Fic authors self rec! When you receive this, reply with favorite five fics you've written (include links, and if you want- a few thoughts about each one), then pass on to at least five other writers if you're up for it. Spread the self-love ✨
If you don't, I'll just... I'll just... well I won't do a thing but please?!
many fist pumps,
▲ I'm a symbol now
\o/ Tri, my sweet friend, you are - if anything - a symbol of good cheer =D ♥
Let's see, five favorite fics I've written. That's much easier than trying to pick just one ^_^
Birds of a Feather Marco/Reader ( tumblr / Ao3 / Wattpad ) - This is my most recently completed fic, at least at the time of this post, but I love it so much. My passion for Marco feels like it came out of nowhere and has made itself reigning champion in my thoughts.
But a story I expected to be relatively short, ended up almost twice as long as I expected, and it was so easy. It was fun to write, and I think it goes down smooth, despite being nearly 90k words people consistently devour it in a single sitting.
Quicksand Sir Crocodile/Reader ( tumblr / Ao3 / Wattpad ) - Not sure if you're a fan of the sandy crocodile-themed warlord? Tread carefully, reading this title is statistically likely to convert you. Quicksand has an alternative ending because the story was originally intended to be a very dark Yandere - to the point that Doflamingo would've been the "good" guy.
That's not how things went, and I'm quite glad for it. Quicksand going its own direction is what helped seal the deal in creating the Tales of the Grandline Metropolis, which is currently 3.8 completed stories. (it'll be at least 8 before it's done).
A Light Touch Eustass Kid/Reader ( Ao3 / Wattpad ) - My first Eustass Kid/Reader story. Set in the same AU as Quicksand, it was started from a pun, of all things. I figured Kid would be fancy tech stuff like neural-linked prosthetics, and the idea that would make a prosthetic for the reader after they lost a hand was something I wanted to write.
Creating something like that would take a light touch, and if it glowed, that would be a different kind of light touch and getting close to Kid requires a light-- you get the point. Like I said, it's all based off a pun, but I'm really proud of the story, it's one of my favorite re-reads.
Some Direction Zoro/Reader (tumblr / Ao3 / Wattpad ) - A Modern AU where the government mandates who you marry. I have to give thanks to @lyndsyh24 for not only inspiring me to write this one (start to finish in a single month, I was obsessed!) but also for allowing my to play in the AU she'd built up. From Matchbook to the laws themselves, it's all thanks to Lyn.
Zoro started out as one of my favorite characters in the series - I still have love for him, and I'm always happy to write him, but he's taken a bit of a back seat to my top three. Still Some Direction is a story I'm really proud of - even if I worry there'll be a mob after me for who the antagonist is 😅
Family Ties Doflamingo/Reader ( Ao3 / Wattpad ) - I was torn on this last choice - even with five slots it's hard to decide between stories I suppose ^^; Also, oops, apparently I only put the first ten chapters on tumblr... I need to fix that >.>
Ahem, anyway, Family Ties is the first fic I wrote after over ten years of not writing at all. It's my first reader insert, my first true multi-chapter too. When I wrote it, it was the longest fic I'd written by nearly 50k words. I wrote it because I wanted a more morally ambiguous reader compared to what I'd been reading.
It's not a dark fic though, it's pretty tooth-achingly sweet, honestly, but it's currently the only fic I have where the reader is a murderer in a very undisputed and direct manner.
Honorable mention I almost posted as piece 5 - The Dragon's Clause - my Sabo/Reader Noble/Fantasy/Magic AU, and also the only title I mention that's incomplete. But it's a an ode to my favorite genre, and a great many of my favorite tropes.
CW: Language, stalking, violence, sexual themes and situations, ptsd -- surprisingly fluffy despite it all. 18+ only
Summary: This is a time where a new world government has taken over. While the world is now at peace, marriage and reproduction are in decline. This New World Order has stepped in and forced the population into arranged marriages. You've been matched with Roronoa Zoro.
Inspired by Lyndsyh 's Closure series - Which you should read! The world building and character usage is really well done! (It is *very* angsty, especially compared to my piece, but I wanted to do something more light hearted while I enjoyed Lyndsy's hard work =D https://www.wattpad.com/story/151287153-closure-trafalgar-law-x-reader )
Chapter 1: Meeting
You had been at work in the library when a man in an ill-fitting government issue suit and tie had approached you with a package. Everyone knew what it meant, these sorts of notices weren't sent through the mail, but you were a little upset you were being notified in the middle of work. You weren't exactly fond of being the center of attention, unless it was during a presentation for the library, and even then you weren't leaping for joy at the prospect.
Your boss, an older gentleman with a slim build, an impressive afro and an exceptional love of tea came over to you as you turned the envelope over in your hands.
"Oh-hohohoho, your fate has been decided I see, (Y/N). You can take a break and review it in the back room." He offers, taking a sip of his tea. "I can watch your section for a little bit, oh-."
"But your eyes don't work anymore," you mutter with a sigh. Normally you didn't dislike his jokes, but you were in a soured mood now. "Mr. Brook, your sight is amazing given your age."
"You mustn't deprive an old man of his jokes, (Y/N)." He pouts. You often teased him for being older than most of the books in the library, but there wasn't a fleck of grey in his hair, and despite his slim build, he was in good physical condition. You wouldn't be surprised to see him performing in a circus or some other equally high energy venue.
"Mm." Smacking the envelope against your palm you turn toward him. "Thank you, I think I will go in the back and open this."
Sitting down in the mostly private back room you opened your Match Book. Match Books had a lot of information in them, part of why they were delivered by hand, and that information included things like pictures, phone numbers, addresses, work information, blood type, interests, family situations, and other bits of data to help make a first meeting go smoothly. Matches had 48 hours to meet after receiving their Match Books, and six months to arrange their weddings.
You always felt the process went a little too quickly, but it worked more often than not. Even if part of that had to do with the law itself, the punishments for breaking fidelity and the fact that there was a robust system in place to offer marriage counseling. The whole point was to make people stable enough and happy enough to bring the population numbers back up. As well as the Government could hope to facilitate such a thing, they had done a socially accepted good job of it.
Your first look at your match made your face twitch. He looked like a hoodlum! He had three piercings in one ear, a scar that was only impressive because you weren't sure how he survived getting it, and every picture seemed to have caught him with a scowl. There wasn't one image of him smiling or laughing, and he had a sword in his hand – sometimes in both hands and one in his mouth – in almost every shot.
Match Book photos were candid images, but it seemed like your match had two settings: wielding swords or sleeping.
First impressions could be poor, so you tried not to let it drain you, but you had really expected your match to, well, match you. At the risk of being cruel, you weren't entirely sure this Roronoa Zoro even knew how to read. The data did show he graduated, so he was educated. As you read more details your initial concerns melted away a little and you started to understand how you were both matched.
