I'm back, and have a new chapter with me! Exams are now over, so hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently now.

This one is a continuation of chapter 3, which featured Zoro and Robin as children. (So it's not in the timeline that the other chapters are in, it's just random fluff in another AU.)

Enjoy!

Christmas

"Zorooooo…"

"What is it, Luffy?"

"Guess what's coming next week!"

The 16-year-old sighed. He'd become very fond of the hyperactive boy since he'd first shown up at school earlier in the year, but there were times when Luffy tested his patience. A prime example of that was Luffy's recent obsession with Christmas.

Zoro decided to take the sarcastic approach. "I really don't know, Luffy. Enlighten me."

Luffy just grinned at him. "Silly Zoro! Haven't you been listening? It's Christmas next week! You getting anyone a present?"

The swordsman shook his head. "I usually just get a bottle of Sake for Koshiro-Sensei and leave some flowers for Kuina. Don't get stuff for anyone else."

Luffy frowned at him for a second and looked confused. Zoro noticed this straight away. "…What?"

"Aren't you gonna get something for Robin?"

Zoro's face went very pink then and he looked almost outraged. "Wha- how did you- why would I get a present for Robin?" He spluttered.

Luffy just gave him that confused look again, as if it were a simple matter. "Because you two are reeeeeeally close." He said, dragging out the 'really' for emphasis. A mischievous grin crossed his face just then. "And because you like her."

The teenager's face now clashed horribly with his hair. He grabbed Luffy, looking around to make sure nobody had heard their conversation. The street however, was completely empty, save for the odd car or two that drove by. Everyone usually opted to take the bus during wintertime, but it was far too troublesome for Zoro- Most times he tried, he ended up taking the bus going in the wrong direction.

"Where did you hear that?" He hissed, as if afraid someone might overhear. Luffy carried on grinning.

"Nami told me a few days ago, we haven't told anyone else though, don't worry!"

Zoro groaned. He should have known the money-grabbing witch would have been behind this. He had told her that in confidence! "That's what I get for selling my soul in exchange for tutoring…" The swordsman mumbled. He had been in desperate need of help to pass Math, and Nami was the only option he had. Unfortunately, due to Zoro's lack of money, Nami had only agreed to tutor him in exchange for a very big secret of his. Eventually, the poor boy had had no choice, and he ended up telling her of his feelings for his childhood friend. (Also promising a very painful demise if the information EVER got back to Robin.)

"How you two ended up dating, I'll never know." He said sceptically, looking at his carefree friend.

"Ace said that too! He also said her sister's really-"

"I don't want to know!" Zoro cut in quickly. Now really wasn't the time for a perverted conversation about Nami and her sister.

Luffy got the message and went straight back to the point. "So what are you getting Robin for Christmas?"

Zoro's shoulders sagged as he realised that he had no idea.

"I have no idea."

He had seven days to figure out what to get Robin. Maybe he could try his hand at cooking? After swallowing his pride and approaching Sanji to ask for some baking help, Zoro soon realised that it was hopeless. They spent almost all night in the kitchen of the Baratie, trying to bake a simple tray of cookies until Sanji threw his hands in the air in defeat (after getting rid of yet another ruined batch) and told Zoro to just try something else, because cooking was definitely not an option for him.

Next, Zoro asked Usopp if it was okay if he used the long-nosed teenager's workshop (Which was a small section of the boys garage) to build a small bookcase. Usopp agreed, but paled when he saw Zoro hammer in a nail so hard he nearly destroyed the entire bookcase he was trying to make. The garage was soon a mess of wood and bent nails, and Usopp had to politely tell his friend that this wasn't working out, and that it was his own life on the line if Yasopp ever found any damage to his car.

Luffy suggested meat. Zoro had no idea why he asked in the first place.

Nami suggested expensive jewellery. He took one look at his wallet and laughed.

Chopper suggested sweets or medicinal herbs. Robin wasn't very fond of sweet things, and Zoro doubted she'd have many uses for medicinal herbs.

Franky suggested that Zoro take her dancing. Imagining the nightmare of him attempting to dance, the green-haired boy just shuddered and declined.

Brook suggested that he compose and sing a song. Zoro just gave him a blank look and walked away.

How could this be so difficult? It had even taken him extra effort not to let anyone know whom he was trying to get a present for! Zoro was at his wits end.

He was sullenly trudging through the snow one day after school when he saw some guys yelling obscenities at Robin. Unfortunately as she had gotten older, perverted comments had been added to the list of verbal abuse she received from some of the townspeople. She kept her head down and in the book she was reading, but Zoro could see her fingers twitching- she was trying so hard to not just sprout a few extra arms so that she could snap some of their bones.

They then had the nerve to knock her book out of her hands and into a particularly slushy, muddy patch of snow, before spotting the livid swordsman and running for their lives.

Zoro glared at them and then bent down to help his friend pick her book out of the pile of slush. He heard her mutter, "It's ruined." Before she straightened up and smiled at him.

