of the rest of the crew gathering by the door, Sanji helping Nami to her feet, Luffy making his way over to clap Zoro hard on the shoulder.

“Well, she’s for sure breathing!” he remarks, to which Usopp lets out a small, tinny laugh, and everyone follows suit. Zoro puffs out a breath and feels a saltwater sting in his throat.

He licks his lips and tastes the sea; when he blinks, his lashes come away wet.

It’s still relatively early in the day, so eventually, Sanji begs off to go make some lunch — for the recovering soul, he says. Luffy follows him, and a few minutes later, so does Usopp. Only Nami stays, her knees curled into her chest, her back against the wall, her eyes fixed on you as she counts your steady, drawn out breaths. But eventually, even she gets to her feet, reaching out to give Zoro’s shoulder a hard squeeze before ducking quietly out of the door.

Sometime in the late afternoon, Sanji comes to put a tray of food on a barrel by the bed. Zoro spares it a single glance, noting that Sanji’s included all your favorites as well as his own.

In the early evening, he reaches over for a riceball, and then another.

It isn’t till midnight that exhaustion finally takes over and he dozes into a shallow, fitful sleep.

— — —

You dream of dying.

Of falling down an endless ravine, of feeling your lungs fill and fill and fill with water. Of the sharp, silvering lick of a hungry blade, of fire as it burns slowly, creeping across your blushing skin.

You dream of terror, of your body fighting for a breath, a kick, a life, even as your mind resigns to the dull knowledge of impending death. You dream of peace, of lying down and falling asleep, of surrendering yourself to the warm, merciful dark and it’s wide, welcoming embrace.

You dream of Zoro, of the boy he used to be, of the raw hunger and determination in his eyes as he ran through his katas, of how wide he smiled when he was convinced no one else was looking. You dream of the man he is now, of the softness that had bled from him when he traced a hand along your cheek to press a strand of hair behind your ear. You dream of falling asleep next to him, of waking up to find yourself in his arms, of being cradled against his chest, of being laid gently in his hammock, of his body next to yours.

You dream.

You dream of falling, and falling, and falling. You dream of a voice, so deep it sounds like the underbelly of sound, grating out of the fathomless dark, reminding you of the bargain you weren’t even alive to make.

But your dreams always come back to dying, the act now so familiar to you that your body aches for it like a heart aches for company. You have died so many times the motion is braided into your muscles, inked into your skin, your lungs so used to giving up air that sometimes, you find yourself gasping out of a dream, clutching at your chest.

And that is how you wake — rocketing upright, fingers scrabbling at your throat, the phantom bite of Zoro’s blade lingering over your skin like the persistent itch of a healing wound.

It’s Zoro’s voice that pulls you back, his breathless, startled voice, your name tearing out of him like a curse, or a prayer.

“Y-you’re…” he seems unable to continue, the sight of you sitting up in his hammock, your eyes bright and a little glossy, your cheeks flushed with the remnants of your dreams, the early morning light pouring through his tiny window like so much pale gold, casting you in it’s relentless light.

Zoro blinks, feeling his muscles ache from the strange position he’d fallen asleep in, having roused himself so often during the night, if only to check that you’re still here, and still breathing.

“Zoro…” his name on your lips sounds like absolution, the final bit of proof he’d been waiting for before he jolts forward to pull you into his chest, pressing you to him so hard you yelp in surprise, the entire hammock swinging back with the force of his body.

He spears his fingers through your hair, cradling the back of your head, his nails scraping against your scalp as he clutches you close enough to count your heartbeats reverberating through his chest. Your hands fist in the front of his shirt as you bury your face in the side of his neck, your uneven breaths hot against his skin.

“Never,” he says, in a voice ribboned with fear and anger and regret, still holding you to his chest as if he might be able to meld your skins into one, “make me do that again.”

You let out a shattered little laugh, shaking your head as you burrow deeper into the crook of his neck.

“Yeah, I’ll make someone else do it next time.”

Zoro jerks back, his glare fierce as he narrows his eyes.

“I mean it,” he says, his fingers inching up to cup your cheeks, his thumbs pressing divots into your skin as he searches your eyes. You stare up at him, softening as you reach up to wrap your hands around his wrists.

“I’m sorry if I scared you — it was — that was the only thing I could think of to do —”

“Don’t be sorry — just promise.”

Your breath hitches in your chest as your gaze cuts away. Your hands drop but Zoro’s grip never wavers.

“I — I don’t —”

“I’ve already had to watch you die twice,” Zoro says, his fingers finally loosening as he leans down, his eyes flickering frantically over your face as if trying to commit every part of you to memory, “I’m not trying to go for a third.”

“Yeah, I know…” you reach up to smooth your thumbs over his furrowed brows, feeling them relax as you trace your fingers over and down the sides of his face. And for a moment, the pair of you are caught in the startling light of dawn, each unwilling to let go of the other, drinking each other in as if you might never get another chance.

“It’s just…” you find your gaze held still at his lips, at the way they’re parted ever so slightly, before you trace a line up the bridge of his nose to admire the skin there, kissed by a constellation of soft freckles.

Zoro grazes his fingers down to your jaw, tipping your head up, massaging at the knots at the junction of your neck and shoulders.

You let out a soft gasp that sends shivers wreathing through his body.

“Just?” he asks, almost surprised to find his own voice so husky as he swallows.

“I thought that if I were to die… yours is the last face I’d ever want to see.”

Its this admission that somehow simultaneously melts the tension in his muscles and also sets fire to his skin as if his whole body were made of nothing but kindling, your words the spark, your voice the wind that fans alive the flames.

He leans down to press his forehead to yours, letting his eyes flutter close as he tries to take a steadying breath even as the heat chases into the depth of his stomach and coils tight in his gut, making his knees feel weak.

“Fuck…” is the best he can manage, the pair of you still face to face, foreheads pressed, breaths mingling.

He feels you let out another laugh, and then — something warm and soft pressing to his lips. His eyes flash open just as you’re pulling away, looking deliciously bashful as you try to glance away. But Zoro chases after you with the determined precision of a hunter, pulling you back and melding your lips so smoothly it’s all you can do is let yourself be kissed.

And as he kisses you, you briefly wonder if this isn’t what all those deaths had been preparing you for. All those drownings just to make sure you were ready for a kiss like this — a kiss where you wouldn’t need or want to ever breathe again. A kiss that burns hotter than any fire, one that tears you open from the inside out and sews you back together again.

You can feel the force of it cracking open your ribs, his fingers digging into your flesh as if he could reach inside you and cup your heart in the palms of his hands. You almost want him to. You think it wouldn’t be such a terrible way to go.

When you finally pull apart for the first time, it’s you who chases after him, tugging him back down in an urgent, messy clash of teeth against teeth, mouths open, licking and eager and hungry.

Zoro grunts at the force of your kiss, at the wildfire burn of ravenous longing braiding through his blood, exploding in sparks of white behind his eyes till he’s reeling and dizzy from the light. And when you finally pull back for a half-drawn breath, it’s him that once again surges forward, but the hammock swings up too far, and the resulting downward momentum catapults you both onto the floor, his body cushioning your fall till his back is pressed against far wall, you half-straddling his lap, your hands on either side of his face to stop yourself from toppling further into him.

You let out a shocked laugh, even as he too finds himself chuckling. The ridiculousness of the situation finally settling in around the pair of you.

A second later, Sanji slams open the door, looking wildly around for a second before spotting you. His eyebrows jerk up as he takes in the scene, the tangle of blankets around your legs, Zoro’s hands on your hips, the clear high blush in both your cheeks.

“Oh so sorry to interrupt — I heard all this commotion and thought something bad might’ve happened,” his voice is half-teasing, half relieved exasperation. He puffs out a dramatic sigh, digging in his pocket for a cigarette and lighter.

Finding both, he takes a deep pull, letting a thin stream of smoke out through his nose before casting you both a sharp, mischievous look.

“Should’ve known it was moss-head here having dessert for breakfast.”

“Fuck off, cook.”

Sanji smirks, rolling his eyes as he saunters away from the door, leaving it to swing shut behind him, but not before calling out —

“Remember to take breaks! Breakfast’s in an hour, and I’m not savin’ you any if you miss it!”

— — —

Breakfast is a messy affair that day — with both you and Zoro slinking into the kitchen exactly one hour later, Zoro looking annoyed, and you looking understandably sheepish. The second you meet Sanji’s eyes, you flush a bright crimson and look away, but Zoro only scoffs as he drops into his normal seat and folds his arms. You slip into the seat next to his, your gaze fixed determinedly on the table before you.

When Nami arrives, she flings her arms around you, giving you a hard squeeze.

“Don’t ever do that again,” she says, pulling back with fever-glass eyes, shimmering with tears.

Zoro grunts, “I’ve already tried that.”

You resist the urge to shoot Zoro a dirty look, and instead, squeeze Nami’s arms.

“Sorry I scared you.”

“It was pretty scary!” Luffy’s voice rings out as he joins the throng, plopping into the seat at the head of the table and flashing you a massive grin, “but boy are we glad you’re okay! It’s kinda a cool power you have! Scary, but cool!”

“I wasn’t worried for a minute!” Usopp claims as he trundles in, smiling bravely as he takes the last seat. At a pointed look from Nami, he clears his throat and turns towards Sanji, “So! Uh — what’s for breakfast?”

Sanji smirks as he starts to set out an entire breakfast service, complete with eggs three ways, freshly baked brioche with a variety of homemade jams, grilled fish, sausages, bacon, a steaming pot of rice, along with miso soup, freshly squeeze tangerine juice, and hot tea.

“And an aged ale,” Sanji says, offhandedly, setting a bottle in front of Zoro without looking at him, “for medicinal reason only, alright? Don’t go looking for this kind of treatment every day.”

Zoro blinks at the bottle of ale before shrugging and popping off the cap with a finger.

“Wow, Sanji! This is amazing!” Luffy compliments, before immediately digging in. Usopp looks similarly eager as he reaches for a steaming brioche bun.

Sanji smiles as you make to reach for some eggs and Zoro bats your hand away, tugging the entire tray towards you for easier access.

Nami only smirks.

“I figured we could all use some good fuel after —” Sanji clears his throat as he settles in his own seat, neatly tucking a napkin into the collar of his shirt, “well, after a hard battle.”

His voice catches briefly before he hitches a bright smile back onto his face and serves himself a thick slice of bacon.

You pause, halfway through slicing a perfectly poached egg, your eyes caught on the golden yoke beading at the tiny puncture wound from your knife.

“Look — I’m really sorry for —”

“Don’t.”

“It’s alright.”

Zoro and Nami speak at the same time, both freezing for a second before glancing at each other and Zoro sighs, slumping back in his chair with his arms folded.

Nami purses her lips before taking a breath.

“It’s… well, it’s not alright,” she amends, staring down at her own breakfast, “but you don’t have to apologize. Just…” she finally looks up, her gaze electric in the morning light spilling through the wide windows, “let us protect you next time.”

Zoro grunts a brief affirmation as you swallow passed the lump in your throat.

“I — it’s just — it’s hard,” you admit, setting down your utensils to stare at the palms of your hands, the skin there soft and unworn, so deceivingly so. Sometimes, you hated the fact that you always came back devoid of scars — as if even that has to be stripped from you. The proof that you’d suffered, the reminders that you’d time and time again survived.

“When dying —” you force your mouth to wrap around the word, to hold it on your tongue without shrinking away, “is the only thing I’ve known for… for forever, really.”

“Mm, well,” Luffy’s slightly muffled voice breaks out from down the table, making everyone jump. He grins, swallowing a mouthful of sausage, “Shanks used to tell me that dying and living are really just the same thing in the end — you just gotta choose what you’d rather do that day!”

A beat of thin, shocked silence follows, before you break into a surprised laugh.

“Whoever this Shanks person is — he sounds like a pretty cool guy.”

Luffy nods enthusiastically, spearing another sausage with great voracity, “He was! And I think he’s right! I mean — we’re your crew now! And we’ll take care of you. So… just choose to live next time!”

Nami is the first one to start laughing, and soon, everyone follows after. The sheer ridiculous simplicity of the statement catching everyone off-guard, the truth of it sweet as freshly made mochi.