You and Zoro were both orphans, you had both gotten through school quietly. While your grades were higher, they weren't that much higher. You did martial arts to keep in shape, but not competitively, and certainly you could see how they'd connect that with his passion. The dojo he attended was owned by his adoptive father, and it wasn't far from where you lived and worked.
You heard a low whistle behind you and let out a long-suffering sigh. Nami was looking over your shoulder.
"I did not expect you to get matched with such a -."
"Muscle Head?" You prompt.
"I was going to say hunk, but that works." She sits down across from you, a mischievous grin on her face. "So?" Nami was looking forward to her match adamantly. Though, knowing her as well as you did you imagined it had more to do with her desire to get matched with a rich man, as opposed to any romantic reasons.
You shrug. "Match Books hardly spark a connection on their own. I guess we'll see how it goes. I'll give it a couple hours before I reach out. I don't want to contact him before he's had a chance to flip through whatever they gave him about me."
You didn't want to make too many assumptions, and you didn't even want to read the whole Match Book. There was just something too clinical about getting to know a person from a government provided dossier. You'd rather get to know him through conversation.
Time for a change of topic. "How're things going in the sea chart restoration project?" You ask Nami, pulling your eyes away from the book.
Nami smiles. "It's been a real pleasure. Thanks for telling me about it, it's the most fun I've had with old sea charts since I was a kid."
"Yeah, sorry you gotta deal with the old man."
"Oh don't be, I've already made a few thousand berries off him."
You freeze. "Nami, you did not."
"Of course I did, it's just underwear, (Y/N)."
You put your head in your hands and sigh. There's a pat on your arm as another of your coworkers, Nico Robin, is closing your Match Book for you and giving you a look that already has you worried. The older lady was still young by conventional standards, just older than you and Nami. She normally had the most impressive neutral expression on her face and in her voice, but not right now.
"Robin?"
"You'll want to go to the study desks, (Y/N). There's a young man with green hair looking through a Match Book, and, well..." She tilts her head toward your Match Book.
Your eyes go wide. "No way." You grab the Match Book and go out into the library proper, heading over to the study desks. There was no running in the library, so you were half-a-pace away from jogging.
You didn't have to look around long to catch sight of him. Green hair was pretty easy to spot. You walk toward him automatically, not really thinking about what you would do or say. Of all the places he could end up reading his Match Book, it would be your library. It wasn't like you'd spent your life looking forward to meeting your match, you had a more practical outlook on the whole thing. Something about this felt a little overwhelming though, and you realize as you are reaching out toward him that he might need space.
Stopping short of reaching him by a few feet, you stand there in silence for a moment trying to decide what to do.
"Need something?" He questions, and you feel a shiver run up your back. Match Books couldn't tell you what someone else sounded like, and his voice was pleasant, if not a little irritated at the moment. What catches you off guard the most was the fact that he hadn't even so much as twitched his head in your direction. There was no way he could've seen you, and you didn't wear hard-soled shoes, so you hadn't made any noise despite the speed in which you approached.
How in the heck did he know you were there?
"No, er, yes. I mean. I'm sorry, it was quite rude of me to approach you this way." You bow, as you usually do when giving an apology at work, and hear the chair slide across the floor as he turns toward you.
"What do you mean," he starts to question as you straighten back up, "by... that." His eyes go wide as realization dawns on him. "Gah! I thought you were at the library by the dojo! What're you doing here?"
You blink at him blankly for a moment. "But... this is the library by the dojo."
First off, I just wanna say that the amount of responses I received were absolutely unexpected. I am floored at the amount of people (I’m sure some are duplicates) who put in their vote! It was neck and neck for a while, but last night must have really pushed some of you over the edge because both winners were by a landslide.
I want to preface that I have been working on all of the chapters to the fics I’m writing right now, so you won’t need to wait long for the others, this is just the chapter I will be posting first.
The winner for next chapter is: ‘Hit the Like Button’ Chapter 16 with seventy-one (71) votes! ‘The Warlord’s Tribute’ came in second with fifty-eight (58) votes and ‘Learning to Live’ came in third with seven (7) votes.
The winner for next fic I work on is: Forbidden Love AU with fifty-four (54) votes! The Warlord’s Tribute: Alpha Edition came in second with thirty-three (33) votes and Betrothed at Birth AU came in third with twenty-two (22) votes.
Thank you to all who voted! This has given me some insight into what my future holds and allowed me to focus on one thing at a time bc wow am I ever bad at that lmfao!
26 Chapters - 58,485 words
Version with images can be found here.
CW: Language, stalking, violence, sexual themes and situations, ptsd -- surprisingly fluffy despite it all. 18+ only
Summary:
This is a time where a new world government has taken over. While the world is now at peace, marriage and reproduction are in decline. This New World Order has stepped in and forced the population into arranged marriages. You've been matched with Roronoa Zoro.
Inspired by Lyndsyh 's Closure series - Which you should read! The world building and character usage is really well done! (It is *very* angsty, especially compared to my piece, but I wanted to do something more light hearted while I enjoyed Lyndsy's hard work =D https://www.wattpad.com/story/151287153-closure-trafalgar-law-x-reader )
Chapter 1: Meeting
You had been at work in the library when a man in an ill-fitting government issue suit and tie had approached you with a package. Everyone knew what it meant, these sorts of notices weren't sent through the mail, but you were a little upset you were being notified in the middle of work. You weren't exactly fond of being the center of attention, unless it was during a presentation for the library, and even then you weren't leaping for joy at the prospect.
Your boss, an older gentleman with a slim build, an impressive afro and an exceptional love of tea came over to you as you turned the envelope over in your hands.
"Oh-hohohoho, your fate has been decided I see, (Y/N). You can take a break and review it in the back room." He offers, taking a sip of his tea. "I can watch your section for a little bit, oh-."
"But your eyes don't work anymore," you mutter with a sigh. Normally you didn't dislike his jokes, but you were in a soured mood now. "Mr. Brook, your sight is amazing given your age."
"You mustn't deprive an old man of his jokes, (Y/N)." He pouts. You often teased him for being older than most of the books in the library, but there wasn't a fleck of grey in his hair, and despite his slim build, he was in good physical condition. You wouldn't be surprised to see him performing in a circus or some other equally high energy venue.
"Mm." Smacking the envelope against your palm you turn toward him. "Thank you, I think I will go in the back and open this."
Sitting down in the mostly private back room you opened your Match Book. Match Books had a lot of information in them, part of why they were delivered by hand, and that information included things like pictures, phone numbers, addresses, work information, blood type, interests, family situations, and other bits of data to help make a first meeting go smoothly. Matches had 48 hours to meet after receiving their Match Books, and six months to arrange their weddings.
You always felt the process went a little too quickly, but it worked more often than not. Even if part of that had to do with the law itself, the punishments for breaking fidelity and the fact that there was a robust system in place to offer marriage counseling. The whole point was to make people stable enough and happy enough to bring the population numbers back up. As well as the Government could hope to facilitate such a thing, they had done a socially accepted good job of it.
