Archive of Our Own

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The sudden sound of screeching wheels followed by loud unfamiliar voices startle Zoro out of his game of make-believe, making him drop the rubber sword he's using to fight against his evil giraffe plush onto the soft green grass under his feet. He thinks the noise is coming from the empty house next to their home, but that can't be it. Zoro knows nobody has lived there forever. That's what his dad told him when he asked him before. Maybe the ghosts are finally showing themselves.

"But it's morning," Zoro reasons to himself with a shake of his head. Ghosts don't come out in the morning. People can only see them at night. He knows because he's seen it on TV.

So then, why is it so noisy?

Only one way to find out, Zoro decides as he races across their yard and towards the wooden fence separating the two houses from each other. He's going to take a look. Just like a spy! Oh, it's going to be so exciting, Zoro thinks with a grin, only for his excitement to disappear when he realizes that the fence is too tall, and he can't see anything else other than wood and more wood.

Zoro pouts, jumping up and down in hopes of seeing the other side of the fence. It doesn't really work, but he's not going to give up just yet. He knows there's something he can use out here, so he looks around their yard, his grin returning when he spots the chairs scattered on their porch, an idea quickly forming in his mind. He can totally use the chair and stand on top of it, and then he'll be able to see over the fence.

Without wasting any more time, Zoro runs to their porch to pick a chair. 

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, I'm gonna pick you," Zoro finishes chanting, pointing at the chair on the farthest side of their porch. 

The chair is a little heavy when he tries to move it, but he's strong so it's fine. No biggie. It takes him a while to drag the chair to where he wants it to be, but when he does, he quickly pulls himself up to stand on it.

"Whoops," Zoro exclaims when the chair wobbles a bit, but he pays it no mind as he balances on his tiptoes, peeking above the fence to try and get a good look at what's happening next door.

The first thing he sees is a large truck parked right in front of the house's old gate. Weird but not very suspicious yet. Then, he looks around some more and sees a bunch of people carrying big boxes into the house, wondering what's going on. It doesn't take him long to figure out that people are going to be staying in the empty house from now on. That's good to know. It means that the house next door will not be so lonely anymore. He can't imagine how sad it must be being a house and not having anyone living in it for a long time, so he's just glad that it's not like that anymore.

He's still curious though, so he watches the movers — it takes them a little while to finish because their neighbors sure have a lot of stuff — until the truck leaves with some of the other guys. Now, there are only two people left.

One of them is a really tall man with bright yellow hair that reminds Zoro of the cute little ducklings in his favorite book. The other one is a boy wearing a hat that looks kind of like a cow, and the sight of it makes Zoro gasp in complete awe. The cow hat is the coolest thing he has ever seen, even cooler than their vacuum.

That does it, Zoro decides, he's going to be friends with the new kid. He's just so cool with the hat and everything. Besides, Zoro doesn't have a friend. Sure, he loves Perona with all of his heart, but she doesn't count, and although his sister plays with him a lot, she doesn't want to try some of the games he thinks of because they're a little — what word did she use again? — rowdy for her liking. But if he makes friends with the other boy, Zoro is sure that they can get along well. They can be spies together or swordsmen or even pirates. They can play so many games and do so many fun things. He'll even lend him his favorite sword — the one that lights up if you press the red button — if he wants to borrow it.

Zoro is still in the middle of imagining the many games he can play with his new neighbor when he sees the big man trip and fall flat on his face, yelling something that sounds a lot like the bad words that his dad doesn't want his papa to say in front of them. Briefly, Zoro wonders if the big man is a bad guy, but he quickly decides that he can't be one because he looks so silly when he tries to stand but instead falls on his butt, his arms and legs flying up in the air. Watching him, Zoro can't help but feel something tickly bubble from his tummy until he's laughing really loud.

Whoever the funny man is, Zoro likes him already.

"What are you looking at?" Perona's voice suddenly sounds from behind him, and Zoro turns to look at his sister, noticing that she's carrying her stuffed bear again.

"New people," he tells her before turning to look back at the funny man who still hasn't managed to stand up.

"We're getting new neighbors?"

"Yep," Zoro answers, popping the p . "I like them."

"I'm gonna tell dad," Perona says before huffing and pointing a finger at him. "Don't go anywhere, and get down from that chair before you fall and hurt yourself."

"Okay," Zoro nods before jumping down the chair, extending both his arms to his side to keep his balance and not fall on his butt like the man from next door.

Watching his sister disappear into their house, Zoro tries to figure out what he will do next. Perona says to not go anywhere, but Zoro really wants to say hello to their new neighbors. Rocking back and forth on his heels, he thinks really hard about it. He's pretty sure going next door isn't really going anywhere, so maybe Perona will not mind.

"I'm gonna say hello to them," Zoro nods to himself, finally coming to a decision as he tries to find the secret passage in the fence.

He remembers there's a tiny hole in the fence that's hidden behind some vines — he's found it when he's playing pirate one time — that leads to the other house, smiling when he finds what he's looking for. Perona might get mad at him, but he's not really going anywhere, just next door. There's a difference. With that reasoning, Zoro moves the vines out of the way and starts crawling through the hole in the fence, blowing raspberries when he feels some of the itchy vines hitting his face. He doesn't let the vines stop him though, and he soon finds himself standing in their neighbor's yard.

