rubyin-wonderland

[rubyin-wonderland]

Future

opla!Zoro X fem!reader

Summary: an unexpected question ignites Zoro's imagination

WC: 1.1k

Warnings/tags: nothing, enjoy the fluff

"Have you ever thought about having kids?" You asked offhandedly one day, sitting on the deck with Zoro, laying in the sun with him, his arms locked around you as you sat in his lap.

There was a tense in Zoro's body as he tried to interpret what you meant by that. "Are you trying to tell me something?" He asked nervously. You shook your head, laughing awkwardly. "Oh! No, Zoro. God, no. I was just thinking about it. We've never had this talk."

You turned so you could see him, shifting a bit in his lap. "Do you see a family in our future?"

Zoro thought, brow creasing slightly as he went through his process. Imagining small humans, features mixed between yours and his, waddling across the deck, learning to fight with blades like their father, inheriting the creative spirit of their mother.

Then he thought of the problems. The long nights, the exhausting days, the dangers of raising children, especially if the two of you decided to stay on the sea. You having to go through a nearly year long process to produce the child in the first place, putting yourself at high risk when your lives were already threatened nonstop.

The rivalling trains of thought collided, the sight of those sweet children with your eyes and his nose standing in front of massive pirates with no mercy to be found in their eyes.

Then he saw them fighting off their enemies, swift, trained movements they could have learned from no one else but him.

He delved deeper into this fictional life he had begun. You happily telling him that you were pregnant, him pulling you into his arms, lifting you so that your feet no longer touch the ground and holding you tightly, spinning you around, joy spilling out of every laugh in your throat.

The late stages of pregnancy, you letting him hold your stomach to feel his children kick, taking care of you as you dealt with even the slightest inconvenience, making sure that you were perfectly comfortable and happy.

A baby swaddled in your arms, a tired but happy smile overtaking both of your faces as the baby sleeps, Zoro picking up the delicate child and holding it carefully, love for the new life, just started but still full of so much potential.

Having to wake up in the middle of the night to the sounds of crying, as you roll over in bed he offers to handle it for you. You never turn down his offer. Picking up his child, so small in his arms, and cherishing the moment, even as the little lungs wail at him. He rocks his child gently, soothing as he tries to figure out what's wrong, finding the solution and fixing it as the wails die down, finally setting the baby back to bed, ready to fall asleep with you.

You taking him aside to announce that the two of you have a second baby on the way, his excitement doubling as he thinks about it for longer. Kissing you until your lungs are empty, arms locked around your back like a vice, happier than ever.

A total of three children, one in your arms, two in his, all small and wiggly, laughing as their father lifts them up easily, tucking them under his arms, while you heft the third onto your shoulders, for a better vantage point.

Nights of rest with you in his arms disturbed by a soft knock, and a youngster with messy hair asking for help after a nightmare. The child slipping between your bodies, tucked under the covers, safe between their parents.

Telling the children stories of their parents back in the day, Zoro's being tales of his epic feats of strength, yours practically fairy tales of bravery and honour, making the children roll their eyes every time you brought up your romance, the children screaming in mock disgust as you press a gentle kiss to the corner of Zoro's mouth.

Sitting at a bedside, where a coughing child sits, a damp towel on their head, testing temperatures and bringing bowls of soup, you coming in, pushing hair back to feel for a temperature. The child asking for Zoro to stay at their side during the night to keep the monsters at bay.

Bandaging scraped knees, warning of the sting of alcohol, salty tears dripping down sweet faces as you hold them on your lap, allowing Zoro to work on the scrape, cleaning the wound and taping little bandages over the issue.

Candles burning over a decorated cake as a grinning face with missing teeth claps their hands along to the singing around them, you sitting nearby, making sure the flames don't burn too high, while Zoro has the other two children on his knees, watching their sibling's celebration.

His swords sitting by the door, accompanied by a couple of training swords crafted from bamboo, unable to do serious damage, but a perfect weapon for a beginner to wield, protecting the furniture from nicks and scratches.

You standing in front of the kids, protective, eyes wild as a long lost enemy finds your home and threatens to destroy your peace. You standing in front of a defeated body turning to your children to remind them that they should never rush to fight, but it was a special situation.

Watching them grow, become people, have their own hopes and dreams which they leave you to follow. Heartfelt goodbyes as they set off on their own journeys, adventure running in their blood the same way it flows through their parents. Promises to visit and long hugs, the family one giant huddle of love, tears dropping down faces as the children, now grown, leave.

Zoro looks at you, considerate. "Yeah. We could have a family." He feels you relax a bit. "We'd have to wait for our lives to be less hectic, but I think a little kid would be wonderful." you smile.

Zoro's brain has already locked in the amount of children he can see in his future, ever a man with a theme. "Would you want multiple?" He asks, trying to test the waters. Three children, his children. The vision of them, their faces all a combination of his features and yours, blended together to create new people.

You look up at Zoro, considerate. "Yeah, I think a couple might be nice." "Or a few?" He challenges.

You look into his eyes, smiling furiously. "Put some thought into this, huh?" You ask. He shrugs, but his face gives it away. "I think a few would be good." You smile, settling back down against Zoro's chest. "Three," You muse. "Just enough to outnumber us." He nods. "We've handled worse than three children." You smile. "Damn right we have."

[rubyin-wonderland]

Hey guys! Thank you all so much for your support on my fics it really means a lot to me!

Now I have a little announcement for you all, which is that I am going to branch out a little and try writing for one of my favourite kpop groups, ATEEZ! I have a couple ideas for some writings already and I wanted all of you to know about them. I'm still gonna write for one piece and I still have quite a few wips for Zoro and Sanji, but now I'm planning on some new stuff as well!

In the meantime if you're really excited for my ateez focus and just can't wait to read about them, I'm gonna plug my favorite ateez (and kpop overall) writer, @lomlhwa!!!! She's reposted some of my fics and I love everything she writes so please check her out!

See y'all with my next fic :)

[rubyin-wonderland]

Flowers

opla!Zoro x reader

Summary: Zoro may not speak the language of flowers, but he'll find a translator for you.

WC: 2.2k

Warnings: tooth rotting fluff, googled the flower meanings so ehhhh

Note: I managed to put these flowers into a board to imagine it but if someone wants to draw the bouquet please do I wanna see it (please please please please please please)

Zoro stood awkwardly in the middle of the shop, looking around at the colourful blooms surrounding him. He had no idea what he was doing there. He knew nothing about flowers. He could hardly name one blossom on the tables around him, or dangling over his head.

The room was silent. Whoever ran this little store was absent at the moment, which typically would not be a problem, but with no experience to guide him, Zoro was lost and alone, wandering from aisle to aisle, hoping not to step improperly and risk knocking a planter over.

He admired the flowers, cautiously reaching out to touch a stray petal in curiosity, when a crash sounded from behind him.

He whipped around, ready for a sign of danger, but all he could see was a kid in oversized glasses looking sadly at a broken pot, several yellow flowers spilling onto the floor. The kid swore, and kicked a large piece of the pot under one of the green tables.

"How can I help you?" The kid asked, looking up at Zoro, trying to look serious.

"Are there any adults here?" He asked quietly, trying not to leave this job in the hands of a child.

"Nope. Just me. What do you want?" The kid frowned. Zoro shifted his weight from foot to foot, before leaning back against the table behind him.

"There's a flower language, right?" He asked, feeling a bit ashamed of his lack of knowledge on the subject.

The kid's eyes lit up. "There is! What do you want to make? A declaration of war? An insult bouquet?" The kid jumped up on a stool, beginning to look through the variety of flowers at the ready.

"No. A love letter."

He had heard you talking about the language of flowers a couple days ago, although not to him. He had then decided to surprise you. A bouquet, made of flowers describing his feelings for you. Unfortunately for him, the only thing he knew about the language was that there was one. He had no idea how to make an arrangement, much less what to put in it.

"A love letter is boring." The kid sighed, moving the stool over to a different section of the greenhouse, letting Zoro follow. "So what do you want it to say?" The kid asked.

"I don't know. Something romantic." "Wow. You suck at this." Zoro huffed.

"Well, what do you like about this person?" The kid asked, standing on the table now, going back and forth through the planters, scanning the plants.

Zoro frowned. "Well, they're nice." The kid sighed. "Is that all?"

"What do you want from me?" Zoro asked. "They're nice. I wasn't lying to you." "Give me something else."

Zoro sighed. This was more difficult than he thought it was going to be. "They're strong. They fight excellently. Like the greatest warrior in a king's guard."

The kid threw a fist in the air. "That's what I'm talking about!"

The kid dashed in between the planters, returning with a few leaves and a couple flowers, one white, the other a collection of peachy pink blooms on a long stem. "Cress for power and stability, edelweiss for daring, and gladiolus, the flower of fighters." Zoro nodded his head. "Perfect. Use that."

"Okay, what else?" The kid asked, eyes wide. "What else?" "Yeah. What else? This isn't a love letter, it's a boring statement. You have to tell me more."

"Fine. Their smile is pretty. Whenever they smile, I do too. It's instinctive. They're happy so I am."

The kid pretended to gag before rushing off again, this time retrieving some tiny orange flowers. "Daisies. Orange for joy and sunshine." Zoro nodded. "Okay. They know how to have fun. I'm never bored with them. Even if we're just sitting alone, I'm amused. They're funny, and know what to do to make me feel better."

The kid chuckled fondly at Zoro's rambling. "I will never understand love."

The stool was moved to a different table so the kid could run around in a different area, grabbing stalks off plants of tiny red and pink blossoms coating the stem. "Red and pink hyacinth. For playfulness."

"Good. Their eyes are pretty." There was a laugh from the kid as the flowers were thrust upon Zoro, left for him to catch and keep safe. "Hang on." The kid ran away, laughing maniacally, looking for the right flower. It appeared as tiny white blooms, but the top petals were short, making a sort of stage out of the lower petals.

"Eyebright. To tell them that their eyes are bewitching." The kid laughed, carrying the flowers over to a workbench. "Anything else to add?"

Zoro huffed, but began to say more. "They're tough. Brave. Willing to do what is right. Even when the world seems to rise against them, they fight."

"Wow." The kid laughed. "I wanna meet your little sweetie." Zoro frowned, sending the kid off in a hurry of red and pink petals.

A handful of tiny flowers were presented to Zoro, with small white petals around a big yellow center. "Chamomile. Energy in adversity."

Now, the kid was running out of hand room to grab flowers, instead telling Zoro to hold the flowers while the kid carefully arranged each bloom carefully, pink, red and white mixing together peacefully on a bed of frilly green leaves.

"Needs more." The kid observed, looking back up at Zoro. "Your sweetie, what do you want to say? What's the message you want to send?"

Zoro thought for a second before the words began to spill.

"I want them to know that I love them. That I stand behind every action they make. That I am a crutch they can use when they're hurt and a shield they can hide behind when they're tired. I am grateful that they picked me to be theirs, and I hope they can stay mine forever. My love for them is eternal."

The kid stared, starry eyed at the man holding the flowers. "I've got some."

Once again the kid took off, this time leaving Zoro with his bouquet, where he observed each of the flowers, knowing that by giving them to you he would be sending a message. A deep message, from his heart. He hoped you would like it. He needed you to understand it, because he had not remembered a single flower's name, nor it's meaning.

"Goldenrod, salvia, and bellflower!" The kid shouted from across the room, arriving in front of Zoro with some blooms of yellow, red, and a light, nearly white pink.

"Goldenrod for encouragement, red salvia to say 'you're mine forever', and bellflower, unwavering love."

The completed bouquet was lovely, a portrait of love, painted in reds, yellows, whites and pinks, almost a sunset of colours, diverse blooms flourishing from the place where Zoro's hands kept them from flying away.

The kid grabbed the flowers and brought them over to a table, setting the flowers down and arranging them carefully, wrapping the finished product in brown paper and tying a pink bow around the piece. Zoro had to admit, it looked pretty.

He took the bouquet gently, turning it over, looking at the presentation, nodding. "How much for it?" He asked, fishing some money out of his pocket.

The kid charged him, and with the promise of returning to send an insult bouquet next time he came over, Zoro left, prepared to give you your gift.

He found you wandering about the town, gazing into a shop window at a pile of curious trinkets being displayed, shining in the sun.

There was a visible bandage on the side of your leg, indicating an injury that should have prevented you from walking about, but you insisted upon your adventures, despite Zoro's clear worry for you.

Of course he had to leave you to fetch the flowers, but he had told you to stay put, sitting on the fountain in the middle of town, where you could do all the people watching in the world without stressing your injury. You had wandered anyways.

You caught a glimpse of Zoro in the window, turning around to face him with a smile, weight placed mostly on the unbandaged leg.

"There you are! I was worried you got lost!" You observed, eyes catching on the hand hidden behind Zoro's back. "What do you have there?"

Trying to hide a smile, Zoro unveiled the bouquet, watching giddily as you gasped, immediately looking in to inspect the flowers.

"Wow, Zoro did you make this for me?" You asked in awe.

"Who else would I make a bouquet for?" Zoro asked, sounding offended.

"I love it."

You took it carefully, hands reaching out to touch the soft petals. You gently held one of the smaller white flowers. "Edelweiss?" You guessed. Zoro recognized the name and nodded. "Calling me brave?" Zoro rolled his eyes, although he could not be enjoying the moment more. "You're one of the bravest people I know, don't be stupid."

You laughed at his attempt to stay stoic in your presence, even though his flowery declaration of love was staring at you.

You deciphered a few more flowers, looking to Zoro for confirmation of each one.

He watched calmly as you pressed a kiss to his lips. "Zoro, this is beautiful. Thank you so much." You carefully embraced the flowers in your arms.

"It was nothing." He shrugged. "Nonsense." You wrapped an arm around him, the flowers carefully protected from your half-hug. "Let's go back, I want to put these in some water to keep them fresh for as long as possible."

Zoro let you lead him back to the ship, watching as you filled a pitcher with water, settling the flowers in, adjusting each one until it looked perfect. Zoro watched as you worked, a fond smile breaking through his attempts at staying collected. When you were done, you picked up the pitcher. "I'll keep them by my bedside and in a few days I'll hang them up to dry so I can keep them forever." You smiled.

Zoro just walked around behind you, arms linking around your body. "Thank you Zoro." You said, leaning your head back, nuzzled into his neck. "You're welcome." He replied, voice quiet, soft in the quiet, creating a long moment for the two of you to enjoy.

The door creaked open, revealing Sanji, who saw the flowers and cocked his head to the side, an unasked question lingering in the air. "Mosshead, did you?" He asked, as if the very idea of Zoro being considerate was beyond him, an exaggerated mask of disbelief on his face.

"Yeah I did." Zoro said defensively, arms squeezing you slightly. "Made it myself." Mostly.

"Well, seems you aren't a romantic lost cause after all." Sanji hummed.

"We were busy." Zoro grumbled, hoping to go back to your moment of silence, but Sanji immediately set up shop in the island. "And I've got mouths to feed. Including yours."

You tugged Zoro along, the pitcher in your hands. "Come on," you coaxed. "Let's leave Sanji to his work."

As the days passed, you cared for your bouquet diligently, changing out the water and snipping the stems. When the flowers began to wilt, you immediately tied them up, attaching them to a string on your wall, so that there was a line of flowers out to dry on your wall, ready for their beauty and meaning to be preserved.

One day, Zoro was napping, when he felt something rest on his lap. Still tired, he refused to open his eyes, but he could tell by the sound of the footsteps that it had been you interrupting his rest.

When he opened his eyes, you were gone, leaving only a small bundle of flowers on his lap, this bouquet a painting of blues and purples, with the odd yellow flower to break it up.

Tucked in the flowers was a card, with small drawings of the flowers contained in the bouquet, and why they meant.

Reciprocated love, protection, united souls, loyalty, a much shorter letter, but one written with love nonetheless.

His eyes caught on the description for one of the purple flowers. Astragalus - your presence softens my pain. His eyes flickered up to where you had disappeared after delivering the gift, noting your head peeking not-so-subtly around the corner.

"Come here." He ordered, and you came over, sitting next to him with a smile. "You like it?" You asked pleasantly.

He wrapped his arms around you. "I was doing something nice." He grumbled, sounding half serious about his anger. "And you have to go and be nicer."

He felt you laughing beneath him. "Just enjoy the flowers, you sourpuss." You squirmed out of his hold, standing just out of his reach, so he had to crane his head back to look at you.

"My presence softens your pain?" He asked quietly, reading off your card. "Of course it does. Convenient that there's a flower for it, huh?" He looked between you and your bouquet. "Yeah. Well," he plucked one of the meaningful purple flowers from the bundle, standing, and tucking it behind your ear, the collection of curved blooms sitting next to your face, and for a second, Zoro understood why people found flowers as pretty as they did.

He cleared his throat, dropping his hand and walked away, in search of another pitcher for his flowers, leaving you behind, his second flower message to you tucked behind your ear.

[rubyin-wonderland]

Challenge

opla!Zoro X reader

Summary: You know Zoro's weaknesses a little too well.

WC: 1.2k

Warnings/tags: arm wrestling matches, flustered Zoro teehee, all fluff for once

When you walked into the galley one fine afternoon, you weren't sure what you had been expecting, only that it wasn't Zoro and Usopp locked in an arm wrestling match.

You stood in the door as Usopp used his other hand to grab and tug his arm down, failing pitifully at getting Zoro's arm to move in the slightest.

Finally, when Usopp gave up, his hand hitting the table in defeat, Zoro looked over at you.

"What's this about?" You asked the collective of crewmates, all of whom had been watching the display.

"Another way of our resident swordsman to show off how strong he is." Sanji commented, arms crossed and leaning back against the counter. You wondered if Zoro had beaten him yet, or if he had refused outright to participate.

"Just say you know you can't beat me." Zoro said cockily, arms folded behind his head as he slid back in his seat. "There's no shame in it."

Sanji bristled, but did not give in. "No, I'd rather use my spare time for more useful things. Would you like a drink, Nami?"

He got to work crafting a cocktail while Usopp sulked off to Luffy, rubbing his arm. Luffy tagged in excitedly, slipping into the spot that had been vacated, holding out his arm.

With a pleased sigh, Zoro accepted the challenge, elbow dropping into the table, and flexing his bicep when he noticed you looking, which drew a huff from Sanji and an eye roll from Nami.

You hardly cared what they thought. Zoro knew about your love for his muscular build and hardly cared that the others could tell that he was shamelessly flirting with you by flexing at you, or stretching to reveal a glimpse of the territory that lay below his shirt, a reminder that he was yours to explore.

You smiled at his little show as the two adjusted their arms on the table, finding the best possible angle of attack. You walked closer to the table, standing next to Zoro, a hand pressing gently between his shoulder blades.

"Want a good luck kiss?" You asked teasingly, as your fingers gently brushed back and forth across the fabric of his shirt.

"Eh, why not?" His head turned towards you, but you ducked away from his lips and pecked his bicep sweetly, pulling away with a mischievous smile.

Zoro's eyes widened a small bit, surprised by your small betrayal, and for a second he seemed to forget where he was, surprised at the kiss being placed away from his face. He blushed slightly, shaking his head so nobody could see, but you had.

Zoro simply steeled himself and turned back to Luffy, ready to fight.

"Count us in!" Luffy grinned.

You did as you were told, counting to three and watching as the two began their fight. Almost immediately Zoro gained the upper hand, pushing Luffy's hand halfway down to the table, and watched as Luffy belatedly fought back, managing to gain an inch or two back to his side of the fight, holding steady for a few seconds, then managing to push a little further.

Their hands were almost upright when Zoro pushed back, his hand pushing Luffy's down into the table, a process that looked too easy.

Luffy fell onto the table with his hand as Zoro let go, grabbing at his forearm, whining about how close he had been to winning.

"Thanks." Zoro said, looking up at you. You smiled down at him. "Undefeated?" You asked as Luffy stood up and walked away. "Of course." He said proudly.

An idea slithered into your mind, and you parted from Zoro's side, taking your place across from him. "My turn." You set your arm on the table, hand open, inviting.

he raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, simply extending his hand in turn, elbow back on the table.

Despite not having started yet, there was tension in his arm, preparing for the fight.

You smiled pleasantly at him, hoping the surprise you were cooking up would let you win.

Zoro just looked at the others to count you in.

Sanji stood and walked closer to the show. "One, two, three!"

The split second you felt Zoro's arm begin to move, you pressed a soft kiss to the knuckles facing you, a feather light touch that tickled his fingers, leaving him stunned.

In that moment of surprise, you leapt, shoving his arm nearly to the table, only a miniscule space left to fill before Zoro got ahold of himself, trying to gain back what he had lost, but you leaned across the table as he raised his arm, pushing your lips against his, shoving his arm back against the table as he tasted you, losing himself again.

When you released his hand and his face, you sat back with a smile. "I win."

Zoro coughed, looking pointedly away from the looks being given to him by his crewmates, covering up the fact that he was flustered by your silly actions.

"Wait let me try again!" Luffy gasped, raising his hand voluntarily.

Zoro shook his head, standing up and moving away from you and your charms. "No, I'm done."

Sanji sank into the chair with a sly grin. "I don't suppose you want to test me next?" Sanji asked. You laughed and stood up, allowing Luffy to slip into your spot. "Maybe next time Sanji."

You sauntered up to Zoro with a sly smile. "I could've beaten you." He said quietly. "Oh I know." It was a no brainer that if you hadn't pulled out your secret weapon he would have won easily.

"But I know my opponent." You let him pull you into his arms, resting his head next to yours as you watched Sanji give in to Luffy's pleading and agree to one round.

"Smart." Zoro observed. "Plus, you liked it, didn't you?" You could tell by the way Zoro straightened up that yes, he had liked it a lot. "It was fine."

You had been able to make him go completely slack with only one brush of your lips. That was arguably more than "fine" for him.

You looked down at his forearms wrapped around your body, leaning down to press another kiss to his skin.

"Hey." He grumbled, not making any move to stop your actions. "What?" You asked innocently.

Zoro stayed silent, a warmth growing over his face. He cleared his throat. "Not in front of them." You looked at your crewmates with a smile. "Don't want them to know you go completely soft with just one kiss?" You asked, looking at him, twisting your head to see.

"I don't go soft." "Yeah you do. Like a happy cat. You almost purr." You hold back, although his cheek is within reach. You could give it a peck so easily.

"You'll pay for those comments." He threatens, although there is no malice behind his words. At the end of the day, Zoro is desperately in love with you, and it is not just your lips that drive him to his knees.

Our next sparring match is going to be interesting." You hum in response. You see the grin build over his features. He likes the sound of that. Maybe being beaten isn't so bad if your lips are on his at the end of the day.

[rubyin-wonderland]

Forever Eternally

opla!Sanji x reader

Summary: You've been searching for "the one" for as long as you can remember, but he never seems to appear. Until a strange pirate crew comes into your life.

