"I like to come here to think." Zoro murmured shutting off the engine.
"It's beautiful." your eyes swayed over the open meadow.

The field of tall grass shifted with the breeze, the usual pale blonde hue tinted blue from the big bright moon hanging directly overhead. A pond reflected the night sky like a mirror and gave way to a thicket of trees to the left. Zoro had unbuckled and was pulling a couple blankets from behind the seat. He then hopped out and climbed into the truck bed. Tugging your gloves from your coat pocket you followed and watched him drop a blanket and spread it out.

"Come on." he outstretched a gloved hand as you pulled yourself up on the bumper and swung your left leg over the tailgate.

When you were safely in the bed of the truck you laid down side by side now facing the endless night sky.

"You just come lay out here in the freezing cold?"
"It's not quite freezing," he corrected tossing the second blanket over you and laying back again, "but, yeah. It helps me clear my mind."

He crossed his arms under his head while you cuddled into the blanket you'd been given, it was made for camping so it was thick, dense and held in your body heat. Both of you settled into a comfortable quiet staring at the perfect shimmering sky above.

"So, tell me what's going on with your dad." he murmured just loud enough for you to hear.
You sighed, "He isn't getting any better, and now he's stopping his chemo."
"That's rough, is there any chance he could get better with something else?"
"Not at such an advanced stage. The hospital says we just need to make sure he's comfortable at home."
"What did your brothers have to say?"
"We aren't telling the younger three. They would want to push Pops into staying miserable, not to mention Ace tends to be destructive when upset."
"Don't you think they'll resent you a little if they find out?" he shifted to glance at you.
"Well, the plan is for them not to find out."

There was a long pause as he accepted your response.

"Why didn't you want to go home?"
You let out a long sigh, "Those guys aren't used to seeing me upset. It's funny, in a house full of men I'm the one keeping it together. Any rough patch we ever faced they've never once seen me waiver." a sad smile graced your lips, "I just needed to get it together."
He rolled over to face you as you felt the sting of fresh tears build, "It's ok to not be the strongest all the time."

And with that began to crumble. You cried for all of the built up worry and stress for your father, you cried for your brothers, you even cried for whatever this practically failed attempt at a relationship with Law was.

"I know it's stupid..." you sobbed, "but I don't want to be an orphan again."

Zoro's chest tightened as he helplessly watched you fall apart. Taking a deep breath he slipped into the blanket with you pulling you into a hug.

Rubbing soft warm circles between your shoulder blades, he lowered his head to whisper to you, "It's gonna be ok. You won't ever be alone."

You settled down but stayed buried in his chest embarrassed that you'd cried so hard. His warmth was soothing and though he hadn't said much to comfort you, you didn't think he actually had to say anything at all. This was enough.

Your phone vibrated making you jolt away from the greenette to fumble through your coat pocket.

"Shit." you breathed glancing at the display as you sat up to connect the call, "Hey,"
"I was starting to worry, you didn't answer my texts." Law calmly stated.
"I'm sorry, I didn't even hear my phone." Zoro rolled back over and closed his eye while you spoke to your boyfriend.
"Is everything alright?" he asked addressing your sniffles.
"They're setting us up with hospice." You murmured rubbing your face.
"I'm sorry," he stated sincerely, understanding that meant you were preparing for the worst, "Are you ok? Do you want me to come by?"
"No, no I'm fine and its already late."

Hearing you mention the time the younger sat up and began gathering the blankets while you said your good byes to Law. Once you were back inside the truck warming your hands against the vents he sighed and softly apologized.

"For?" you turned cocking a brow.
"I probably shouldn't have brought you out here," he kept his gaze fixed forward suddenly feeling awkward, "you have a Law and it would have been better to drop you off with him."

You felt a new lump forming in your throat.

"You probably don't need reminding, but I'm thirty-two, I don't need anyone to tell me where I should be or who I should be with." he shrunk a little at your tone, "I text you because I ... "

Shit... Where were you going with this?

"... I preferred your company. I needed calm and quiet, not halfhearted comfort and the science behind the matter."
"I just..." he paused trying to find his words, "I don't want to come between you or be the cause of some sort of misunderstanding."

You scoffed.

"I'll worry about misunderstandings. So, I'd rather say thank you for being exactly what I needed."

He sat quietly focusing on the moonlit road for a few long moments.

"You're welcome." it was said lowly, as if he didn't want you to hear.

You hummed letting your gaze drift to the road as well.

