Aria's Pov
Zoro had no business looking so good.
It was disgusting.
I mean, there he was — shirt off, muscles glistening, sweat dripping down in slow, sinful trails — lifting what had to be an entire tree disguised as a dumbbell.
I peeked from the stairway leading to the observatory deck, my heart doing cartwheels. From what I remembered of the anime, Zoro usually came up here to train. So naturally, I came up here to… observe. For research purposes. Totally scientific.
Every grunt, every flex, every low exhale made my brain melt a little more.
This was how I was going to die. Death by thirst.
I pressed my back against the wooden frame, peeking like some degenerate raccoon, watching his arms bunch and release with each lift. He should have noticed me by now, right? I wasn't exactly being stealthy. My brain was practically vibrating from the effort of staying quiet.
When he didn't look up — too busy being disgustingly perfect — I decided subtlety was overrated.
I stepped inside like I belonged there, crossing my arms and pretending I wasn't two seconds away from licking the sweat off his collarbone.
The weights scattered around me looked like something pulled from a shipwreck; massive, heavy, and immediately discouraging. I crouched, touched one, and immediately regretted every gym membership I never used.
"Yeah, no," I muttered. "Running around the One Piece world is exercise enough."
Still, Zoro hadn't even acknowledged me. I could've set myself on fire, and he'd probably just move to a different corner and keep training.
So I did what any self-respecting woman in my situation would do: I got in his face.
Literally.
"Hey," I said, flashing my most seductive smile. "You've got some real dedication going on here. Respect."
No response.
He didn't even glance at me. Just grunted and switched to doing one-handed push-ups like it was the wind.
Okay. Rude.
"Been having fun with the crew," I tried again, louder this time. "I'm glad Ace brought me along. Luffy seems like a great captain. A little slow, but great."
Still nothing.
I stared at him, hands on my hips. "Wow, you're either deaf or ignoring me, and I can't decide which is worse."
The silence mocked me. My pride screamed. Time for a different approach.
"Sanji's cooking though," I said casually, watching his form. "God, that man's food? I'm seriously considering marrying him just for the daily meals."
There. A twitch.
Barely, but I saw it — the corner of his mouth tightened.
"Oh?" I purred and squatted. "So you do hear me."
He exhaled sharply, still not looking at me.
Gotcha.
"Don't tell me you're jealous," I teased. "What, you don't want me marrying Sanji? Or…" I tilted my head, "...do you wanna marry me yourself?"
That finally earned me a scoff.
He straightened, rolling his shoulders, sweat gleaming under the sunlight. "I'd rather die than have anything to do with that annoying cook."
"Okay.. so you want to marry me then?"
His response was a glare.
Ouch.
"Aren't you with Luffy's brother?"
That sobered me fast.
"Oh, that?" I waved a hand. "That's… not a thing. We just travel together. It's totally fine if I stay with you guys."
He raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Right."
Desperate to win the conversation back, I leaned closer with a grin. "Admit it. You twitched when I said I'd marry Sanji. Why's that? You got a problem with it?"
"I don't have a problem with anything."
"Liar," I shot back. "I saw you twitch."
"That was me trying not to throw you overboard."
"You're lying again."
He sighed, long and suffering. "Why are you even here?"
"I came to work out."
"Then work out."
I raised a brow, crossing my arms. "I don't wanna embarrass you. If I start training, all your effort will look useless next to mine."
That got him to pause. His eyes flicked down and back up, slow, deliberate. Not pervy, just… assessing. Like he was trying to find the strength I was bragging of.
I blushed anyway.
He scoffed finally. "You're so small I could use you as a dumbbell."
I froze. Brain.exe stopped responding.
"Then do it," I said before my self-control could intervene.
His head snapped toward me, expression flat. "...What?"
Oh no. I actually said it out loud.
"Nothing," I blurted, face on fire. "Forget it."
He just shook his head, muttering something like "unbelievable" before going back to his push-ups.
I stood there, mortified, watching him, every second feeling like another layer of my dignity peeled away.
After a minute, I groaned, turned, and left the room — cheeks hot, heart racing, soul ruined.
"Smooth, Aria," I muttered under my breath. "Real smooth."
We ended up staying with the Strawhats for a few days after that.
In that time, I became surprisingly close to Chopper — the cutest little doctor I'd ever seen. He was shy, easily flustered, and way too polite to handle me. Every time I complimented him, he covered his face and spun in circles. Adorable.
I flirted around a bit more too, just to test the waters. Nami and I exchanged playful banter while she worked on maps. Robin always had that knowing little smile, like she could see right through my chaos and found it entertaining.
And Sanji , sweet too kind Sanji, kept feeding me meals so divine I questioned if taste buds could form emotional attachments.
Every bite hurt a little because I knew it'd be impossible to eat normal food again. Everything else would taste like disappointment and sand.
Ace was still around, and he was… Ace. Charming, fiery, occasionally stupid in the best way. He and Sanji had this slow-burn chemistry happening, and I could tell something was happening.
And I was happy for him. Really.
Maybe a little jealous, but mostly happy.
Eventually, it was time to leave.
We docked at some random island, and everyone gathered to see us off. I hugged Chopper tight enough he squeaked, made Nami laugh, and got a serene wave from Robin.
Zoro stood a little apart, arms crossed, watching me with that same unreadable stare.
I smirked. "What? Expecting me to announce my wedding to Sanji?"
He rolled his eyes. "You're insane."
"I'll miss you too," I said cheerfully, then turned to wave at the crew.
Ace was already walking ahead, and I jogged to catch up.
We set out again, the sea stretching wide and bright before us. Whatever awkwardness I'd felt earlier — from Zoro, from Ace, from everything, melted away in the wind.
I forgot my pride. Forgot that Ace had called me a "travel partner" like I was some glorified hitchhiker. I went back to teasing him, flirting with him, sleeping with him — because it was fun, and easy, and I didn't have to think about what it meant.
Life was good. For a while.
Until, inevitably, the universe decided to remind me that happiness in the Grand Line always comes with a slap in the face.
Hey guysss
So this update took longer than I expected. I actually had it in the drafts for a bit. But I was working on creating a social media (I have none, but I'm working on Instagram and Tiktok). However just when I thought I was done and could share that with you guys along with the chapter update, another issue as occured with it. I'll fix it, but I thought I'd just update anyway. I've written a bit too so expect daily updates for a bit.
Thanks for reading!