"This isnt good," Nami sighs.
"What's going on?" You ask, coming onto deck.
"That idiot Marimo got lost," Sanji informs you.
"Wait, ___, can you track him?" Nami asks.
"Leave it to me sunshine," You say before hopping off the ship. "I'll be back with him soon," You add before heading into the forest. You find the swordsman's footprints easily and start to follow after them. "Sure walks heavily," You mutter. His path had sharp turns, a real pain to keep track of.
Finally you hit a clearing, and the tracks make another sharp turn. The sound of running water catches your ear and you look up to see a river. Sure enough the tracks lead into the river. You stop with a frown. "It's like he knew I'd come to find him," You scoff.
"___? Is that you?" His voice suddenly calls making you look around.
"Yeah, where are you?" You call back.
".... You can't tell anyone!" He tells you.
"Um okay," You say with a sweat drop.
"I... Fell off the waterfall..." He admits loudly. You go over to the edge of the cliff to see him holding onto a jutting rock.
"My god Zoro! Why didn't you say something sooner!?" You gasp, rummaging for a rope in your satchel. He doesn't answer, looking away in slight shame. You frown a bit, making a quick knot with your rope. "Alright, I'm going to swing this over to you," You tell him, kneeling on the cliff edge.
"Alright," He says. You swing the rope over to him. He swiftly grabs hold of it, letting go of the rock and clinging onto the rope. You grit your teeth.
"Damn you're heavy," You grunt, starting to pull him up. You hear a slight cracking and pause.
"Shit! The cliff!" Zoro curses. You dive forward, grabbing his wrist as he lets go of the rope. "What are you doing!? The cliff's about to give in!" He snaps.
"Like hell I'm letting you fall down there alone!" You growl, trying to pull him up again. Before you could get him over the edge, the cliff gives in beneath and you both start to fall. Zoro wraps his arms around you and you both let out a yell.
You're pulled out of the water, in a slight daze. "Hey, are you okay?" Zoro asks a bit worried. You blink a few times and cough.
"We survived?" You rasp.
"Of course we did.... Are you hurt?" He questions.
"Dont think so," You mutter, sitting up and looking at him. You freeze, turning pale. "Zoro! Are you okay?!" You gasp, seeing he was covered and scrapes and bruises. He offers a sheepish smile.
"Yeah, I'm okay," He replies, scratching the back of his head.
"Like hell you are!" You tell him, tearing up your shirt. 'How am I okay?' You wonder seeing you barely had any scratches on you. Shaking your head briefly, you swiftly wrap the worst of his wounds. "Zoro.... Did you get these shielding me?" You ask quietly. He pauses, not meeting you're gaze.
"Yes...." He admits. You blink, frowning a bit.
"Why would you do that?" You murmur. He gives a slight shrug, pink dusting over his cheeks.
"It's my fault we were in that situation to begin with," He points out.
"Still Zoro, you put your body through too much," You tell him, touching the large scar on his torso. His muscles tense under your touch.
"I don't care... I'll get a hundred scars if it means not seeing you with one," He grumbles. You blink at that, blushing slightly since it was out of character for him to say something so sweet.
"That was the nicest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth," You say. He blushes slightly, folding his arms with a slight frown.
"This stays between us," He tells you.
"Of course, they'd think I've gone crazy otherwise," You chuckle. He shifts nodding slightly. "There, all done," You add, finishing the last bandage.
"Thanks," He mutters. You get up and look around.
"Anytime.... Now, lets try to find the ship," You chime, as he stands up.
"Right... Lets try this way-"
"Oh no you dont!" You say, grabbing his arm as he turns away.
"What?" He questions.
"Last time something like this happened we both got lost in total separate parts of the island.... I'm not letting that happen again, so stay close or I'm going to hold your hand until we find the ship!" You threaten. He blinks at you briefly before closing is eyes.
"Do what you want," He scoffs.
"Alright then," You mutter, removing his bandana from his arm. Instead of getting irritated like he normally did when someone messed with his bandana, he watches curiously as you tie it around yours and his wrist.
"Wouldn't it be easier to hold hands?" He points out. You raise an eyebrow at him, eyes narrowed slightly.
"Do you WANT me to hold your hand?" You question. He looks away suddenly.
"So, which way should we go?" He inquires.
"Well, we could follow the cliff until we get to the seashore," You suggest.
"Sounds good to me," He agrees. With that, you head along the cliff. You walk in silence. Zoro glances at you a few times. "The... Weather is nice," He states awkwardly.
"It is, but Nami said it was gonna rain later," You reply.
"Did she?" He murmurs.
"Yep, right before everyone realized you were missing," You inform him. "Hopefully we'll get there before the rain," You add.
"Thought you liked the rain," He comments.
"I do, how'd you know?" You ask, he looks away.
"I caught you dancing in the rain a few times," He admits.
"Y-you did!?" You ask, blushing in slight embarrassment. He nods with a smirk.
"Kinda easy when you giggle half the time," He points out.
".... Why didn't you ever join me?" You ask, nudging him. He frowns again.
"I don't dance," He grunts.
"That's too bad, it'd be funner if you did," You murmur with a slight smile. He looks at you for a moment before looking away. The ship comes into view just as rain starts to fall. "Wow, talk about timing!" You chuckle. Zoro pulls you back into the treeline.
"Hold on," He says when you look back questioning.
"What's wrong?" You ask. He blushes a bit.
"I'll join you this once, but it stays between us!" He warns. You blink a few times, slowly registering what he was saying.
"Really!?" You gasp with a broad smile.
"Be quiet! If they find out, we will never do this again!" He growls.
"Deal!" You giggle, grabbing his hands and spinning around cheerfully. Zoro moved rigidly at first but soon got into the strange happy little dance you were doing. A smile finally comes to his lips and he starts to laugh with you. You lean your head back to feel the rain on your face. Zoro leans forward suddenly, lips pressing against yours. You freeze, eyes widening in shock. Zoro pulls away swiftly, blushing slightly.
"I, couldn't help myself," He breathes, looking away. You start to grin again before kissing his cheek. He blinks in surprise and looks at you.
"I couldn't help myself either," You chuckle. He smiles and cups your cheek.
"For once, I'm glad I got lost," He comments before kissing you.
