You wake up in Chopper's infirmary. For better or worse you were getting used to the sight, but it was certainly a comforting one right now. You could feel the restriction of bandages and the soft scent of salve fill your senses as you looked around. Leaning against the wall at the foot of the bed was Zoro, his three swords on one side of him, your sword on the other.

"Hey." You say it quietly. Some small part of you wants to hope he's sleeping deeply enough he'll continue to do so.

Zoro's eye opens and he looks over at you. There's a break in the usual glower that normally graces his face, and you catch a fleeting smile.

"Hey." He says back, not moving, but leaning his head back against the wall. "How do you feel?"

"Not bad. Little sore, but I think I got off easy, considering the odds." You admit. "How long?"

"Not long. Few hours."

"Mm." You sit up slowly, and you can feel the bruising on your back from hitting the mountain side at the end of the fight. You hadn't had a drop of haki left to protect yourself with, and barely had enough to soften Dalmatian's last swing. "Vice Admirals are not weak."

"Marine captains aren't either." He insists.

You grunt. "Any idea how Tashigi and Koby fared?"

"They kept asking for some key, but," Zoro shrugs. "We didn't stick around."

You smile, reaching into your pocket and pulling out the key. "I'm surprised it stayed in my pocket this whole time."

There's a pause and then Zoro starts to laugh. "You're why they were like that? Hahaha!" You hadn't heard him laugh before now, but some part of you would risk a lot to keep hearing it.

You smile as the laughter fades, and something in your expression causes Zoro to look away. Looking away from him you move a little more, swinging your legs over the bed and sitting up enough to stretch and pop tight muscles and test the aches of the bruises you collected in the last fight.

"Where are we now?"

"Huh?" Zoro seems to have been pulled out of his own thoughts.

"The ship," you say. "Where are we now?"

"A day out from the island. We coup de burst'd once, to make space between us and the Marine ships, but we've been waiting for you to wake up before we did it again." He explains. "Chopper wanted to wait until you were up, in case anything internal felt wrong."

You slip off the bed and bend and twist to see if anything feels wrong. Your sore, you can feel aches and bruises all over the place, and your muscles are still achy from the exhaustion you pushed into them running with Luffy on your back and then facing the Vice Admirals.

You look over at Zoro. "I feel... sore." You admit with a small smile. "But nothing feels concerning." You take a deep breath in and wince, grabbing your side. "Bruised or fractured rib maybe." You groan. Generally, you kept your breathing under control out of habit, but it was

"Hungry?"

You nod and Zoro stands up, putting his swords back on his hip, and putting your sword on the other side. He steps past you, opening the door into the kitchen and stepping back so you can go through. You give your thanks and step past him, slowly straightening back up as the pain in your side subsides.

You have a good meal, with a little help from Zoro you eat your fill. It's not that chewing hurts, it's that you're smattered in bruises and any movement at all leaves you tender. Between him and Sanji, you want for nothing throughout the meal. Sanji was often one to provide such service, but the action from Zoro was a little distracting.

And it didn't go unnoticed by Sanji, who seemed to hold himself back a little, letting his natural service flow through Zoro more often than not. The one time you caught Sanji's gaze the cook looked away quickly, stepping away from the table and just making you more aware.

As well as the meal went, the experience of the coup de burst was its opposite. You were braced as well as you could be, but the force of the propulsion caused you to cry out from unexpected pains. Luffy and Zoro went to work to make sure that the landing was as soft as possible for you. Luffy's inflated body cushioned you well and Zoro kept you from being bounced around.

Chopper looked you over again and, with your conscious input, determined that you had a couple stress fractures in your arms, and at least one cracked rib. Nothing was a bad fracture - none of them would require surgery to set and cast, but the downside was that there was little Chopper could do. The crew went to work to come up with ways to cushion you for the future bursts, but there wouldn't be any more that day.

It was a little humbling to realize how much damage three exhausted vice admirals had managed to do to you. But at least you could still train your haki while you recovered. Meditation wasn't as efficient as practical application, but it wasn't a waste either, and it didn't hurt.

At the end of the day you head to the back of the ship. For the first time he's already there, three swords on one hip, your sword on the other. His arms are crossed and he's looking out to sea, but you're sure he knows you're there.

There's no drink or food. No distractions. It was a first as well, and the pile of firsts had you a little nervous even as you stood beside him, leaning against the rail and looking out over the ocean with him.

The quiet was relaxing.

You look down at his waist. "Can I have my sword back?"

"How's the rib?"

