So here is another chapter in the same day. Consider it the apology note for being so fsldfklsnein slow with posting anything lately. Hope it's still decent.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Warnings: Mild Language (Zoro's fault...mostly)

Enjoy!

I was already inside the record store when I was suddenly hit with the full weight of my predicament: I hadn't actually talked to the demon since he had pulled me off the dance floor at the party, looking like a thunder cloud. I remembered what Luffy said about Zoro not being angry, but what if my nutcase of a cousin had been mistaken? This could get pretty awkward, and fast.

I was so busy running through several of the less appealing scenarios in my head that I didn't even see the figure standing just on the other side of a tall record case, which was why I was more than a little startled when I bounced very suddenly off of a broad shoulder.

"Oomph!" I reeled back, momentarily losing my balance, and was only saved from hitting the display behind me by the strong hand that shot out to grip my wrist, pulling me onto both of my feet again.

"Syla?" Zoro asked, looking puzzled as he released my wrist. "Jeez, you okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Thanks." I didn't blame him for the odd look he gave me, as I was usually a fairly agile person. I had just been distracted in that moment and as a result was thrown off-balance. A second later I remembered why. "I- uhm-"

"Sorry," Zoro said quickly, cutting me off before I could embarrass myself even further.

"What?"

"About the party," he elaborated. "I've just…been tense, I guess, with Tashigi moving and all that. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

Something about the way Zoro turned his head as he talked told me that this wasn't quite the entire truth, but I didn't really want to press him any more, at the moment. "It's nothing," I shrugged. "We all have bad days."

"Okay," Zoro sighed in what might have been relief and turned to walk slowly down the aisle we were currently standing in. Without thinking much about what I was actually doing, I followed beside him.

"So, what are you up to in here?" Zoro asked as we moved past a display of instrumental music.

"Looking for a gift," I admitted a little sheepishly. "For Tashigi. I'm kind of running out of time, so I figured I'd better do it now. What about you?"

"Gotta eat something," he shrugged with his hands in his pockets.

I arched an eyebrow at him. "This is a record store," I pointed out.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed.

"I don't think the owners would appreciate you munching on their merchandise," I concluded. We had stopped beside a row of old country music records and Zoro averted his gaze.

"I was pretty sure the diner used to be here," he mumbled, frowning again.

I was about to tell him he was more than two blocks away from his intended target, but paused as I was hit with a sudden inspiration. "Well," I started. "There's no food here, but if you help me find a gift for Tashigi, I'll take you to the diner." It seemed like a reasonable exchange, after all.

It was Zoro's turn to arch a brow. "You want my help?" he asked, a little doubtfully.

"Uhm," I had a brief second thought before settling on an answer. "Yeah. You've known her longer, and besides, you can't be too bad at choosing gifts." I was remembering the bracelet Nami had been wearing at Brook's After Party. Zoro still didn't look very convinced though, so I pitched the bargain a little higher. "I'll buy dinner," I offered.

Zoro sighed and ran a long-fingered hand through his hair, making it stand up in curious green spikes. "You don't have to do that," he said. "I'll help you out." He paused suddenly, raising his head as if only just realizing where he was. "Actually, this is a pretty good place to start."

I stood and watched as he scanned the store for a moment before something seemed to catch his eye and he headed toward the back. Fighting down the urge to question him, I simply followed again.

Zoro stopped again in front of the long display covering the back wall. "Tashigi's actually pretty easy to shop for," he explained, his hand moving along in front of the cardboard-covered records of every genre and decade before finally settling on one and lifting it free of the shelf. "If you know how crazy she really is." He turned the record toward me. "See?"

I looked over his arm to read the cover. "You're kidding?" I asked, surprised.

"Nope," Zoro chuckled at my expression. "No accounting for taste, I guess. But I know she'll like it. Here." He held it out to me and I took it with a dubious air.

"If you say so," I shrugged. We walked to the front so I could pay for the record and I tapped Zoro on the arm as I started for the door, making sure he was at least walking in the right direction as we left the store.

"So, where'd they move the diner to, then?" Zoro asked as we started down the sidewalk, Tashigi's gift tucked safely under my arm.

I bit back a smirk and had to try very hard not to tell him that no one had moved that diner in the last thirty years. Instead I looked away to hide my tense mouth and answered, "Just down the street, not more than two blocks."

"So I was close," Zoro realized, seeming a little impressed with himself.

I couldn't help the small snort of sheer amusement, although I really did try to hold it back. "You know what?" I giggled as Zoro frowned at me. "I'm about sick of that diner anyway. Tashigi always gets our lunches from there, so it's gotten pretty old by now." I stopped on the sidewalk and motioned for Zoro to halt as well. "How about The Baratie? That's not too far from here."

"The Baratie?" Zoro repeated. "Isn't that where the pervert cook works?" His brow drew down further, as if remembering something extremely unpleasant.

"Sanji does indeed work there," I purposely stressed the cook's name, "and the food is great. Better than a diner, anyway." I watched him kick at the sidewalk for a moment before prodding, "Yes?"