WC: 2.8k

Warnings/tags: soulmates fic, emotions, being used, forced proximity, fluff and a dash of angst because of course

Note: wrote this for a special Sanji fan of mine, enjoy your soulmates fic pookie

The necklaces were delicate, two dainty metal curlicues  embracing blue teardrop gemstones. You had seen it on couples around your hometown, worn by soulmates. They glowed when they were together, signifying the completion of a match, together, as they should be.

"They are tethered to your soul, and when it senses your match, they will glow for you." Your grandmother had told you, before you set off on your own.

It had been her wish for you to find your soulmate on your travels, and admittedly, you wanted it too.

You would be lying if finding your perfect match hadn't been a factor in your decision to leave home. It was a big wide world after all, and there were only so many people on your island.

So, the sea awaited, brilliant blue and beyond enticing. You found your way across several islands, stumbling into several people, but none of them were right.

When you finally ended up joining a pirate crew, you found yourself in a new home, with a rambunctious family that never spent a day without a little trouble.

The Straw Hats might have been a little crazy, but you fit right in, allowing them to nestle into your heart, feeling nearly satisfied with the life they had been able to provide you with.

And yet, you still clung to your necklaces, neither of which had ever glowed on any island you visited, the only void left to be filled.

You wore one necklace yourself, the other always tucked in a pocket, never away from your side. Once you knew who it was, you needed to be able to make it official, clasping it around their neck for the whole world to see.

Unfortunately, finding "the one" was not as easy as you had thought.

Every island you docked at was another opportunity to find out who it could be, but as weeks of searching turned to months, with not even the faintest light from your necklace, you had begun to give up hope.

You sat on the deck of the ship, legs crossed in front of you as you looked out into the starry sky, asking them for an answer to your troubles.

Perhaps you were doomed to never find your match. That wouldn't be awful. Just devastating. Wherever they were, they seemed to be evading your grasp.

You heard footsteps on the lower deck, focusing your eyes in the moonlight, catching the silhouette of the ship's cook in the dark.

"I'd say you should be getting your beauty sleep but it seems you're gorgeous enough without it." His voice carried in the night, the flirtatious comment soaking into your skin, making your heart pound in double time.

Sanji was possibly the most wonderful man you had met on your travels, with a million different lines, each one bringing a smile to your face, so long as they were directed at you.

His charm was attractive, and you found him incredibly handsome, the only problem was, he wasn't your match.

If he had been, you would have leapt eagerly into his arms, asking him to love you forever, but it seemed fate had a different plan for you.

Your darkened necklace sat on your chest, not even a faint gleam to indicate the presence of whoever had been tied to you.

"Hello Sanji, I see you're up late as well." You mused, your cheeks warm with Sanji's flattery.

"Thought you could use some company. All alone up there." He walked towards you, sitting down right next to you. "You've been sad lately, what's wrong?"

Leave it to Sanji to notice. You sighed. "It feels like I'm missing something." You lied, having kept the nature of your necklace hidden from your crew.

You had no reason to hide it, but you had just done so anyways, not wanting to feel their judgement on your status as well.

"Did you leave something at the last island? We could go back and get it!" Sanji said quickly, squinting to see if the island you had left hours ago was still in sight. It was not.

"No, I didn't leave anything. It's more something I'm missing on the inside." You sighed. "I can't explain it. It's just empty."

Sanji nodded. "I understand. I feel like that too. Are you hungry? I could whip something up, it might partially fill the void."

You laughed at the suggestion that food would solve your problem, but didn't deny his request, instead following him to the galley, where within minutes, Sanji had prepared a small snack for you.

You had no idea how he did it. So giving, even as the world kept trying to take. It was a generosity that never waned, and that made you like him even more.

It struck you as you picked at the food presented to you that your soulmate must be incredible, for a man as wonderful as Sanji to not be the one.

When you and Sanji parted ways, heading off to bed, you clasped your necklace in your hand, as you pondered a subject that had been brewing in your mind for a while.

Would it be that much trouble to ask Sanji out? While you waited for your real match to come along? Plenty of people dated around before finding the people they stayed with forever, why should you be any different?

The only problem was, that once your necklace started glowing, you would have to leave Sanji behind, and that would ruin him. After a relationship that long, it would likely ruin you too.

But you could not spend your days wasting away, waiting for someone who seemingly never appeared. Sanji was always there, a helping hand or a gentle comfort. You had no idea who your soulmate was, but you knew plenty about Sanji.

And that was the day you decided it would be worth it to try being with Sanji, until your true match showed up.

When you asked him the following morning, Sanji was overjoyed. He gleefully said yes and promised that you would never have to feel empty by his side.

It felt good to be with him. His kisses peppered across your face, his neverending compliments drowning out your doubts. He loved you, and you loved him, which is why you started to hate the idea of finding your soulmate.

You stopped checking your necklace in every town you were in, not when your hand was laced with your boyfriend's, proudly displaying your love for him.

You never removed the necklace, however. You knew one day it would happen, and when it did, you needed to be ready. You had been waiting your whole life to find the one, and even with the new developments in your life, you needed to remember your priorities.

Sanji lay next to you one night, his body curled around yours in a secluded spot the two of you had claimed as your own. His one arm was draped over your side, held against your chest, fingers playing with the chain around your neck, the soft clinking of the metal being the only sounds the two of you were making.

Then, Sanji spoke up. "You always wear this lovely necklace. Wherever did you get it?" He asked, breath warm against your neck.

You tensed at the thought of him learning he was only there to tide you over, guilty about using him to fulfill your fantasies.

"My mom gave it to me." It was the truth, but only half of it.

"It really is lovely, though not as pretty as the one wearing it." And Sanji pressed a kiss to the back of your neck, not asking for any more information.

You suddenly became paranoid, worried that at any second your gemstone would glow, revealing the truth.

You worried that he would find out, but were even more worried that it would mean separating from him.

You wanted to be with Sanji. You were happy with him. So why couldn't he be your soulmate? He was perfect. The universe was making a mistake, it had to be.

However, the will of the stars held higher than yours, and you regretfully accepted your fate.

Though it was not your intent, you withdrew from Sanji, hoping that would ease the heartbreak when you had to leave him.

Of course, Sanji noticed. He was too attentive, too caring. You despised it as much as you admired it. He began to ask if there was something wrong. If he had done something to hurt you, say something that upset you. All you could say was that everything was fine and hope that he would believe it.

He did not. If anything, Sanji grew more suspicious, day after day, until he had enough.

One day, as the crew was exploring a nearby town, you decided to stay back. Sanji stayed back as well, and with no reason to send him away, he was stuck with you.

You tried to avoid him, but it was near impossible. Every room was big enough for two. It was an inescapable conversation.

You walked hurriedly to a storage room, hoping it would be too cluttered for the both of you to fit, but Sanji squeezed in, asking if you needed help with the task you had made an excuse about.

You said that you were fine, but you tripped and fell forwards. An arm wrapped quickly around your waist, stopping you from colliding with a pile of boxes taller than you.

Damn it Sanji. Too attentive, too caring. He pulled you up, setting you back on your feet and you turned to face him, wishing you could just ignore your problems, but as Sanji took a step back to give you space, the door shut behind him, trapping you inside the closet with a simple click.

You stood in shock as you realized there was nothing you could do to escape the conversation. Sanji turned around, this development clearly not being a part of his plan to get you to talk.

His fingers tried to pry the door open, but from the inside, that was a lost cause.

After a minute of desperate scrabbling, Sanji turned to face you, clearing his throat. "It looks like it's just the two of us." He said, trying to sound confident and looking anything but.

"While we're in here, I'd like to ask you a question." You cursed under your breath. You were going to have to tell him the truth. The whole truth.

"What is going on?" He asked, genuine concern covering his face. "Please, tell me. We're partners, right?"

You backed away, trying to find some miraculous way to escape the situation, but it was no use. You were trapped, and the truth must come out.

"Sanji, I'm sorry I've been distant, it's just that things are so complicated and it's my fault for getting you involved." You stammered out, nervous.

"If you don't want to be with me anymore, that's fine, just say the word, and I'll leave you alone."

He sounded so hurt by the thought of you leaving him, but he bowed his head. He would respect your decision, no matter how badly it shattered his heart.

"No, Sanji. It's not that I..." You tried to stall, but found there was no use. "I'm sorry. I want to be with you, but..."

Your hand found your necklace. "I have a soulmate." Sanji looked at you with confusion. "I don't know who it is, but I don't think it's you."

You could see his heart break through the windows in his eyes. "I see."

"But I still love you. I love you so much, and I want it to be you. I really wish you were, but you aren't."

Sanji nodded, but he no longer met your eyes. "So what were we?" He asked, not angry, just saddened.

You felt shame flow through you. "You were so nice, but finding my soulmate was taking so long and I didn't want to be alone anymore."

"I don't understand." Sanji protested, as if his lack of understanding could somehow rectify the situation. It could not.

You held your necklace, squeezing the gem in your palm. "This was given to me by my mother. When it senses my soulmate, it will glow. I've been told this story since I was a child, about how the universe picked my perfect match and I would find them some day, but it never seemed to happen."

You squeezed your eyes shut. "It's not an excuse, I used you, but now I have doubts about my soulmate too."

You tensed as the words that had been floating around your mind let themselves out.

"I don't want to find my soulmate anymore. I want to stay with you."

Sanji continued to look conflicted. "The universe must have been wrong." You protested. "And even then, I'm still making my own decision." You took a deep breath, and put your hand into your pocket.

You removed the second necklace from it's place, always at your side. For too long it had dictated your life, what you did or didn't do. You wanted to be with Sanji. You were making your own choice. The universe would have to suck it up.

"I'm sorry I lied to you Sanji. But no matter what, I'm done looking for my soulmate. I've found you."

You looked at it in the dim light of the closet, and you saw Sanji inspecting it as well.

"When we get out of here, I'll throw them both overboard." You promised. "I don't need to know who it is. I never want to meet them. You're enough for me."

Your head dipped down, hand still outstretched, holding the necklace like an offering.

"I'm sorry." You apologized again. "For pushing you away, for lying, for using you. You don't have to forgive me, but I want you to know that I am. I am so sorry."

Sanji put your hand down, holding it at your side, bringing his hand up to gently hold your chin.

"I think the universe knew the risks of putting someone so perfect in front of me." He said quietly.

"I'm sorry." You said again, but he cut you off with a kiss, directing your face to his lips with his hand.

"Enough of that." He murmured. "You shouldn't have done that, but I forgive you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Please, just don't keep secrets like these from me anymore."

You nodded, tears shining in your eyes. "I love you, Sanji." "I love you too."

You didn't hesitate to kiss him this time, wrapping your arms around his neck, pulling him close. The distance you had put between yourself and him was bridged within seconds as his free arm wrapped around your waist, tugging you closer.

For a second, in that closet, you felt the way you always imagined you would with your soulmate. Complete. Two halves of a whole sliding together, perfectly happy. The feeling filled you up, and only fizzled out long after you separated from him.

You looked down at the dull gemstone, shoving it back in your pocket as you heard a commotion from the deck. Your crew had returned, and both you and Sanji immediately started yelling in an attempt to be found.

With only a few suspicious looks from your crewmates, you were freed from the closet, and allowed the liberty of seeing the sun once more.

Despite Sanji's insistance that he didn't need you to prove your dedication to him, you led him to a railing that night, beneath a blanket of stars, the eyes of the universe staring at your decisions.

You removed the necklace from your pocket, dangling it over the edge of the deck, above the dark blue sea.

It swung like a pendulum, reminding you of its prophetic powers. You no longer cared what fate held. Sanji was your soulmate now, the two of you would weave it into the fabric of reality yourselves if you had to.

You opened your palm and the necklace dropped into the water, the answer to your eternal question now forever lost to the deep. But you were not done. You unhooked the necklace from your neck. At the very least your necklaces would be together, if you and your soulmate never would be.

Another soft sound and the second necklace dropped into the sea, gone forever.

You set sail the next day, away from the harbour where you had dropped your necklaces, beginning a new chapter, one where you and Sanji were together, no matter what.

And at the bottom of the ocean, while you and Sanji lived out your happy lives, two glowing stones illuminated the sandy floor.

[rubyin-wonderland]

Pulse Point

opla!Zoro x reader

Summary: After almost losing you, Zoro is willing to do whatever it takes to keep you alive.

WC: 8.1k

Warnings: blood/gore, violence, no death but we get pretty close, medical inaccuracies probably

The last thing you completely felt was a sword plunging straight through your chest.

The blade was ice cold and nothing had begun to hurt yet. It was just uncomfortable. Like there was something inside you, pushing your chest apart. There was, technically, but there was supposed to be something besides slight discomfort. You could feel the metal moving inside you, but it did not hurt. Maybe the adrenaline was helping.

For a second, you were one with the sword. Your body, pierced on its blade, took one final step backwards, pulling the sword out of your attacker's hands. He looked surprised. As if he expected you to be invincible. Like this wasn't a part of his plan. Like he expected your chest to secretly be made of rubber, like your captain, and the blade would just push your body backwards.

Unfortunately, that strength belonged solely to your captain. You were not indestructible, despite your frequent and overconfident declarations of that being so every time you managed to walk away from a fight with only a couple bruises and bloodstained clothes.

Those declarations were bold faced lies. You knew that you were as mortal as the others. As mortal as the man in front of you, whose blade had gone straight through your chest, who was looking on in disbelief as you waited for something to happen.

He reconciled with himself quickly enough, and grabbed the hilt of the sword once more, shoving the blade in further.

You could hear the screams all around you, but they rang dull and hazy, your ears stuffed with cotton. It was like you were underwater and they were above it, but even when they dove in, the words were still incoherent and dim.

You tried to scream yourself, but your voice choked in your throat. Your mouth hung open instead, in a look of pure shock. You felt like a doll, completely unable of moving on your own, only manipulated by the forces around you, namely the blade that had cut you open.

It started to hurt. At first you felt a burning ache, along where the blade sat. Soon, it spread. You were being torn apart. Cleaved in half. It hurt like all hell.

The man holding the sword showed no more remorse for you, using his foot as leverage to get your body off his weapon, pushing you to the ground.

Once your body was removed from the blade, you began to fall back. You attempted to tuck your head forwards to prevent any hard contact, but you were no longer able to control your movements.

Halfway down, you saw your murderer get tackled to the side by an unyielding force. It passed by so fast, you were unable to even see who had done it, but they began to hit him hard.

You hit the cobbled ground with a flash of white as your head collided against the stones, another ache that lingered as you attempted futilely to get ahold of yourself.

You were cold, your extremities shivering in shock as you lifted your head up hazily to view the gore of your chest, a horrific sight of blood and flesh. The pain radiated through you like a second heartbeat, so oppressive that you found it difficult to breathe. You simply choked on the air.

Finally, a person entered your line of sight. Luffy. He hovered over you, your captain. The way he looked at you reminded you of the day you almost lost Zoro. The pain in his eyes. He looked as inexperienced as ever. You did not want him, or any of them, to go through that experience again. Not with you.

You wanted to say something, apologize for not reacting when he thrust the blade forwards, for essentially letting him run you through, leaving a gaping wound that was drenching everything it could with a thick coating of blood.

Luffy shouted at you, looking desperately around before dropping to his knees next to you. You were still underwater. You couldn't hear anything clearly, and your vision was drifting in and out of focus.

Sanji came forward, on your other side. His coat was already slipping down his arms and with a swift movement, he bundled it up around his hand and pressed it against your wound.

You could tell he was apologizing, the same word, "sorry", etched on his lips as he leaned forward, sending more flashes of pain through your body. It was red hot, burning so bright you tried to writhe away from him, but Luffy's position made it difficult, blocking you from rolling over.

You attempted to scream, but instead, you felt something fill your mouth.

When you coughed the warm liquid up, you realized it was blood. At the very least you weren't choking on it yet, but it was only a matter of time.

Nami made her appearance at your feet, and Usopp followed, sitting in between Sanji and Nami, the same horror you saw from Luffy in his eyes.

You noted immediately that Zoro wasn't hovered over you as well and you worried that a grave fate had already befallen him.

When your lips parted to mouth his name, no sound leaving your bloodied jaw, everyone's heads shot in the same direction, at the approximate location your killer fell.

Nami leaned over and you saw Sanji carefully peek at the coat he was using to hold you together. It was a disgusting sight. The fabric came away completely darkened, soaked through with blood. Too much blood. The coat pressed down again, and now Sanji looked scared.

Zoro came into view, he looked furious, but it melted away immediately when he saw you. His anger was replaced with fear and devastation.

You wanted him to grab you and hold you against his chest, promising that everything would be alright, like he had many times before, but you didn't think that it was possible to be alright. Not this time.

He sat at your head, looking down at you and the sunbeams from behind his head made him look like some kind of angel, despite the flecks of blood splattered across his face and the bruise slowly darkening on his cheek.

For once, he did not shout at Sanji for touching you. He hardly acknowledged Sanji's work. His eyes were fixed on you. If he looked down at your injury, his eyes did not trace up the arms to see who it was staunching the blood and his brow did not furrow at the sight of the crewmate he would easily insult for looking at him the wrong way were this any other situation.

His hands took your face, attempting to reach out to you with his words, but you were unable to hear his request.

You wanted to hold him, and a weak arm raised from your side, hanging lazily in the air before Zoro took it. He squeezed gently, and you attempted to return the gesture, but your hold was weak enough as it was. He felt it anyways.

Sanji was forced to push harder on the injury and you recoiled once again, doing anything you could to escape the pain. This time, Zoro did notice Sanji and snapped out of his fear.

"Careful." He practically snarled at Sanji. You heard him faintly, surfacing for a second before dipping under again. The pain did not lessen, and you knew Sanji had to hold it as tight as he did because otherwise you'd be absolutely drained of blood.

You heard muffled talk above your head, but you only barely managed to grasp what they were trying to say. They were talking about finding a doctor, getting you somewhere safe.

You were exhausted, and you wanted nothing more than to close your eyes and drift into sleep, but you knew if you did fall unconscious, you might never wake up.

Your body became weightless as Zoro lifted you from the ground, new pain mixed with the old, and you felt awful. The coat pressed harder against you, if possible, but you didn't react. You were too weak. You felt like you were being squished when a hand pressed against the exit wound on your back.

Zoro began to walk, his pace hurried with your body resting in his arms, life seeping out as quickly as your blood.

Despite your limp position, you noted that your arm was not hanging down as Zoro ran. He had taken care when lifting you up to grip your wrist in his hand, a finger pressed against your wrist, directly over your pulse point, though by now it was more likely you would be feeling his pulse instead of him feeling yours.

You looked up and met eyes with Zoro. "Stay with me." He ordered as you surfaced again. You did your best, but you were fading fast. "Stay with me!" He shouted, picking up his pace. He was practically begging, and your heart broke.

Your head fell back, unable to hold itself up anymore, your breaths shallowing. Your eyes threatened to shut, but you tried your hardest to keep them open.

You felt yourself moving faster. Zoro's underwater voice begged once more. "Please." Whatever he was asking you to do, you could not hear. You drew whatever strength that remained and focused on his voice. "We're gonna find a doctor. They're gonna fix you."

Your eyes drifted shut for a long second before opening again. You didn't think you were going to make it. You felt unfixable.

You wanted to say goodbye to Zoro and thank him for everything he had done for you. You wanted to tell him how much you loved him, but your voice had disappeared long ago. Or perhaps only a minute or two. Time was drastically changed in your state.

The bright light of the sun disappeared as you were brought inside a building. You were no longer able to keep your eyes open as your body was laid down. You heard desperation from the muffled voices, but even those drifted away.

The last thing you heard was Zoro's deep voice, practically silent, but you recognized it nonetheless. There was some more ambiguous sounds, and a faint touch on your hand, and you were out.

None of the crew was allowed inside for the process, which left them standing outside the building, waiting.

Zoro stood still, only one step away from the door. If it opened he was likely to get hit in the face. He was covered in blood. Your blood. He felt sick.

He had never seen you like that before. So frail, broken. Weak. It hurt him to no end. You were strong. You were powerful and you never backed down. You stood tall before your enemies and treated them all equally, that is to say with unyielding force, and a barrage of attacks so powerful they had even put Zoro on his ass once.

Seeing you like that, your face ashen, your body nearly limp as you struggled to draw your breaths, it terrified him. You were a human, as fragile as any other, but Zoro had never seen you like that. Echoes of the way your body trembled while he carried you buzzed through his arms. An awful sensation.

"Zoro?" He turned around to look at whoever had called. He faced the crew, all sharing looks of worry, the same fears running through their heads.

"They're gonna help. Everything will be alright." Nami said, for the group's benefit as well as her own. "The doctors will help." Zoro said nothing.

Hours passed, each second agonizingly long. No updates, no confirmations, just a painful, unending wait. The only comfort the crew found was knowing that you were not dead yet. They would have been told already.

It was around midnight when the strangers came. There were three of them, each wearing dark cloaks. Black in the moonlight, but it would be reasonable to think that they might be blue in the daylight.

They walked without stopping to acknowledge the frightened crew, pushing past Zoro and walking straight into the building, closing the door behind them.

Zoro heard a couple guesses as to what the strange people were doing there, but all he could understand was that they were going in to help you. In that regard, he did not care if they had not looked at him, despite his looming presence at the door. He just needed you to be safe. He needed them to save you.

Time passed slower than ever, and Zoro was growing irritable. When Sanji left to get them some food, he refused his portion, saying it could be sacrificed to the captain. It was, but the group could tell that he was terrified for you.

Finally, after one last hour, the strangers left, the one at the front clutching a jar, with an indiscernible item floating inside. Payment for their strange services, the crew guessed.

They were followed out by the doctor, who was thanking them profusely before turning to the awaiting crew.

"Your friend is stable." The doctor said, tone warning. The crew hardly cared.

"They're alive?" Luffy asked. "Yes." There were relieved sighs all around. "But, there's a problem." The tension returned.

"We needed to use an old form of magic to save them. It keeps them alive, but only for a little while. When the magic runs out, your friend will die."

Zoro's fist clenched. "You couldn't save them?" He asked, accusatory. "We tried, but the wound cut too close to the vital organs. Without proper surgeons, our only shot was to mend as much as we could, and use the magic. We use it here to allow for peaceful goodbyes."

Zoro hated everything the doctor said, about not being able to heal you entirely, about this waning magic and the thought of having to say goodbye. It was disgusting.

"Goodbyes?" Usopp asked weakly. "Like, goodbye, forever?" The doctor nodded, a false solemnity. "Your friend is strong. I've had people slip through my fingers with far lighter injuries. I suppose they wanted to come back to you."

"Are they awake?" Zoro asked, voice flat, but bubbling with restrained emotions.

