Zoro scrubbed the eraser over the paper, grimacing as he did so. He just couldn't find the words to make the note
perfect. He sighed, considering asking Robin if he could have some help putting his thoughts down on paper. He knew De-Ji
was more of a writer than Robin, who was more of a reader, but the note was for De-Ji so couldn't ask her for help for a
surprise note for her, of course. Zoro grumbled and put his pencil to the paper again, starting to write over all the eraser
smudges, glaring at the smudges as he did. The paper didn't look half as good as it did when he had began. It was crumpled,
smudged, torn a little on one side and covered in eraser bits. Zoro stopped his writing, wiping off the eraser shavings, sighed
and erased everything again, wiping yet again.
Zoro tapped the paper with his eraser as he thought, trying not to make it sound
too mushy or cheesy but also trying to make it sweet and romantic. He grumbled, wishing he were better able to put his feelings
into words, or even just recognize and deal with all the feelings De-Ji inspired in him. His stomach twisted and he felt frustrated,
but when he thought of De-Ji it made it all worth it, because he felt warm and calm with her in his mind. What he was going to
ask of her made him feel like he was going to fight Mihawk again, and yet he wanted to ask her.
Shaking his head, he wrote
down the simple version, giving up on all the fancy words and romance, hoping she was telling the truth when she said that she
didn't need romance. He looked it over, regretting trying to be romantic and trying to use etiquette, especially since he hadn't
managed to. He sighed, a little disappointed but done.
He reached over and picked up De-Ji's notebook, looking around to make sure she wasn't around to see him
setting up her surprise, and slipped the piece of paper into her notebook, and reached into his haramaki, fingering the little box
he had been hiding there ever since they had visited the last island, his stomach twisting again. He set down the notebook where
it had been and sat back and tried to rest, mostly for his stomach but also partly because he had exercised especially rigorously
that morning and needed the rest in case Luffy saw another chance at adventure.
The fluttering of wings in the room awakened him, and he opened his eye to see De-Ji come flying in, her emerald
eyes sparkling with happiness, giving away that she had been having a good time with the rest of the crew. He smiled and
closed his eye most of the way, watching her to see what she would do.
De-Ji landed beside Zoro, noticing that his eye was open and smiled to herself. He wouldn't be able to notice her
mischievous smile because of her beak, and she turned to him, pecking him very gently with her beak, as she would with her
lips. It was a sort of physical pun that he and she shared, and she enjoyed it. He did too. He couldn't hide it from her. Usually
he didn't bother trying anyway, because he knew that she knew. They were just that close, and she loved that they were.
Zoro chuckled and opened his eyes, a little surprised that he couldn't even fake sleeping from her. She could read
him like one of her many books. He had thought at first that he wouldn't like it, but then he had come to realize that it was nice
that he didn't have to hide anything from her.
"Hey. Did you have fun?" He asked, already knowing she did but wanted to start a conversation. She turned back
into her human form, the full-body suit stretching to fit her regular shape, and he groaned internally. He had always thought
before he had met her that he could train away his urges, but she awakened in him a primal need that could not be ignored or
turned away from. But he could indulge in that later. He cursed his twisted stomach, telling it mentally that there was no reason
for it to be that way. She would say yes. He knew she would.
"Yeah, of course I did," She said, smiling at him. His muscles turned into liquid. He thought her so beautiful, it
confounded him that she didn't think she was. But it was what it was, and all he could hope to do was to convince her one day
that she was. He grunted, but it came out as more of a hum because he was happy that she was back. He knew that she liked
to be silly with Luffy and the others once in a while and he admired that she could take time to have fun and be serious at other
times. He could too, but he didn't have as much fun as she did because of the constant training he did.
"What are you going to do now?" He asked, hoping that she would answer that she was going to work on her
writing. She was writing about the adventures of the Pirate King and how he had come to find One Piece. Somebody had to
write the history books, and she enjoyed it. He had read some of it and she made it interesting, though the adventures were
interesting enough on their own, and written so that they were accurate and every nuance and intricacy behind the battles and
finished feuds was explained, fully telling how Luffy had helped island after island.
"I'm not sure. Maybe rest. They sure can play hard," She said, smiling again. Being around the others took a lot out
of her sometimes, but she could quit whenever she wanted. He nodded, supporting her decision, but still a little disappointed
that she wouldn't see his note sooner rather than later.
The disappointment melted away when she slid along the wall, landing on
his side and sighing contentedly. He was just happy she was here. It surprised him every time, but he had missed her. He usually
liked to be alone, but De-Ji was the exception. She shifted a little, turning sideways and resting a hand across his chest, her
hand on his shoulder to anchor her arm in place. He looked down at her, closed his eyes and lowered his head so that it was
resting on hers. She was always so comfortable to be around. Her silent presence was always calming to him. He raised an arm
to pet and play with her hair, because it was one of her favorite places for him to touch, and besides him she didn't let anybody
but Takono and Suta touch her hair, and that was only to have it done up for special occasions. But she moved before his hand
could touch her hair, trying to get comfortable again. He let her settle in, let her crawl on top of his lap, moving the small box in
his haramaki so she wouldn't feel it when she leaned on him, and sit in between his legs, bumping him gently with her hip. He
grunted, but not from pain. She apologized softly and moved again, doing her best to make sure he was as comfortable as her.