— — —

Later that day, you find yourself staring out at the endless stretch of sea at the head of the ship, the wind tangling loose fingers through your undone hair.

Zoro sidles up next to you, standing close enough for your arms to brush.

He’s rarely left you alone in the hours since the fight, since you’d woken up again in his hammock. But it’d been his turn to clean out the bilge, and he’d mercifully not asked you to accompany him for that specific little venture.

Now, he stands next to you, his body warm, his hair slightly damp from what looks like a recent wash.

“We’re goin’ after him,” he says, his eyes following yours as you both scan the wide expanse of shattered-glass sea.

“Crocodile?” you ask, though you already know the answer.

“Yeah, and Baroque Works.”

You turn to face him, the wind whipping your hair into so many thin tendrils of darkened silk. You reach up a hand to catch a few strands in a vain attempt to keep them from flying into your eyes.

Zoro twists around, leaning in to rake his fingers through your hair, wrapping them around his fist till he’s reeling you in, close enough for you to press both hands to his chest.

He watches as you fight with some internal compulsion, probably to tell him that it’s too dangerous, that they’ll never win. But finally, you seem to steel yourself, looking back up at him with a liquid fire deep in the warm darkness of your eyes.

“It won’t be easy,” you say, your voice soft, but he’s close enough to catch them, his other hand steadying itself along your hip.

His lip slants into an amused grin.

“Good. I’ve never liked an easy fight.”

You smile despite yourself, fighting the urge to roll your eyes.

“Masochist,” you say, inching your hands up to loop around his neck. Zoro smirks, cocking his head to one side, tugging you ever closer by the back of your neck.

“Maybe. But speaking of liking pain — what’s this I hear about you and the waiter makin’ stuff later on in the kitchen?”

You peer up at him with huge, doleful eyes before heaving a melodramatic sigh.

“I always thought you were the jealous type,” you lament, attempting to turn your face away but Zoro’s fingers dig into your skin, sending a strange, gooseberry ache tingling through you as you gasp, your eyes flickering back to meet his molten gaze. Heat blisters into your cheeks as something very much like desire pools in the depths of your belly.

“I’ve never been good at sharing.”

You laugh, nodding, “Yeah… that was true even when we were kids. Even though you always pretended you didn’t want anything till it was offered to you.”

Zoro scoffs, shrugging, “Figured if something was mine… it’d come to me in the end.”

“And now?” you ask, the hint of a tease threading through your voice, just enough to make Zoro’s skin prickle with want.

“Now, I just take what I want.”

“Or…” you lean in to skim your lips along his cheek, lilting your voice low enough to make him shiver, “you follow them for three whole weeks, then offer to buy them a drink at a bar, right?”

Zoro makes a half-annoyed, half-contemptuous noise, frowning as he pulls back. But before he can say anything, you’re laughing, and the sight of it strikes him breathless, the mid-morning sun draping you in orange and gold, your cheeks flushed with life and color, your body warm and soft in the circle of his arms.

You’ve never looked so beautiful — you’ve never looked so daringly, dashingly alive.

By the time the laughter trickles out of you, Zoro is also smiling. He reaches up to coax your face towards his, brushing your hair back with a careful finger.

“Guess you’re right — you got away in the end.”

You still against him, watching as he glances off towards the vast expanse of endless sea.

“But rumor has it, you’ve never let go of a mark,” you say.

Zoro’s eyes snap back to you, and the way you’re grinning up at him makes the world tilt on it’s axis around him.

“I haven’t,” he murmurs, lowering his head till your noses are bare inches apart.

“Then… don’t let me ruin your record.” The moth-wing flutter of your lashes twists tight the torque in his chest, and it takes him half a breath to realize that this must be what it feels like to fall in love, or rather — to realize that you’ve already fallen.

“Hn. Wasn’t planning on it,” he says, delighting in the tiny little shiver that shakes through you at his words. He pauses as your noses finally brush, your breath ghosting across his lips, so painfully, torturously close.

“So…” he purposefully draws out the word, letting it rumble through him, a low growl of sound. You blink up at him, curious, but pliant, and so, so terribly trusting. He allows himself a wolfish grin.

“What’re you and the cook makin’ later?”

You let out a frustrated groan and make to pull away but Zoro easily jerks you back, locking you against his chest even as you let out a surprised squeak.

“Are you going to kiss me or not, Roronoa?”

Zoro chuckles, “Depends on what your answer is.”

You flush, crinkling your nose as you glare up at him, “Sakura-mochi, the kind you like. There, happy?”

“Sure. So long as no one else gets to have any.”

Your eyes go wide, and you open your mouth to retaliate but Zoro presses in, crushing your lips to his in a searing kiss. The only noise you make is a tiny, desperate sigh as he sates himself on the taste of you, the sharp thundering in his chest quelled by the way you clutch at him, your fingers digging sharp pinpricks into his chest as you scrabble to pull him closer.

He is breathless when you break apart, and he’s light-headed with the sight of you and your kiss-bruised lips, stained dark by the pressure of his teeth. It sets something savage on edge inside him and it takes everything in him not to drag you somewhere and let the burning hunger swallow you whole.

“Like I said,” he says, his voice ragged, “I’ve never been good at sharing.”

TAGLIST: @brairslair @msheds0519 @yunabelless @lynndt-chocolate @@lostonthrillerbark @stunies @tsumu-senpai @phroggii @ssailormoonnn @breathinginyoursmoke @guridoodles @kyllium @naomihatake @itoshiexx @mythicallystupid @mars-mizuko @astroniii @crispynutella @enhastolemyheart @fanficwriter101 @jamesbparker @dira333 @weirdowithaphone @ink-perfect @lodeddiperrodrick @not-a-glad-gladiator @vinskypuff @itsagoodluckkiss @blondethinkpink @ellelowthere @annievrse @m333myselfandiii @tsubaki3192 @grapelover2000 @teewon @keigoskrio @ggyuslovie @manuosorioh @one17 @monkey-d-hoshizora98 @emmaiscool22 @ponyboys-sunsets @m333myselfandiii @13-09-01 @jedi-dreea @noble-17 @murnsondock @letsthedogpackandthecats @raechu11 @qardasngan

the next chapter (the epilogue) will be smut! pls comment below if you'd like to be tagged!!!

[sanjisboyfie]

yandere zoro headcanons

male reader of course <3 also this is actually a very soft yandere zoro, nothing super duper hardcore...i think

yandere ! zoro . . . just expects you to know that he likes you. it's so annoying. he does the bare minimum and genuinely thinks that's enough for you to know. he's held the door open for you one time and equated that to a love confession. because he's not gonna ever blatantly confess to you, so he does these other minuscule things to get your attention and make it "known" that he likes you.

yandere ! zoro . . . will be at your beck and call. he will do whatever you ask of him. he'll act like its annoying, but he is more than happy to do whatever you ask him. it's undeniably a really sweet gesture that he does, but sometimes he gets really pushy and aggressive with it. the reason why is because he wants you to completely rely on him, even for your own basic needs. he wants to be doing everything for you for the power-trip and control it gives him.

"give it to me," zoro gruffly said, taking the bags from your arms. you were more than capable in carrying the groceries, but zoro took them off your hands. he knew you could handle them, but he felt the need to aid you.

"i am more than capabl-"

"shut up, i'm doing you a favor," zoro rejected your want to carry the bags, shaking his head.

"fine, thanks, zoro." a flash of your gentle smile was enough to send him into a flustered, crimson red blushing state.

yandere ! zoro . . . kind of going hand in hand with ^ that one, zoro would easily kill for you. the amount of dead bodies you'd be responsible for would be uncountable. every single man or woman thats hit on you has - unknowing to you - have been murdered by zoro. he doesn't take people trying to take you away from him lightly. to him its serious enough he needs to take their life. and he has and he will continue to.

yandere ! zoro . . . is very pushy on affections. it may sound out of character, but zoro never thought he'd get lucky enough to find someone like you. so now he's found you, he's gonna be selfish about, as far as he can go.

zoro had a nasty habit of physically taking you away from conversations. it would be out of nowhere - when you're just playing games with chopper and then you're suddenly being thrown over zoro's shoulder. you could try fighting against him all you want, but he easily overpowers you.

and when you're finally dropped onto the crow's nests floor, you berate him, "what's your issue?! chopper and i were talking you know!"

"i know," zoro says, not bothered one bit by your shouting.

"so?" you say expectingly, not enjoying how nonchalant he was being about the whole situation.

"if you're my boyfriend, don't i have the right to spend time with you?"

"i can still have friends though,"

zoro yawned, taking you into his lap and trapping you in hie arms, "come on, let's just sleep. we don't have to keep talking about stupid shit like this,"

"you can't just-"

a hand on the back of your head made you crash into his chest and effectively shut you up, his chest silencing you as you were smothered (suffocated) in it.

yandere ! zoro . . . has two sides of his personality - one he uses with you, and only with you, and then the side he shows everyone else. he never speaks as softly as he does with you as he does with other people. he's hyper aware that he looks intimidating to others, but he goes out of his way to be softer with you. it's sweet, honestly, but it's terrifying to see it happen in real time.

zoro had an arm drapped around your shoulder, simply following in whatever direction you took him to. whenever he saw something that he'd think you'd like, he pointed it out to you with a hidden smile.

"wait, look, do you like it?" zoro gently asked, picking up the ring and examining it in the natural light, "i can get it for you, if you want?"

"but it's pretty expensive-"

"don't worry about it, i can afford it," zoro shrugged, enjoying the way your eyes brightened. if only he could keep that for himself completely, hide you away from the rest of the world.

the two of them walked up to the vendor. zoro's soft smile was wiped away in an instant, looking gruff and annoyed at the man, "this one."

"what a lovely ring, you two are-"

"could you just hurry up? our crew might leave without us," zoro lied, already so annoyed with the innocent man who was just doing his job. you slapped him on the chest, shooting him a look.

seeing the disappointed expression on your face, he faltered in his glare a little bit. and an embarassed blush came onto his face, looking to the side and forcing himself to not glare at the vendor.

the man looked grateful for your intervention, quickly taking the exchange of beri and handing you the ring. a quick thank you left your lips before you walked out of there, zoro in tow.

"you're such an asshole," you murmured in annoyance, shrugging off his arm from your shoulder.

"babe, c'mon, don't-" but he shut up immediately when he saw the look you shot him, a warning look. it worked and he kept quiet the rest of the walk to sunny.

he practically grovelled for forgiveness the rest of the night, only gaining it back when he gently put the ring around your finger and peppered kisses on your face.

yandere ! zoro . . . is really only nice and doting to you - he doesn't give a shit about anyone else but you and makes it known. it earns him a scolding but he needs you to know that everyone that isn't you doesn't even cross his mind. you're the only person he thinks about and will continue to think about - everyone else isn't even worthy of being as important as you are in his head. you are the only thing he cares about, he devotes his entire strength in making it known he is at your disposal.

[eurydicesflower]

my heart says 'yes,' but my lips say 'no' (zoro/robin)

Pairings: Zoro/Robin Tags: Canon Divergence (Post-Wano Arc), Idiots In Love, Mutual Pining Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Word Count: 2.7k words Summary: Even the most logical person in the Straw Hat Pirates have a hard time finding how to untangle the ways of love.

A/N: It's been a while since I have posted something zorobin related here haha Also posted on: Archive of Our Own

Robin was smiling to herself when she was heading all the way back to their quarters in the palace of Wano. Since she knew someone would very much like this sake she had bought and would drink this in one go. She knew him too well, and she couldn't wait to see his reaction. When she arrived, she passed by Nami in the hallways.

“Have you seen Zoro, Nami?” 

“Isn't he with Momo's younger sister? Why are you looking for him, though?”

Oh. 

“Right, right. How can I not know it?” Robin smiled as she hid the sake behind her back. 

Of course, how can she forget that? He was getting closer with Hiyori after all, and it's not like she should disturb them. She had seen how close Hiyori was with Zoro the past few days and there was not a day she would hear her crewmates tease Zoro and Hiyori that they should be together. There was a throbbing ache inside her chest, she couldn't quite place this feeling, so instead, she could only smile at them like she was so happy.

Meanwhile, Nami stared at her suspiciously and it was starting to make Robin uneasy since Nami wasn’t like this unless she sensed something .

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re too obvious, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

Nami rolled her eyes in amusement. 