"Asleep right now, but they will awake in the morning. Until then you can find an inn to sleep in, and visit in the morning."

The doctor began to close the doors, but Zoro grabbed the door, holding it firmly. "I'm not leaving." Zoro said. "I want to stay with them." "We don't allow visitors at night." The doctor explained, a deep frown directed at Zoro's hand on the door. "It might disturb the other patient's rest." "Are there any other patients with them?" Zoro demanded. "Well no, but we still have rules." "Damn your rules. I need to be with them."

The doctor took an indignant breath, but let it out weakly. "If you touch nothing, you may stay. But only one of you. The rest will have to come back in the morning."

Zoro stepped forward, opening the door himself. No one dared challenge him. He was going to be at your side. He had to be.

"I'll see you in the morning," He turned to the crew, trying to control the shaking in his voice. A few scattered goodnights were spoken and with that, the crew left.

Zoro was led inside. The building smelled of pure alcohol, with an undercurrent of blood. It stung as he walked down the hall, led into the room where you were being kept.

You were alone in the room. On a bed, not accompanied by any fancy machinery or dressed excessively in bandages. He supposed your wound would be dressed under the paper thin gown you had been given. You lay still, your face calm. If Zoro had not seen the rhythmic, steady rise and fall of your chest, he would have sworn that you were already dead.

He approached you carefully, hand reaching out to hold yours. Your skin was cold against his. Still, he held on. With a careful touch, he pressed his thumb against your pulse point, feeling the gentle thrum beneath your skin, a sign of life. You were alive.

It wasn't right however. Not a heartbeat. The steady thumping of a pulse was replaced with a consistent feeling of movement. The magic, he realised. That was what was keeping you alive. Not your heart. Not anymore.

Still a sign of life, he breathed a sigh of relief, trying to keep himself composed, even though he wanted to collapse at the knowledge that you were at the very least alive. It meant he had time to save you. "It's going to be alright." He promised your sleeping form. "You are going to survive."

He sat on the floor, leaning back against your bed, head cushioned by your mattress. A hand stayed protectively around the hilt of his swords, at the ready, in the highly unlikely event that someone came to finish you off.

The other hand reached up to feel your pulse point again. It felt strange to feel the thrumming of magic under your skin instead of your blood. It was only a slight consolation that it was still responsible for your life.

Despite his best efforts to stay awake, Zoro slipped into a dreamless sleep at your bedside, soothed by the fact that for the time being, you were still alive.

The rest was needed, for he did not wake up until one of the nurses arrived in the morning, opening the door to your room, spurring Zoro into action. He did not pull out his swords, but the nurse looked terrified nonetheless. He probably looked a mess, having slept on the floor, your blood soaked into his clothes, still looking fresh from a fight.

After quickly checking on you, still asleep, the nurse nodded and left quickly, making significant efforts to not look Zoro in the eyes.

"Zoro?" Your weak voice caught his attention. He spun around to face you, seeing your eyes, fixed on him.

He moved to you, grateful to see you awake. You moved carefully, trying to ease yourself into a sitting position.

"Does it hurt?" Zoro asked, looking like he wanted to help, but unsure of how to offer it.

"I can't feel anything." You answered numbly, hand reaching up to your chest, where a check from the nurse had revealed your bandaged midsection.

You were not lying to comfort Zoro. In place of the agonising pain from before, there was nothingness. Like your insides had been scooped out, leaving you hollow.

Zoro explained as best he could what the doctors had done to you. You listened, all the while staring at your chest, feeling the hollowness.

"How much time do I have?" You asked, and Zoro cursed himself for not asking that question earlier. "I don't know."

"You have the next two days." The doctor said sternly, appearing from the door. "To say your goodbyes, pay your dues. It will be painless."

You said nothing, just looking blankly at the doctor. Faced so suddenly with your death twice in a very short timespan was a painful experience. You had thought you were safe.

Zoro watched you nervously. You looked scared. Obviously you despised the thought of dying, but he was still so unused to it.

He watched as your hand inched over to his. He reached up and took it without question. You squeezed his hand firmly, trying to keep your cool.

"Can we have a minute?" Zoro asked, tone sturdy, authoritative. "Alone?"

The doctor frowned, but said nothing, leaving as requested.

As soon as the door closed, Zoro turned to you, completely focused on you. Tears burned at his eyes. He was going to lose you.

"They couldn't save me?" You asked, looking straight ahead, still processing everything. "No. It was the only option. But I'm going to find something else. I promise. You're going to be alright."

You leaned forward, falling onto him, hugging him as tight as you could.

"I thought I was never going to do this again." You mumbled into his shoulder, tears welling in your eyes. "I wouldn't even get to say goodbye." Zoro's arms wrapped around you in a protective hold, avoiding  where the sword had exited your body. He too, felt the tears stinging his eyes. He had thought much of the same. "I was so scared." You admitted quietly. "It hurt so much and I couldn't keep my eyes open, it was awful."

You curled up, body moving closer to Zoro, who just held you tighter, clinging to you. "You're safe." He promised. "You're safe now."

He could feel your shaky breaths through his shirt. The spot on his shoulder where your eyes were pressed was suddenly damp. Zoro tried rubbing your back, but cautiously avoided the area of injury, giving him limited space to work with.

There was a knock on the door and you jolted up. Zoro expected you to wince, but the movement did nothing to affect you. You simply answered it with a call.

"Come in."

The door burst open, and your crewmates spilled in, rushing to you. The floodgates burst open. There was tears and confessions, everyone spilling truths that needed to be told to you for fear of you never getting to know otherwise.

Finally the doctor came in again, to deliver the news properly, this time with your found family there to hear it as well.

You got the recap, about the magic in you, how it would fade, giving you a peaceful send-off, with enough time to say your goodbyes. You nodded at the explanation, lips set in a firm line. You were still dying, but at least it was painless.

The crew decided to say their goodbyes individually, allowing them one last moment with you before the end.

The realisation set in slowly but surely. That you truly were experiencing the end, that death was coming for you, and your ticket to the afterlife, if there was one, had been paid with the magic in your chest, thrumming in place of your heart, keeping your blood moving as your body uselessly tried to replenish what had been lost.

The one-on-one conversations were moving, and you found yourself growing serious. This was your end. You had accepted it. They needed to as well.

You began to feel it fading. The strength you had felt earlier in the day was gone now, and it was more comfortable to sit still than to move around. You were getting weaker. You were still dying. It was frustrating, even if you had come to terms with it.

Most of your friends had gone already. Zoro was last. Before he came in, around lunchtime, the doctor paid you a visit to make sure everything was alright.

"How are you?" The doctor asked. "Fine. It doesn't hurt. I'm just tired." You admitted quietly. "You held on to your life well. We were all impressed. For a second, we almost thought you would make a recovery." The doctor said, checking your bandages for blood. "Oh?"

"Unfortunately it was impossible." The doctor covered quickly. "Without a surgeon, we could never be able to mend it properly. But, you've been stabilized. It's the best we could do."

The doctor finished the checkup and left, allowing Zoro to enter.

He looked tired. You saw the redness of his eyes. He had cried. You wondered if he split off in order to let it out or if he did it in front of the others. He had changed into fresh clothes, no longer covered in the horrific reminders of your attack.

"Hey Zoro." Your voice sounded so weak and you wanted to punch something to cope with your body threatening to shut down around you.

At the very least, you could speak. Throughout the day your voice had faded, going from your strong, regular tone to a scratchy whisper. It was tiring to speak too loud. You wanted to save Zoro the pain of seeing you like this, but he had already seen you while you knocked on death's door the first time. At least this time you were clean and able to see and hear him properly. You didn't want him to see you like this, but he didn't care. He needed to say goodbye.

He stood next to your bed. The sheets were pure white, a stark contrast to the blood that had been shed on the operating table. The bandages around your chest were pristine too, as if you were attempting a fashion statement instead of hiding your mortal wound.

In his mind's eye, Zoro could still picture you, limp in his arms. The visions flashed as he looked at you in the bed, barely moving, voice faded.

He had replayed the entire ordeal a thousand times over during his wait, from the last minutes of the fight, to him finding his place at your bed, protecting you from an unlikely attack.

He remembered every gory detail. The way you felt in his arms, the colour of the blood stained into the fabric of his shirt and Sanji's coat, the very make of the blade that had pierced you, every bruise he had pummeled into your murderer's face.

Your hand reached out, and he took it. This time, you inspected it, a finger brushing along his knuckles, which were rough and irritated. "Zoro." Your tone detailed the rest of the rant you wanted to go on. About how he needed to channel the anger somewhere else when he got angry. To not just rush at whatever he could and fight it.

He shook his head, defending himself. "I did this to the asshole who-" his voice caught and he cleared his throat, grumbling at the floor.

After taking down the man he had been a furious whirlwind, pummeling his fists into the man's face until he had been unrecognizable, only pulled away from his violence by the sight of you, eyes glazed over, trying desperately to stay alive.

You squeezed his hand, only slightly stronger than it had been less than a day before. He squeezed back with the same force.

You could feel the emotions in the room. It was stifling. Zoro refused to sit in the chair set up for your visitors, and by the looks of it, he would refuse if you asked him to.

You sat in silence, looking over his body, registering every inch of his skin you could see, making sure he was okay. You noted a cut on his bicep. It had scabbed over, but looked rough. At the very least, it could have used a bandage. The bruise on his cheek was darker now, but not serious. Still, an ice pack or some cold vegetables should have been used to soothe it.

"It's fine." Zoro refused to let you say anything about the situation, knowing your analytical way of scanning him for injuries.

"I've had worse." His voice wavered.

You felt the world still. His voice had never wavered before. Everything he said was strong and assured. Even in the most brutally honest discussions you had had with him, tears on both of your faces, he had not broken. He had hesitated, he had choked and been cut off. He had spoken words quickly in times of stress and his tone occasionally made him sound careless, but it shattered you to hear him crack.

You needed to hold him, so you pulled him down. You tugged on his arm and he followed your guide as you looped your arms around his neck. You could feel his unsteady breathing as his arms wrapped around you, his face buried in your shoulder.

You sat in silence, his ragged breathing in your ear as he tried to resist the emotions he was trying so hard to hide.

You leaned back, and he followed your lead, joining you on the bed, lifting you up so that you could lay on him, between his legs, just like you did on the ship. You rolled over once he got behind you, so that you were chest to chest, head nestled next to his, the rising and falling of his chest still evidently restrained.

You realized that he was warm and briefly wondered how cold you felt to him. His arms wrapped completely around you, warming you up. You realized a little too late that you were shaking. He held you protectively. Like a shield. He wanted, more than anything, to protect you, but he had not been able to. He had let you get hurt. He had stood by and done nothing until it was too late.

Having already failed you in his mind, he simply held you tight against him, begging whatever powers that may be- the powers that he did not believe in- to give him more time. To give him all the time in the world. To give him a miracle, anything to prevent him from dealing with this devastating reality.

"What do I do?" He unintentionally asked out loud. He found himself unable to look down at you, furious at his involvement, or lack thereof, with your current position, so close to death. He wanted to cry, but refused to let that happen. He needed to stay strong for you. He needed to protect you. He was not going to let you get hurt again.

"Zoro?" You said it just to catch his attention. The overuse of his name had been apparent, but necessary. "It wasn't your fault. It's okay. You can let it out."

The dam broke. The words were simple, but it was what he needed to hear. He shook with heavy sobs, but stayed quiet. There was no bawling or shouting, or anything you would expect. It was just quiet. His shaky breaths were all you could hear against the silence of the room around you, like he had trained himself to be as silent as possible when he cried.

"It's okay." You spoke the words again.

"It's not." His voice shook again. "I should have stopped him." "Don't blame yourself, it won't help you." "I could have stopped him."

"It was my fight." The firmness in your words silenced his protests. "I may have lost it, but it was my fight to lose. I wouldn't have stepped in between your fight with Mihawk." He opened his mouth but you stared him down.

"Promise me that when I'm gone you won't blame yourself. I don't blame you. I lost the fight. There was nothing any of you could have done." He nodded. A weak gesture.

"Promise me." You ordered.

"I promise." He said with a heavy sigh, followed by a shaky inhale. You breathed out and laid your head against his chest. "Good. It wasn't on you."

He was reaching the end of his cry, his breaths beginning to settle. "Please stay with me." You requested, comfortable in his arms. "Until the time comes."

"Of course."

He pulled the thin blanket up to keep you warm, still in his arms, lulled into a sense of peace for your last hours, however many you had left.

You thought back to the good times. Walking along sandy beaches and through lamplit towns at night, where the only thing that mattered was the person holding your hand. You thought back to napping with him, on deck, sitting next to him, your head on his shoulder, or in the hammock, swinging back and forth with the rocking of the boat, feeling safe in his arms.

You remembered talking. Talking about your interests while he lazily listened, comforted by the sound of your voice as you explained what you did and why you did it.

In a strange twist of events, you stayed quiet, while Zoro spoke up.

His monologue was about you, how much he loved you, the way you had impacted his life, memories he had of you, anything he could think of, so long as it pertained to you.

His speech was stilted and certainly not well thought out. His sentences dropped off at odd places or fizzled out when he could not think of anything more to say. His voice stayed as level as he could make it, the occasional tremor running through. It was far from an impassioned declaration of love, but that was not what he could provide for you. That was not what you needed. You needed him. And that included his awkward words, still unused to being this intimate with anyone.

He finished his tangent by pressing his face against your head. "I'm gonna miss you." He said into your hair, pressing a gentle kiss to the crown of your head.

His admission left a sinking feeling in your stomach. Had he really accepted that you were dying?

You shifted so that your eyes looked up to the bottom of his jaw. "You have no idea how much I love you." He murmured, and for a second you thought he had fallen asleep on your head, but he was just still, wishing this moment could last forever.

"I believe in love because of you." You felt another kiss to the top of your head. "What am I going to do when you're gone?"

You sat up a bit, so you could look him in the eye. "You are going to become the best swordsman in the world. Obviously. With or without me you are going to follow your dreams."

He took your face in his hands, carefully, like you were made of a fragile glass. It felt that way. He held you so gently he was scared you would break. "What do I do to make you stay?"

The question was strong. It wasn't a soft thought he spoke out loud just to say something, the musings of a grieving man. There was purpose behind it. He wanted an answer.

You shook your head instead, tears brimming in your eyes. "You can't. There's nothing."

His brow furrowed and you realized how serious he was. He would swim around the world if it would somehow cure you. He would do whatever you said even if it only gave you a few more days with him. You did not want him chasing a lost cause.

"Even if something could be done, it's too late." You leaned forward again, falling against him.

"Don't say that. You aren't dead yet. There has to be something." He insisted, sitting up straight, trying to keep you comfortable while he did so. "Zoro, stop it. There's nothing."

His eyes scanned your body as if there was a machine that could calculate a solution for him. His analysis turned up nothing. "I'll talk to the doctor."

You watched, half-formed protests dying in your throat as you spoke, as Zoro manoeuvred himself out of the bed, laying you down carefully, and deciding what to do next.

He walked towards the door and you said the only thing you could. "Roronoa Zoro." His full name made him stop. This could be the last time he heard you say it.

"Don't give up. I can help you. Let me help you." You shook your head. "This is the last resort." You touch your bandaged chest, where the magic keeping you alive slowly faded away.

"I survived." He pointed at his own scar, a dramatic line ripped across his chest. You wanted to agree, but you went through something different than he did. "The blade went straight through me. He barely missed my heart. I bled out." "You can heal." The desperation in his eyes shattered your heart. "They have a doctor here. Not a surgeon. They can't fix this. They can only sew it up and keep me alive as long as they can."

Zoro's head shot up. "You need a surgeon." His eyes practically ignited with hope. "Zoro." "I'll get you to a surgeon."

He leaned down, arms slipping behind your shoulders and under your knees, lifting you off the bed. "Zoro, put me down." You argued, doing nothing to get out of his grasp.

He hesitated for a second, your body laying the same way it had when you were dying less than a day ago. "You can't spend your last moments in here, waiting for it to end." He said sternly.

"Zoro." "One last trip." He insisted. "What's the worst that could happen?"

He knew that he had caught you in a corner, determination covering his features. "What if it doesn't work?" You asked, preparing him for the likely occurence. "Then I'll know I did everything I could to help you." He promised.

You said nothing in return, letting him help you up, and when your legs were too weak to help you walk, he swept you up, carrying you to the door, opening it to face your crew. At first, there was an oppressive silence, as if they had expected you to be dead.

"We're going to find a surgeon." Zoro insisted. There was no need for argument, the crew was more than ready to accommodate this detour.

There was a hurried walk to the ship, prepared to set sail as soon as possible, headed to a nearby island that boasted a city, surely there would be a surgeon there.

In the meantime, Zoro stayed with you. You were laid in a bed, offered many comforts, but it was evident that you were getting weaker. He sat next to you, one of your hands clasped in his for comfort.

You started the trip sitting up in bed, able to keep up with conversation, but soon there was a change. You were getting tired, and laid down.

Zoro stayed with you through it all, as the boat sped along the waves. As your eyes drifted closed, he urged you to stay awake.

You took one long blink and suddenly you moved, shifting under the blankets, lethargic movements that betrayed how little time you had left.

Zoro watched as you leaned up slightly against your pillow. "Zoro, if this doesn't work, I want to be buried at sea." Your voice was weak, but Zoro hung on to every word.

He wanted to interrupt and tell you that it was going to work, but he said nothing. He waited for you to finish. "Sail somewhere uncharted and leave my body to the sea. That way I'll always be with you. In the waters."

He looked up at you, the hand not holding yours went up to caress your face. He leaned in, pressing a kiss to your forehead. "Kiss my lips, idiot. " You mumbled. A smile brushed the edge of his mouth. He obliged you, and despite your tiredness, you looped your arms around his torso, tugging him in with what little strength you still had.

"Promise to bury me at sea?" You asked. "I promise." His voice was rough, tainted with emotion. "But it is going to work."

You smiled. "Of course it will."

Luffy came in to update you on the progress of your journey. Almost halfway there, by Nami's calculations.

You still did not expect to be alive by the time they docked, but that was a concern you would not voice.

As you were left alone again, you fought to stay awake. A losing battle. Zoro urged you to stay conscious, but it was getting harder and harder to do, fighting the urge to fall asleep, knowing it would be a rest you would never wake up from. He held your hand in his, his fingers carefully positioned over your pulse point, feeling the thrumming slow under his touch.

"Stay awake. You can do it."

You did your best, minutes feeling like hours as you struggled to stay awake.

When the boat docked, Zoro was already picking you up, running to find you the surgeon. He was not going to lose you. Not if he could help it.

The hospital was in sight when your eyes finally drifted closed, unable to hold them open for much longer.

"Stay awake." Zoro pleaded, shoving through the front doors.

"I need a surgeon!" He shouted, your weak body held against his chest, a haunting reminder of the day before.

When your body was pried from his arms a second time, an overwhelming emptiness filled him once more.

He spent every second questioning the staff of the hospital about your condition. Every answer was the same. Nobody knew what was going on.

Time passed as slowly as it could, and Zoro was restless. Any attempts to soothe him were ignored.

The only update he got was the doctors coming out, asking the strangest question he had ever been asked.

"Where did the heart go?"

Zoro was confused. Your heart was still in your body, it's processes aided significantly by the magic, but it was still there. It should have been.

"What?" He asked, confusion and anger bubbling in his chest. "The patient's heart is missing. It's been removed. Do you have the specimen?"

Zoro's world lurched as he put pieces together. The doctor looking upset at his insistence of being with you. The lack of a distinct heartbeat. The jar carried by the strangers. The way you confessed to feeling like you were hollow instead of in pain.

Those doctors had removed your heart. That was why you were "beyond saving". Because they had stolen one of your most vital organs.

It made no sense. Why would they do that? The fury raged on as Zoro's brain tried to think of any other explanation for what had happened. Your heart was missing from your chest cavity. Your heart.

His anger bubbled, swearing a lengthy and bloody revenge against whoever had removed your heart and all responsible for it.

Another doctor rushed towards the one interrogating Zoro, and with a jumble of words like compatibility, donor, and transplantation, they came to some sort of decision.

They left quickly, promising Zoro that they were going to try something risky, before rushing off with determination, leaving Zoro fuming and confused.

He stopped his harrassment of the staff briefly, finding the crew sitting nervously in a waiting room. Upon seeing him, they jumped up, but the look on his face startled them.

"What's wrong?" Nami dared to ask.

"Their heart was stolen." Zoro said, his words a long line of barely controlled anger, his body tense, ready to explode.

"Those fucking doctors took their heart out. It's gone."

Confusion spread across the crew, trying to understand what Zoro was saying. Surely he was joking. Your heart was not removed from your chest. There was no way.

There was no need to discuss the actions that would be taken wether or not you survived the procedure.

They were going back to that first island and Zoro was going to unleash absolute hell upon the doctors who had lied to him about trying to save your life.

Until then, the anxiety doubled, as more hours were spent hovering outside sterile doors, waiting for news that would either bring some semblance of normalcy to the world or tear it in half.

Finally, after a wait that spanned far too long, the doctors came out, looking shocked.

"Your friend survived the transplant. They're going to be okay." One of the doctors informed the crew. The excitement was palpable.

There was a cascade of cheers as the news was released, grinning faces and happy hearts. You were alive again.

Zor insisted upon waiting at your bedside, a looming, protective figure that barely softened his posture, even when your crew came in to see you.

He stayed by your side, day and night, asking the nurses about when you would wake up.

They said they didn't know. Only that you would.

Eventually.

Zoro spent his time with you by talking, remembering how you had helped bring him back from the brink of death.

Zoro clammed up the second somebody entered the room, but when it was empty he began to talk about anything and everything. Things he saw out your window, thoughts on the weather, complaints about whatever was on his mind. Anything and everything.

He made multiple apologies. For not helping you fight, for not finding this solution quicker, for not giving you a chance to end that bastard's life yourself, for letting those doctors steal your heart and replace it with a finite amount of magic. For everything.

His hand held yours, his fingers gently pressing your pulse point. He could feel the steady thrum of your new heart, weak as it was. It was still there. So were you.

One night, after having fallen asleep, slumped over in a metal hospital chair, his hand let go, and upon awaking, he scrambled to find your pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he found it.

The torture stayed with him for three days, three whole days of waiting for you to come back, to fight against the odds and to prove how strong you truly were.

It was around lunchtime when you drew in a sharp breath, awakening to a stabbing pain in your lungs. Your eyelids fluttered, and a long, thin breath brought you back as you drowsily came to.

Zoro's heartrate doubled, a beacon of hope lit in his chest that burned brighter than the sun had ever been.

He felt your fingers twitch in his grasp, and your new heartbeat accelerated under his steady hold.

