Lithium stood at the end of the dock, staring into the dark water, though her eyes saw to the bottom of the alarmingly clear water. Small, faintly glowing fish danced around the bottom, leaving little trails of light. Her ears flicked backward at the sound of footsteps behind her. She turned her head toward the sound.

Zoro carried 25's body, wrapped in a brightly colored blanket. His face was grim but sympathetic. "Robin found this for him while the others finished gathering the survivors in Franky's cage."

Lithium nodded, touching her brother's body with soft fingers. "I'll have to thank her when we are done."

Zoro shifted his grip, holding the edges of the blanket, handing her the other side. "When you're ready, Lith."

Together they lowered 25 into the lake. The fish scattered as he slipped into the water, sinking with the weight of the rocks Zoro had added on his way over.

Lithium shuddered, the tears that had been stinging her eyes finally falling. Zoro slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. They stood like that for the longest time, the only sound between them Lithium's soft sobs.

Zoro stroked her ear, feeling his own tears welling up the longer he listened to her despair. Gradually though, she went from heart-wrenching tears to little hiccups and she leaned her head into his hand.

"One more thing...and we can go back to the Sunny..." She leaned heavily on him as she rifled through her bag she retrieved earlier. She pulled out a small pouch, and poured its contents into her hand. Tiny slips of paper filtered through her fingers, dissolving on contact with the water.

"What are those, Lith?"

She looked up at him, the moonlight reflecting in her eyes. "Names. Names for all of them, so they don't have to be numbers anymore."

Zoro smiled softly, turning her to face him. "I'm sure they appreciate that."

She closed her eyes, leaning her face into his chest, breathing in his scent. "I'm...I'm so glad it's over...they can all rest now..."

Zoro wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair, careful not to touch her sore scalp too hard. "I'm sorry it went like this. I should have been with you...I should have been able to stop them before they took you..."

Lithium shook her head. "It's okay...I was the one who ran..."

He slid his hand around to her face and tipped it up to meet his eyes. "It's never okay when you are hurt, especially by me..."

Lithium's face colored deep red but she said nothing.

"I'm stupid with words when it comes to you." His thumb traced her jaw. "I said all the wrong things when what I meant to say to the stupid curlybrow was that I can't imagine why such an amazing woman is with an idiot like me."

She opened her mouth to protest his assessment of himself, but he silenced her with a quick kiss, still hovering close to her lips when he broke it.

"I wanted to tell you I love you, Lithium."

Lithium hopped a little, pulling his face to hers and kissing him hard. "I love you too, Zoro...I really do..."

"Well that's good to hear, considering what Robin just told me." Luffy voice rang out from behind them, his tone excited.

Zoro and Lithium turned to him in unison, matching expressions of surprise and annoyance on their faces. Luffy kept talking, oblivious to what he just interrupted.

"She told me that because I said you two were married, technically you were the whole time. I guess it's a captain thing." Luffy grinned broadly, walking closer to them. "Though if you guys want an actual wedding thing, Robin said I can do that too."

Zoro and Lithium's expressions did not change until they faced each other. Zoro smiled a little. "It won't change much, but it's up to you."

Lithium tilted her head as she thought about it. "How about a little one, partially so there's no more confusion."

Zoro nodded, his smile turning a little wry. "Yeah, we've had enough of that for a while. So...when do you want to do it?"

Luffy made a perplexed face. "Why not now?"

Zoro looked at his captain like he grew two more heads and was currently braiding his three stretchy necks together. "You do remember where you are, idiot? And we just had a funeral!"

"Why would that matter?"

Lithium chuckled, shaking her head. "Actually, I would like that. My siblings can be present...at least in spirit."

"As long as your sure." Zoro sighed. She didn't side with the captain often, but when she did, there was no arguing he could do.

Luffy's grin became inhumanly broad. "Oi! They said yes!"

