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There were only so many hiding spots on the Going Mary, and most of them weren’t any good. There was the bathroom, but that only lasted as long as no one needed to use the bathroom. The crowsnest was the first place anyone looked, followed quickly by the cabins. (Y/N) had only managed to find one hiding spot that no one else seemed to know about. The small rope seat that would be used to fix damage to the hull from the outside of the ship was perfect for any alone time needed on the small ship.
It really was the perfect spot, quiet and secluded, the ropes allowing for a gentle sway with the waves, but the splash of ocean water enough to keep them awake. (Y/N) could even hear the distant chatter of their crew mates above them.
They were tired, they hadn’t been able to fall asleep for two days, and then the marines had ambushed them and in the chaos and exhaustion, (Y/N) had taken a sword through their thigh. They were quick to hide it, exhaustion led to overstimulation and the last thing (Y/N) wanted to do was snap at one of their well meaning friends trying to help patch a wound that they should have been smart enough to avoid. But it hurt, hurt so bad that now they really couldn’t sleep. And (Y/N) was no doctor, the shoddy patch job they had done on their leg was just that. Shoddy.
“Has anyone seen (Y/N)?” Nami’s concerned voice pulled them from their empty staring at the horizon, glancing up towards the railing their seat was tied to. A chorus of no’s rang out from the rest of the crew. “Well the ships not that big, they have to be here somewhere!”
“Maybe they’re just resting, that last fight was pretty intense.” Usopp replied.
“Well help me look for them! I need their help with something and I’ve already searched all over.” (Y/N) listened to Nami stomp off, smiling tiredly when they heard Sanji dance after her, promising to help her with anything she ever needed. They waited until they heard multiple footsteps wander away before making the climb back up to the deck.
It was harder than it should have been, their leg felt like it was on fire and they could feel the blood leaking out from the bandages, soaking into their pant leg. (Y/N) finally managed to grab hold of the railing, hoisting themself up to sit still overlooking the ocean.
“What the hell were you doing down there!” Zoro’s loud yell nearly sent them toppling over the edge in surprise. (Y/N) peeked over their shoulder to make nervous eye contact with the swordsman. They gulped as he stomped closer, having no fight left to give as he grabbed them by the back of their shirt and dragged them off the railing. “Well? What were you doing down there?”
“It’s quiet down there.” They mumbled back, head dropped down to face the floor. They were doing their best to balance their weight on one leg without letting Zoro see the obvious favoritism of their injured leg.
“Hey, are you okay? You look sick.” Zoro’s grip on their shirt loosened.
“Yeah I’m fine. I’d better go find Nami, she was looking for me, right?” (Y/N) brushed off Zoro’s hand with a nod goodbye, but with their first step (Y/N)’s leg collapsed beneath them.
They fell into a heap on the deck, blood spattering through their pants onto the wood. Their limbs suddenly felt heavier than lead and a shiver racked through their body despite the hot flush that had taken residence in their head. Zoro let out a shout of shock, crouching down next to them, putting a hesitant hand onto their shoulder.
“Hey, what the hell’s wrong with you, huh?” Zoro continued to shout with worry, pulling (Y/N) up from the floor to rest against his torso. His eyes widened and his breath stopped when he saw the small puddle of blood that was below them. “Where’s that blood from, huh? Answer me!” He shook them frantically, panicking slightly when they just groaned back.
“I’m fine, jus’ leave me alone.” They tried to fight against his hold, but the second they moved their leg (Y/N) let out a shout of pain.
“Just stop fighting, there’s something wrong with you!” (Y/N) stilled, face twisting into a pained scowl, extending their leg out from beneath them for Zoro to see. The fabric of their pants was wet with blood and Zoro could see loose, bloody bandages through the hole that had clearly caused the problem they were now dealing with. “When did this happen? What happened?”
“The ambush.”
“The ambush! That was almost two days ago! Have you been bleeding like this for that long?” Zoro nearly screamed in frustration at their weak shrug. “Why didn’t you say anything, you dumbass?” By now Zoro’s yelling had brought the attention of the rest of the crew, Nami in the lead as they arrived to investigate.