Your face pinched, contorted with pain, but Zoro was still just barely holding back tears. You were truly alive.

He spoke your name, a soft tone being taken on, one that had not been present during his ramblings to your unconscious body.

"Zoro?" Your voice was raspy, but there was nothing for him that could ruin the moment. "I'm here." He said carefully, hand moving to hold yours, squeezing it gently.

You squeezed back instinctively, laughing. "This probably isn't the afterlife then." You coughed and a wince ran through your body, followed by a sharp noise of pain. "Definitely not heaven."

"I'll get a doctor." Zoro said quickly, raising from his seat, rushing to proudly declare that you had bested the odds, and defeated death itself, not once, but twice.

"Zoro?" He hesitated, turning to look at you as you opened your eyes, blinking until he could come somewhat into focus. "Thank you."

Zoro had been accused of being an impulsive man, but he was sure of every thought that passed through his head before he rushed back to your side and kissed you.

His hands carefully caressed your face, the very hands that had bashed your killer's face into the ground and carried your limp body, the lips that had screamed at enemies and pleaded with so many nurses to tell him good news pressed against yours, losing himself in the familiarity of it. He had missed you so desperately.

You were still weak, but he could feel you reciprocating his action. "I love you." He repeated over and over again, eyes glazing over with tears. "I love you, I love you." Like a mantra.

When he slowed down, he saw your eyes drift behind him, where a surprised nurse was blushing at the scene in front of her.

"I'll get the doctors." She mumbled before scampering away, a giggle on her lips.

You were given a hefty painkiller, by doctors who still seemed unable to process that you had survived, but all the more happy for it.

The crew was permitted to see you, and whatever residing pain fighting your medicine was forgotten as Luffy's arms wrapped around you, stretched out long and encasing your body like spaghetti wrapped around a fork. He squeezed you tight as the rest of the group rushed in, drowning in relief and tears.

There was a group hug, which kept you warm and drowned out the fears you had and the weaknesses you felt.

They stayed with you, scattered around your ward, keeping you company, filling you in on the days you missed.

You sat up on your bed, cross legged, Zoro sitting behind you, holding you close against him as the crew talked around you. A game of cards had begun, and the sounds of uproaring laughter filled your ears and warmed your new beating heart.

You noticed the way Zoro held you. His arms were wrapped around you, your one arm crossed over yourself to hold his hand, the other hand taking care of the money you had won from the card game.

Zoro's fingers interlocked with yours, but his thumb strayed towards your wrist. It lay right across your pulse point, blood flowing through your body in rhythmic thumps, your heart doing its job enthusiastically.

His thumb pressed gently on the spot, feeling your pulse, as he did every second he spent at your side. He kept it there, making sure that you were still present. You are. You always will be.

[rubyin-wonderland]

Princess

opla!Zoro x princess!reader

Summary: what happens when the crown princess is in love with the king's favorite bounty hunter?

WC: 6.4k

Warnings/tags: arranged marriage, blood/injuries, reader gets called princess so much, poisoning

You sat in your room, looking aimlessly around for something to ground you. You had known this was going to happen, but it still hurt.

Around your finger was a cold metal ring, embedded with gorgeous jewels and decorated with delicate silver detailing, a masterpiece of jewelry, and yet it made you feel hollow. An empty gesture. The real importance was for your parents. Hopefully, marrying the crown princess off to a duke from the eastern territories would quell the rebellions beginning in the east.

The announcement was set for the next day, which was why you waited in your room, wide awake with your window open. You were waiting for a visitor.

You had no idea if he was even on the island. Due to the secrecy of the relationship most communication was out of the question but he would have visited you if he could. You could only hope that his intuition led him to you that night.

The night breeze blew the gauzy curtains gently into your room, waving like sullen flags when the wind was bad. You finally decided to stand from your bed, dressed in your light nightgown, which flowed in the breeze similarly to your curtains.

Out on the balcony, you breathed in the fresh air, accented with the smell of the vines and flowers that had climbed up the walls to decorate your railing. You buried your face in your hands, elbows resting on the cold stone railing.

"I'm sorry." You said to the air. The man you had wished to speak this apology to was absent, but you needed to say it. It was your fault for not acting on your impulses earlier. Forfeiting the crown, announcing that you wished to move to a democratic system of governing, any of your ideas throughout your life that would get you banished from this world of micromanagement and pain.

"What's wrong?" The simple question made you jolt up, withdrawing a small blade from under your nightgown, holding it out at the intruder.

To your relief, or perhaps to your detriment, there was no assassin sitting on your balcony, ready to strike you dead. Instead, there stood a man you had spent more than enough nights with, whose name made you blush when it was occasionally brought up during dinners and social gatherings.

Your father's unofficial bounty hunter. Roronoa Zoro. The green-haired man was a regular, as there was always someone who needed to be hunted down and killed for their allegiance and work for the rebels. He was the best of the best. Some likened his work to that of a demon. You hardly cared about his bloody reputation. Not when he was the one you truly wished you were engaged to.

You had spent many a night in his presence, after an impromptu meeting during a meal with your father, in which the latest rebel was presented at your father's feet in exchange for a sum of money that anybody would go for.

You were the one who called upon him first, asking him to visit your balcony at night, offering him a pair of your finest earrings in exchange for him to threaten a man who had been found sneaking into the castle late at night, in an attempt to confess his love for you and to ask for your hand in marriage.

Of course, the job was done, but for some reason, he returned. Every time he dealt with your father, he would visit you, and it was soon enough that you found yourself liking him, which was good for him, considering the only reason he kept returning to this kingdom was to visit you, although there was usually a preceding murder that had to happen in order for him to justify being there.

Your relation had grown to intense levels, and soon, the two of you had a plan. You would forfeit the crown, or disappear, or whatever it took to get you out of being royalty, then the two of you would acquire a boat, and sail away, free to live together in eventual married bliss.

The nights he spent with you rejuvenated you to a point that almost every servant in the castle was aware that something was afoot between the two of you, and could tell when he had made a visit. None of them said anything however, fearing the wrath of both you and him separately.

Tonight did not encourage the same feelings of rejuvenation. Instead, there was dread. Low, in the pit of your stomach, staining the usually happy feeling you felt when he visited.

"Zoro. Thank god." You felt like you were going to start crying. "Don't thank god, thank the man who burned his neighbors house down and went missing last week."

"Zoro." He walked forwards, his signature three blades sitting on his hip, arms carefully wrapping around you. "I missed you too, princess." You returned the hug, the pit in your heart growing deeper and darker for every second you spent keeping the secret from him.

Your face buried itself into the crook of his neck, where you began to cry. Tears fell down your face, soaking into the fabric of his shirt, your finger bearing the offending ring in plain sight for you, but still unseen to him.

"It's okay. I've only been gone two weeks. That's nothing for us." He reassured, rubbing your back as your cries drowned in his shoulders.

As you continued to sob, Zoro recognized that there was something off. This was not your reaction to missing him. In fact you never cried. Something was very wrong. He continued to keep you in his embrace as your cries continued.

Eventually, your sobs slowed, and you found yourself detaching from him, seeing a worried look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked, hands moving up, one on your shoulder, the other moving up to wipe a tear as it slowly dripped down your cheek.

"I'm sorry." Was all you could say, feeling powerless and hollow. Everything was dim. "What are you sorry for?" He asked, leading you inside and sitting you down on your bed.

On the bed, your fingers dug into the fluffy blankets, the soft mattress caving under your touch.

You stayed still, trying not to shake as you delivered the news. "Zoro, I'm engaged."

At first, he didn't seem to be able to process it. He stayed unmoving for a while, as if he was expecting you to say something else. To confess that you refused or your fiance had been killed only minutes after the proposal. His eyes scanned your hands, locking on the delicate silver band, and he took a deep breath.

"Okay." He said, voice level. You wanted to throw up. "I don't want to be with him. My parents want it, not me. They think it will cease the rebellions, but it'll just stir up more tension. I hate him, I promise you I wouldn't go through with this if I didn't have to."

"Hey." His voice was stern. You silenced yourself quickly, looking up at him. "I know you don't want it. You've said it before a million times." "I'm sorry, I should have done something sooner." You pleaded. "Stop."

You took a breath, bunching up the fabric of your nightgown in your fists. Zoro rubbed your back, allowing you to sit in the silence of the night, processing everything.

"Has a date been set?" Zoro asked. You shuddered. "No. But it'll be fast. I know it will." You buried your face in your hands.

Zoro stood up, looking out your window. "Then run away."

You nearly choked. "What?" "You don't have to do this. We can run away. Tonight. Say the word and we'll leave this place behind."

Something stopped you from shouting yes and letting him hold you until everything was better. Something always did.

"Nothing is holding you here. There's plenty of contenders for the throne, most of them competent, you'll be free." "But my parents will be furious."

Zoro straightened up, looking the very epitome of the strong husband he had promised you he would be. "They'll never see you again. I know how to hunt, but I also know how to hide. They'll never find you. Not if I have anything to say about it."

"I can't." "Why?" "I don't know!" You started crying again. "I spent my whole life working towards this, I can't just leave. Everything my parents did for me would be useless."

Zoro walked towards you, kneeling in front of you. "You won't have to worry about that. I'll make sure of it. You just have to be with me. Trust me. We can leave and you won't have to marry someone you don't want to. You won't have to rule a land you don't want to rule. I promise, you're safe with me." He reached a hand to cup your cheek.  "You don't have to be unhappy."

You covered the hand he placed on your cheek with your own, a shaky breath rattling your body. "I want to leave." You removed the ring and set it on your nightstand. "Let's go." You whispered, and he was already set in motion. "I have a boat waiting at the docks." You heaved a sigh of relief and began to pack. You shoved your favourite dresses into a bag, taking some jewelry as well, planning to sell it at the markets for some extra cash.

Zoro watched the process carefully. He still wondered how he had become so enamoured by you. You, who had approached him with two gorgeous earrings worth incredible amounts of money to scare, not kill, someone. He had never been ordered to let someone live. It was a strange thing, to leave a victim behind, but it was merciful. And in a way, he liked it.

And when you spoke to him next, you did not demand more from him. No head for your wall, no frightening services. You just thanked him for his work and began talking. Asking about him, listening, caring. You drew him in, like a fisherman with their catch. And he couldn't help but hope your kingdom would need his assistance again.

He took your bag from you, heavy with jewel encrusted fabrics. "Zoro, I can carry it." "Let me help." He insisted. "Unless you know how to climb all the way down from here, I'll take it."

You sighed, allowing him to help you down, guiding your movements from below you as you cautiously scaled the wall. By the end, your arms and legs were shaking, exhausted at the effort put into not falling.

You spent most of your secret meetings with Zoro wandering the deserted halls of the castle at night, or he would carry you down the wall of your balcony to run around town.

Unfortunately with your bag in his possession, he could not carry you, leaving you mostly to your own devices. A learning experience, to prepare you for a future outside of the protection of the crown.

"Jump!" He ordered, voice silenced significantly in the night. "I'll catch you."

You were not one to trust. A life of assassins and political bargains had prepared you for betrayal. And yet, you trusted him. He was stable ground. He fought off the assassins and he listened to your complaints about the politics of your world, although he could offer no advice nor amendments.

Hearing his order for you to jump startled you a bit. You were not a particularly big fan of heights, and jumping was not exactly a good idea to you, as weak as your arms and legs were.

But you trusted him. He had kept you safe for so long, it would be of no use to lead you astray now. As if he would ever lead you astray in the first place.

You obeyed his command, steeling yourself for the drop, and letting go of the wall, falling the last little bit, landing safely in his arms, freed from the walls of the castle.

He led you through the darkened city, guiding you by holding your hand.

You kept looking back, for whatever reason, wondering how long it would take for them to realize you were missing and set off the alarms.

Would they know when you didn't answer the maids coming in to dress you? When you didn't attend breakfast? When you were missing from the public announcement of your engagement?

As you walked, you kept your head down. The servants would certainly know who you had gone with. They were addicted to gossip, and you could hardly blame them. The only question was if they would tell your father that his precious daughter and heir to the throne had been engaged in a scandalous romance with a bounty hunter for years under his nose.

Your thoughts broke off when there was a sudden eruption of noise behind you. Shouting, loud and panicked, echoing off the buildings in the streets, a clamour as people were awoken by the disturbance.

Zoro pulled you into the nearest alley as a guard rode by on horseback, yelling.

"The princess is missing from her bedchambers!" He shouted, multiple other cried echoing through the streets. "Her belongings are missing! Anyone found in possession of anything pertaining to the princess is to be executed at sunrise unless the princess is returned!"

The cries rang out in the darkness, and you resisted the urge to panic. They had discovered your escape before you had reached the docks, before you had found a boat, before anything else could be set in motion.

Zoro held you against his chest, and you found yourself instinctively wrapping your arms around his waist, clinging to Zoro in the small space between the two buildings, head down. There was a strong urge to shove him away, revealing yourself and hopefully keeping Zoro out of the vengeful eyes of your father.

"The docks will be shut down." You warned. "They'll search every boat." You mumbled into his chest, breaths now short and staggered.

"I said I'd get you out of here. I will." Zoro sighed, stepping out of the alley. You didn't want to let go of him. "Zoro, please, I'll go back."

He shook his head. "Continue to the docks. Stay hidden. I'll find you." He unwrapped your arms from around him. "Zoro, I-" "Stop. Go to the docks."

You wanted to hold onto him and never let go. You wanted to never be separate from him ever again. And yet you had to let go. You had to run.

He ran out into the street and you stayed in the alley, walking until you reached another street. A hasty look up and down the road slowly accumulating more and more people as they woke up, having heard the calls to action.

You passed by without anyone noticing, head down, disappearing down another alley, determined to pass by undetected.

Miraculously enough, you managed to make it all the way down to the docks without being noticed, as more and more people flooded into the streets, causing a commotion.

You hid in the shadows of two seaside buildings, wondering where Zoro was.

You peeked your head out of the alley, hoping to see Zoro, but you were pulled back by the neck of your nightgown.

You suppressed a yelp as an arm wrapped around your body, pulling you backwards, your arms pinned to your sides. "Not so fast, princess." The word was bitter on the man's tongue and you resisted the urge to call out for Zoro, to beg him to save you.

Your fiance tightened his grip around your body, pulling you deeper into the darkness. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but it's done now." He insisted. "You understand me? We're going back to the castle, and we are going to marry."

You begged for Zoro to know that you were suffering. That you had been discovered. You could not cry for him.  Not when he had your jewels on him. You would be found out and he would be executed in front of you. You couldn't have that.

"You're lucky I don't want to make a scene." A threatening whisper.

"Let her go." The request came from behind you and you were spun around, facing Zoro, his swords drawn.

"I wouldn't be so careless, bounty hunter. You and the princess have been secretive enough for the King and Queen, but I've noticed. And so have the staff. I would sooner see the both of us dying than return the princess to you."

You tried to reach your hidden knife without setting the Duke off, but it was proving difficult, shifting uncomfortably in his grasp.

"Leave her alone. I'm the one you want to fight." Zoro ordered. "No, bounty hunter. I don't want to fight at all. I will be taking the princess home, and her captor, the treacherous bounty hunter, who had worked for the king himself, will be caught and dealt with swiftly. That is how this will end, if you love her enough to keep her alive. Else you'll be charged with her murder."

Zoro looked at you, trying to gauge how you were doing. You grasped at the handle of your blade, eyes begging Zoro to keep him distracted for one second longer.

"And if I don't? If I save my own skin?" Zoro asked, buying you the slightest amount of time. "Then you can live your miserable life alone. I hardly care once you're away from her."

You fixed your grip on the handle of your knife and removed it quickly, digging it into the meat of the Duke's thigh, making him release you, falling backwards. The second he let go, you ran to Zoro, who pulled you behind him, where you were safe. "Good job princess." He praised as the Duke stood up.

"Help! I found her!" The Duke shrieked suddenly. "It's the king's bounty hunter! He attacked me! He's taking her!"

There was the sound of approaching footsteps, and Zoro quickly sheathed his swords.

"Come on." He urged, tugging you away from the scene. "We need to hide."

You ran, the Duke's screams piercing the night, directing your father's soldiers to you and your love.

"Where are we gonna go?" You asked as the two of you reached the outskirts of the city. "Just trust me princess. I've been in much more trouble than this."

He led you into the woods, though in the dark it was hard to find your way.

"Zoro? Do you know where you're going?" You asked, holding on tight to his hand as he guided you through the woods, warning you of upcoming roots poking up into your path.

"It's going to be okay princess, I promise." He avoided answering you directly, and you wondered if he knew how suspicious he sounded. "That's not reassuring Zoro." You grumbled as you shifted through the trees.

"I've got this." Despite your reservations, you followed Zoro dutifully. In the moonlight, you made your way through the woods, every unknown sound making you flinch. The guards were surely working through the forest too. Who knew how close they were.

The walk was long, and your legs ached, but you refused to voice a complaint.

"How much longer?" You asked cautiously. "Are you tired?" Zoro asked. "No." A lie. He could hear the tremble in your voice.

"We can rest." He stopped walking, allowing you to sit down. "For now."

You leaned back against a tree, the rough bark pressing against your head.

"I'll keep watch." He said stiffly, vigilant.

"Sit with me." You requested. He frowned. "How am I supposed to keep watch if I'm sitting with you?"

You huffed. "Where's the Zoro who lets me sleep on him?" You pouted slightly, massaging your aching leg muscles.

"He's waiting on the boat." Zoro said, crouching next to you. "Now rest."

You closed your eyes and tried your best, but you were unable to fall asleep. It was only when you felt Zoro's arms wrapping under you, picking you up and running like hell that you snapped back to vigilance.

"What's going on?" You dared to ask. "They found us. Shh." He hushed you as he ran, managing to avoid hitting your head against low branches.

You looked up at Zoro, looking back to see if he was still being followed.

He slowed to a stop and after a while, let you down, though you missed the cradle of his arms and he felt bare without you pressed against him.

"I can try to draw them away." He suggested but you stopped him immediately, a death grip on his arm. "Don't leave me again." Your hand clutched his arm. "Don't you dare leave me again."

He nodded wordlessly. "Are we close? To wherever we're going?" You asked, looking around the still forest. "Yes." The way he said it betrayed his word. He was lost. "Zoro-" "I promised to get you out. I'm keeping that promise."

He led you forward. "You won't have to go back. Even if it costs me my life, you won't go back." "Please don't cost your life. I like you too much."

You followed him, the long night stretching out ahead like the forest around you. At daybreak, after hours of walking, when the sun was just peeking over the horizon, the trees parted, revealing a sandy beach.

On the shore, there was a boat, perfect for two people to travel in, sailing away from all that had come before and starting anew.

Unfortunately, there was an obstacle.

Four guards stood at the boat, waiting for the owner of the vessel to show himself, and likely to reveal the location of the princess.

Zoro swore as he saw the guards. "What do we do Zoro?" You asked, hand finding your dagger.

He had gifted that dagger to you. You had told him far too many stories about attempted assassinations that he had purchased the blade for you, easily concealed under any clothes and with a little training, you had learned how to wield it quite well.

"Take this." Zoro handed you your bag, full of your dresses and jewels. He had no need for them without you.

"Stay here." He ordered. "Only come out when it's safe." "Zoro, please don't leave me." "I'm not. You'll be able to see me the entire time. Come out when it's safe."

He separated from you and despite everything telling you to stay close to him, you let him go, hovering by the treeline

He walked along the treeline, away from you before walking out onto the beach, exposing himself.

Two guards split off from the boat, rushing Zoro. He responded by unsheathing his swords. You watched from afar as he fought off the two guards, the other two guards coming forward as backup. He swiftly disposed of them, but there was another problem.

Several more guards dashed out from the woods, surrounding Zoro, the group led by a limping Duke.

Each guard was equipped with a gun. Zoro could not fight them off before a bullet was planted in his skull.

Your legs moved before you even ordered them to, running onto the beach, screaming at the Duke.

"Hold your fire!" You yelled, stumbling on the sand. The guards had to follow your orders over the Duke's.

"Ah, my bride." The Duke said, false worry coming over his face. "I was so worried about you!"

He approached you, hands settling on your arms, a loving gesture, if you were dumb enough to believe his act.

"Let him go. I'll return to the castle." You shrugged the Duke's hands away. "Yes you will. But he's not going free."

"I ordered him to take me away. His only crime was following the instructions of a princess. Let him go. I'll come back willingly."

"No." Zoro growled.

"He's going to be captured no matter what. Blame needs to be placed on someone." The Duke sighed, pretending this development was disheartening to him, though you knew it was anything but.

"He will be tried for your kidnapping. Your protests will be seen as a result of manipulation from him. It's nice to think you thought you had any luck of power in this situation. Alas."

"Bastard." You spat. "Indeed. Come on my love, this little bout of cold feet will be over soon." He wrapped his arm around your waist, trying to pull you away from the scene.

Zoro reacted first, furiously lunging forward, and a gunshot rang out.

You watched in horror as a red spot spread across Zoro's side. He winced and you tore yourself from the Duke's hold, shoving through the circle of guards, grabbing Zoro as his leg gave up, falling to his knee.

"Which of you shot?" You shouted at the circle of guards. "Which of you did this?"

You hovered protectively over Zoro. The Duke sighed loudly. "Remove the princess from the brute. She's in hysterics."

You felt yourself being pulled off Zoro, dragged away. You kicked and flailed until the butt of a gun was pressed against Zoro's temple. You went limp. "Stop! I'll go back!" You gasped, standing up straight. With a sickening feeling spreading in your gut, you faced the Duke. "Let's go back to the castle." You felt a lump in your throat as you addressed him. "My love."

You could hear Zoro's protests as you were taken away. You risked one look back at him, to see him being dragged away by the guards, eyes never straying from you.

Your return to the castle was heralded as a heroic act by the Duke, and your captor was sent to the dungeon, an execution date was to be set as soon as possible.

You refused to leave your room. You did so only once, to try sneaking down to the dungeons once.

You were not permitted entry. The Duke had recommended that you not be allowed to enter in case seeing your captor set you off.

One of the servants stayed on your side. When your meal was delivered, he lingered. "The bounty hunter is alive. They're letting him heal for the execution."

You thanked him, not feeling any better about your situation.

Two dates were decided within the following week. The execution of the famed bounty hunter would happen at the end of the month, the day after would be your wedding to the Duke.

You had fourteen days to make your escape and take Zoro with you.

The night the decision had been mad when you were served dinner, the servant lingered. "You have a message from the dungeon." He said timidly. "He says he loves you. And not to worry about him. He's had worse."

You could practically hear Zoro's voice reassuring you. "Thank you. Can you tell him I'm going to get him out of there?" The servant nodded.

The first four days were for planning. You knew now how to scale the castle walls. And you could communicate through the servant boy.

