Annoyed..but never far away
Roronoa zoro x bubbly!reader
Summery-The reader is bright, bubbly, and always following Zoro around He acts annoyed and calls her irritating, but his actions say otherwise he protects her, helps her, and clearly adores her, even if he wonât admit it.
Ps-iâve seen your requestâs donât worry I just have to get through all of my ideas first.đ«¶
The first time you stepped onto the Going Merry, you were talking.
Not just talkingârambling, laughing, pointing at things no one else cared about, asking questions faster than anyone could answer.
âWait, waitâso you guys just decided to be pirates? Like that? No paperwork? No application process? That feels wildly unregulatedââ
âYou donât apply to be a pirate,â Roronoa Zoro muttered from where he leaned against the railing, arms crossed, eyes half-lidded.
You turned to him like a sunflower finding the sun. âYou donât? That seems like a missed opportunity.â
He didnât respond.
Didnât look at you.
Didnât move.
But you didnât miss the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth.
You were loud.
You were bright.
You filled every quiet moment with chatter, humming, questions, and observations that ranged from weirdly insightful to completely ridiculous.
And for some reasonâŠ
Zoro was always nearby.
â
âZoro!â you called one afternoon, practically skipping across the deck.
He didnât open his eyes. âWhat.â
âDo you think swords have personalities?â
ââŠNo.â
You crouched next to him anyway, undeterred. âBecause I feel like yours is very⊠grumpy. Like you.â
His eye cracked open just enough to glance at you. âGet lost.â
You grinned. âThatâs not a no.â
âIt was.â
âYou just said get lost.â
âThatâs a no.â
âFeels like a maybe.â
He sighed, closing his eye again like you were the biggest inconvenience in the world.
But when you stayed thereâjust sitting beside him, swinging your legs and humming under your breathâhe didnât tell you to leave again.
â
Later, when you tripped over a coil of rope and nearly face-plantedâ
Zoro caught you before you hit the deck.
One hand. Fast. Firm.
Like it was instinct.
You blinked up at him, wide-eyed. âWow. That was very heroic of you.â
âWatch where youâre going.â
âOr what, youâll catch me again?â
ââŠNo.â
You smiled, still in his grip. âYou will.â
He let go like your skin burned him, turning away. âYouâre annoying.â
âYeah,â you said brightly. âYou like me anyway.â
There was a pause.
A very small one.
ââŠDonât push it.â
But he didnât deny it.
â
The others noticed.
Of course they did.
âYou know,â Nami said one evening, leaning against the mast beside you, âhe only sharpens his swords on this side of the deck now.â
You blinked. âWhy?â
She smirked. âBecause youâre usually over here.â
You turned, watching as Zoro sat a short distance away, methodically running a whetstone along his blade.
He didnât look up.
Didnât acknowledge you.
But he was close enough to hear every word you said.
Every laugh.
Every ramble.
ââŠOh,â you said softly.
â
It got more obvious after that.
At least to you.
â
âYou talk too much,â Zoro muttered one night.
You gasped dramatically. âI do not.â
âYou do.â
âYouâre just jealous you donât have this level of conversational skill.â
âIâm not jealous of anything about you.â
You leaned closer, grinning. âNot even my charm?â
He glanced at you, expression flat.
Thenâquietly, almost under his breathâ
ââŠDidnât say that.â
Your smile faltered for just a second.
Because that wasnât a denial.
â
Another time, you were sitting cross-legged on the deck, trying (and failing) to tie some complicated knot Sanji had shown you.
âStupid rope,â you muttered. âWhy are knots so⊠knotty?â
Zoro snorted.
Actually snorted.
You whipped your head around. âWas that a laugh?!â
âIt wasnât.â
âIt was!â
âIt wasnât.â
âYou think Iâm funny.â
âI think youâre incompetent.â
âSame thing.â
He shook his head, but there was that look againâthat almost-smile he never let fully happen.
âHere,â he said suddenly, crouching beside you.
His hands moved over yours, guiding the rope into place. His touch was steady, warm, careful in a way you hadnât expected.
âLoop it like that,â he murmured.
Your brain short-circuited a little.
âOh.â
âYouâre not even paying attention.â
âI am! I justâuhâforgot how hands work.â
He huffed, finishing the knot for you before pulling away a little too quickly.
âHopeless.â
You looked down at the rope⊠then back at him.
âThanks, Zoro.â
ââŠYeah.â
But he stayed sitting next to you.
Even after the knot was done.
â
The moment it really clicked?
Was when you got hurt.
Nothing seriousâjust a cut along your arm from a rough landing during a fight.
You brushed it off immediately. âItâs fine! Iâve had worseâprobably. Maybe. I donât actually remember butââ
âSit down.â
Zoroâs voice cut through yours, sharp and low.
You blinked. âIâm okayââ
âI said sit.â
You sat.
Immediately.
He crouched in front of you, jaw tight as he grabbed your wrist, turning your arm to inspect the cut.
âItâs not deep,â you said, trying to lighten the mood. âVery dramatic though. I might faint.â
âYou wonât.â
âYou donât know that.â
âI do.â
His grip was firm but careful as he wrapped the wound, movements precise.
You watched him quietly for once.
ââŠYouâre being nice to me,â you said softly.
âIâm not.â
âYou are.â
âIâm not.â
âYou are.â
He tied the bandage a little tighter than necessary.
You winced. âOw.â
âThen stop talking.â
ââŠYouâre worried.â
âIâm not.â
âYou are.â
He finally looked up at you then, properly.
Eyes steady.
Unapologetic.
ââŠYou donât pay attention to anything around you,â he said. âSomeone has to.â
Your heart did something weird in your chest.
âOh.â
A pause.
Then, softerâ
ââŠCanât have you getting hurt.â
â
From then on, his âannoyanceâ didnât fool you anymore.
Not when he always stood just a little closer to you in a fight.
Not when he passed you food without looking at you.
Not when he made those quiet, almost-compliments disguised as insults.
âYouâre less useless than usual today.â
âWow. High praise.â
âDonât let it get to your head.â
âToo late.â
ââŠIdiot.â
âYour idiot.â
Silence.
Thenâ
ââŠYeah.â
And he didnât take it back.