“What the hell is with this racket, huh?” Nami shouted.
“This dumbass is hurt and didn’t say anything about it!” Zoro shouted back, making Nami gasp.
“Get them inside then, you idiot!” Zoro scrambled to p
ick (Y/N) up and follow Nami’s orders. (Y/N) was sat on the dining table in the kitchen and Nami quickly went to work, cutting away the pant leg above the injury, muttering insults to the exhausted pirate as she worked.
“You know, you’re really a pain in my ass when you do stuff like this.” Nami stated when she finally finished, sitting back in her chair and glaring at the pirate on the table. (Y/N) slowly peeled their eyes open, not entirely sure of where they were and how long it had been Zoro had pulled them off the railing. “You somehow managed to get that stab wound infected in two days, probably because it was barely wrapped while wearing those pants that haven’t been washed in who knows how long.” (Y/N) blinked tiredly, swaying a little under the weight of their own upright torso. “When was the last time you slept?” Another slow blink, then they looked down at their hand trying to count on their fingers, vision blurry. “Nevermind. You stay right where you are, I’m going to get someone to carry your sorry ass to bed. You hear me? Don’t. Move.” Nami’s stern voice sent a shiver down their spine and (Y/N) nodded quickly.
Nami soon returned with Zoro in tow, but in (Y/N)’s bleary exhaustion they could barely hear what the two were saying. They could only watch as Nami pointed at them, then behind Zoro who nodded and walked over. Only when Zoro was right in front of them could (Y/N) understand what he was saying, just barely.
“Sorry but I’m gonna pick you up because you don’t really look up to walking.” There was a slight chuckle in his voice, but his pinched eyebrows made his true concern very clear. He leaned in, pressing his shoulder to their torso and hooking an arm under their legs, hoisting them up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and making his way out of the kitchen through the ship. (Y/N) was too tired to protest, letting their head bump into his back with each step, reveling in the warmth that radiated from Zoro’s torso.
Zoro could feel (Y/N) getting heavier on his shoulder as they finally succumbed to sleep and he let out a sigh of relief. He may be an idiot but even he had noticed they hadn’t been sleeping, even ignoring the heavy bags that had been growing under their eyes, he hadn’t seen them enter the cabin in days.
(Y/N) was fully passed out by the time Zoro stopped in front of their hammock, snoring lightly and drooling if that wet patch on the back of his shirt told him anything. He shifted them forward, trying to gently drop them into their hammock, wary of their leg, almost falling with them when their hand grabbed tight to his shirt.
“Hey, c’mon now, let go of me so you can sleep.” (Y/N) made no response, other than a light snore, if anything they tightened their grip. “Hey, wake up and let go of me!” Zoro let go of one of their legs and brought the now free hand up to shake at their shoulder. (Y/N) mumbled something and hooked the now limp leg around his thigh, wrapping their whole body around his torso and clinging to him like a koala, still fast asleep.
Zoro looked behind him towards the door, checking to see if anyone had followed. He had been planning on taking a nap after bringing (Y/N) to their bunk. Zoro laid himself down in the hammock, using his long arms and legs to hold himself up while (Y/N) unconsciously shuffled around into a more comfortable position.
Zoro chuckled when they finally settled in one spot, sprawled out on their stomach on his chest, one leg dropped over the side of the hammock, swinging just enough to add a relaxing sway to the hammock.
“Are you comfortable?” He could barely contain himself when (Y/N) mumbled back nodding into his chest.
Zoro groaned, waking from his nap, pushing at the slow shifting mass on his chest.
“Stop it, ‘m jus’ tryna get comfortable.” A familiar voice groaned out, but before Zoro’s barely awake brain could connect the dots, they tried to roll over and jabbed a sharp elbow into his ribs.
“Well get comfortable while keeping your bony elbows out of my ribs!” He finally screamed, pushing their arm away.
“Huh?” Two shaky hands planted themselves on Zoro’s shoulders and the weight lifted. His eyes opened to find (Y/N)’s tired, confused face inches away from his.
They both seemed to realize the situation they were in at the same time, both trying to scramble away from each other in embarrassment, completely forgetting that they were precariously balanced in a hammock multiple feet above the ground.
