'Come on here, darling, I'm not going to hurt you~'
'You're one sweet looking girl, follow me.'
'Come with me, girl, I'll give you the world.'
Breaking out in cold sweat from the nightmare of male voices, she got up from the soft fur she had fallen asleep on. What happened? Raising her head, she saw that she was lying on Chopper, and that she was wearing a pair of gloves and a mask. Wiping her forehead dry, she took the gloves and mask off, starting to feel the hangover kicking in.
Zoro was awake from her getting up so abruptly, as he yawned once, looking at her direction.
She was 5 feet away, looking distressed, one hand on her forehead. Not wanting to get closer to her in case she felt uncomfortable, Zoro continued watching her get up and start clearing the place. Surprised at her actions, he, too, got up and began stacking the plates.
"...Zoro?"
"Aren't you going to stand away from me? Chopper said you're allergic to me, right?"
Grinning at Chopper's diagnosis, Zoro let the gentle waves of the dawn settle into his ears. She inched away at that warning, wondering if that was even possible.
"I'm...not sure, but... it'd be nice if I got some help anyway."
Covering her mouth as if he carried some sort of infectious germ, she gathered all the empty cups and plates, bringing it into the kitchen. Zoro did the same, wiping the table clean afterward. Everyone else was fast asleep, leaving the two to quietly move about. She bit onto her lower lip, her movements slowing down.
"Zoro. Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah."
"Did you wake up because I did?"
"Yeah."
He, too, was feeling quite hungover— between the teasing and realisations. He had drunk a lot more sake than usual. She lowered her face, pulling the red outerwear tightly against herself.
"Well... I'm sorry."
"Hey, don't be sorry. Apologising all the time will make your apologies seem insincere too, you know."
"Oh, uh, I meant it. I'm sor— I mean, thank you."
"That's better."
Watching the sink fill up with soapy water, Zoro watched her being efficient in doing the kitchen work. He rested his hands on the sinktop, turning off the tap to start scrubbing.
"Hey, you're good at his housekeeping thing."
"Well... I did go through many life experiences. I've lived as a housemaid, a princess, a homeless person, a hostage plenty of times... The list could go on. I guess you can say I can do a bit of everything."
"That's...."
Zoro was about to utter the word 'impressive' but instead clenched his jaw and stopped mid sentence. She let out a sigh, feeling uneasy at the nightmare she had just had.
"You alright?"
"Yeah. Just had a nightmare. I mean, some guys did force me to drink, too. Although, yesterday, it was all on my own accord. I've never laughed this much for years."
Alcohol as a substance to bully rather than to enjoy. Zoro frowned at that, hating everyone who had made her life hell. I guess what I enjoyed without much thought is what traumatised her before, he thought. Adding onto the things to reflect on during his meditation session, he finished the pile of plates, as she came closer to start drying them with a clean towel. Since the kitchen was built to Sanji's height, Zoro was in charge of putting the dried plates on the higher shelves while she wiped. Her lethargic voice soon filled Zoro's ears as he turned around to give her a look.
"Zoro. I don't feel so good. I'll be outside."
She then headed out of the kitchen, leaving him to complete the task. He simply glanced in her direction for a while before hurrying to finish everything. Meanwhile, she had gulped down a cup of water as she went around putting blankets over everyone. Afterwhich, she stared out into the sky as if waiting for the sun to rise. The air sure feels good when you are glad to be alive, she thought, breathing in the fresh air of the dawn. As she was blankly staring into the horizon, she noticed a clean smell coming from nearby when she saw Zoro walking out with a towel over his neck.
Seeing his body built like an armor made her jaw open subconsciously, as Zoro looked away from the attention he was getting.
"Well, I've showered. So... Don't worry. You shouldn't be allergic to me anymore."
"Zoro..."
He's one considerate man, she thought. Did he really go through that just because I said I wasn't feeling too good? Feeling touched at his small action, she teared up a little, her arms hugging onto herself. She didn't know how to learn on someone's shoulder or to ask for a hug, so she decided to ask for one from herself. It felt familiar, but the chilly wind felt sharper for some reason.