The rest of their nakama burst from the brush, carrying various items in their arms. Nami and Robin whisked Lithium back down the dock, while Usopp went straight to work on Zoro.

"We will be back with the bride in a moment!"

Zoro heard Lithium laughing as they half-dragged her to the bushes. "So how long did you guys have this planned?"

Robin's chuckled could be heard just under Nami's answer. "Well, I did buy the dress for you after you said you never had one, but we're kinda' just winging the rest."

The last thing he heard, as Usopp made him sit down so he could tame his hair again was Lithium laughing after saying "You guys wing about as well as most birds!"

Zoro was ready ten minutes before Lithium and was pacing the length of the dock. Luffy was laughing at him the whole time, until Nami and Robin called for silence as they walked back down the dock as hastily-made but no less beautiful bridesmaids. Franky followed shortly after, walking a blushing Lithium, in asymmetrical body-hugging lilac dress, down the dock.

Sanji reached over and closed Zoro's slack jaw, then patted him on the shoulder. "You're a damn lucky fool, Marimo."

While bride and groom were aware of the ceremony, they spent most of the ten minutes staring at each other. If forced to be honest, they were undressing the other wih their eyes as they answered their parts Luffy's less than conventional variation of the marriage ceremony.

Not everyone had the promise to share all the meat and booze they had as one of their vows.

At the end of it, they had only made it half way back to shore before Zoro scooped her up and ran for the Sunny at top speed, grinning like a fool. The fireflies that were dancing about the lake streaked away as he barreled through the brush. A few small night creatures even bolted in panic at his approach.

The crew had been kind enough to camp on the island as before with the attempted date night. Lithium thought that was wise since she could not attest to how she was going to be considering that one little awkward moment they had involved growling. Actually going past surprise making out might rattle the windows.

Zoro busted in their bedroom door, closing it behind them even though they were alone on the ship. He tossed her on the bed, only to find himself following her down as she pulled him toward her by his tie, the same one he had worn before.

She smiled, a mostly innocent look aside from the slightly upward tilt of her lips at one corner that belied a smirk. "Shall we do this right this time?"

He smirked down at her, his dimples adding a cute edge to an otherwise amused expression. "Weren't you the one who said we actually did do it right the first time?"

She giggled, tilting her head in a purposely cute fashion. "I just meant I won't be running in a panic this time..."

"Oh hell no, you aren't going anywhere, Mrs. Roronoa!"

He pressed her down to the mattress with his body, just like before, stroking those feather-soft ears. She blushed a dark red but her smile was genuine.

"I love the sound of that."

Zoro kissed her nose, smiling when it wrinkled in the cutest way. "Good, because I rather liked giving you my name to add to your beautiful one."

She turned a couple shades darker red as she threaded her fingers through his hair, bring his face to hers. The moment their lips touched, it was right back to where they were before, their tongues entwining insistently and this time without hesitation.

Zoro slid his hands down her neck, over her shoulders and down her sides. He stopped at her hips, breaking the kiss as he tugged a little at the hem of her dress, a silent request for permission to pull it upward.

Lithium nodded, though her face was burning with her ever-deepening blush. She let him pull her up to sitting and raised her arms as he impatiently tugged the dress off her.

Zoro's breath caught in his chest at the sight of her. The little glimpses from before did not do her justice. He was suddenly feeling his own inexperience, something he had yet to admit to her. His eyes kept sweeping over her, in disbelief of the dramatic curves she possessed. He was awestruck, to say the least.

He gulped, his eyes continually landing on her impressive breasts, nearly panicking as they moved closer to him when she grabbed the front of his shirt, tossing his tie away and making short work of his shirt buttons. And by short work, she actually ripped it off of him out of frustration when her shaking hands would not cooperate, the buttons flying about the room. Zoro laughed outright, undoing his belt so she did not have to worry about that and let his pants fall.

Lithium learned that moment that her husband did not bother with boxers.

Her blushed reached a new level of scarlet as she let her eyes roam freely over him. "Saints preserve me in alcohol..."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Lith."

