A Demon's Heart Returns (Zoro x OC)

Part 7 - Tired

Author's note
Hello, hello hello and welcome to the new and improved part 7 of this thing I started about 6-8 years ago and completely forsook.
BUT I'm finally back on track, going through the chapters to filter out things like stupid mistakes, Japanese words (preteen me was weeb as fuck) and just improved upon the writing here and there. This chapter mainly I ended up rewriting over half of it since I just really wanted to take out the whole Zoro p.o.v. thing and I think it came out for the better.

For those who still had this thing sitting at the bottom of their wattpad library, thanks for being patient with me and I hope you like my improvements.

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The next morning they were ready to leave.
"You staying here with the ship?" Sanji asked Zoro.
"Nope, it's my turn to see the island."
"Don't get lost, will ya."
"Usopp's going with me." Zoro finished the chat.
"I'll stay, I want to make more medicine. I can see Amie tomorrow, right?" Chopper said.
"Maybe we'll see her again today," Nami said. All this talking about Amie only made Zoro more and more nervous and eager to see her.
"We're off!" Usopp said and he and Zoro went into the forest.

Usopp couldn't help but notice that Zoro was probably the most excited he'd ever been since they had met. He was walking a lot faster than normal, for one.
"Hey, calm down! I can't walk that fast." Usopp shouted at him and Zoro walked slower for a while but started to walk fast again. Usopp chuckled. It was pretty entertaining to see Zoro almost act like Luffy. A few minutes later they stood at the edge of a field of grass.
"This is it." Usopp said and Zoro looked around. All he could see was the house in the middle of it. It did remind him a bit of how they used to live together...

Then he heard voices.
"Do it again! Do it again!" Two young voices were giggling and laughing.
"No boys, come on! Your mother will get mad at me if you're not home for lunch again." A female voice told them. An all too familiar voice. He hadn't even noticed that Usopp had already left for the village, Zoro just stood still as the two kids came into view from behind the house. They waved their goodbyes and disappeared into the forest as the woman finally came into view. Till now it had been so surreal, thinking about her being alive, but there she was, standing in a field, wind softly letting her brown hair and long dress. She hadn't changed at all. All in all, Zoro found himself frozen, unsure what to do. It was too dreamlike!

But then she noticed him and turned to him. She too froze up for a second, wide-eyed, before smiling. She hesitatingly raised her hand and waved at him. He finally walked towards her. Even her curves were still as soft, but by no means small, as they had always been. Even closer, he could indeed see the changed eyes. It wasn't a nice change, going from a calm deep blue to such an aggressive and prominent red, but if that was the only thing he'd be dealing with, he wouldn't be surprised if red soon became one of his more favourite colours. Once they were right in front of each other, they both wanted to tell each other so much, how much had happened, how much they had missed each other, but neither of them managed to get out a word. A couple of awkward seconds later, Amie opened her arms and hugged him, tightly. He followed suit and wrapped his arms around her. Oh, how they managed to perfectly fit together as they hugged. He quickly found himself taking in her smell, she used a new shampoo now, and gently rubbed her back as she started quivering against him. She wasn't really crying, only a few tears came as she looked up at him and smiled. Zoro followed suit, shedding a tear too.
"I missed you so much..." She told him. God, had he missed her voice.
"I missed you too." He replied. She laughed a bit and kissed his jawline. He followed by kissing her right on her lips. It lasted a few seconds. Afterwards, he no longer wanted to let go. After all this, it still felt like she'd just disappear and he'd wake up, a cruel, but beautiful dream.

They soon let go of each other anyway. Now that he had the capacity to think again, Zoro couldn't help but ask, "How?" He saw her sigh.
"Just...how are you still alive? I saw you die right in front of me. How is this possible?" He asked.
"Look, I promise I'll tell you everything later, but right now I just don't have the energy or the will to do it... Can't we just, maybe, nap together under a tree? Just like how we used to?" She asked him. Now that he took a good look, she did seem tired. She seemed exhausted, even! Then again, he felt himself becoming just as tired.
"Yeah, sounds good," Zoro replied and soon he found himself sitting against the tree next to her house, Amie laying down beside him, using his lap as her pillow. He soon ran his fingers through her hair and she smiled. It was one of those things he remembered she loved.

The shade under the tree was just perfect. Amie had fallen asleep within a few minutes and he didn't manage to stay awake much longer either. They were just both so tired. It had been months without knowing either if or that they would see each other again. They had grown so accustomed to each other, the time apart had taken a toll on them and only now did it finally all come down on them, and they could finally get some actual rest from it all.