This is a challenge fic I did for the Yaoi Supernova Authors Guild. The challenge was fighting over someone, and I chose Zoro and Ace fight over Sanji, (big surprise there, huh?) I hope you like it, and please go easy on the reviews. I'm a wuss.

Thank you to StarkBlack for the beta! XD

A Long Time Coming

It wasn't so much that Zoro was glaring. The stupid Marimo had on the same stupid facial expression he usually had on when he sat in a corner during a party. The proverbial bottle of Heiniken rested atop his knee between lazy fingers, and his dark eyes watched his fellow college students with quiet detachment. No, Zoro was doing nothing that indicated he was anything but bored or perhaps about to nod off.

Sanji watched his friend from underneath flaxen lashes as he sliced salami and six different kinds of cheeses. As he arranged the serving platter, the cook's eyes caught a glimpse of movement from his green-haired friend. Zoro's index finger struck up a quick rhythm, tapping on the neck of his beer. Sanji stood frozen for a minute as he watched his suspicions confirmed.

Zoro was fidgeting. Zoro only fidgeted when he was angry.

"Sanji, Sanji…" a soft voice said at his side. The cook turned to meet the coal black eyes of his friend Ace.

"What?" Sanji asked.

Ace took a slice of salami from the platter and slipped it into his mouth. "Not even your party and you're still doing the food."

Sanji shrugged and swatted at Ace's fingers as the dark-haired man reached for another salami slice. "I offered, she said yes. It's what I like to do." He lifted the tray above his head and slid past his friend. "Besides, I only know a couple people here. It feels weird when I'm trying to mingle and all conversations are about school. I haven't been in school now for almost three years."

Ace followed him into the next room and snatched a few slices of cheese before the platter even hit the table. "You could tell them about your job. Your stories about rookies setting things on fire and you having to kick the head chef out of his own kitchen are always entertaining."

Sanji smiled. "I told all the best ones already. They listened to be polite, but all they wanted to talk about was their next physiology exam or some shit."

Arranging bowls and returning serving utensils to their rightful containers, Sanji lost himself for a minute as he worked. It took several minutes to realize that Ace had been silent for quite a while, and that was a little strange.

The cook looked up and almost winced at the look on Ace's face. As long as Sanji had known the dark-haired man—and that was actually quite a long time—Sanji had only seen him truly unhappy twice. Ace was usually so bright and cheerful, with a wide smile on his face, and a silly joke to lighten any mood just waiting on the tip of his tongue.

Now, Ace was standing there, a beer can half crushed in his hand, and his eyes cold as he stared at something across the room.

Ace was also chewing the inside of his lip. Ace only chewed the inside of his lip when he was angry.

Sanji sighed and headed back into the kitchen. The whole thing was ridiculous. Zoro and Ace had been at odds with each other for a few weeks now. It had started with nothing more than over the top teasing, but it had escalated quickly into shouting matches that had Zoro stomping out and Ace close to tears. Sanji knew it was only a matter of time before punches were thrown.

Opening the fridge, Sanji started to return the meats and cheese to their respective drawers and shelves. He felt helpless as his friends fought, helpless and immeasurably sad. Zoro and Ace were his oldest, closest friends. The three of them had always done everything together. Fishing and camping, wooden sword fights, playing pirates in the woods behind Zoro's house, middle school, high school, discovering girls, and discovering their passions. Not a single thing had happened in Sanji's life that had not been effected by both Ace and Zoro.

Now, their friendship was falling apart and the only thing Sanji could think of that might be going on was a girl. Zoro and Ace had never fought over anything before—well, not seriously at least—and Sanji knew that history had shown time and time again that love was the one thing that could tear even the closest of brothers apart.

Frowning at the fridge door, so lost in his thoughts Sanji didn't notice Zoro until his green-haired friend had nearly stepped on him.

"Woa, Marimo," Sanji growled, "watch where you put your big feet." He spoke with no real menace, but Zoro still eyed him like he had insulted his manly pride.

"If you don't want to be trampled, don't stand in the way of me and alcohol."

Sanji clenched his jaw on a snarky retort. The worst part of Zoro and Ace fighting was when one of them lashed out at him, like it was his fault! What did he ever do to them besides be a good friend?

Granted, Zoro and his relationship had started on rocky ground. They had fought every day on the playground. They screamed at each other and called each other horrible names that any other decent nine year old would have had to look up online. It was quite a common thing for Sanji to go home with a bloody nose, or Zoro to limp a little as he made his way down the street towards the dojo when school let out.

