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At first, it wasn't noticeable. A T-shirt here, a pair of trousers there. Once a pair of socks Zoro figured must have blown out to sea when he had left them out to dry on the deck.
He got into fights and bled on his clothes. He trained hard and often. He was slightly prone to misplacing things. And they were pirates out at sea, dammit . So why would some missing clothes bother him? They barely even made it on his radar.
Except today he couldn't find his haramaki anywhere.
"Where is it?" Zoro mumbled under his breath, confused, turning the boy's room upside down in his search.
He remembered, clearly, dropping it on the floor before climbing into his hammock and passing out that morning. And with the rest of his clothes right there , he was at a loss for where it could possibly be.
"Hey!" Zoro called as he walked onto the deck of the Merry, "any of you seen my haramaki?"
"What's that?" Luffy asked. Leaning down with a long stretch from where he had tangled himself around the mast.
"Yknow. My haramaki." He gestured vaguely around his waist, not knowing how else to describe what a haramaki was.
Robin, stretched out on a lounge chair beside Nami, looked up from her book and said, "I saw our little doctor with it this morning."
"Chopper? Why would he have it?" Zoro scratched at the back of his head, confused.
Attention back on her book, Robin turned a page as she answered, "He mentioned getting it washed for you, but he didn't quite look as if he'd like it if I asked him too many more questions. So I didn't."
Zoro could imagine Chopper rambling through an explanation that Robin wouldn't have asked for. He was always like that, much to Zoro's chagrin. Trying to appease people when there was no reason to.
Zoro clicked his tongue.
If Chopper had dropped something on his haramaki, there was no reason to sneak around and clean up after himself. Zoro wouldn't be mad at him. Not at all. And it grated at him, just the tiniest bit, that it seemed Chopper believed he would be.
He turned on his heels and went looking for the little reindeer, ignoring whatever Luffy was saying without meaning to. That's how focused he was on finding Chopper and talking to him. Or, more so, checking in with him and making sure he knew everything was fine.
It was just a haramaki after all. It could be washed. Even replaced, if need be.
As soon as he made his way back below deck, Zoro stilled.
He breathed in.
He was an omega, and, having manifested as an omega very early on, had been an omega for most of his life.
He breathed again, much deeper this time.
He knew the scent of an omega in heat, and this was unmistakably the scent of an omega in heat.
An unfamiliar scent at that.
When Sanji went into heat, it was almost pungent to his nose. His heat came with a force, bringing with it a scent so overwhelming that even a whiff of it could make vomit rise in the back of Zoro's throat.
When Usopp went into heat, it evoked the image of an afternoon picnic. His heat was subtle, and so was his scent. Everglades and something sweet all brought from the distance on a gentle breeze.
But this scent was different. And not just because it was new.
Zoro sniffed.
Earthier. Almost… like wood burning.
And as he stood and sniffed again, following his nose to find the source of the scent, he felt a tiny body bump into his legs.
"Sorry, Chopper, I didn't see you there–" Zoro said, instinctively, looking down to meet the little reindeer's eyes.
He stopped.
It was Chopper, he realised.
Was he in heat?
His first heat?
"Zoro!" Chopper looked up at him and yelled, voice thick with relief at the sight of the man. He wrapped his arms around one of Zoro's legs and, through sobs, blubbered, "Zoro! I'm so happy to see you. Zoro! I feel so weird and I know it's my heat and I've been preparing but– But– But this isn't anything like what I expected!"
"Hey. Hey," Zoro tried to get Chopper's attention.
When nothing stopped the reindeer from sobbing – sobs growing louder and louder with each passing moment – Zoro bent down and wrapped his arms around him.
He cradled Chopper to his chest and said, "It's okay. I'm here now." All the while shushing and running his hands up and down Chopper's back to soothe him. And it worked. Cries subsiding into hiccups, Chopper buried his nose in Zoro's neck and breathed in Zoro's scent.
For some reason, Chopper hit Zoro on his shoulder. "You big dummy."
"What was that for?"
Brand new tears welled up in the corner of Chopper's eyes. "I don't know," he wailed.
"Ah, Chopper, what am I going to do with you?" Zoro sighed, wistfully. Then: "I know what will make you feel better. Let's build a nest!"
Nesting always made Zoro feel better during a particularly tough heat.
He remembered his first heat after Kuina had died, he had buried himself in a nest of her clothes and sobbed himself dry until his heat passed.
Nowadays, at sea, he was more likely to pull Luffy or Usopp into the designated heat room and call it a day.
Luffy, especially, as Zoro would often make his captain stretch himself out into the perfect human nest. Something that they had discovered by accident but that Zoro took full advantage of when possible.
Chopper was silent for a long moment.
A long moment in which he refused to meet Zoro's gaze, his eyes flitting from place to place and his hooves tapping together nervously.
When he spoke, he sounded equal parts embarrassed and sobered up. "Zoro…" he broached, hesitantly, "promise you won't be mad…"
"Huh? Chopper…" Zoro sighed, rolling his eyes. "When have I ever gotten mad at you?"
