AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda! ^_^

Hey! It's Tuesday again, and now we have the start of a new story! Thank you so much to everyone that read/reviewed/followed/favourited 'His Sixth Year Crush'! This is a little darker...as in, a lot darker (it's the world of One Piece, not the world of a teenage Zoro)...the inspiration for this was 'Lips of an Angel' by Hinder – if you know the song, you'll have a rough idea where this is going to start...and explanations are given in bits throughout the story ^_^ This is just the start of the turmoil, but I'm warning you now, this will involve some minor language, some adult themes and some 'minor' violence towards the end. Death is also mentioned, and sadly I do not mean the wonderful skeletal guy from Terry Pratchett's Disc World – may he rest in peace (Terry Pratchett, not Death). This is technically just a T due to the guidelines, but I felt a warning should be given (Copied and pasted for T: Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.)

Chapter One – Moved On

Bup, bup, bup.

Bup, bup, bup.

Bu-Cachunk.

"Hello?" He sighed, glancing back at his warm bed.

"Hello, Zoro-san."

Zoro's eyes shot wide as he instantly woke up, recognising the woman's voice on the other side of the den-den mushi. He hadn't heard her voice in over three years. The last time she'd spoken to him, they'd said their goodbyes and he'd walked off the ship to find his way to the dojo, Koshiro having met him at the port. He'd thought it was goodbye forever, and he'd been pretty sure she'd thought that too. It had been a long time since the crew had started going their separate ways, and too long since he'd heard her laugh.

"Robin? Are you ok?" He whispered hoarsely down the receiver, glancing back at the sleeping body in the bed.

"I am fine, but are you, Zoro-san? You sound terrible."

"I'm fine. My girlfriend's asleep and I'm trying not to wake her, give me a minute." He answered, putting the receiver on the table, quickly pulling on a pair of trousers and grabbing the den-den mushi, making for the kitchen. "What's up? You haven't called me since I left the ship, so this must be pretty serious." Zoro continued, talking normally.

"Girlfriend, Zoro-san?"

"...yeah, it's a long story. I'd probably just bore you." Zoro replied, trying to keep his voice neutral.

"I'd heard that congratulations were in order, is that not true?"

"Shit, is that why you're calling?!" Zoro asked, a hand rubbing his forehead. "We're not actually engaged. Everyone in the village keeps saying I should have proposed by now...we've been together about a year now, and I guess I kinda still feel it's a little fast. You don't need to worry, I'm not engaged but it's apparently on the table – she just laughs whenever someone asks us if we have a date yet. I don't even know how to take that...I'm not ready yet."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Zoro-san, but I'm glad that you still feel like you can talk to me, even after all this time." Zoro could hear the sad smile behind her seemingly musical voice.

"It's been too long. I never know if it's ok to call you, so I was waiting on you." Zoro sighed, smirking bitterly at the irony of what he'd just said.

"I was never sure if you wanted to hear from me. I was glad when I heard you had found someone a year ago, and I thought I had better call to say congratulations when I heard of your engagement." Zoro flinched, imagining the hurt she must be feeling.

He hadn't wanted to move on, but they were taking different paths. It wouldn't have worked. He was coming back to the dojo and she was going to help Dragon with stabilising the world after the revolution. They needed her more than he did, and he wouldn't have been all that helpful considering they didn't need swordsmen. They needed doctors and people to help with reassuring the innocent people that had managed to pass through the revolution. They needed people who were good with medical things and talking. They didn't need him, but they'd needed her. They'd taken her away from him, just as they'd decided to come clean.

He'd told her that he loved her and left her less than two months later.

He'd found someone else, and tried to forget her.

All he could be happy about was that Chopper had gone with her. They had each other.

"Yeah, thanks...I'll remember that for if I ever do get engaged...how's Chopper?" He didn't want to talk about his relationship, not with her.

"Chopper is fine, Zoro-san. His antlers look really impressive now when he's in his reindeer form. He's getting big – it's safe to say he's all grown up. He probably has a lot to tell you. He'd love to see everyone."

"Yeah, I would too. Happy to hear he's getting on ok, no-one's been bullying him for being a human blue nosed reindeer, right?" He asked, remembering the normal reaction to someone seeing him for the first time.

"He hasn't told me if anyone has, Zoro-san." Zoro smiled as he heard her laugh, happy to hear its happy chime once again.

"There better not be, or they'll have to deal with me." Zoro finished with a smirk. "And I'm assuming you've been keeping tabs on everyone else too?"

"Yes, everyone is fi-"

"Who's calling at this time of night? Come back to bed – you can call them back in the morning. If it's Dragon, tell him you need sleep too – he works you too hard."

Zoro stared at the den-den mushi on the table. He hadn't been expecting that voice. He wasn't expecting it to be telling her to come back to bed. It wasn't supposed to be there. It wasn't supposed to be near Robin. She wasn't supposed to have found someone, never mind ending up with him. She couldn't be with him. Zoro wasn't going to let that happen.