"Where are they?" Zoro mutters to himself, looking around and trying to find where the clumsy man is only to realize that he can't see him anywhere. "Did he go inside?" he wonders aloud before he spots the cow hat kid sitting under one of the overgrown trees in the yard and reading a book, a rather large frog stuffed toy sitting next to him.

Perfect.

Grinning, Zoro skips all the way to where the other kid is sitting, making one last hop before he makes a full stop right in front of him.

Zoro doesn't speak right away, simply tilting his head to watch the other boy silently. He notices that the kid's skin looks a little strange — there are patches of white that look like drawings of clouds on it — but Zoro doesn't care much about that. He's still cool in his eyes, and he's more excited by the idea of making a new friend than anything else.

"Can I help you?" The other boy speaks after a while, his voice soft and scratchy. It reminds Zoro of Perona's voice when she got sick that one time and wouldn't stop coughing for days.

"Let's play," Zoro says immediately, making sure that he's smiling really wide. His papa said that smiling is important when trying to make friends because it lets people know that you're well-meaning. His papa also says that his dad doesn't have many friends growing up because he doesn't smile often — his papa earned a scary glare from his dad when he said that — so Zoro shouldn't follow in his dad's footsteps.

"No, thank you," the boy says, closing his book. Zoro notices that there are no drawings in it, just words. Lots and lots of words.

"Why not?"

"I just don't want to," the boy shrugs, grabbing the frog stuffed toy sitting next to him before standing up and heading inside, leaving Zoro alone where he stands.

Zoro frowns. 

That didn't go so well.

Doesn't he want to make friends?

No. Zoro shakes his head. That can't be it. Having friends is nice, and everyone needs a friend. Maybe he's just shy? 

Well, if that's the case then it's okay. Zoro will be his friend no matter what. But first, he needs to get back home because he can already hear Perona calling for him.

"Oh, you are going to be in so much trouble when I find you, Zoro!"

Yep. That's definitely Perona.

Oops.

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The next day, Zoro finds himself crawling on the same hole in the fence. He can feel tiny stones digging on his palms and knees, and he's definitely getting dirt on his pants and shirt, but he doesn't care. Right now, he's in the middle of a very important mission.

"Made it," Zoro announces proudly once he manages to make it through the small passageway and into his neighbor's yard. 

Their neighbor's yard is big, but Zoro easily finds the other boy who is luckily sitting under the same tree from yesterday, noticing that the other boy still has that frog stuffed toy next to him. Happy that he doesn't have to look for him any more than he has to, Zoro, without wasting any more time, immediately runs towards him.

"Hi," Zoro greets happily, flashing the other kid a wide smile and letting him see his missing tooth.

"It's you again," the boy says with a sigh as he looks up from his book to face him. He sounds like an old man, even older than Ms. Shakky's husband, and Zoro has to stop himself from giggling at the thought. Instead, he focuses on the book the other boy is reading. He must really like reading seeing as he's doing it again today. It doesn't look like the same book as yesterday though. This one has a white cover; the other one has blue. Bi-o-lo-gy . Zoro slowly reads the title of the book in his head. Biology? Zoro doesn't even know what that means. Maybe it's a superhero book, and Biology is a superhero name. It sounds like one.

Ah, but he's getting distracted. That's not what he has come here for. He's here to make friends, and the best way to start a friendship is to get to know each other. Perona says so.

"I'm Zoro," he introduces himself, waiting patiently for the other boy to do the same. He sure is taking his time though.

After a while, the boy speaks, slow and careful, "Law. My name is Law."

Law .

Zoro repeats the name in his head. He will make sure to remember it.

"That's a nice name," he also says because why not? It's the truth.

Law's eyes widen, almost as if he's shocked. "Uh… thanks?"

"You're welcome," Zoro's grin becomes bigger, "Can we play now?"

"I don't want to play," Law shakes his head, and Zoro wonders why he still doesn't want to play. They already know each other after all. Is it because he's busy with his book?

"Then tomorrow?" Zoro asks, hopeful.

"I don't want to play tomorrow either."

"The day after tomorrow?" Zoro tries one more time, his grin slowly turning into a pout.

"I really don't like playing," Law says, closing his book and standing up. "You should go home. Your parents are probably looking for you."

Zoro is about to say that his dad is busy and that his papa is not home, but Law is already turning away from him, the other boy's toy frog dangling by his side as he starts walking back to their house. Watching him, Zoro can't help but pout, feeling slightly disappointed and sad that the same thing as yesterday has happened again. 

But of course, he doesn't let Law's refusal of his invitation bring his mood down. After all, he still got Law's name. That means they're starting to get to know each other and become friends.

He's sure that if he keeps asking, Law will give in and be his friend.

That's right.

Operation become Law's friend is still ongoing.

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Becoming friends with Law is not easy.