But then Ace had come into the picture and everything had suddenly clicked. The dark-haired, freckled skinned boy had been the epitome of cool. Everyone wanted to be friends with him and his brother, Luffy. But out of all the kids, out of all the people that Ace could have chosen from, he had told Sanji and Zoro that he wanted to be friends. With both of them. But his condition had been that he couldn't do it if they were going to fight all the time.

The rest was history.

Now, Zoro eyed Sanji the way he had so very long ago on the playground. Sanji felt less like the little boy who machine-gunned clever insults because it was as much more fun than he let on, and more like the grown man who was hurt and sad and couldn't think of a God-damned thing to say.

"Why can't you guys just get over it?" Sanji spoke before he could stop himself.

Of it was possible, Zoro's eyes hardened even more. "What?" he growled.

Sanji backed up to lean against the counter. "Why can't you and Ace just get over whatever or whoever's got you acting like ass-holes and move on?"

For a instant, Sanji actually thought Zoro was going to hit him, but his friend only clenched his jaw tightly and reached down to open the lid of the cooler. He retrieved another Heineken, and after pulling the top off, tossed the bottle cap in the trash by the doorway.

"I need some air."

Then he was gone.

Sanji was ashamed to find himself close to tears. He really wished there was something he could do, something he could say to make it all right again. He felt a heavy weight settle in his chest as he thought about how his life would be if he lost one of his friends. It was really too painful to even think about it.

"Hey, Sanji?" a soft voice called to him from across the kitchen.

Sanji turned to find big brown eyes looking at him from underneath a mop of unruly black hair. Ace's younger brother, Luffy stood in the entryway between the kitchen and dining room, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his black cargo shorts.

"What's up, little bro?" Sanji tried to smile, but he felt it falter on his face when Luffy did not respond with the same enthusiasm.

The younger of the Dee brothers scuffed the toe of his sandal on the linoleum and leaned his head on the wall.

"This sucks…" he said quietly.

For Luffy to be so serious, and on top of that, quiet for longer than a fraction of a moment, Sanji felt the gravity of the situation weigh heavily on him once again. Luffy was like his brother: bright, cheerful, and usually showing all of his teeth in a semi-fanatical smile. For him to be so subdued meant that Zoro and Ace's fight was effecting everyone a lot more than Sanji had first realized.

Sanji moved across the kitchen and ruffled the younger man's hair. "I know," he said quietly, "But I don't know what to do."

Luffy looked up at him then, sadness pulling at the corners of his eyes. "Why don't you go talk to them?"

Sanji scoffed. "What the hell am I supposed to say? They're having some secret pissing contest and haven't filled me in on what exactly is happening. Besides, Zoro isn't really a talker. I'm sure if I tried to sit them down and talk it out, the whole thing would fall apart into a brawl and furniture would get broken."

To his surprise, Luffy frowned at him. "But… how are they supposed to work it out? When have you guys ever done anything with only two of you?"

Sanji blinked. "What?"

Luffy stood straight. "When was the last time you guys did anything with just two of you? You're always three. You're three parts of a whole pie, so how do you expect Ace and Zoro to fix anything if you're not there?"

Confused by Luffy's logic, but understanding a little of where it was coming from, Sanji sighed heavily and pulled his cigarette pack from his back pocket.

"I think it might be a little more complicated then that, Luffy, but I'll try anyway."

Luffy shook his head and turned to head back through the dining room. "It's not complicated at all. You just don't understand…"

Watching his friend's back, Sanji suddenly felt as if there was some big secret written in bright, flashy letters hanging over his head and he was the only one who couldn't see it. Moving down the hall and pulling the front door open, the feeling grew, but he pushed it as far back as he could and stepped out into the cold, rainy evening.

The small porch provided a decent enough cover to allow him to light his smoke, but it didn't really keep the fine spray from the rainfall from hitting his face and clinging to his clothes and hair. He was going to be damp when he went back in, but it was worth the minute or so of nicotine-induced buzz the cigarette gave him.

His tranquil moment was broken however when he heard familiar voices below him at the street. Fearing for what he was about to see, Sanji peered over the railing, his hair immediately going heavy, the sharp tips dripping water into the bushes below.

His fears were confirmed when he spotted Ace and Zoro standing on the apartment complexes' cement walkway. They were close, their faces only inches from each other, like lovers sharing an intimate moment before a sweet kiss. Their stances, however, could not be mistaken as anything but hostile. Ace's hands balled into fists, and Zoro was positively bristling. The two men made Sanji think of wolves, fierce and hungry, facing off in a display of dominance that would soon end in a spray of blood and torn throats.