On the fourth night, you asked the servant boy which cell Zoro was hidden away in. When you snuck down that night, you found the overgrown hedges that obscured the dungeon windows from view. You allowed the prickly branches of the bushes to scratch at you. You crawled carefully to the bars of the cell the servant had told you about.

"Zoro?" You whispered into the dim room. There was a shuffling noise, before Zoro's face appeared at the bars, brow furrowed.

"What are you doing?" He asked, clearly surprised to see you. "I'm making sure you're okay, you idiot." You hissed at him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his hand reaching up and through the bars, cupping your face through the window. You missed his touch. "Yeah I'm fine. Are you okay? You got shot." He nodded. "It's fine. It hardly hurts. They took my swords though."

"I'll get them back for you, I promise. I'll get you out and we'll never have to go through this again. I have a plan."

Zoro just pressed as close to the bars as possible, capturing your lips in a kiss. It was as if your world exploded. You had missed him so much, worrying about him nonstop. You kissed back, despite the cold metal trying to separate you from him.

"I missed you." You said quietly when you parted from him. "You'll never have to miss it again."

Your hand snaked through the bars, catching the back of his neck. "Listen. I need you to cooperate. Don't do anything risky. Stay safe. Please. I love you." "I love you too."

You pulled away from him, sighing. "I need to go back. I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded. "I believe in you."

You climbed back up to your room, just in time for the Duke to check on you, a mandatory requirement ever since your disappearance.

He seemed satisfied with your presence, wishing you a good night and leaving.

Your plan began preparations over the next few days. You went into town to set up some arrangements. The purchase of a boat that could comfortably fit two people as a "honeymoon gift", and obtaining a small vial of poison from the apothecary for "protection".

You visited the armory, noting that three katanas were new additions to the collection of gilded weapons. They would have to be retrieved during your escape.

Every day you set up more and more of your plan, and every night you visited Zoro at his window, a reverse of the dynamic you had crafted over your years together.

You noted that there was tension in his voice. You had not asked further about the bullet wound, but you could tell he was still hurt. You made a mental note to sneak medical supplies onto your escape boat.

"The plan's almost ready." You said quietly one night, laying down in front of the window, looking through the bars at Zoro. "I'll get you out of there." He kissed you through the tiny space. "Of course you will." His hand reached through, caressing your cheek. "It's going to feel so good to hold you again." You held his hand. "Only a few more days. I love you." "I love you too."

The night before Zoro's execution, your plan was enacted.

An hour after you went to bed, you slipped out, telling the guard at your door that you could not sleep and wanted a glass of water.

He followed you as you walked through the halls, trembling with the anxiety of what you had to do. You walked into the kitchen, left quiet for the night, and whirled on the guard, slapping a handkerchief soaked in poison over his mouth. You held it in place for a short while, but he was experienced in fighting and threw you off. You slammed into the countertop, the poisonous fabric still in your hand. There was no room for error. One chance. That was all you had. You pushed forward again, but he blocked you easily, redirecting your momentum, and sending you to the floor.

He ran for the door, to alert the castle of your disobedience, but he stumbled, falling to the ground before he could reach the door.

"One drop can knock a horse out for hours." The woman at the apothecary had warned. You were unsure of how much one breath of it could do, but you had to take your chance.

Working swiftly, you removed his armour, donning it yourself. You left him in the kitchen, hoping that he would wake up peacefully in the morning, although he would certainly be punished for letting you escape.

You walked through the halls of the castle, uncomfortable in the armour as you made your way to the dungeon. Hallway after hallway, staircase after staircase, until you finally reached the stone walls of the basement.

In the dark, under the guard's helmet, your face was unrecognizable. That worked to your advantage.

You clutched the handkerchief as you reached the guard at the top of the stairs, the one who had declared that you were not permitted to visit Zoro.

"What are you doing here?" He asked you as you stood before him. You altered your voice, bowing your head. "I've been asked to check on the bounty hunter. Give him a message."

The guard frowned. "What message?" "It's from the Duke."

The guard sighed and turned around. The second he did, you pounced, covering his mouth with the cloth, holding firm as he tried to get you off.

When he fell, you snatched the keys off his belt and ran down the rows of cells, searching for Zoro.

When you came across his cell, he did not recognize you, groaning at the sight of another guard.

"I'm not in the mood." He hissed at you, laying on the stone floor.

"What happened to thank you?" You asked, unlocking the door, pushing it open. He stood, hand clamped over his side, his shirt still blood soaked.

You wanted to ask about it but very quickly he ran over to you, arms encircling your body, pulling you in tight.

"I missed you." He mumbled into your neck, his face pushing the ill-fitting helmet aside. "I missed you too. Can you walk?" He nodded. "Does it hurt?" "I'm fine. Let's get out of here."

You pulled away from him, leading him towards the exit, and beginning to strip the guard at the entrance to the dungeon.

"Put this on." You ordered, and Zoro did, donning the same uniform as you.

The two of you hurried through the halls, as you guided Zoro to the armory, where his swords were being held captive.

He leaned on you, the breastplate of the armour covering up his obvious injury.

"Excuse me." The voice made you both freeze in place. The Duke. Rushing towards the two of you, a crazed look in his eyes.

"Both the princess and her guard have both disappeared. Sound the alarms." He looked at you expectantly. "Oh, your Grace." You used your fake voice. "We saw them both recently. The princess needed to take a walk to calm her mind." Zoro nodded, affirming your lie.

"Where were they headed?" The Duke asked desperately. "The west wing." You lied quickly. Far away from the kitchen and the dungeon.

The Duke seemed convinced, breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh excellent." He looked back and forth between you and Zoro, noting that Zoro was leaning heavily on you. "I hope you weren't drinking on the job."

You laughed. "He's just tired your Grace. Gotta get home to the missus." He hummed. "Me too." He winked at you, sending a shiver down your back. "Very well. Go about your business." He shooed the two of you away, walking off.

"I don't know what you're so upset about." Zoro joked. "He's a real catch." You gave him a fake glare. "If he's so dreamy, why don't you take him?" Zoro laughed. "Yeah right."

You continued to the armory, thankfully without having to remove another guard. Zoro took his swords back, sighing with relief when they were back around his waist.

"So, how are we getting out of here?" Zoro asked. "You'll see."

The two of you snuck out to the stables, and you found your horse. A strong steed, perfectly capable of carrying two people down the the harbour. You saddled him quickly, hopping into the saddle and gesturing for Zoro to hop on behind you.

Despite looking distrustfully at your horse, he climbed up with a pained groan sitting pressed against your back.

"Don't be scared." You encouraged. "I'm not scared." "Okay big guy, grab my waist."

He did not need you to repeat yourself. His arms swept around you, a position that was incredibly natural for the both of you.

With a squeeze of your legs, you set your horse off, galloping through the streets, down to the harbour.

Your helmet fell off during the ride, but it was a relief to be rid of it. You could feel the cold night air hitting your face. It felt like freedom.

At the docks you got off your horse, running along the docks, finding your boat.

"This one. Here." You pointed at it, shoving Zoro into your boat, lifting the anchor and the mooring line.

You did everything quickly, having spent some of your time at the docks, studying how to set sail as quick as possible.

You stood on the dock and pushed the boat forward with your foot, starting your journey.

Zoro stood at the back of the vessel, arms out, and you gladly jumped off the dock, letting him catch you, snuggling into his embrace as the boat picked up on the night breeze, floating forward, away from your old life.

You looked back. In the morning the kingdom would descend into chaos. Your absence and Zoro's liberation would cause a massive uproar. Perhaps that was what the kingdom needed. Either way, it was in your past.

"So princess, where to first?" Zoro asked, holding you tighter. "You can't call me that anymore." You smirked. "I'm just a regular subject now." He hummed a long note. "Regular. Impossible."

"You'll have to call me something else." You grinned, removing yourself from his arms and walking around the deck. "What should I call you then?" He asked, following you carefully.

"Well, we have to come up with a good story for me." You mused. "Runaway princess draws too much attention." "Bounty hunter doesn't?" Zoro asked.

"It draws less attention. I'm just a regular girl now. Who wants adventure. And love." You looked at Zoro with a glimmer in your eye.

"Well, you are still engaged to be married." Zoro joked. "I am." You slid the ring given to you by the Duke off your finger, having forgotten to discard it before your great escape. "But I feel like the proposal was wrong. I think I want a redo."

You handed the ring to Zoro, laying it flat in his palm. "With the right person this time."

Zoro's hand closed around the ring. You hoped he understood your intentions.

When he moved back, you felt a twinge of fear. Then he knelt, one knee on the deck of the boat. He presented you the ring.

He said your name, his voice soft and warm with love. "Will you marry me?" You nodded furiously. "Yes. Yes, of course!" He smiled, standing up and turning around to throw the ring into the sea. "I'll get you a better ring. Something gold." He suggested.

He pulled you close again, pressing as tightly to you as possible. "I love you princess." He said quietly, speaking the words into the quiet of the night. "Not princess." You warned playfully. "Sorry. I love you, wife."

[rubyin-wonderland]

Masterlist

Requests open for anyone who has an idea, just nothing nsfw if you please :)

Zoro

Swimming: a day at the beach can be fun, until you can't participate in certain aquatic activities.

Tattoos: Zoro likes your tattoos, and is excited to see your newest one.

Trapped: your job as a medic and Zoro's role as your patient is set in stone. That is, until you find yourself needing the medical attention.

Nightmare: when a nightmare strikes, Zoro needs comfort.

Bodyguard: when out and about, there's only one person you trust to protect you from harm.

Sleepless Nights: due to your anxiety, you haven't been sleeping that well. Or at all. Someone needs to step in.

Guilt: Under the control of a hypnotist, Zoro is forced to hurt you. How are you going to heal?

Good Morning: as a new dawn breaks, you find yourself entangled in the arms of your beloved.

Jealous Boy : When your drink is taking too long to make, a stranger makes his intentions known. Zoro isn't pleased.

Sanji's Girl - feat. Sanji: Zoro wishes that he had Sanji's girl.

By The Firelight: as the cold snow falls outside, the fireplace keeps you warm.

Zoro's Girl - feat. Sanji: Sanji wishes that he had Zoro's girl.

Infatuation: Zoro's emotions for you are so repressed he doesn't even know he has them.

Princess: what happens when the crown princess is in love with the king's favorite bounty hunter?

Pulse Point: After almost losing you, Zoro is willing to do whatever it takes to keep you alive.

Sanji

Flowers: Zoro may not speak the language of flowers, but he'll find a translator for you.

Future: An unexpected question ignites Zoro's imagination.

Cupcake: During some late night baking, your flirty crewmate decides to keep you company.

Sanji's Girl - feat. Zoro: Zoro wishes that he had Sanji's girl.

Zoro's Girl - feat. Zoro: Sanji wishes that he had Zoro's girl.

Bloodlust: A thirsty vampire finds an all too willing neck to drink from.

Forever Eternally: You've been searching for "the one" for as long as you can remember, but he never seems to appear. Until a strange pirate crew comes into your life.

[rubyin-wonderland]

Bloodlust

opla!Sanji x vampire!reader

Summary: A thirsty vampire finds an all too willing neck to drink from

WC: 2.6k

Warnings/tags: blood, classic vampire tropes, biting/blood drinking as intimate acts, Sanji's a little too okay with the situation, the closest I've gotten to writing smut I fear, woo vampirism

The raw burning in your throat was all you could think about. There was an ache in your stomach, and every beat of every heart around you caused you another pang of pain.

You sat, practically hunched over in solitude. Your blood supply ran out days ago and you had yet to eat anything since.

Starvation could not kill you, but it sure felt like it. You could barely think straight, every thought lazily dropping off as you tried ever so desperately to focus on something, anything, for longer than a minute before another stab in your gut.

You could smell it distinctly when you got this hungry. You could smell it in their veins, through their hearts, into their arms and toes and heads. You thought about the taste, so inviting, so fresh and delicious you could just suck one of them dry-

You stood up straight. That snapped you out of it for a second. You would never drink from your companions. That would be a betrayal you could never face. And yet, it seemed so tempting.

Maybe you could just stay in this closet, locked up until you docked once more, then you could go and prey on some local animals and be good once more, replenish your blood supply, and everything would be fine.

A heartbeat approached you, a body full of blood, red and warm and metallic and tempting.

There was a knock and you tried to look normal. Acceptable. Like you did not want to find an artery and tear it from a throat to satiate the burning in your systems.

Another knock. Short, sweet, and delicate. A voice rang out from the other side.

Your name was called, and you sighed, knowing you could not stay locked up forever.

"I know you're in there!" Sanji called, not quite understanding how badly you wanted, no needed him to leave. The smell of his blood was driving you mad. You needed to satiate it.

You open the door, which only intensified the harsh sensation in your stomach. You wanted to keel over.

"Sanji," you could hardly get the words out. "I need to be alone right now."

He did not seem to understand that your problem was not an emotional one. Instead, he stepped forward. "What is it? I can help. You shouldn't have to suffer on your own."

You stood still, trying not to inhale too deeply. "That's not it. Please leave me alone."

He did not. "I can help." You perceived the offer differently from him. Maybe he could help, but you refused to let him. You were not allowed to drink from your crew. You had sworn.

That night, when they had found you perched over a bleeding carcass, they had seen something in you. Something that you had not seen yourself. Humanity. They had loved you, taking you in and letting you feel normal. The only condition, one you had agreed to, was that you could never feed from humans, especially nobody from the crew.

"Sanji, I'm fine." You glared at him, trying to communicate that you needed to be alone.

"What is it? Please tell me." He begged. "I can't stand to think of you suffering by yourself."

You held back a noise of discomfort, his heart was beating faster. "I'm..." You tried to get the word out without scaring him. "Hungry. There's no blood left." You refused to look at him as you confessed, eyes lowering to the floor.

"Oh." You debated looking at him. He sounded less worried about your situation than you expected. Under his skin his heart beat faster, the only indication that he was scared by that information.

"Oh?" You repeated. "I'm a vampire and. I'm starving. You should be scared."

"I'm sorry. What can I do to help?" He seemed genuinely concerned.

"You could spare an artery." You mumbled jokingly, knowing you would never dare.

"Okay, where?" Sanji asked, rolling up his sleeves. You shook your head, realizing the offer he was making. "No. Sanji stop. Nothing. There's nothing you can do. I'll survive without it."

"I'm the chef. I can't let one of my crew starve." He said dutifully.

"Sanji I can't drink from you. Not from the crew." Sanji shrugged. "I won't tell them if you do. I give you permission to drink from me."

You shook your head, backing away. "Sanji. Leave me alone. I can handle this."

He looked at you earnestly. "Let me help." "No. Go back up to the deck."

You watched multiple waves of emotion washing over his face. He looked down, pushing his sleeves back down his arms. "Sorry." He seemed sheepish now that you had refused his offer full stop.

"I'm sorry." You said through gritted teeth, ready for the scent to distance itself again.

"If you ever need to, I'll do it." Sanji offered before he left, his heart pounding.

You shut the door but the smell lingered. Metallic, red glory. You could handle it. You were around these humans every day. You had smelled their blood almost consistently since they picked you up. They had provided you with food so you would not feed off them. They trusted you not to.

Still, seeds of doubt sprouted in your mind, burying roots and growing thick. Your carnal hunger needed to be dealt with. It always did.

How long until it became impossible to ignore? Until you needed to feed and the subject of your feeding was less than cooperative? What if you grew too hungry, unable to stop until their heart had no more blood to pump? Perhaps it would be easier to nip the problem in the already blossoming bud. To cut your losses and drink from your willing crewmate. You had to admit you had been morbidly curious to know what they tasted like.

It would be a temporary solution, and one you would need to do quickly, before you were no longer capable of controlling yourself.

Your stomach stabbed itself once again, and you decided that it was worth the pain to not hurt anyone. You would be docked again in two days. You could go two days more without blood.

You started the timer in your head. Forty-eight hours, less if you considered it was almost dinner and you were expected to be docked before lunch.

Your thoughts kept slipping back to Sanji. His offer. Was he really willing to do that for you? To offer his neck to you, a bloodthirsty vampire, without any signs of fear?

It confused you. You had companions before, several centuries worth, and only a spare few of them had ever sat still, with no signs of resistance whenever they offered you their blood.

And speaking of your companions, there was a fear buried within you, reminding you of those you had failed. The people who had trusted you after you had gone thirsty for too long. The people you had trusted, had loved, drained as a result of your ever present and ever dangerous hunger.

You briefly imagined Sanji in that position, dead, covered in his own blood, still pouring weakly from the teeth marks you had dug into him.

The myths about the healing power of vampires were just that. Myths. You were unable to reverse damage you had done. Your only option was to turn them, a cruelty you refused to enact. An eternal lifetime of bloodlust and fear, hidden from the sun, living alone, or with somebody you were bound to kill, feasting on animals, never fully satisfied unless the blood was flowing.

You could not turn someone, forcing them into that life. It was unfair. In the past, you had just let them die. If Sanji was willing to let you drink, he would have to know that too.

The smell intensified, another knock. "Dinner." Someone called. You could hardly identify the voice through the door.

"Coming." You strained, making your way to the meal.

It had been steaks for dinner, and you were presented with the very last ounces of blood drawn out from the meat, although it hardly did much. If anything, it made your hunger stronger, knowing that you could be satisfied much more than that, if you would only give up your humanity.

Dinner finished without your knowledge, as you tried to block your senses, wanting this tragic tale to be done with.

You felt a hand on your shoulder. "Sanji." Your tone was warning. His hand remained. "I want to help." He insisted.

"I've killed people before. After being hungry for too long. I'm dangerous, remember?"

Sanji laughed. "Dangerously attractive, perhaps." You turned to face him, after scanning the room, making sure it was empty.

"You are risking your life. I won't be able to heal you afterwards. You'll be dizzy, confused, bleeding, and I won't be able to help."

Sanji nodded. "I want to do this for you. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes?"

He stood up straight. "Where do you want me?"

Avoiding the innuendo, you carefully guided him to a chair, deciding which place would be the best to bite him.

You would not find a large vein, else the bleeding would be too intense, but a weak flow would just prolong the process.

You saw Sanji instinctively stretch his neck out, ear to his shoulder, exposing skin for you to bite, tucking his hair behind his ear and carefully pulling his shirt collar away. "No. Not there." You shook your head. "I'll get your arm."

He began to roll up his sleeve before hesitating. "Am I going to get bloody?" You raised your eyebrows. "Obviously you are."

"Wait." He instructed, and you watched as he began to undress in front of you, starting with his blazer, setting it carefully on the island before unbuttoning his nice white shirt. It felt excessive, but it was less laundry to do, so you said nothing.

"Are you ready?" You asked as he sat down again, shirtless. One last painful squeeze in your stomach urged you forward. Sanji got comfortable in his chair, allowing you to take his arm, and bite down.

The second your fangs pierced flesh, you sensed the tension you had been waiting for. Every muscle went rigid, trying to keep himself from squirming or trying to push you off as you drank.

His blood tasted delicious, like everything you had wanted and more. It was more satisfying than any other human blood you had tasted.

Your eyes stayed firmly shut, but you heard the muffled sound that escaped Sanji's mouth, a cross between a gasp and a groan, which drove an excess amount of blood to his face.

You were nowhere near satisfied before you detached from him, worried that he wanted to back out from your deal.

You wiped your chin, eyes fixated on his bleeding arm, which he took a while for him to cover up.

"Are you okay?" You asked, hasty, hoping you had not hurt him badly. "Why?" He asked softly, a question for just you and the secrecy of night to hear. "What?"

"Why did you stop?"

The question pulled at your stomach. Was he ready to give away more? Was he disappointed that you had stopped?

"Do you want me to keep going?" You asked, eyes flitting to the various other places you could bite, Sanji's eyes watching yours as they traced over his body.

"Yes."

You swallowed. "Tilt your head to the side." An order. He obeyed. "Since you want it so bad."

You could see the vein. It was so easy to pierce, now flowing with an elevated amount of blood due to the adrenaline in his body.

You stood behind him, hovering over the area for a second, your one hand holding his shoulder steady, the other at the top of his head holding the hair at his neck out of the way, a practiced position.

"Please." His voice was strained, and fueled by his word, you bit down again.

The bigger target had won you a better prize, your drink far easier to consume, so easily given up. You could see Sanji holding onto the chair, knuckles whitening as you drank, heaving breaths as he felt you taking the life out of him.

He made a variety of small noises while you drank, repressed, but all heard by your ears. You heard the soft grunts, the caught breaths, the gentle moans he tried to stifle. It was hurting him alright, but he hardly seemed bothered.

In fact, the poor man seemed to enjoy it.

You finally stopped, pulling away and putting pressure on the wound, not wanting him to bleed out. Lucky for him, your punctures were not big enough to cause a real problem. You just needed them to scab over.

In the meantime, with your hand pressed firmly against his neck, you reveled in being full. The pain in your stomach was seeping away by the second, and you felt stronger. Human blood had not been a part of your diet for some time now.

"Are you alright?" You asked Sanji, who was still breathing heavily in the chair, head lolling a little, only held in place by your hand holding his neck.

"Yes." He said quickly. He was shaking a little, and you decided to get him a snack, something to fuel his body as it recovered what you had taken from it.

You checked his neck, giving him a towel to press against the wound as you rifled through the fridge.

"You might want to clean your face." Sanji advised. You turned to look at him. "What?" "My blood." He looked a little shy. "It's dripped a bit. Lovely colour on you though."

You scoffed at him, taking some fruit out of the fridge and setting it down on the counter, offering it up.

"You know," Sanji pulled the cloth away from his neck, the would no longer bleeding. "That wasn't bad at all."

You raised an eyebrow and moved to the sink, turning on the tap to rinse your face, drops of pink landing below.

"No? Not even the bite?" "I'd say your bark is worse but I like both quite fine."

You laughed. "That's good. You're smiling again." He observed, standing and walking towards you. "How are you feeling?"

You took the cloth and dampened it with water, trying to clean the blood off his neck, dabbing carefully to avoid reopening the wound.

"I'm much better. I haven't felt like this in ages." You tilted your head to the side, considering something. "Thank you. I am indebted to you." Sanji shook his head. "No, I could never. Whenever you need, I will be ready."

His excitement was clear. "My blood is yours." You looked at him, standing there in front of you, flushed and looking giddy. You hooked an arm around him, pulling him close, and kissed him on the lips. For a second, he was frozen, before his body regained movement, arms snaking around your shoulders, squeezing you as he kissed back.

Your hands moved, carefully assuring that he was okay with everything your did, hands tracing up and down his sides, one coming up to tangle in his hair.

A vampire and a meal. Unconventional, but you hardly cared. Your lips moved against his, an action that somehow felt better than drinking from him. Another long suffering hunger, finally satiated.

