A/N - A little lewdness in 3...2..1...

He kissed you hard and deep pinning you to the hotel room mattress. You ran your fingers through his soft hair breaking away to breathe. He licked down your neck to your bare chest. You arched your back rocking your hips and gripped his shoulders as he made his way down your body. A gasp escaped you as he pressed his tongue against the thin cotton panties that separated you from each other. Letting out a proud hum, he held your hips down and continued to nibble at your most sensitive place. You shivered as he pushed the damp garment aside. He shifted forward between your thighs and sucked your right nipple as he slowly began to thrust. An unruly moan tore through your throat.

You sat up with a huff, cheeks blazing. The room was still dark. Zoro was sleeping soundly with his back to you. You glanced at your phone.

4:47AM

It's barely been two hours.

You eased back into your pillow.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Don't do this now.

All of the charm and charisma you'd experienced in the last few days was part of an act. An act you forced him into! He was just having fun not thinking you'd catch feelings.

Feelings? Ugh!

You rolled over staring at the back of his head. He shifted to his stomach letting out a soft sleepy grunt. His cheeks were flushed and his lips just barely parted as he snored.

Shit.

You slid off the bed grabbing your pillow and flopped down on the sofa. You went fetal and shivered yourself to sleep.

_________________

The strong scent of coffee lulled you out of your slumber. You were neatly tucked into the duvet from the bed. Zoro sat on the floor in front of the small coffee table watching TV with the closed captioning turned on. You stretched and yawned.

"Did something happen?" he asked still facing the screen.

Why does he sound annoyed?

"What?" You sat up.

"You moved to the couch. You were freezing" He turned eyeing you sideways.

"I ... had a bad dream." You lied, "I didn't want to wake you again.

"I wouldn't have minded." He grunted standing, "Anyway, we have to checkout soon and you somehow have stuff in every corner of the room."

"OK." You groaned rising to your feet still wrapped in the covers.

When you returned from the bathroom you handed Zoro the shirt you'd borrowed. He slipped it on and grabbed his bag.

"You ready?"

"I guess." You sighed not really wanting to go back to your parent's house.

You stalked out to the car as Zoro returned the room keys.

"Are you OK?" He asked.

You flinched. Avoiding eye contact and conversation wasn't going as smoothly as you'd thought, you guessed.

"Yup." You croaked, "I'm good."

He crossed his arms and settled into the passenger seat. Seems he decided not to press. Twenty minutes of awkward because you made it awkward silence and you were pulling into the gravel drive in front of your parent's. Dad's truck was gone so you parked behind mom's Accord.

The two of you lazed around the house after raiding the fridge. Zoro eventually crawled upstairs for a nap. Honestly you should have been the one napping but if you did you'd be up all night. There's no way you trusted Zoro to drive six hours without you navigating tomorrow. Your mother entered the room. You recognized and despised the look on her face. You'd seen it many times in your life...she was looking for a fight. You always told yourself to ignore her when she's like this. It doesn't do any good to indulge her pettiness. But one smug huff and all of your buttons had been pressed. She is the only person on the planet whom you both love and hate equally. No one pisses you off faster or with such veracity. She stood before you, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"I understand you upset Fernando last night." Her icy blue eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry what? I upset him?" You gaped.

She gave a sharp nod, "You didn't have to sic your boyfriend on him."

"You're insane." You scoffed. "I did no such thing. I can't believe you asked him to come and didn't tell him I was here with someone."

"We both know this isn't going to last long. It never does. Besides what kind of upbringing does he have? Do you even know? We've got a status to uphold." She pursed her lips.

You stifled the urge to shout, "I've told you countless times I refuse to be forced into a marriage with that guy just because Marylu's family looks good on a resume. THIS is why I moved so far away!"

"He also has been in love with you for years." She pointed out, "Which is more than I can say for that guy. You insult each other constantly. He hardly looks at you."

You'd be lying if you said that last part didn't sting a little.

"Mother - I can't do this." You clenched your fists.

"You need to think about your future. Think about how your father and I will look." Her face began to flush as she raised her voice.

She was only doing this now because dad wasn't home to defend you. And you didn't want him to be. Every time he'd stepped between you in the past she'd get jealous and accuse him of loving you more. The absurdity of being jealous over your own child.

"I knew this would happen. It was all an act. You being all sweet to Zoro." Your nails dug deep into your palms.

"You will apologize to Fernando." She hissed through gritted teeth.

"I've nothing to apologize for." You snapped.

"You'll do as you're told and we'll start making arrangements. Your obstinate attitude will not shame this family." Her chubby face strained into a shade of magenta as she growled.

