For anyone worried because they write the same trope more than once: I love that shit. I will love that first one and I will still be excited for the thirtieth one. Let these idiots do the same thing over and over again. We deserve that.
Tension Relief was so good! Can you write some more for Zoro.
Zoro x reader where he feels drunk (in a good way), when he is with reader. Drunk in love if you will. He's never thought of marriage, but now knows its the only things he wants out of you.
Hiiiii!!! I'm so glad you enjoyed Tension Relief. I really enjoy writing for Zoro for some reason, so i hope you enjoy!
Zoro knows what it feels like to be drunk.
This isn't that.
But something about you leaves him just as unsteady- and once he realizes it, he decides not to let go.
Like It Always Was
Zoro x reader
     Zoro knew what being drunk felt like. Heavy limbs. Slower reactions. That faint disconnect between thought and movement that made everything just a little less precise. He avoided getting too drunk- he didn't like the loss of control, especially if a fight suddenly breaks out.Â
    This wasnât that. And yet-
     âYouâre staring again.â Your voice cut through his thoughts, casual and a little amused. Zoro blinked, just once, like he hadnât realized heâd been caught. âWasnât.â You huffed softly, unconvinced. âYou were.â He didnât bother arguing this time. Didnât feel like it. Instead, he shifted where he sat against the mast, one arm resting loosely over his knee, gaze sliding away like it hadnât mattered in the first place.Â
          Normally, it would have.
     Zoro wasnât careless with his attention. He didnât let it linger where it didnât belong. But lately- it kept settling on you. âYouâre acting weird,â you added after a moment, stepping a little closer. It wasnât hesitant. Not cautious. Just⌠like you always did. Like it was normal. Zoro tracked the movement without meaning to. âNot weird.â You huffed in response, âYou are.â You stopped in front of him, close enough that heâd have to tilt his head back slightly to look at you properly. There was a faint crease between your brows, like you were trying to figure him out.
     Zoro didnât move away. Didnât tell you to. He didnât even think about it. â...You always this close?â He muttered. You blinked in response, âWhat?â Zoro gestured vaguely between the two of you, like he didnât have the patience to explain it properly. âThis.â Realization flickered across your face- then softened into something lighter. âOh.â Yet you didnât step back. If anything, you leaned slightly, resting your weight more comfortably where you stood. âYeah,â you said lightly, like it was obvious. âI always am.â
     Zoro went still. He wasnât tense or rigid- he was justâŚaware. Too aware of the space between you, and the way it didnât feel like enough distance. The feeling was subtle, it wasnât disorienting or overwhelming. It was just off. Like the edge of something he couldnât quite name, balance shifting a fraction too far to one side. âYou gonna say something,â you continued, âor just keep looking at me like that?â Zoro exhaled slowly through his nose, dragging a hand up to the back of his neck.
     â...You talk too much.â You snorted, âHavenât heard you complain about it before.â Zoro didnât deny it, he didnât say much of anything, actually. Because if he kept talking, heâd have to figure out what this was. And he didnât want to.
          Not yet.
     It didnât stop, which was a problem. Zoro noticed it more over the next few days- couldnât really avoid it, not when you kept ending up in the same space as him. Not by accident, yet not entirely on purpose either. JustâŚnaturally. Youâd sit beside him while you ate, close enough that your shoulder brushed his every now and then. Youâd lean over him to grab something, not thinking twice about the proximity. Talking to him was easy, like it was second nature.
     Zoro let it happen. He never moved, never stopped you. He never told you to back off like he would with anyone else. That shouldâve been the first sign. Instead, he ignored it. Told himself it wasnât anything. It was just a habit. Just you being- you. Until one afternoon, when you laughed. It wasnât loud or over the top. It was soft, close. Right next to him. And something in his chest- shifted. He paused at the feeling, mentally shrugging it off.
     Zoro frowned slightly, gaze dropping to the deck for a second before flicking back up to you. You hadnât noticed, still talking and smiling. You were stillâŚclose. â...Tch.â You paused, looking over at Zoro. âWhat?â He kept his gaze forward. âNothing.â Except it wasnât. It hadnât been for a while. Zoro leaned back slightly, resting his head against the wood behind him, eyes half-lidded as he watched you. Tracked you. Not because he meant to, but because he couldnât seem to stop. And that- that was new.
     Zoro didnât get distracted or pulled off course. He didnât lose focus over something as simple asâŚthis. Because it didnât feel simple. It felt dangerous. Not in a way he needed to fight or cut down, justâŚsomething that made him hesitate. Something that made him linger. Zoro exhaled slowly, closing his eyes for a brief moment. âThis is stupid.â
     âWow,â you deadpanned, âand here I thought you were about to say something deep.â He cracked an eye open, unimpressed. âDonât push it.â You grinned, and there it was again. That shift, a subtle, off-balance feeling. Not enough to knock him over, just enough to make him realize-
          He wasnât standing as steady as he used to.