"I know who those idiots were, don't worry, I'll have taught them a lesson by new years." He assured her. "Why didn't you just pull that move you did on Franky when he got drunk at that party and exposed himself? If anything, those guys definitely deserve to have their balls crushed."

Robin just smiled sweetly at him; Zoro suddenly heard two blood-curdling screams from further up the road.

"Already done." She said, her smile not faltering.

They both looked forlornly at her book. Unfortunately, it had not been closed when it landed in the filthy pile of snow, and many pages were now blurred, soggy or downright grimy. The smile was now gone from Robin's face; Zoro knew that one of the things which really upset her was when a book was intentionally damaged.

He noticed the title and author on the front, and then had an idea.

Successfully keeping the smug grin off of his face (but with much difficulty) he asked: "So...Any plans for the holidays?"

Robin shrugged and gave him a humourless smile. "Oh, the usual."

Zoro felt a twinge of anger. 'The usual' meant that once again, her uncle would be spending Christmas and New Year's (and the days in between) getting very drunk with his friends in some seedy corner of town, leaving Robin at home to spend the holidays by herself. Luffy, Zoro and their friends had all offered her a place to stay for Christmas, (Nami even tried to drag her out one year) but Robin always politely declined, believing that she would just be a burden.

They walked home in comfortable silence, occasionally making small talk, and wished each other a happy Christmas when they parted ways. But Zoro walked home with a slight spring in his step- He knew exactly what he was getting Nico Robin for Christmas.

Christmas day finally arrived. Zoro woke up bright and early- for once. He wished his Sensei a Merry Christmas and gave him a bottle of his favourite Sake, and then they visited Kuina's grave together to pay their respects. Usually, he would either spend the rest of the day sleeping or visiting Luffy and Ace, but today was different.

He marched over to Robin's house- getting more and more nervous by the second. Negative thoughts started to creep into his head. What if she didn't like it? What if it wasn't what she wanted? Zoro shook his head. He couldn't afford to back down now. He had to do this.

A few moments after he'd rung the doorbell, she opened the door, looking half asleep. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned. "Zoro? I've told you before that it's fine, I don't-"

"Merry Christmas!" He exclaimed as he shoved the poorly wrapped present towards her.

She looked a bit startled for a moment, and Zoro felt his face grow hot as he realised that he'd practically yelled in her face. "Might as well have chucked the damn thing at her head while I was at it. Stupid, stupid!" He chastised himself in his head before noticing that the usually stoic girl had a very similar, uncharacteristic blush on her face too.

"Thank you very much." She said softly as she gently took the present from him.

Zoro tried hard not to fidget nervously as the blue-eyed girl carefully unwrapped the gift (Which surprised him- even he was aware of how badly he'd wrapped it, making it seem impossible to open). Her eyes widened as she saw that her present from Zoro was a copy of her book that had been ruined the previous week.

Mistaking her silence for anger, Zoro began to panic- something he hadn't done since he was a little kid. "It's the wrong book, isn't it? I knew I shouldn't have trusted that old guy in the bookshop! I had to ride my bike all the way to Loguetown to find it and I swear everyone that owns a store there is shady as hell. I'll return it if you don't like it-" He abruptly stopped as he felt a pair of soft lips kiss his cheek briefly.

"It's perfect." Robin said with a smile as she pulled back. "You went to Loguetown to get this? On your bike? That's over an hour away, Zoro." Her smile grew the more she thought about it, she was touched that he'd go to so much effort for her.

Zoro couldn't answer her, his face was so red by now that paired with his shock of green hair, he resembled a strawberry, something Robin noticed as she tried to suppress a laugh.

She suddenly realised that they were both going to catch terrible colds if they stayed out in the snow like this any longer. "Would you like to come inside for some food?"

He could only nod in agreement. Robin was beginning to wonder if that was the first time a girl had ever kissed him. Her mischievous side came out and she gently took his hand, leading him inside. Her smile grew as she noticed how tightly he gripped her hand in return. A thought suddenly occurred to her and she sighed at how terrible her manners were.

"What's the matter?" Zoro asked, a small voice at the back of his head nagged at him, saying that perhaps she had changed her mind. He shook his head to clear the thoughts.

"I hope you'll forgive me, it's just that I've forgotten something very important." She said, suddenly very serious. The boy was puzzled for a moment before she gave him that smile- the one reserved only for him, the one that he loved so much (although he would never admit it.) "Merry Christmas, Zoro."

He relaxed and grinned at the girl he cared about more than anything else right now.

"Merry Christmas, Robin."

That took a ridiculous amount of days to write, I'm really out of touch with this stuff. UGH.

You probably noticed one of my other pairings I snuck in there haha. As well as being a SanjixNami fan, I'm also a fan of LuffyxNami! _ (I have so many pairings for this series it's a bit worrying) AcexNojiko also had a teeny mention (somewhat) but I couldn't resist.

This chapter turned out to be a lot longer than I expected it to be. Hope you guys enjoyed it!