“When you’re annoyed, your brows are visibly frowning and your mouth pouts and then.” 

“I don’t do that—”

“And, the sake was so obvious that it was for him, so no need to deny it now, Robin. I know.” Nami patted Robin's shoulder. “And not to mention, he’s an idiot, Robin...” 

“He’s not stupid, Nami. I mean, he’s not book-smart but he’s well-versed with his swords, and he is actually kind… and handsome, I guess?” She trailed off her words before snapping herself back to reality, realizing what she had said. “Why am I even saying this to you, well, it’s not actually for Zoro. I just happened to have this in my hand when I was looking for him! And I don't know what you are talking about so if you may excuse me, I’m heading out, see you around.”

“Why are we losing a promising woman to a dumbass like Zoro?” Nami sighed deeply, massaging her temples, as she watched Robin scurry away from the palace.

She was not supposed to leave Nami like that, and now the navigator might be thinking that she has hidden feelings for the swordsman. She was only friends with him, so why did Nami have to come up with such a ludicrous theory? She only has sake with her since she bought it from one of the shops downtown. And it was on sale! So, obviously she didn’t pass up that opportunity to buy the sake for him.

“Robin-chwan~!” Robin heard the cook’s scream of adoration. “Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be with the others at the plaza?” He asked as soon as he was standing in front of Robin.

“Oh, I forgot something in my room.” 

Sanji then looked at the sake, then looked at Robin with a knowing look but he didn’t say anything. 

“Well, let’s go to the plaza, shall we?” 

“I can manage, you go on ahead, Sanji.” She smiled at him.

“Well, see you there, I guess?” 

Robin craned her neck as she looked for a specific swordsman in the sea of people in the plaza. Holding the sake in her hand, she just hoped she would see him here. No, she was not looking for him. There was a difference between wanting to see him and giving him a gift, and also to do both. Robin didn’t want to admit to herself but it was actually the latter. To her dismay, she hasn’t found him yet. 

“Nico-ya, are you looking for someone?”

Robin almost dropped the sake in her hand, startled to hear the Heart Pirates’ Captain behind her back. 

“No, I wasn’t.” She gave him a quick smile before she kept on tiptoeing to search for the swordsman.

“I know where he is.”

“I think you’re mistaken, Torao. I’m not looking for Zoro.”

“Sure, but I didn't even mention a name.”

That struck a nerve on Robin. Nevertheless, she ignored him and moved a few steps away from him, yet the doctor never left her side.

“Why are you looking for him?”

“For someone like you, I didn’t peg you to snoop around other’s business, Torao. It doesn’t seem like you.” She smirked, deflecting the topic on her.

“Okay, sure, but next time don’t ask me where he is when I saw him standing there by the stalls with Momonosuke's sister.” Before Law could finish his sentence, Robin was already nowhere to be found.

So, they're together. Why was she even denying it? There are already hints that Hiyori was interested in Zoro, and he might feel the same as well so… Oh well, there is no point in giving this to him after all. The sake would go to waste if she didn't consume it right away. She did buy it with her own money after all.

“You're one of the Straw Hats, right? You look beautiful in person!” A man, reeking in alcohol, showed up to sit in front of Robin's seat. “Why are you all alone, pretty lady? Do you want some company?”

“That's kind of you but I don't need any company as of the moment.” 

“But you might need one since you're drinking the finest sake in Wano! That sake is much better served for two people.”

“It's okay, really.” Robin was starting to get unsettled, so she grabbed the sake with her and left the man alone. But the man seemed not to get her point and followed her.

“Don't you want to have some fun—?!”

Robin was about to cross her arms to silence him, without hurting him in the process, when all of a sudden, someone interrupted her stance.

“The woman said she didn't want any company right now, asshole.” 

“And who are you—?” The man stood frightened and gulped. “Never mind, I'm outta here.” The man whimpered before he ran as fast as he could.

Robin didn't need to turn back whoever had pushed away the creepy man, she already knew who it was. And it was starting to make her hands feel jittery all of a sudden. What's going on with her?!

“I already handled it myself, Zoro, aren’t you with Hiyori? Why are you here?” She asked him.

“And I thought you were with Torao?”

Robin looked at him, as confused as she was. 

“Huh? But I wasn't with him, didn't you see I was alone?” She didn't have time for petty arguments, she was getting tired just by sitting here all alone, she wanted to take a rest instead.

“What about the other day? I saw you with him going somewhere so I didn't disturb you.”

“You mean the— I was with him because he wanted me to see the poneglyphs under Wano… But you're with Hiyori? Aren't you two already together?”

“We're not—!”

“Zoro, I need you here, look at this.” Hiyori showed up beside the swordsman with a lucky couple bracelets in her hand. “Oh, the archeologist of the Straw Hats, it is nice to meet you in person.” The woman smiled at her as she took Zoro's hand in hers.

Robin didn't even need any further explanation about their situation right now. Zoro and Hiyori together right in front of her just proves it already. Robin already got the idea where she should not interfere between their alone time. 

“I think you two will enjoy this sake I bought for you.” Robin handed the sake to Zoro before excusing herself to leave them alone. “Enjoy yourselves tonight.” Robin smiled before she left them alone, ignoring the recurring pain in her chest.

She shouldn't have bought that sake in the first place.

Instead of heading back to the palace, Robin decided to go back to Sunny instead. Leaning her body towards the railing, she basks herself under the moonlight, knowing no one will find her here since almost all of them were busy in the festivities in the streets of the city. It was much better to stay here out alone with her thoughts, away from a specific swordsman that runs inside her mind. 

Hiyori complements Zoro's aloof and cool attitude. Although she knew that even then, Zoro can match Hiyori's kindness and doting personality. Even some of the people who had seen them say that they both look good together. Some of their friends even think they are better together except Sanji, of course.

“Are you really going to be alone here for the rest of the night?” 

Robin looked below the ship and saw the swordsman, standing on the seashore. 

“Robin, why are you ignoring me?” The swordsman then asked.

“I'm not ignoring you. I was only giving you space with Hiyori, that's all.” She quipped. 

“I honestly don't understand you, Robin.” Zoro sighed deeply. 

'So am I,' she thought. Why all of a sudden, she was having this ache inside her heart when she has always been healthy courtesy of Chopper's readings on her vital signs? Had she contracted any diseases without knowing what it is? Maybe she needed to consult again with another doctor. Maybe Marco or Torao would know what was happening to her. 

“But can I go up there with you?”

Robin was about to leave the railing, and yet, when she stared at Zoro's eyes. How come her heart says, 'Yes, please,' but her lip says: “No, Zoro. Go back to Hiyori, good night.”

They haven't left Wano yet so she was glad that she could wander around the town except for one thing: Zoro was preoccupying her mind for the rest of the day. There was no other reason that she should be thinking about him lately, but alas, he was just there. She tried doing her daily routine like reading books, watering her plants, playing with Chopper and Luffy but nothing could distract her away from the thought of the swordsman. 

It was not even this hard like the past few years. She can just make him magically disappear inside her mind but right now, how come it was so impossible?!

Later that day, she decided to ask Law for assistance. She knew that Law might have known what's going on with her. What if it is a disease that could potentially damage her brain?

“I always get this pain inside my chest and I get nervous whenever I was with him recently, and sometimes I get frustrated towards something like I feel itchy on some parts of my hands when he is with someone. Though I still like him.” She gave an expectant look at the doctor once she finished her rambling.

“I've never seen you this frantic, Nico-ya.”

“Do you think there's any chance I might die because of this?”

Law rolled his eyes and scoffed. 

“Gods, no. It's not that serious. But I do warn you that something’s wrong, though you just need to sort out what is going on between you two.” Law was already packing up his things before he was leaving Chopper's infirmary.

“So, what should I do next?”

“I'm a surgeon, Nico-ya, not Straw Hats' personal therapist, go talk with him, I know you can do it without my help,” he said before he and Robin left the room.

“ROBIN, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

The archeologist and the doctor heard the loud scream of their resident doctor outside the infirmary. Concerned, Robin quickly went to Chopper and checked what was going on before everything turned into chaos. The little reindeer wailed inaudibly, clinging on Robin’s legs.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“ItwaSHZHORO. PLISHLOOKFOHRZORO!” Chopper was still clinging tightly into Robin’s legs, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Say it slowly, Chopper. What happened?” Robin leveled herself for Chopper.

“Zoro is…” He sniffed. “Is going to leave…” He wiped away his snot with his little arms. “Convince him not to leave, Robin.” He whimpered with teary eyes.

“What? You know Zoro wouldn’t do that.” Robin assured him with a smile. “Maybe he was just joking?”

“Then why isn't he here yet?" He sniffed once more. "Can you talk to him?"

Robin let out a deep sigh. One thing about Chopper is that she wouldn't want to see the little reindeer sad, let alone cry. 

"I will go talk to him then. But where did you last see him? Is he not in the crow's nest?" Robin caressed Chopper's chubby cheeks.

Chopper shook his head. 

"Maybe he was at the palace, he was enjoying his stay here, Robin, what if he doesn't want to sail with us anymore?"

"Zoro wouldn't do that, I'll go talk to him for you, and if he doesn't want anymore, I'll convince him for you. I promise that." Robin smiled when Chopper tightly embraced her. 

Just when she was about to leave Sunny, the swordsman she was looking for had arrived just in time.

"Zoro." She said firmly.

"What?"

The tension felt tight which made Chopper scurried away from them and went behind the barrels on deck with a little smile in his face that Robin didn't notice.

"Are you really leaving?"

Zoro gave her a puzzled look. 

"Huh? Why would I? Who said that? That stupid cook?"

Robin looked as confused as he was. When she turned around to ask Chopper, it seemed the reindeer was no longer on Sunny. 

"I actually have no idea." She sighed and rested her body against the railings. 

"Are you already together with Hiyori?" She asked him out of the blue. She already kind of expected Zoro would deflect the question, yet surprisingly, the swordsman seemed to have readied himself for this question, or was that just her?

"To tell you the truth, if you'll actually believe me, there's nothing between us. How about you and Torao?"

"If you'll actually believe me, too, then, I am only friends with him."

They both stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do nor talk about. And there goes Robin's jittery hands, and faster heartbeat. She swears Zoro can hear her heart beating fast if he stands closer by her, which she kinda wished he would actually do. Then all of a sudden, she chuckled to herself until she burst out laughing which was followed by a baffled laugh from Zoro. 

"Why are you laughing?" Although he, too, was laughing along with her.

She hadn't said anything yet, but in her mind, she just realized that maybe the reason why Chopper had bawled in front of her, was to reel her in to talk with Zoro. She could be wrong but if she was actually correct then the little reindeer is so convincing, she thinks he can be qualified as one of the Grand Line Theater Actors for his outstanding performance. 

"It's nothing, don't worry. By the way, sorry to bother you earlier," Robin said, stepping ahead of him back to Wano. Before she could step on the sands of Wano, Zoro called out her name.

"Robin?"

Robin had never turned around so fast to face him.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry, too and…Thank you for the sake…" Zoro gazed down on his feet, avoiding her gaze. "Let's drink it together? If that would be okay with you." Zoro mumbled softly. Robin could see the hint of pink forming in Zoro's ears and cheeks, but if she spoke of it, she knew it would just further make the swordsman flush in embarrassment. 'It's kinda cute, though,' she thought.

"Only if I can bring my books up in the crow's nest just like always." She grinned at him.

"You're always welcome to do that." Zoro said before he climbed up. Zoro then stopped for a moment right before he was close to the hatch. "I'll wait for you up there, see you later, Robin." 

Behind their backs, Nami would probably shaking her head in disappointment and tell herself, 'How long will they even realize?' and she would just be as frustrated as the Heart Pirates' Captain like he had always knew the secret affair between the archeologist and the swordsman except, of course, for Zoro and Robin.

hello! if you enjoyed this story please consider leaving me a tip on ko-fi, so i can keep on writing. thank you so much!

copyright 2021 - 2023 © eurydicesflower! all rights reserved do not copy or translate without my permission!

[melodrama-ticcc]

.: 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 :.

abstract: this is an oc x roronoa zoro drabble detailing a young woman's troubles with jealousy, insecurity and anxiety. writing and original character by me. i do not own or claim the rights to one piece. minor spoilers for the land of wano arc. (this drabble is to be continued.)

if you enjoy my writing, please feel free to check out my blog and submit a request! thank you for taking the time to read my work.