This is what Zoro learns after he has spent five days trying to get Law to play with him — he's even brought Perona with him once because his sister's really good at talking to people, but it still hasn't worked — and every day, Law says the same thing.

Law's kind of stubborn like that, Zoro's found out.

Even so, Zoro is headstrong, and Law's stubbornness is nothing compared to Zoro's own iron will — his papa used to say he's as stubborn as a mule, whatever that means — so it doesn't really matter if it takes Law forever to accept his invitation to play. Zoro's not going to back down just because Law keeps turning him down.

Zoro's a Dracule after all, and a Dracule doesn't give up easily.

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On his seventh day of trying to get Law to play with him, the goal of Zoro's mission changes. But only a little.

The reason for it is something that Zoro has discovered all by accident. Still, it's a very important finding, one that Zoro can't help but focus on.

You see, after all the times Zoro has tried to befriend Law, he hasn't really seen Law smile. Not even once. Most of the time, Law looks like he's thinking really hard about something. He's not frowning, but he's not making any other expression either. If Zoro's honest, he'll say that Law looks sad. Very sad.

Zoro doesn't know why Law's sad, but what Zoro knows is that he doesn't want him to be and because Zoro's thinking about such a thing, he ends up not inviting Law to play with him that day. Instead, he decides to go back home and figure out the most important thing in his mission of befriending Law.

"How do I make him not sad?" Zoro mutters as he flops himself on the ground, just staring at the sky and not even caring if his shirt is getting grass stains.

Zoro has no idea how long he's been lying on their lawn when he hears Perona's voice.

"What are you doing?" His sister asks as she crouches down next to him, gently tapping him on the forehead with one of her cold hands.

"Thinking."

Perona tilts her head to the side, "Is it about something important?"

"Yeah."

"Alright," Perona nods, standing, "Come inside and eat after you're done thinking. Dad made doughnuts."

" 'kay."

With Perona heading back inside, Zoro's mind goes back to Law and what he has just discovered about him. Now that it's all clear in his head, Zoro realizes that there's only one thing he wants.

More than playing games together, more than being friends, what Zoro really wants is to see Law smile.

Now, if he only knows what to do.

Before he can think about that though, he needs to eat some doughnuts first. It's really hard to make a plan when he's hungry.

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A gift!

That's it!

Zoro, after watching a movie with his papa, now knows what to do. It's so simple, and he feels so silly not thinking about it sooner. He just needs to give Law a gift. Something nice that Law will like and will not be able to say no to. 

That's what the man from the movie his papa likes to watch did to become the monster's friend. Though Zoro supposes he can't give dead human bodies to Law. He doesn't even know where he can get those, and Law isn't a monster like the one in the movies, so Zoro doesn't think he'll want to receive that kind of gift.

But what does Law like? What gift can Zoro give him?

"Hmm," Zoro closes his eyes, frowning in thought and copying his dad's thinking pose by placing a hand under his chin, pacing back and forth in their living room.

He doesn't know much about Law, but there must be something, some clue, that can tell him what the perfect gift for Law is.

"Uhhh," Zoro hums, his frown growing as he tries to dig in his brain for important information. "What about a book? He's always reading, right?" he asks no one in particular, remembering how Law is always reading a book every time Zoro invites him.

It's obvious that Law likes to read, so Law will surely be pleased if Zoro gives him a book.

But wait.

That will mean that Law will just spend more time reading and refuse to play with him even more. Giving Law a book will be counterproductive — is that the word? — and he doesn't think giving Law a book will make him smile. Books can be fun, but it's not that fun, especially if they don't have pictures that pop up every time you turn the pages.

"Nope," Zoro shakes his head with a huff. "No books. I don't want to give him that."

But if not books, then what? Is there something else Law likes? Maybe a hat? Law is always wearing his fluffy hat, right? That's a good option, but Zoro doesn't think he can find a cooler hat than Law's cow hat. He doesn't think Law will look good with a different hat either.

Zoro pouts, stopping in the middle of their living room, tilting his upper body sideways. Left to right and left again. Other than books and his hat, all Law has with him every time Zoro comes to invite him is his —

Ooooh.

Zoro hits the palm of his hand with his fist, brightening up.

Of course.

Frogs!

Law always has that frog toy next to him, so he must really like frogs, right?

Slowly, Zoro's lips stretch into a wide grin.

He's just had a wonderful idea.

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Zoro is going to go frog hunting.

This is what he decides the day after and is the reason why he has gone up to his dad and asked him to help him in putting on his raincoat, which his dad agrees to immediately. Right now, his dad is crouched in front of him, helping him button his raincoat.

"There you go, Zoro," his dad says when he finishes buttoning his raincoat. "You're all set."

"No," Zoro whines, "Don't call me Zoro. Today, I'm not Zoro."

His dad hums, smiling at him, "What do I call you then?"

"Frog Hunter," Zoro beams, puffing his chest proudly and tapping it with his fist three times.

"Alright, my brave frog hunter," his dad chuckles, tilting his head to the side, "what is your mission for the day?"

"Frog hunting obviously," Zoro huffs, wondering why his dad is even asking when it's very clear in the name. Maybe his dad is still sleepy. His dad used to ask silly questions when he's sleepy, at least that's what his papa says.

