A/N: Two Zorona drabbles I did yet again, for my Zoro. I own nothing but the words. Enjoy~.
Most days he could tolerate it. The constant chatter and insults to his outfit were nothing that really bugged him that much. Sure, Perona was annoying at times, but she was better company than some. Not to mention she wasn't that bad to look at either. But combined with the lack of sleep he had gotten the previous night, he couldn't handle it anymore. She was going on and on about how cute it would look if she put her stupid stuffed animal into his pouch. Not that bad of a thing, but she had been following him around for nearly an hour saying this.
He had tried to avoid her by going into the forest, but only succeeded in adding 'You're going to get lost' into the mix. He'd had enough, and if ignoring her wasn't going to get her to leave him alone, he'd take a different route. Turning on his heel, he set a deep scowl onto his face, staring at the woman floating above him.
"God, why do you have to follow me around all the time! You're such a…" Now his thoughts had been completely blocked out by the anger and irritation, "Nuisance! Go back to that stupid Thriller Bark and leave me the hell alone!"
Immediately he wanted to take it all back. The look that had settled onto her fact was enough to make even Mihawk feel bad. But before he had a chance to catch the pinkette, she had floated off deeper into the forest.
Great. Now he had succeeded in not only being unbearable tired, but insulting the only good company on this god forsaken island. He kicked at the dirt underneath his feet, not too sure what exactly he should do. Of course the obvious would be to apologize, but why should he? She was the one set out to annoy him, all he wanted to do was take a nap before his training had resumed for the evening, but now it would seem he had to go find this stupid female…
Wait…where was he? None of the surroundings looked familiar. All the trees looked the same, and the only lead he had on Perona was the weeping he could hear in the distance. Oh well, he'd find her eventually, and surely she would know her way back to the castle.
So off he went, following the sound of her cries until finally he spotted a mass of pink curls, sitting on a fallen tree, the dark mascara on her eyes running down her cheeks and making her look even more silly than she already was. A twig snapped from underneath his foot, causing her to turn to his direction.
"What do you want with a nuisance like me?" Her words stung him harder than he had thought they would, and he had to avert his gaze in order to answer her question.
Now seeing as both of them were too stubborn to say the rightful 'I'm sorry', he merely let loose a sigh, "Look, you're not a nuisance. You're just…really, really….really talkative, and I'm not used to that, alright?" He rubbed the back of his head, turning to look at her. "Just stop trying to get me to wear your cute clothes and maybe I'll let you put that silly stuffed animal into my pouch."
She was already at his side, a sniff apparent, "…Okay. But I'm still going to make you stuff, and if you don't want to wear it, you don't have to." As she finished, her face floated towards his and planted a kiss on his cheek. He wouldn't admit it, but a small thump of his heart had occurred as her lips connected with the skin and he had to take a moment to catch his breath.
"Yeah, yeah." And as they began to make their way back to the castle, Perona happily slipped the stuffed animal into the green, giving a squeal and a 'So cute~'.
One year into their time together at the castle, and Perona could say she had gotten quite close to the younger swordsman(for Mihawk was as cold and distant as a block of ice). She spent almost every night with him, and this one was no exception. Yet as she laid next to him in the comfort of his bed, she found she couldn't sleep.
Instead she went through the story that had been told today, one about some woman named Nami and how she had overcome great adversity in a placed called Arlong Park. Of course she had heard this woman before, but never really thought much about it until today.
For whenever Zoro had mentioned this certain female in his words, a knot formed in her stomach. She felt angry for no reason, and wanted to stalk off pouting. The smile that held onto his lips when he had spoke wasn't helping matters either. It was as if he was infatuated with her.
What did this woman have that she didn't? Was it the fact that she could swim and knew how to tell weather? Or maybe he preferred females that didn't carry around treasured stuffed toys. It was then that she heard the thing she had dreaded the most in the world. His voice was sleepy and weak, due to the fact that he was still half asleep.
"….Nami…"
Her hands balled into fists, bunching the sheet underneath him. The sour look that formed onto her face was no more pleasant than the thoughts she held in her head. The nerve of this man, to have her sleep next to him and then whisper another female's name in his sleep.
A huff flew out of her lips, as slipped herself out of the bed and threw her pillow down onto the area where her body had once been. If he wanted to say another girl's name, than he would sleep alone. But before she had a chance to grab her Bearsy stuffed animal, he spoke again, this time with a soft smile on his face.
"…Perona…"
She narrowed her eyes, not sure if he had heard her right, and as if he knew she needed a confirmation, he repeated himself, the same smile still lingering on his lips. Suddenly that knot in her stomach had gone away, and those strained features had softened. She slid back into the bed, snuggling as close to Zoro as she could. And although she couldn't see it, he had opened one eye, let out a small 'humph' and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist.