Work Text:
*scritch scritch scritch*
Zoro slowly opened one of his eyes to try and see where the noise was coming from. He saw you sitting cross-legged in one of the lounge chairs, pencil in hand as you stared at the sketch pad in your lap. Seeing as there was no one else on the deck of the Going Merry, and that you positioned yourself to face him, he figured out pretty quickly that you were drawing him. Closing his eye as soon as he saw you move, Zoro fought the smile tugging on his lips. The face you made when you were concentrated was too cute. Your tongue was peeking out of your mouth and your brows were knit together in concentration as you stared intently at Zoro, trying to capture every bit of his stoic, composed essence. Zoro smirked just thinking about what he would do next.
Just as you were putting the final touches on Zoro's muscular forearm, you heard the unsheathing of a sword, making you jump. Looking up, you saw Zoro holding his sword up towards the sky, hand on hip.
"Z-Zoro!" You stammered, hoping that he hadn't caught you drawing him while he slept. "What is it? Is there an intruder?" You looked around frantically and reached for your weapon, but eventually noticed that Zoro wasn't moving. "...Zoro?"
"If you're going to draw me, at least get me in a cool pose. Don't want anyone thinking that all I do is sleep all day." Your face turned crimson at being caught. Meekly, you nodded. Grabbing your pencil, you carefully sketched out Zoro holding the Wado Ichimonji proudly towards the heavens. Your embarrassment quickly faded into a deep concentration as you carefully drew each stroke. Zoro finally spoke. "Am I allowed to talk?"
"Yeah, you can talk. I already got that dumb smirk of yours, anyway." Zoro laughed.
"What can I say, I gotta look cool." This earned a chuckle from you.
"Looking cool and being cool are two different things, buddy," you shot back, not even changing your expression. Zoro cracked a smile. He always liked your sense of humor.
"I can just stop posing if you want, if you're gonna be rude to me."
"You're the one who offered. Remember?" You teased.
"You're the one who was drawing me in the first place. While I was sleeping, which most people find creepy, by the way. Remember?" He mocked, making your face turn pink again. Biting your lip in thought, you thought about your next retort. As you finished drawing the details on his boots, you said,
"Well, you didn't stop me as soon as you found out, so that just means you're...into creepy stuff...?" A silence fell. The only sounds were the crashing of waves and the scratching of your pencil against the paper. Zoro burst out laughing again.
"That was a really weak comeback!" A disappointed sigh escaped your lips.
"Yeah, I know..." Finishing the sheen on Zoro's sword where the sunlight hit it, you called out to him. "I'm done now, you can stop posing."
"Can I see?" He asked, walking towards you. You nodded, turning the sketch pad to face him. On the paper was a highly detailed picture of Zoro, triumphantly holding his sword skyward. His face wore an expression of smugness thanks to his borderline devilish grin. "That's...really good." You grinned and thanked Zoro, gingerly setting your sketchbook on the table next to you.
"It's amazing how fast you were able to draw that, I couldn't have been up there for more than a few minutes," Zoro remarked, slouching back against the side of the ship.
"Well, I've had a lot of practice, I guess. When I was younger, I'd sit in the marketplaces and just...draw," You were now looking off into the horizon and misty eyed, which didn't go unnoticed by Zoro. "So many unique people from all over the world would visit the stalls. Every day was a new adventure for me growing up. And then..." you trailed off, lump forming in your throat. "And then the pirates came."
Zoro remembered all too well the condition your island was in when the Straw Hats first arrived. Buildings were burnt to the ground. Smoke filled the air. The vast amounts of ash stung the crew's eyes as they tried to figure out what had happened. They found you inside your secluded house on the cliff, crying your heart out at the loss of your parents.
"What am I supposed to do? I'm just an artist..."
Zoro remembered the helplessness, the raw pain, despair, and fragility in your voice. He remembered Luffy clenching his fists tight, vowing to get revenge on those scummy pirates. He remembered every single one of the Straw Hats fighting to save the rest of your hometown. He remembered the party thrown celebrating the victory of the Straw Hats. But most of all, he remembered the smile on your face that night when you realized your nightmare was finally over.
Zoro snapped out of his daze when he noticed a tear cascade down your face. You made no attempt to wipe it away. Instead, you turned to Zoro. "I really miss it." Zoro chewed on his lip, not sure how to respond. He wasn't good at this stuff, where people opened up to him and expected some sort of inspirational words or reassurance. That typically came from their captain.
"It's okay, Zoro." You said, seeing his expression of uncertainty. "You don't have to say anything. Just you listening has already made me feel better. It means you care." Tearing the picture of Zoro you just drew out of your sketchbook, you scribbled a message on it before passing it to Zoro. "Keep it." He was confused, but took it nonetheless.
"Don't think I forgot about Little Garden," you smiled cheekily. "You were ready to die in that pose. Besides, I can just draw you again." You raised a finger at this. "However, this means that you're gonna have to pose for me more. Got it?" Zoro smirked, glad you were back to your usual self.
"Fine by me."
That night, before climbing into his hammock, Zoro carefully set down a picture frame on his nightstand. In it was your drawing, your message to him scribbled right above your signature.
"You're cool, no matter what pose you're in."
He smiled just from thinking about it and soon drifted off into a deep sleep.