BRAIDS
A/N: There was a list of dialogue prompts on Tumblr, so I decided to take the prompts and write different fics for different ships I like based on the same prompt. This is based on prompt #1: "It's really not that complicated."
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Zoro growled in frustration at the three strings pinned to the table. "This," he said, "is dumb. Why does there need to be three sections?"
"And why do you need to use three swords?" retorted Perona. "It's just how braids work. Here – I'll show you again."
She nudged him aside and took hold of the strings. "It's really not that complicated. Look. You take the right one and put it over the middle section. Then the left one crosses over…"
He watched, only half comprehending what she was saying or doing. He could hardly believe that he was even attempting to learn to braid. But he couldn't exactly blame Perona. It had been Mihawk's idea, after all.
"You need to work on refining your finger grips and wrist work," Mihawk had said. "Perona shall teach you to braid. The fine work will exercise your arm and hand muscles differently, and perhaps at the end of it all, you can help braid her hair."
Perona had taken on the task with glee, saying that she hadn't had anyone to help braid her hair since Kumashi.
"Here. Try again," said Perona, handing the strings over to him.
He gritted his teeth and set to work.
It took a long time – two weeks, in fact – before Zoro could produce a simple braid of string. But once he grasped the concept, he rapidly improved and by the end of two months, he could and did braid Perona's hair.
"My, my." Perona reached behind her head to touch the thick braid. She pulled it over her shoulder so she could see it better. "I must say, this is almost miraculous."
Zoro folded his arms and looked smugly at her. "And you thought I couldn't do it."
She arched an eyebrow at him in the mirror. "You thought you couldn't do it either."
"Yeah, well, don't get used to it. I'm not going to do this thing for you all the time."
"Really?" said Perona, standing up and tossing the braid back. "That's a pity. This new skill of yours is" – she gave him a meaningful look – "quite attractive."
"Is it now?"
"Mmm, yes. I think this is quite an achievement for you. It deserves a reward." And without waiting for a response, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his.
Minutes later, feeling quite thoroughly kissed, Zoro thought it might not be such a bad idea to get better at this braiding thing.
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Super short, but I wasn't trying to write ultra serious fics for the prompts ^^