"It is...believe me...it is..." She looked back up at his eyes, face softly earnest. "One I wanted to give you for a while..."

His smile was the softest she had seen. "You so damn cute, it's unfair."

He pulled her back to her feet and swung her around, sitting where she had been on the bed. He pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his face into her shoulder. She let her arms rest around his neck as she felt him running his fingers through the fur on her back. She had always felt self-conscious about that fur since it was one of the things that set her most apart from normal humans, but he seemed to be enjoying the feel of it.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when his hands found her butt, giving it a firm, appreciative squeeze. "Ah! That's my butt!"

Zoro chuckled, squeezing it again. "Damn right it is. and I love it."

He slid his hands up her sides, slow and deliberate. "Only touching you when we sparred was torture, you know."

Zoro slowly cupped his hands around her breasts, simply holding them as he leaned back to look at her face, rather enjoying the dark blush painting it as she nodded in agreement. "I just didn't know what to say. It all sounded weird to me."

"It doesn't matter now, love." Lithium caught his lips with hers, effectively silencing him.

Zoro smiled against her lips, giving her breasts a small, experimental squeeze. He was beginning to work off of instinct, her skin so soft his hands he could not help himself. Her soft whimper was all the encouragement he needed, as he pulled away from her lips, to trail kisses down her neck, pausing only when she shivered.

Lithium let her head fall to side, allowing him more access to her neck. It felt strange at first, exposing such a vulnerable part of her to someone, but the intense need stirring in her derailed her usual caution. It was not like it was the only part of her that was exposed either.

And this was Zoro. She trusted him completely practically from the moment they met.

She yelped when Zoro's thumbs slid over her nipples. She had not expected them to be that sensitive. She did not expect Zoro to pull his hands away in alarm either.

"Oh god, did I hurt you?" His face was innocently horrified, his hands hover several inches away form her.

Lithium bit her lip, trying not to laugh, but it came out in her words. " No, no, I'm more than okay...it just surprised me...why would you think that?"

Zoro rubbed the back of his head, his cheeks turning a surprising shade of red. "Well...you sounded like it...and it's not like I've done this before..."

She smiled softly, taking his hands and putting them back where they were. "So we are both learning then. How about I tell you if it's a problem?"

While he was embarrassed he had not thought of that himself, he was more happy to have hands back on her. "Don't hesitate then. The last thing I want to do is hurt you."

"I promise, don't worry." Lithium set her arms back on his shoulders, running her fingers the shell of one of his ears, his earrings making a faint ringing sound.

Zoro resumed his attentions, kissing his way down her neck again and across her collar bone. She shivered as before, another soft sound escaping her, but no words. He quit over-thinking and let instinct take over once more. Her gasps and whimpers were far better than his nervous thoughts anyway. He would hate to miss them, especially as they grew louder the farther down his lips traveled.

His lips found her breasts to be impossibly soft and smooth. She was soft to begin with, but this was more than his need-clouded brain could handle. With an appreciative growl, he ran his tongue over it, impatient to reach the rosy nipple his thumb was still busy teasing but not wanting to rush things too much.

While he was raring to go as evidenced by what was currently poking her thigh, she needed to be ready for him. Right?

He looked up at her, pausing until he had her gaze and teased that nipple with a flick of his tongue, capturing it the moment her breath hitched. He figured he was doing it right when she grabbed the back of his head and pushed his face closer. He stopped only to lavish the other with the same attention as his other hand ran down her side and across her stomach, tracing down the scar she had from a past surgery.

Lithium bit her lip, trying to stifle the whimpers that were only growing louder, but as his calloused fingers followed her scar downward, she knew she was fighting a losing battle. She shifted her body to make it easier to find was his fingers were searching for and despite a little fumbling, her knees nearly gave out when he did.

Her moan resolved into a heated growl. He paused at the sound until she pressed herself toward his hand, her needy mewl making it clear he better not stop. He smirked past the pale skin of her breast and resumed without hesitation.

