Feline Jealousy

"Feline Jealousy"

orig. 7/20/2011

One Piece - Elly x Zoro, adult

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Elly sighed pensively as she sat in a darkened corner of the kitchen, watching the rain fall outside. It was relaxing listening to the thunder and the soft peeps of tiny little frogs near the water's edge. She wasn't alone, of course. All the rest of the crew were there and they were loud like they normally were. Amidst the clattering of plates and screaming of the captain for more her ears perked when she heard Zoro's name come up in conversation.

"No, I want to know," Sanji was saying in a low voice. He was grinning like an idiot as he leaned close to the other man. "You had this look when you came on board. It was that spicy little blond, right?"

Elly blinked.

Zoro just glared at the cook but he pressed on. "I know it was." He rolled his visible eye. "C'mon, share! You got laid, didn't you?"

She grit her teeth and tried not to listen, afraid she would cause a scene if she did. If there was anything she didn't want to do, it was tip anyone off about her feelings. It would be a disaster. She couldn't stop her tail from lashing about her legs angrily no matter how hard she tried, however.

And the fool cook kept going on and on. "She offered to rub his back for him 'cause he looked so tense," he snickered. Eventually Elly had the choice of leaving or being driven to tears right where she sat. She got up and walked as quickly to the door as she could.

"Shut up," Zoro muttered darkly.

"You had to have taken her up on her offer," the other said while he set a cup of coffee down in front of Robin. "Why else did you leave so fast?"

Elly broke down despite her best efforts. She slammed on the door with one little fist as hard as she could to open it. She was out of the room and pelting off down the hall a second later, trying to outrun the tears.

"You idiot," Nami hissed, slapping Sanji across his face. He tried to retain his composure but as usual, any form of contact with the red haired girl caused him to become a senseless idiot. She ignored him as he wriggled around, fawning all over her, and pointed at Zoro instead.

"I didn't do anything!" The swordsman protested gruffly.

"That's what you did wrong!"

Elly finally made it out to the open air. She flung herself under the tree where she normally watched him during the day, dashing the tears from her cheeks with one hand. She admitted to herself that she was being childish; she knew that. But she just couldn't seem to help it. She felt like something was missing if he wasn't around, something that was very important and that she needed to live.

Silly, yes.

Melodramatic? Certainly.

But true. She made a little face as she considered this, her ears laying back in irritation. She could only imagine how much respect she would lose in his eyes if he knew. A shadow slipped over the ground at her feet and she jumped up, alarmed.

"You little idiot," Zoro grumbled. He'd followed her after she stormed out. She huffed angrily and tried to push past him but he grabbed her forearm. "Cut that out."

"Let go!"

"No," he said so firmly that she froze in the middle of lifting a leg up to knee him in the groin.

"Come on, I was being stupid. As usual," she added grimly. "It shouldn't matter what you do in your free time."

"I didn't do anything."

"What?"

"I left. You should know I'm not like that pervert," he spat out with such vehemence she flinched a little. "I won't fight anyone that isn't skilled and she wouldn't go away. I had to leave."

"Are you trying to reassure me?"

"Why would I need to do that?" Now he looked amused. Elly cursed silently at herself and wriggled a little. He loosened his grip, but instead of letting her go he placed another hand on the rough bark of the tree on the other side.

"You don't." She tried a smile but it came out all wrong. Almost absently Zoro lifted a hand and stroked a lock of hair back from her face. The gesture shocked her into insensibility and she choked a little, unable to say anything else. The big man stared intently into her eyes for a very long time.

"You should have been there," he finally grunted.

"So I could keep them off you?" Elly's eyes hardened. "Like your personal girl repellant?"

"Stop getting angry," he snapped, dropping her arm to take her by the shoulders.

"How am I supposed to not get ..."

"Did you want to help with my back?"

"What?" She blinked, startled.

"You heard me."

"I don't know what you're ..." She broke off incredulously. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Why would I joke about lower back pain?" He grunted, reached back to place his hands on the small of his back and grimaced. "All this bullshit really did make me tense."

"'All this bullshit'," she said in a daze as he casually sat down in front of her. Wondering at what was happening, she slowly sank down on the grass with her back to the tree. "You're insane. Did you actually get drunk tonight?"

"I never get drunk," he grunted as he reached over and lightly grasped her wrists in his hands. He set them on his shoulders and then slouched forward expectantly.

"It's the only thing that would explain this," she murmured. Nevertheless, her hands were already on him, greedy to feel the big man's skin under her palms. After only a little bit he startled her even further by tugging the hem of his shirt out of his haramaki. She whipped her hands away, face aflame and eyes wide. Zoro's back surged powerfully, and he wrenched himself out of the plain white cotton without so much as moving from where he sat. Then he turned his head slowly to one side.

"Don't stop."

Coughing a little with shock, she moved immediately to obey, aware that when he spoke in that tone of voice she was powerless to resist. The revelation wasn't humiliating because she knew he'd do anything for her if she asked. She just never had.

Still...

"So, the next time you go out..?" Her hands slowed as she spoke.

"What?" He turned his head to look at her. He reached up again and took her wrists in his hands, this time pulling them about him like a scarf to hug his neck. Elly swallowed hard. She'd been pulled down when he did that a little, and now he was staring quite calmly into her eyes. They were only an inch or so apart with her front resting awkwardly against his back. "I told you. Come with me." 

"Do you want me to?"

The corner of his mouth quirked upward the tiniest bit as he stared at her. "I want you."