---

sanguineous in nature, the subtlety of its ligneous textures drew itself in soft, closed grains. incarnadine lacquer glossed over the ridges of its luciferin hallmarks. a leering mouth grinning something enviously sinister. with swinish tusks and ferine teeth protruding from its heinous grin. a burly nose scopes the mien of the demon, it's nostrils wide caverns that meet with a point before ascending a taper. where its bridge meets the brow, the creature takes an invidious countenance. in which its brow delves passed the line of sight to bare a malignant scowl. orbs sheen gallantly in gilded chromaticity. its pupils bleak and empty, carrying an endless abyss of darkness. bestial horns billow from either flank of its head, only consummating the onryo's demonian origins. such a perdition, its facade exudes an aura of foreboding. only vanward does this apparition reap contemptuously, as its semblance is incontestably covetous and prejudicial. but it is also melancholy.

for as the apparition bows its occiput, its, or rather, her visage illustrates one of anguish and torment. a woeful banshee whose animosity consumed her. her leering mandible wailed with eternal sorrow. her once scowling brow upturnt in insufferable tribulation. she was a creature driven ill by the refractory hysteria of her abortive desires. a demon born from envy and enmity condemned to a perpetuity of great atrocity and travail. a hannya.

perhaps it was due to her woeful past, that she became so distraught over these frivolous matters. or her primitive ideologies that the concept of true love did in fact exist? otherwise, her habitual persistence to attach herself to those she valued so dearly.

perhaps it had been all three.

but the triviality of these exhibitions were far more pivotal through her own perception than they necessarily tended to be.

and so, as she donned that treen mask that exuded such impenetrable evil, it was much more than just a facade utilized to veil her identity to the people of this land. much more than a symbol of sanguinity to the institutionalized prospects of wano.

it was whom she had become.

when nami and sanji had inquired about her wellbeing, she simply gesticulated. their concerns were met with an impetuous hum, before she removed herself from the cask of sake she had been leant against and began her descent in the opposing direction. she watched the kanjiki on her feet plant circular imprints into the freshly fallen snow. the bamboo brimmed conical upon her head casting a shadow that hid well her bleak bearing.

cerulean jade tresses drape effortlessly over the strong forearm of a swordsman. a delicate, graceful arm rests deliberately over the man's chest. another snakes purposefully round his nape. dainty fingers pressing against the bare skin of his tanned exterior. her face, the temptress, was irresistibly beauteous. fragile features adorn her faultlessly round face. imposing sapphire eyes are framed by her elegant, dark lashes. ones that, even the most recalcitrant of men could not resist gazing into. the same one's that gently kiss the tops of her cheeks with their tips as she rests, head nuzzled at the apex of his broad shoulder. she does not stir, but sleeps soundly in his arms. she does not shiver in respect to the bitter winter that lies outside that old shack they rest in, but rather glows a most pleasant pink in the warmth of his presence. her button nose scrunches in glee, and her scarlet-painted pout simpers in satisfaction of her own actions. it is as if her it is her ambition to evoke some sort of reaction of rango. her intent to forlorn her into a disgraceful disposition.

the envisage in which brook had just itemized to nami, sanji, robin, franky, and herself was an iteration engraved to her memories. one that, despite her pertinacious efforts to cease the illustration, vigorously persisted in her consciousness. perpetually, without clemency. a relentless mental torment that both enraged her and filled her with heartache. with each chimera, her wrathfulness only burgeoned.

zoro's lineament prostrated her mental process. his felicity was present in the way his lips formed a content grin. eyes were shut peacefully in slumber. from the waist up, his body is bare. wrapped meticulously in bandages to aid in rehabilitating his injuries from the day prior. on his right, the cerulean-haired siren wrapped up in his burly arm. which held her against his body by her impossibly thin waist. his left arm was bent back behind his scalp in his customary leisure. he is tranquil. he is serene. his traditionally hardened facade is softened in placidity. zoro seems, reposeful. it was peculiar to see such an anomalous sight. he was empyrean. for such a man known for his devilish nature, celestial was not typically an adjective used to elucidate such a man. on contra, he looked it. and some part of her longed to be able to provide such a comfort for him. she repined it.

prevalent was this matter, as the most recent rendition to the swordsman and the harlot's endeavors. verily, this had been an escalation through a series of irrefutable instances. there had been the initial indication of interest when zoro had demonstrated his ungodly strength to protect her. her compulsivity in making such calculated displays of affection toward him only reinstated the cogitation. most always, when rango had seen them together, the vamp insinuated a unrequited exploitation toward the moss-haired pirate. only, he had yet to draw cease to such unnecessary exhibitions. this, however, this had been the conjuncture. at the forefront of all their impertinent acts, was the two of them sleeping together. that only solidified rango's tribulations of her unlabeled lover and the mysterious courtesan. conceivably, it was consequential that she and her crewmate had not yet defined the venereal relations between them.

and then, as the golden rays of day shine prettily through the cracks of that old shack, infuriatingly faultless unto the other woman's striking beauty. a tender caress, precedented by the amorous osculate of her besmirched pucker placed fondly amongst the fine line of that idiot's jaw. then he, so virile, returning the predilection serried the breadth between their veneer's with a silken kiss to her forehead.

amethyst optics glimmer with saturnine tears. aggrieved, her lips cusp and writhe into a lour. anger and sadness birth feral resentment. for the heart was a heavy burden, and love was a pernicious affair.

[melodrama-ticcc]

i need him in a way that is not humanly possible.

𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕦𝕤.

summary: zoro loves when you're as crazy for him as he is for you pairing: zoro x gn!reader cw: some religious themes, overall pretty soft. no explicit nsfw, but the events occur after sexy time so y'all are nakey an: i think zoro is very neat.

zoro would give you anything if you asked for it. he'd tilt the whole world on its axis if you gave him the word. that’s why it drives him absolutely insane when he gazes into your eyes and knows that you’d do anything for him.

zoro is so, so greedy, his hands always finding purchase on your skin as if he were afraid that some divine force would realize its mistake and pry you away from him. your presence served as an anchor, the unwavering support and patience you gave him making the swordsman wonder why he deserved you. his pride and affection towards you swell as your hands do the same, wrapping around his shoulders while your fingers traced the delicate skin of his back, unmarred by scars and blemishes.

your legs are snuggly wrapped around his waist, his whole body atop of yours as the both of you revel in a post-coital embrace. you give him a lazy half-smile, your eyes half-lidded. the look you give him is clouded with adoration and lust, love and trust.

he’s a devil, a demon. he’s lost his chance at salvation a long time ago, but when you look at him with those eyes? it has him feeling like a fucking god.

there’s no reluctance, no hesitation, just loyalty and a devotion so overwhelming it makes his head spin. he knows you’d claw your way out of those heavenly golden gates and through purgatory just to be with him, even if it meant eternal damnation.

all or nothing.

and he loves it.

it drives him to edge of madness to think that someone, someone like you, would go through such lengths for him. he takes in every feature of your face, from the curve of your cheeks to the tip of your nose.

your lips quirk into a smile as you take note of how his mind wanders. his features are momentarily softened, his gaze intense. one of your hands trails along his back, towards his shoulder and up his neck until you rest your palm on his cheek. his earrings lightly chime together as your fingers brush against them. "what're you thinking about, zo'?"

he shakes himself out of his daze, the hypnotizing lull of your stare. there’s no point in thinking, not when you’re below him, looking so pretty and perfect.

“don’t worry about it.” he rasps, easily leaning all of his weight onto one arm as his free hand moved to possessively cup your chin.

his lips meet yours and he enjoys every second of it, an unspoken promise exchanged through gnashing teeth and soft tongues. when he pulls back, takes in the intensity of the emotion that swims behind your eyes, he can’t help but smirk.

because when the world crumbles, when the oceans dry and the stars themselves fall from the sky, he’ll only be sure of one thing…

“s’just you n’ me.”

[bitterly-almond]

AU: Kuina lived and her father was supportive of her ambition. He sent her to Wano to learn the way of the swords so they meet again when Zoro arrived at Wano.

I just rlly wanted to design a giant Kuina after seeing how big Kiku is :)))

[portgasdbru]

DIRTY TEXT WITH ONE PIECE MEN

feat: luffy, zoro, sanji, ace, sabo, law, kid x f!reader

cw: strong language, crack, suggestive content

minors and ageless blog dni

[inquisitor-runa]

Who fell first and who fell harder - One Piece edition

Zoro: He fell first and harder

Law: You fell first, he fell harder

Kid: He fell first and harder

Luffy: You fell first and harder

Ace: He fell first and harder

Shanks: You fell first, he fell harder

Crocodile: You fell first and harder

Mihawk: You fell first and harder

Buggy: He fell first and harder

Sanji: He fell first and harder

Sabo: He fell first, you fell harder

Marco: You fell first, he fell harder

Doflamingo: You fell first and harder

Rob Lucci: You fell first and harder

Corazon: He fell first and harder (literally and figuratively)

[revasserium]

Hey, can I request zoro x reader (established relationship) where the Strawhats end up going to reader’s home island (unknown to anyone in the group aside from reader), and the reader is super nervous and refuses to leave the boat, so the crew goes out and walk around and they find a missing/wanted poster of the reader and find out she’s a run away princess that needed to be. Later they coke to find out that reader ran away cause her parents and the servants mistreated and was about to marry her off to a violent prince

opla requests are: open

lips on every cross

opla!zoro; 5,989 words; fem!reader, semi-established?? relationship, posessive!zoro, strawhat!reader, no "y/n", reader gets kidnapped, fluff and angst, very brief! mentions of past familial abuse and trauma, nicknames ("Princess"), slow-ish burn???, more plot than not

summary: zoro has never thought himself a holy man. but he'd kiss every cross if it meant finding his way back to you.

a/n: idk why every opla fic i write is like... more plot than i bargained for but here we are. literally, this fic was just supposed to be "zoro calls the reader 'princess'".

01. when love arrives

(“Hey Princess —“)

The nickname starts, as almost all things do on the Going Merry, as a joke. And, as with most jokes made amongst the rag-tag crew, it sticks. He’d said it because he’s sure you’d mentioned your name once or twice already, but he’d been napping or eating and he didn’t feel like looking like an asshole right that moment.

The ribbon in your hair had caught the light in just the right way, pale pink satin — such a strange, soft color amidst the careening, careless ocean, and the word just… slipped.

“Why’dyou call her that?” Luffy asks, lounging back against the main mast as Zoro works through the umpteenth rep of single-armed pushups.

Zoro puffs out a breath and switches arms.

“Dunno. Seemed like it fit.”

Luffy slates you a long glance, blinking owlishly.

“Really? Eh — I guess… well, she is really pretty.”

Zoro only grunts, jumping up and stretching both arms over his head with a long, steady breath. His eyes flicker towards you as well, laughing with Nami on the foredeck, sipping on cocktails, Sanji probably simping somewhere nearby.

He thinks back to where they’d found you, hood pulled low over your eyes, the tell-tale signs of distress carved into every line of your body, from the curve of your spine to the bend of your shoulders.

Luffy hadn’t asked questions, so Zoro hadn’t either.

Curiosity, the fatal flaw that runs so sharp and obvious through the entirety of Luffy’s being, hasn’t always been rewarded well in Zoro’s experience. And he’s learned by now that “truth will out”, or so they say.

(“C’mon, Princess, I thought you said you could drink.”)

Caution, on the other hand, is Zoro’s oldest friend. You are cautious, if nothing else, and the first time he sees you relax in his presence, he wonders to himself if there’s a drug in this world strong enough to induce this feeling.

Later, he would learn that this is simply called falling in love.

He isn’t the only one who notices how you casually dip a silver fork or knife into every single drink before you take a sip, or that sometimes, you blurt out the word “no’ like a promise to yourself, and “sorry” like a plea for help.

And he’s spent long enough being a hunter to know what being hunted looks like. So he doesn’t ask, and you don’t answer, and somehow, you still manage to make yourself a home in the dark caverns of his chest, curling up there till he can’t count his heartbeats without it sounding like the shadow of your name on the midnight wind.

02. a study of light and dark

The drinking game starts off innocently enough (and don’t they always), but it takes half a round for the questions and subsequent answers to devolve into loud laughter and debauchery, delirium and debasement.

“Alright, alright —“ Sanji holds up a hand, tossing back his shot to raucous cheers, “worst thing you’ve done in a closet. Go —“

Zoro rolls his eyes and takes the shot, foregoing his answer. Nami simply grins, catlike, swirling her own drink around her glass.

“In your wildest dreams, cook,” she says before taking her shot as well. Sanji lets out a contemplative whistle, followed by a good-natured wink.

“Define worst, cause… I mean, I’ve puked in like… most of them back in Syrup Village,” Usopp says. Sanji only chuckles, shrugging.

“We’ll take it, we’ll take it.”

Luffy hums, frowning for a second before smacking a fist into his open palm, grinning, “I took a nap!”

Everyone laughs, helpless and buoyed up by the casual effervescence of a night like this — when the moon is dark and the stars are bright and thin wisps of silver clouds mar the sky like tendrils of lost daydreams, caught on the wrong side of sunset.

When the laughter settles down, everyone turns to you.

You purse your lips, feeling the weight of your answer pressing down on the tip of your tongue — I hid. And I waited. And I tried not to listen.

As the silence stretches on, Zoro leans forward and uncrosses his arms, reaching out to nudge a full shot glass towards you.

“Times up, Princess — drink,” and though there’s nothing soft or even forgiving in his voice, but you feel yourself relax as everyone boos and you take your shot.

The heat of Zoro’s gaze only lingers on your skin for a moment longer before he leans back again, that familiar almost-grin tugging lazily at his lips as he turns half-lidded eyes towards the rest of his crew.

(“Talk to me, Princess.”)

When you find him later, fumbling in the dark of the hallway just outside his room, you kiss him without saying “thank you” and he doesn’t question it when, pressed beneath him on the rough linen of his sheets, you ask to keep the lights on.

03. etymology

Princess — it’s a nice word, Zoro muses to himself. The light pop of the ‘p’ rolling into the warm, round ‘r’, thinning out into the sensual layering of the double ‘s’s, till you’re left with nothing but a hiss, a shadow, a memory.

It’s a regal word; a pretty word. Though its origins might be anything but.

From the Latin primus “first” and cept “catcher”, or so Robin had told him over the pages of an ancient book he hadn’t bothered to ask the name of, because Princes and Kings have always obtained their powers through taking, and never asking. Reaping, and never sowing.

Zoro thinks then that this, too, is a form conquest — you over him. The totality of your power stunning to behold, if only because he has to let you take it in the first place. And he does so willingly.

He wonders if you, too, are as multifaceted as his nickname for you — delicacy and desire wrapped around a darker something, lace laid over a knife’s unforgiving edge.

The first time he dares to kiss you, he feels you kissing him back, the sharp canines of your teeth catching on his lower lip, drawing out a soft grunt from him. You’d paused, and then you’d bitten down harder just to hear him gasp into your mouth.

He knew then, without ever having to ask, that you are.

04. tip of the iceberg

It is winter when they arrive — but then again, it is always winter here. Here, the cold runs so deep it drives frost crystals into the marrow of your bones. Here, the wind howls like a wounded animal and the night falls with a savage, carnal vengeance, all black velvet and a blood-tinted moon.

Here, the snow storms turn living, breathing heroes into song lyrics and poetry rhymes.

You inhale a single breath before turning and heading back below deck.

Zoro frowns, and at a single look from Luffy, he follows you beneath, only to find you rummaging around the kitchen, tugging a bottle of moonshine out from under the sink.

“Whoa,” Zoro says, reaching out to stop you from uncorking the bottle, an eyebrow raised. He doesn’t miss the way you shiver, “bit early, isn’t it?”

“Bit rich, coming from you,” you snap, eyes sharp, voice stinging.

Zoro only cocks his other eyebrow in tandem and pulls the bottle from your hands before turning and grabbing two glasses from the cupboard. He takes his time filling them both with ice, and then pouring a finger into each glass.

You don’t meet his eyes as you reach out for your glass, but he catches your wrist.

“A drink for an answer,” he says.

You pause, your lips pressed into a thin, white line. And he knows it’s unfair, to turn this game around on you, because he can tell from the hard set of your shoulders that this is so much more than a drinking game but if this is what it takes to get the truth — then so be it.

“Fine,” you say, glancing away, voice clipped.

You move to take a sip, but Zoro pushes down your hand again.

“No lying.”

You scoff, narrowing your eyes, “Obviously.”

He eases off, picking up his own glass and clinking it against yours before taking a light swig, “You know this place.”

This time, you’re the one who turns around with a cocked brow.

“Got a question in there somewhere?”

Zoro’s lips twitch, “Yes, or no.”

You sigh, tapping a finger against the edge of your cup, “Yes.”

Zoro hums, “Your turn.”

You chew on your lips before taking a sip, “Why do you care so much?”

Zoro ticks his tongue against his teeth, “Stupid question. Next.”

You huff, “That’s not how this game goes.”

Zoro swirls his glass before setting it down on the counter with a loud clack, “Because I care about you.”

You pause with your own drink halfway to your mouth and look up. Zoro doesn’t shy away from meeting your gaze and for a moment, time statics to a halt around you.

Then, Zoro sighs, unclenching his jaw as he attempts a lopsided smile.

“Hey, talk to me,” he reaches out to trail a finger along the high of your cheekbones, up to the shell of your ear.

The ‘please’ hangs silent in the air between you; the ‘Princess’ is implied.

And for the first time, he thinks he sees you flinch. He makes to pull back but you tug his hand forward, pressing your cheek against his palm.

“This island,” you say, finally, the tremor in your voice like a hairline fracture snaking through a porcelain vase, “it’s… well, it used to be… my home.”

05. the secret history

It is the most beautiful place any of them have ever been.

The castle is made entirely of ice, the cold winter sun refracting the light into a million and one unseen colors. Giant ice-carved sculptures dot the crystal-flower gardens, and it takes them all a few minutes to realize that the gorgeous, delicate blooms are made of glass, blown and shaped to mirror real-life snowflakes — each unique, glittering, and eternal.

“Dude… how long do you think all this took to make?” Usopp asks, his head turning as if on a swivel, his jaw hinging off his face in awe.

Robin sighs, “Too long, perhaps.”

Zoro stays quiet, and beside him, so does Nami.

You’d insisted on staying back, to guard the ship, you’d said. But the space you usually fill in the group hangs solid in the air, a gaping hole of lack when there should be none.

Luffy hums and he marches out in front of them, ever the dubious, fearless leader. Though most of the crew has now come to terms with the fact that “courage” and “sheer bull-headedness” are often two sides of the same coin for him.

It’s Sanji who pauses first, causing Chopper to ram into the back of his knees.

“Ouch! What’dyou do that f —”

“Look,” Sanji says, pointing at a poster pasted to the slick outer wall of the castle gates.

And they do, leaning in, crowding too close. Zoro grunts as Chopper jumps and scrambles up his back to peer over his shoulder at the face plastered on the dew-soaked poster, the words LOST PRINCESS: 120,000,000 FOR ANY INFORMATION THAT LEADS TO HER WHEREABOUTS printed in giant, familiar block letters along the bottom.

Beside him, Zoro can feel Nami swallowing. Hard.

“A hundred and twenty million berry…” she murmurs, her breath going shallow as they all stare, dumbfounded at the poster of what is unmistakably you.

You, with your exquisite features schooled into something like solemnity, your usually wind-swept hair twisted up into a tight braid across the crown of your head, a diadem of ice-white silver and light-cut jewels jutting up from your severe updo like so many broken teeth, sharp and unforgiving as stalagmites.

If none of them had known, it’d be impossible to reconcile you with this cold, distant portrait, your eyes rendered lifeless and dull by the depthless black ink.

Luffy, however, only blinks and turns to stare at Zoro.

“Did you know?”

“What?”

Luffy continues to stare, “When I asked why you always call her ‘Princess’.”

Zoro sighs, turning his eyes back to the WANTED poster before shaking his head.

“No. Like I said… I thought it just… fit.”

06. eternal day

Zoro is itching to get back to the ship. There’s a fish-line sliver of worry tugging at the place behind his chest where his heart should be, and he knows implicitly that something is wrong.

“Don’t worry, she can take care of herself!” Luffy says, smiling bright, his confidence unwavering.

“No Luffy, Zoro’s right — someone should be with her. What if —” and here, Nami glances at Zoro before turning her attention back to Luffy, “— she might need the backup,” is what she finally settles with. And to Zoro’s great relief, Luffy agrees.

And then, to everyone’s horror, off in the distance, your voice rises over the wind in a blood-curdling scream.

07. endless night

By the time Zoro makes it back to the ship, you are already gone.

08. torn asunder

Gone, gone, gone. The word echoes like an ill-fated alarm bell, ringing through Zoro’s entire body as he catapults himself through the ship, slamming open every door, checking every nook, corner, and crevice. Signs of a struggle, that much is clear, scuffs on the freshly waxed planks of the aft deck, nail marks along the railings, and —

Zoro’s breath freezes in his chest.

A smear of blood that drips over the side of the ship, trailing down the ladder.

A flash of pale pink catches his eye.

Your satin hair ribbon lies abandoned on the wharfs’ boardwalk, the faintest splatter of red soaking its ends.

He picks it up between gentle fingers and tucks it deep into his pocket.

His vision blurs red as he thinks about the things your captors might’ve done to you before dragging you off. He’s seen you fight and it wouldn’t have been easy to bring you down.

And by the time the rest of the crew reach him, he’s already sprinting back towards the castle, his jaw set, his teeth gritted.

It takes the combined effort of Sanji, Luffy, and Robin to stop him from charging through the castle gates and tearing the whole place down.

“Runnin’ round like a headless chicken’s not gonna do her any good, mate,” Sanji says, a smoke already caught between his teeth. A pre-fight ritual of his.

Zoro jerks his arm out of Sanji’s grasp, stalking down the street with a huff.

Robin strolls after him, somehow keeping pace, looking unhurried as Zoro tamps down the blind urge to slash the entire island in half.

“We’ll find her,” Robin says, her voice level, even as her sharp eyes scan the white-specked horizon, the usually amused half-twist of her lips laid flat by worry, “and she’s stronger than you think.”

At this, Zoro whips around, “I know —” but he bites down the venom threatening to surge up the back of his throat with a sigh. Robin doesn’t flinch, and Zoro attempts a steadying breath before repeating himself in a slightly softer tone, “I know… I’m just…”

Robin nods, and Zoro is thankful that he doesn’t have to finish his sentence.

09. the tower and the throne

The cold greets you like a scorned lover— a spiteful, savage mistress. Tendrils of frost creep along the walls of your old bedroom to caress your cheeks. You shiver and wrap your arms around yourself, sitting on familiar satin sheets.

“Dinner is soon, darling,” your mother’s cool voice calls from outside your bedroom door, “and make yourself presentable — we’ve got guests.”

The sadistic lilt of her voice as she says the word ‘guests’ makes you jerk your head up, staring at the door as if you might be able to bore through the thick wood with nothing but your eyes. And, almost as if she can feel you staring, you hear your mother’s cold, tinkling laughter.

“Hurry now… I had your favorite dress put out for you. It should still fit — and we don’t want to keep them… waiting.”

The slow, sanguine pause before her last word makes you want to rip out your hair and scream into the wind till your voice gives out.

Instead, you push yourself up and reach for the dress laid out at the foot of your bed with shaking fingers.

The dress fits you like a second skin, the delicate lace trim barely sweeping the floor as you adjust the bodice, grimacing at your reflection in the large, floor-length mirror. It is as if the last ten months had never happened, as if you’d never escaped this terrifying hellscape of a winter wonderland. As if you’d simply dreamed every single sun-filled afternoon, every star-strewn night spent laughing and singing amongst your new-found crew.

Here, in the fragile glass reflection, you are once again a girl trapped behind her own ribcage, with a destiny carved into stone and ice, with no hope of summer in sight. You take a long breath and tighten the ribbons of your dress.