Playing back the last couple of hours made you feel at ease. Every moment you spent with Zoro was effortless and relaxed, even when you were upset and feeling hopeless you wouldn't have allowed yourself to be so vulnerable if you weren't comfortable with him.

Maybe Sabo was right.

"F/N?" Zoro called breaking your train of thought, "We're here."

The truck had parked in front of your house.
"Wanna come in?" you asked afraid to enter the house alone.
"I can't," he answered knowing if he went in he wouldn't have the strength to leave, "it's late and I have to setup the dojo in the morning."

__________________

You woke up that morning feeling a bit off.

Gray morning light peeked through the split in your curtains and though the heat was on the cold December air still lingered. With a groan you rolled over trying to shake this anxious feeling. Maybe it was because Pops was home now and the hospice nurse would be making their first visit in a few hours. Or perhaps it was your coffee date with Law that afternoon that had you feeling nervous.
It wasn't a cheerful anticipation so much as a heavy dread. You'd made a mistake and dragged him into a romantic relationship with almost zero romance. You felt like an asshole and all of the excuses in the world couldn't change the fact that you'll eventually hurt this man.

The home nurse had come and gone, Pops was in good spirits giving Marco a hard time when you took Chopper out for a walk.

"You ok?" your younger brother called trotting over to from the driveway.
"Yeah why?" you answered turning to meet Sabo's concerned green eyes.
"It's just... lately you've been a little off."
"I never could get anything passed you," you winked, "just trying to figure things out and worrying about Pops, nothing out of the ordinary my sweet little brother."
"Well, ok... If you need something you know I'm always here to talk."

Your chest squeezed as you snatched the younger male into a crippling hug.

"I love you."
"I love you too sis." he coughed.

You cut the engine and sighed staring at the coffee shop sign. It was now or never, you'd made up your mind. When you entered Law was already seated in a booth waiting with your preferred order. He smiled softly as you slid into the seat not bothering to remove your coat.

The conversation started out light touching on Pops' condition and what you'd been up to the last few days. But eventually the tension began to grow as tattooed fingers anxiously destroyed the thin cardboard sleeve that had come with his cup.

You cleared your throat to speak but Law had already opened his mouth.

"I wanted to meet so we could talk," he started, "I really like you, but I feel like you're reluctant and distant. That might be because of my schedule and your father's illness." he sighed glancing up at your slightly shocked face, "This just isn't working it seems and I don't want to string you along as my schedule just gets busier."

You sat dumbstruck and speechless.

"I'm sorry." his murmured apology snapped you back to reality.
"D-don't apologize," you stammered, "I understand, and I really like you too but you're right. I need to focus on Pops and the boys now anyway. I hope we can still be friends."

A relieved sigh swept passed his lips as he stood and leaned over you.

"Of course, and if down the line no one has snatched you up I'd like a second chance." he kissed your forehead, "I'll see you around, F/N-ya."
"Yeah," you breathed watching him leave the building.

Fuck.

He took the responsibility for things not working out, let you get off scott free and you felt like shit.

"So you guys broke up huh?" Shanks asked shoving your fourth shot in front of you.
"Maybe she doesn't want to talk about it." Benn muttered snuffing his cigarette in the ashtray at the bar.
"It's fine Benny," you chuckled downing the amber liquid and flipping the glass, "We weren't really working out anyway."
"So you were just going along with it until he decided to dump you?" Yasopp drew your attention away from Benn and Shanks.
"Funny story," you started picking up the next shot placed in front of you, "I was actually going to break up with him. He beat me by like a millisecond."
"Well, now that you're back on the market," Shanks' arms slithered around you.
"Not in your dreams, Red."

The other two laughed as you palmed the redhead's face and shoved him back.

Liquor continued to flow while the four of you told stories and you attempted to wingman for Yasopp. Shanks left with some young thing that had to have just turned twenty-one. The last thing you remembered was being pulled around the dance floor by Benn.

_______________

The sound of the shower running lulled you out of your drunken slumber. As consciousness slowly came back to you, you realized you'd never been able to hear the shower from your room. Your eyes snapped open in panic immediately regretting the action as pain bloomed from the back of your head to your temples.

Where the fuck were you?

Thick blackout curtains covered the window making the room still feel like night. Orange light seeped through the door jamb from the bathroom where god knows who was taking a shower. Your alcohol sloshed brain continued to play catch up as you realized you weren't wearing your clothes; just someone's oversized T-shirt and thankfully your panties. If you weren't still so drunk and clouded you would have been scrambling to gather your things and get the fuck out.

The faucet turned off.

"Fuck." you whispered waiting for someone to emerge.