"You sure you weren't a linebacker in your past life?" Your friend asked, watching them load up the old woman into the ambulance.

You held your head in horror, the vehicle's doors slamming shut and sirens turning on as they prepared to leave. "Oh my god, I hope she's okay!"

"You took her down pretty good," the shorter girl held up her hands and twisted them quickly in one smooth motion. "Her head snapped back, just like this."

"Will you shut up!?!" You hissed, not even at work for two hours and already wanting to strangle her.

She shrugged, "I'm just saying. Not like you did it for laughs - that light could have killed you both."

You groaned and pulled at your hair, feeling incredibly guilty for this entire mess. Not only had you almost died again, but they almost took someone out with you. These people certainly didn't care if there were casualties. Shit, you felt horrible and angry and frantic and it was waaaaaaay too much to handle. 

"Hey, who's dog is that?"

Your head jerked up and looked around until your coworker pointed to the other side of the street where a black dog was pacing back and forth.

"Zoro!" Before anyone could stop you, you were crossing the road just after the ambulance drove off, sirens wailing while the crowd in front of the store watched.

You grew more and more worried the longer it took you to make it across the street, heart pounding viciously in your chest and fingers twitching and wanting to hold onto someone. You quickly realized that these weren't just your emotions, but Zoro's as well; which only made you feel worse because you were both freaking out times two. Though, at least it was becoming easier to figure out which were your emotions and which were Zoro's. His had a distinct feel, like you were laying under the warm sun on a summer day. It made you want to...nap.

You stepped onto the sidewalk and was almost toppled over when the wolf barreled right into your legs with his head, keeping it there for a moment while you tried to catch your balance, then proceeded to sniff you all over.

"Zoro, what are you doing here?" You cooed, bending down to pet his head.

He looked up and lightly licked your cheek. 

"I'm fine. Really."

His ears folded back, good eye shining with uncertainty.

Giving him a reassuring smile, you leaned in and hugged his neck, which he seemed to like this because his tail started to wag.

You sighed and just kind of held him a second as he started to calm down; feeling his anxiety, worry, and anger vanish. You even brushed his fur with your fingers, scratching the scruff of his neck until you felt something small tangled in his hair. You snagged the item and tugged a little until it came out, staring at it questioningly while turning it over in your hand.

It was glass. 

What was glass doing in Zoro's fur? He didn't seem to be hurt, but what the hell?

Then you looked at the wolf with narrowed eyes, immediately suspicious.

Zoro was in his dog form, just as you had left him. It was a fifteen minute drive to work and he was here in under an hour and didn't even take the time to change into a human. Just how the hell did he get out of the house without opening the door? Then you pictured your living room window and twitched, realizing he must have jumped right through it without a second thought to come to your rescue. Not only were you going to have to fix the doorknob in the bathroom, but now the living room window.

"Zoro....I am not a rich woman."

~

"Oh good lord," You groaned, staring at the shattered glass spanning the concrete right in front of your apartment. It looked like no one had reported it yet since the landlord wasn't around shouting at you; honestly, you weren't sure if you were grateful considering you could have also been robbed.

Zoro didn't seem to really care about the mess, just walking over the glass like nothing before jumping through the very window he broke to get inside. That little-!!

"______-chan?"

You looked up to the neighbor's door, seeing Jinbei walk out of his apartment with a broom and dustpan. He caught you staring and held them up a little.

"I heard the crash and saw the dog leaving, so I figured I'd clean up."

It was official, Jinbei was your precious cinnamon roll. 

"Give me a sec." 

You quickly went inside and grabbed your broom before going back out, Jinbei already starting by sweeping the glass off to one side. You moved to his side and promptly started to clean, both working silently for a few minutes before you started to feel the awkwardness creep in.

"So..." You leaned against your broom and looked at him. "You knew?"

He continued sweeping, "Yes."

"How long?" 

Jinbei straightened up and looked thoughtful for a moment. "I suspected something was wrong when you suddenly left for that trip. I assumed it was a family matter, so I didn't pry."

The man was silent a moment, going back to sweeping a little before he spoke again. "Then I would sometimes see you leaving your apartment with a man frequently. I would catch glimpses of him and feel like a memory was triggering but then it finally clicked a few days ago."

He looked up and grinned, tracing a line down his left eye. "It's not hard to put two and two together. When a man has the same scars as a dog, one comes to a conclusion."

You made a face, "That is the weirdest conclusion ever. I wouldn't think dog-man if I saw a guy have the same scars as an animal's."

"Ah, but there were other factors," He leaned against his broom, looking like he was enjoying all this. "You had left for your trip with one of my robes, that was a bit strange but I didn't put too much thought into it until I realized the state of your apartment."