"You sound just like Doffy." You spat, "If you aren't careful you'll end up in a padded cell right beside him."

It was a low blow you admit; bringing up her now insane younger brother. You wanted to hurt her and shut her up.

She charged forward snatching a book off of a nearby shelf and hurling it at you.

"I'm an adult now. I can and will hit you back." You warned.

She continued toward you backing you into a corner. Slowly she reached for the book that had missed you and raised it above her head. You shrunk against the wall, in that moment you were a kid again. Fear took over. You shut your eyes and extended your arms bracing for impact. She yelped. You opened your eyes as the book fell to the floor. Zoro had a firm grasp on her wrist. His furious expression sent a frigid shiver down your spine.

"F/N... Go get your things." He rumbled.

"Wah?" Was all you could manage scrambling to your feet.

"We're leaving." He added softly.

You dipped passed him and fumbled toward the staircase.

Once everything was loaded in the SUV he asked for the keys and climbed into the driver's seat. Your mother didn't bother to come outside. Zoro didn't share what he said to her after you left the room but she must have been shaken. Not much scared her. You'd seen her scream at men twice her size and win the fight even when she was wrong. The only regret you had was leaving when dad wasn't home. You made a mental note to call him in the morning and apologize.

Zoro turned on the maps app in his phone and punched in your address before setting it in the cup holder.

"Sorry I need to have the voice on or I'll miss the turns. Hopefully you can sleep through it." He muttered turning the ignition.

You nodded, "Or we can just stop somewhere for the night. It's already passed 8 which means we won't get home 'til after 2."

"I had enough sleep. It's fine." He glanced in the rear-view.

You settled into the seat. It was weird being a passenger in your own car. An uncomfortable silence filled the cab.

____________________

You felt like he'd been on the verge of speaking for twenty minutes but was stopping himself. He let out a sigh caving into his curiosity.

"What's the deal with your mom? Your cousin said you've always had a strained relationship."

You swallowed hard.

"I always wished Uncle C was my parent. Law doesn't know how good he had it. Or maybe he does." You paused, "Dad used to work out of town a lot until he retired. During those trips she would often take things out on me. i guess she resented being stuck at home with a whiny kid. It started with spankings over trivial things like leaving my crayons out. That gradually turned into locking me in closets for days. I've been hit, kicked and cut. When I was 11 she slammed my hand in the door until it bled. That's when dad found out. I had to get 8 stitches." You rubbed the scar that blanketed your left knuckles.

Zoro squeezed the steering wheel, "But the pictures. There were so many and you looked so happy."

"Outwardly I had to be and pictures are a good front. Nothing's wrong if nothing looks wrong right? Besides, my wounds were usually hidden. Uncle Cora would have me over as often as she would allow. After the hand thing she calmed down a bit. Well, she had to. She begged dad to forgive her and promised she'd never do it again. I don't think he knows that it continued. I was too afraid to tell on her. She'd threatened to send me to my other Uncle who was much worse than her." Your breath caught in your throat, "When I was a teen I'll admit I talked back a lot so some of it I may have earned."

He turned sharply to glare at you. You sank further into the seat.

"No one earns stuff like that." His brown eyes drifted back to the road.

"She always apologized and said she loved me. Sometimes she even cried. You don't really realize how insane that is until someone points it out. When I met Marco I moved away and visits became few and far between." You felt your voice falter.

He reached over placing his right hand on your left knee a scowl still etched into his features as he stared at the stretch of road.

"I'm sorry that happened to you."

Your heart took off as he gently squeezed your kneecap and removed his hand.

"Thanks. I think I turned out pretty normal all things considered." You let out a soft chuckle.

"Normal may be a stretch." He joked.

The two of you continued to chat seamlessly flowing through different topics. At some point exhaustion caught up with you.

You were jostled awake when your shoes knocked against the door jamb of your apartment. Zoro let out a small grunt tightening his grip on your shoulders and legs. You felt your temperature rising and decided to keep your eyes shut. He shuffled down the hall to your room and slowly lowered you onto the bed. You let out a soft hum stretching out but tensed when he slumped down next to you. He was no doubt exhausted from the drive, which probably took extra concentration considering he couldn't find his way back from the bathroom in the mall. Your eyes remained closed as he shifted and you felt his gaze on you. His warmth radiated to you; he had to be quite close. You fought the urge to fidget. The sound of his arm gliding against the top sheet filled the room. Two warm fingers brushed your bangs from your forehead tucking them gently behind your right ear. An involuntary whimper escaped you as your heart erupted.

Is this the same grumpy person you'd known for the last two years?

His weight on the mattress shifted again as he slid to the foot of the bed. He sighed heaving himself to his feet and exiting the room.