Zoro felt her knees wobble the more he played with that little bundle of nerves. She already was gripping his arms for dear life, not even noticing the red welts her claws made on his skin. Right before her legs gave out completely, he wrapped his free arm around her waist.

"Can't take much more of that and stand, can you?"

All she managed was a small whimper in response at first, clearly struggling to form words. Some of it was sensory overload, the other part unsure if she could handle anything more at all. This was just foreplay and she was already about to fall apart at the seams. How long would she last when he was actually inside her?

"Ah...I just..."

"Yeah?"

"I want you...right now..." Her face was blazing every shade of red imaginable by the feel of it. "No more...other stuff...please..."

Zoro was not going to deny her what she wanted in the first place, but that soft little please about did him in. He withdrew his hand and stood, lifting her off her feet, smiling as she wrapped her arms and legs aroud him on instinct. He gave her a quick kiss as he resettled them back on the bed, his back against the headboard.

Lithium squirmed as he held her just above his clearly excited member, feeling it twitch against her folds. It took a bit of fumbling for him to line himself up, but her mind was too consumed with the sudden thought that she was not sure how he was going to actually fit to notice anything but the little thrills the contact was causing.

Zoro felt his face flush at his struggle, but the concern fled his mind as he lowered her slowly onto him. The urge thrust in all the way and not stop doing so until she was a screaming mess was nearly overwhelming, but he has not trained both body and mind for years without honing his self-control. He would take this slowly for her sake.

Or so he thought.

Lithium pressed him the rest of the way into her with one swift downward motion, leaving both of them gasping and clinging to each other at the shock. She forced words out between pants. "I...couldn't...take it...any...longer...too...slow..."

Zoro felt the growl rise up from the depths of him, and there were no more words between them. He caught her lips in a bruising kiss as began thrusting into her, relishing her cries. She was meeting this movements, growling as much as he was, sending him into a near-frenzy.

He flipped her on back without leaving her, his rhythm erratic. Her arms pulled him in close and winced at the stabs of pain as her claws raked his skin. Scars on the back may be a swordsman's shame, but he was going to damn proud of these later.

He growled louder as he neared climax, desperately pounding into her, feeling great need for Lithium to come with him. She had lost the ability to keep up with him and was clinging to him as she cried out with each thrust.

Seconds before he could hold back no longer, she brought her lips to his shoulder and bit down hard. Zoro lost it and returned the bite, releasing into her with what felt like all the strength he had.

Lithium felt herself breaking the most exquisite way shortly after Zoro came. Her mouth fell away from his marked shoulder as she screamed his name. He let go of her shoulder and smothered her cry with increasingly gentle kisses until they both relaxed. He slowly slipped himself from her and lowered himself to the bed next to her, pressing his face into the crook of her neck. She leaned her head on his, the only part of her body willing to move at that moment.

They stayed like that a long time before either of them spoke. Zoro found his voice first, though a chuckled proceeded it.

"Well...we answered that question...you do like it rough..."

Lithium turned so she could see him out of the corner of her eye, a cheeky grin on her face. "How could I not? You use that man-dongle of yours so well. "

They both burst into laughter until their sides ached. They would settle down for a little while until they looked at each other and start into another laughing fit. Eventually Lithium laughed herself to sleep, curled against his chest.

Zoro pulled the blankets over the both of them and settled in to sleep as well. He closed his eye, pressing one last kiss on the top of her head. He was never so glad he sat his ass on the wrong damn bench.

-The End-

Thank you so much for reading my story. This is the first fanfiction I have ever completed and I feel incredibly proud of that achievement. You have all made this little journey a great joy.

While this part of the story is over, you can find Zoro and Lithium goodness at litihiumsketchbook . tumblr. com or at my roleplay blog, thelithiumprojectlm . tumbler. com (obviously without the spaces).

Have a happy 2016!