Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

When Chopper joined the crew, the reindeer learned a wonderful thing called friendship. The only friends he had ever befriended with were Dr. Hiruruk and Dr. Kureha, but Dr. Hiruruk was more of a fatherly figure and Dr. Kureha-she had a strange way of showing affection. She, no matter how eccentric she could be, was a mother to him.

Luffy and Usopp, who were close to his age, introduced him to games Chopper never heard before. Of course, it was mainly because the reindeer never seen a rubber man. They usually played games such as tag, fishing, playing bouncing house on Luffy's stretched body. There were other activities the duo showed Chopper, which weren't really considered 'games,' but they called it 'games' anyway. It was a mixture between Luffy and Usopp's idea: sneak into the kitchen and steal the sweet snacks Sanji was preparing for Nami and Vivi.

When they were successful, Chopper was able to eat the most delicious and sweetest delicacy. When they were caught, Luffy and Usopp earned a bump on the head by an iron hard kick. Chopper's was waivered because he just joined the crew, and Sanji didn't want to give Chopper a bad impression.

Despite the trickery, Sanji and Chopper became friends very quickly also. However, the cook, along with Nami and Vivi, were the mature figure in the crew, so it was hard for Chopper to get into the circle. Nami and Vivi were usually in their own little world that Chopper, both a male and a reindeer, wouldn't understand. They talked about events in the newspaper, economic problems, boy problems (or in Nami's case, pirate men problems), fashion, jewelry, and what she was going to buy with the ten million Beli. In some of those conversations, Sanji entered and was able to give his own views as easily as running water. Chopper couldn't do the 'back-to-back' communications yet. But, when he did approach the three, he would sit on either Nami and Vivi's lap (and get a jealous smothered glare by Sanji) and eat the snacks the cook made. That was one happy plus.

Within three days, Chopper was able to talk to the four members of the Straw Hat Pirate crew and one Alabasta princess. There left one, but the reindeer was too afraid to even say 'hello.' This was Roronoa Zoro. He was the last to be introduced because he was one of the last to reach the Drum Castle. Still, it was hard to enter the tight, protected barrier the man had around him. The top three reasons why Chopper was scared of the man were these: he held a weapon, he never smiled, and he always was seen fighting with the cook.

Chopper heard many different views toward the green haired swordsman. Luffy cheered that he was really cool. Usopp whispered in a small voice that if someone made him angry, he would never see the next day. Sanji snorted and called him an idiot drunkard. Nami said he was lazy, but only helpful when needed. Finally, Vivi uttered that she couldn't say anything bad about him because he had saved her life. After Chopper collected the reviews and data, he was more scared in his life about the swordsman. He didn't understand why Luffy invited him into the crew.

It was until one day, when Chopper woke up from his nap and heard Carue paddling past. Yes, there was one more crew member on the Merry Go, but he was not a man. He was a large bird called the Karugamo. To Chopper, Carue was an animal buddy, so the reindeer was focused on befriending humans that he kind of ignored the big bird. Plus, Carue lacked speaking skills.

So when Chopper opened his eyes, the first words-or a repetition of words-Carue said were, 'Zoro Zoro Zoro Zoro Zoro Zoro...' Of course, in the human ear, this was heard as "Cue cue cue cue..." Still it was quite annoying.

Being the curious little creature, Chopper asked while rubbing his eyes, "Where are you going?"

Carue stopped and he turned. He tilted his head to the side as if he didn't understand why Chopper asked this question, 'Zoro!'

Upon this answer, Chopper felt his spine tingle in fear, "What? B-But Usopp says he's scary!"

Carue blinked several times before opening his mouth, 'No, Usopp wrong. Come come!' The large bird waved his wing, beckoning him to follow. Chopper hesitated because he was deathly afraid. He had never seen Roronoa Zoro attack anyone in the crew, but the thought of weapons brought past nightmares (Nami and Usopp had weapons also, but Chopper didn't know they concealed them).

The bird became impatient, so with a fine swoop of his wing he lifted Chopper onto his back. Carue ran at full speed across the deck, causing a strong gust of wind blowing through his yellow feathers. The reindeer held on because he knew that if he fell off there would be serious injury. He knew where the swordsman was at, since that was the one place he never ventured. When Carue slowed down to round up a corner, Chopper used that moment to leap off the bird's shoulder.

Carue stepped on his brakes and stopped. He turned his head a nearly one-hundred and eighty degrees, and made a pout, 'Reindeer? Why fell?'

"I-uh, I'll watch you from here." Chopper hissed.

'You scared?'

"I'm not scared!" From a close proximity, Chopper felt a harsh gust of wind sweeping past them. These bits of wind came from Zoro. He was swinging heavy dumbbells around which caused the zephyrs. Chopper peered through the corner to see the swordsman train. The man swung the five ton dumbbells as if it was a baseball bat. There was a sharp menacing look in the swordsman's eyes on every swing he had swung. Every breath he exhaled was like an enraged dragon ready to bite off any courageous knight's head. Chopper began to tremble and he tried to hide himself by going behind the wall. He wasn't hiding perfectly, so the only place on his body that was hidden was his right antler.

