Flowery Prose
[AN: This is built from three headcannons: flowery tattoo!Zoro, Namakura Islander!Perona, and Zoro, Perona, and Mihawk all being a poly relationship.]
Zoro staggered inside the mossy castle with exasperated groans and grunts. He wasn't wounded badly but he was awfully bloody. He caught the attention of the resident Ghost 'Princess' and she floated towards him with her ghostly manservant in tow who was carting around a medical kit.
'How were they today? Getting any easier?' Perona asked.
'God no.' retorted Zoro and he found some place to collapse. One of her ghosts trailed after him with bandages flailing. Perona disappeared for a moment and returned; the sound of her boots clicking against the stone flooring signalled it. She sighed and began to patch up Zoro.
Zoro made no conversation whilst Perona wrapped him up. Perona tried to be sociable. She was lonely without Mihawk around and she no longer had Kumashi to accompany her. 'Of course those stupid apes aren't getting easier. The more you train, the more they train. Isn't that right? Early days as well… Anyway, Mihawk will be coming home soon. I wonder if he's brought presents. I've been practising my own powers as well and Mihawk taught me the basics of art so I've taken that up as a hobby. He has a good eye for it, you know.'
Zoro grunted and opened his eyes. His pupils travelled to the corners. Even though there was a skull-shattering headache rooted in his brain and ringing in his ears, he could hear it. Perona paused and now she could hear it too. Zoro closed his eyes again.
Click. Clack. Perona wasn't the only one who liked to wear boots with enough heel to make noises on the floor. Mihawk was fond of such gaudy boots as well.
'Honeys, I'm home.' Mihawk announced with a voice that dripped with sarcasm. Perona finished up bandaging Zoro and Mihawk came closer. Zoro was slumped against the wall, near a ratty tapestry, and Perona was crouched next to him. Perona got to her feet and dusted dirt off of her knees and skirt. 'Good evening.' Perona said to Mihawk and the two leaned in.
'Mwah, mwah.' Perona mumbled as she kissed Mihawk once on both cheeks. He smiled curtly and sourly but appreciated the affection.
'It's good to see you both. C'mon, up you get.' Mihawk said and he kicked the sole of Zoro's foot. He groaned but made no effort to get up. 'Lazy sack, aren't you? No wonder you get your ass kicked daily by the Humandrills.'
That stirred a reaction and slowly Zoro got up without stumble. 'Excellent. Now, let's have dinner like a family. I am famished.' Mihawk said; again his voice was dripping with sarcasm.
'I made dinner. I'm still not good at cooking.' Perona pouted.
'But we shall eat it anyway. We'll make a bride out of you yet.' Mihawk said and the men followed Perona to the kitchens.
Flour plastered the walls and the stench of soot was in the air. It seemed unlikely that Perona would master the culinary art any time soon but there wasn't to be wasted food as there wasn't much opportunity for agriculture and hunting on the island.
The three took a bowl of the stew each and ate wherever they liked; within the vicinity of one another. 'I found something quite interesting on my latest travels.' he boomed.
'Really? What's that?' Perona asked.
'A tattoo kit.' Mihawk said.
'Ah, that is interesting.' Perona said. 'But why did you decide to take it?'
Mihawk sighed. 'I just thought it would be an interesting toy for you both, my dears.'
'In what way?' Zoro grunted.
'Take a guess.' Mihawk rolled his eyes. 'Tattoos are a very good way to record history and to disguise scars. Perona has an eye for details, I thought it would keep her amused and I thought that you would have already have one, to be honest: somewhere on your body, I expected to see the Strawhat insignia.'
'I don't love the bastard that much.' Zoro shook his head.
Perona pushed her empty bowl to the side. The few, scungy leftovers in the bowl were charred and glued to the side of the ceramic bowl. 'Hm, I wonder what I should get. I've always wanted a tattoo. The occasion just never arose.'
'Well I would get religious symbology and suchlike, but that's just my personal opinion.' Mihawk said.
'No, God has abandoned us... me.' Perona mused; letting slip a hint to her past.
Over the next few days, no one touched the tattoo equipment because no one had decided on a pattern they wanted forever on their skin. However it was Mihawk who put a design on himself first. He had Perona put a delicate inversed crucifix on his wrist; well Perona insisted that it was inversed as Mihawk saw it as normal. He wasn't swayed either way.
Mihawk easily distracted Perona during his tattoo procedure. He purposely made her steady hands wobble by kissing the side of her face and whispering sweet nothings in her ears. Her face went red as she tried to focus on putting his tattoo on his wrist.
Perona did a test run on herself. It was tricky but she managed to put a pentacle on her hip. She was lucky that it was made of simple shapes or else her beautiful, pale as porcelain skin would be marred by something hideous forever.
It was Zoro who thought that he wouldn't ever get a tattoo but one day after getting a terrible cut along his upper arm, he changed his mind. After it healed and left a scar, Perona noticed that the scar looked like the thin branch of a cherry tree. She was inspired and did a sketch of it. Zoro thought that it looked nice so he decided that he would try it.
Mihawk was surprised. He thought that Zoro would already have experiences with tattoos but apparently not so he made sure to tease them both during the procedure. He made Perona's hands weak but kissing her along her cheek and collarbones. He made Zoro blush by lacing his hands over Zoro's and creating sexual implications out of suggestions for his tattoo.
Perona was gentle with the tattoo equipment and thorough with sanitation. She didn't think she would have to be too gentle since Zoro could easily crush boulders with his hands and it showed in his muscular physique but she couldn't bring herself to be rough. Perona tenderly put the design on Zoro's forearm. She used the scar as the branch and didn't elaborate it beyond its natural composition. It seemed it would fade one day soon but since Zoro's training was intensive, it was likely to recur so she still made sure to put a pattern over it. Then she began putting on petals.
It was a lengthy procedure that took them well into the night but Zoro didn't mind but Mihawk did as he eventually left for his private quarters when he realised that he wasn't going to get a rise out of Zoro and only scolding from Perona.
The tattoo needle didn't hurt him; he actually fell asleep to Perona's irritation but the following morning, when he woke, Zoro found the cherry tree brand on his arm and he had to admit, he liked it. He liked the way it reached outwards from his shoulder and the way the petals were so loose. It would also be easy to hide and it paved the way to a strange mindset: he wouldn't mind another tattoo.
Over the course of two years, Zoro's body became Perona's sketchbook. She began a love affair with a floral muse. An oak tree was on his back by the end of it, he had vines on his forearms, and a whole bouquet's worth of other flowers on him. Also, in the midst of all the flowers and plants, a realistic skull wearing a straw-hat could be found on his pectorals; over his heart. The design had been placed there by Mihawk actually.