“Do you believe in soulmates?” You ask softly, eyes on the ever twinkling night sky and your mind a million miles away. Zoro takes a steady swig of sake, curiously gazing down at you. He knows what you want him to say but he’s never been one to lie.
“No.” Was all he wanted to say, but your slight recoil had his tongue tangling for more words to grasp on to. “Not really.”
“Why not?” You turn to look at him now, away from whatever star had captured your attention and floated you up into a space he could never quite follow.
“Doesn’t make sense to me.” He shrugs, hiding his lips behind the nose of the bottle.
Your wide eyes did nothing but dig at his heart a little more. With a soft sigh, he puts the bottle to the side, trying to figure out how to put it all into words, something he wasn’t keen on doing yet he’d do anything for you.
“I work for what I want. I don’t expect things to be handed to me because some other force said so. I want to be with you because my heart tells me so.”
You’re quiet for a moment as you mull over his words, acceptance spreading across your expression.
“That makes sense.” Your gaze lifts back up at the stars and he almost thinks he said something wrong. “You choose me, not because you have to but because you want to.”
“Yes.” Zoro throws an arm around you and pulls you flush against him, the need to be close to you too strong to ignore anymore. “Just like I choose to be part of the crew and to make myself stronger every day.”
The unspoken confession lies between the words he whispers lowly, that you fall among the core values that are engrained into him and make him who he is.
Loving you was an extension of himself, as unyielding as the steel that makes up his blades. Forged by discipline and sharpened by loyalty, he lives to be by your side throughout it all — soulmates be damned.