Carue did something strange to his mouth so that it looked like he was frowning, 'You no come?'

"I-I'll wait here." The bird stared at Chopper like a seagull, but it finally gave up. So turning on his feet, the large bird skipped toward the training swordsman. Chopper peered at the scene, wondering what the intimidating swordsman would do.

When Carue was within two meters from the man, Zoro sensed the presence and dropped the dumbbells. The object landed with a loud thud that shook the wooden floors underneath Chopper's feet. When the large bird was less than one meter, he did the unthinkable.

Carue jumped and pounced onto Zoro.

Zoro was able to turn just in time to catch the large bird, but because of the bird's size and weight Zoro fell over.

"Ow! Carue!" Zoro let out a laugh while pushing Carue's large head away from his. The bird, however, pushed the hand and rubbed his head up and down Zoro's body saying-again, in repetition-'Love love love love love...' The swordsman succumbed to the loving, and he started petting the large creature.

Chopper's jaw was fully open. The dangerous look in the man's eyes was gone and he was smiling. He had never seen that look before. A smile naturally formed on Chopper's face by just watching the two interact. Strangely, like a magnet, he was attracted to the cuddling. He wanted to be hugged and cuddled in that way too.

Zoro chuckled, "What happened Carue? You're awfully clingy today." Then, the large bird let out a 'cue' and pointed his wing toward the wall where Chopper stood. The sudden eye contact froze Chopper in his place.

The swordsman raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Oh hey...Chopper right?" Chopper nodded, swinging his head up and down very fast. Zoro grinned and raised a hand, "Do you want a petting too?"

Immediately, Chopper's animal senses spiked up to its peak. Just like how Carue repeated every word, the reindeer's mind was bombarded with the feeling of being petted. He felt like he was in a trance; his feet unconsciously wobbled toward the welcoming hand. Without knowing what happened, Chopper was in Zoro's arms, his tiny body squeezing against Carue's feathers. Zoro chuckled and brushed his hand through the soft fur.

The swordsman felt very warm, especially because it was after the strenuous workout, so he was like a fireplace. Chopper realized that he never had this kind of contact with anybody before. His tiny heart swelled up like a round balloon. He didn't know why, but tears were starting to form around his eyes.

Carue blinked at Chopper and cooed, 'See? Zoro nice.'

Chopper wiped the tears with his hooves and he grinned, "Yeah, you're right Carue."

Zoro flicked his eyes toward Chopper and Carue and frowned. "What?"

"Oh, I uh, I'm sorry Zoro..."

"Hm? For what?"

"I'm sorry for thinking that you were scary."

Zoro was taken aback by the remark. He had heard many humans running in fear because of him, but never an animal. Maybe it had something to do with the devil fruit, giving Chopper half human personalities. The swordsman snickered and brushed the reindeer's fur.

"It's okay. Everybody tells me that." Carue felt like he was not getting any attention, so he rammed his head against Zoro's ribs. Chopper was almost sent flying out of Zoro's embrace, but the swordsman held him tight. "God Carue! I know you're here! Don't get jealous!" The swordsman snapped while scratching the space under Carue's chin. That was the large bird's favorite spot and he cooed and hummed while nodding his head in a slow rhythm. Chopper could hear Carue's voice and all the creature said was, 'feel good feel good' and 'love love love'. Even though Zoro's attention left Chopper for a brief moment, the reindeer grew miserable. Envy bubbling up because now Carue got the swordsman's attention.

"Zoro! Me too! Scratch my chin!"

Zoro started with wide eyes, "You want it too, Chopper?"

'Not yet! My turn still!'

"You already had your turn!"

'Short short!'

"You were scratched long enough! It's my turn!"

"W-wait you guys," Zoro paused because he had to take a deep breath, "Ah, fine. Three minutes. Can you wait for three minutes Chopper?"

Chopper knew in his heart he couldn't, but since Zoro promised the reindeer was able to control himself. "Okay..." Carue gloated at the reindeer while being petted, but Chopper held still. Once he got the scratching he would gloat at Carue in the same way. While he waited, he crawled so that he sat on Zoro's lap. When he leaned his head against Zoro's chest and listened to the swordsman's gentle heartbeats, he drifted off into sleep.

-.-.-

When he suddenly woke up, the sun was right overhead. Carue had fallen asleep on Zoro, so the swordsman was unable to move. Chopper gasped and sat up straight.

"H-How long did I sleep?"

"Eh...thirty minutes I guess." Chopper was crushed. Carue had been petted for thirty minutes! Zoro immediately saw the change of emotion on the reindeer's face, so he quickly added, "But, I only petted Carue for three minutes, but he slept right after that so now I can't move..."

Chopper swallowed his tears and peered up into Zoro's face, "Y-You've kept our promise?"

Zoro snorted, "Of course I did." The swordsman brought Chopper back on his lap and gave a little squeeze, "So do you want to be scratched here?" Using his two fingers, he scratched the tiny space under the chin. A dull shiver slithered up Chopper's body, but it was very pleasurable. Chopper giggled, nodding happily.

The End