One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and Disney
All OCs belong to me
-Chapter Seven-
It's been about a week since the surprise visit I had received by some unexpected guests, I haven't seen nor heard from any of them since then and I couldn't help but be thankful for that. I kept the card that had accidentally been left behind in the safety of my room—tucked away between the pages of my diary—and neither Summer nor I dare speak of our discovery to Cloud. Part of the reason was that neither of us wanted to be scowled for attending a party held by such a dangerous group of people or worry our other friends. Neither did we want to suffer any consequences for snitching on the well-known mafia group that had been able to stay under the polices radar for so long. Instead, I attempted to return back to my life, attending both my classes at the local college and working my shifts at the small animal shelter in town that was run by two brothers.
The oldest brother's name was Devin and he was certainly a pain in the ass, a grumpy brunet that I had no doubt had it out for me since day one. His younger brother, Shawn, was the exact opposite and I got along fairly well with the excitable blond. In fact, it was Shawn who had landed me the job at the shelter after I had helped him out with an assignment in one of the classes we shared. Once I had let it slip that I had a love for animals, he convinced his brother to give me a job as a Kennel Assistant and reluctantly the brunet agreed—seeming unable to say no to his own brother. I was mainly asked to stay in the back and tend to the animals—feeding, grooming, and basically fulfilling all of their needs.
The only time Devin would put me up front was when he was busy in the very back and his brother was off on his lunch break. Other people worked at the shelter, but my work schedule was so different from their own that I rarely saw them and when I did none of us ever spoke to one another unless something was needed, or a question had to be asked. Today had been no different as I found myself in the back room with all the animals, giving them their appropriate amount of food and water while occasionally poking my head out to peer up front for any waiting customers. Devin was in the back, caught up in an important phone call as Shawn had already left for his lunch break, sadly none of the other employees were able to attend today whether it was because it was their day off or because they seemed to refuse to answer the phone.
"Skylar" my head lifted after hearing the gruff voice that called out to me before I could fill up the next bowl of food.
"Yeah, Devin, what is it?" I asked, looking towards the brunet that stood beside me. His back straight and shoulders squared as he wore that famous scowl of his that I've always seen him wear. Sometimes I wondered if he was just trying to be intimidating or if his posture and expression were just due to the massive stick he had up his ass.
"I need you up front for the moment, at least until Shawn comes back from his lunch break" he said. "I'll finish up here" I nodded as I wiped the palms of my hands against the front of the green apron that was mandatory for employees to wear before heading out front. We always got at least a decent amount of people coming in and out of the shelter—mainly small families looking to adopt a dog as a family pet or single adults looking for a cat to keep them company in their apartments. But normally around this time of day when Shawn was away on his lunch break, it was rare to have that many people come in, normally only one or two and those were typically just people having a look around before making any final decisions. I'll admit, I liked working in the back with the animals more than I did the front since I can avoid interacting with people when I was in the back.
The front of the shelter mainly consisted of a small counter with a register and chairs, there were some food and water bowls set out along with small bags of dog/cat food, collars, leashes, and dog/cat toys. Basic things to help any new pet owner get started. I leaned forward on the counter, head propped up with the palm of my hand as I let my eyes wander around before curiously looking down at the magazines and reading materials that Shawn kept shoved under the counter to keep himself from growing bored. Most of the books he had were just historical books and adventure books, while all the magazines ranged from People to Cosmopolitan. I didn't expect him to read that one.
My head jolted upwards when I heard the small bell on top of the door jingle, indicating that someone had entered the store. "Welcome—" I halted in my greeting, lips falling downwards upon seeing the familiar moss haired man walk up to the counter, his head moving around to look around the small shelter. I could hear how the dogs in the back were now barking and acting up upon hearing the door open, all of them excitedly greeting the new face they couldn't see. When Zoro finally looked towards me, his single eye brightened and a smile graced his lips...he has quite a nice smile.
"Hey, fancy seeing you here" he said, leaning up against the counter as I gave him a blank stare, having the feeling that he actually expected to see me here. "Do you work here?" he coolly asked.
"I don't know, you tell me" I sarcastically responded, standing there in my work apron that had my nametag attached to it and the shelter's logo right in the middle of it. "Are you here to adopt a pet, sir?" I asked, trying to keep a professional tone as to avoid causing any problems that would give Devin a reason to chew me out. I strongly believed he hated me, no matter how many times Shawn claimed otherwise, it was just too obvious that the brunet didn't like me all that much like his younger brother did.
"Adopt a pet?" Zoro muttered, his one good eye now looking me up and down that it caused a small shiver to rank up my spine. Especially as I remembered that he was part of one of the most dangerous mafia groups out there. "Well, if that's the case then I wouldn't mind taking you home with me" he suddenly said, his smile turning into a sly smirk, but I could see the way the smirk didn't reach his eyes. It almost looked like he wasn't so sure if that flirtatious line was good or not. Before I could stop myself, a snort left my lips as a small blush dusted over my cheeks. My reaction seemed to make him relax and brighten up a bit.
"Sorry, but I'm not for sale" I said, casting my eyes to the side to avoid eye contact as I tried to get my smile to go down. "But seriously, what are you doing here?" I asked, crossing my arms as my nose scrunched up at a certain thought. "Please tell me you didn't stalk me or anything to find out where I worked."