You are still and silent as the maid slips in through the door after a single knock and begins to twist up your hair. Tighter and tighter, till it sets your teeth on edge. When she pins the crown in place, it takes everything inside you not to fall apart, to shatter at the weight, the sight of it sitting on your head. You swallow as the maid dips her head and backs out of the room with a murmured dinner is served, Princess.

For the first time, you wince openly at her words.

10. waiting for the rain

The hall is just how you remembered it, huge and cavernous, gaping like the empty maw of some petrified monster, the ceiling hanging with so many cold, sparkling chandeliers, ice-carved statues jutting up from the floors like teeth.

You’re marched in like a show animal, the great marble doors swinging open before you as you step forward and feel your breath freeze in your chest.

There, strung up on a massive statue of some long-forgotten saint, is Zoro, cuts and bruises marring his already scarred and puckered torso. But he smirks as he sees you come in, his eyes bright as he spits a mouthful of blood onto the seemingly endless white floors. Around him, the rest of your crew sits, tied and slumped over in chairs like so many sleeping mannequins.

“Hey there, Princess. Just in time for dinner.”

You nearly wince at the raspiness in his voice, the faint trickle of blood that leaks out the corner of his mouth.

“Silence,” your father’s voice echoes out from the high-backed chair at the head of the ludicrously long table. You don’t have to see to know his face is as smooth as just-applied plaster. But Zoro only has eyes for you — and he continues to talk as if he hadn’t been interrupted.

“If you’d told us we’d be welcomed like this, we might’ve packed differently.”

You bite down on your bottom lip so hard you almost taste the metallic tang of blood.

“Our daughter has always been a skillful liar — though it’s a habit we tried to… rid her of in her youth. The lesson never seemed to have stuck.” Your mother this time. And now, you can see the muscle ticking in Zoro’s jaw as he scoffs.

“Really? And here I always thought she was shit at lying.”

You swallow down a whimper as the maid wordlessly leads you to the far end of the table, where Zoro is still tied. You drop into the seat between a snoring Luffy and an eerily still Nami, and it’s all you can do not to turn around and retch onto the silk embroidered rug.

“Be that as it may…” your mother’s voice drops a few degrees — an admirable feat, as her voice is usually just on the other side of frigid, “it’s bad luck to kill on the eve of a royal wedding.”

At this, Zoro’s head snaps around and you shrink back in your chair, your eyes fixed on your fists, clenched in your lap.

“Mother,” you grind out, finally forcing your head up so as to meet her piercing, blizzard-bright gaze, “I’ve told you, I’ve no intention of getting married. At least not to the mongrel you’ve decided to set me up with.”

You spit out the last sentence, trying to remember all the snark, all the confidence that’d built up inside you over the past weeks and months. Away from this dreaded castle and on the sun-soaked bow of the Going Merry, it was the first time you’d begun to discover who you are — the things you liked, the ways of life that you yearned for.

Your father slams a hand on the table at the same moment that Zoro lets out a bark of laughter.

“Insolence!”

“Damn, Princess — you never told me you could bite.”

And, to your horror and perhaps deep-seated pleasure, a blush works its way into your cheeks at Zoro’s words. Your eyes snap towards him, catching his gaze as he smirks at you. And even though his shirt is slashed, his sword hilts hanging woefully empty at this hip, his hands twisted painfully behind him on the statue, he still manages an easy, condescending air.

You seize at this tiny tendril of normalcy as you force a wane smile.

“I might be persuaded to do more than that… if you ask nicely.”

Zoro’s snicker is drowned out by your mother’s sharp gasp. But you don’t look away, holding Zoro’s gaze for as long as you dare — in it, you find an entire abyss of barely concealed rage (and is that… amusement?), his entire body straining against the shackles that hold him. Then, his eyes slip from you to a point just over your shoulder.

It’s then that you realize: Luffy’s not snoring anymore.

11. to reap and to sow

You’re never quite certain of how the Merry’s crew seems to always just wriggle out of frankly gruesome and untimely deaths, but here you are, racing for the docks like your lives depended on it. Because, well, it kind of does.

“Remind me —” you shout between pants, one hand clutched firmly in Zoro’s, the other doing its best to lift the ridiculous dinner dress they’d put you in — a confection of lace and tulle, the bodice laced with pale pink satin ribbon, “how the hell did you guys manage to trick my parents into thinking you’d eaten the spiked food?”

Sanji flashes you a toothy grin, “Ah love… you know how it is — ask us no questions, and we’ll tell you no lies!”

Luffy, however, whoops as he launches himself from a pair of solid brick buildings, catapulting himself over your sprinting crew.

“We just — pretended to eat! I mean — I did kinda actually eat a bit — but — it wasn’t that bad!”

You resist the urge to pinch your nose bridge at the nonchalance with which Luffy is talking about consuming poisoned food, but you’ve only got two hands and both are equally occupied at the moment. You settle for an exasperated sigh.

“That was — really stupid! — What if — they’d — poisoned the food — with something — other than — sleeping medicine?!” you ask, forcing air into your lungs as finally, you all round the bend onto the bustling pier, the Going Merry’s unmistakable shape silhouetted against the misty horizon.

“We can talk when — we’re all back — on the ship!” Nami calls as she sprints passed you, reaching out a hand for Luffy, who’s elongated arm grabs her and slings her onto the deck of the ship. You barely have a second to breathe before Zoro’s arm loops around your waist and you’re being pulled tight into his side.

His breath is hot against your collarbone as he smirks, “Hold on tight, Princess.”

It’s all you can do to listen as you’re suddenly whipped through the air like a doll on a drunken marionette’s string. A bright peal of Luffy-tinted laughter later, you thud onto the deck of the Going Merry, the breath knocked clean from your lungs as the world spins and spins. You’d expected to hit solid wood, or maybe even the railing or the mast but —

Zoro groans beneath you, and it takes you a long second to realize that he’d cushioned your fall, your bodies pressed chest to chest, hip to hip, your arms still wrapped around his shoulders, his still steady around your waist.

“O-oh! Sorry —” you try to pull away but Zoro’s grip on you only tightens.

You freeze as he blinks up at you, eyes slightly narrowed.

“Crown’s crooked,” Zoro finally says, that tell-tale smirk twisting the edge of his lips as his gaze flickers upwards. Your hand jumps to the crown, somehow still clipped into your now disheveled hair, lopping to one side as the braids start to come loose. You purse your lips.

“I never liked it anyway…” You make to tug it out but Zoro reaches up to right it, though he lets his hand linger as he falls along the side of your face.

“Nah, looks good on you.” His voice is so low, and suddenly, air is such a language that you’re certain you’d forgotten how to speak. Slowly, he pushes up till you’re both sitting, you still pressed against him and him still pressed against you. Distantly, you can hear shouting, Usopp’s voice raised high over the wind as the Merry careens out of port and towards the open sea.

But strangely, no one makes to pull you away from him, or him from you.

“I should’ve told you guys…” you say, eyes casting down as you rest your palms against his chest. Beneath it, you can feel his heart — pounding, pounding, pounding. There’s a light sheen of sweat glimmering on his honeyed skin as you swallow, looking back up even as he chuckles.

“Sure, but we should’ve asked.”

You bite your lips, “I think you did.”

Zoro grins, shrugging as he helps you up, somehow managing to keep his arm slipped around your waist.

“Well. Should’ve asked better, then.”

12. lost stars

It takes you a while to tell them the story — the real story, the whole story. And there’s drinking involved, but it’s mostly just you clutching at your half-filled glass, Zoro’s knee pressed comfortingly against yours, even though his eyes are closed, his head leaned back, his arms crossed loosely over his chest.

You tell them about the dark underbelly of royalty that everyone knows but no one wants to talk about — the blood and teeth beneath the silk and silver. You tell them about being raised a bargaining chip, of being sold and promised like a prized heifer on auction day.

You tell them about the moonless nights when the only thing you had to keep you company was the cold, about the “lessons” your mother would teach you, about how the maids would be instructed to hide the bruises just so, about the Prince who you were set to marry and the rumors that plagued his castle —

“They say that he’d take the prettiest girls from the surrounding town as his maids and that none of them ever walked out of his castle again,” you say. The moonshine burns on its way down your throat as you finish your drink.

Wordlessly, Zoro reaches over to pluck the glass from your hand and set it on the table. It’s only then that you realize your fingers are white and trembling.

“Did he hurt you?”

Zoro’s voice is not loud, but everyone turns to look at him. You shake your head, clasping your hands in your lap.

“No. I only ever… met him once, at a dinner party. It was after that that I… ran away.”

Zoro hums, leaning back again, “Good.”

Across the room, Sanji blows out a series of smoke rings and frowns.

“Were you about to offer to hunt him down?” Robin asks, sounding amused.

Zoro shrugs, “Wouldn’t have offered — would’ve just done it.”

“He sounds like the kinda guy we should hunt down anyway, no?” Luffy asks, cocking his head as he looks back at you, “I mean, I’m glad he never hurt you but… he’s still hurting people!”

“Luffy’s got a point,” Sanji says, stubbing out his cigarette.

“For once, I agree with Sanji,” Nami says.

There’s a light squabble during which Sanji makes an aggrieved noise and Nami rolls her eyes, and then everyone is laughing and chatting and more drinks are being poured. Next to you, Zoro reaches out to wrap his arm around your waist again. It’s something he’s been doing more lately, and you can’t honestly say that you mind it much at all.

“We don’t have to,” he says, leaning forward, almost as if to brush his lips by your ear, “if… if you don’t want to.”

You shiver at the base rumble of his voice, at the way his eyes are so warm and full of some uncertain promise.

“No, I… I do want to. It’s just…”

Zoro’s fingers trace small, absent-minded circles into the skin of your waist and you fight down another shiver.

“I don’t plan on letting you get kidnapped again, Princess.”

Your gaze snaps up to meet Zoro’s, and there’s a faint smile kissing the line of his lips. And suddenly, the lightness of his touch doesn’t feel so thoughtless as heat curls out from the place where his palm meets your skin, radiating out till you’re breathless with it.

“Oh?”

“Never liked people trying to take what’s mine.”

And the dark possessiveness with which he says mine leaves little room for interpretation, even as you lick your lips and try to think of something witty to say.

“I don’t remember agreeing to be yours.”

It’s the best you can come up with; Zoro’s only response is a soft, contemplative grunt.

“What’s that saying? ‘Actions speak louder than words’?” he flashes you a satisfied grin as you narrow your eyes at him, swatting at his chest as he laughs.

“I meant it though,” he says, a moment later, as the rest of the crew all chatter around you, “about calling it off if you don’t want to. But…” he reaches up a free hand to tug a strand of your hair free from the ponytail it’s tied up in.

“Figured you might sleep better at night knowing he’s gone.”

You let out a breath you hadn’t been aware you were holding, your whole body softening as you lean into him, pressing your palms to his chest as he looks at you.

“Yeah… I think I might. And… like you said… it’s not like I’m gonna get kidnapped again.”

You smile, letting your eyes flicker down to Zoro’s lips. His smile is pleased and just a little jagged as he tugs you up by the hand and the pair of you slip from the room.

Above deck, the sun is setting, and the warm, slanted light casts the entire ship in a glaze of gold that looks almost gilded. You lean against the railings, closing your eyes and letting the warmth of the sun seep into your skin, chasing away the chill that’d been lingering at your fingertips since you’d all made your spectacular escape from your home island.

You feel rather than hear Zoro join you. You take your time breathing in the salty tang of the humid sea air before opening your eyes and slating him a side-long look.

“Thank you,” you say.

“For what?”

“For coming after me.”

Zoro scoffs, turning away from the roiling waves to lean back against the railings, his head cocked as he looks you over.

“Like I said… I don’t like it when people try to take what’s mine.”

But this time, you laugh, nodding, “So you’ve said. But still… thanks.”

“Hn.”

Zoro closes his eyes, seemingly enjoying the last vestiges of the setting sun as it sinks ever-lower along the horizon. Then, he opens one eye to peer at you.

“Though I’ve been meaning to ask —”

“Hm?”

“What’s this about doing more than biting… if asked about it nicely enough?”

You try to duck your head but Zoro catches your chin in his fingers.

“I — I just… knew it would piss off my mother if she —”

“Mm, sounded like more than that to me.”

Your breath hitches as Zoro’s thumb traces a rough line along your bottom lip.

“How about… I show you?” and the offer is barely out of your mouth before Zoro is kissing you, his mouth seeking out yours with a soft groan that betrays all the lightness in his touch as he trails his free hand down your arm to pull hard at your waist.

And it’s not the first time you’ve kissed. It’s not even the first time a kiss with Zoro has become more than just a kiss, though you’d always been careful before to make sure that he knew (though thinking back, it might’ve just been an ill-fated attempt at lying to yourself) that the pleasure shared between bodies was just that — pleasure and bodies.

But this — this kiss becomes, and becomes.

It becomes breath and heartbeats, pleasure and heat. It becomes truth and promises and the tantalizing taste of fairy-tale endings.

“Z-Zoro…”

“Yes Princess?”

You hiss as his teeth grazes along your pulse point and your fingers fist in his hair.

“Y’know…” your voice comes out as nothing more than a soft pant as Zoro tugs you over to one of the reclining chairs beneath the orange trees and pulls you over his hips, “I’ve never liked being called that but…”

“But?” his thumbs inch beneath the material of your shirt, circling your hipbones as he smirks up at you.

“I don’t mind it when it’s you.”

Zoro’s grin goes wide and wolfish. Above him, the first stars spark into being as the sun finally sinks beyond the far horizon. For a second, his smile softens as he reaches up to toy with the end of the pale pink ribbon in your hair. Then, he gives it a single, solid tug, and your hair falls open around your shoulders, tumbling down in waves.

Zoro leans up to press a light kiss to the blood-stained satin before letting it flutter off in the wind, twisting into the rapidly darkening night.

“Good… cause I ain’t about to let anyone else call you that either.”

[shouyuus]

chapter four: another life

roronoa zoro; 3,170 words; flluff, angst, smol cliffhanger (teehee), slowburn starting to burn, enemies to lovers (we are getting to the lovers part finally!), quiet bonding, nami is still the goat

summary: in which you lose count of the number of times you've died

a/n: here we gooooo final stretch before the last chapter (chapter five). i promise it ends well in the end! :) there's some cuteness in here to make up for the distinct lack of it in the first three chapters lmfao

< to the table of contents

“So… how many times do you thinks she’s —”

“Usopp! You can’t just ask someone that —”

“I mean… most people can only die once so we don’t really have any —”

"Luffy!” Nami glares, effectively cutting Luffy off as you wander onto the main deck, squinting in the mid-day sun. Usopp presses his lips, going rigid as you cast your eyes over towards him with a curious look.

“Uh — m-morning! How’d — how’d you sleep?” he asks.

You quirk an eyebrow.

“Fine… but that’s third time you’ve asked me that today, Usopp.”

Usopp licks his lips, nodding, “Yeah! Well — I mean — it’s important to sleep well, y’know? And with you bein’ the newest member of our crew — I just wanted to make sure that you’re really sleepin’ well —”

“If you have questions… you’re allowed to ask,” you say, effectively cutting off his rambling explanation.

“What happened to your hand?” Nami asks, pointing.

“Oh —” you look down at the small bit of bandage from the night before, curling your fingers in on your palm, “I cut myself while making some mochis last night.”

“Oh! I love mochis!” Luffy grins, striding towards the hatch that leads below decks just as Sanji peaks out to call for lunch.

“Yes,” you laugh, following after, even as Nami sighs, shaking her head, “you’ve said that a lot too.”

Down in the corridor, you bump into Zoro, yawning widely as he waits for everyone to pass by before bringing up the rear. You exchange a glance that seems to unspool between the two of you, keeping you tethered even as you look away, following the rest of the crew into the kitchens for lunch.

Meals are always a noisy affair on the Merry — and you wouldn’t have had it any other way. It’s remarkable, Zoro thinks, how quickly you’ve melded seamlessly into the strange and colorful tapestry of their rick-rack pirate crew.

But still, there’s a strange distance between you and everyone else, as if the air itself shimmered around you, keeping you out, keeping you othered. You smile as Sanji pours you a generous glass of mimosa, reaching out to garnish it with a slice of juicy tangerine.

“So! What is it that you’ve been wanting to ask me?” you turn your gaze on Usopp, who nearly chokes on his mouthful of pulled pork, swallowing hard as Luffy thumps him on the back.

Zoro pauses mid-sip, the bubbles in his drink going flat in his mouth.

“Uhm —” Usopp looks wildly around at everyone else before turning back to meet your eyes. You give him a soft smile, as if letting him know that he’s not being put on the spot. He licks his lips and clears his throat and reaches out to toss back his entire drink before coughing comically into his fist, “I — well, actually we — I mean like — me and Luffy and Nami —”

“Keep me out of this,” Nami throws up her hands.

“Okay fine, me and Luffy —” Usopp casts Luffy a desperate look, “were just thinking the other day like — do you remember — how many times you’ve uh —”

Sanji sighs, rubbing at his temples with his fingers. Zoro feels his jaw tighten at the question.

You nod, expression neutral as you take another small sip of your drink before setting it down.

“You were wondering if I knew how many times I’ve died?”

The silence is the room rings so loud Zoro thinks his ears may pop. He swallows passed a mouthful of food that suddenly feels like it’s been turned to sand, putting down his chopsticks.

“But… only if you wanna — I mean — we were just curious — it’s not like it’s super important —” Usopp blusters, clearly trying to backtrack as hard and fast as possible.

“I don’t keep count…” you say, reaching out for a tiny sandwich, breaking it in half carefully between your fingers and popping one half of it in your mouth, “not anymore. I used to though… and then it just…” you lift up your left shoulder in a half-hearted shrug, “I didn’t see the point in it anymore.”

Nami reaches out a hand and places it on your arm, giving you a squeeze. There’s a fierce fire behind her eyes, a soul-deep pain and understanding. Zoro wonders at the things she might’ve been made to do at Arlong’s behest, if she might’ve once upon a time kept count of all his million and one indiscretions before realizing one day that it was pointless.

His palms pulse with heat and he feels the reckless urge to hack something in half.

“But to answer your question, more than a hundred, I think. I stopped counting when I hit the 90’s,” you pop the second half of the sandwich into your mouth and chew slowly. The quiet simmers around the table, before Sanji sighs and gets up to refill everyone’s glasses.

“Was it all that Crocodile guy?” Luffy asks, his voice jarringly serious. Everyone turns to look at him. He stares at you, his brows furrowed slightly.

You shake your head, “No. Most of it was actually bandits and thieves — people tend to lash out when they get scared, and a little girl who isn’t afraid of death — well,” you let your voice trail off.

“Do you remember them?” Zoro asks. His voice scrapes out of him, raw and bloodied. He tries to play it off with a cough and a deep drink, but no one is fooled.

You turn towards him, a light smile gracing your lips, “What? Gonna offer to go and hunt them down for me?”

Zoro shrugs, setting down his now-empty glass.

“As touching as that is,” you shoot him a tiny wink that makes Nami grin, “I’d rather not waste everyone’s time. They’re not worth it.”

A muscle feathers in Zoro’s jaw as he reflexively clenches and unclenches his fist on the table.

“And… I don’t think it’d make me feel any better,” you say, looking down at your own hands. Zoro forces himself to relax, to loosen his fingers and slacken his shoulders. But he stares down at his half-empty plate, his appetite gone.

— — —

Later that night, you find him siting alone in the crow’s nest, his back propped against the mast, one arm resting on a half-bent knee. He barely turns as you push yourself into the small space, casting your eyes up at the star-speckled night.

“Can’t sleep?” you ask, curling your arms around your legs, knees pressing into your chest.

Zoro grunts, shifting slightly, relaxing just enough that your elbows brush.

“Somethin’ like that.”

The silence stretches between the pair of you like the missing years, all those hours spent living and growing on opposite sides of a vengeful sea.

“D’you remember during the winter,” you say, your voice sending goosebumps prickling along Zoro’s skin, soft as heartbreak, fresh as an open wound, “when I’d say for dinner… and we’d sit out on the veranda and make up constellations?”

“Yeah,” Zoro laughs, leaning into the warmth of you, as natural as sinking into a memory, “the swordsman, the wheelbarrow, and —”

“And the mochitsuki!” you giggle, toppling into him as the memory seizes you both. You reach up and point towards a cluster of stars, “Right there! Look!”

Zoro scoffs, though he follows your finger, “Those are just a random bunch of stars —”

“No, you always picked a random bunch of stars —”

“I did not! I bet I could still find my swordsman constellation.”

Zoro squints at the dizzying array of twinkling specks, scanning the sky until he reaches out a hand to point.

“See those right there? That’s the swordsman.”

“You’re so full of shit, Roronoa,” but you’re laughing, and then so is he, the sound of natural it rumbles his shoulders and warms his limbs.

Zoro shakes his head, and by the time he realizes he’s leaning down to brush a strand of hair away from your cheek, it’s already too late. His body, a thrumming conflagration of muscle memory — his arm so used to the motion he didn’t even have to think. He skims this knuckles along your cheek, feels the weight of your tiny gasp ring through him like a church bell.

Your lashes flutter; there are stars from a thousand unnamed constellations caught in the dark oceans of your eyes.

“It’s… it’s not even winter.”

Zoro’s brows crinkle, his head cocking.

“What?”

You let out a puff of laughter that scalds across his lips.

“The stars —” your eyes flick up for a single second before slicing back down, “they’re different in the summer. Back when we picked out constellations… it’d been winter.”

“Oh.” Zoro doesn’t know what else to say. He’s held still by your closeness, by the burning flame of you, by the sea salt sweetness of your skin, the obsidian spill of your hair as it tumbles over your shoulder, tickling his arm. You’re so, so close, and yet he’s struck by the distance still left between you — too much, he thinks, far too much.

The kiss can barely be called a kiss — only the ghostly skim of lips on lips, a gasp masquerading as something more. But it’d been something, and you both jerk away from each other, lightening-jolted and gasping. You, with a hand pressed to your chest, Zoro, propping himself up with an arm against the crow’s nest’s rim.

Minutes go by, and neither of you have the courage to speak.

“It’s late,” Zoro finally manages, clearing his throat as he rums a thumb along the base of his sword, seeking the comforting grate of it’s well-worn tsuka, “you should —”

“Can I stay?” you ask, the words echoing through him, and for a second, beneath the light of all those million uncertain stars, he feels like a child again, and he sees you as he once had — midnight hair and a dreamer’s smile, pleading with his sensei to stay just a bit longer.

“Just… till I get tired,” you amend. Zoro blinks, and there you are again, all grown up, the vestiges of childhood still visible in the way you bite your lips, but there’s nothing childish about the way his stomach twists or the way your eyes dart down to rest on his mouth, lingering for a breath too long.

“Fine,” Zoro says, forcing his gaze away as he moves to sit back against the mast. You curl in next to him, resting your cheek on his shoulder. He waits for three beats before letting out a long sigh and adjusting his shoulder to match your height, letting you shuffle till you’re pressed almost fully against his left side.

He feels the weight and warmth of you seeping into his skin, more intimately than he’d ever felt it before. And like this, Zoro thinks that eternity might not be so long a time.

It’s long after midnight by the time you stir, and this time, Zoro doesn’t hesitate before looping one arm beneath your knees and the other around your shoulders, cradling you against his chest as he makes his slow, steady way back down to the main deck, and then below. You stir as he lays you down in his hammock, easing in next to you, your eyes blinking open to the bleary, moonlit dark of his room.

“Zoro?” you ask, your voice still mired in sleep.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he says, as if it’s the only answer you might’ve been seeking. You smile, lopsided and sweet, sinking into the pillow, one hand reaching out for him.

He tugs the sheets up and stretches out an arm to pull you close, feeling the soul-deep settling of the first drop of rain as it meets the sea, knowing that this is where he’s meant to be.

— — —

The pair of you are shaken awake by the wild rocking of the Merry and the too-close boom of canon-fire. Zoro jerks up, reaching for his swords; you, already swinging out of the bed as well, your eyes bright and wild.

“Wait —” Zoro bars your way as you try to jerk the door open.

“What?” you snap, the terrible, leaden look eclipsing your expression as Zoro watches you force the feeling, the life, from your face.

“You stay here.”

“Like hell I will,” you try to jerk passed Zoro’s arm, but he’s nothing if not strong, and he forces you back with a harsh shove.