Your first look at your match made your face twitch. He looked like a hoodlum! He had three piercings in one ear, a scar that was only impressive because you weren't sure how he survived getting it, and every picture seemed to have caught him with a scowl. There wasn't one image of him smiling or laughing, and he had a sword in his hand – sometimes in both hands and one in his mouth – in almost every shot.
Match Book photos were candid images, but it seemed like your match had two settings: wielding swords or sleeping.
First impressions could be poor, so you tried not to let it drain you, but you had really expected your match to, well, match you. At the risk of being cruel, you weren't entirely sure this Roronoa Zoro even knew how to read. The data did show he graduated, so he was educated. As you read more details your initial concerns melted away a little and you started to understand how you were both matched.
You and Zoro were both orphans, you had both gotten through school quietly. While your grades were higher, they weren't that much higher. You did martial arts to keep in shape, but not competitively, and certainly you could see how they'd connect that with his passion. The dojo he attended was owned by his adoptive father, and it wasn't far from where you lived and worked.
You heard a low whistle behind you and let out a long-suffering sigh. Nami was looking over your shoulder.
"I did not expect you to get matched with such a -."
"Muscle Head?" You prompt.
"I was going to say hunk, but that works." She sits down across from you, a mischievous grin on her face. "So?" Nami was looking forward to her match adamantly. Though, knowing her as well as you did you imagined it had more to do with her desire to get matched with a rich man, as opposed to any romantic reasons.
You shrug. "Match Books hardly spark a connection on their own. I guess we'll see how it goes. I'll give it a couple hours before I reach out. I don't want to contact him before he's had a chance to flip through whatever they gave him about me."
You didn't want to make too many assumptions, and you didn't even want to read the whole Match Book. There was just something too clinical about getting to know a person from a government provided dossier. You'd rather get to know him through conversation.
Time for a change of topic. "How're things going in the sea chart restoration project?" You ask Nami, pulling your eyes away from the book.
Nami smiles. "It's been a real pleasure. Thanks for telling me about it, it's the most fun I've had with old sea charts since I was a kid."
"Yeah, sorry you gotta deal with the old man."
"Oh don't be, I've already made a few thousand berries off him."
You freeze. "Nami, you did not."
"Of course I did, it's just underwear, (Y/N)."
You put your head in your hands and sigh. There's a pat on your arm as another of your coworkers, Nico Robin, is closing your Match Book for you and giving you a look that already has you worried. The older lady was still young by conventional standards, just older than you and Nami. She normally had the most impressive neutral expression on her face and in her voice, but not right now.
"Robin?"
"You'll want to go to the study desks, (Y/N). There's a young man with green hair looking through a Match Book, and, well..." She tilts her head toward your Match Book.
Your eyes go wide. "No way." You grab the Match Book and go out into the library proper, heading over to the study desks. There was no running in the library, so you were half-a-pace away from jogging.
You didn't have to look around long to catch sight of him. Green hair was pretty easy to spot. You walk toward him automatically, not really thinking about what you would do or say. Of all the places he could end up reading his Match Book, it would be your library. It wasn't like you'd spent your life looking forward to meeting your match, you had a more practical outlook on the whole thing. Something about this felt a little overwhelming though, and you realize as you are reaching out toward him that he might need space.
Stopping short of reaching him by a few feet, you stand there in silence for a moment trying to decide what to do.
"Need something?" He questions, and you feel a shiver run up your back. Match Books couldn't tell you what someone else sounded like, and his voice was pleasant, if not a little irritated at the moment. What catches you off guard the most was the fact that he hadn't even so much as twitched his head in your direction. There was no way he could've seen you, and you didn't wear hard-soled shoes, so you hadn't made any noise despite the speed in which you approached.
How in the heck did he know you were there?
"No, er, yes. I mean. I'm sorry, it was quite rude of me to approach you this way." You bow, as you usually do when giving an apology at work, and hear the chair slide across the floor as he turns toward you.
"What do you mean," he starts to question as you straighten back up, "by... that." His eyes go wide as realization dawns on him. "Gah! I thought you were at the library by the dojo! What're you doing here?"
You blink at him blankly for a moment. "But... this is the library by the dojo."
CW: Language, stalking, violence, sexual themes and situations, ptsd -- surprisingly fluffy despite it all. 18+ only
Chapter 26: Hidden Route
The point of a honeymoon in Jaya was that the weather would be nice even in early January, and you and Zoro had an open agenda. You could spend the entire week indoors if you decided to do so.
"That's not a hotel." You say, checking the address for the third time since you were dropped off by the shuttle service from the airport. "That's a house."
"Small house." Zoro offers.
You looked left and right. There were a series of separated small houses, with lots of privacy fencing and trees. It seemed Mihawk didn't get you a hotel room, he got you as near to a private getaway as either of you would've been comfortable with.
Zoro leans down and whispers. "Won't have to worry about bothering the neighbors." He smiles as he walks by you and up to the private cabin, tilting his head for you to follow.
Face flushed, but smiling, you followed him. Zoro was carrying all the luggage, and you hadn't argued much. In a few months it wouldn't be you getting pampered, so much as the two of you scrambling to take care of twin babies.
The private house was, at least compared to the spacious dojo, relatively small. There was a spacious bedroom with a large bed in the middle of it, and a small living room with a fluffy couch and a TV. There was a small kitchen, just enough elbow room for a single cook, with basic cooking equipment. You could make the staples, but you probably weren't going to whip up souffles or fancy cakes. Not that either of you had the skill or desire to do so, but you felt Sanji would be pulling out all sorts of weird tricks to make the meager appliances bend to his will.
The bathroom was a little bigger than expected, with an open shower and a whirlpool tub just big enough for two people to relax in.
It was little wonder this place was considered one of the top ten honeymoon destinations. You tried not to think about the egregious amount of money it all cost. Just because Mihawk had said you didn't need to worry about money, didn't mean you didn't worry about money. It wasn't like you had really struggled with income while you were on your own, but 16-18 to had been some tight years, and those habits don't leave you easily.
Warm arms wrap around you from behind, kissing your cheek as he pulls you into him.
"Whaddya think?"
"It's more than I expected."
"Too much?"
"Mm, no. I mean, maybe a little, but I'm trying not to think about it."
"I know how to distract you."
You feel the heat rise in your body. "You do." You tremble lightly in anticipation.
"I promise I won't break you." He says, his words causing the shiver, and your heart rate, to heighten.
"What about the bed?" You question, your voice shaking with a mix of laughter and desire.
"Not my problem." He replies, practically growling the words.
Zoro lifts your shirt off you easily, and brings your arms back down, pinning them with his arm as his other hand covers your eyes. Hungry and hot lips descend on your neck, sending jolts of pleasure across your skin and down to your core. Teeth nip at your ear, his tongue traces long lines across the most sensitive stretches of your neck, and the deep kisses leave bruising marks on your shoulder. The rough actions assault your senses with pleasure, and gasping moans fill the air as his hands begin to wander.