"I mean... It's refreshing, too. Maybe you should go ahead and... I mean, you can shower if you want to, not that I'm asking you to."
Feeling a little weirded out at asking someone else, a woman on top of that, to take a bath, Zoro stuttered his words as she drank another sip of water and headed to the washroom. Perhaps that's just what I needed, she thought.
While she was gone to the bathroom, Zoro noticed the blankets she had placed over everybody and felt the warmth of her kind heart just by looking at it. Brook was right. It would be a sin to break that pure heart of hers. Dropping the towel, he put on a simple white tee shirt, enjoying the calm seas and gorgeous sky.
Soon, she appeared again, her hair still wet from the shower. Zoro couldn't help but recognise that she is indeed a female, an objectively attractive one at that, coming out of the shower while smiling at him. Even though he didn't like her or feel any differently about her, he did feel slightly atttacted to the powdery, floral scent that hit his nose.
"You're right. I do feel better."
"Nothing better than getting drunk, sleeping it off, then showering."
"I guess you guys get drunk often."
"Not really. I drink the most out of everyone."
"Really. How do you still maintain such a figure... It must be your crazy training."
Muttering to herself, she felt her ears burning up instantly as Zoro scratched the nape of his neck as well. This girl loves blurting out weird facts about me.
"... Am I allergic to you still?"
"No no. Must be the wet hair and wind combination. You shouldn't stay out in the cold, you know, with your hair so wet."
"Right... But I do want to stay out, though. The sky is so pretty."
"Well then, you should..."
His voice dropping a pitch, he grabbed his extra shirt, placing it over her head and tying it around her chin as if shielding her face from the sun. Seeing her face looking extra round in that state, Zoro chuckled to himself, tightening the knot.
"It's starting to hurt!"
"It's for your own good. Keep it there."
"Having a blast, aren't you."
Rolling her eyes, she stared into the distance while Zoro looked intently at her.
////
The sun rose soon enough, painting the sky a warm orange. It was the type of warm light that did not hurt to be under. They have taken a seat after moments of standing still, as she has been continuously sipping on a cup of water in the hopes of getting rid of the hangover. Zoro fell asleep a while back, missing the sunrise. She turned to observe him from an arm's length. He's truly the man that's promised forever with me, huh. I heard he gets lost a lot... how would he come and find me then? All sorts of thoughts running through in her head, she stared at his shoulders. They looked as if an accidental bump on the streets would make a normal human fall to the ground. His shoulders declared its presence with its wide length and thick width, looking rather intimidating. My neck hurts, and I kind of want to lean on it... Staring hard at Zoro's shoulder, she brood over that thought when the scent of flowers overpowered her nose, and a force pushed her head onto his shoulder.
"Oh.... My heart... not again!"
Feeling her heart beating fast at the sudden physical touch between her and Zoro, she tried to remain calm, her cheek pressed against the firm and warm skin of his. It does feel kind of comforting, but....
"I think I AM allergic to Zoro. Yeap, Dr. Chopper can't be wrong... but... I don't wanna get up either..."
Her senses overpowering her rational side, she remained in that state, her eyes closed forcefully. Maybe it's the hangover. Maybe it's the shirt compressing my cheeks. Maybe it's just.... I don't know, what is this feeling? It's like... I want to feel it, yet I don't. Her heart continued racing, unsure if she should take precautions lest she was really allergic to him. Soon, she heard a faint chuckle from behind, and she turned around to check for the source of it. Robin was smiling to herself, sitting quietly below the huge umbrella.
"Robin..."
Robin must be the one who pushed my head onto Zoro, she thought, as she used that as an excuse to further away from the sleeping swordsman.
"What's with that shirt over your head?"
