roronoa zoro x strawhat!reader
Plot: you have a dream about Zoro, and now your heart won't stop acting like it knows something you don't
The air was warm and still, heavy with the smell of the sun in the earth. Somewhere in the distance, the cicadas droned about, their rhythm steady and unhurried, as if the world decided nothing urgent would happen today.
You stood across from Zoro in a wide clearing, your feet firmly planted. Zoro rolled his shoulders once, loosening them, swords already in hand like it was an extension of his body rather than something he carried.
"Again," he said in a low voice, almost bored.
You tightened your grip, adjusting your stance just as he corrected a hundred times before. The weight of being watched settled over you. Zoro never missed anything.
Metal clanged as your weapons met. The sound was clean. You pushed forward and the momentum carried you into a second strike, then a third. Zoro met each one with ease and his feet shifted with minimal effort. He didn't look rushed. He never did.
“You’re telegraphing,” he muttered, stepping inside your guard.
“I’m not,” you shot back, breath already coming faster.
He huffed-a sound that might’ve been a laugh if anyone else made it.
You lunged again, determination overriding caution. This time, Zoro twisted at the last second, his foot hooking around yours. The world tipped.
You felt the sudden, stomach-lurching sensation of losing balance, the sharp intake of breath that came with it. Then-
The ground rushed up, but it wasn’t the hard collision you expected. Instead, you landed against something solid and warm. Your palms pressed instinctively against his chest, feeling muscle shift beneath your hands. The scent of him-steel, sweat, something distinctly Zoro-filled you senses.
Your heart slammed against your ribs, loud enough you were sure he could hear it. You realized, belatedly, that you were damn near straddling him, one knee in the dirt on one side of his hips, a leg on top of his, and your face far too close.
Zoro stared up at you, one brow lifting slowly. His expression was unreadable-annoyed, maybe, but calm. Entirely too calm for the position they were in.
“…You done staring,” he said at last, voice dry as sandpaper, “or are you waiting for me to move?”
Heat flooded your face in an instant, burning all the way to your ears.
“I-I wasn’t staring,” you blurted, the words tumbling over each other.
His mouth twitched. Just barely.
You tried to scramble back, mortified, but he chose that moment to sit up, pushing himself off the ground with one arm. The movement brought them closer for a brief, breathless second-close enough that you noticed the faint scar near his collarbone, the steady rise and fall of his chest, the way his eye flicked down before snapping back to your face.
“Careful,” he muttered, already shifting you aside as he rose to his feet. “Next time, don’t fall like an idiot.”
He reached down, offering a hand like the moment hadn’t just short-circuited your brain.
For a moment, that was all there was-thick and endless, pressing in on your senses. No sun. No voices. No field. Just black.
Your heart slammed violently against your ribs, each beat loud enough to drown out your thoughts. It took you a second to realize you were awake, lying flat on your back in your bunk, the familiar creak of the ship faint beneath you. The darkness slowly softened as your vision adjusted, the outlines of the ceiling emerging piece by piece.
You didn’t move. You couldn't.
Your body was tense, every muscle wound tight as if you’d been running. Your chest rose and fell unevenly, breath shallow, while your mind replayed fragments you didn’t want to acknowledge.
You done staring… or are you waiting for me to move?
Your face felt warm even now.
You swallowed, staring up into the dimness, willing your heartbeat to slow. It was just a dream. A stupid one. Random. Meaningless. Sure, dreams had reasons, at least, this one didn't. That’s what you told yourself.
Still, the question lingered.
Zoro was… Zoro. Blunt. Annoying. Always asleep, training, drinking, or getting lost. You’d never looked at him and felt anything beyond mild exasperation or respect for his strength. He wasn’t someone your thoughts drifted toward in the quiet moments. He wasn’t someone your mind should’ve conjured so vividly in the dark.
You turned your head slightly, letting out a slow breath.
By the time the sun came up, you told yourself, it would feel ridiculous.
Sunlight spilled across the deck in pale gold ribbons as you stepped outside, the sea stretching endlessly around them. The ship was quiet in that early-morning way.
Zoro was leaned against the railing, one knee bent, arms crossed over his chest. One eye was closed, the other half-lidded, as if he was resting without actually sleeping. His swords were within reach, as always. The breeze tugged at his hair, lifting a few strands loose.
Without realizing it, you stared.
The image from the dream returned- his voice, his smirk, the heat of proximity-and your chest did something strange. A light, fluttering sensation bloomed beneath your ribs, unfamiliar and unsettling.
You turned sharply, intent on walking away, and nearly smacked into the ship’s mast.
“Shit!” you cursed under your breath, covering your mouth.
Zoro opened his eye. A low sound came from behind you.
“You good?” he asked, voice rough with sleep.
You straightened instantly, forcing a laugh that sounded far too bright. “Of course. Never been better.”
He looked at you for a moment, unimpressed, gaze lingering just long enough to make your skin prickle. Then he huffed and closed his eye again, apparently accepting the answer.
As the day went on, the feeling didn’t fade.
It followed you-soft and persistent. When you heard his footsteps. When you caught sight of him training. Even when you thought about him, your heart betrayed you with that same ridiculous flutter.
You’d never had a crush on Zoro. Never blushed around him. Never felt your stomach twist when he was near. And yet now, you found yourself noticing things you’d somehow overlooked. The way he carried himself like nothing could knock him off balance. The faint smell of alcohol that lingers around him. His hands, rough and steady. The heaviness of his lashes-you never realized how long they were until now.
It unsettled you enough that you started avoiding him.
You took different paths across the deck. Sat farther away. Left conversations early if he wandered too close. It wasn’t intentional at first-just instinctive, like your body was reacting before your mind could catch up.
From his spot near the rail, he watched you dodge past him one too many times, your gaze flicking away whenever it caught his. His brow furrowed slightly.
He couldn’t remember doing anything to piss you off.
And for some reason, that bothered him more than it should have.