Kisses rain down your back, sending deep shivers to your core as you wriggle against the strong hands that hold you in place even as they wander. You barely register things as he pulls your bra off and he's slipping your feet free from your pants and underwear before you had even realized he's pulled them down.
The kisses against the back of your thighs nearly buckle your legs. Your hands find a door frame and you brace yourself against it for a moment as nails drag down the soft flesh on the back of your leg, tearing a nearly orgasmic shuddering cry from you.
You can feel him press against you from behind, breath hot and heavy, skin practically on fire. He braces your back against his chest, lifting your leg up and rubbing his hard cock against your slit. You're already soaking wet and the tip of his stiff flesh grinds against your clit. If he wasn't holding you in place against him, you'd be on the floor from the pleasure throbbing between your thighs.
"Hngh, fuck," The curse is practically ripped from your throat as rough fingers tease your nipples, and lips devour your neck crashing the first orgasm into your body with hardly a warning.
Your body is still shuddering and twitching as Zoro's entire length pushes easily into you. The sounds that dribble out of your mouth aren't any language you know, and your hazy mind isn't sure if you've come a second time or not. Strong hands hold your hips, and your shaking arms hold onto the door frame for dear life.
Despite the rough ferocity, nothing he has done has hurt. Even the bruising kisses were wrapped in pleasure. But as your legs buckle under the steady deep thrusts, he lifts you up against him enough to get you both to the bed. Your legs crumple to the floor as the mattress alone supports your torso.
He lifts one of your legs up to his shoulder, causing your body to turn onto its side. He moves your leg to the side a little as he moves slowly, with long deliberate thrusts until a jolt of pleasure shots through your core. The surprised gasp from you draws a grin from him as his tongue slides over his lips in appreciation. He hits the spot over and over, your body shuddering and curling against him as pleasure begins to build up in you again.
"Zo~ro~," you cry, reaching out to him. "I'mma... lose muh mind!"
Instead of grabbing your outstretched hand, his thumb begins to roll over your clit. The glint in his eye seems ready to consume you entirely. There was no spoken command from him, he was in control and didn't need to say anything to drive the point home. Your hands held onto his arm, taut and immovable like cables of steel, and you couldn't stop the flood of pleasure from crashing over.
Your body tenses and shudders from the orgasm, you can hear him grunt as you clamp down on him, twitching from head to toe. His steady pace quickens, and you can feel him twitch inside you for a moment.
Light kisses against your ankle travel down your leg as he pulls out, hands shifting you further onto the bed. The tender kisses cause you to shift and stretch in pleasure under him as his kisses trail up your hips and across your stomach. Kisses slip along your collarbone, up your neck, and to your own lips, consuming you deeply as his tongue pushes into your mouth.
Your hazy gaze comes into focus as the kiss breaks, and you catch the look in his eyes. You body freezes, and a hungry grin spreads across his face in reaction to your expression.
Zoro might not have broken you, but by the end of the 3rd round, he was carrying your thoroughly exhausted body into the bathroom and cleaning the both of you up. As he had assured you before, the two of you spend most of your honeymoon with you being sufficiently pampered.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"What do you mean, you see another head?!" You bellow, your grip on Zoro's hand causing his bones to creak.
"I mean, Mrs. Roronoa, you have three very healthy baby boys, and only two at a time ever showed up on the ultrasound, now PUSH!" Dr. Kureha instructs.
You pushed and roared, for what you hoped was the last time you'd have to do so.
"I blame you for this," you grumble at Zoro. "Three earrings, three swords, now three kids."
There's a smile on his face despite it all, "I'll accept that blame."
Aside from the surprise baby, the entire process went smoothly. You were in labor for a few short hours and hadn't made any false trips to the hospital prior to today. May 5th was quite the day to find out you had a surprise addition to your family, and after you had been moved to a room to recover you could appreciate the humor in it. Zoro's right hand was in a splint – you hadn't broken his fingers, but you did dislocate one at some point.
You had one baby in each arm, the 3rd in Zoro's left hand as he sat beside you. Two dark-haired babies, and one blonde, not a greenette in sight. Well, natural green hair was a very recessive gene, after all, and Zoro was one of maybe three people you'd seen your entire life who had the hair color naturally.
"How can something so small feel like its too big to fit in my heart?" You muse, looking from the babies to Zoro.
He smiles, shaking his head a little. "I don't know. What are we going to do?"
"Our best." You assure him. "We're in a good place for it too. I'm sure Mihawk will be delighted to help, and I doubt we'll be able to keep Sanji and Nami away." You chuckle weakly. "Most of the dojo students, for that matter."
After a moment of silence, you start to chuckle, hugging the two babies in your arms a little more closely. There's amusement, and exhaustion in your laugh and Zoro gives you a moment to settle before he asks what was so funny.
"All I could think was, this was not the Santoryu I had signed up for."
Zoro tries to hold back his laughter and fails, rousing the triplets a little. The two of you fall silent for a moment, waiting to see if all hell will break loose or if they'll go back to sleep.
"Any opinions on names?" You ask him quietly after they seem to settle back into their nap.
He shakes his head. "I literally named my fighting style 'Three Sword Style'," he admits. "I wouldn't even know where to start. Anything come to mind for you?"
"Mmhm. Ace for the eldest, Sabo for the blonde, and Luffy for the youngest."
"Youngest by minutes."
You smile. "I feel like it'll matter to them some day. Older siblings look out for the younger ones."
"Why those names?"
You shrug, "Something about it just seems right. Like they'll be happy to grow up together."
"... I feel like I can already picture the amount of trouble they're going to get into." Zoro says. His tone is flat and almost annoyed, but the smile on his face betrays him.
"We'll make sure they know they're loved, that'll be enough."
CW: Language, stalking, violence, sexual themes and situations, ptsd -- surprisingly fluffy despite it all. 18+ only
Chapter 6: Long Road
You were on the couch with your foot in Mihawk's hands. He had just taken the bandages off and was scrutinizing the state of the wound. It had been four days since the break-in, and you were well-rested and settling into your new home nicely. Well, settling as much as you could while you were still an active patient.
The only times you'd been relying on your crutches were when Zoro was working an EMT shift. Otherwise, the greenette always seemed to show up when you were ready to move from point A to point B. Not that you were being left alone a lot. You and Zoro had been spending a good amount of time together, even if most of it was shared silence, it wasn't awkward.
"It's healing up nicely," Mihawk assures you, putting a small bandage over it and not wrapping your foot up for once. "Take a couple steps, Miss (Y/N)."
You were glad it only took a couple days to convince Mihawk to use your first name. Now if he could drop the 'miss' your victory would be complete. For now, you just nod, swinging your feet around and setting them on the floor before carefully standing up.
It felt weird to have both feet on the floor, you'd been hobbling around in one way or another for the last few days. Taking a few easy tentative steps away from the couch you felt a small zing of pain go through your foot, but nothing major. After a few more steps it wasn't even all that noticeable.