"Sure," Zoro finally agreed. "I'm just not convinced that the curly shit cook isn't gonna try to poison me, or something."

"He won't," I assured him. "Sanji wouldn't ever mess with food. More than likely he would probably just try to kick your head in, instead." I ignored Zoro's deadpanned expression at my explanation and turned around to head back the way we had come. "Let's go back to my car, then." The Baratie might not be very far, but it would still be faster to just drive there than to walk. And in all honesty I wanted to get my part of the bargain over with before whatever had turned Zoro into a decent human being left him again.

Zoro followed without saying much and climbed into the passenger side of my car when I unlocked the door. He clicked the seatbelt and turned to face me when I started the car and pulled out of the back parking lot. "So," he said, a little hesitantly. "Why are you having dinner with me, again?"

I hadn't expected that. "Because I promised I would," I told him. Had he forgotten already?

"No," Zoro said slowly. "You said you'd show me where the diner is, then suggested the Baratie, where we are now both headed." He gave me an assessing glance, clearly a little suspicious.

I was hit by a sudden stab of guilt. He was treating me like I might bite his head off any second, and I suddenly didn't think it had been me avoiding him all this time, as much as he had been avoiding me.

I huffed silently with my eyes in front of me, searching for a reasonable excuse, and remembered a truthful one not a second later. "Because," I started, turning north toward the higher class end of the downtown area. "I have to eat too, and my fridge seems to have been raided some time recently. I don't think you'll need three guesses to figure out who is responsible for that."

Zoro snorted, seemingly satisfied with my answer. "You shouldn't have told him where you live," he grinned.

"If only it were that easy," I nodded.

"Can't say I envy you there," Zoro leaned back in the seat. "Luffy never even tries to get into my fridge, mostly because there's never anything in it."

"What?" I smirked. "Is eating a base necessity practiced only by us mere mortals?" I knew that wasn't true. I had seen him take down almost as much food as Luffy could in one sitting.

Zoro chuckled low in his throat at my question, closing his eyes. "Nah. I just usually eat at the dojo, is all."

"The dojo has a restaurant?" I asked skeptically.

"Koshiro," Zoro explained. "He's a pretty decent cook. We bring him stuff, and he cooks it. Sometimes we take the left-overs home, too." His eye were still closed as he leaned against the head rest, and I felt my own eyes narrow.

"Hey now," I warned. "Don't fall asleep. Remember who I grew up around; I might not look like much but I have a mean right hook."

Zoro's eyes slid open again and he rolled his head over to look at me. "Fine," he sighed. "Are we there yet?"

I was more than a little startled at the teasing light in his green eyes and moved my gaze to the road again to hide my reaction. "Yes," I answered with false exasperation, regaining control once again. "We're here."

Zoro sat up straighter as I pulled into the parking lot of The Baratie and quickly located a vacant spot. There were quite a few of them, actually.

"This place doesn't look very lively," Zoro noted as he opened the door and got out, stretching his arms above his head.

"It's Thursday," I reminded him. "It probably doesn't get really busy here until the weekend starts."

Zoro hummed in acknowledgement and we made our way inside, following the hostess to a table not too far from the kitchen door. I noticed Zoro eyeing it with another disgruntled frown as we sat down across from each other.

"It'll be fine," I told him as the hostess set glasses of ice water in front of us. "He'll be too busy to notice you anyway." I hope.

I doubted Sanji and Zoro actually hated each other, it was more like some kind of bizarre masculine rivalry, the kind of which I myself would never fully understand, and any sign of weakness in one would be immediately exploited by the other. In this case I was that weakness, as Zoro was never seen alone with any woman who wasn't Tashigi or Robin. Maybe it hadn't been such a great idea to bring him here.

Zoro seemed to be thinking along the same line. "You didn't set something up on purpose, did you?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"Of course not," I frowned back at him. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not about to get involved in whatever pissing contest you and Sanji can't seem to let go of, it's not really my thing."

"Pissing contest?" Zoro repeated, frowning further. "That isn't what it's about. I don't like the guy 'cause he's a shit cook who hits on anything wearing a bra-"

"Whereas you aren't even aware that women are a different gender," I finished sharply. "What does it matter if you don't agree?"

Zoro glared without much force, then sat back in his chair. "I am aware of women, and what they are," he said, picking up his water glass and taking a drink. "I just don't usually care."

"Why not?"

"Because they're annoying," Zoro answered.

"How so?" I asked, frowning in return.

"Because-" Zoro gestured at me in irritation. "This! This need to know every little thing that goes on with me, whether it concerns them or not."

"If you hadn't noticed," I said crisply. "I haven't actually cared what the hell goes on in that bizarre green head of yours until recently."

Zoro set his glass back on the table and gave me a considering look. "I did notice," he said seriously. "Why the change of heart?"

"I told you before," I ground out. "I didn't remember until a few weeks ago. I didn't know you even had-" I cut myself off.