His dad just shakes his head, his smile never leaving as he looks at him with something in his eyes that Zoro can only describe as warm. "May I know why you want to go frog hunting?"

"I'm gonna catch a frog and give it to someone," he beams, already thinking about how happy Law will be once he gives him his gift.

"A noble cause. Good luck in your endeavors," his dad says, giving his shoulder a gentle pat before standing up.

Zoro's nose scrunches up in curiosity. His dad is using big words again, and although Zoro wants to know what it means, he has far more important things to do. Besides, he can always ask his dad what the big word means whenever he wants. His dad always answers his question even if he's in a meeting with those other people in stuffy-looking clothes. 

So instead of asking what endeavor means, Zoro tells his dad, "I gotta go."

"Wait!" Zoro hears Perona's voice before he actually sees her rushing toward them. She's wearing her raincoat and boots, too, he notices.

Zoro blinks. "Huh? Where are you going?"

"I'm coming with you, duh," Perona puffs her cheeks, placing both her hands on her hips.

"You'll help me?" Zoro asks with wide and hopeful eyes. He remembers telling Perona the night before that he wanted to catch a frog, but he didn't think she'd want to come with him and help. He's really happy that she wants to go with him though. It's always easier to do things with the help of someone than doing it all alone after all.

"Of course!" Perona exclaims before turning to their dad, "I can go with him, right?"

"That might be best," Zoro hears his dad agree. "I will be more at ease if you are with your brother."

"Yay!" Perona cheers, "Thanks, dad."

"You are very much welcome," their dad says before ruffling their hair. "Now, both of you take care, and be sure to return for snack time."

"We will," Zoro promises before turning to Perona and giving her a mischievous smile, "Race you there."

And then he's running to the door, intent on reaching the pond in their backyard before anyone else.

For a second, he thinks he hears Perona gasp before he sees her running after him, "Wha— Zoro! That's cheating!"

Of course, Zoro reaches the pond first, and he turns to look at Perona, "I win!"

"You totally cheated," Perona flicks him on the nose, sticking her tongue out at him when he winces in pain. Her teasing doesn't last though, and Zoro sees his sister look around, "So, how do you want to start catching frogs?"

"I'm gonna go in there," Zoro declares, pointing towards the center of the small pond.

Perona makes a face, "Are you sure?"

"It's not that deep," Zoro reasons. There are some water lilies floating on it, but Zoro doesn't think they'll be a problem. Plus, he remembers that the water in the pond barely reaches above his waists. He'll be fine. Perona doesn't have to worry about anything.

"That's not what I mean. There might be leeches in the water, you know?"

"I'll fight them."

"You want to fight leeches?"

"Yeah," Zoro nods. "They can't win against me."

"Oh my gosh," Perona exclaims, covering both of her eyes with her hands.

"I'll be careful. Promise," Zoro assures, flashing his sister a smile.

"If you say so," Perona sighs, "Just try not to get hurt too much."

Zoro only gives his sister a thumbs up before he leaps into the water with a loud war cry, splashing water all around. For a moment, he finds himself worrying about disturbing the fairies hiding near the pond — he hopes they'd forgive him though — however, the thought of fairies quickly leaves his mind as he spots a brown frog jumping from one floating leaf to another. It's small and fast, and Zoro is amazed by how far it can jump.

Yep. 

He definitely has to catch that frog.

With that thought in mind, Zoro slowly walks to follow the frog, being very careful not to disturb the water more than he already has. His feet sometimes get stuck in the soft mud under the pond, but he doesn't stop walking forward, making sure that he will not lose sight of the frog. Finally, after seven steps, he finds himself in grabbing distance of the frog, so without wasting any more time, he reaches out to grab the little animal.

Only for his hand to completely miss his target and for him to lose his balance, sending him crashing onto the water. It's cold, and he definitely can taste mud in his mouth. Ew.

"Zoro!" Even underwater, Zoro can hear his sister screaming, "Dad! Help!"

Quickly, Zoro stands up, a large lily pad on his head. 

"I'm okay. I'm not hurt," Zoro tells his panicking sister as he removes the lily pad from his head and places it back into the water. He's not lying either. He's really okay. Except maybe for the water that got in his ear and the mud he accidentally swallowed. Perona doesn't need to know that though. "You don't have to call dad."

"Yeah?" Perona asks, now looking calmer.

Zoro answers her with a nod.

"Okay then," Perona lets out a relieved sigh, "Did you catch it?"

"Nope."

"Let me try," Perona offers, and Zoro realizes that his sister is already in the pond. He frowns when he notices that she's able to walk in the water better than him. That's kind of unfair.

Still, Zoro can't deny that it's funny when Perona slips before she can even take her third step, screeching all the way to next year. In fact, it's so funny that Zoro ends up laughing at her, which in turn makes her throw mud at him.

"Stop laughing at me," Perona points a finger at him. She's glaring at him, too, but Zoro thinks she looks less scary with mud on her cheeks and hair. She probably figures out what he's thinking because Perona drops the glare with a shake of her head. Then, she starts giggling and even starts joking. "I'm helping you, and you're laughing at me. You monster."