“Stay here,” he says again, his knuckles already going white as he grips the handle of his sword.

“No.” You bare your teeth, and for a moment, Zoro barely recognizes you — your face devoid of anything but fear and anger, your eyes huge and hollow. Then, a flicker of light —

“I —” you swallow, “I won’t let anyone die for me. Not for me,” you say, as if the thought were an unbearable terror, gorging itself on the tendrils of your mind.

Zoro stares at you for what seems like a century. All the while, the unmistakable sounds of a battle rages on above.

Finally, he bites out, “I’m not planning on letting you die either.”

Your lips press into a thin, ghostly smile as you push passed his now-slack arm.

“Then don’t,” you say.

“Don’t what?”

You cast him a single backward glance, “Let me die.”

— — —

It is pandemonium by the time you and Zoro make it up to the main decks. A single look and you know that you’re all outnumbered and hundred to one.

“Your old boss really doesn’t give up, huh?” Zoro asks as he jumps in, parrying two blows and kicking another attacker in the stomach.

You duck beneath a pair of throwing stars, pulling out your knives.

“He’s not known for it — no,” you say, grunting as you swiftly dispatch someone swinging a pair of nun-chucks.

Across the deck, Sanji is round-house kicking someone in the face while Nami pivots off her bo staff to send someone else flying over the railings. Somewhere behind them, Luffy’s clear shout of Gum-Gum-Whip! echoes over the glistening morning waves. And up on the crow’s nest, Usopp fires round after round of his newly developed exploding pellets.

But it’s endless, and as many attackers as you fell, more keeps coming, seemingly appearing from nowhere as they clamber over the side of the ship, snarling as they swarm towards you.

“We — we have to get out of here!” Nami calls, barely keeping hold against a gargantuan pirate three times her size, bearing down over her with two giant, flashing swords.

“B-but — where do we go?” Usopp calls, desperately trying to re-load his slingshot, his fingers shaking so hard he almost fumbles his next round.

A hard, chilling realization settles in your chest, sinking till it weighs at the bottom of your stomach as you look around at the wreckage of the Merry, your eyes blurred with smoke and tears.

“There’s nowhere we can run!” Sanji says, nailing someone in the side a second before they catch Luffy in the back with a knife. Luffy throws him a thumbs up, winding up for another attack.

In the distance, you see the shadow of a large, familiar ship getting closer and closer, and suddenly, clear as day, you know what you have to do.

You dart out in front of Zoro, digging your knives into a man’s chest deep enough to feel his bones crack before ripping out the blades and spinning around to press your own chest to the tip of Zoro’s blade.

“What the hell?!”

Your hand whips out, grabbing Zoro’s wrist as he tries to pull away. Behind you, you hear the distinct sounds of Nami shouting something about an approaching ship, but you can’t make out the words.

“They’re coming after me,” you say, in a voice so quiet you doubt Zoro can hear you, but from the way his eyes go wide, you figure he catches the gist. He tries again to jerk his sword away but you pull it back so hard the tip snicks open the front of your shirt, drawing a dark droplet of blood.

He freezes just as a single warning clap of thunder roils overhead.

“You have to do it,” you say, your voice steady now, just loud enough for the others to hear, even as all sound seems to fade away, the action around you blurring as time itself slackens around you.

“No,” Zoro says, the line of his jaw drawn so taut you almost laugh, “I said I wouldn’t let you die.”

You nod, reaching out across what feels like an impossible distance to brush a thumb along his blood-spattered cheek. Overhead, dark clouds gather, streaks of lightning illuminating great patches of sky as the entire ocean froths with the oncoming storm.

“Right. That’s why you have to kill me instead.”

“No.” Zoro feels the word scrape out of him like a handful of broken glass, but the thing in his chest (can it still be called a heart?) claws up his throat, crawling into his mouth, leaving his tongue thick and bloodied. Panic knots through his veins as he tries to think of another way — any other way.

Distantly, he hears the shouts of his crewmates as they struggle to keep the onslaught of enemies at bay. And he knows — the same way a body knows how to cry without ever being taught, the first thing humans do when they’re brought into this world — that there is no other way.

You smile a smile that looks like the shadow of every single nightmare Zoro’s ever woken up from screaming.

“Can you at least make it quick?” you ask, leaning in, his sword tipping back so as not to run you through, but the blade still skims along the side of your neck like a sweet, fatal promise.

You close the space between you and lay your palms on his chest, letting his heart thread it’s hopeless drumbeat into the flat of your hands.

Overhead, Usopp is shouting about an enemy ship to the starboard side.

You clasp your fingers over Zoro’s hand on the hilt of the Wadou Ichimonji, and you feel the blade vibrate against your skin — as if it knows, as if it too is mourning.

A single raindrop patters down onto your cheek as you reach out to brush Zoro’s jaw.

“Zoro, please —”

A shard of lightning streaks overhead. A deafening clap of thunder. Zoro opens his mouth in a drowned out yell as he draws his blade across your neck in a sharp, abortive swipe and watches as the red wreaths down your front.

For just a second, it seems like your lips are caught in a smile, your eyes glimmering with secrets. And then, you slump forward into his arms, heavy and unmoving.

Somewhere behind him, Nami screams.

TAGLIST: @brairslair @msheds0519 @yunabelless @lynndt-chocolate @@lostonthrillerbark @stunies @tsumu-senpai @phroggii @ssailormoonnn @breathinginyoursmoke @guridoodles @kyllium @naomihatake @itoshiexx @mythicallystupid @mars-mizuko @astroniii @crispynutella @enhastolemyheart @fanficwriter101 @jamesbparker @dira333 @weirdowithaphone @ink-perfect @lodeddiperrodrick @not-a-glad-gladiator @vinskypuff @itsagoodluckkiss @blondethinkpink @ellelowthere @annievrse @m333myselfandiii @tsubaki3192 @grapelover2000 @teewon @keigoskrio @ggyuslovie @manuosorioh @one17 @monkey-d-hoshizora98 @emmaiscool22 @ponyboys-sunsets @m333myselfandiii @13-09-01 @jedi-dreea @noble-17 @murnsondock @letsthedogpackandthecats — pls comment below if you'd like to be added to the taglist for this series!

[sanjisboyfie]

one piece smau: dating zoro edition

- slight nsfw images + wording , very slight

- male reader !!

liked by freeluffy, SUPERCOLA, and 10k others

rzs.[name]: muah smooch kiss 😚

tagged: [name]s_hubby

[name]s_hubby: i love u pretty boy

-> rzs.[name]: come home imy

-> [name]s_hubby: im gettin ur stupid biggie bag wait a second

dni_nami: STOP BEING HAPPY ON MY TL ‼️‼️‼️ I DIDNT ASK FOR TS esp from u two

-> rzs.[name]: btw nami i jus venmoed u for the snacks u bought for us at the movies

-> dni_nami: i wish u both nothing but happiness 🫶🏼 love u botthhhh

uso_pp: damn why he eatin u ... [name] u good??

-> [name]s_hubby: pls stfu u touch deprived idiot

liked by purrrona, rzs.[name], and 11k others

[name]s_hubby: why r ppl spelling gym "jim" that shit sound stupid as fuck

tagged: rzs.[name]

rzs.[name]: my favorite pillow <333

rzs.[name]: guys do u see how he tagged me :))) its cuz hes my boyfriend

rzs.[name]: pls tell me ur single plsplsplsplsplsplsplsplspl

-> [name]s_hubby: i almost blocked u bc i thought u were a rando

-> uso_pp: smths tellin me this isnt the right answer ???

-> [name]s_hubby: mb i mean, yes i do have a boyfriend and am happily married to him

freeluffy: ZORO i beat ur pr 😈😈

-> [name]s_hubby: mf i know u didnt stop lying

princesanji: vomitted in my mouth xoxo

-> [name]s_hubby: the jealousy from this comment is crazy

liked by [name]s_hubby, princesanji, and 10k others

rzs.[name]: HES SOOOOO HOTTTT I MIGHT JUST START DROOLING

tagged: [name]s_hubby

[name]s_hubby: please do not start drooling i might break up w u

-> rzs.[name]: u practically started crying when i told u i had to leave the bed to go to school , i cant even jmagine if i broke up w you

-> uso_pp: his ass is not built to survive without u [name] pls dont break up w him for the sake of everyone else

randomgirl: happy for u ig ...

-> [name]s_hubby: im gonna block u from [name]s phone cuz hes too nice to do it himself foh w ur bullshit

[liked by dni_nami, robinkills, and 100 others]

johnnybro: BIG BRO ZORO GOT THE CUTEST BOYFRIEND EVER

-> rzs.[name]: JOHNNNNYY zoro says he misses u

-> [name]s_hubby: i didnt but good to hear from u johnny and yes my bf is the cutest

liked by rzs.[name], [name]s_hubby, and 9k others

SUPERCOLA: zoros drunk ass couldnt even stand upright and [name] had to go on over there to sober him up

tagged: rzs.[name] and [name]s_hubby

robinkills: what even got him to come back to his senses? he was so drunk

-> rzs.[name]: i told him he would have to sleep on the couch unless he got serious

[liked by dni_nami, princesanji, and 57 others]

-> dni_nami: thats all it took??? wtf 💀💀💀

freeluffy: zoro is so funny 😂😂😂 he kept bumping into poles ans apologizing to them

-> [name]s_hubby: luffy delete this comment rn u have ten minutes.

rzs.[name]: i love my boyfriend 😇 even if hes so fucking stupid

-> SUPERCOLA: pls do NOT start beef in my comment section i was tryna show how cut u guys r as a couple not how stupid u both are

liked by rzs.[name], princesanji, and 17k others

[name]s_hubby: one day ill put a proper ring on his finger and then MAYBE just maybe bitches will stop tryna slide in his dms

tagged: rzs.[name]

uso_pp: it was cute until u threatened a whole population of people

-> [name]s_hubby: the issue is that theres a whole population of people tryna get w my bf, thats not my fault

dni_nami: zoro u almost had me fooled that u were being a SWEET bf for once

rzs.[name]: why not rn???

-> [name]s_hubby: shhh

princesanji: the caption couldve been smth great and then u ruined it

-> [name]s_hubby: and ur still single. so...

liked by dni_nami, [name]s_hubby, and 12k others

rzs.[name]: i was told to make it more obvious on my acc that i have a bf (even tho hes in all my posts) so pls stop dming me now ty

tagged: [name]s_hubby

[name]s_hubby: his username is literally "roronoa zoro's [name]" as in - IM RORONOA ZORO ... i need all of u to wake tf up

-> rzs.[name]: and my man!!! thank u to my man!!

dni_nami: if anyone knew u two in real life theyd know all u do is talk abt each other

uso_pp: the world if ppl were able to take a hint🌈✨✌️☮️🕊️

princesanji: i am begging all of u to actually stop dming [name] bc the amt of ppl is genuinely stressing zoro out and its making him act even more like an asshole to the rest of us. please spare us this treatment and leave them both alone

[liked by [name]s_hubby, rzs.name, and 120 others]

rzs.[name]'s story:

happy 2 yr anniversary, im so lucky to have you in my life

[name]s_hubby replied to your story: i hope i get to wake up next to you everyday, i love you so much please come home quick so i can show you pretty boy <3

[luffyssa]

𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙧𝙚-𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥

starring. one piece. luffy, zoro, sanji, ace, law, shanks genre. smau, crack, fluff ask. can you please do a smau where they accidentally text about you to you when they meant if for someone else (pre relationship)? it's just so cute to see our pookies embarrassed.

use of y/n, she/her pronouns in some

[st4rpiece]

wearing someone else’s jacket

SFW

characters: luffy, zoro, usopp, sanji, ace, law, kidd, crocodile x reader summary: the guys reaction to you wearing someone else's jacket CW: fluff, cursing, slight violence

One Piece Masterlist

had this one sitting in my drafts for a hot minute. I just couldn't figure out usopp's part but it's all good lol.

i have a few ideas but i don't know which to tackle first, so i guess i'll do another poll since that helped me last time.

anyways i hope you guys enjoyed!!

[pyr0frnzy]

(PRETTY PLEASE READ FROM RIGHT TO LEFT…)

Luffy Zoro Sanji and Usopp if they ever all went on a waterslide together…

[deimosatellite]

thriller bark . .