They crashed to the ground on opposite sides of the hammock, Zoro landing flat on his ass, watched as (Y/N) landed on their head.
“Hey, you gotta be careful! You’re still hurt, idiot!” Zoro quickly crawled over to them, dragging them up to sit. They sat in silence for a few moments.
“Man, when did you become such a sap, huh?” (Y/N) finally said, laying back onto the floor laughing.
“Oh so now I’m a sap for caring about you?” A nod. “Well I wouldn’t need to be a sap if you just took care of yourself.” (Y/N)’s smile disappeared as they turned their head to the side, pursing their lips in embarrassment.
“Well maybe I like it when you’re a sap..” They muttered back, too quiet for Zoro to understand.
“Huh? What was that?” Zoro leaned closer, face now close enough to feel the radiating heat from (Y/N)’s.
“I said!” (Y/N) yelled back, quickly turning to face Zoro again, freezing when their eyes met and their noses brushed together.
“You said? Come on, (Y/N), don’t get coy on me.” Zoro was first to recover from the shock, easily slipping into teasing his crewmate. (Y/N) tried to turn their head away to hide their embarrassment but was quickly stopped by Zoro’s strong hands on their chin. (Y/N) tried to stutter out a response, temperature raising by the second as Zoro started to laugh. “Oh come on now, don’t hide now. Tell me what you wanted to say.”
“I said I like it when you’re a sap. I-” They paused for a moment, eyes flashing to make quick eye contact with the green haired swordsman. “I wanna be a sap for you too.”
Zoro’s eyes widened for a single moment before dropping back to their usual tired grin, accompanied by a lazy smile.
“Well that’s good to hear, let’s do this.” He paused, licking his lips. “I’ll be your sap if you’ll be mine.” He leaned a little closer, stopping when their lips were a breath apart, letting go of (Y/N)’s chin, handing the decision of continuing over to them.
(Y/N) surged forward, slamming their lips together, bringing their own hands up to grab the sides of Zoro’s head. Despite initiating the kiss, Zoro was shocked still for multiple seconds, before laying a strong hand on the back of their neck to pull (Y/N) even closer. (Y/N) continued to push forward against Zoro, who let them push him onto his back, both shuffling around each other on the floor beneath the hammock. (Y/N) brought their leg up, moving to sit on Zoro’s hips, right as the swordsman shifted his knee to the side to try and make room for his new partner in crime.
The heated kiss stopped when knee met bandaged thigh, knocking the air out of (Y/N)’s lungs with a pained wheeze. They dropped their face away from Zoro’s, hiding into his neck to try and blink away the tears that formed.
“Shit! Are you okay? You’re alright, right?” Zoro was slightly panicked, unable to decide if he wanted to focus on their pained face or focus on checking for blood seeping through the bandages on their thigh, quickly looking back and forth between the two.
“I’m alright.” (Y/N) laughed, looking up and resting their forehead against Zoro’s cheek. “More surprising than painful. Think we should get back in the hammock? Probably more comfortable than the floor.”
“You’re probably right.” Zoro sat up, pressing a quick kiss against their lips, standing up and taking his spot in their hammock.
“Man, you’re quick to take up my bed, huh?” (Y/N) laughed, still sitting on the floor looking up at him. Zoro peeked down over the side of the hammock, eyes crinkling with glee.
“Last I checked you invited me. Come on now, That was one of the best naps I’ve had in a while, I’m looking forward to another.” (Y/N) climbed up on top of him, laying back on their stomach on his chest face to face. “You look much more well rested, was it a good nap for you?” Zoro’s terrible attempt of small talk made them laugh, nodding.
“Yeah, it seems I’ll have to start stealing you away just to get a good night's rest.” (Y/N) giggled again, tilting their head to rest their cheek against his chest.
“It’s not really stealing if I go with you willingly is it?” Zoro waited a moment for a response, before looking down to see (Y/N) now fast asleep again, snoring and drooling again, lost to the waking world. He laughed again, wrapping his arms around their torso and closed his eyes, drifting into another pleasant nap.