And there were those tears in the corner of Chopper's eyes again. "Well, you might really get mad this time."
"I won't get mad." Rubbing circles into Chopper's fur to soothe, without even really realising he was doing so.
" Promise ?"
"Promise."
"I already… have a nest."
That surprised Zoro. "You do?" he asked.
Something in his chest twinged at the idea of Chopper building his nest – his first nest – without him.
Was he due for his heat, too, Zoro suddenly wondered at that surge of emotion.
"Hm hm." Chopper nodded.
Then he wiggled in Zoro's grasp, until Zoro loosened his hold enough for the little reindeer to hop down.
He hopped two steps forward then paused, gesturing over his shoulder for Zoro to follow. Which, of course, Zoro did. Without question. Not even as they wound their way deeper and deeper into the Merry.
Just as Zoro opened his mouth to ask Chopper where exactly he was taking him, he spotted a soft light up ahead.
"Uhmm… I didn't want anyone else to see it…" Chopper explained, shyly.
He ran back to grab hold of Zoro's hand and lead him the last few steps like this.
It seemed that Chopper had found a quiet corner of the ship for his nest. It was big, Zoro realised as they drew nearer and he saw more of it.
He must have been building it for a while.
And then came the explaining: "I started when I went into pre-heat. It was almost compulsive… I couldn't help myself…"
Zoro chuckled. "That happens sometimes." Then, as an afterthought, "You'll grow out of it."
At least, he had.
That's when he spotted it: the green bellywarmer he had spent his whole morning looking for. "Hey! My haramaki!"
"You said you wouldn't get mad! You promised! Remember!" Chopper said, hurriedly, jumping up and down as if to emphasise his point.
And Zoro realised why Chopper was acting… like this . Because it wasn't just his haramaki. There was his T-shirt. And another T-shirt. And there was that blue tank top he'd become particularly fond of. There was a pair of trousers. And there were those socks he'd halfheartedly mourned the loss of.
Every piece of clothing he'd lost over the last few weeks. All here in Chopper's nest.
If anything could soothe the twinge at having missed out on building Chopper his first nest, it was this.
"I'm not mad, Chopper, not at all." Zoro rested his hands on his hips and preened. He was… happy? Proud? It was a feeling he didn't quite have a name for and figured there were better times to dwell on. Then, a smile bursting across his face, he asked, "Why would I be mad?"
"Because… I stole your things…?" His voice caught somewhere between a sob and plain confused.
"Come on," Zoro said, plopping onto the edge of Chopper's nest and patting the space next to him. "You must've had it rough, Chopper. You'll feel better in here."
Chopper sniffled. Smiled, slowly. And ambled over to curl up beside Zoro into a little ball.
He was so tiny. So cute. Zoro imagined him curling up, just like this, amongst Zoro's clothes, over the last few days as he tried to calm himself through the worst of these unfamiliar feelings.
Zoro pet gently at Chopper's head, and, for good measure, remembered to release some of his pheromones.
Just enough to calm Chopper. To soothe.
You never knew how one omega would react to another omega's pheromones and the last thing Zoro wanted was to make the little reindeer sick.
"It didn't really help before," Chopper mumbled, pushing up into Zoro's hand. "But this is good."
"Yeah?" Zoro asked, softly.
"Yeah."
"It's hard to do your heat alone," Zoro said. He could hear Chopper's breaths evening out and knew that soon he would be fast asleep; probably the first good sleep he'd have since his pre-heat. "So don't do it alone anymore. Got it? And don't steal my clothes anymore. You're not allowed to as long as I'm here."
Chopper giggled, sleepily. Then muttered, "Yes, Dad," before he was snoring.
Oh.
Zoro sat, shocked still, at the words. Yes, Dad, Yes, Dad, Yes Dad Yes Dad Yes Dad Dad… Dad… Dad… Dad… Dad… playing round and round his head and making his heart race.
Then…
His lips curled up into a slow smile.
He brought Chopper into his lap, knowing that he would have a much better sleep here than in the nest.
It was important, especially for young omegas going through their first few heats, to have that skin-to-skin contact with someone they loved and trusted. It eased the worst of their heat symptoms and made the consequent ones much easier to manage.
Still asleep, Chopper nuzzled against Zoro's skin, burrowing into his arms and rubbing against his chest as if seeking comfort that only Zoro could provide.
Suddenly, sitting here in this dimly lit corner of the Merry, things began to fall into place. Thoughts he hadn't allowed himself to dissect and feelings he hadn't been able to give a name to.
Even if Chopper never called him Dad again – and Zoro wasn't sure he'd ever really want him to, nah, he liked how things were – he knew that's what they were. That was enough. For the both of them.
"My boy," Zoro whispered, holding Chopper, and knowing he would hold Chopper until the little reindeer woke up.
He nuzzled against the top of Chopper's head. Released some more of his pheromones. And waited.