"It's still a little tender," you admit, "but it doesn't feel too bad at all. I should be able to go back to work soon."
"Sit," Mihawk instructs. It's gentle, but not up for negotiation, and so you sit back on the couch and put your injured foot back into his lap. He pulls the small bandage off and there's a fleeting shift in the expression on his face.
Zoro could be hard to read at first, but Mihawk was like trying to decipher the emotional state of a flash of lightning. You couldn't stare, but you couldn't blink either. The only thing working in his favor was that his default setting was a little more approachable than Zoro's. The younger one had a near permanent scowl, Mihawk was just a very intense neutral.
"It split, but it's not bleeding." He explains evenly before you have a chance to ask. "I'm going to wrap it again. You can use it more than you have been, however avoid putting all your weight on it for today."
"Yes, sir." You nod with a smile.
You restrain yourself from wandering freely around the entire estate just because you've been given permission to move without the crutches. It wouldn't do any good to end up pulling the wound open entirely and bringing yourself back to square one. The crutches made getting around easier, especially since you didn't have to put all your weight on the crutch.
You milled about in your room, reorganizing some things around now that you could stand up on your own for a bit. You heard the rumble of the car returning after a couple hours and hopped your way to the front of the house.
You meant to greet Zoro with a smile, since you could get yourself to the door on your own. Once you saw him, however, your face fell. His clothes were different, and there was something about his expression that carried a terrible weight. He stopped in front of you, but it took a minute for him to look up at you.
The burden of loss was in the air, along with the light, but unmistakable, smell of blood.
"It's okay." You blurt out the words. You don't know exactly what happened, but you knew he was doing EMT work. It was obvious that sometimes things would go bad, no matter how hard one tried to stop it from happening. "You can talk about it if you want, I can listen, and if you don't want to, you don't have to. It's okay."
The soft smile that finds his face before the weight of the day pulls it back down nearly breaks your heart. You reach out to hug him, but you pull your hands back. The desire to hug him was yours, he might not want the contact.
"It's okay." Zoro says hoarsely, and he leans toward you a little as you lean up a little and hug him.
He doesn't hug you back, but his head sinks into your shoulder and you both stay there quietly for a few long moments before you hear Mihawk coming up behind you. Zoro takes a step back from you and you turn toward Mihawk. The young man puts a hand on your shoulder as he walks by, stopping briefly and bowing slightly toward Mihawk before continuing into the house.
You bow slightly to Mihawk as well and head to the kitchen.
An hour later you slide the door to the dojo open and set a tray down just inside the room. You can hear Zoro training, and you look up before you can stop yourself. He only has one "sword" in his hands. It's more like a modified barbell, that can be gripped like a katana, but it has several weights set on it for more resistance.
The movements are basic, but practiced and flawless, at least as far as you can tell. He wasn't a bad looking man by default, but something about him right now was gorgeous. Watching him train could be bad for your health – good for the arranged marriage, perhaps, but now was a bad time to point that out.
You close the door quietly, and sit down in the hall, just off to the side, opening up a book you'd taken from the library. The steady sounds of his training comfort you as you read. There's something relaxing in his tempo, and maybe that's part of why he's in there right now.
The steady rhythm of his training fades into the background of your mind, as you fall deeper and deeper in your book. It wasn't anything overly interesting, but it was written in an older language, so the extra concentration demanded your focus. You don't know how much time passed, but you realize the sounds of Zoro's training have ceased.
Closing your book, you look around just in time for the door to the dojo to slide open. Zoro has the tray of food you had made in his hand, and you see the flash of surprise on his face as he steps out of the room and into the hall. You offer him a smile and fold your legs neatly in front of you in case he means to walk by.
Instead he sits down. He smells of iron and sweat, and you can see the signs of his efforts soaked into his Gi. You had believed muscle heads to be stinky and offensive, but none of those words felt applicable. He might not smell like dried flowers and rainbows right now, but it wasn't bothersome.
"You were out here the whole time?"
You shrug. "I made that first, got this book, and then yes."
"You can cook?" There's a bit of surprise in his tone that ruffles your feathers, but you let it go.
"I can. I won't be opening a restaurant or anything, but I think I do well enough." You admit with a small smile. "Cooking for people makes me feel... good." You were going to say "useful", but it felt too self-deprecating, even if it was more toward the truth.
Zoro grunts, uncovering the tray and reaching for one of the rice balls. He takes a bite but doesn't say anything. He doesn't make a face either and when he takes a second quiet bite you decide to take it as a positive sign.
The two of you sat there quietly. He never said what had happened at work, and you didn't ask. When he was done, he set the tray on the book, set the book on your lap, and then picked you up easily. You laugh a little, but don't move against him.
"I'm allowed to walk a bit today, your father said so."
There's a moment's silence, and then a fleeting quiet smile. "It makes me feel good."
You lean your head against his shoulder with a smile of your own and the two of you move about the house. The book is returned, the food tray is returned, Mihawk is slightly ignored as you're carried past him without Zoro even stopping, and then you're outside the door to the big bathroom. There's a tense moment of silence as you both start trying to sort out what's going on.
Zoro sets you down, and there's pink in both of his ears. His mouth shifts for a moment and he seems to be trying to figure out how to say what he wants to say.
"You need a shower." You prompt.
"Yeah."
"I do too, I suppose." You admit, realizing that while he doesn't stink, he was sweaty, and now you are too.
He looks away and the heat moves beyond his ears to his cheeks.
"It's... perhaps a bit soon to, um, shower together." You admit, feeling your own face start to heat up. You two haven't had a proper hug, or kiss, never mind anything beyond that. Now that your mind is going that route you can't un-think it, and your poor brain is panicking.
"Just... wait here." Zoro walks away and comes back a few minutes later with a chair and the book you had been reading earlier. You smile, it's obvious what the issue is. He needs to shower, but you've been enjoying each other's quiet company and he doesn't want you to wander away.
"This works." You assure him, sitting down and flipping back to your page.
"Thanks." The single word has weight to it and is followed by a warm quick kiss on your forehead before he disappears into the bathroom.
It takes you a few moments to begin reading your book.
You and Zoro trade off on the bathroom and the chair, and after you're done you come out and find him reading the book.
"You know that language?"
"Yeah. Not well, but I can manage." He admits, closing the book. "Need to wrap the foot?"
"Yeah. Mihawk said it doesn't need much, so I think it's just to make sure nothing gets on the floor if there's an accident." Zoro stands up and you take a step back, face already red. You had decided during your shower that you were going to ask, and the words are a lot harder to say than you imagined.
Zoro's head tilts to the side after a moment.
"If you don't want me to pick you up, I won't."
"That's not it. I," you open your arms, "I want a hug. You've been carrying me around and it's nice, but I want a hug."
You can feel the smile on his face and hear the soft escape of a chuckle before he leans down and wraps his arms around you. One around your waist, one around the middle of your back, leaving you to wrap your open arms around his shoulders. Your hands shift a bit, and your fingers absently wander into damp hair.
