I do not own anything besides these words and the cover art.

The buzzing finally reached Zoro's ears, and he opened his eyes in the darkness of Nami's room. He moved to the night table, but he could not find his phone. He groaned as he moved Nami off his chest and padded his way to the living room. He tried to see in the darkness, but he felt around and pulled the phone out of the couch. Zoro did not have many contacts on his phone, so he answered as he always did, "What do you want, love cook?"

The silence on the other end was deafening. So Zoro asked again, "Sanji?"

However, there was no response and so Zoro moved the screen away from his face to see the caller ID, "Unknown" and the phone was not his own. He finally heard a breath on the other end and shouted, "Who the hell is this? Arlong?"

The phone disconnected swiftly and Zoro tried to look through the contacts but everything was locked. He gritted his teeth at the thought that at the other end of the line was the man who hurt Nami. He put the phone back in the place where he found it and moved back to the bedroom when he felt a piece of paper at his feet.

Zoro finally flicked on a light and looked down to see a note from Mama and the boys. He grinned at the silly drawings the kids made and opened the door to find Tupperware containers of food fit for a family of four. He brought it inside and heated some up, in hopes that his mind would move on from the frustration of having the answers so close but none that were clear.

Nami awoke from a dream of Zoro juggling babies when she heard the shuffling in the kitchen and the beeping of the microwave. Her headache was gone and she felt like she slept for days. She buried her head back into her pillow when she recognized the smell. Suddenly she shot up because she heard a noise from her living room.

No one else had a key to her apartment, so she suddenly feared that Arlong had never left. However, Nami distinctly remembered crying in her shower as icy water went down her back. She remembered feeling hot and in pain throughout the hours, but then Zoro held in her warm water and cleaned her up. He was playing with children and Nami felt such a fuzzy feeling in the back of her throat, like her words to call out to him were itching to escape but were bound to her by secrecy and her need to do everything alone. Warm delicious soup went down her throat as she nestled against a hard yet inviting body. Nami felt like she slept soundlessly, without a single night terror or fear of being awoken by someone she did not want to be with, and now...there was someone in her house. She put on her slippers and headed to the living room. On the couch, in front of the tv, slept Zoro with an empty plate on his slowly rising chest. She wanted to yell at him, but as she shut off the cartoons, she looked at his peaceful face.

She remembered taking a bath with him, which she would scold him about later. She remembered his blowing on a spoon as he fed her, the medicine, being held at night, and hugged when she felt a shiver. Nami did not mind that her room now smelled of him, and perhaps even her couch and the rest of her place because, for the first time, it felt like a home. She looked around and everything seemed fine, but she found her burner phone dislodged from its hiding place and knelt down to grab it. As she crouched beside him, she hesitantly brushed some of his hair and he seemed to frown in his sleep, which made her laugh.

Suddenly a knock on the door moved Nami from her thoughts. She looked at the clock and it was 6 am. Brook would have already been in bed by now, and it dawned on her that it could only be the one person who knew she lived here. But why would Arlong knock? Nami quietly walked to the door and opened it a sliver. A built woman with curly red hair gave her a wide grin. "Oh, I see you're alive!"

"Um, yeah…I…"

"Oh, sorry," she extended a hand, "Name's Mama. Zoro took care of my kids last night. I had left you guys some food and wanted to make sure you got it before I headed to work."

Nami nodded, "Oh, yeah…it seemed like Zoro ate it all."

Mama chuckled, "Yeah, he's a big man. So here's some casserole for lunch or dinner, since I know he's not much a cook and you were sick."

Nami took the container from the woman gingerly, unsure of what to make of the stranger's kindness. "Oh, I guess I should give you your other containers."

Mama shook her head, "Don't worry about. I'm sure my sons would be excited to grab that from your later today or something. They'll be happy to see Zoro again. Won't shut up about how 'ripped' he is."

Nami chuckled, "Ha, right. Um, well, thanks…Mama."

"No problem, Nami. I'm sorry, it is Nami, right?"

Nami nodded, and Mama returned the gesture with a wave as she headed down the hall. Nami closed the door and looked at the container in her hand with curiosity. She had been out for maybe a day or two, but Zoro had already befriended the people on other floors?

She was about to head to the kitchen when another knock startled her. Nami sighed and turned to open the door. This time an even wider woman with a flushed face and small girl with pigtails greeted her.

"The infamous Nami! Awake at last!" The woman said with a slight slur.

The little girl pushed a cat-like a creature up to Nami's face, "This is Gonbe. I'm Chimney, and this is my grandmother, Kokoro. We helped Zoro make soup for you!"

