"Dump me?" Zoro stood in the doorway.

The look on his face sent your gut straight through the floor.

"No, Tiger... You didn't come in at the right part of the conversation." your mouth was suddenly a desert.
"I'm not sure there was a right part of the conversation F/N." he crossed his arms, "Why is our relationship such a hot topic in the Newgate house?"
"We're just gonna..." Sabo trailed off as he scooted passed you dragging Marco with him.
"L-lets go to the den," you suggested, "I can explain."

He followed you to the next room, arms still crossed, a stern expression you'd never been the cause of plastered on his face.

"I was just nagging my brother's about the fact that they have no gray hair." you self-consciously ran your fingers over the braid draped over your left shoulder, "Marco, well, you know how he is..."
"I thought we were passed the age gap." he interrupted.
"W-we are.. I am - " you stammered surprised by his demeanor. 

That tone was new too.
It made you uneasy.

"How many times do I have to say it doesn't bother me? Who cares what other people say?" he remained still and guarded.

Your heart had begun to race - you inhaled deeply to try and catch your nervous breath.

"I - I know."
"I don't think you do know. Why can't you just take my word?" he scoffed, "I'm not a child, F/N."
"What?" you looked up at him with wide eyes, "I know that..."
"Then don't treat me like one!" his raised voice made you shrink, "You're supposed to tell me how you feel so I can help. How are we partners if you keep it to yourself?"
"Ok, that's fair." you raised your hands, "I know insecurities are bothersome."
"Who cares? I'm here to get you passed them, right?"

Oh man, you didn't deserve him at this moment.

The entire time you were upset about people staring and their judgment, Zoro was there too. He'd been there to prove them wrong while you let it eat you up.

He'd heard his fair share of sugar mama jokes and endured Marco's left handed remarks, but none of that mattered because at the end of the day you were there. You knew he worked hard for what he had and he didn't feel the need to prove it to anyone else. So, why were you so hung up on this?

"I'm sorry," you murmured stepping closer to him.
He sighed and ran his fingers through his messy hair, "I don't know what to do."
"What do you mean by that?" tears were already stinging the edges of your eyes.
"If this is going to continue to be an issue, I don't want to get any deeper than I already am." his chest felt like it was caving in.

It was completely silent for what felt like an eternity.

"Tiger -" your voice was barely a whisper.
"I... I think we need a break." his ears were ringing.
"No... No, please." it felt like your heart had just vanished while you struggled to speak through your tears.

He kissed your forehead and briskly stepped out of the room. He was completely unprepared for this conversation and to see you fall apart. It felt like his insides had just been sucked into a void.

What the fuck did he just do?

Sabo watched Zoro practically sprint out of the house. He turned down the hall hearing you sputter.

"What just happened?" the blonde asked entering the den to find you crying.
"Marco..." you whimpered covering your face, "please?"

The younger blonde turned swiftly into the hallway finally processing what was happening.

"Marco!" he shouted up the stairs on his way through the house, "F/N needs you in the den, now!"

Sabo didn't wait for a response as he continued outside. The screen door slammed against the door jamb while he halted seeing Zoro's truck already headed down the street.

"What the hell was that?" Ace questioned rounding the side of the house from the garage, "He was cursing and punched a dent into the side of his truck."
Sabo's green eyes swayed to his brother as he sighed, "I think he just broke up with F/N."

"Hey," Marco murmured calmly holding you on the sofa in the den, "try to take a breath. You'll pass out at this rate - yoi."

You leaned into his side and focused on taking a full breath through your sobs. Marco rubbed comforting circles over your back and shushed you gently. He hadn't seen you like this in a long time. The last six months were full of heartbreak, he hated that you had to work so hard to hold on to what good moments you were given. He also realized his roll in what had just taken place.

"I'm sorry, yoi."
You shook your head and looked up at him, "It's my fault. I-I was too in my head about it."
"I made it harder though," he sighed, "I just didn't want him to be in it for the wrong reasons, yoi."

This proved in the most unfortunate way that he wasn't.

Harping on the age difference provided unnecessary strain. Marco didn't want that for you.

"Is everything ok?" Sabo's voice drew your attention to the doorway where he stood with Ace holding a tray, "Here, we thought you might need these."

The boys crossed the room handing you a warm damp cloth to soothe your puffy eyes. There was also headache medicine and water. They knew you well, crying always made your head hurt.

"It's not ok," you sat up to accept what they'd brought, "but I'll figure it out."
"Why would he do that?" Sabo dropped down next to you while Ace took a seat on the floor.
"Yeah, you can't just dump someone because of one fight." your freckled brother added.
"It wasn't a fight really," you sniffled pressing the warm cloth to your eyes, "it was a major issue that I should have worked out but didn't."

Sabo sighed disappointed remembering your conversation back in December about dating younger than you. Your concern was that he wouldn't be able to handle it, and here you were not handling it.

"Should we talk to him?" Ace asked, "I mean he'll be around, he's Luffy's best friend."
"Nope, please just leave it. I don't know what to do, but I don't want any drama." you huffed having finally collected yourself as best you could.

Your head was fuzzy and throbbing and you couldn't really keep a realistic grasp on what was going on. The absolute love of your life just stormed out because you were being a child. Not your greatest moment, but you had to redeem yourself and fix it.

How?

________________

"Oh man, you're an idiot." the redhead chuckled flipping his shot glass over and waving the bar tender back over, "keep 'em coming."

The greenette next to him huffed and leaned on the bar resting his head in his palm.

"Shut up."

The bar tender placed two more shots down in front of them.

"Hey, it's alright. I mean I was stupid and dumped her too - a couple of times." Shanks held up the glass.
"I'm not like you." Zoro muttered ignoring the redhead's gesture and downing his bourbon.
Shanks scoffed, "Right, well doctor heart stealer will probably swoop back in - he's been waiting." he slapped a hand across Zoro's back annoyingly hard, " Ya had a good run kiddo."
"I gotta get out of here." the greenette stood to leave ignoring Shanks.