"Sorry," Zoro snickers, helping his sister up, "Let's continue catching a frog?"

Perona shrugs, "Sure."

Zoro beams at his sister before he goes back to completing his mission, Perona right behind him. It's fun, and they got close to catching one many times, but somehow, the frogs always manage to escape right before they can grab them. Who knew frogs are really hard to catch? Not Zoro. He has no idea such small creatures can be so fast.

They must have spent a lot of time in the pond because their dad has come to get them for snack time, fussing over them like he always does the moment he sees them covered in mud and moss.

And as they walk back home, Zoro feels a little sad that he's not able to catch a frog that day. He wants to catch one soon so he can finally make Law smile.

No matter.

He'll just have to try again tomorrow.

🐸🐸🐸

The next day, Zoro scrapes his knee from diving after a large brown frog.

His hand misses the frog by an inch and his lips twist into a frown as he watches it disappear under the water lilies scattered on the surface of the pond.

His knee also hurts a little, and not even Perona's glittery bandaid can make the pain go away, but Zoro ignores it. He thinks his heart will hurt more than his bleeding knee if he fails to befriend Law.

🐸🐸🐸

The following day, Zoro catches something else.

It's not planned and totally not on purpose, but it's a welcomed surprise mostly because Zoro thinks the bright blue dragonfly he's managed to catch is the prettiest thing he's seen all day.

"That's a pretty dragonfly," Perona says from next to him, peering down at the small insect whose wings are being held gently between Zoro's fingers.

Zoro hums in agreement, and he turns to look at Perona. Right now, his sister is looking at the dragonfly in awe, and Zoro swears her eyes are sparkling. It doesn't take him long to figure out that his sister likes the dragonfly, so without a second thought, he extends his hand towards her, offering Perona the dragonfly.

" 'Rona for you."

Perona blinks. "You're giving it to me?"

Zoro nods, " 'cause you're always helping me, and the book said dragonflies like flowers and dad calls you a flower, so it'll like you, right?"

"Zoro! You're so cute. I wanna bite your cheeks," Perona squeals as she pulls him into a tight hug, rubbing their cheeks together.

"Noooo," Zoro whines, squirming against his sister's hold. He's trying his best to get away from his sister, but she's really strong, and she's squishing him! He tells her so. "Let go! You're squishing me!"

"I don't want to," Perona squeals even more, hugging him harder.

"Ah," Zoro exclaims when he accidentally lets go of the dragonfly.

"Oops," Perona laughs, finally releasing him to follow the path of the dragonfly with her eyes. "There it goes."

"Don't worry, I'll catch it again."

Perona shakes her head, still smiling. "It's okay, Zoro. I think it'll be happier if we set it free."

"Oh. Okay," Zoro nods in understanding, watching as the dragonfly soars higher and higher to the sky until Zoro can't see it anymore. Once it's out of sight, he turns to Perona, eyes hopeful. "Go back to catching frogs?"

"Of course."

In the end, they fail to catch a frog again, and although Zoro's a little sad that they failed today too, he knows there's still tomorrow to look forward to.

He hopes Law can wait a bit more.

🐸🐸🐸

Tomorrow has come and gone, but Zoro's hands are still empty of frogs.

He thinks that maybe he's doing something wrong.

He just needs to know what.

🐸🐸🐸

The answer to his question comes when he's watching his favorite show on the television.

That day, Zoro is singing and swaying along with the Chopper Man theme song, never taking his eyes off the screen and letting out a cheer when the opening credits end to finally show Chopper Man in his doctor clothes instead of his superhero clothes.

The episode is very exciting with Chopper Man telling Namifia that he wants some crayfish so he will go to the pond to catch one.

"Just like me," Zoro says excitedly, chomping down on the ham and cheese sandwich his papa brought him before the show started a while ago. He can't believe his favorite superhero will also try and catch something in a pond. Maybe Zoro can learn some tricks from him. He needs to watch carefully so he doesn't miss anything.

At first, Zoro notices that everything is the same. Except for one thing. Chopper Man has a pail that he uses to catch a crayfish.

"What's the pail for?" Zoro asks himself, wondering why Chopper Man needs a pail when he sees the superhero use the pail to catch a crayfish. He's very successful and he didn't even fall into the water once.

Zoro gasps.

That's what he's missing!

Of course, the evil Dr. Usodabada has come to steal the crayfish from Chopper Man, and there's a cool fight happening, but Zoro's barely paying attention to the show anymore. After all, he's already figured out the reason why he can't catch a frog. It's because he doesn't have a pail like Chopperman!

That means he needs to get one right away.

"I have to ask dad to get me one," Zoro decides as he turns the television off, making his way to the kitchen where he knows everyone is having their own snacks. "Dad! Papa!"

"Whoa, buddy, why are you running? Did something happen? Are you okay?" His papa jumps down from his chair, kneeling in front of him and asking him a lot of questions even when his mouth is full of bread and ham. He's spraying food everywhere. Disgusting.