Chuckling to herself, Robin pointed at the shirt still tied tightly around her face as she tried to clumsily pull it off. Seeing her struggle, Robin lent a hand, freeing her from Zoro's oversized shirt.
"... Robin. Why...."
"First of all, thank you for the blanket. I assume it's you who did it?"
"Yeah, but."
"Well, you liked it, didn't you?"
Flashing her a genuine smile, Robin poked fun at the confused lady, who was obviously trying to search for an answer. Robin watched her holding Zoro's shirt close to herself, a red line indented on her cheeks to show how tightly Zoro had tied it around her unassuming face.
"Well... I don't know. I'm actually not sure. I've been desired but never desired for anyone before. Oh, sorry. I don't mean it in a bragging way."
"Don't worry. I know what you mean. You've been through a lot."
"... Robin... Thank you."
"Care to tell me how you feel? Maybe I can help."
At Robin's offer to lend a hand, she paused for a while, collecting her thoughts. Am I still drunk? No. I'm sober. Well, what do I tell her? What I told Brook? Fiddling with the shirt that's now scented like her own shampoo, she looked down at the ground, before taking a seat next to Robin.
"Well... Chopper said I might be allergic to him. I mean, his very presence, and just the thought of him, makes my heart race, making me nervous and unsure of what to do. It's weird, like when I first saw him, I instantly knew to follow him. Even though it was half forced by his brute strength."
Robin nodded along to her honest thoughts, all the pieces of the puzzle matching in her busy brain. Robin pondered if she should tell her the truth right now, when she decided it'd be more fun, and kind of cute to see her figure it out herself.
"All I can say is, it's nothing bad. In fact, you should spend more time with Zoro. Then you'll know what it truly is."
"Huh? So... I'm not allergic to him?"
"No human can be allergic to another human. Not that Chopper is a bad doctor, but... well, let's just say I know human emotions a little better than our cute reindeer."
"Oh... okay. That's great to hear!"
Sighing in relief, she thanked Robin once again, placing the shirt over her face to block the sun that was starting to get into their faces.
"By the way, when we first met, you said you knew me. What was that about?"
"Well, I knew of your presence. You were someone I've always wanted to meet."
"....Oh... I'm sorry. Did I inconvenience you?"
"No no, not at all. I just... I guess I just wanted to.... Hmm, how do I put it? I wanted to see the history behind your story. The origin of how you became a magnet to all those men."
It was rare for a female to want to meet her for such genuine reasons. Her heart beating fast again, she placed a hand over her chest, muttering to herself 'this isn't an allergic reaction'. Robin chuckled lowly, her gaze all loving and affectionate.
"Well... I was cursed by a witch when I was young. My life has been hell since then. At first, I thought it was nice. Every boy was nice to me, but I realised every boy was nice to me. Even those with a girlfriend, you know. Then I started getting hate from girls... And boys began to want to capture me. And yeah. It wasn't easy."
"I can only imagine."
The sun shone brightly onto the Thousand Sunny, as the conversation got deeper and deeper. Robin closed her eyes for a while, thinking back to how she didn't want to live another day as well. Before they could continue their conversation, Sanji and Brook started getting up slowly, forcing the two ladies to halt their sharing.
"Mm... Wait, it's so clean?"
That was the first sentence that came out of Sanji's mouth — he was awake earlier habitually and in worry of cleaning the mess from the previous night, but it was spotless, even for the Sanji who had high standards for hygine. He soon turned to see the two ladies hanging out, as he floated over, wiggling along to Brook's morning alarm.
"Oh, what a beautiful way to start the day!"
This commotion got everyone else awake, as the newest crew member gave Sanji a soft grin.
"Zoro and I cleaned the place, to thank you for the meal. It was so delicious!"
"That marimo?! And wait.. Your precious hands?!"
Sanji's wiggling came to a pause for a brief moment, before he ran into the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for the two ladies who were staring at his cheerful antics. Every other member was stretching, yawning, and sobering up to face another day of adventures.
To be continuedddddd!!!! >w<