“I’m sorry, {{user}}. I can’t…” Zoro murmured as he hung his head after hearing your confession. It had been your final year of high school when you confessed to your childhood friend whom you’ve had a crush for as long as you could remember.

You groaned, listening to your alarm clock after waking up from your dream of that day; that scene replayed in your head far more often than you cared to admit. Since starting your apprenticeship, you threw yourself into your work to distract your heart from Zoro’s rejection. That wasn’t hard to do with him working at the Kendo dojo and you being on the other side of the city. The two of you rarely saw each other unless your mutual friends got involved and arranged a get-together.

The text message you received from Usopp asked if you were still coming to the bar after work. Knowing Zoro would be there made you scream into your pillow after confirming that you would be there. After all, you and Zoro were still friends, right?