"I need a small pail," Zoro answers, pauses for a bit, then quickly follows it up with a long, "please."

This time, it's his dad who asks the next question, "Why do you need it, little plant?"

"To make frog hunting easier," Zoro answers honestly.

Zoro watches his papa swallow his food — finally! — before talking again, "Frog hunting? Is that why you and your sister are spending a lot of time in the backyard?"

"He said he wants to give the new kid next door a frog so he'll smile. I think Zoro wants to be friends with him." Perona answers for him, and Zoro nods, agreeing with everything she has said.

"Is that right, little plant?" His dad asks again. "You did mention that you want to give a frog to someone. Is it so you can make a friend?"

Zoro nods vigorously.

"Well, if that is the case we shall head to the mall right away and get you what you need, yes?" His dad says with a smile, already digging in his pocket for something. "You kids go and get dressed, I will get the car ready."

Zoro's papa jumps to his feet, smiling widely. "Then we can get ice cream after, right?"

His dad raises an eyebrow, "I do not remember asking you to accompany us."

"Eh? But we're going to the mall, right? Like a family outing," his papa questions, and Zoro thinks his papa looks really funny pouting like that.

"Indeed," his dad says, nodding. "It is what you call a family outing. What I fail to understand is why you are inviting yourself to our family outing."

"But - but I'm their papa !"

"Since when are you their other father?"

"Since forever, duh, Hawky," his papa huffs, and Zoro sees him make big eyes at his dad. Zoro knows that his papa makes that kind of face because his dad can't say no to him when he does it. "I helped you raise them, you meanie."

For some reason, his dad just stares long and hard at his papa. Of course, his papa stares back, and now, they're having a staring contest. Again. They do that a lot of time even though his dad always loses to his papa. The score is seventy for his papa and zero for his dad. Zoro knows. He's been counting with Perona's help.

True enough, his dad lets out a sigh and runs a hand through his hair. "Fine. However, you are paying for your own ice cream."

His papa gasps, placing a hand over his chest, "Huh? But, Hawky! I'm broke! I'm staying here because my assho – uh – I mean my annoying landlord kicked me out, remember?"

"That is no problem of mine, and if I recall correctly, you have been evicted from your apartment because you have forgotten to pay rent multiple times," his dad answers back, which leads to the two of them bickering back and forth. Both of them are heading outside together though, which makes Zoro wonder why his dad has to disagree with his papa to begin with. It doesn't make any sense, especially when his dad always gives in to his papa in the end.

Maybe his dad just likes to bicker with his papa?

Zoro still doesn't get it. Adults are weird.

"Dad and papa are so weird," Zoro hears Perona say. See? Even Perona thinks the same. "Whatever. Let's go and get changed. I think I'm going to wear the dress dad got me last month. What are you going to wear?"

Zoro shrugs, "Dunno. Maybe my onigiri shirt."

Ten minutes later, Zoro finds himself inside the car with his family. Another fifteen minutes and they have finally reached the mall. Zoro is so excited that he basically jumps out of their car the moment it stops, rushing to the entrance like there's no tomorrow.

"Papa, hurry!" Zoro urges, holding on to his papa's hand and dragging him forward.

"Alright, alright. Hold your horses, bud," his papa chuckles as he lets himself be dragged. "You know those pails aren't going anywhere, yeah?"

"I don't have a horse," Zoro tells his papa, sounding very confused. Why will his papa tell him to hold his horse when he doesn't even have one?

"It is an expression, little plant. It means slow down," his dad explains. He, too, is holding onto Perona's hand as they walk next to him.

"Well, why can't papa just say that?" Zoro asks, looking up at his papa.

"I dunno, buddy. It's just how I talk," his papa replies, waving his free hand.

"Like how dad talks with big words?" Zoro concludes, nodding to himself.

"Well, in your dad's case, it's because he's a fan of really old drama theatre plays, so he ends up copying how the actors talk," his papa explains in between soft laughter.

Zoro has never seen a drama theatre play before, but it must be something fancy if his dad likes it so much. Or maybe it's something embarrassing because his dad looks really embarrassed right now. Can it be both? He'll just have to ask his dad about it later. Maybe his dad will even show him one if he asks.

"I will end you," his dad threatens. Zoro notices that his face is really red, so his threats don't really work. In fact, it just makes his papa laugh even more like it always does. Zoro can understand. His dad only looks scary but he's really not scary.

"We're here," his papa announces before his dad can say anything else, pointing to the mall's department store. "I think they have those sandcastle building kits for kids here. I remember those kits have pails in them. Zoro can choose one with his favorite color."

"I do recall those kits that you have just mentioned. They are on the kid's aisle I believe," his dad agrees, leading all of them inside the store.

The department store is big — maybe it's even taking up half of the mall — and no matter how many times Zoro has been there, he still thinks he'll get lost in it. Thankfully, Zoro's dad knows exactly which way to go, and soon enough, Zoro finds himself standing in front of a shelf filled with different colored pails. Of course, he chooses the green one like his hair.

"I like this one," Zoro announces, flashing a smile at his dad.

His dad ruffles his hair, "Is there anything else you need, little plant?"

