The Fallen Angel And The Demon In Green

Chapter 10: Pieces Fall into Place

The little reindeer walked out of the infirmary, closing the door carefully behind him.

"She's delicate, but she'll live."

"Thanks, Chopper." The swordsman stood in front of him. He had been at the door long before Chopper came out. "Can I come in?"

"She's sedated, it's probably best to give her a few days."

With a nod, Zoro gave the doctor room to step into the corridor. Chopper looked at his friend with concern; Zoro was usually serious, but today he looked almost in pain. Chopper had already checked him out though, and he only had minor injuries from the fight. Still, he made a mental note to give his friend some painkillers just in case, and continued on his way to the kitchen.

Zoro stayed in front of the infirmary a couple minutes after Chopper disappeared down the corridor. Doing what? He didn't know. He was just staring at the door. He wanted to see her, even if she wouldn't respond, but the doctor had pronounced against. Then again, someone had to take her clothes to the laundry, right?

Feeling like a child disobeying his parents, he quietly turned the knob and entered. The room was dark, only a faint light coming in through the window, but knowing the layout of the furniture, it wasn't difficult to position himself next to her bed. Chopper was not exaggerating; simply listening to her weak breathing told him how serious her injuries had been. Upon closer inspection, he saw that her torso was all wrapped in bandages, and her head had several stitches here and there. She had probably lost a lot of blood too; she looked paler than usual, even her freckles seemed to have worn down a bit. A cut on her right eyebrow caught his eye, he was sure it would leave a scar.

He reached for her hand, until he saw that both were bandaged as well; Nami had told him how she stopped an attack with her bare hands to protect her. An act of selflessness that he didn't know whether it made him love her more or made him want to yell at her for being so reckless.

Seeing her like this, he couldn't help but worry. Sure, he knew she could fend for herself, and he was proud of that, but he couldn't help but wonder; what if she hadn't survived? The idea made him shake his head in displeasure as an invisible hand squeezed his heart.

It was not worth thinking about. Yes, Iris had been imprudent; he saw how she had allowed her feelings to get the better of her, but he couldn't really blame her; if it had not been out of respect for her, he would have killed that slavist bastard himself as soon as he had shown his ugly face at the door. In truth, he was happy to have been able to fight alongside her. And even happier now that it was all over, and she was in Chopper's reliable hands.

Now he could only wait for her to recover. All in all, this was the best-case scenario. Zoro leaned in to get a better angle of her face, coma and all, the swordsman had never seen such beauty. He moved a lock of hair from her face and tucked it under her ear before turning away.

He'd have liked to stay with her, but if any of the crew saw him there, they would tease him for life. He still had trouble merging his relationship with Iris, which he still didn't fully understand to tell the truth, with his usual stoic personality in front of the others. But he wasn't too anxious about that; they would work it out along the way. He was sure of only one thing; no one made him feel what she did, and he wouldn't give it up for anything. If this was what everyone called falling in love, then he could understand the hype.

Her past changed nothing to his eyes, if anything it confirmed what he already knew; she was special. Of course she was, the great swordsman wouldn't have fallen in love with just anyone, he thought. But, damn, the fact that she had reciprocated his feelings was still jarring. And yet, it had happened. It almost made him wonder if there might not be a god after all.