He then explained that he had arrived home to the landlord banging on your apartment door demanding to see you. When you didn't answer Jinbei had offered to call you (at this point your phone had died) and when you hadn't answered the landlord had used his key to get inside. Once they walked in, the landlord went straight to the bathroom to check on the leak the downstairs neighbors had complained about. Jinbei spent this time to stay in the living room and continue to try and call you. That was when he had noticed the long crack in your living room. He had studied it closely before realizing it was actually a cut made from a sword.

"How did you know it was from a sword?"

You both looked to the window to see Zoro standing there, wearing only a pair of jeans and looking a bit grumpy. You'd come to notice he was always grumpy after changes, but that was to be expected if it hurt as much as the wolf said it did. It always took him at least three minutes to fully change and just the thought of one's own body rearranging into a new one for a whole three minutes sounded painful.

Jinbei grinned, "I've seen a sword cut before."

He looked at you with amusement and you quickly blushed and went back to sweeping.

"Let's just say a certain someone isn't allowed to bring historical objects into her apartment."

You scowled, "I-I just wanted to see how heavy it was!"

Zoro looked a little bit amused as he stepped through the window, walking barefoot on the glass and not at all caring.

"Oh, Zoro." You sighed, wishing he would wear some shoes.

"A werewolf is still a big leap," Zoro put his hands in his pockets and stared at your neighbor, assessing him as he tried to figure something out.

"One notices when their neighbor has someone suddenly living with them, someone who would sneak out and walk into the woods on a full moon."

Wait, what? You looked at Zoro questioningly, but the wolf wasn't looking at you, just studying Jinbei. You frowned, having not realized he had snuck out at all. Actually....You never thought about it, but what does happen to him on the full moon? 

The thought was kind of silly. I mean, wouldn't one know what their werewolf boyfriend did on the night of a full moon? The obvious conclusion would be that he would transform into a snarling, angry beast at the sight of the giant orb, but you were positive nothing was different when Zoro was with you on a full moon. It's been, what, three full moons with nothing happening? Hell, you were sure you both had been moon gazing one of those nights! But Zoro had been sneaking out? That was something you'd have to look into...

"So, what you're telling me is that you've never met another supernatural creature before?" The wolf went straight to the point, looking a bit annoyed.

"Correct." 

You marveled at your neighbor, looking so calm even after finding out werewolves existed. You had been a crazy mess when you'd found out about Zoro...then again, Mihawk had been trying to kill you as well.

Zoro glowered, now looking disappointed at Jinbei's answer. "Then this was a waste of time if you don't know anything."

"Zoro!" You glared at the wolf who didn't look the least bit sorry.

"He's useless if he doesn't have any information about the city."

"The city?" Jinbei looked at you both in confusion and you sighed before explaining the whole situation to your neighbor, all the while, Zoro leaned against the wall and continued to be a grump. Once you were finished, Jinbei looked a lot more worried then before.

"So...someone...put a spell on you? Someone is trying to kill you?!"

Well, when he put it that way, you kind of felt bad for telling him anything. "I'm fine-!"

"_____-chan!" Jinbei interrupted in a stern, angry voice, "You were almost hit by a car yesterday!"

And crushed by a lamp today. "Yes. But Zoro-"

"Won't be there all the time," He narrowed his eyes at you.

"I know that!" You were getting a little pissy now, but more so that Jinbei was worrying over you.

The older man stood up straight, practically towering over you as he crossed his arms to glare. The sight made you suddenly feel edgy, as if you were ready for Jinbei to lunge at you and attack. Then you noticed that Zoro wasn't leaning against the wall though, standing perfectly straight and still as he flashed his red eye at your neighbor.

Oh shit, deep breaths. You quickly calmed down, realizing you were mixing signals with Zoro and now he was probably going to attack Jinbei and you did not want that!! The wolf probably saw this as some challenge on his alpha or whatever and was waiting for the signal to destroy. You gave your boyfriend a look, telling him to calm down, all the while Jinbei not noticing the silent exchange.

"I want you to take this seriously." 

You turned to look back at your neighbor, annoyed again but you quickly tried to be calm so Zoro didn't antsy. "I am being serious about this. I just don't see the point in letting it stop me from living my life."

Jinbei frowned, looking less angry. "I just want you to be safe..."

Your shoulders relaxed a little, "I know...but there's no real way to avoid something when I don't know it's coming."

The older man looked thoughtful, thinking things over before answering. "This is true...but I think I would feel better if you learned some kind of self-defense. Then you would at least have the reflexes to avoid the minor things."

Wait, what?

Zoro seemed to perk up a bit at this, "I can teach you a few things in case someone attacks you."

"You can also go running to build up endurance," Jinbei added.

"I know a few exercises to help build some muscles."

