#lozo

“What if he says no?”

“Then I’ll dance with you. Or Luffy will!”

“Please no, I can’t handle him again, I still have bruises from the last time he tried to dance with me.”

Nami sighed. “Just go and ask him already!”

“Fine, I’ll do it just to shut you up.” I slid off my barstool on shaky legs and glanced over my shoulder as Nami shooed me towards the booth in the corner where Zoro sat alone, leaned back with his arms behind his head, his eye closed and a collection of empty ale mugs scattered across his table. I stood there for a moment, took a deep breath, and readied myself to walk away and accept whatever consequences I’d have from Nami, when I heard a gruff, “Yes?”

Zoro turned his head and opened his eye, and I stood there, heart pounding, hands shaking as I shoved them in my pockets. “Did you want something?”

“Oh, yeah I…” I trailed off. This was the moment if there was going to be one—all this time spent pining after him, worrying over him when he got hurt, wondering if I ever moved through his thoughts the way he barged through mine a hundred times a day. I took a breath and blurted out, “Do you wanna dance? With me?”

“I don’t dance,” he said quickly, his eyes flitting over my face. He cleared his throat and I would have sworn a slight blush spread over his tanned face. “Why don’t you just ask that damn cook to dance with you, I know he’d be happy to.”

“I don’t want to dance with Sanji,” I said, letting the alcohol make me just brave enough to not slink under a table at his refusal. “I want to dance with you.”

“L-look, I already told you, I don’t dance,” he stammered as he glanced down at the table and slowly spun one of the empty ale mugs.

“Alright well, nevermind. Sorry I bothered you,” I said, forcing a smile as I started walking back to the bar. I felt a hand grip mine, and Usopp quickly pulled me to the dance floor and spun me around a few times.

“Everything okay?” he asked as he dipped me to the floor and almost dropped me.

“Couldn’t be better,” I lied through a giggle as I composed myself and wandered back to the bar. I sat and watched the rest of the crew—Robin and Franky chatting in a dark corner, Usopp dancing with anyone willing, Sanji surrounded by a few lovely locals. It was hard to be upset around them, and I knew the dangers of trying to flirt with someone I spent all my time around, but it was worth a shot, I supposed—and it kept me from getting another smack from Nami.

I sipped on another drink—a stronger one, as the bartender seemed to take pity on a heartbroken fool—when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Nami, what is it now?” I asked without looking up.

“Do you, uh…do you still wanna dance?”

I turned to see Zoro standing behind me, one hand on his neck, working hard to avoid my gaze.

“Let me guess,” I sighed, chugging the rest of my drink, feeling it sting on the way down. “Did Nami put you up to this?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, sort of.” We both looked over and saw Nami looking at us before she quickly scurried into the crowd. “She just um, encouraged me.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“I know. But I…I want to.”

I turned around to face him, and suppressed a smile at how flushed he was—I never really saw him act anything but cocky, never saw anything but a confident grin stretched across his lips. But now he looked…almost nervous. I held out my quaking hand to him. “Well, then let’s dance, swordsman.”

He took my hand in his, and gripped it tightly as I hopped down from the stool. He leaned down towards me and whispered, “You’re shaking.”

“You make me nervous,” I said, feeling a little more honest as that last glass of alcohol hit me.

“Don’t be nervous. It’s just me.”

“I know it’s just you, what’s why I’m nervous.”

He walked me to a quiet corner, away from the larger crowd, and pulled me against him. I slowly, hesitantly, placed one hand on his chest.

“So, uh, what do we do now?” he asked, his large palm carefully resting on my waist, the other still wrapped around my clammy hand.

“We dance,” I smiled. “Just um, just kinda sway back and forth a little.”

“Like this?” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, in time to the rhythm of the band.

“Just like that.”