#3swordstrawhat

{ ✠ } —— It was nearing the end of the day when Hawkins did finally get a hold of Zoro and not a moment later did he reach for the other, gloved palm curled around a hip while he nuzzled into soft green locks. The familiar sharp scent drew a quiet content sound from Hawkins and he lingered with a small show of possessiveness.

     It was just a night out with her girlfriends, so Alice didn’t feel the need to bring a bodyguard with her. Having those steely gray eyes watching her while keeping a safe perimeter would make the quiet evening a little awkward. Not to mention that if any of her friends took notice of the more than handsome hunter, they would probably try to approach to him.

In the end, everything went fine and she was in high spirits as she returned to her car, idly twirling the keys in her fingers. It wasn’t until she turned the corner to where she’d parked - which somehow seemed darker than she remembered -  that the nagging feeling in the back of her head came to the forefront of her attention.

Zoro woke up to an empty bed, highly unusual considering that Hawkins rarely rose before he did. Zoro yawned as he rolled out of bed and headed for the kitchen. The balcony drapes where open, Hawkins silhouetted against the slowly brightening sky. Curious the offer headed out to the balcony, the smell of cigarettes expected, the vodka was not.

“Morning” He leaned on the railing by Hawkins, his voice still rough with sleep.

{ ✠ } —— The evenings where the dark was quiet and himself quieter still, his mind elicited the loudest noises. Ash from old cigarettes sat heavy in his lungs, as was the vodka down his gullet long after the bottle was done. Hours ticked by slowly, quiet reminders that he was no longer in the past.  What were nightmares to a man who killed off his emotions?

Waking to the clarity of all of his men dead, cleaved to pieces as he had done many times before without batting an eye, would do it perhaps. Ah, whose motive was stronger then- his own, or the Family? It didn’t make sense that these thoughts would plague the blonde now, more than a decade after he had already been in the business. This line of work was all but typical- routine, even. Then what---

Zoro’s morning greeting jarred him from his thoughts when he turned from where he’d been looking over the balcony His eyes were alert in spite of the glaze sheen reflecting in them, rimmed with a sleepless night when finally looking over at his partner. It took a moment for him to speak. 

“So it is.” Something like relief sounded in his voice as he moved from the railing, arm reaching out to Zoro to confirm the other was actually there. His expression softened by a margin while gathering the other against him. “Morning..”

〘 Character Development  Prompt 〙 ⌊ Accepting ⌋