Zoro silently cursed. He was being unreasonable. It had been three years and he'd started seeing someone. She had the right to move on too, and he had no right to decide who she did or didn't see. He'd given up waiting on her call. He'd given up on her. He'd tried to forget her, as he'd thought she'd forgotten him. He knew what hurt so much at that moment was that she had forgotten him. She had moved on. She'd moved onto someone else and forgotten him. She'd found someone he even knew, so shouldn't that make it easier? No, that just made it worse.

He could actually see them together when he closed his eye.

"Zoro-ya? Sorry! Hadn't realised it was you! Robin just got home, so would you mind calling back tomorrow? Congratulations on the engagement!"

"I'm not engaged." Zoro stated, the unfriendliness clear in his voice.

"Sorry, I heard a rumour you were – it's not often Robin's sources are wrong." Zoro could hear the mocking tone in Law's voice and knew he had his arm around Robin.

"I'm going to go back to bed. I've got an early start tomorrow." Zoro explained with a deadly seriousness to his voice.

"Oh? Didn't you call Robin?" Zoro heard the confusion in his voice and stared back at the den-den mushi, wondering what Robin had told Law.

"Yeah, but I'm feeling really tired. I thought I'd just call to find out how the rest of the crew was." Zoro lied, curious as to why he felt the need to.

"Good night, Zoro-san."

"Good night, Robin...Law."

"Night, Zoro-ya."

Zoro put the receiver back down on the den-den mushi and sighed. She was with Law now. Even if part of him wished it was her asleep in his bed at that moment, he knew it would never happen. They had both found someone else. Their time had come and gone. Fate had pulled them apart and who was he to argue? He'd been the one to try to move on without even knowing if she had. If they were supposed to be together then they'd cross paths again. That had been what he'd told himself as he'd said his short goodbye and that was what he had to tell himself now. He sighed again.

He hadn't even kissed her goodbye.

He picked up the den-den mushi and turned around, almost stepping into someone as he stared down at the now silent den-den mushi, silently wishing it would ring. He looked up to find himself staring at a very concerned looking face, instantly wishing he'd been quieter. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He wanted to go back to bed. He wanted to go back to sleep. He wanted to forget. He wanted to forget her.

"Who was that, Zoro?"

"No-one. I'm going back to bed."

"Zoro, I've known you long enough to know when something is bothering you. Who were you talking to? It's the middle of the night and you look miserable."

"Don't say anything to her, ok?" Zoro waited for a nod of agreement from Koshiro before continuing. "Robin called to say congratulations on my engagement."

"She was the tall lady that you seemed very close to when you were leaving the ship? She seemed very nice. Did you thank her?" Koshiro asked, Zoro noticeably flinching at the term 'very close'.

"Yeah, and I explained it was a little early for congratulations." Zoro watched as an understanding smile appeared across the older man's lips.

"That must have been a very difficult conversation. You had to tell her that you had in fact found someone. Had you ever told the lady of your feelings for her?"

"Yes, I did..." Zoro replied, looking away.

"How did she respond?"

"She told me that she felt the same. We'd been together over a month when I left the ship." Zoro explained, not looking back at Koshiro, "I didn't even kiss her goodbye, and I kinda wish I had. Even if it had been our last, it would have been a better goodbye than the one I gave her. I gave Nami a better goodbye."

"Nami?"

"Yeah, she was our navigator. You probably saw her wanted poster. We didn't always get along, but at least I smiled when I said goodbye. I genuinely wanted her to do well – she was going to make a book of all her maps and ask her sister to get it published...I was just bitter that Robin wouldn't come with me...she was needed elsewhere, and couldn't come with me. I couldn't have given her a colder goodbye." Zoro looked up, wondering if Koshiro understood.

"You certainly seemed very close to me, even if it seemed a little cold to you. You assumed you were never going to see or hear from her again and chose to be slightly distant from her. You were protecting yourself, and sparing her feelings for when you later moved on."

"And if I hadn't? Would it be me she was with right now and not him?!" Zoro snapped, quickly feeling guilty.

"Ah, I see the problem. You have both moved on now, not just her. You are happy with your choice, are you not? You have a wonderful young lady awaiting you right now, one that shares your interests. She seems ready to remain by your side, while this other lady chose not to. I cannot influence you, Zoro, but I believe from watching you daily that you have indeed moved on."

Zoro nodded silently and excused himself. He was going to sleep. He'd figure everything out in the morning. He was too tired to think right now. He needed sleep. He needed his bed. He was going to curl up around his girlfriend and wake up tomorrow, happy with his decision. He wasn't going to regret anything. He wasn't supposed to be with Robin. Tomorrow he'd go out and get the ring. He'd make it official. Robin had congratulated him. She'd found someone else and moved on.

Zoro sighed and climbed into the bed, wrapping himself around his warm girlfriend, causing her to stir slightly before they both fell back asleep as if they'd never been woken.

And so it begins...

Hope you liked it! ^_^ I'm also posting the first chapter of a request today! The story is called 'In The End'! It will be M-rated! ^_^

And just a little reminder for Zorobin fans, there is a poll on my profile for anyone who wants to take part! ^_^ You don't actually need to be reading the story - the sketches could technically stand on their own too! ;P