She always did her best to make sure everyone around her was happy, which he appreciated. Mostly the crew just let each
other be each other, which he also appreciated, but it was nice to be thought of in that way by another person too.
Once she
was settled, again, he looked down at her and was surprised to see her frowning. She didn't usually frown unless something was
wrong. He hoped it wasn't anything too serious. He wanted this day, this moment, to go perfectly. If it didn't, it would ruin the
mood and might ruin the moment. A moment he wanted, and he wanted her, to remember for forever.
"What's wrong?" He asked, still looking down at her. She sighed a long sigh, and looked up at him, not really
frowning anymore, but still managing to look unhappy. 'Please let it be something minor' he hoped to himself while he waited for
her to sort out her words and put them together in the right way. Sometimes it took her a minute, but it was worth the wait so
she wouldn't have to repeat herself and frustrate herself and him in trying to explain something again when she could have done
it the first time after sorting everything out.
"I can't get comfortable. Not that you're not comfortable, it's just that... I can't. I feel comfortable, but I just can't
rest," She tried to explain, frowning again. He guessed that she just hadn't thought long enough about what she was going to
say, and brushed it off. This he could fix easily.
"Maybe you just need to write?" He suggested, drawing out the end of the question a little by accident. He hoped it
didn't sound suspicious. She looked up at him with one eyebrow raised, shrugged and nodded. She made no move to get off of
his lap and figured she wanted to stay there. He was glad that she didn't want to move, and bent to the side to reach her
notebook for her gladly.
She took the notebook from him, sliding the pencil out of the curled wire that held the paper together
and he patted his side, to make sure the ring box hadn't fallen out of his haramaki, wanting to be prepared. She opened the
notebook to her spot, and frowned at the scrap of paper enclosed therein.
"What's this? I didn't have a bookmark..." She said, trailing off, then picking it up and turning it around to look at it,
Zoro's breath felt like it was locked in his chest as she inspected the paper and he wondered if she could hear his heart
pounding in his chest like the hooves of a thousand racehorses. Her eyes scanned the words written and she gasped, looked up
at him with wide eyes and then back down at the paper, her fingers tracing the letters on the paper.
"Oh, Zoro!" She exclaimed,
her tone soft and touched. "Really?" She asked, turning to look back up at him. He nodded and dug his hand into his haramaki
and drew out the box, opening it to reveal the silver ring with a pearl center with two purple amythest stones on either side.
"Deej, will you marry me?" He asked, his voice almost breaking. He had never felt more nervous in his life, not even
when he had faced Mihawk. De-Ji smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling and her freckles standing out more prominently against
the pink in her cheeks.
"Yes! Of course!" She said, jumping on him as best she could from sitting down, knocking him back a little, and his
arms flew out and to his sides to balance himself, then he put his arms around his fiancee, holding her in a close embrace, near
to his heart, and closed his eyes, savoring the moment.
It was over all too soon. De-Ji pulled back from the hug and looked at the paper again, caressing it this time like it
was the most precious thing in the world. She smiled and sighed, then tilted her head to the side a bit like an owl and wiped at
the smudges on it with a fingertip.
"Oi, why all the smudges?" She asked, looking up at him with curious eyes. He sighed. He couldn't keep anything
from her when she did that face, like she was eager to learn whatever it was she was after, no matter what it was she was after.
"I tried to make it sound romantic without it sounding mushy or cheesy and I tried a lot of times..." He said,
scratching the back of his head and scowling at the smudges on the paper. To his surprise, De-Ji smiled brightly. He frowned,
confused.
"Really? That's so sweet! But I like it how it is. Short and to the point," She said with a decisive nod, then
continued, "Short but sweet, right?" She asked him, closing her eyes and smiling brightly again.
"Heh," grunted Zoro happily, pleased that she was happy, and nodded. She wiggled like she always did whenever
she was especially happy or excited and looked back at the paper, cooing at it.
"I'll treasure it for forever," She told Zoro, still staring at the paper. "I'll have to get Usopp to laminate it," She said,
hoping that he was able to. She wasn't sure if he had the necessary tools and she wanted to get it done as soon as possible,
because you could never tell what was going to happen when you were on Luffy's crew. She started wiggling again, faster this
time and Zoro decided that it would be better if she didn't start jumping in his lap, and caught her head in his hands, his palms
cupping her cheeks and he turned her head to face him.
"That's just fine," He said, then pulled her to him to kiss her, and she melted, her muscles relaxing and going limp
and he watched her green eyes drift shut as she fitted her lips against his, tilting her head up more, letting him wrap his arms
around her waist and pull her closer to him. He leaned back so that her limp frame could rest against his strong, supportive one.
"Hmmm..." De-Ji hummed, vocalizing her happiness without words and their lips separated slowly, sticking together
moistly. Zoro raised an eyebrow, but waited to see what she would do. De-Ji let her head sink down, turning it so that her
cheekbone rested on his trapezius, the shape of her nose fitting against his neck; her favorite spot for her head when they
cuddled. Zoro shifted her so that they could both be more comfortable and scooted forward a little so that he was leaning at
more of an angle so that De-Ji could lay against him and put his arms around her, one slanting across her lower back so that his
hand was just above her hip and his other arm wrapped around the middle-top of her back, his hand holding onto her arm on
the other side, crossing his legs so that her curled-up ones fit inside his crossed ones, and there they stayed, reveling in each
other and the moment.