One Piece: Oneshots

Zoro x reader: your own worst enemy

Okay, so maybe you weren't the best cook, swordswoman, navigator, doctor, sniper, shipwright, archaeologist or musician,  but there was one thing you were damn well good at.
Failing.
Yes, you were fan-fucking-tastic at that.
The thing was, you hadn't quite realised or found where exactly you fitted into the equation that was Straw Hat Pirates. As previously stated: you weren't the cook, the navigator, the sniper or the doctor. You weren't the swordswoman of the crew, nor the archeologist; shipwright was certainly out of the question, as every time you had attempted to help Franky, you somehow always seemed to knock yourself out. The last time you had simply slipped down the stairs whilst carrying tools and smack, hammer to the face. A welt was stuck on your forehead for a solid week. The pain lasted longer.
Still, Brooke had attempted to help you find your place, too, bless his soul; again, I'd like to reiterate that you were not a musician.

You had spent the entire day in the Crow's nest, sulking away the time, as you fumbled around with ideas in your head. You just wanted to belong, but you just couldn't figure out what your role was. What good were you to the crew if you were just an odd cog that didn't fit with the rest of them?
Sighing deeply, you spied some throwing knives on the far table, then a board for target practice. Well, it wouldn't hurt anyone if you decided to do a little target practice, now, would it?
Standing to your feet, you stood by the table, hands hovering over the small blades. You never thrown them before, you'd never really thought of throwing knives as you're forte, sticking to what you knew - easy footwork, close range attacks with daggers, and lasting hand to hand combat wasn't something you were bad at either. Of course, you could brush up on your skills, but you'd taught yourself.
You hadn't had anyone to show you the way of the blade, nor had the motivation to become the most skilled in your field either; you'd needed something to protect you, that was all.

Sighing once again, you ran your hand through your hair, closing your eyes to frown lightly, "god, I'm never gonna be able to fit in here, am I?"
You left the throwing knives alone, not even bothering to throw a few due to how defeated you felt; nothing felt right and you couldn't put your finger on it.

"Never is a pretty strong word, don't you think?"
Spinning on your heel, you faced your fellow crew member, wide eyed, heart beat speeding tenfold. You stepped towards him, prodding his scarred chest, "don't you know that sneaking up on someone is rude, Zoro?"
He shrugged, his right eye following you lazily, "I didn't sneak up on you, I've said your name three times."
You blinked, dumbfounded, "you did?"
You guessed you were too deep in thought, but nonetheless, it didn't matter. Instead, you folded your arms over your chest, eyes Zoro carefully, "did you want anything or did you come up here to nap?" You scoffed a little at the thought, but stopped when you felt him shift away from you.
He merely rumbled, "I'm here to train."

Grimacing slightly, you let your gaze wander from his form a moment, arms dropping to your sides as you questioned, "are you sure that's a good idea? Chopper thinks you need at least a few more days rest-"

"I'm fine."

Well. That was bullshit. But the last time you called Zoro out on it, it didn't end too well.
You let him be, going to take a seat a little away from him, as he stripped himself of his green coat, leaving him bare chested.
You decidedly forced your gaze to stare at your feet. For a time, you sat simply letting thoughts bounce around your head, whilst Zoro trained. You were once again plagued by the doubts you'd had previous to Zoro arriving, the doubts of being an essential part of the crew.
With a hefty sigh, you shuffled behind Zoro, glancing at his back momentarily, seeing how it glistened with sweat. His arms seemed to tremble, and you could tell he was straining.

But that wasn't your fault, you'd reminded him of Chopper's request, and he'd neglected to follow it. Nonetheless, you couldn't simply stand by and let him struggle.

Mumbling to yourself, you frowned, deciding to step up and tap him on the shoulder, "Zoro, come on, that's enough...you look close to collapsing."
He dropped the weights, grunting lowly, as he stepped away and watched you critically. Then he sighed, running a hand through his hair, as he moved to get his green coat.
There was a moment of silence, and then you murmured, "I wasn't...I wasn't trying to be mean, just so you know...I just get worried."

He turned to you, once he took hold of his coat, stepping up so that he was in front of you. With a light scoff, he muttered, "you're the worrier of the crew, [y/n], sometimes I wonder if you even worry about yourself."
You let a small smile ghost your lips, and Zoro noticed that it was more half hearted than your usual smile. He frowned at this.
You commented, "what do you want me to say? I can't help it. We have a Captain that doesn't think before he throws himself into a fight, and you? Well...you're constantly getting yourself hurt. It's required that I worry about you."

He raised his eyebrow, a light smirk coming onto his lips, "you worry about me? Wow, I learn something new everyday."
You lightly batted his chest, making sure to do so gently, "shut up."

A pause, then Zoro grew serious, "do you worry about yourself, though?"
You were a little confused, what was he getting at?
"Zoro...I don't...how do you mean?" You asked, hands fidgeting slightly. He lifted a hand to clasp onto your shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze, as he stated, "you've not been yourself."
"Oh...well," you sighed, "I've been worried, that's for sure, just..."

Well, this was awkward, Zoro wasn't usually the person you went to for a heart to heart; although, that may be because Nami always wiggled her eyebrows at you, and you knew what she was trying to insinuate.
You swallowed thickly, then murmured, "I've been feeling out of place."

He blinked, "out of place?"
In an instant, you jumped to clarify, "you're the First Mate, Chopper's the doctor- everyone, they have a place here, something they're good at...and what am I good at? Nothing."
Zoro merely stared at you, almost disinterested, as he replied, "you're an idiot."

"Well I'm sorry for having doubts, Zoro, you'll find that it's a very human thing to do." You snapped, defensively, and as you went to talk again, he put his hand over your mouth to stop you.
"Shaddup, will you!" He growled, frowning, "you're an idiot because you can't see what you do for this crew."
He paused a moment, trying to find words, "you keep us in check, help us, support us - you don't need a set role to be needed in this crew."
He took hold of your wrist, tugging you to his chest, hugging to tightly, "so stop doubting yourself, you got it?"

At first, you flushed red, hiding your face so that he couldn't see the effect he had on you. If there was one thing he was never going to see you like, it was flustered. After a while, you seemingly relaxed. He was warm, you noted, smelt nice, too - God, you imagined how Sanji would be spitting feathers if he saw Zoro hugging you.
"You know, you're your own worst enemy." He muttered, not yet letting you go. In all honesty, he didn't want to, this is the closest you two had been, and he wasn't quite ready for there to be distance again.
You replied, "yeah, I know, but you are, too."
He huffed, as you moved away from him. A light smile shone on your features, and you quickly leant up to place a kiss to his cheek. It was simply a gesture of gratitude, a thank you of sorts.
Then you stepped away, "well, I better go and see if anyone needs any help..."

Once you had left, Zoro merely grumbled to himself, cheeks reddened as he ran a hand through his hair.

God dammit, he thought.

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Note: OKAY!  Yeah, this one is to ease me into writing this series - Zoro was the first character that I kind of connected to - he's pretty freaking cool. So yeah, anyway! I hope you enjoyed it!

Thank you for reading!

Sunny~