He pulled away first, arms still around you, his hair messy. "Oh love," you nearly melted at the nickname. "You are magnificent."

You resisted the urge to close the gap between the two of you, letting him speak. "You make my heart race in your presence, my blood flows just for you."

"Kiss me again." You ordered. He was more than happy to oblige.

[rubyin-wonderland]

Infatuation

opla!Zoro x reader

Summary: Zoro's emotions for you are so repressed he doesn't even know he has them.

WC: 2.3k

Warnings/tags: drinking/hangover, all fluff

As he grabbed yet another bottle off the counter of the bar, Zoro's eyes turned to the empty space in the middle of the room, cleared away so the drunken patrons could dance to the music being played onstage.

You were there, in the mess of bodies, twirling and dancing with reckless abandon, and he felt something in his chest. A flutter, perhaps. Maybe even a jump. His hand instinctively lifted to his chest, trying to be subtle, but ultimately failing. It was luck that nobody happened to be looking at him.

He had been feeling the strange palpitations for a while now. Every once and a while, his heart felt strange in his chest, his stomach flipped, his insides grew warm and fluffy.

He wasn't exactly happy about it. The feeling was so unnatural to him and he hoped that it would stop so he could feel normal again.

On the other hand, the feeling wasn't bad. It was unfamiliar, but it wasn't painful. He'd prefer if it was. It would be easier to see it as a problem. Instead it was fluttery. It was nice.

It had to stop.

He'd marked each previous incident in his head, and he ran through each one, trying to figure out a reason behind it.

The first time it happened was when he was sitting on deck, relaxing after a workout. His heartrate was elevated, but he was settling down, just in time for you to come out, doing your own work.

You drew your sword, going through a few stances, slowly going through the movements, one at a time, each movement careful and precise. He watched your process, admiring it. You looked over at him, noticing his stare.

"You like what you see, Roronoa?" You asked, swiftly executing a decapitation, before sheathing your blade.

His heart beat quickly as he watched that sequence of events. He frowned, trying not to call attention to it.

"You leave your sides open." He critiqued. "Oh yeah?" You grinned. "You do." "I'll have to work on that then." You drew your sword again, going through the motions one at a time, but Zoro was too startled by the sudden jump of his heart to stay and pay any attention.

You were known for your flirtatious remarks, but they were given out to nearly everybody you knew. Not just Zoro. Sanji had been on the receiving end of a comment or two, along with Nami and even Usopp once. It could be said that you flirted with Zoro the most, but your comments were often accompanied by flashy shows of swordsmanship. It was for the bit more than anything.

And for the most part, he hadn't felt anything like this before. At first, he had hated it, but he soon grew to understand that was a part of you and consequently, your friendship with him.

The second time was in the galley. Sanji was preparing dinner and you had come in, asking him if he needed help. He said yes, and you joined him, helping slice vegetables.

You got the hang of the chopping board quickly, and without much time passing, more than enough vegetables had been cut, and you went and sat down at the table, along with Usopp, Nami and Zoro. "Didn't know you could handle a knife like that." Nami said, sipping a glass of lemonade Sanji had given her.

"Yeah, I'm a bit of a natural." You bragged, giving an overly cocky smile.

And then his heart did it again. A flutter. This time he didn't leave, but he stopped listening to the conversation. He tried to tune it out while he thought about how strange it was.

You were attractive, a fact backed up by multiple members of the crew, but what really made you shine was your confidence. There were two types of confidence you liked to show. Genuine and comedic.

Your genuine confidence showed itself after a fight, in the fiery light in your eyes and the heaving breaths you took, as a victorious smile spread across your face.

Your comedic confidence was sassy and dramatic. Usually undeserved, but the way you presented yourself with that cocky smile- akin to the one you wore when you had finished fighting- was undeniably amusing, if not attractive. It was the type you tended to use when flirting.

Zoro liked both confidences on you. The look in your eyes complimenting the quirk of your lip, a complete lack of fear on your face. You were brave and you believed in yourself. It was beautiful.

The third time was when he had gone out for a walk at night. He was unable to sleep for whatever reason and decided that maybe a walk would help.

You were on night watch, sitting alone on a banister, gently kicking your legs. At first, you didn't notice him, your eyes were skyward, scanning the stars.

He watched you for a bit, your face completely serene as your eyes drifted across the sky. He almost didn't want to disturb you in this rare moment of peace. You were constantly on edge, in need of something to do, somewhere to be, that he never saw you relax.

It was as he studied your features, that his heart once again did a flip against his rib cage, and he quickly hurried back to his room.

To see you so calm for once, not burdened with a sword and scars and a point to prove, was a rare occurrence. To see what you were like completely alone, exposed to the world, open and liberated, it was a strange sight, but a welcome one.

You were open. Bare and exposed and completely unguarded. And deep, deep down, in a place Zoro refused to acknowledge and hardly even knew about, he loved it. He wanted to see you like that again and again, one million times over, until he forgot that you had ever been burdened in the first place.

And then, the palpitation at the bar. His brain, working on enough alcohol to make him at least a little tipsy, tried to connect any dots, but came up empty. It wasn't the food he ate or the amount of exercise he had done. The times were all arbitrary and nothing made sense.

"What's wrong?" You had sauntered up to the bar and sat down next to him.

"What?" "Your brow was furrowed. You were thinking. Which is rare for you, you know." You laughed at the insulting joke, before putting in a drink order. "What's eating you, Roronoa?"

He sighed, figuring someone might as well know if his heart decided to take him out in his sleep.

"My heart's been acting funny." He huffed. "You better not be dying." You said seriously.

"I'm not." He said it so defensively you had no choice but to think he was lying. "Oh my god, you are?" Your eyes widened in fear, looking around for help. He grabbed your arm to calm you down. "I'm not dying. I don't think. So don't go telling everyone."

You settled, but your eyes shone with a new, concerned light. "Are you okay?" You said it so sincerely, his heart did it again.

"It just happened." He warned. You looked at him, scanning him for any signs of pain.

"Does it hurt?" You asked. "Because it looks like it isn't doing anything." "It just feels weird. Like it's jumping." You thought for a bit, trying to understand. "Jumping?" "Yeah. Like it speeds up. It makes my whole body weird. Kinda like when I'm drunk, but it happens when I'm not."

You leaned back as your drink arrived. "Huh. It doesn't seem bad if you get to feel drunk without drinking." You mused. "Heck, I'd give up quite a bit to feel like that."

"Yeah. Don't tell people about it though." You saluted with two fingers before walking back to the dance floor. "You got it, Roronoa."

His heart did it one more time. It was growing in frequency. He could only hope this was an outlier, no indication for the future.

For the rest of the night he pondered this strange situation, and he thankfully didn't get another flutter in the bar.

The night went on and he eventually decided to go back to the ship, stumbling, a bit drunker than he had expected to get, walking in a wobbly line.

"Hey there, Roronoa."

You appeared, and he was reminded of the night he saw you looking at the stars and once again he felt tingly. You looked incredible at night, illuminated by the streetlights, and with less inhibitions than usual, Zoro voiced his opinion out loud.

"You're very pretty."

You were not nearly as drunk as he was, having had some restraint back at the bar. "Wow. How much did you have?" You hoped he couldn't tell how warm your face just got.

"Just a couple." He responded, trying to walk again, though his drunken gait was nowhere near ready to support him. He leaned heavily to one side and you caught him, nearly being taken down by his weight, only aided by him catching himself on the way down.

"Whoa there." You helped him back to his feet. "I can't wait to see the hangover you get tomorrow." He hummed as you helped him walk back to the ship.

The walk was longer than it should have been, most of your energy put into making sure he didn't fall into the water. You assumed everyone else was already asleep, which was good for them, but you wished you were asleep too.

You got him to his room and watched as he fell onto his bed, tugging off his boots and kicking them across the room. He lay down and shuffled awkwardly to get his belt off, his swords bouncing off each other in their sheaths. You watched as he manoeuvred the swords around his body and tried to carefully rest them against a wall. You watched as they nearly fell over, and you managed to run and catch them before they hit the floor.

Taking the blades, you carefully set them on the floor, flat, so as not to run the risk of them falling over later in the night.

"So, you think I'm pretty?" You asked, leaning over him as he settled in. "Did I really say that?" He groaned, not sounding half as worried as you expected him too, given his tough guy persona. "You did. But that's a problem I'll make you worry about when you're sober. How's your heart? Still fluttery?"

"A bit." "You should talk to a doctor about it if it starts to worry you. We can't lose you Roronoa."

"It happened again." You raised an eyebrow. "Wow, it's happened twice in front of me, you'd think I was the one causing it." He laughed. "You were there for all of them."

His comment meant nothing to him, but you connected the dots. "I have?" "Yeah. And you're the only one too." He briefly frowned. "What are you doing to me?"

Your jaw dropped as your brain found the answer to his troubles. Were you the reason his heart has been acting up? Was it just the flutters of a crush instead of a heart problem?

You stepped away from him. "Just get some sleep. You'll need it." And you left him to his business.

Alone with his thoughts, Zoro sat, drunk and wondering what had scared you off. You had been hovering over him one second and left him alone the next. What had he said to make you react like that?

He wasn't sure, but he decided that along with admitting that he thought you were pretty, that would be a problem for him when he sobered up, and tried his best to go to sleep.

He slept like a rock, and when he woke up, his head was pounding against his skull. A hangover. Of course.

He stayed in bed for a while, until he heard a knock at his door.

He opened it and came face to face with you. A memory reappeared. Him calling you pretty.

"Hey." You refused to let him begin whatever he was about to say. "Good morning. Breakfast is served." You left before he could say another word, but he noted the way your mouth curved slightly upward as you turn away.

He closed the door, wondering what he said to you last night, trying to remember.

He remembered calling you pretty, and talking about his heart flutters then-

"You were there for all of them. And you're the only one too. What are you doing to me?"

His face dropped as it finally clicked. That couldn't possibly be right. Him? Like you? Like that? It was out of the question. It was insanity.

Except it wasn't insanity. It made sense. Terrible, horrific sense. The way he liked spending time with you, the way his eyes subconsciously drifted towards you whenever you were present.

He wanted to slam his head against a wall. Had you figured it out? Had you told everyone about his stupid heart flutters and how you were the reason he felt that way?

He stepped out of the room, ready to accuse you of lying about his heart, noting that you stood just outside the door.

"You wanna talk about last night?" You offered. "What did you say to them?" He demanded immediately, praying that he had gotten to you before it reached the others.

"I haven't told anyone anything and I won't. That's your business." That settled him, if even a small bit.

"Though, if my theory about your heart flutters is correct, I wouldn't say it's unreciprocated." You winked.

Zoro's heart jumped in his chest as you walked to the kitchen, smiling back at him. Another flutter. He was screwed.

[rubyin-wonderland]

I know it lost the poll but but you still end up making a part 2 of sanji's girl? Maybe with a happy ending?

So, in all honesty I was never planning on making a part 2 (unless it won the poll of course) because I had no real inspiration for it, so I just kinda didn't make any plans.

That said, if I ever get inspiration for a part 2 of either story I will most definitely write it because I really do love a happy ending. It is a possibility, but I'm guessing it's one that will likely not happen for a while, if it happens at all.

I'm sorry to everyone who wanted a part 2, it doesn't seem too likely, but if inspiration does strike, I will certainly add a happy ending for both stories.

[rubyin-wonderland]

Zoro's Girl

opla!Zoro x reader, Sanji x reader

Summary: Sanji wishes that he had Zoro's girl

WC: 4.6k

Warnings/tags: fem!reader, same deal as Sanji's Girl but the other way around, I think I angsted a little too close to the sun with this one, hurt/no comfort, reciprocated feelings, sad ending

Note: hope you enjoy this and I'm sorry in advance

Sanji's Girl

Sanji watches as you present your latest masterpiece to the crew. It's a majestic sight, three levels of cake, each a different flavour, and decorated intricately with frosting you made from scratch.

He had been doing a kitchen checkup as you worked on the cake, tiny delicate details on the side and a masterful recreation of the jolly roger which sat atop the mountain of cake.

You had been incredibly focused while you worked, hardly paying any mind to the outside world, only ever looking up when somebody entered the room, only to almost immediately return to your work.

The presentation received a fair amount of impressed applause. You smiled, and Sanji couldn't help but smile as well. The applause was certainly deserved, knowing the effort that had been put into it.

"Let's cut it up!" Luffy declared excitedly, much more excited to taste the art then to look at it.

You gladly set the cake down on the table, picking up a knife and asking around for what flavor everyone wanted.

After you were finished serving, you took a piece for yourself, and settled into the chair next to Zoro, smiling up at him. "Is it good?" You asked expectantly.

"Yes." He said simply, already working on a mouthful of the cake.

Sanji rolled his eyes. Of course that was all he had to say. The fool wouldn't know how to compliment food if his life was on the line.

A simple "yes" was hardly enough to explain how good your baking had been. In Sanji's opinion, the cake had been light but not too airy. It had baked evenly and the buttercream miraculously melded with each flavour of cake with no effort at all. As for the presentation, you had put an unbelievable amount of detail into the sides, tiny decals representing each of your crewmates, which just added to the emotional aspect of this act. He also thought about how you had carefully sourced every ingredient, and he hoped you knew your dedication was not unappreciated.

He was planning on telling you all of this, but you were too busy at Zoro's side, cozied up against the seemingly indifferent man.

Of course Sanji understood that you were Zoro's girlfriend. You had every right to curl up at his side, intimate and loving, but that never stopped Sanji's blood from boiling. You were so intelligent, talented and gorgeous. How in the world had you fallen for Zoro?

The whole crew had been surprised when the two of you first displayed your affections to each other. Neither of you had shown any previous indications and the two of you never explicitly stated what was going on. Lucky enough for the two of you, what was going on was quite obvious, so there was no need for explanation.

The relationship infuriated Sanji to no end, but he kept his mouth shut about it. This matter was none of his business, even if his brain demanded an answer out of you. No matter how hard he tried, it just confused him. Like a convoluted math equation, the facts never added up. It felt wrong.

Whatever the reason, you had picked Zoro. You seemed happy enough, so no concerns were ever brought up.

You sat now, leaning over the space between your chairs, against Zoro, head against his body as you looked contentedly at everyone enjoying the fruits of your labour.

A chorus of compliments were sent across the table, telling you about how good the cake was and thanking you for your surprise. You grinned, taking in the praise and feeling a little bashful about the compliments being poured onto you.

"It was nothing." You kept insisting, as if the process had not taken up a big portion of your time and attention over the past two days.

There were multiple calls for seconds, and a few for thirds, until everyone's dinner was as good as ruined, save only for your bottomless pit of a captain.

Eventually, once everyone had had their fill, you set aside the rest of the cake and everyone slowly left. You stayed behind, to clean the dishes, still giddy that everything had turned out so well.

Sanji waited to tell you his opinions until Zoro had gone, not wanting to be on the receiving end of the man's anger.

Zoro left the kitchen soon enough, but not without pressing a kiss to your cheek, an action that made you smile.

It was a special smile that was drawn from his kiss. There was a calmness to the smile, one not shared in the other ones you bore. You only smiled like this when you were perfectly happy. The smile was only ever unlocked by certain things. Things like a sunset, magnificent and mesmerizing, getting to sit down after a long day's work, or the silence that followed after a good bout of laughter. And Zoro, Sanji supposed.

Admittedly, Sanji wished he was the reason for that smile. It was a desperation no other thing compared to. He wanted you to feel comfortable enough, calm and satisfied, to allow your lips to break into that lovely smile.

Once Zoro was gone, Sanji sauntered up to you at the sink, pulling up a towel to begin drying the dishes for you, helping you put them away.

"That was an excellent cake." Sanji said, breaking you from the personal bubble you seemed to be trapped in. You looked up, present in the conversation, and no longer focused on scrubbing a stubborn fork.

"Oh. Oh! Thank you!" Your face broke out into a smile as you processed what he said, but not the right one. Sanji still took it as a win, even if there was a pang in his heart when he thought about it.

"It was immaculate. Rich, delicate cake with a creamy, thick buttercream. I've never had better." Sanji decided to risk a little flirt since Zoro was away. "As perfect as the woman who made it."

He saw you process the compliment, a tiny laugh escaping you. "Thank you Sanji."

Your lackluster response made his heart clench again. It was not unusual for him nowadays. For obvious reasons, you did not reciprocate his more than platonic words, a fact he understood, but it hurt all the same.

Every time he waited for a response from you his heart beat nervously, pleading with you to return his feelings, but he had no such luck, to the point that he had grown used to the feeling of pain in his chest whenever he spoke with you.

Sanji stayed silent for the rest of the chore, trying not to push you further. Before leaving the galley you said a soft goodbye, and left him alone.

He wondered how it had come to this. Surely he was missing something. Some forgotten piece in the puzzle that was his relationship with you. You were friends, certainly. You liked helping out around the kitchen and were usually sitting around the galley, ready to be of assistance.

The worst thing Sanji could think about was the time before Zoro. The time when it was just you and him, and he had suspected that you wanted a romantic relationship with him as much as he did with you.

A foolish thought now, seeing where your interests lay, but one he had all the same. One that haunted his nights and stuck to him during the days, one that piled upon itself, splitting into several different futures, possibilities that would never be.

Besides the heartaches, he had found his stomach growing restless when he thought too long about the possibilities. The infinities where he had ended up with you, the infinities where you despised him for his actions. It weighed on him heavily.

Had he had a chance with you? He doubted he would ever know. Before your relationship, there had been flirting on his part, of course. He worked in two fields, the kitchen and flattery. And since your main habitat was his first interest, you became deeply entwined with the second.

So maybe he had been too hopeful when he noticed your reciprocal actions. Teasing him back, something that would make him go red, his face burning and his heart pounding.

"I've never seen such a beautiful baker in my life." He had said as you carried a tray of cookies from the oven to the island. The words slipped off his tongue easily. You cocked an eyebrow, a smile spreading across your face. "What a nice thing to hear from the handsomest chef I know of."

He had nearly lost his mind. Every second of the interaction was burned into his head, scarred into the matter of his brain. The look on your face, the tone of your voice, the words and how you pronounced each one. It choked him and pulled him back to you. Even after you were tied to Zoro.

That damned swordsman.

Sanji wanted to know why. What the moronic man offered you to make you so enchanted with him. Did you not care for his constant affection? Did you find it overbearing? He could stop, of course. Anything for you. He would never say another of his pick-up lines if you were to be with him. Of course it would kill him, but it was an easy price to pay for your love.

When Sanji finished drying the dishes, he began to make dinner, typically a lengthy process, but with the burden of the thoughts in his head, it would pass by in no time at all.

He thought about your reciprocation again. Several instances between your first comment and when you had first presented yourself with Zoro. Instances where he was sure something would come from your words.

That had to have meant something. You would never lead him on, would you? The very thought disgusted Sanji. To accuse you of something so awful. You would never. His heart clenched.

Perhaps you had no idea what your words meant to him, unknowing of how romantic your words had been, but he doubted it heavily. There had been a glint in your eyes when you said those things. Certainly you had meant it. He felt insanity creeping into his head, closing in on his thoughts, when the galley door opened. In came Nami.

"Nami!" He was relieved to see someone to distract him from his constant thoughts of you. "Is there anything I can get you?" He asked, instantly trying his hand at flattering her.

It felt hollow now. His heart was not in it. He said the words out of instinct, no feeling behind his actions. Of course he liked Nami, she was a lovely woman, smart, gorgeous, and more than capable of protecting herself. But she wasn't you. And that was a fact he was beginning to cling a little too tightly to.

"No, I'm good. It was just getting too loud out there." Nami grumbled, laying out a map on the table, beginning to work.

Sanji remained silent, looking at the food cooking in front of him, a heavy blanket of sadness to cover him.

"What's wrong?" Nami asked. Sanji nearly jumped out of his skin. "What?" He sputtered over the word.

"What's wrong? you usually can't wait to call me gorgeous. What is wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong! I was just so stunned by your beauty I forgot how to act!" The excuse was weaker than usual. Nami set down her pencil. "No, seriously. What's going on with you?"

Sanji debated talking about it. You were taken. That was something he needed to deal with. Clinging to it would do nothing but hurt him.

He said your name, head sinking shamefully to the floor. Nami sighed, sounding unsurprised.

"I figured." She hummed, walking up to stand across from him at the island. "You're upset because she's with Zoro, right?"

It humiliated him to nod. He felt so small. It felt like such a silly thing to be upset over.

"What does she even see in him?" Sanji asked suddenly, moving to a saucepan, stirring furiously as he worked. "I mean he's strong, but so am I. What else?" Nami shrugged. "I don't know, but she really likes him." Sanji tried not to whine at how unfair it was. "I know that."

"Why are you so stuck on her?" Nami asked. "You aren't one to discriminate when it comes to your advances."

Sanji wanted to rant for hours about every time you gave even the slightest indication of appreciating his advances, followed by another rant about every time you flirted back, but he knew if he let himself run for too long, he would never stop talking.

"I thought she liked me back." It sounded stupid. How devastating to be in love over a few simple sentences you had said however long ago. "But now I don't."

He finished stirring the sauce, opting to shake up the sauteed vegetables.

He heard the door open again, immediately losing every indication of being vulnerable. As if he had not just been talking about his unending, unyielding admiration for you.

"Need any help in here?" You asked casually, an iron vice closing around Sanji's heart. Of course you would appear, helpful as ever during such an inconvenient time.

"No, I'm quite alright!" He regained his typical candor, trying to make sure there was no indication that anything was wrong could slip through.

Nami retreated back to the table. "Not busy with Zoro?" She asked you, partly for Sanji's sake and partly just to know. "No, he wanted to work out, so I figured I'd check out dinner." You smelled the air. "Smells good."

"Nothing but the best for you." Sanji said quickly, hardly any effort put in to give the compliment.

"Oh stop." You said with a laugh. And with a single moment, Sanji was struck with doubt again. It sounded like a joke, deflecting the compliment with a request for him to stop, but doubt picked at him. Did you mean it? Did you really want him to stop? Were you just trying to appease him?

He continued to work in silence, trying to hide the blush completely overtaking his face.

On one hand, he was delighted to have you there, but on the other, it was completely inconvenient to have you arrive just as he was finally talking about it with Nami.

And on a third hand, Sanji had another little bit of your relationship with Zoro to chew on while he worked.

Always working out, always training, practicing to achieve his dreams. Preoccupied with his life's work. Not you. Whenever he was practicing he ignored you, and even when he was present, he rarely seemed to show you affection. No hugs or kisses, nothing beyond what you initiated. An arm around your waist, maybe, or a quiet whisper against your ear. Nothing else.

How could you have gone from flirting with the most openly affectionate, caring and giving member of the crew to Zoro, who seemingly did none of those things? How could you go through such a change?