"Perhaps get a gym membership?"

You looked back and forth between the men, eyes wide as the two continued on and on about what you were going to do to help protect yourself. The ideas were becoming more and more elaborate and crazy sounding the more they went on and you felt so attacked right now.

"When did this turn into an insane work out program!?!"

~~

With the glass cleaned up and thrown away, Jinbei helped you get a large piece of plywood to cover the window for the immediate future, unable to cough up for a whole new window at this time. Your neighbor had offered to help pay for it, but you declined; siting that you were a big girl with a bank account.

With money slowly dwindling away...

"I told you he wouldn't be any help," Zoro grunted out as you two finally went inside and shut the door.

"He totally helped," You huffed. "Maybe not in the way we were hoping for, but at least we have an ally."

The wolf scowled, not at all impressed with this. "I suppose...but he's not pack."

You rolled his eyes, wondering why he was so obsessed with that. Why did it matter if Jinbei was or wasn't anyways? You swear, Zoro's whole lone wolf thing was a bit silly; you made a mental note to look up more information on wolf behavior just so you could figure this all out.

Speaking of werewolf behavior...

"Zoro...what happens to you on a full moon?"

The man stiffened, having been turning to go towards the couch for a nap. He shifted a bit, back to you as he stared at the wall. "Nothing you have to worry about."

Red flag. 

You walked over to him and touched his arm, trying to get him to look at you. "Zoro...you can tell me, I won't get scared or anything."

You tried to look at his face but he kept turning away, which only made you a little upset he was hiding from you. "Zoro-!"

Then you noticed the reason why. 

He was blushing.

The male scowled at you, cheeks a dark red and just looking overall embarrassed. "I...things get...complicated during the full moon."

"Complicated?" Now you weren't worried, but super curious. You didn't get to see Zoro blush often and when he did it was the absolute cutest thing in the entire universe. Sometimes you just wanted to pinch his cheeks when he did, but you refrained yourself because you were sure he would nip at them and you just....ugh, you did not want him to feel your perverted urges when he did.

Zoro kept his gaze on the wall, sulking and crossing his arms. "I don't have to change, but it makes it easier to deal with things if I'm just a wolf."

You tilted your head curiously, waiting for him to continue.

But he stayed silent and refused to elaborate more until you reached out and pinched his arm. He swatted your hand away and sighed, "My senses become heightened, I get stronger, faster and I become more...sensitive."

Oh, okay?

"Is that it? You don't have to run off for that," You huffed, wondering why he was being so dramatic.

He scowled at you and you suddenly found yourself pushed onto the couch, your body laying a little off the side as you stared up at you boyfriend in confusion. Zoro towered over you for a moment, glare still present on his face before he moved. Then he was crawling on top of you, legs positioning on the outside of your body while his hands placed themselves on your hips. You blushed and felt him grip your waist, thumbs moving to wiggle under the hem of your shirt to rub circles on your skin. You shifted slightly but felt him suddenly dig his nails into your side, making you stop. He held you still for a moment, as if making sure you knew who was in control then went back to rubbing soft circles in your hips.

Zoro kept his face blank as he continued to hold onto you before moving his hands up your form, brushing over your body and making you wish you were shirtless like he was right now so he could be touching your skin. Biting your lower lip, you watched his hands finally make their way to your shoulders; giving them a gentle squeeze before leaning down and nuzzling his nose into your cheek.

You grinned, your palms moving to rest on his chest, "What's wrong with this? I like sensitive Zoro."

He snarled, his fangs gently brushing over your cheek and sending shivers of excitement down your body.

"I told you, everything becomes heightened for me." He didn't look at you, just kept his nose pressed to your face and hands on your shoulders. "I...I wouldn't be able to control myself. I wouldn't be able to stop."

Yes. YES. YES!!

You wrapped your arms around Zoro's middle and moved one of your legs to rub against his inner thigh, grinning in pride when the wolf gasped and gripped your shoulders tighter.

"I wouldn't want you to stop~."

He finally turned to look at you, eye flashing with lust and anger. "No. You don't understand."

Frustration welled up inside you, starting to feel put out that Zoro was avoiding it all again. You would wait forever for him to initiate sex, he was worth the wait. But you wondered just how shy a guy could be? Zoro was always direct with his intentions, sometimes even to the to the point of being a total dick. To see a shy Zoro was weird and you were constantly thrown off by it. You were sure he's had sex before, one does not live so long without sex, especially not a healthy male. 

So, what the heck was the problem? You were confident enough to know it wasn't your body - you've been hit on enough to know you had some game. Was it something else? Did your breath stink? Did you dress too frumpy? What was it?! You just wished he'd tell you before you were overcome with sexual frustration and were forced to walk into a room completely naked with a big sign saying 'Take me now!'. 

