Author's Note: This one is a little bit fluffy. But I highly doubt that my understanding of fluffy is the same as yours.

Time set right after "2YL".

P.S. If there's anyone who's been following my other ZoNa fic " A beautiful mess", I've only written about 200 words of the new chapter. Considering that I have travelling plans in June, it'll take maybe another three weeks or even a month for me to update again, sorry.

The one with the tattoo

"Perona has one too, you know." He said, his good eye fixed on her left upper arm.

"Uh huh." She responded with an absent nod, then fell back into silence.

It was hard, for both of them, to try to reach out and reconnect after that two years separation. So many things had changed. He scarred his left eye; she grew her hair in length. When the crew reunited in Shabondy Archipelago, neither of them could find the proper words to address each other. A faint smile on the lip was all they could muster.

It had been awkward. As if they don't talk anymore. He certainly didn't miss her endless nagging or blackmailing, but it's even worse to see her pull away from him. After all, they are nakama; nakamas are supposed to talk, right?

Clearing his throat, he tried to start the conversation again. "Hers is pink though."

This time she gave him an odd look. "What?"

"Perona's tattoo. It's a pink bat."

"Oh we're still on that." She said, her voice giving out a slight trace of sarcasm.

He scratched the back of his green head uneasily: She's making this very hard for him."Ano, did it hurt?" When she glared at him as if his just asked a very dumb and pointless question, he quickly added. "I was there when Perona got that tattoo. She was crying her eyes out so I suppose it must hurt badly. Uh…did it?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, not looking too pleased. "You know what, Zoro? It's been too long since I got this tattoo. I don't even remember how it felt! Why didn't you ask your new girlfriend about it?"

She turned abruptly and began to walk away from him.

"Wait—"he grasped her wrist before she could run too far. "Why are you upset? " His good eye studied her face.

"Would you let go?" she demanded. " Unlike you I have some actual work to do on this ship!"

His brows furrowed in slight concern: It couldn't be...what he thought this was about, could it?

"Perona is not my girlfriend." He said matter-of-factly, letting go of her wrist after a second. "She's more like a little sister to me, if you push it."

"Why are you telling me this? It has nothing to do with me." she retorted.

He shrugged. "Just got the feeling you might wanna know about it." And by the way her cheek turning pink prettily, he knew he was right.

"Might not." She insisted, turning away from him again so that he couldn't see the small smile formed on her lips. "And for your information, mister, it did sting a little, but not unbearably. At least I didn't have to cry my eyes out. It seems that your little girlfriend is a spoiled kid."

"I said she's not my girlfriend didn't I?" This time he growled impatiently.

Waving him off, she walked away with an upbeat bounce in her step. She guessed she just really liked the sound of that.

The End