Emi struggled against the warm fog that held her so snugly inside her dreams. Reds and blues danced in petals around her, forming memories of hot summer days with Mamoru or late nights of scrounging for medicinal herbs with her father. A strong wind snapped her head in time to catch the flowers of her past life disappear into a distant blur. Instantly the subtle rocking of the Thousand Sunny was undeniable. First, the wooden deck came into focus but the dark wood under her was unrecognizable. Her feet stumbled as a gail of rain and ice hit her skin with the vengeance of a speeding bullet. Men shouted and ran passed without seeing Emi as the rest of the strange ship came into focus.

"Emi!" A woman's voice roared her name with an urgency that instantly snapped her into the moment. It was almost completely dark, the waves of the black ocean were as high as the mast of the grand ship. "Emi!" Her voice tore against the rushing of the waves, and it pulled Emi from her grip on the bow.

"Mom?!" Emi shouted back, desperately pushing through the freezing water that was slowly reaching her knees. A sickening crack sounded from behind her and all at once she was pushed under the weight of the ocean.

"Ah!" Emi shot up with a huge gasp of air, gripping tightly to the bed beneath her. The cool breeze of her dark room flitted icily against her naked form, causing a shiver at the memory of her nightmare.

"Emi?" The sound of her name caused the woman to jump again before relaxing at the sight of the moss-headed swordsman. "What's wrong?" His deep voice soothed her racing heart faster than he had anticipated, her arms snaking around him to bury her face into his neck.

"I had a dream about my mother." Emi said softly into him as he pulled her back down on to his chest and ran his fingers over her bare back. "We were in a storm. The ship we were on was rocking and bowing, she was calling out to me and then…" Her voice trailed off and his rough hand stilled on her lower back. "We sank."

"It was just a dream," Zoro said matter-of-factly, his face staring at the top of the four poster bed at the intricate carvings. He hadn't seen the other bedrooms of the ship before picking his own. It was located at the front of the ship next to the main deck, no turns or stupid hallways to get lost in. It hadn't been intended as a bedroom though, so he had placed a hammock in the corner like he'd slept in on the Going Mary. It was sufficient. But the detail put into the furniture of this room made him question his decision.

"You're right, but still." She looked up at him with concern running deep inside muddy eyes. Tears had formed in their corners, but the first tear had dare not break. Zoro's face softened, but his grip tightened around her waist. He wasn't much for words, it just wasn't what he had focused his time on perfecting. Now he wished he'd spent all this time training his ability to know what to say to take the pain from her beautiful face.

Witch Woman.

He sighed. Her eyes widened.

His lips crashed into hers with a force he hadn't intended. But when her arms pulled him closer instead of pushing away he relaxed and deepened the kiss. He didn't know what to say to tell her what he was feeling, but he had a way now to show it.

His fingers lightly traced up her thigh, over her subtle hips and onto her stomach. Zoro flattened his palm to her skin and continued his path over her breast. Emi's skin felt like silk beneath his leather fingertips, her cherry lips were candy on his desert frown. The idea that something could cause her harm and he couldn't slice it up with his swords frustrated him beyond belief. His training fell short of emotional matters all together. Her nails scratched his back lightly and his chest stretched out in an involuntary moan. His hands squeezed gently around his handful of bosom and her back arched and pushed her further into him.

"Oh, Zoro." She breathed into his lips, her hips bucking her exposed mound into his hardening heat. He struggled against another involuntary moan before bringing his hands down to guide her spreading legs around him. He leaned over her while repositioning himself, her face going deep into her hair that hid her neck from his view. The scent of her hair had been his guilty pleasure when the wind would guide it thickly around him and now he got to appreciate it's floral musk unabashed.

"Wait." She pushed him back slightly but held him close when his back tightened to sit up. "I… I have never been this close to another person. I hadn't even kissed a boy, now I'm… I'm sharing my bed with one, well a man. I just don't want you to think I'm like this with anyone else." Her eyes were still teary, her voice shaky, but all Zoro could think about was imagining her underneath another man. His eye twitched.

"I didn't think that of you." Was all he said, his eyes holding hers with determination. "I have never had time for women. My goal was always what was most important to me."

She relaxed as his words wrapped around her like his arms. Emi released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding and looked harder into the eyes of the man she could now call her lover.

Love.

Was it too soon? Certainly if she could let him have her virginity so easily he could have her heart. But it was guarded. The ice from her dream chilled her to the bone and caused a shiver that shook Zoro. Her mother had left a hole in her that she wasn't sure she could move on with. It wouldn't be fair to him for her to half love him.

"I have to find her now. She needs to know my father loved her with his dying breath, I need to know why she left." Her words were unsure, their point hiding behind a thick bush of insecurity. "I'm not sure I can trust another person before I know her reasons. I mean, I trust you with my life, but I ju-"

"Shut up." He growled softly before overtaking her lips with his.

He had seen the fear welling in her eyes as she explained herself. He could see what she was trying to get at and he didn't know what to say, but he understood. She had something she needed to do and so did he.

That didn't mean they couldn't accomplish those goals together.

OPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP

Hey everyone, this is a short fluffy chapter to get back in the swing of things!

Thanks so much for all the well wishes! We are healthy and doing well! I couldn't have asked for a better delivery and recovery has been a snap. It meant a lot to get all your well wishes! :D