The world seems to slow down. You can feel the thump of your heart, the warmth of his hands, and the comfortable pressure of the embrace. It would be so easy for it to shift into something more, but the pre-arranged marriage makes you hesitant. There's no choice in the end result, but the journey should be something you can both control, and you're worried about wresting control from him and having it make things awkward.
"Don't let go." Zoro says after a moment, shifting his hands and lifting you up while you're still hugging him.
You bury your red face into the crook of his neck. Your heart is thundering in your chest, and your chest, thanks to the combination of the hug and lift, is pushed against his. Your jig is up, your goose is cooked, you have been found out, you are completely certain of it. You're watching the floor over his shoulder, and your racing mind settles on the fact you're not alone in this house, but you also haven't seen Mihawk since Zoro ignored him earlier.
"I won't do anything you don't want." Zoro says finally, setting you down on the couch and grabbing the first aid box.
"I, uh, what?" You come out of your brain frazzled thoughts at the sound of his voice.
"Your heart's going to pop at that rate, I'm saying you can calm down, I'm not going to eat you." There was a grumble in his voice, but you could see the blush on his ears as he sat down and opened the box.
"Oh... um... I'm not afraid of you." You admit quietly, lifting your foot up for him. Your eyes keep darting to him and looking away, but after a few long moments you find enough gusto to go for it. "If anything... I'm glad that... you're my match."
You felt his fingers twitch as he was wrapping your foot, and the heat shot up your face so fast you were concerned your damp hair would literally steam. Zoro sets your foot on the floor, and you felt him shift nearer to you, kneeling on the floor in front of you, hands on either side of your lap. His gaze catches yours, and something in those deep dark eyes of his cause your heart to calm, but even so you can't hold onto it for long.
His hands move up along your arms. Steady and slow, with every opportunity for you to either move away or ask him to stop. Calloused, worn fingers slip through your hair, gently rubbing the damp locks between his digits. He moves his head deliberately to catch your gaze again, his scowl much less of a scowl than usual, but not enough to be called a smile. There's a seriousness in it, one that causes you heart to start speeding up again.
"Me too," he whispers softly, eyes shifting away from yours and to your lips.
The door in the entry slides open and Mihawk steps in. He's not loud, but he's not quiet, and you're both snapped out of your mood by the unexpected intrusion.
The older man doesn't even glance your way, "I'm not so easy to ignore twice, I see."
Your face and Zoro's face go red, though for entirely different reasons.
CW: Language, stalking, violence, sexual themes and situations, ptsd 18+ only
Chapter 1 - Table of Consent -
Chapter 23: Calculating Route
The next morning you're in the bathroom looking at the positive test. Your head is in your hands and you take a deep breath.
It's just an over-the-counter test.
It could be wrong. I should go to a gyno first.
I can't go to a doctor without telling Zoro. I can't tell him I'm pregnant, what if I'm not?
But he'd be happy, right?
I should be happy.
I am happy.
This was kind of the whole point, and I thought I wouldn't mind having a lot of kids because the dojo is so big and he has so much energy he'd be delighted to corral kids all day, and he's so good with the little students there's no way he'd struggle with it.
And even if there was a struggle, we'd get through it.
It's okay.
"I don't know how to say it." You murmur to yourself, realizing you had not expected to deal with this until after you were officially married.
You take a few more minutes to compose yourself and throw the test in the trash. There was no other way to do it, you were just going to have to hope for the best. You walked out of the bathroom and to the kitchen, where Zoro and Mihawk were setting everything up for breakfast. You were holding onto yourself trying to muster up the courage to talk.
"(Y/N)?" Zoro sets down what he was doing and came over to you. "If you don't feel well, we can-."
"I-think-I'm-pregnant." You blurt out the words, eyes almost to the floor.
You hear a clatter from deeper in the kitchen and look up to see Zoro's eyes wide and jaw slack.
"I need to go to a doctor to be sure, but the... the test had two lines, and I-I think I have morning sickness and... um..." You swallow hard and reach out to him tentatively. "I'm sorry, I didn't know how to say it."
He almost drops to his knees, hugging you so suddenly that you only maintain your balance because of his arms. His hands are holding onto you almost desperately clutching into your back. His face is buried in your stomach, and you're not sure what to do for a moment.
"Zoro?"
"I want to shout, and swing you around," he explains after a moment, his voice muffled because of your shirt. "I want to tell everyone and we're not even completely sure yet. I can't do any of that, so I'm doing this."
"If you swing me around, I might throw up." You admit, running your fingers through his hair. "But you can shout if you need to."
He shakes his head, lifting you up carefully as he stands. The smile on his face melts your heart all over again as he kisses you. "I'll really get to pamper you now."
You laugh. "Your students are going to know what a softie you are before I get to tell them."
"We're supposed to deal with cakes today, can you?" Zoro asks, ignoring your teasing. "If we need to reschedule-."
"I'll manage." You assure him with a smile. "You might be stuck doing most of the tasting, but I'll manage."
"Allow me to offer my congratulations with the assumption of a positive confirmation." Mihawk says, bringing breakfast to the table. "I assume this would lend more weight to your decision regarding the library?"
"Whew, yeah." You exhale as Zoro sets you down so you can both eat. "I'd prefer to plan on staying at home, rather than trying to juggle things. I may expand on the library here since I enjoy the work of maintaining a library, but I don't know if I'll want to leave for eight hours a day if I don't have to."
"There is sufficient room for expansion in several areas, should you both desire." Mihawk replies, and you get the distinct impression he was saying you could give him as many grandchildren as you could stand to, and not necessarily confining his response to the library's expansion.
.
.
.
.
.
While going around to three cake shops you were able to make a call with your doctor and set up a time to verify your suspicions. Friday, just before lunch. You were fairly certain of the answer at this point, something in you just seemed to know, but it was best to have a professional available.
"Are you going to have to look at different dresses?" Zoro asks.
"No, we're a little over two months from the date, but I shouldn't start showing until around or after six months." You explain, "Even if I'm at eight weeks we... should be... fine."
You could feel your face growing hot.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I think you got me pregnant on the f-first try." You admit, your mind wandering back to your first night together with Zoro.
"I feel like that's not exactly what you're thinking about." He says, in a knowing and terribly teasing tone.
"... I was worried about your eye when we first got home from the hospital, and then the therapy sessions were exhausting, and then I got the flu, and um..." Your face aches from the blush rushing into it.
Zoro doesn't say anything, but you can see the smirk on his face. He's staying focused on driving, but he's waiting for you to get to the point.
"Are you really gonna make me ask for it?" You say in a very tiny voice, face mostly hidden behind your hands.
"It's tempting," he admits. "Do you need me to pull off somewhere, or can you make it home?"
"Of course I can make it home!" You shout and see Zoro struggling to keep a straight face. "It's not like I can't control myself." You mutter.
"But you don't want to wait."
You make a noise. "....Pass."