Were you secretly not interested in such bold affection? Was that why? Why you had chosen Zoro?

It hardly mattered. Sanji had reached no solid answer by the time he was done cooking, and after serving the meal, he was too fixated on subtly observing you and Zoro. Perhaps he would be able to see something. The smallest, most insignificant detail, that would crack the glass wall keeping him from finding the answer.

Instead of an answer, he got caught staring.

"What're you looking at?" Zoro asked, tone harsh, accusatory. Your head shot up next to him, following his eyeline to Sanji. "What?" You asked, looking between the two, keeping your voice regulated, a soft considerate tone. "What is it?"

"The cook's been looking at me all night." Zoro accused, pointing his knife at Sanji. "Relax." You said gently, tapping the knife, getting Zoro to put it down. "Sanji," you decided to ask him instead of Zoro. "What were you doing?"

Sanji came up with an answer quickly, hardly having to think before his reply slipped through his lips. "I was wondering if he was enjoying his dinner."

He felt lucky that he had not spoken the truth, knowing that would create a massive rift from which he doubted there would ever be a solution to.

"Zoro," your attention turned to your boyfriend, already problem solving. "Are you enjoying dinner?" You were not considered a peacekeeper for nothing.

Zoro grumbled under his breath, a word not heard by the rest of the room. You asked him to repeat it. "Yes." The word was dragged from his gritted teeth, a struggle with his answer. "Yeah. It's good."

"Good. No trouble." And then you smiled. It was not your special smile, but Sanji was just pleased to see the sign of happiness anyways. You were so gorgeous when you smiled.

"Back to the meal." You announced, and all was well with the world.

But not for Sanji. He spent the rest of the meal with an ache in his stomach, wondering what he had done to deserve this feeling of loss.

At the end of the meal, Sanji was more than happy to leave the dishes to someone else, taking his leave, but bringing a glass of sweet wine with him.

While the crew gathered for a drink above deck, in the open air of the night, Sanji retreated, not wanting to join them. He claimed to be tired, but he had no intentions of sleeping. Instead, he hung around the ship, in and out of rooms, wandering until he found a good place to silk, sipping at his wine in an attempt to quell his heartache.

He was foolish for thinking that you wanted him. The flirting must have been out of pity, he must have been too blinded by you to see what had been brewing between you and Zoro. There were thousands upon thousands of excuses for why he had felt the way he did. How could he be so idiotic?

"Hey."

You stood in the open doorway, casually holding onto a bottle of wine by its tapered neck.

"You alright?" You asked Sanji, looking at him in the darkness of the room, only illuminated by a small window filtering in moonbeams.

Sanji sighed in response. He doubted he could muster the strength to put on a happy facade with the weight on his chest.

"Yes." His false levity in his voice did nothing to hide his true state, and you were not tricked in the slightest. "I'm fine, you should go back to the party."

You shook your head firmly, stepping inside the room. "You are my best friend here. I won't let you suffer alone."

"Best friend?" The words shocked Sanji. He spared a glance at you, turning away from the window, the shadows shifting.

"Of course!" You swirled the wine gently, liquid splashing against the walls of its glass home. "We're always in the kitchen, you know? There's nobody else on this ship I see as much of." You hiccuped a laugh. "Well, maybe one."

After an awkward pause, you reached out with the bottle, an offering to Sanji. "More wine?"

He hesitated. He wanted too tell you to leave again, to let him suffer in peace, but he also could go for another glass.

"Please." You urged. "Talk to me. I'm worried for you." Your voice made his heavy heart flutter for a second before it sunk again.

He extended the arm with the glass, a lump in his throat as he accepted your offer.

You began to pour carefully. "Why aren't you up there? This room isn't between the deck and the kitchen." Sanji observed, hoping to briefly draw your attention away from his troubled mind.

"Oh." Your steadiness wavered a bit, and the wine bottle shook, a few stray droplets hitting the floor.

You curled in on yourself. "Me and Zoro got a little angry at each other." You explained simply, the bottle now held close to your chest. "He brought up the dinner thing again and it got heated, so I let to cool down. It wasn't anything big, just a simple argument."

You coughed once, signalling the end of your exposure, topping off Sanji's glass and taking a sip for yourself, straight from the bottle. Sanji said nothing about it. "Your turn. Why are you hiding here?"

Sanji's organs felt like they had been crushed with a pile of bricks. "I've been feeling lonely." He said, avoiding the whole truth.

"Come on, I spent half the day with you in the kitchen, am I not enough?" You asked playfully.

"No, you're plenty." Sanji coughed, hearing the rude undertones of his words. "That is, plenty beautiful."

He heard you sigh. "Sanji, you don't have to do that right now."

He felt stupid. Of course. You hated flirting. You preferred Zoro, with his straightforwardness, always speaking his mind, even if it was impolite.

"Sorry, I just-" The words caught in his throat. Should he just spit it out? Admit the truth and get it all over with? Tell you how every woman he had met since you was a mere shadow compared to your presence? To hear your reaction and subsequent rejection in favour of your boyfriend? To tell you of the times he had thought, ever so stupidly, that you had liked him back, now knowing that you had eyes for someone else?

He had never felt this way before. Lovesick had taken him before, but it had never held on so tightly. He despised the feeling.

"What's wrong?" You asked simply. Your voice offered no judgement, just a promise that you would be there for him. A support.

With a twisting in his gut, he answered truthfully.

"I'm in love with you."

Despite all his expectations, he did not feel better. Instead, he watched your reaction, as your face shifted through emotions, processing what he had said.

Your brows furrowed and your mouth set in a straight line, opening the smallest amount, as if you were about to reply, but your mouth shut once more, not ready to say anything else.

"Oh." Was all you could muster at first. "Sanji, I-"

He backed away, not ready to hear your rejection. "It's fine. You don't have to feel the same way, of course." He scrambled to save himself this agony.

He pressed a hand to his forehead in a futile attempt at relieving the pressure, wishing he had gotten a cigarette out before the conversation had started. "I know you don't feel the same way. And that's okay."

"I didn't say-" You protested, hoping Sanji would listen to your plea. Your mind filtered through why you wanted to say, running through your own collection of memories with Sanji, kept tucked away for days when Zoro was being distant, or had only said a hasty good morning or good night to you.

"You're with..." Sanji could not bear to speak the name of the man who held your heart. "Him. And I will be okay with that."

He wanted all this to end. He wished he could go back, to the way things were, back when he was bewitched by any woman who he saw on the street, each and every one a beauty in their own right. But now he clung to you. The memories of a few cute words and the feelings that had spread for them.

"Wait." Your voice wavered, but you managed to get Sanji to stop rambling. "Do you mean that?"

Sanji practically laughed. He meant the words with every cell in his body, from the finest hairs on his head to the very tips of his toes. Your presence warmed him, tickling his insides. He was so in love with you he hardly knew what to do with himself anymore.

"Yes. I mean it."

You took a step back, shifting your weight from one leg to the other. "I'm with Zoro." You said quietly, not a rejection per se, but a fact that needed to be said before anything continued.

"I know." Sanji took a long sip of his wine, practically emptying the glass by the end.

"Is there something else you want to say?" You asked, sensing the weight he still held with him. His shoulders were still heavy.

"I thought..." He cursed at himself. "I thought that you might feel the same. At least a little."

The two of you sat in a blanket of silence, weighing the both of you down. What were you supposed to say about that? That you had fallen in love with him as well, but feared that his flirting had been a farce? That you thought he flirted out of pity and that it was always a fake smile on his face? That you had picked Zoro because his brutal honesty always meant that you knew what he was truly thinking and what he did or did not like?

"Did you?" The question weakly drew itself from Sanji's lips, his head firmly facing the floor, tension running through every muscle.

Your hand reached behind you, shutting the door, the latch clicking into place. Alone now, nobody could hear your answer.

"I did." You finally answered after a long stretch of silence, your hand still loosely wrapped around the door handle.

Now Sanji felt the weight lift. You had felt the same, as he had suspected. If you told him you hated him now, he would have hardly cared. No matter what happened now, you had, at one point, felt the same.

Another long silence. Neither of you moved. "I did." You repeated. "But I thought your didn't."

Sanji's heart hurt once more, heartbroken to know his advances had seemed disingenuous.

"I'm sorry." He apologized quickly. "I did too." He breathed a long sigh of relief, his knees weak, leaning against the wall.

"Sanji," your tone frightened him. "This doesn't change anything." Your voice was soft, and in the moonlight, he could see the shine of tears in your eyes. "I'm still with Zoro, and I'm happy with him-" "That's okay." Sanji settled himself, standing up straight. "That's okay. Now you know. Now we both know." His gaze drifted to the floor and stayed there.

After a while, he turned away, facing the window again. "You can go back to the deck now, if you'd like."

Your hands tightened around the door handle and the wine bottle. "Are you okay? Or at least better?" You asked, knowing the answer to your first question was no, and the answer to the second could not change the first.

"I'll be fine." Sanji answered, hoping that in time, it could become true.

You heard your name called from the hall. Zoro had come to apologize. You bowed your head at Sanji. "I should probably talk to him."

Sanji jolted. "No. Not about this. About our argument." You said defensively.

"Right. Of course." His voice was strained. He looked back one last time, nodding at you, a movement you returned. You opened the door, walking out and shutting the door behind you.

"Zoro." "I'm sorry." "Me too. Let's go back."

Sanji listened until the conversation went out of his reach. Until he could no longer hear your voice.

He turned around, sitting against the wall, letting the moonlight shine in unfiltered. An empty glass sat in his hand. He should have asked for a refill before you left.

At least he had been right. You had liked him back. Unfortunately, you had not chosen him, and so it would not be.

He still loved you, and he expected there would always be a part of him that would long for you eternally, but maybe he could eventually go back to normal. Maybe he could find someone else. Of course they would not be perfect, they would never hold a light to you, but they would be beautiful and caring and gentle, and maybe, just maybe, he would get over you, but he doubted it.

[rubyin-wonderland]

Okay the results are in! Thank you to everyone who voted, and I'll get started writing!

Okay so I've gotten a couple people asking about a sequel to my recent work Sanji's Girl but I was already debating making a Zoro's Girl where the roles were reversed, so I'm letting y'all pick

[rubyin-wonderland]

Okay so I've gotten a couple people asking about a sequel to my recent work Sanji's Girl but I was already debating making a Zoro's Girl where the roles were reversed, so I'm letting y'all pick

[rubyin-wonderland]

By The Firelight

opla!Zoro x gn!reader

Summary: as the cold snow falls outside, the fireplace keeps you warm

WC: 1.2k

Warnings/tags: nothing its just a fluffy cuddling in front of the fire fic

You shuffled through the snow, the fluffy white powder now reaching your knees as you trudged forward, your path from the cabin already fading as the blizzard raged on.

A comically large pile of wooden logs balanced in your arms, wobbling as you carried them from the little shack back to the cabin.

You were stuck on a snowy island. After your first hour ashore, a sudden blizzard had begun and within hours, the crew had been in dire need of someplace to stay until the storm blew over.

An old couple had been willing to share their home with you, offering food and shelter for the night, at the price of you helping them around their house.

One of these errands was fetching firewood. Thankfully, the firewood had already been cut to the right size, the only issue was that they kept most of their firewood near their little shack which sat just far enough away in the forest to make the trip undesirable.

You had volunteered, donning some of the couple's warmest clothes and departing into the woods.

Your boyfriend, Zoro, had offered to go with you, but this late at night, in the blizzard, you had refused, not wanting to send more people to the forest than necessary.

Instead, you told him to stay warm so you could cozy up with him when you returned.

The trip there had been cold, with biting wind and the chill seeping through all your layers.

By the time you had collected the wood and began carrying it back, your fingers were almost entirely numb.

The cold nipped at your tiny bits of exposed skin, despite the extra layers you had put on. Your toes were ice, your nose and cheeks practically frozen, even though you had wrapped a scarf around your face to prevent it.

You were so close to the cabin, the firewood hopefully enough to last you for the rest of the night. If not, somebody else woulf have to make the journey themselves.

You finally reached the porch of the cabin, which was still covered in a thick layer of snow.

You trembled, the cold sinking through your coat, up your spine and through your arms and legs.

You kicked the door and backed up, waiting for someone to answer. Your whole body shivered and you wished the owners had lined up the rest of their firewood along the cabin, and not so deep into the forest.

The door opened, revealing Zoro, and you had never been more relieved to see him. He pulled you in, slamming the door shut behind you, to prevent the cold winter winds from entering and infecting the insulated house.

The wood was confiscated immediately and brought to the stone fireplace, a log quickly brushed off of snow and thrown onto the dimming fire, some extra tinder keeping it lit.

"How is it out there?" Zoro asked, helping you remove the extra layers you had put on. He unwrapped the scarf and your teeth were chattering. "Colder. Windier." You said, your voice shaking as he helped you out of your coat, letting it fall on the floor. You felt frozen and longed for the warmth of the fireplace, but your boots were still on. Zoro helped you out of them, looking you up and down when he was finished.

You reached a hand out, feeling the heat radiating from Zoro's body.

"You're freezing." He said, pulling your hand in, his hands wrapping around yours. "No shit." You laughed, a jittery motion.

"Come here." He ordered, tugging you towards the fire. You obeyed, taking shaky steps forward. The little sitting area in front of the fire was packed, but Zoro made his own room, tossing a thick, fluffy blanket on the floor and getting you to sit down. He sat behind you so that you could lay back on him, feeling his warmth. He grabbed another blanket, wrapping it around your bodies, keeping you warm.

You could tell your skin froze him from the way his muscles tensed under your back. He made no complaint about it, wrapping his arms around you, those muscles tightening as well, warming you up as the fire burned brighter, with new wood to consume.

Everything went quiet once you settled in to Zoro's arms. Conversation dwindled, and all that could be heard was the harsh winds blowing outside, and the crackling fire, eating through the wood. From within Zoro's arms, the warmth of the fireplace heated you from the front and Zoro's body warmed you from behind.

You snuggled into him, nuzzling your head into the crook of his neck.

"You're enjoying this too much." Zoro said, his voice rumbling against your back, which only made you sink further into him.

"I got the firewood didn't I?" You asked. He hummed behind you. "Yes." "So I get to enjoy this as much as I like."

The blanket was arranged so that only your heads peeked out, which was likely a relief to anyone who did not want to see how close and entangled you and Zoro were.

You felt Zoro readjust his arms around you, the warmth not working its magic yet. You could feel the heat around you, but it had yet to permeate the layer of cold that had seemingly encased you, like a shell of ice.

You shivered again, involuntary and slightly embarrassing for you. "Sorry." You mumbled, as the shiver travelled north along your spine, twitching at the nape of your neck.

In response, Zoro just tightened his hold on you, hoping that that could help.

As the warmth slowly and finally registered, it lulled you in a way, settling you, preparing you for rest.

It was nighttime, and the responsible thing to do was go to bed, which most of the other crewmates seemed to understand. They slowly drifted off into their respective rooms, until it was just you and Zoro, alone in the living room.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Zoro asked, his own voice tainted by the sleepiness in the air.

"No..." Your voice drifted off, sounding like you had fallen asleep  in the middle of your answer.

"You need to sleep." Zoro insisted gently, nudging your side with one of his thighs, trying futilely to get you to stay awake.

"The blanket pile's a better bed." You said sluggishly.

"Oh yeah?" Zoro asked. "You want to sleep on the floor?" You nodded, "There's more blankets on the couch."

Zoro grumbled, but he reached back to grab the extra blankets, tossing them out so the both of you could lie down. You shifted down, still cozy under the biggest blanket, lying slightly across Zoro's chest, using him as a pillow.

"Comfortable?" He asked, reaching up for his own pillow.

You nodded on his chest, wrapping your arms around him. "You're very comfortable." You mumbled.

"Hm." He looked away from you as his face warmed, even though you were not looking at his face. "You're lucky you're cute." He grumbled.

"I am lucky." You echoed.

Zoro sat still, letting your breathing calm, until the sound of your snoring reached his ears. He watched the fire dwindle down to a few lowly flames, the warm embers still glowing. He lay his head on his pillow, arms comfortably wrapped around you, drifting off into his own, dreamless sleep.

[rubyin-wonderland]

Sanji's Girl

opla!Sanji x fem!reader (technically Zoro x reader too I guess?)

Summary: Zoro wishes that he had Sanji's girl

WC: 4.5k

Warnings/tags: focused on Zoro and reader but reader is Sanji's gf, flirting with others while in a relationship, not talking about feelings, fem!reader, secret crushes thought to be unrequited, love triangle/corner, emotional constipation, wrote this while yearning for someone taken, so make of that what you will, inspired by the song Jesse's girl

Note: running low on inspiration and this one's been finished and sitting in my drafts for a while, so tada

Zoro's Girl

It is well known that you and Sanji are a couple. The way he clings to you whenever you're in sight, the way he lights up as you enter the room, nearly everything he does just shows how deeply in love with you he is.

Zoro is well aware of this situation. After all, you are probably his closest friend on the boat, second only to your captain.

You were exactly what he needed in terms of companionship. You liked silence, but could keep up with banter if needed. You were a strong fighter and damn good at doing stitches. The only problem he had ever had with you was the way the chef spoke to you like he would die if he forgot to compliment you once every hour. That, and the fact that you reciprocated it.

He was not exactly surprised when you announced that you had accepted one of Sanji's many, many offers to be his girlfriend, but he was not too pleased with it either.

He had never shown any distaste about the situation towards you and he made no attempts to stop bashing Sanji when he came up in conversation between the two of you, but he hated everything about your relationship.

When you announced it that day, Sanji's arm smoothly wrapped around your waist, hugging you to him, he had to admit (to himself and only himself) that he felt a hint of jealousy.

Was his companionship not enough for you? Even worse, was he so inadequate that you had to pick the damn chef who so pathetically threw himself at you whenever  you so much as breathed in the same room as him?

You stayed friends, of course, but Zoro grew even more agitated with Sanji. You had expected this shift. He had never been overly fond of Sanji, and you being his girlfriend was never going to change that, but there was something else to his behaviour. Something beyond irritation at having Sanji being a slightly bigger part of his life.

"Why do you hate Sanji so much?"

The question came up one afternoon while the two of you were lounging around on the deck. You had wondered about it for a while, but never had the guts to bring it up.

"He just pisses me off. Always has." Zoro explained simply, although you noticed the way he tensed up when the chef's name was spoken. Before this, he would usually roll his eyes or scoff at the very mention of his least favourite crewmate. Now, he just seemed angry.

He was angry. Why did you have to ruin a perfectly good conversation with the mention of the cook?

"I know that. But why? What about him pisses you off?" Zoro looked like he wanted to be anywhere else at the moment, but he didn't back down.

"He's annoying. He hates me and I hate him. That's all there is." Zoro huffs and you tilt your head to the side. "Did he do something to you?"

Now Zoro takes the time to scoff. "No. I'd never let him." "So you just naturally hate each other?" He shrugs. "I guess. We couldn't all be winners." "At least you haven't thrown him off the boat." "Yet." Zoro adds.

"Well, thank you for not throwing him overboard. Yet." You say, looking out at the water. "If he breaks up with you I will." Zoro warns. "How considerate." "No problem."

He means it. If Sanji ended up breaking your heart, Zoro did not know what he would do. His relationship with Sanji was rocky enough, he did not need the added knowledge that he had hurt you to make it worse.

That day, when you go ashore to wander through the quaint little town, arm in arm with Sanji, Zoro feels a little hole in his chest. He has always disliked Sanji, but the cook has been more intolerable for the past while.

He cannot stop thinking about why you fell for him. Was it really the never ending compliments and gift giving? He never really took you for the type to like clingy, but apparently you did. He could admit that Sanji was attractive and that probably played a role in it, but there had to be something missing. Did you really like Sanji that much? Was he really that much of a catch?

It was almost a mercy to find out that the town was experiencing issues with a group of people hiding in the forest, occasionally burning down buildings in town and stealing their goods. Zoro nearly thanked the man who told them about it, just because it got his mind off you and your lovey-dovey boyfriend.

After almost immediately witnessing the burning of a young family's home, Luffy decided that justice needed to be served. And so, the crew went into the forest.

A local woman, who was related to a couple people in the forest, had joined you. She was nice enough, and pretty as well, which was what brought Zoro back to thinking about you and Sanji.

He saw the way you looked at Sanji upon her arrival. When he complimented your guide for her work and praised her for her knowledge of the woods, you detached from his side, claiming that the path was getting smaller and you would stay behind.

For the entirety of the walk, Sanji seemed enamoured with the girl. The way he behaved was far tamer than the way he had flirted prior to your relationship, but it was still embarrassing to watch him speak to the girl whilst you stayed a few paces behind, posture straight, pretending that nothing was wrong.

The worst part was the fact that Sanji hardly seemed to notice. He was too wrapped up in his business to see the twitch in your brow every time he leaned a little too close to her. Too busy to see you avert your eyes at the sound of another compliment leaving his mouth and sticking to the girl.

You eventually walked slow enough that Zoro, who brought up the rear of the group, caught up to you.

He said nothing, sure that anything he said would be far too rude to say about the man you were dating, but he had no reason to worry, because you did not start up a conversation. You just continued walking, until the group came upon a little camp site in the woods.

The group showed up at the camp, feeling a little aggressive given the situation. However, the people seemed completely unknowing about this forest arsonist, saying that all their goods were foraged and hunted, and that they had cut off all contact with the town.

There was no altercation. In fact, they were incredibly welcoming, which was likely thanks to your guide, who found her cousins quickly enough.

You stuck with Zoro, chatting with an older man who explained to you that they had separated from the town a few years back and had since been living in the forest, in order to reunite with nature. He made no mention of the fires or the stolen goods. The man hardly seemed mad at the townspeople, and the woman seemed to get along fine with her cousins, despite the fact that they supposedly were out destroying buildings in her town.

You stayed with the group until nightfall, when suggestions for dinner were made. Sanji offered to make the meal, as a show of goodwill, but you could not help but notice the offer was made to the group but directed at the guide.

The entire time Sanji spent talking to the people, the girl stayed nearly glued to his side, and he made no show of discomfort about it.

When you noticed Zoro on the outskirts of the forest, you joined him. Again, neither of you said anything, opting to just glare at Sanji, hovering over his handiwork.

The stew he made was good, as were all of his dishes, but you found that you were not particularly hungry at the moment.

Even as the people huddled around the fire, talking happily to each other, you sat away from them, hidden behind a tent with your full bowl of stew.

Zoro had just received his bowl, giving a judging look at Sanji as he passed, and instantly searched for you. Luffy and Usopp were entertaining the people with tales of their high seas adventures and Nami stood off to the side, looking for any valuables, but they seemed to have no riches to speak of, much to her chagrin.