Zoro is about to shake his head to answer his dad, but he's interrupted when he hears his papa's voice. Looking over to him, Zoro finds his papa crouching down in front of another shelf. He hurries to where his papa is, trying to take a look at whatever it is his papa wants to show him.

"Hey, you should get this too, Zoro," his papa tells him while unfolding something. "A professional frog hunter needs to have a complete gear, right?"

Zoro blinks, staring at the item his papa is holding up. He realizes it's a raincoat, but it's not just any raincoat either. It's one that is green and has googly eyes on the hood which makes it look like a frog.

"So cool," Zoro whispers, taking the raincoat from his papa and hugging it close to his chest. It feels nicer than his old raincoat.

"Oh, that's so cute," Perona says, nudging him gently with her elbow. "You should buy it."

"I think you should buy this, too," his papa adds, handing Perona another raincoat. It's pink this time and the hood has round ears. "Yours is a bear."

Perona turns the pink raincoat in her hands, seemingly checking it for something before she grins at their papa. "Does that mean I can be a bear hunter?"

"Princess, you can be anything you want," his papa assures her, and Zoro watches his sister's smile grow even more when their papa gives her a pat on the head. Then, he puts a hand under his chin, "Hey, Hawky—"

"No."

"Aw, but it'd be cute if we all get animal-themed raincoats. You can be a bat, Hawky. It'll suit you because you're like a vampire," his papa reasons, ignoring his dad's I am not vampire comment as he continues, "and I can be a wolf. We can even take pictures wearing our cute raincoats."

"Do not be ridiculous. Why will I want to —"

"Dad, please?" Zoro interrupts, looking up at his dad with extra big eyes while making sure to pout. Next to him, Perona is doing the same thing. It's his and Perona's secret weapon against their dad, one that their papa taught them. It hasn't failed them yet, and Zoro is sure that it will work this time, too.

"I would like to remind both of you that what you are doing is cheating," their dad lets out a very long sigh, shaking his head as he searches for something on the shelf the raincoats are placed, "but I shall be a bat."

"Yay!" Zoro cheers, giving his sister a victory high-five.

"Well then, let us go and pay for these items so we can get ice cream," his dad suggests. Of course, that made Zoro's cheering become louder and he notices some people looking at him weirdly.

Oops.

Feeling his face heat up, Zoro quickly tugs on his dad's shirt to get him to move, which thankfully, his dad understood. It doesn't take them long to pay for their stuff, and now, they're on their way to get ice cream.

"Do you think I should get a haircut?" his papa suddenly asks when they pass by a barbershop, tugging on his red hair that is currently tied into a low ponytail.

"No!" Zoro exclaims in chorus with Perona. He doesn't want his papa to cut his hair. He likes playing with his papa's hair when he can't sleep. He can't do that anymore if his papa cuts his hair.

Next to him, Perona has a big frown on her face as she shakes her head real fast. "Papa, you'd look so weird."

"Indeed. You will look unappealing with short hair," his dad agrees with a nod. Then after a short moment, adds, "Not that you look appealing to begin with."

"That means he thinks I look good with long hair," his papa leans down to whisper to him and Perona, winking.

"I do not," his dad denies right away. Zoro knows he's lying though because his ears are red. His papa has told him and Perona that their dad's ears turn red every time he lies.

"He totally thinks I'm handsome," his papa whispers again, loud enough for his dad to hear. 

They're both so funny, and Zoro and his sister have to slap their hands over their mouths to stop their giggles.

Really, Zoro loves his sister, dad, and papa so much.

They're the absolute best in the world.

🐸🐸🐸

And when night time comes and Zoro is lying wide awake on his bed and feeling like he can't sleep, all he can think about is how tomorrow, he will be able to catch a frog and make Law smile.

He's looking forward to it.

🐸🐸🐸

Today is the day.

Zoro promises himself as he marches confidently towards the now familiar pond. He is carrying the tiny green pail he bought yesterday and wearing his frog hunting gear, so there's no way that he will fail. Besides, he has made Law wait long enough. He doesn't want to make him wait anymore, so Zoro will do his very, very, very, very, very best to catch a frog today.

"I'm ready," he announces as he stands up straight, scanning the pond and trying to spot a frog. The water seems to be murkier and there are definitely a lot more water lilies today, but Zoro is not here to complain about those.

He's there for a frog, and he will get one. In fact, he can already spot one sitting peacefully on a lily pad at the center of the pond.

That's his target.

Slapping his hands on his cheeks and jumping up and down three times — he's watched his papa's favorite boxing champion do the same thing before he gets into the ring — before stepping into the water.

"You're mine," Zoro whispers to himself as he walks oh very slowly towards the lily pad. Carefully, he stretches his arms forward and —

"Why?" Zoro whines, realizing that there is no frog in his hand, "I missed again."

Now, the frog is no longer on the lily pad, but it's only his first attempt. He can try again.

And again.

And again.

"This is really hard," Zoro comments, spitting out water as he stands up, realizing that one of his boots is missing. He's already failed eleven times, and there are no more frogs on the lily pads. He has probably scared them all.

