Simply Perfect

Before she even kissed him, she knew what sort of trouble she was getting herself into.

Zoro had warned her, before they had had sex for the first time. Hell, even the other members of the Straw Hat crew warned her of the dangers she would face if she went through with the relationship, temporary or otherwise. She understood the risks and accepted the consequences that would come with associating so intimately with the Straw Hat Pirate's master swordsman.

Being his lover was one thing, back then she could travel with them and remain under his and all of the Straw Hat's ever watchful protection. However, after they had married and she had become pregnant with their first child, traveling with them was no longer plausible. It was just too dangerous, too much of a risk to her and their unborn child's safety.

When she couldn't keep up with their crazy pace anymore, they made the hardest decision in their relationship by far. She hated it. He hated it even more. Every member of the Straw Hat crew hated it. Unfortunately for all, it had to be done.

For him, for their love and the safety of their unborn child, she became a social pariah. Without warning or seemingly a cause, she cut all contact with her friends and family. She let her husband hide her away on a secluded, nondescript island in the midst of the New World. To the world and those outside of the Straw Hat crew, it seemed like she just suddenly vanished from the face of the earth one day.

To those not members of the Straw Hat crew, she was as good as dead.

As the wife of an infamous pirate, she knew that he couldn't stay with her and their children for an extended period of time. The longer he stayed or the more he visited them, the higher the risk was of drawing unwanted attention onto them from the Marines.

Many things kept Zoro from staying with his family or taking them with him when he left. One of the main reasons was that his Captain — his friend; needed him, though perhaps it also went both ways. She knew; in her head she understood. Still, her heart just couldn't seem to grasp onto that concept, even after all the time that had passed.

Whenever he slipped out of the house at the most ungodly hour of the morning, after one last pain filled glance at their sleeping sons and a firm resolve, they walked hand-in-hand down to the coast in complete silence. Their final moments together never lasted long; he had to leave as swiftly and as silently as he appeared. It wasn't until the vague shape of the ship made its presence known on the horizon that she broke the silence.

"Stay."

Barely a whisper above the waves lapping against the sand and their feet, but he heard her all the same. It was as if she had shouted it for all the pain and unshed tears in her voice.

A brief flash of pain flashed across his face in a noticeable wince, but Zoro quickly schooled his features. Every time he left, she gave this one plea and since the beginning he had always given the same response. Gruff but understanding of her pain, of their shared pain:

"They need me."

"I know."

She nodded in acceptance, her voice as quiet as a lazy summer breeze while tearlessly, her fragile heart shattered into a million pieces yet again.

As their lips connected in a deep, passionate kiss he felt the words she would never say aloud.

'But, I need you more...'