Zoro x Reader

The Distance

I woke up to a blanket of stars above my head and a cold layer of sand beneath me. I was nestled up against Zoro, his arm keeping me wrapped tightly. Careful not to disturb the snoring swordsman, I nimbly maneuvered out of his grip, tip-toeing away from him. I walked down to the shore, enjoying the crispness of night air. Our small boat bobbed in the waves, it's white sail sicking out against the darkness of the sky. I pulled out the note that was tucked snugly in my bra; the coordinates that I had already memorized repeated themselves on the paper. 

"We're not that far away... If we started sailing now, I bet we could make it by morning." I turned back to look at my sleeping partner; it was clear that he wasn't waking up anytime soon. I sighed, walking back to where he was to try and figure out a way to carry him. Despite only being 178 cm, Zoro still toppled over my small stature of only 155 cm, which was going to make this whole thing even more difficult.

First, I grabbed his ankle and pulled him slowly across the sand. The only thing that accomplished was landing me in the sand as well. "I need to get him on my back... Maybe then I can carry him."  So, I carefully grabbed both of his arms, somehow managing to maneuver the limp body onto me. His bare chest pressed against my back while his arms hung around my neck. I could feel his head on my shoulder, the faint scent of alcohol still lingering on his breath. 

Even though Zoro was on my back, it didn't make the situation any easier; the collective weight of all his rippling muscles were hard to handle. Somehow, I managed to stagger across the sand, his feet creating a trail behind us. 

By the time I had made it to our small sailboat, a thin trickle of sweat was dripping down my brow. With as much care as I could muster, I laid him down on the deck and quickly checked his bandages. Everything seemed to be intact and there wasn't any visible blood staining the cloth yet. I let out a small sigh of relief as I let my fingers run across the ends of his hair. Again, the soft tickle brought a swift pounding upon my chest. 

I didn't let myself linger though, as we had to get going if we wanted to make it by morning. I yanked at the sails and reeled in the anchor before checking the small compass that was in my pocket; after setting course, I adjusted the large white sail so that we got maximum wind performance. Soon, the boat was speeding ahead on the smooth night waters.

I kept my eyes trained on the sea despite the continuous feeling of fatigue that began to rack my body. Though I had napped with Zoro beforehand, I had only been asleep for about an hour so my body retained almost no benefits besides the blush-inducing memories. After a while longer I heard a small groan from behind. I glanced behind my shoulder to see Zoro sitting up while rubbing his neck. "Well look who finally woke up."

He smirked, getting up to stand next to me at the helm. "Feels like someone was dragging me in my sleep. And how'd we get on here anyways?" He took another glance around to see no evidence if land in any direction. "Or, better question, where are we?!"

"Calm down," I fished the piece of paper from out of my bra again, Zoro nervously glancing away as I messed around with my cups. "Here. We're headed here." I tapped the scribbled numbers on the crinkled paper. "So is this where Nami is? And the Going Merry?" He squinted out at the dark sea, as though he was trying to figure out if we were close or not. 

"Yeah..." I leaned against the edge of the boat, a spray of cool water hitting my face. I thought about the man next to me, who was currently inspecting his swords dangerously close to my head. "What is even going on between us? Is sexual tension even the right word when I can't sort out my own feelings? I mean, it's something... Right?"

A small sigh escaped my lips as I buried my head in my arms; feelings were too hard. How do normal people deal with this kinda stuff?! "Hey Y/n," Zoro slid his swords back into their respective sheaths. "Is that the place?" He pointed to an island that broke out against the deep blue of the expansive waters. The sun was already peeking out from behind it, allowing me to guess the time of early morning. I double checked the coordinates on the paper, excited to see that is was a match. "Yeah! That's it!"

We both leaned forward to get a better look at the topography of the island itself. "Do you see any place that we could dock?" I was practically leaning off the edge at this point, balancing precariously on the thin wooden rail. "Y/n, stop that," Zoro came up from behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me back. "Maybe I could be looking for one if I wasn't focused on you!"

There was a beat of silence while both of us processed what had just gone on. As the pieces clicked together in my mind, a felt heat pour into my cheeks. Zoro wasn't any better; his entire face had turned bright red, even touching the tips of his ears. "Umm! What I... What I meant to say was that I couldn't focus! Yeah, I was too busy making sure you didn't fall into the water or something..."

"But... Isn't that still focusing on me? Were you worried about me Zo-chan?" I tried to act innocent, gently tugging at my bottom lip just to tease him. "Shut up!" He chuckled, licking his own lips and bashfully running his fingers through his hair. "God, he's so sexy..." I opened my mouth to respond, but I was cut off by the sound of voices. 

"Did you hear that?" Glancing off of the side of the boat at the island, I saw some type of creatures walking around. "Yeah, I definitely heard something..." Zoro placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. After squinting at the strange beings for a bit longer, his eyes widened. "Y/n... What are those?" He pointed out at the things walking around. I stared at them for a few more minutes before remembering something that I had read a while back. 

"No! They couldn't be!" Quivering slightly, I took a step back with my mouth covered by my hands. "What?!" Zoro looked back, slightly panicked. "Fish men..." I swallowed hard, steadying my body with a grimace. "I've never fought one before, but I heard that they're several times more powerful than men. They can pick up houses like toys and are exceptional fighters on both land and in water. And what's worse is.... What's worse is that we ended up coming to the worst of the worst."

"What do you mean?"

"Zoro... Have you ever heard of Arlong?"