Work Text:
Luffy's laughter rang through the air and everyone knew that meant trouble.
Docked on a spring island for no less than three hours, Sanji and Usopp had just gotten back with some shopping when Luffy found someone worth fighting. Of course, he had dragged along his first mate and their newest member, (Y/n). Where Zoro was, neither of them knew. What they did know was that there was a fight to be had and the only ones fighting for the Strawhats were the captain and his newest recruit.
"Shishishi, isn't this fun, (Y/n)? Much more fun than being a marine, right?" Luffy called out, throwing a punch that knocked thirty marines over. His arm stretched back to normal and he turned to the new girl, only to see her taking care of her own group of marines. She sure was handy with those guns! That marine training came in handy.
"Uhm, o-of course, sir!" She was shy, that much Luffy knew. But her fighting abilities were amazing and her aim was even better! Usopp was teaching her so much more than the marines ever could!
"I wish Zoro was here to have some fun! He's missing out!" But the fun didn't last because Luffy and (Y/n) got separated by the sheer number of marines they were fighting. Nothing they couldn't handle, but even they couldn't fight off two thousand marines without some difficulty. These marines were also targeting (Y/n) for being an ex-marine.
Luffy knew she was okay because of the sounds of gunfire, but suddenly he couldn't hear it anymore. He couldn't imagine what would cause her to stop firing. Maybe she was already done? Gosh, she was faster than he was!
Zoro didn't realize quite how lost he was until he heard very distant gunfire. Gunfire? The only people who he knew had guns were the marines or (Y/n). That must've meant (Y/n) was in trouble. Or they were all in trouble.
It took him a lot longer than he cared to admit to get back but as he neared the gun fire, it suddenly stopped and he felt his chest clench tight. He rounded a corner and found (Y/n) thrown to the ground with a marine about to bleed her dry.
"CLANG!"
(Y/n)'s eyes were shut tight and her arms held out, knowing that without her guns, she was very defenseless. So when the sword that had been ready to impale didn't reach her, she was very confused.
Opening her eyes, she saw her savior standing in front of her, sending marines flying with just one swipe of his three swords.
With wide, (e/c) eyes, (Y/n) watched Zoro come to her rescue. With raw strength and determination she'd never seen before, Zoro took down all of her opponents. She suddenly felt like too much of a burden as Zoro leaned down to pick up her twin guns for her.
"T-thanks." She whispered, taking them from the swordsman and securing each to their holsters on her waist. She rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to look everywhere but at Zoro. She just thoroughly got her butt handed to her and her savior was the guy she had a crush on! Her luck sucked.
"It was so cool seeing (Y/n) take her shots! She's so much better than any marine could ever be!" Luffy shouted, trying to get the girl mentioned to share in this 'amazing' tale, but she was too embarrassed to explain that Zoro had to save her.
"But then she got hurt and Zoro swooped in like a real hero! Zoro's so cool!" Luffy shouted, jumping up and down with Usopp and Chopper that were pestering Zoro to tell them more about the fight.
(Y/n) rubbed the bandage on her left arm, from where the marine had cut her arm. It was what caused her to lose the grip on her gun in the first place. She dropped the other to try and stop the bleeding, which led her to the problem she had.
She looked up at Zoro's annoyed face and felt guilt wash over herself. She wasn't keeping up with the others, was she? They'd just toss her out soon enough.
"Hey," Zoro's gruff voice pulls her out of her thoughts and she looks up in equal parts fear and shock to see the swordsman staring down at her.
"Meet me up in the crow's nest later. You need to learn how to handle yourself." Shaking in her boots, she could only nod, too worried Zoro would get mad if she said no, and too scared to be kicked out by Luffy to truly want to say no. But alone time with Zoro? Oh no!
After dinner was done, and Sanji was through doting on her for getting hurt and yelling at the marimo for not showing up quick enough, (Y/n) found herself climbing up to the crow's nest. It was only a couple minutes after Zoro went up, but she worried if she took too long, he'd come down and get her. She didn't want to find out what that would entail so she put on her brave face and climbed in.
Looking around, she noted in her head just how nice this area was. It was mostly a gym for Zoro, but Franky had done a good job. What amazing craftsmanship. He was truly-
"Oi, what are you doing? Are you going to spar with me or not?"