"No" Zoro scoffed, almost looking offending by the accusation. "I just asked Robin to find out where you work is all" he simply said. 'Like that's any better!' I lightly frowned before heaving a sigh. "And as for why I'm here, I was wondering if you wanted to go and get a cup of coffee or something after you're done with work" he said, a light pink color dusting over his cheek, but it was gone as soon as it came. I almost thought I had just imagined it.
"You're asking me out for coffee?" I tilted my head, mimicking the act of thinking as I mulled over his offer. I was never the biggest fan of coffee—I mean I'd drink it, but it wasn't my number one choice of beverages.
"Just as friends of course" he quickly added just as I opened my mouth, he must have suspected that I was thinking he was asking me out on a date or something. "Nami said I should pull back a little as not to scare you off, said I was coming off a bit too strongly" he muttered, embarrassingly scratching his cheek and at that moment I decided that he looked quite cute when he was embarrassed. "So, I thought we could start off slow and get to know each other better" he finished with that nice smile of his. Before I could process what I was going to say, the words were already flying from my mouth.
"I get off work in about an hour from now, we can go to that nice café just down the street if you want to."
"Sounds great, I'll see you in an hour then" Zoro smirked before he exited the shelter and left me standing there all alone.
"Never thought I'd see the day you'd land a date with someone as handsome looking as that dude" I flinched upon hearing Devin speak up from behind me.
"It's not a date, just two...acquaintances? Yeah, just two acquaintances getting to know each other better" I nodded, finding that acquaintances was the perfect word to describe what Zoro and I were at the current moment. We weren't friends just yet.
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say" he teased, a playful look shining in his eyes for just a moment before disappearing completely as he returned back to his normal stern looking self. "Also, Shawn just got back from his lunch break, you can head back into the back room and finish up what you need to before your shift ends" he simply said before disappearing back towards his office. At least that's what I always called the room that he always seemed to shut himself up inside during the workday. I only nodded before disappearing back into the back room with all the animals.
-Later-
"You ready?" Zoro asked as soon as I stepped out of the animal shelter with my bag slung around my shoulder. He was leaned up against a very nice sleek black car that made every other car around it look like a hunk of junk. The keys to his car dangled from his fingers and he was prepared to get in before halting as I held a hand up.
"It's not that far from here, we can just walk" I simply said, it wasn't that I didn't want to get into the car with a complete stranger that was apart of the mafia. It was more like I didn't want to deal with the stares we would receive the second we pulled up to the cheap, small café down the street in such an expensive looking car. Didn't help we were probably going to get stared at anyway both because Zoro was quite an attractive looking man and his clothes were too nice looking for this part of town. He only nodded, not questioning me on my actions as he instead locked up his car and shoved his keys into his pants pocket before walking up to me. Walking side by side with him, I notice how he attempted to get closer each time, our hands lightly bushing against each other that I felt like he was attempting to decide if he wanted to hold my hand or not.
By the time we reached the café, it was already too late for him to make up his mind as I reached out and pulled the glass door open for him.
"You know, I could have gotten it instead" he said with a raised eyebrow.
"What? Are you saying a woman can't hold the door open for a man?" I gently smiled with the tilt of my head, trying to hold back my laughter as I saw him open his mouth before hesitating in what to say. Knowing that if he said one wrong thing he could cause all hell to rain down on him if the wrong people hear what he says. The second we stepped through the doors, I immediately felt the way my shoulders tense up and my eyes advert towards the ground when I noticed the stares that were shot towards our way. I know that most people—mainly a lot of young women—were looking at Zoro as he was indeed a new, attractive face they've never seen before. But, that didn't stop me from feeling uncomfortable.
It wasn't like I hadn't been in this café before, Janet and I normally came here most days whenever we wanted to just get away from everyone and just enjoy each other's company in peace. No one ever really paid attention to us, so it was never a problem coming in and out of this place, but with all these eyes directed in mine and Zoro's direction I felt uncomfortable and nervous. I felt the way my hands seemed to clench and unclench as I stiffly walked up to the counter, quietly counting to ten in my head as I attempted to calm my nerves. I flinched when I felt a strong hand rest against my shoulder before my cheeks heated up as Zoro leaned down close to my ear until I could feel his warm breath brush against it. I could faintly smell the scent of booze on his breath and I had to wonder if he had been drinking before he came to see me—if so, he must either not have had much to drink or at least has a high alcohol tolerance.
"Tell me what you want then go find somewhere to sit, I'll order for us" he breathed out, causing a shiver to run up my spine as my body tingled slightly upon hearing him whisper right into my ear. Doing as he said, I mumbled out my order to him before quickly making a beeline towards one of the empty tables near the corner of the room that had very few people near it. It didn't really take him long to return with our drinks as he slipped into the seat across from me and handed me my drink. He seemed to ignore the stares and quiet whispers that started up at a few tables that had some young women sitting together and instead kept his eyes trained on me. "So" he said, leaning back into his seat and causing me to direct my attention towards him as a smirk tugged at his lips.
"Tell me about yourself."
A/N: Enjoy
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