"How's come?"
"Sun's up, I... can't."
"Hm."
"Not. A. Word. Roronoa Zoro." You warn.
He smiles, but the rest of the drive is in silence. Terrible silence that does nothing except allow your mind to wander to all the, admittedly illegal, things you would happily risk in broad daylight. Your mind wandered so completely you didn't even realize you had made it the rest of the way home without offering any directions to Zoro.
You get out of the car after he parks, but you don't get far before you're scooped up into his arm. He has you against his shoulder, keeping one hand free so he can get into the house. He doesn't say anything, and aside from a soft gasp of surprise, neither do you.
The focused look on his face is all you really need to see to know what's going on. The afternoon classes are going on, on the other side of the house, and so there's no one to know, but you're still blushing when you're carried into your room.
He sets you down and takes off his shirt, pulling yours up gingerly until you raise your arms and accept the action. Hot hands tug your pants down as hungry lips find yours. You're barely even aware of the light in the room, already lost in the eyes that have you captured. Your fingers trace over his chest as your bra's snapped free, tugged away with barely a glance.
His kisses trail down your chest, and he goes to his knees in front of you, his lips kissing along your hips and down your legs as he frees you of your pants entirely. His actions are quick, but gentle, and you're stifling soft moans and gasps as he strips and kisses you.
"Say it, again." He says, breaking his silence as he stands back up, hands gripping your ass and lifting you up, your body pressing against the need you're sure he's been controlling since you were both hospitalized.
"Hngh?" You mean to ask what, specifically, but instead a pleasurable sound that's twisted in inquiry escapes you as he squeezes you and nips at the tender spot along your neck at the same time.
"My full name," he clarifies, breath and words sinking into your skin. "Say it."
His fire and need threaten to steal coherent thought from you, and you wrap your arms around his shoulders, your voice shivering along the golden spindles that reflect the soft sunlight in the room. "Roronoa Zoro." You let the words tumble from you and feel his whole body tense against yours.
"My... Roronoa Zoro," you say, fingers flexing along his back, tracing thin lines along his skin with your nails.
"Shit," Zoro swears, his body going still for a moment. "Tell me if anything feels off." He says, setting you down and turning you around quickly. His lips are on your neck, kissing along your shoulders. One hand plunges between your thighs, thick hot fingers moving past your clit and curling into your wet slick folds. His other hands steadies you for a moment as you cry out from the sudden pleasure, and then it begins to tease you everywhere it can reach as he moves over to the bed.
"I was gonna let you take the lead," he admits, breath heavy and husky in your ear, his fingers leaving from inside you as he turns you around and lifts you up onto the bed. "If I break the bed, I'll fix it." He promises, causing concern to well up in you.
"Don't break the bed!" You manage just before he pushes into you. Concern mixes with the pleasure that had been building in you since the conversation in the car, and the feeling of being stretched and filled that you had been craving for weeks pushes you over the edge.
Your legs curl around his waist, fingers twined together as he pushes your hands into the mattress, leaning over you. He was never shy about admitting his desires and would only slow or stop if you seemed in need of a break, or asked for one, but even before now he seemed in control of that desire.
Whatever held him back before was nearly breaking. You're held in place, your hands pinned by his, and your body trapped under his. His lips find your nipples, and teeth and lips send pleasure through the stiff flesh relentlessly. As though he cannot push enough pleasure into your body – and the attentive swordsman seems to remember every twist and turn that makes you squirm.
Your fingers and body flex and shiver under him as the pleasure builds again. You try to say his full name again, the syllables shattered by the pleasurable sounds he brings out in you. The pleased hum that vibrates against your tender flesh is the only reassurance you need as the wave crashes into you.
His name passes your lips, a cry of pleasure louder than you meant, and what follows are deep, shuddering thrusts, as he helps you ride the wave before finally giving in to his own pleasure.
He shifts you further onto the bed and lays down beside you. His hand moves over you gently, soft kisses falling on your lips for a moment, as you mumble your appreciation in little blissed-out sounds. When your eyes come into focus, you begin to run absent fingers over him, and he smiles.
"Didn't break the bed." He says proudly.
You smile, snuggling into him. "Your restraint is admirable."
"You have no idea."
"... I think I have some idea." You reply. "Someday, I'd like to know what you are like without any restraint."
There's a slight flinch, and you can feel the heat coming off him. "I'll do my best, but -."
"-Not now." You both say it at the same time and laugh.
A comfortable silence falls between the two of you, as you both seem to have decided to let the afternoon class go home before you even consider stepping out to get cleaned up. After a moment, you begin fiddling with your ring and are reminded of the conversation in the hospital.
"I forgot to ask," you admit, holding up your hand. "Why a star?"
Zoro's face goes red again, but he doesn't cover your face or his. He seems to struggle with what to say, and finally speaks, though he doesn't manage to look at you as he does so.
"It's the North Star." He says finally. "... 'Cause I've always been able to find my way to you."
You can feel the heat in your face, not nearly as warm as the feeling in your heart, and you close your hand, putting the other over it and cradling it against your heart. "As long as you keep finding me," you whisper the words softly, like a small prayer.
CW: Language, stalking, violence, sexual themes and situations, ptsd 18+ only
Chapter 1 - Table of Consent -
Chapter 5: Lost and Found
Mihawk had opened the big gates to allow the car onto the property, and after parking the beastly green vehicle, Zoro came over to the passenger side and picked you up. The two men moved about in silence, sharing maybe a glance or two between them.
You were set on the couch in the family room, pillows already done up to allow you to sit up and stretch out comfortably. Mihawk placed a chair by the couch and sat down. His fierce eyes looked over your foot as Zoro propped it up a little on some spare pillows.
"Would you like something to drink?" Mihawk's voice was steady and even, and maybe even a little softer than usual.
"Coffee, if it's not too much to ask." You say, "I would like to be able to stay up for breakfast, if that's okay."
"It is." Mihawk replies, and Zoro steps out of the room. The older man looks at you, and you have a strange feeling like he's mad. Not mad at you, but angry that you've been hurt. It's only uncomfortable because it feels like a father's rage, and you're not used to that. "Can you tell me what happened?"
You nod after a moment, and for the third time in as many hours, you talk about what happened. Mihawk listens patiently, and neither he nor Zoro interrupt you. You're proud of yourself that you're able to get through it this time without crying, even if the reason for that might simply be the bone-deep exhaustion you can feel weighing you down.
When you finish, Mihawk and Zoro exchange glances.
"Roronoa told me about the incident on the bus." Mihawk explains gently. "I assume moving you in immediately is acceptable."
You swallow and nod. "I appreciate it, honestly. I... I don't know if I could go back in there on my own."
Mihawk catches your gaze, and the weight of his next words were undeniable. "You will have nothing to fear on these grounds, Miss (L/N)."
The tears that came forth this time were just raw relief. You hear Zoro make a noise, something like a strangled grunt, and you put a hand up, wiping your eyes.
"S-s-sorry, I'm j-just... relieved." You hiccup between tears, taking the tissue that someone hands you.
There's a small silence, and once you get yourself sorted Mihawk stands. "Breakfast isn't for another hour, get some rest Miss (L/N), we won't let you miss it."
"Thank you," you smile as Zoro takes the half-drained coffee cup from you. He starts to walk away, but you reach out without thinking. "I -."
You let go as he turns to look at you. You clench your hand, and your gaze is stuck to your foot.
"If it's not too much to ask, can you... stay here for a minute? I – at least until I doze off?"
Zoro hands the coffee cup off to Mihawk and sits down in the seat his father had been in. He almost looks irritated, but you're starting to think he has a bad case of resting bitch face, and possibly no desire to correct it.
You thank him quietly, and your eyes are already closing. It's a lot easier to close your eyes and sleep, knowing who's keeping watch.
.
.
.
.
The smell of food fills your nose as your eyes flutter open. The seat by the couch is empty, but you feel better after your nap. You can hear the sounds of plates and cutlery and mixed with the stronger smell of a hot breakfast it prompts you to move. There's enough furniture and sturdy walls for you to hop your way toward the kitchen without putting your injured foot on the floor.
"You need to stay off your foot." Zoro says, not looking up as you peek into the kitchen.
"It hasn't touched the floor once." You assure him. He points to a place setting, and you hop over and seat yourself.
Breakfast is quiet, and delicious. You have to hold yourself back from eating too much, though it seems like Mihawk and Zoro hardly eat anything. How they manage to keep the muscles you know they have while eating like a couple birds is almost impressive.
"We have the space, so the current plan is to bring over everything from your apartment and we'll have you go through it when your foot's healed." Mihawk explains. "If that's alright with you."
You nod. "There's not much I'm sentimentally attached to, but I'd rather have the chance to go through it than have something come up missing later." You pause, realization sinking in. "Mm, wait, you make it sound like everything is getting moved today."
"Indeed." Mihawk affirms.
Your jaw drops and you look back and forth between them. "But... you have classes, today?"
"And that's precisely how everything will be moved today."
You blink. "Eh?"
"Endurance training," Zoro clarifies.
The gears in your head take a moment to turn and catch up. "Carrying... that's 11 kilometers! Carrying furniture and everything?"
Zoro grunts, and you know what is meant by that, but your brain isn't wrapping around it even a little bit.
"The Saturday morning class are mostly high schoolers and some college students. They all have years with the dojo and are in excess of energy." Mihawk assures you.
You didn't argue, not that you had any right to do so, and after a few more minutes you realized why they were both so calm about it.
The absolute flood of students that showed up was daunting. It wasn't just the Saturday class, but word had gotten out amongst the dojos' students, and almost all of them had arrived. There were a dozen assistants, who were going to stay at points along the route to keep an eye on the students themselves, and at least 50 high school and college students, another 20 middle schoolers, and more girls than you had expected.
Plenty of the students looked at you with curiosity and smiles, but no one dared step past Zoro to come over and pester you. He and Mihawk were both in their dojo uniforms, and there was a surprising air of authority around both of them. You caught yourself admiring Zoro on a few occasions.
After everything had been organized and everyone had been assigned tasks, Zoro made sure you were fine on your own and left to go take care of other things. You could've laid down and grabbed another nap, you were sure, but you stayed sitting up and watching everyone move through your immediate view.
Without your guard standing watch a couple of the passing students risked stopping by to talk to you.
"Are you really Zoro-sensei's match?"
"Aren't you scared of him?"
"What do you do for a living?"
"Do you want something to drink?"
"Mihawk-Shishou says we can help you move around if you want to go anywhere?"
"That's a really pretty name!"
"You're really not scared of Zoro-sensei?"
You did eventually have a couple of the more persistent students help you get to the library. A properly organized library was relaxing, after all, and the library was also more tucked away than the family room.
You had a few minutes of peace to yourself and just listened to the sounds of people moving through the house. The upside to being in the library was that you had a buffer between you and the students. The downside was, that buffer was too big and you needed to go to the bathroom.
With nothing for it, you hopped along the wall, using the bookshelves to keep yourself balanced on your good foot. You got halfway to the door before it opened, and a pair of dark eyes found yours. There was a look of surprise on his face for a split second before the scowl returned.
"Why're you here?" You ask before you can even stop to think how rude the question is.
"I just am." He grumbles, coming over and scooping you up off your feet.
"Eep!" You barely get your arms around his neck as he lifts you up. "Ah, um, b-bathroom. I was trying to get there."
There's a grunt, and you can feel your face turning pink.
"I don't suppose there's a possibility of crutches, at some point?"
"He left to get some." Zoro answers flatly.
"Ah, good." You relax. "I mean, I d-don't mind this, but I'm sure you have better things to do."
"...Not really."
"...I must be heavy?"
Zoro grunts and looks at you with one eyebrow raised.
"Isn't it annoying?"
Zoro opens the bathroom door. "No." He says simply, setting you down inside.
"Hm. Okay." You close the door.
The rest of the day followed in a similar vein. Zoro kept the students away from you, and by lunch everything you had owned in the apartment was somewhere on the property. A room had even been organized and set up for you, and all the female students had packed and organized your clothes into the room for you.
You made sure Mihawk let you extend your thanks to the students for helping, and after that the day was much calmer. There was an afternoon class, but since most everyone in that class had hiked 22 km earlier that day it was fairly subdued, so there wasn't much going on.
You got a chance to call the Library after lunch and explained to Mr. Brook what had happened. He gave you the next seven days off and told you if you needed more time to take it. Meeting a match could be stressful on its own but facing the break-in and essentially being moved in immediately weren't light matters.
You could hear the subdued afternoon class as you looked over the Zen garden, sitting with your legs dangling off the walkway, leaning against one of the supports. You heard the steady footfalls and looked over to see Zoro coming over. He had three swords laced through his belt and adjusted them as he sat down nearby.
"Why three swords?" You question, keeping your gaze out on the garden.
"I wanted to see if I could." He answer.
"What's it called?"
"Eh?"
"Fighting styles have names," you clarify. "You're not just whirling around three swords with no direction, I've seen the photos at the least. So, what's it called?"
"Santoryu."
"I'd like to see it someday." You yawn, it's barely early afternoon, but it feels like a hundred things have already happened.
Zoro gets up and steps off the path, standing in front of you he puts his hands out. You smile and reach out to him as he leans down and picks you up. Your crutches are nearby, but it is easier to just let him do this. He takes you to the couch in the family room like he'd been reading your mind, and after he sets you down, he covers you with a blanket.
"I'm going to get your crutches." He explains, putting a hand on your shoulder before walking off.
One of the student's voices rings in your ear from earlier, and you think that Zoro is the last person you would ever be afraid of. You drift off into your nap with a soft smile on your face. You don't hear Zoro return with your crutches, and you don't notice as he sits with you, napping in the chair beside you.