"You didn't know I had a heart?" Zoro guessed with an edge in his tone. "I do. I just don't flaunt it as easily as some other people you know. That's all." He gave me another once-over. "And if you had remembered?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"I…don't know," I shrugged in frustration. "What does it matter now?"

"It matters," he stated frankly. "Why do you hate me?"

"I don't," I countered automatically. "But I don't understand you, either."

"Not my fault," Zoro pointed out. "You haven't even tried."

I opened my mouth to argue, closed it again and sat back in my chair. He was right and I knew it, but why was it so unsettling?

"Am I wrong?" Zoro asked.

"No," I answered almost unwillingly. I waited for him to do some kind of victory dance or something similar, but it never came.

"Good," he said in a tone that signaled the end of that topic. "Now that we have that out of the way, what do you want to eat?"

I looked down at the table and finally noticed that we hadn't even received our menus yet. That was a bit odd, as usually The Baratie was known for it's excellent service.

"Well, this is progress," a familiar and cheeky voice said from a few feet away.

"Finally," another familiar voice answered the first. "I thought we were going to have to lock them in a closet together before long."

Zoro and I both turned to see Tashigi and Nami, each standing on either side of a girl whom I had to guess was our waitress, as she was holding a short stack of slim black binders. They each had a hand on the girl's arms to obstruct her path to our table. No wonder we hadn't had any service since sitting down.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked.

"How long have you been there?" Zoro demanded. I had to privately agree that his question was probably the more pressing one.

"We watched you guys come in," Tashigi explained as the two of them released the confused-looking waitress. "Our table is just over there."

"We've only been here a few minutes, ourselves," Nami added. "Why don't you just come sit with us?"

Zoro and I stayed planted in our chairs, no doubt thinking nearly the same thing; this was certainly suspicious.

"Why are you being so nice?" Zoro asked, ever the straight-forward kind of guy. Again, I had to agree.

"Because we're friends," Tashigi grinned a little too widely. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"Besides, we're here for Tashigi's last night at The Baratie for awhile," Nami walked toward us and put her hand on my arm, coaxing me out of my seat. "It would be nice for you guys to join us too, don't you think?"

And here comes the guilt trip, I thought as I allowed Nami to lead me over to their booth. I could see a similar expression on Zoro as Tashigi guided him in the same direction. We weren't going to be able to get out of this one.

We were shoved into the semi-circle shaped booth to sit next to each other, Nami and Tashigi guarding the exits, and the waitress followed us with two more menus.

"Perfect timing," Nami beamed. "We haven't ordered yet, either."

After placing our dinner orders and requesting a few drinks the table settled into 'dining mode' as we chatted amongst ourselves, waiting for our meals. Not too far into the wait I watched Nami lean forward on the table to regale Tashigi with all of the details of the dresses we had worn to Brook's party and took the opportunity to turn my head toward Zoro.

"Ten buck says they followed us," I whispered.

"Oh, yeah," Zoro agreed quietly. "Sneaky, aren't they?"

"Not as much as they would like to think," I grinned and Zoro chortled into his beer.

Still, I wasn't sure as to why the two had thought a stealth operation would be the best plan of action, as asking us both to join Tashigi for dinner would have worked just as well. Obviously they knew something I didn't, or thought they did anyway, and I was perfectly content to keep it that way.

We all stayed awhile longer after our dinner plates had been cleared, enjoying the quieter atmosphere, and Sanji even managed to make it out of the kitchen for a few minutes in order to bring a special drink for Tashigi, as a going away gift. Nami and I had politely refused his offer to bring us more drinks as well, since we would be driving, but Zoro asked for another beer and was met with a scowl and a curt nod.

He got it a few minute later, although it was from the waitress and not the sous chef, and in another fifteen minutes we were all ready to go home. No one want to over-do it tonight, as forty-eight hours later would be the actual going away party, which also happened to be Halloween, and we were sure it wouldn't exactly be tame.

Zoro and I waved goodbye to Tashigi and Nami at the door and headed for my car once again. I dropped Zoro off at his apartment (apparently the crazy man had walked all the way to the downtown area, as he still didn't have a vehicle yet, and I was floored that he had actually managed to find it), then headed to my own apartment.

I was beginning to miss Tashigi already, and she hadn't even left yet. Still, I had one more party with her to look forward to during the next couple of days.

It wasn't particularly late just yet but I was feeling unusually tired, and as a result ended up going to bed much earlier than I would have on a normal night. Snuggling into my quilt I sighed and closed my eyes and got comfortable. I was just starting to drift off when another thought, sharp and sudden yet somehow not unwanted, stole into my mind and I opened my eyes again.

There was, I realized with a peculiar kind of confusion, more than just one thing to look forward to on Saturday.

I threw my pillow over my face with a sigh of both defeat and acceptance. I had lost already and I knew it, so the only thing I could do now was to continue moving forward. And who really knew, I told myself out of comfort and assurance, maybe not disliking the moss head wouldn't be so bad?