     It didnât go away. Zoro had half-expected it to. Whatever this was- thisâŚshift, this constant awareness- he figured itâd burn out if he ignored it long enough. It didnât. If anything- it got worse. Not louder. Not overwhelming. JustâŚconstant. Like something was settling under his skin.
          âYouâre doing it again.âÂ
     Zoro didnât look up from where he sat, sharpening one of his swords. âDoing what?â âThat thing,â you said, dropping down beside him with a soft thud. âWhere you pretend youâre not paying attention.â Zoro paused for a second, the blade in his hand stilling against the whetstone. â...Not pretending.â You snorted, âRight.â You leaned slightly into his space- close enough that your shoulder brushed his arm without hesitation. He didnât move. Didnât shift away. Didnât even acknowledge it. But his grip tightened- just a fraction. You didnât notice. Or maybe you did. You didnât pull back either way.
     â...You always sit this close?â Zoro asked after a moment, his voice low. âYeah,â you said easily. âYouâve only just noticed?â Zoro frowned faintly. Because that- that was the problem. He hadnât. Not like this. Not until recently.
          And now it was all he could think about.
     Zoro started noticing everything. The way you leaned into him without thinking. The way your voice dropped slightly when you spoke close to him. He noticed the way you reached for him- small things, absentminded things- like it was natural. Like it was nothing. Zoro knew better than that, things like this werenât nothing. Not to him.
     âYouâre gonna dull it like that.â Your voice pulled him out of it. Zoro blinked, glancing down at the blade in his hand. Heâd stopped moving it. â...Tch.â You leaned closer, peering at it. âYouâve been staring at the same spot for like- what, a minute now?â Zoro let out a small scoff, âDidnât ask.â âDidnât say you did,â you shot back easily. Zoro huffed under his breath, setting the blade aside. Because you werenât wrong. Again.
          That was happening a lot lately.
     It was getting in the way. Not training. Not fighting. But his focus. You were always there. Not always physically, but enough. Enough that it lingered. Enough that it- â...This is annoying.â âWhat is?â Zoro didn't answer, didnât feel like explaining something he didnât fully understand yet. Instead, he pushed himself to his feet, grabbing one of his swords and slinging it over his shoulder.
     âOi- where are you going?â You asked, looking up at him. âTraining.â You tilted your head. âYou just finished.â Zoro didnât look back at you, moving to his normal training area. âNot enough.â You watched him for a second longer than usual, like you were trying to figure something out again. âYouâre weird lately.â
          âDrop it.â
     You held up your hands slightly in mock surrender. âAlright, alright.â But your gaze lingered. Zoro could feel it. Even with his back to you.
     It didn't help. Training didnât fix it or burn it out. It didnât clear his head like it usually did. Because even then- he kept thinking about it. About you. About the way you stood too close, talked too easily. Looked at him like- like it didnât mean anything.
          â...Tch.â
     Zoro lowered his sword, breath steady but slower than usual. Sweat slid down the side of his face, but he barely noticed it. Because the thought had come back again. Uninvited and persistent. It was annoying. And this time, he didnât push it away fast enough. If it didnât mean anything- then why the hell did it feel like it did? Zoroâs grip tightened around the hilt.
          Because it did. That was the problem.
          It did.
     He exhaled slowly through his nose, rolling his shoulders back as he stared out across the deck. The answer settled in quietly. Not dramatic. Not suddenly. JustâŚthere. Simple and clear. It was unavoidable. â...Tch.â Of course.
     Zoro had never really thought about it before. Not seriously like this. The future wasnât something he spent time on. Didn't need to. Didnât care to. But now- now the thought came easier than it should have. Too easy. And once it was there, he couldn't shake it. Didnât want to.
His gaze shifted flighty, landing on you without effort. You were across the deck now, talking with Nami- laughing again, easy and unaware like always. Zoro watched for a second. Then another. Something settled heavily. Certain.
          If this is what it felt like- he wasn't letting it go. Simple as that. No overthinking and no second-guessing. Just- fact.
     You turned slightly, catching him looking this time. âOi,â you called, raising a brow. âYouâre staring again.â Zoro didnât look away, didnât bother pretending this time. â...Yeah.â You blinked, thrown off just slightly by the lack of denial. â...Okay?â Zoro pushed himself off the railing, closing the distance between you in a few steady steps. Not rushed or hesitant. JustâŚdeliberate.
     You straightened slightly as he stopped in front of you. Close again, like always. But this time felt different. âZoro?â You asked, a hint of confusion in your voice. He looked down at you, his expression unreadable as ever. But there was something else there now, something steadier. Resolved. â...You always like this with me?â He asked, watching you intently. You frowned faintly. âLike what?â Zoro gestured between you again, like before- but this time, it wasnât vague.
          It was intentional.
     âThis.â You hesitated- just slightly. Then, you shrugged. âYeah. Why wouldnât I be?â Zoro held your gaze for a second longer before replying. âGood.â The word was simple, flat. But it landed heavier than it should have. You blinked. âGood?â Zoro didnât elaborate. Because he had already decided.
          And Zoro wasnât the type to change his mind.Â
     It didnât leave his mind. Even when things went back to normal- meals, training, the usual rhythm of the ship. It stayed. It wasnât distracting or disruptive. It was justâŚthere. Settled.
   You didn't seem to notice the shift. You acted the same as always. Still close, easy, like nothing had changed. Zoro watched it happen in real time, the way you dropped down beside him without asking. The way your shoulder brushed against his like it belonged there. You spoke to him like it was nothing. â...Tch.â
     âYou say that a lot lately.â Zoro didnât respond. Didnât need to. You leaned slightly into him anyway, like you always did, completely unbothered by the silence. âSomething on your mind?â You asked. He couldâve brushed it off, would have a week ago. But now- now it felt pointless.
   Zoro tilted his head slightly, glancing down at you. â...Yeah.â You blinked, caught off guard slightly. âYeah?â You repeated. He didnât elaborate or rush to explain. He just watched you for a second longer than usual. Like he was measuring something- weighing it, not whether to say it- but how little he needed to.
      âYouâre always like this with me.â He finally said. It wasnât a question; it was a statement. âWeâve been over this.â You frowned faintly. âAnswer it.â Your brows pulled together slightly at his tone- but you didnât pull away, didnât create distance. â...Yeah,â you said again, slower this time. âI am.â Zoro held your gaze steadily, like he was looking for something. Or confirming it. Then-
     He reached out. Not rushed or hesitant. His hand caught your wrist gently, just enough to stop you from moving away. Your breath caught slightly at the contact. âZoro-?â He didnât let go- didnât look away. â...Good.â The same word as before, but this time it was closer. Heavier. You blinked again, confusion slipping in more clearly now. âYou already said that.â
          âYeah.âÂ
     A beat passed. Then another. The air shifted- subtle but noticeable. Because he still hadnât let go. â...Zoro,â you started again, slower now, âwhat are you-â âIâm keeping you.â The words cut through clean, there was no hesitation, no buildup. Just- there. You froze, not pulling away, but also not moving closer. JustâŚstill. â...What?â Zoroâs grip didnât change- didnât loosen or tighten. He just looked at you- steady as ever, like this wasnât anything complicated. Like it was the simplest thing in the world.
     âIâm keeping you,â he repeated. Your heart skipped- once, sharply. âThatâs not-â you started, brows furrowing as you tried to catch up. âThatâs not how that works.â âIs for me.â His tone was flat, certain and unmoving. You stared at him, trying to read him. You tried to figure out if this was a joke- if there was something you were missing. But there wasnât. Zoro didnât joke like this- didnât say things he didnât mean. â...Youâre serious,â you said slowly. âYeah.â There was no hesitation, none at all.
     Your breath hitched slightly, something warmer creeping in under the confusion now. âAnd you just- decided that?â Zoro shrugged faintly, like it wasnât a big deal. âYeah.â There was a brief pause, and then, quieter- âBut Iâm not wrong.â That landed differently, because he wasnât asking or hoping. He was stating it like a fact heâd already accepted. Your fingers shifted slightly in his grip, not pulling away- justâŚadjusting.
     âZoro,â your voice was soft, âyou canât just decide something like that on your own.â âDidnât.â You blinked. âWhat?â His gaze flicked briefly to where your wrist rested in his hand, then back to your eyes. âYouâre still here.â Your breath caught again because- he wasnât wrong. You hadnât pulled away. Hadnât told him to let go, never created distance. And he noticed.
     Silence settled between you. Not awkward or tense, it was justâŚfull. Zoro finally loosened his grip slightly- not letting go completely, just enough to shift his hand. His thumb brushed once against your wrist- absentminded, but deliberate enough to notice. Like he wasnât thinking about it. Or maybe he was, it was hard to tell. â...I donât care about anything else,â he said after a moment, his voice lower now. It wasnât softer- just closer. âNot what this is supposed to be. Not what anyone else calls it.â Another pause hung in the air for a brief moment. Then-
          âYouâre staying with me.â
     It wasnât a demand. Not quite. But it wasnât something he was willing to argue about either.
Your chest tightened slightly, because there it was. It wasnât loud or dramatic. It was solid, unshakable. Zoro finally let go of your wrist, slowly and deliberately. But he didnât step back or create any distance. Zoro stayed right where he was; close, like always, like it had always been. Except now- it meant something.
          â...Youâre unbelievable,â you muttered under your breath. Zoro huffed faintly, âYeah.â A beat passed. Then, quieter-