Zoro looked around the crowd multiple times before he began walking away from the firelight.

He found you quickly enough, huddled behind a tent, barely touched bowl of stew sitting on the ground in front of you as you stared into the forest, eyes glazed over slightly.

"What are you doing?" You jumped at his voice, relaxing after realising it was just your friend. "Nothing. Just sitting. Thinking."

You looked back into the dark of the forest, hardly even sparing a glance at your dinner.

"Why aren't you eating?" Zoro asked, sitting next to you, resting his bowl on his lap.

Your gaze remained locked on the forest. "He's been stuck to that girl all day." You said, trying to keep your voice level.

"And he's doing that damn thing he always does when there's a woman in front of him." You felt a knot in your stomach. "I thought he would stop doing it, but he just keeps finding more women to drench in compliments and attention."

Zoro was not stupid. He was sure almost everyone on the crew realized that after you and him got together, he had not changed much about the way he spoke to women he found attractive on the shore, which -knowing Sanji- was nearly every woman he saw. He had eased off of Nami after she told him to stop multiple times, but he seemed unable to help it when a woman who didn't know that he was already romantically involved entered his line of sight.

"He's an ass." Zoro huffed. You tucked your legs into your chest. "He made a stew like this when we first got together. It was different ingredients and it was on the boat, but he still made it."

"Do you want me to hit him?" Zoro asked. The thought sounded intriguing, but you put a hand out when he tried to stand. "No. I don't need you two fighting on top of this."

Zoro said nothing. He did not want to hurt you, or make the situation worse, even though there was an exaggerated hate in him towards Sanji now. Not only had the chef acted like this in front of you, but he had barely noticed that you were upset.

Slowly, he began to think of how much better he could be. He would never look at other women for even a second longer than necessary. He would pay attention to you day and night, searching for any signs of you being hurt. He would fight for you and love you far deeper than the stupid chef ever could.

And yet, he said nothing. At the end of the day, you were with Sanji. Even if Zoro hated him, he would not try stealing you. You had made your decision. He was going to live with it.

"Can I tell you something?" You asked quietly, voice barely audible. "Always."

You took a breath, and Zoro wondered what you had been hiding that was worth this level of stress.

"I don't think I would've gotten with him if I hadn't been desperate."

Zoro sat in the silence that followed. Desperate? That was the reason you were with Sanji? Desperation? Did that mean he had a chance? Before you fell into Sanji's arms?

"Desperate?" You hesitated. "Yeah. I wanted a relationship, and Sanji was there, complimenting me all the time and cooking things I liked, and begging me to give him a chance, so I did."

"So you settled for him?" You frowned at the way he said it, and shook your head. "I didn't settle. I liked him. I still do. It's just that he wasn't my first choice."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Who was your first choice?" He couldn't help but hope his name fell out of your mouth. You just stayed silent for a moment.

In all honesty, Zoro had been your first choice, but you refused to breach the boundaries of your friendship at the time. You still refused to do it.

"I didn't have a first choice." The lie came out rough, but if Zoro noticed, he did not mention it. "I just wanted it and Sanji was giving it out." You buried your head in your hands, groaning. "So I guess it shouldn't bother me that he's like this."

"You don't deserve him." Zoro did not curb his words. "You're too good." You let out a dry laugh. "Not like there's anyone else on my roster."

"There might be." You resisted the urge to blush. What did Zoro mean by that? Was he offering himself?

"Oh yeah? Who?" You hoped he said his name. You hoped and prayed with everything in you that he admitted to being your secret admirer. That he wanted to ruin your friendship and become your boyfriend.

"I don't know. You're pretty. You're nice. Anyone would be lucky to have you." Your heart sank, but you did not say anything about your disappointment. "You think I'm pretty, huh?" He looked away. "Forget it." You giggled. "The future greatest swordsman in the world thinks I'm pretty. And nice!" You fanned yourself dramatically. He huffed, but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Okay, take it easy. I was only saying that to make you feel better."

You scoffed. "Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night." Then a change came over you, fueled by his admission that he found you pretty. You shifted closer to him, testing the waters. "For the record, I think you're handsome. And you are the best friend I could ever ask for." He laughed it off. "Okay softie, eat your food."

You did, feeling comfortable enough to handle the cooled stew, managing to get halfway through the bowl before you gave up, returning to your thoughts of your boyfriend, clinging to the girl you had just met.

"I'm gonna go to bed." Zoro watched as you picked up the half empty bowl to return it. "So early?" You were no party machine, but you did enjoy staying up late. This was weighing on you heavily.

"Yeah, I don't know. I'm tired." It was obvious you didn't want to be a part of the fun, not if you were going to be forced to watch Sanji flirt with another woman in front of you.

"Come on, don't let that idiot ruin your night. Forget him." The start of Zoro's proposal sounded a little harsh, but it could not be helped. "Hang out with me, let him feel jealous for once."

The words were laced with the undertone of pleading for you to say yes, to spend a night with him, separate from the man who seemed to care about you until another woman showed up.

"Fine." You sighed, peeking behind the tent at the scene around the fire. "But I get to leave whenever I want. No guilt tripping."

Zoro stood, taking your bowl from you. "I don't guilt trip." You hummed in disagreement.

Zoro returned the bowls for you, so that you would not have to face Sanji, who, as expected, was still stuck to the local woman, talking about his cooking. He only hesitated at the sight of the half full bowl in Zoro's hands.

"Was it not to your taste?" Sanji asked. Zoro resisted the urge to tell him that the full bowl was not his, and instead belonged to his girlfriend whom he was currently ignoring in favour of some woman he hardly knew.

"Yeah. Tasted sour." Zoro left Sanji with the bowls, stalking off behind the tents again to retrieve you.

The two of you sat away from the main circle, meeting with a few of the hunters, who were preparing weapons for the next hunt.

You talked with them for a while, enjoying their presence. You had to admit that it was worth it to stay up and talk, even if you spent time occasionally looking over at Sanji to see if he had noticed you not paying attention to him.

One of the hunter's wives came over, sitting next to her husband with a smile. "So how long have you two been together?" She asked, looking between you and Zoro.

Immediately there was sputtering and excuses being made. "He's not- We're not- I'm actually with the cook over there."

You jabbed a finger in front of Zoro, pointing across the way at Sanji, but none of the surrounding people seemed convinced. "If you say so." The woman laughed, clearly not buying it.

It was a terrible excuse in hindsight, to deflect the accusations by pointing out the only member of your crew who was currently making eyes at another girl.

If you had covered with Luffy, Usopp or Nami, that would be plenty convincing. None of them had spent the whole night flirting up the same girl, giving her all sorts of compliments and praises, spending all their time at her side.

You went quiet afterwards, and Zoro even asked if you wanted to go to bed, but you refused. You stayed up until the fire slowly died out, and people went into their tents.

You stayed up late enough that Sanji finally paid attention to you again, coming over to say goodnight.

"Ah, my love!" He came over, wrapping you in a hug that made everyone's eyebrows jump to their hairlines. You had not been lying about the flirt being yours.

"Hey Sanji." You settled yourself, trying to pretend like nothing was wrong. "How did you like your meal, darling? I know your friend here could only stomach a few bites."

You looked over at Zoro, who rolled his eyes at the comment. "It was good as always." You smiled. "I haven't tasted anything better." Sanji grinned, pressing a kiss to the crown of your head, before looking up at everyone around the two of you with a smile.

"I hope my stew wasn't sour for any of you." He said kindly, shooting a brief and scathing look at Zoro.

"Of course not. It was hearty. You're a good cook. We might want to keep you here with us." One of the hunters joked.

"I'm sure Kyla would love it if you stayed." Another hunter added, sounding mildly antagonistic. The name made your blood run cold. So the girl had a name. Sanji seemed to freeze for a second. Almost as if he was about to acknowledge that he had been ignoring you all night. That he now knew that everyone could see his negligence.

"Right. Kyla." Hearing the name from his lips felt like a terrible betrayal. "She's a lovely girl, but I have my lovely girlfriend and a crew to feed. I couldn't stay, unfortunately."

The circle went silent for a small second before Sanji cleared his throat, patting your shoulder.

"I'm going to sleep now, my angel. Okay?" Sanji whispered into your ear. You nodded curtly. "Sleep well. I love you." "I love you too, my dove."

Sanji left with a generous goodbye, leaving you with the hunters. And Zoro.

Nobody said anything, a few people watched Sanji all the way into his tent.

One of the younger hunters, younger than you, at the very least, stared at the scene, slack-jawed.

"That's your boyfriend? He's been stuck to Kyla all night!" She gasped. "Do you want us to kill him?" You laughed off the offer. "No, that's alright. I think it's time for me to go to bed too." Zoro did not protest this time. "It's been so nice getting to meet you all. Tonight has been wonderful. Goodnight."

The hunters said soft goodbyes, and you could feel their eyes on you as you snuck into the tent you were sharing with Nami and a few other women. Not Kyla, thankfully.

Zoro watched as the tent flap swished shut. The hunters immediately started asking questions. They seemed to be terrible gossips, and while Zoro was more than ready to vent his frustrations, he stayed quiet. That was your business. Not theirs.

"I'm going too. Big day tomorrow." He left without fanfare, into the tent set up for the boys. Sanji was inside, and Luffy was fast asleep, sprawled across his grass mattress, snoring. Zoro's jaw clenched at the sight of Sanji, but said nothing.

Luckily, he didn't have to.

"Did she seem off to you tonight?" Sanji asked cautiously.

Zoro's blood boiled. "Who? Kyla? Or your girlfriend?"

"What's got you so moody?" Sanji asked, not expecting this sudden anger. "You spent the entire night flirting with a stranger, completely ignoring your girlfriend. Yeah she was acting off. I'm surprised you noticed her at all, given she tried to hide away from you at any point possible."

"I was being nice. You might want to try it sometime." "There's a difference between nice and eye-fucking a woman you hardly know."

"You stay out of this, if she had a problem with it, she would have said something." "She can't say anything because you won't change! You think this is the first time this has happened? You going off to flirt up some woman while I stay back with your 'love-angel-darling' and watch her cry over a man who doesn't make an effort to care for her over any other woman in the world?"

Sanji's fists clenched. "Why don't you shut up?" "Why don't you pay attention to her?" "This isn't your business!" "It is when I'm the only one who notices she's hiding behind a tent trying to escape the sight of you drooling over another woman!"

"I was not-" "You are so lucky to have her. You don't deserve her greatness in your life."

Sanji went silent at that. The thought had plagued him many a time before. "That's what I thought."

Zoro pretended to go to sleep after that, though he was too angry to actually do so.

Instead, after he was sure everyone else was asleep, he snuck outside to think.

He did not leave the safety of the clearing, wondering and thinking about you.

He wondered if you could possibly have feelings for him. If you thought he could be a better boyfriend than Sanji. If he asked you to love him, would you be willing to?

He hoped with everything in him that this was the final straw. The one thing that broke your and Sanji's relationship forever. He wanted you to stand up for yourself. He didn't want you stuck with the stupid cook out of desperation. He wanted you to find someone you truly loved, who treated you right. Maybe, hopefully, that was him, maybe it was someone you had yet to meet. Either way, he did not think it was Sanji.

As he paced, he heard movement in the woods. A collection of figures darted through the forest, for only Zoro's eyes to see. It wasn't anyone from the camp, they were all safely tucked away in their beds, getting a good night's sleep.

He finally remembered the point of this whole endeavor was to find the root of the problem from the village, back on the shore, but everything there seemed so disconnected at this point.

He logged the strange forest figures in his mind and continued to think of you. Just you. The way you smiled at his jokes. Your eyes and the way you watched him when you thought he was not looking. Your sense of humor and how quickly you were able to give him a witty comeback.

Every inch of you and your personality was intoxicating to him, and it had taken far too long for him to realize that. He wanted you to be with him. Just him.

And he hated that Sanji had what he wanted so badly.

Zoro snuck back into his tent, but there was little sleep to be had. He woke up tired, but covered it up, just in time to hear that Sanji had also volunteered to cook breakfast.

Zoro drowsily accepted what Sanji had prepared, slipping off to the hunters, hoping to find you with them as well, but you were missing.

Still asleep, he was told.

When you finally made your appearance, you sought out Sanji and led him away from the group.

The urge to listen in was too strong, and Zoro stood, moving towards the tent you and Sanji had hidden behind.

"I need you to stop flirting with other women. You can tell them they're pretty. You can compliment them. But I am tired of watching you latch onto them like a parasite."

Zoro listened for a while, as you and Sanji went back and forth, discussing boundaries and expectations. Neither of you raised your voices as there was no argument, and Zoro felt his heart drop. Of course you had fixed this. You always could.

He turned around, ready to leave, coming face to face with Luffy.

"Hey Zoro!" He grinned. "What are you doing?"

Zoro felt hollow for believing he could be with you."I was looking for you. Last night, I saw a group of people sneaking into the forest. Could be the ones we're looking for."

Zoro just wanted away. He was happy for you. You had established your boundaries and fixed your relationship. He just needed to distract himself from the heartbreak he was experiencing.

"Oh really? That's great! We should go find them right now!"

Maybe you would break up with Sanji eventually, if he fell into old habits and started ignoring you again. Maybe. Or maybe you wouldn't. That was the problem. He didn't know.

"Yeah we should."

He wanted you to come back to him. Accept his love. Forget the cook and be with him. Forever. But he knew better. You saw him as a friend. He wouldn't ruin your relationship.

"Well let's go!"

Luffy ran to fetch everyone else while Zoro sat, the feelings inside him festering, leaving a stripe of rot against his heart.

You bounded up to his side, a grin on your face. "Me and Sanji talked. He says he's gonna try being better for me."

Zoro swallowed and it felt like a rock was scraping its way down his throat. "That's good." "Yeah, it is. Thanks for dealing with me last night." "No problem."

You gave him a calm smile that made his insides swirl. You had him completely under your spell. "Good job spotting those guys last night. I didn't even see them."

He did not tell you that he saw them after everyone else went to bed, he just hoped Sanji had not told you about the fight.

When Luffy set off into the woods once more, you stuck to Sanji. Fair. You were his girlfriend. Zoro felt the ache in his chest again, but said nothing of it. He was your friend. He would always be there for you if you needed him. Even if you did not love him the same way.

[rubyin-wonderland]

Jealous Boy

opla!Zoro x gn!reader

Summary: When your drink is taking too long to make, a stranger makes his intentions known. Zoro isn't pleased.

WC: 1.9k

Warnings/tags: getting hit on, jealous Zoro

The bar has never been your scene. You aren't exactly fond of alcohol and while you can enjoy a lively locale, bars just don't do it for you. You'll put up with a few drinks for your crew, as long as everyone else is drinking as well, but that's it.

You know Zoro likes to drink. However, his social preference leans toward sitting alone nursing a bottle, instead of sipping from a glass surrounded by fellow drunks.

For the sake of the crew, the both of you go to bars whenever asked. The two of you rarely go out of your way to call attention to yourselves, but you have fun nonetheless.

You sit up at the bar, waiting for your drink. Everyone else is waiting at the table for you to rejoin them, but you've put in a complicated order apparently, so you must wait.

At first, Zoro had stayed with you, but when it was clear you would be staying there for a while, you urged him to go back with the others while you waited.

The wait has been long, and you wonder if the bartender is even trying to get something for you at all when you feel a presence at your side.

A stranger has sat down next to you. He's around your age and clearly local. You offer him a half hearted smile and turn away, trying not to engage.

You aren't exactly a big talker. At least not to drunken strangers at bars.

He orders his drink and it arrives almost immediately. You try not to look offended when his drink arrives and you begin to question if anyone is even working on your drink in the first place.

The man next to you taps the bar and a bartender arrives almost instantly, practically summoned to your neighbors call. "Get my friend here something too, okay?"

The bartender looks at you and you realize after one long second of blank staring that he's waiting for you to order. You repeat what you want and the bartender immediately gets to work, instead of ducking behind the counter and ignoring you like you hadn't even ordered.

"Thanks." You mumble to the stranger.

"No problem." He gives you a friendly smile and this time you feel as though you should put some actual effort into smiling back.

"So, what's someone like you doing in a place like this?" The line is overused, and less than enticing, but you entertain him anyways. "I'm trying to drink. The day is behind me, and so are my faults."

The stranger smiles as the bartender arrives with your drink, and you thank him.

You turn to leave, to go back to your friends, but the stranger speaks up again. "You're not from here." You turn to face him again. "Good catch." "How long are you staying?" His tone is getting more suggestive than you'd like.

"I'm staying for as long as my boat is docked." "Will it be docked," a suggestive grin appears on his face, "overnight?" He raises an eyebrow and you lean back, surprised and a little taken aback at his confidence. "What are you implying?" You ask, raising a brow.

"I think you know." He winks and you resist the urge to run away. "If you're up for it now, we can finish our drinks and leave before things get rowdy in here." You laugh at his advance, mostly out of shock. "Wow. You are something."

Zoro watches this whole interaction like a hawk. He has positioned himself at the table to assure the best view of you while you wait for your drink. Instead, he's forced to watch some idiot attempt to flirt with you. His eyes are laser focused on the stranger's head. He wants to put that man on his ass for even talking to you. For sidling up to you and convincing the bartender to fix your drink, unlike the one that ducked behind a curtain immediately after taking your order.

He watches the man's lips, deciphering the words as they come out. He sees the man call you "his friend" to get you your drink faster. He sees the cheesy pick up line and has to stop himself from grimacing at the rather pathetic attempts at wooing you. He sees the smile crossing the stranger's face and feels palpable disgust at the sight of it.

Worry sinks through his stomach and spreads through his veins as he tries to see any indication of reciprocity on your end. Your back is facing him. He's terrified that this man has managed to charm you, knowing full well he's not the most romantic of partners. He's no charmer, but you picked him, he picked you, and that is worth your loyalty.

Nami briefly snaps him out of his anger fueled trance. "Zoro. Did you hear a thing I just said?"

He frowns at her for breaking his concentration. "No. What?" "I wanted to know if our missing crewmate," she gestures at the empty spot in between him and Usopp in the booth, "has a drink yet. Since you insisted on facing the bar, I thought you'd know."

"Yeah, the drink's there. But some asshole is being chatty."

Nami raises an eyebrow and turns to look, seeing your conversation. "Jealous?" She tries to ask, just in time for Zoro to read the words "docked overnight" on the man's lips, a flirtatious eyebrow raise added to the words. What is he proposing? Zoro feels an extra bout of rage when he hears your surprised laugh. His vision is nearly red. In an act of necessity, he pushes out of the booth, trying to look as calm and collected as he can while he pushes through the bar, eventually ending up behind you.

"If you think I'm something now, just wait." The stranger gives you a sly grin that looks a little wrong, before it slides off his face completely. His eyes focus on something behind you. You turn to look, and a wave of relief hits you to see Zoro standing there.

You notice almost immediately that his hand is not at his side, or lazily hung over the hilt of his blade, but gripping it, as if ready to pull it out and demonstrate his swordsmanship in front of the entire bar.

"Hey Zoro, what's up?" You ask as kindly as you can, hoping he's there to bring you back to the table.

"We were wondering what was taking you so long." He says, his voice as level as he can keep it. "Oh, I just got caught up in conversation. No big deal." You give the stranger a false apologetic smile and reach down to pick up your drink.

"My offer stands for as long as I'm here." He slips a small piece of paper across the bar, his hand grazing yours as the paper slips under the pads of your fingers. Next to you, Zoro straightens up a little more, trying to look bigger, more intimidating. Like a threat. Because he is. The only physical thing keeping that man from a bunch of broken bones is you.

Your hand retreats, pulling the paper up with it, and carrying the drink closer to you, not even muttering a goodbye. Only turning back to give him a half smile just as Zoro shoots another death glare his way.

On the walk back to the table, you tap Zoro's hand with the death grip on his sword. "Relax." You order. He lets go, the tension still present in his hand. "Thanks for getting me." You smile, for real this time. "I was not having fun."

That lightens Zoro's mood. At least you didn't like the stranger too. It makes him feel a little proud for seeing it.

You slide into the booth without much fanfare, there's acknowledgement, but the conversations continue pretty quickly without you.

"You don't have to be such a jealous boy, Roronoa." You murmur under your breath, your hand gently patting his leg under the table. He's still tense, and his eyes keep shooting back to the bar, where the man frequently glances back at you. Zoro has shifted slightly closer to you about five separate times.

Zoro stiffens at your accusation. "Excuse you?" "Stop looking at that man at the bar. I'm not sitting with him anymore. I'm right here. Looking at you. Not him. You "

He grunts in return, slipping just a tiny bit closer to you, pushing the limits for his sheaths. They're starting to tug on the fabric of the booth, so he opts to tug you closer to him, an arm around your waist, pulling you even closer.

You pull the paper out of your pocket and set it on the table. "Are you worried about this?" You unfold it, revealing an address. Likely to the man's house. "You don't have to worry, Zoro. That's one hell of a walk. I'd never go for it."

He rolls his eyes and you laugh at him. One loud, short noise. "I wasn't going to accept his offer, if you were afraid that was ever going to happen."

"I wasn't afraid of that." He scoffs, looking away from both you and the man at the bar. "Sure you weren't." Your arms are crossed as you sit back lazily in the seat.

"Don't say it like that. I knew you wouldn't." "Sure you did."

He rolls his eyes again, and you refrain from joking about how he could fix a wagon with the amount his eyes were rolling.

Instead, you decide to play a game. "Though, he did seem quite charming. Perhaps I'll go see if he can get me a second round?" You swirl your drink, which is still half full, but the ice rattles against the glass.

You move to stand but you're pulled down. Two hands, one on each side of your waist, settle you back into the seat, right next to Zoro, closer than before, if that was even possible.

"Not so fast." He says, pulling you even closer, so that your leg presses against his. He speaks as if he has just volunteered to save you from an active volcano. "I can get your drinks."

"And leave me alone at the table? What if a handsome young man approaches me? You won't be here to fend him off." You tease, resting your chin on his shoulder, a wicked grin on your face.

"You're impossible." "Come on, Zoro." You loop your arm through his, running your hand lightly along his forearms. "You like the challenge. It makes you feel stronger when you win."

You press a feather light kiss to his cheek. "And you did, by the way." He furrows his brow in confusion. "You won. I don't even remember what that guy at the bar looks like."

A proud smile makes its way to his face. "You're right. I do feel stronger." He puffs his chest up a bit and you suppress a giggle at the action.

"Don't worry about losing." You now snake your arm around him, pressing ever closer, until there's no space left in between your bodies. You even cross your ankle with his, touching all the way from your shoulders to your heels "I don't think you can."

He smiles at you as you take a sip of the drink, crumpling up the piece of paper slipped to you at the bar, discarding it on the floor, to be trampled on by a million feet. "You have my heart Zoro. Only you."