"Help me understand, Zoro." You were glaring up at him, hoping he felt your annoyance.

He growled, looking frustrated himself and glaring right back. Damn it, if you weren't so annoyed, this would be totally hot. 

"That!" Zoro snarled at you, giving your shoulders a light shake.

You frowned, thrown off by his outburst. "What?" 

"The bond is what's stopping me," He shouted, fingers gripping your shoulders tighter as he snarled down at you. "You can barely handle your own emotions, but you want to take on both of us? If I were to take you on a full moon then you'd be overwhelmed."

You rolled your eyes, wondering if that was all he was worrying about. "I can handle-"

Then you were tense, breathing growing quick as a pleasurable heat traveled up your legs, spreading and wrapping around your thighs and hips like ribbons. It was like it was tying itself tightly around your limbs, overlapping with pleasurable heat and wrapping you up like some gift. You arched as the heat moved to your abdomen and formed into what felt like a tight ball, squeezing your very core while Zoro stared down at you with a blank face. 

"You can barely handle half of what I'm giving you," He whispered, lowering himself to kiss at your neck. His lips pressed lightly into your skin despite the harsh heat of emotions trying to burst out of you. The wolf moved his hands, one traveling to your hip while the other tugged at your collar. He gave your shirt a sharp tug, effectively popping off the top buttons and giving you more cleavage. You felt his fingers brush your collar bone before dragging his hand under your shirt and pushing it off your shoulder a bit.

You trembled, his kisses now turning into nips and making you light headed. The heat continued to squeeze your core, making your hips buck into his muscled body. You tried to keep your lower half pressed firmly against Zoro's, but the heat continued to pulse inside your abdomen which made you feel weak and lucid. It was driving you crazy and you were sure you could probably get off on just this.

The hand resting on your hip was moving under your shirt, pushing it up slowly while his palm trailed up your side. Soon your shirt was halfway over your breasts, the cold air making your stomach twitch while Zoro licked one of the love bites on your neck. The hand was on the move again, but instead of going further up, he moved it sideways and you felt it wiggle it's way under your bra; making you gasp and rear your head back as the ball of heat in your abdomen gave off a burst that sent hot tingles throughout your body.

Zoro didn't stop though, hand pushing your bra up a bit as he dragged it across your chest, fingers purposely brushing your nipple while he continued towards the other breast. Your chest was almost fully exposed at this point, your shirt pushed up all the way to your collarbone while Zoro kept his mouth latched onto your throat and littering it with more and more kisses.

You felt like you were in a haze; heat still pooling in your stomach, Zoro's hand groping your breasts while his teeth lightly grazed your skin and wanting to just dig in. You were sure you were about to pass out and briefly wondered how much more of it you could take if this was only what half of what Zoro was feeling.

Then his leg moved, knee positioning itself between your legs and pushing upwards into your groin, effectively shooting what was like electricity through your nerves; all the while, you were sure you were seeing colorful fireworks flourish before your very eyes. 

Too much, too much! You quickly smacked your hand on his shoulder, chest heaving as you tried to regain some of your vision. "T-Tap out! I tap out!!"

He stopped, not making any other move to continue with the session. Zoro nuzzled his nose very gently into one of your new hickeys before finally pulling away. He stared down at you, your breasts rising and falling as you tried to catch your breath. Your cheeks were completely flushed and you had to breathe out your mouth to get enough airflow or you'd surely die.

The bastard had the gall to give you a smirk. "If this were a full moon, I wouldn't hold back. Both physically and emotionally."

He leaned in and wrapped his arms around you, hugging you close to his body and making you tremble as your chest (shirt still askew and halfway off) pushed right into his own naked one. 

Zoro then kissed you. It was firm and insistent, but he didn't force his tongue into your mouth or try to dominate you, just demanded your attention. This was something you could do, so you kissed back, shaky arms wrapping around his neck and one hand moving to grip his hair.

Damn it, he made you feel like you were on drugs. You knew you would always come back for more, no matter if it was good for you or not. The kiss broke and the two of you just held one another for a few moments, breaths mingling together and legs tangling with one another as you tried to be as close as possible.

"I-I think going slow is a good idea," You gasped out. There was no question in your mind now. You knew if you two tried this while you were still new to the bond you would probably explode. And it would be a grand explosion and you'd enjoy every moment of it while you went out in spectacular flames.

But you preferred to remember it all the next day, thank you.

He grinned, glad you finally understood. "Sorry...did I overwhelm you?"

You shook your head, your heart still fluttering a mile a minute. "It was...holy shit, I can't even begin to describe what you just did."

Zoro grinned even wider, looking like some demon who'd discovered a way into heaven. "Good."

Damn him and his sexy awesome self.