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English
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Part 10 of Zoro/Robin , Part 30 of Conversations/Scenes We Didn't Have in One Piece
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Published:
2024-09-13
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1,332
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1/1
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Parting Gift

Summary:

"I, uh, I have a present for you," he murmurs, his breathing growing uneven as he attempts to explain himself further.

"Zoro..."

OR Zoro gives Robin a parting gift before they begin their separate missions in Wano. This story takes place directly after my story "Staking His Claim", so please read that one first.

This was written for the lovely momerin and for the amazingly sweet Abc112 who requested some Pre-Wano content between Zoro and Robin. Set post-Zou and pre-Wano.

Notes:

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Eiichiro Oda and the Funimation English Dub series. I just want it to be known that I watch the show in the English dub, so those are the voices I imagine for the characters. Also, this story can work with the live-action cast as well if you’d prefer to imagine them as well. (Yes, I know Eiichiro Oda states that none of the Straw Hats will get together romantically in one of his Q&A’s, but my shipper heart can dream. This is one of my many Zoro/Robin fics, so please go satisfy your shipper heart with the rest of my works, which can be found as part of my big One Piece series or in the smaller, dedicated Zoro/Robin series. I have placed them in the order I believe they should be read in due to timeline purposes of my own version of canon where there are romantic ships abound! This particular story is set immediately after my previous story “Staking His Claim”.

This was written for the lovely momerin and for the amazingly sweet Abc112 who requested some Pre-Wano content between Zoro and Robin.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

As the sun begins to lighten the sky around the Flower City, a certain green-haired swordsman starts to stir, turning to face the raven-haired woman lying in bed next to him. Despite not usually being a morning person, Roronoa Zoro knows just how important this morning is and how critical it is to spend his time awake with the woman he loves before they’re parted on their separate missions.

“Robin?” Zoro mumbles at first, trying to clear the fog of sleep from his brain at this early hour. “Sweetheart, will you wake up for me?” he continues, softly shaking Robin’s shoulder as he turns to face her, wrapping his arms around Robin’s upper torso.

“Wrapping your arms protectively around me is a good way to make me fall back asleep, swordsman,” Robin gently remarks, a quirk of her lips indicating her pleasure with the situation. “Is it morning already?” she inquires, snuggling closer to her swordsman’s broad chest, running her hand gently over his cheek before tracing her hand down his sternum and pectorals, eliciting a soft groan from Zoro.

“Aye,” Zoro confirms, releasing a shuddering breath as Robin continues to move her hand lower down his body. “Now, Robin, there will be plenty of time for that later. Believe it or not, I woke up this early in the morning because I have something important to tell you,” the swordsman softly chuckles, one of his hands capturing Robin’s at the wrist while his other calloused hand tenderly cradles Robin’s neck as he brings their faces closer together.

Zoro moves in, capturing Robin’s lips with his own as he places a gentle kiss to her lips, no alternative motive present save for wanting to have himself as close as possible to his partner while showing his devotion for her.

“Is something the matter?” Robin gently inquires once their lips part, concern slowly etching on her face as she looks at the man she loves more than anything in the world.

“Yeah. Yeah, something’s the matter,” he remarks, a slightly defeated tone in his voice.

Nico Robin immediately feels a sense of dread creeping into her bones, shocking her to her very core. She hopes that she hasn’t done something to anger her swordsman, to make him realize that it no longer is worth the effort or risk of keeping the Demon Child as his partner.

            “You’ve done nothing wrong, Robin,” Zoro whispers comfortingly, gently grasping Robin's chin in his hand to turn her crystal blue gaze onto him instead of downcast. 

“How could you have---?” Robin gasps in surprise, still in awe of how perceptive Zoro is in noticing subtle changes in her moods or seeming to know when her mind seems to wander to heavy topics. 

“I can hear you overthinking in that beautiful brain of yours,” the swordsman states matter-of-factly, his tender gaze and touch never leaving Robin. 

“I truly don’t deserve you, Roronoa Zoro,” Robin whispers back, grasping the other of Zoro's hands in her own as she gives it a strong squeeze. 

“You do, Robin. You deserve to be happy and we deserve each other,” Zoro counters, that defensive tone creeping into his voice as it does whenever Robin insists on self-deprecating her worthiness of trust, affection, love, and companionship.  “That’s not what the problem I referred to is. The problem is---” he continues, a shuddering breath leaving his body.

“Take your time, love,” the archaeologist gently says, not sure what could be bothering her swordsman in this manner. 

“The problem is that you’re having to leave me to go on this separate mission, at a brothel no less," Zoro suddenly says, his brown eye narrowing at the mention of the location. "I can't help but worry that some sleazebag is going to try something with you and that I won't be there to protect you. I know that you're strong enough to handle yourself, as you know I'm always in awe of your physical and character strength and your ferocity in your ability to handle yourself. And with all of us having separate missions in different parts of the country until Luffy and the others come back from saving the lovesick cook, I worry that if one of us needs help that we won't know about it in time, especially in Usopp's case," he continues, a small smirk gracing his lips with his dig at their resident sniper. 