Nami nodded, "Oh, yes, thank you."

"My, my. You are indeed pretty. Hoichael and Michael did not lie," Kokoro said with a wink to Chimney who giggled.

Chimney smiled up at Nami, "I have to go to school now, but do you think I can hang out with Zoro later? He's so funny and Gonbe loves him."

"Um, I'll ask him…but s-sure," Nami said wearily.

Kokoro took her hand and held it gingerly, "No need to worry, dear. He took very good care of you. You got a good man on your hands."

Chimney smiled and looked at her pocket watch, "Come on, Grandma, we're gonna be late for the train!"

Kokoro chuckled and let her granddaughter lead her down the hall and they waved each other goodbye. Nami grew more and more confused as she closed the door and walked to her kitchen. There were open containers with must have been Mama's food. Nami picked up a note off the table.

"Thanks for taking care of the babies, Big Bro! You and your hot girlfriend deserve some really good food, so enjoy!"

There were pictures of green haired muscular men all over the paper, and Nami held in her smile. She held it in because though this was all very nice and cute, this was not what Arlong would want. She was supposed to be invisible, indiscernible, but now the entire building knew about her…and it was all his fault.

She went back to the couch to wake him, but her phone in her bedroom rang and she went to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Nami, why wouldn't you just answer to me?"

Nami stiffened as she pushed her burner phone under her mattress, "Uh, I'm sorry, Arlong. I've…I have been sick."

"Oh? When I left you, you were fine. Better than fine. Don't tell me you can't handle a few bruises now?"

Nami held in whatever emotion threatened to leave her, "No, of course not. Just a cold."

Zoro heard her voice and blinked himself awake. The sunlight was slowly coming through the windows in the kitchen, and he saw her door was open but her voice was low and heavy. He fished into the couch and saw the cell phone was gone. He went rigid because he understood that Nami was speaking to the silent caller, the one who hurt her. He quietly came off the couch and approached the door.

"Look, I'm sorry. I told you…it's fine. I'll update you later, okay?" Nami said and within a few second, she hung up. Her exhales were heavy, and Zoro saw how she clutched the place where her tattoo was engraved on her arm.

"Who calls you on that phone?" His voice was quiet, but stern and Nami was startled at it.

Zoro opened her door and stood in the doorway of her bedroom, and Nami wondered why he felt so comfortable in her space. She tried a smile, but somehow her face could not manage a lie right now. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

Zoro did not stop his stare, "Answer the question."

Her emotions steadied and years of practice let Nami crossed her arms and respond with distance, "I don't need to answer shit. You have no right."

Zoro closed the bedroom door with a clatter that made Nami flinch, but he stood where he was. "Mama gave us more food?" He nodded at the container in her hand which she forgot to leave in the kitchen. She responded with a nod and Zoro continued, "I took care of her kids. She lives in this building. Oh, and the soup you ate before? Kokoro and Chimney made that. They live in this building, too. They protected your panties from your neighbor, Brook. But you know what? They didn't know you lived here."

Nami frowned, "I like to keep to myself."

Zoro's harsh glare looked her over and then glanced at the phone. "He called, you know. The man you keep hiding."

The blood rushed from her face. She wondered if Zoro startled Arlong, but Arlong did not seem to say anything more than the usual. Still, Nami was worried, "What?"

Zoro rushed at her and pointed to her body, "The man that left those marks on your body."

Nami clutched herself, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Then talk to me, Nami! Damn it! I'm trying not to forget my words. Cause when I'm around you, I tend to keep changing my mind." He reached out a hand toward her, but Nami moved away. "I promise, I promise myself not to slip back into the old habit."

Nami gripped the phone in her hand and looked at him, with wet eyes, "You don't understand. I can't tell you. Can't keep you from pulling me down…I can't lose my focus because of you."

Zoro shook his head, "What does that mean? Stop talking in riddles and just tell me who I need to protect you from."

Nami rose to her feet. "You can't protect me! That's not your fucking job!" Nami began screaming at him, "And yeah…maybe it's true because I can't stop thinking about you. But that's dangerous for me! You…you can't…" Zoro managed to get his arms around her, and though Nami struggled, she just sobbed into his chest. "Please, Zoro…don't ask me anymore. Don't ask me about that."

Zoro furrowed his brows and drew her tighter against him, "Fine. But…I'm not leaving."

Nami slid to the floor and into his arms, as he held her to his chest and she cried. Zoro did not say anything more because there was very little he could say. If Nami wanted to share her life, she needed to do that. He could not keep prodding her.