Or not.

Because Zoro can still see one tiny frog swimming in the water.

"You can do this, Zoro. This is for Law," he reminds himself as he stands very still, just waiting patiently for the frog to swim closer, closer, and even closer, and when it bumps into his stomach, he doesn't waste any time snatching it and letting out a yell as he loses his balance and falls backward into the water.

"No!" Zoro exclaims as he quickly stands up. He can't believe he fai — wait. Zoro blinks, realizing that there is something small and squishy in his hand.

There's something in his hand.

It's squishy and small and definitely not mud.

Mouth hanging open, Zoro slowly looks down, feeling his own eyes go wide as he sees the small frog in his hand.

There's a frog in his hand.

It's brown and small, and it's a frog.

"Oh," Zoro exhales, "It's a frog."

A frog.

"I did it?" Zoro asks, still in shock.

In his hand, the frog croaks.

"I did it!" Zoro cheers, laughing loudly. He did it! He really did it! He's able to catch a frog, and he doesn't even need to use the pail. "I gotta give this to Law."

Still laughing, Zoro quickly gets out of the pond, rushing towards their yard and into the hole in the fence. He really can't wait to give Law his gift. He just hopes Law will like it. He's worked really hard to catch it for him after all.

"Law!" Zoro calls out, waving at the other with his free hand even as he runs towards the other boy.

"Oh. Hello, Zoro," Law greets when Zoro finally reaches him, his eyes never leaving the book he is reading.

"Hi. Sorry, I can't come yesterday and the other days before that," Zoro rushes to say, and then, remembering what his dad says sometimes when talking to his work friends, adds, "I was really busy."

"It's okay."

Zoro shakes his head left and right. "It's not because I wanna be your friend, but I can make up for all the days I didn't visit. Promise."

"You don't have to," Law says carefully, finally closing his book to look at him. He seems shocked for a second before his brows furrow. "Why do you look like that?"

Zoro doesn't answer Law's question. Instead, he smiles at him, wide and excited and happy. "I got you something."

"Huh?"

"For you!" Zoro states, stretching his arm towards Law and showing him the small brown frog he caught.

"This is... for me?" Law asks very slowly.

"Yeah. I caught it in the pond."

"You did?"

Zoro nods vigorously, still grinning.

Law stares at him, and then, very softly asks, "Why?"

" 'cause you're sad, and I want to make you happy, so I thought really hard about what to do, and you always have that froggy toy with you, so I thought you really like frogs and wanted to give you one as a gift. So then, I went to the pond and tried to catch a frog. Perona helped. She's my sister. You already met her one time. But even with the two of us, catching a frog is really hard, but I finally did it today, so," Zoro pauses in his rambling and takes a deep breath, "let's be friends?"

Law doesn't speak right away, still just staring at him weirdly. Zoro wonders if it's because he looks dirty. He knows he is soaking wet, and his face and clothes are definitely covered in mud — his shirt is supposed to be yellow, not brown — and one of his boots is missing, but he's just so excited to give Law his gift that he didn't even think about cleaning up and changing. Should he have done that first?

Maybe Law doesn't want to be his friend because he's dirty and covered in germs or something.

Or.

Or.

What if Law doesn't like his gift?

Oh no.

That's really bad, right?

Zoro can't help but panic a bit. He wants to be Law's friend and make him happy! He doesn't want to scare him away! 

But then, while Zoro is in the middle of freaking out, something magical happens. 

Law laughs.

Law's laugh isn't as loud as his papa's or even Perona's, and he sounds like he hasn't laughed for a while, but he's laughing , and Zoro can't help but stare at him.

"Thank you," Law says after he's finished laughing — it sure took a while for Law to stop laughing — wiping a tear from the corner of his eye before he smiles at him, taking the frog from his hand. "You're a good friend, Zoro."

Zoro opens and closes his mouth. Did he hear it right? Zoro wants to ask Law to repeat what he has just said, but Law is not finished talking yet, so Zoro stays very quiet so he can listen to Law.

"I don't know any games to play, but maybe you can teach me some," Law tells him, his cheeks a little red.

"You wanna play with me?" Zoro blurts out, still feeling really shocked.

"If you still want to."

"Yeah! I want to!" Zoro jumps up and down, "We can play warriors or pirates! I can even lend you my toy swords. We can also play video games if you want!"

"Those sound fun. Let's play all of the games you know." Law laughs again, and it makes Zoro very happy. "But first, let's find somewhere where we can temporarily put this little guy," Law says while pointing at the frog Zoro has given him.

"You're keeping it?"

"Of course. It's your gift to me after all," Law explains, still smiling. "I'm thinking of naming it Bepo. What do you think?"

Bepo is a cute name, Zoro thinks. "I like it," he answers truthfully.

Law's smile seems to grow even bigger at his answer, and Zoro can't help but return it. He's super glad everything has turned out well.

Law likes his gift.

He has even agreed to play with him.

And most importantly, Law has laughed and called him his friend, and it's everything Zoro ever wants.

So now, he can happily say that operation become Law's friend and make him smile is 100% a success!

🐸🐸🐸