"Oh, Zoro," Robin whispers, sitting up to where she can position herself in Zoro's lap, straddling his hips as she lovingly stares at the man in front of her. "That is sweet of you to worry, but you do know that I have my rather effective technique to deal with anyone of the male gender that would try to harass me. Remember what I did to Franky when Luffy wanted him to leave Water Seven with us and join the crew?" she wickedly smiles, a look that would strike fear in anyone's heart, save for the first mate of the Straw Hat Pirate crew. 

"Yeah, I do seem to remember something pretty brutal happening to Franky. Let's not talk about the others while we're in bed together this way, though." 

"Yes, I can see why that would be uncomfortable." 

A small beat of silence passes before Zoro grabs Robin's left hand, pressing a soft kiss to each one of her knuckles. Suddenly, he reaches onto the bedside table, procuring a small item between his fingers. 

"I, uh, I have a present for you," he murmurs, sliding a amethyst ring onto Robin's left hand, his breathing growing uneven as he attempts to explain himself further. 

"Zoro..." 

"I don't know if it's too early in our relationship for something like this, but I wanted you to know my intentions for us before we fight an Emperor of the Sea and who knows who else will show up. This ring is my promise to you. I'll always come for you, whether it's to defend you, to fight alongside you, or solely to be your lover and friend. You're the only woman I've ever felt this way towards and I want us to make a life together, Nico Robin. I never want us to be parted." 

"Yes!" Robin instantly says, her enthusiastic tone of voice punctuating the word clearly.

Moisture collects in her blue eyes as total happiness overcomes her. She gazes in awe at the gorgeous silver and amethyst ring, rubbing her thumb and index finger along the circlet. 

"Well, that was easier than I thought," Zoro laughs, a wide smile crossing his lips as he pulls Robin flush to his chest, pressing kisses to the top of her head, holding her firmly in his arms. 

"It's beautiful," the archaeologist whispers, throwing her arms tightly around Zoro's neck, hugging him as fiercely as she is able. "I love you." 

"I love you, too. Nami told me that this is your birthstone and I know your favorite color is purple, so I thought it was only natural that this one would suit you. I picked the ring out myself, so I'm really happy that you like it," Zoro reveals. 

"Of course I love it. It came from you, after all," Robin softly smiles, pressing kisses to Zoro's cheek. 

"I wanted it to be my parting gift to you before we left on our separate missions. I know we have to leave soon so as not to arise suspicion, as much as I'd love to never leave this moment." 

"Take care of yourself, my swordsman." 

"I always do, don't I?" he replies with a wry smile, standing up from the bed and pulling on his shirt. "You take care of yourself, too, okay?" 

"Don't get lost on your way back to me," Robin teases. 

"Even if I were to get lost, which isn't going to happen, I will always find my way back to you. That ring is a promise of that, remember?" Zoro vows, a happiness unlike any other settling in his heart. 

 

Notes:

This was written for the extremely sweet Abc112 who adores all of my Zoro/Robin stories and wishes for me to write more and has given me so many amazing prompts to write one day once I get finished with the Wano arc! This was also written for momerin who requested lots of Robin/Zoro content during the time it took for Zoro, Robin, Usopp, and Franky to get to Wano from Zou. I dedicate this fic to you, my friends! I really hope you were able to enjoy it! If you two or anyone else do end up thinking of any prompts you’d wish to see from me, please let me know in a comment below! I'm currently about 25% through the Wano arc, having just watched Zoro's fight on the bridge, which was amazing in every single way. (I'll definitely have some fics coming out of the aftermath of that scene one day.)

I know, I know that Oda says none of the Straw Hats will get together in the canon verse, but Robin and Zoro are definitely my One Piece OTP! I will go down with their ship as well as Sanji and Nami, as the four of them are easily two of my favorite characters of the entire show. Zoro is, as I have mentioned before, my favorite character because I have a soft spot in my heart for swordsmen, obviously. (Thinks back to Captain Hook on Once Upon a Time and Zorro from Mask of Zorro, etc….) Anyway, I have already written many drabbles for this pairing and have posted many of them already. I’d love to take non-explicit prompts for them as well, so if you have any prompts you’d like me to write, then please drop them in a comment below! I hope you will read and enjoy them if you enjoyed this piece. If you enjoyed this little one-shot, I’d love a like, kudos, or comment to tell me what you enjoyed. Until next time, dear readers! Have a wonderful day, afternoon, or night!

Edit 5/18/2025: I changed the timeline around for this entire series, so I went back through all of the 17 posted stories I have written as of today and either edited small details (how many months it had been since Zoro and Robin first get together romantically, when they start having interactions together like this, etc.) or switched the order of a few of the stories. Nothing major is changing, so do not worry! I just want to create a more cohesive story since I have written these out of order and I am trying to create a big interconnected storyline between my ZoRobin, SaNami, Law/OC, and Gen stories.