"What?" She squeaked out, panic flaring through her as she realized that she would have to try and spar with a man who could cut through an entire ship in one swipe. She gulped, realizing that the cut on her arm wouldn't be her only injury that day.
"Come on, I'll teach you how to wrap your hands first. Here."
That was the start of a very confusing evening.
Zoro was a surprisingly gentle teacher. He wasn't rough with her, didn't try to belittle her, and made sure that she was comfortable with everything they were doing. Even checked on her injuries often.
"This is nothing like training in the marines." She commented, rubbing at her wrists to get some of the soreness out. She wasn't used to throwing punches, after all.
"Really? What was it like?" Zoro asked, sitting down on the large bench and tossing her a water. He took sake for himself, but he wasn't going to let her get dehydrated.
She took a seat a respectable distance from him and sipped at her water while thinking about how to answer.
"Well, it was," She paused, setting the water down. "It was kind of lonely." She said softly. Zoro looked at her in surprise. She always seemed like the kind of person who kept to herself.
"I was a really great shot from the start. So they kept me pulled away from everyone. I was everything they could ever want, but if I messed up at all or I didn't do as great as they thought I could," She grimaced, pressing a hand to her stomach.
"It's hard to think about."
Zoro set his sake down and could barely keep himself from reaching out to her. She looked scared and lonely just thinking about it. The way her skin paled, Zoro couldn't help but wonder just what thoughts were running through her head.
"Some days, I can't even bring myself to eat because I think I'm not doing enough for this crew. You're my nakama now, so I want to do great, but..." She chuckles sheepishly. "I guess being punished like that for so long can really change how a person handles stress."
There was a pause where Zoro tried to piece things together in his head. Eating?
"They wouldn't let you eat if you didn't do good enough?" He asked, watching the way she hid a flinch. She glared down at her lap and nodded.
"That wasn't even the worst of it. You, uh, you know Akainu, right?" Zoro nodded and before he knew it, she was pulling up her shirt to a burn mark on her side.
"They wanted to show him their new recruit who was doing so well. I was sick and could barely see straight. They kept pushing me and I did terrible. Akainu decided to teach me personally..." She brushed her fingers against the scar before pushing her shirt back down and looking out the window.
"I still get nightmares about it."
The two sat there for a while.
"Well, what did you like about being a marine?" She hadn't known them all too long but she hadn't figured that Zoro would be the kind to really want to talk about things that weren't swords or training. So she was confused, but didn't want to miss this opportunity. After all, a nice Zoro was rare.
They stayed up talking for hours. About their dreams, experiences they had been through, things they wished to see. She even got Zoro to laugh. It made her face heat up with a blush but she loved hearing him laugh.
They didn't realize how late it was until Sanji came up to give Zoro his late night snack for keeping watch.
They both stared in shock at Sanji who looked thrown off by (Y/n) still being awake.
"(Y/n)-chan! Has this idiot been keeping you awake? I'll kick his ass if you want, my love!" With the tray in one hand, Sanji was ready for a fight. Zoro started to get defensive, reaching for his swords, when (Y/n) got between them.
"Wait! Don't fight! We were having a really fun time together. I guess we just... lost track of time." Sanji looked between the two when his already pale complexion paled further. This was the first time that the shy gunslinger had talked to them without stuttering. Zoro was actually pulling her out of her shell. That damn Marimo...
"Well, I guess if (Y/n)-chan is asking me, then I won't fight. Consider yourself lucky Marimo. I won't be making Marimo filet anytime soon." Sanji said while setting the tray down.
"I'll filet you," Zoro muttered under his breath, causing (Y/n) to giggle cutely while Sanji left. Zoro felt his cheeks burn at the sound and tried to keep his mind off of it by grabbing the sake off the tray Sanji left.
"I really should get to bed though. Usopp and I are training together tomorrow." Zoro shrugged and glanced out the window hoping that the disappointment wasn't evident on his face. She had to suppress a laugh at his expression and shook her head.
Feeling a little bold, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Zoro's cheek. She leaned back quick enough that she didn't even get to see Zoro's reaction.
"Goodnight Zoro," She called as she raced to climb down and run to the girls' room.
"Goodnight (Y/n)," Zoro mumbled, pressing a hand to his burning cheek. He'd have to make her train with him more often. He couldn’t wait to get to know more about that shy little gunslinger.