"It's been like three hours since Chopper looked at it, it's still broken." You answer, trying not to laugh.

Zoro turns, moving your sword away from you, and looks over at you. It's certainly answer enough. If it had been someone else you would've been angry, but you appreciated he was looking out for you. Your rib really did hurt, and as awkward as it felt not having a sword on your hip, having the sword there would hurt right now.

"You're awfully kind for a de-."

"I'm not a demon." He barks, cutting you short.

"I... could use a demon." You say softly. "Someone who wouldn't hesitate." You glance up at him, feeling your face go red you clear your throat and look away. "I don't want to have another prophecy. It doesn't matter what the prophecy is, what it alludes to is irrelevant to me. I just... if I Prophesize I don't want to forget again.

"I... I want to say that-," I care for you. "That the kisses, the quiet moments, the time together, it saves me." Your face is red to your ears, and your finger lightly hooks around his as he reaches toward you tentatively. "It comforts me, and sometimes... most of the time, in those moments, it feels like I'm home. Like this is my home and I have only returned after being away."

The quiet moments that lingers between the two of you, gives you a moment to focus on the hot touch of his finger hooked in yours. The light connection could break with the easiest of movements, but instead his finger tightens around yours, followed by the feather light touch of more calloused fingers.

"I'll make you remember."

You look up at him, face red, eyes pleading, you can feel him flinch even though he doesn't let go of the light hold on your fingers. "I don't want to forget."

He reaches up, hand caressing along your temple, tucking your hair back. "When you held it in before, you were in pain." He says as flatly as he can.

"Pain I can handle." You insist.

"What if it's worse?"

"What if I never remember?"

"I won't let you forget." He insists, his grip on your hand tightening as he turns toward you.

"But what if I can't remember?" You can feel tears pooling in your eyes. You're trying not to cry, it seems almost unfair, but the fear overwhelms you. "What if I forget this feeling?"

This love.

Zoro puts his hands on your shoulders. "I won't let you forget." He says more forcefully this time. "Even if it means starting from the beginning."

"But-!" The words die on your lips as Zoro leans down as kisses you. It's rough, hot, passionate, and almost desperate. You gasp from a zing of pain, and he deepens the kiss, one hand cradling your head and pulling you into it.

You say his name, half in protest, half in need, and your voice is devoured. You can't put it to words, and you don't need them from him, but the emotion is there. Desperate and afraid and fragile and so much more than the quiet passion of shared kisses at the back of the ship. It's there, and it's true, but if you say it then everything would become a risk.

And if you forgot? If prophecy ripped from your heart and lips the love you felt now, never to be remembered, how could you? How could you risk it until everything was settled?

Even if it means starting from the beginning.

His declaration. His emotions. His promise.

You lean back, gasping in air as he gently wipes a few errant tears away. Your face is hot, and your thoughts are racing. You want more of him, more of the touch, more of his consideration. You want to be first and foremost, even beyond both of your ties to the captain. You want every piece of him and more and you're not even completely sure all the reasons behind it.

But there's too much else before you, and there should be. For now.

"Third." You say and he tilts his head. "Your dream, his dream, me. That order."

His brows furrow, you can see the argument on his lips.

"Please." You say softly.

"Why?"

"It will put me at ease."

"I refuse."

He kisses you again and your surprise at his response keeps you from protesting. The kiss is demanding, awkward, desperate, and angry. The swirl of emotions keeps you off balance until he breaks it, his sharp gaze boring into.

"Say it." His voice is low and quiet, but there's ferocity in the soft growl.

"If I forget I'd never-."

"I carry three swords, I can carry three dreams."

"That's not fair, and that's not how it works."

"Say it." There's pain in the demand, desperation and fear hiding behind the tone that flicker clearly in his gaze.

What face will he make, the next time you look at him without recognition? How hard will his heart twist when your eyes find someone else? If you were dead he could move on, but alive and unable to remember, alive and pulled into someone else's arms, how could you risk it.

How could you be so cruel?

You wanted to refuse. You wanted to turn his earlier statement on him and demand that he promise you. You wanted to spare him. You wanted to tell him now that the emotion wasn't there. Pain now would heal quicker.

I refuse. Just say it, just say that you won't-.

"I love you." You say the words as tears slip down your face.

Soft kisses on your cheeks stop the rogue tears and Zoro leans down to you, hugging you as gently as his emotions can manage. His hands grip your clothes, sparing your sore body from the desperate embrace.

"I won't let you forget." He promises.