Nami sniffled and asked quietly, "You saw it, didn't you?" Zoro did not understand the question, so Nami pulled away from him and wiped her face. She looked him in the face and asked again, "You saw the mark?"

"Nami, I had to change you," he said defensively, thinking she was upset at him seeing her like that.

She slid back from him and pulled down the corner of her shirt to show him her shoulder. Zoro saw the black-blue tattoo on her skin and looked at her eyes that did not falter. She began in a thick, wet voice, "I'm not a good person, Zoro. I am in a gang. Indebted. They own me. And I need this elaborate plan to buy back my freedom. I'm sorry I didn't tell you…but would you have helped if I did?"

Zoro did not hesitate, "Yes." Nami pushed her shirt back up and watched him look at his hands and then at her. "I'm not a good person either, Nami. I have hurt people. I have anger issues. I scare people away…but you don't get to tell me to stop caring. So, shit, I'll admit…I care about you. Get it?"

There was a moment between them, as the clock ticked away and the two let their breaths collect in his lungs, least either of them run away now. Nami finally opened her mouth and said, "You don't need to stay."

He looked at her and tilted his head, "Where else can I go?" He chuckled, "I got used to you telling me what direction…so I kinda need you."

Nami trained her eyes back on her palms, one clutching the phone that Arlong calls her through. The one with only one contact, because to Arlong, Nami did not need to speak to another single soul. Nami continued to look down and smiled, "Hmm…that sucks."

Zoro looked at the ceiling, "Yeah, it does." He did not want to admit it out loud, that he meant to say he could not be without her. It sounded too desperate in his head, but it felt truthful in his heart. However, it had been a long time since his heart and head communicated, and though Nami constantly made him speak for both...for now, she would need to trust his actions over his words. He would not leave her, not anymore. Zoro was in too deep to forget her.

Nami watched him ponder and cursed herself. She could blame him all she wanted, but at the end of the day, she chose him. In some cruel twist of fate, it seemed he chose her, too. She had not planned for it. She had not wanted to trust another human being as much as she did him, but for the moment, he was quickly breaking her down. Nami did not know how much more she could take before he broke through, but at least she had some semblance of control. This was going to blow up in her face, but like a sinner who loved the sin more than anything else, she would enjoy the downward spiral because he made her feel safe. She needed to thank him for at least that much, so Nami quickly leaned in and placed a kiss on Zoro's cheek. He swiveled his head back down and blushed deeply but quickly collected himself. Then Nami pinched his ears, "And that's for changing my clothes!"

Zoro fidgeted underneath her grip, "You threw up! And were sweaty! I had to!"

"Oh yeah? Saw anything good, Zoro?" She teased, though she was beyond grateful for his character. If there was one man she could trust with her body when she had no control over it, it was Zoro.

Nami stopped smacking him to look at the calendar on her bedroom wall, "Wait, we have a fight today."

Zoro nodded, "Yeah, and if you haven't gotten me sick by now, then I should be good."

Nami quickly got up and started for the kitchen, "Well, let's go. We need a good breakfast, don't we?"

Zoro rose and smirked, "Can you even cook?"

There was a clatter in the kitchen as Nami chased him with a spoon for the insult, but to the rest of the world, it sounded like Nami's place was finally alive again.

Music Inspiration/Theme: "Love Is A Bitch" (Two Feet)

Love is quite a sucky thing, eh? Look, I gave you a kiss! And how the plot has thickened! I wonder how Usopp will handle being called Arlong. Or better yet…you think he is afraid of Zoro just from his voice? Haha.

Guess we'll have to see. Next up is Fight #2, and whoa, will it get a bit messy. #aintnotbodypicksonnamiinfrontofzoro #dazboneswasmadetobeawestlersname

P.S. I totally get that the last chapter was a bit meh. To be honest, this is and always will be a ZoNa story, but there are other moving pieces and characters so I want to give them their fair share. However, honestly, out of all the other couples I am exploring in this story, Sanji & Perona is my least favorite. Honestly (and don't yell at me) besides Sanji's interactions with Zoro...I really don't care for him...or perverts in general, so his character here is a bit more...explored? Haha. So, I'm sorry to have put something non-ZoNa into this story and moving forward I will give you a heads up if the chapter is non-ZoNa focused (so you can skip it if you must).

Also, I am really no up-to-date on OP, so I know Sanji pulled the whole "you're not my family" business and Luffy had to go snatch him back and be like, "SAY IT WITH ME, WE ARE NA-KA-MA" so perhaps that's why Sanji seems a bit meh to me...BUT I hope I haven't turned anyone off. Don't worry. We're getting there, guys. It's a long story;P

XoXo shipfiend