"Zoro! Ace!" Sanji called out, but his voice didn't carry in the hard rain. He watched as Ace took a step closer to Zoro, and knew he couldn't wait any longer. Sanji crushed the remainder of his cigarette beneath his foot, and turned to sprint down the stairs. He jumped, flying over the last flight, and landed on the walk. He ran, nearing his friends, but slowed when he realized that cutting in would likely get him seriously hurt. Zoro and Ace were two of the strongest people Sanji had ever known. Instead, the cook stood close, watching and ready to make a move if it suddenly became physical.

Neither man moved. Neither seemed to even notice Sanji was there. They stood in a deadlock stare, the rain splashing over their faces and running down smooth skin to collect at shirt collars.

"You guys this is ridiculous!" Sanji cried over the pelting rain. "What could possibly-"

"You hated him before!" Ace growled, interrupting Sanji's frantic attempt at calming the two. "You guys never would have been friends if I hadn't come along!"

Zoro's eyes blazed. "I never hated him. Ever."

"You had a funny way of showing it!" Ace retorted.

"You don't know anything." Zoro moved still closer and Sanji had to steel himself to keep from stepping forward.

Sanji's fingers had gone numb, and his face stung from the hard pelt of the rain, but nothing compared to the feeling that was slowly growing in the center of his chest. It tore at his heart, squeezed his lungs, burned like the hottest fire, blistering him from the inside. Suddenly, Sanji was acutely aware of what Ace and Zoro could be fighting about. Everything started to slip into place as this new line of thought started to take root.

Ace bore his teeth, and Sanji was rocked to his core. That look should never have had to cross a Dee's face, and the sight made the blond lose his focus for a moment.

"You think he'll be okay with an emotionally stunted asshole like you!" Ace hissed. "You think he'll stay with someone that'll never say how he feels about him!"

Zoro slammed the bottle of Heineken down on the ground and it shattered. "How the hell d'you know I wouldn't tell him!" he snarled.

"You don't tell anyone anything!" Ace shrieked.

"Knock it off you two!" Sanji roared, but his friends did not listen.

"I tell you everything!"

Even in the storm, Sanji could see Ace's eyes were red. Tears ran down his cheeks, but were lost in the water from the rain.

"I waited for you forever," Ace snarled angrily, "and now, when I'm finally over it, you want to take the one thing I want most in the whole fucking world!"

"I'm not trying to take him from any-"

"You can't have him!" Ace screamed. "Stop doing this to me!"

Zoro was trembling with rage. "This doesn't have anything to do with you!"

"Of course it doesn't!" Ace cried. "I'm only a means to an end. I fucking hate you, Zoro!"

Zoro reacted, and the world slowed. Sanji saw his green-haired friend's stance change to shift his weight. His left arm came down and back, and his right lifted to block. This move was familiar to the cook, as one of the things the three of them had done together had been martial arts. Ace knew it too, and he moved to wind up for an upper-handed strike. The blows moved swiftly, the aim swift and true…

But Sanji was faster.

The cook moved, slid in between his friends, twisted his lower body like only he could do, and took the brunt of both hits from both sides. Ace's open palm cutting into the side of his neck, and Zoro's slamming into his side. The impact was something like a force of nature. His insides screamed in pain, and he felt the air leave his lungs. The world turned red for a moment, then faded in and out for the briefest moment.

Silence. Only the sound of the rain, and Ace's agonized breaths. Zoro's face was inches from Sanji's, and the green-haired man's eyes were wide and frantic.

"Sanji…?" he breathed in a hoarse whisper.

"Oh my God…" Ace moaned from behind. "Oh my God, Sanji…"

Sanji's look was venom. He held himself up on Ace and Zoro's paralyzed arms. Sanji turned his head to face his other friend, his gaze made Ace's skin go pale.

"You morons…" Sanji wheezed. "If you could stop being fucking retards for one second… we could… ah… we could…"

"Sanji?" Ace whimpered.

"Sanji, let us get you inside," Zoro's voice was no less frightened.

Sanji didn't have time to respond. The world went black and swallowed him up.

When he awoke, he was dry and warm. A soft mattress was at his back, and pale, cotton sheets shifted against his skin. Sanji opened his eyes, and found Luffy sitting in a chair beside the bed. His head was cocked, and his chin sat lazily in his palm.

"I told you to talk to them," Luffy muttered, "not be a punching bag."

Sanji made a noise and sat up. He was still at the apartment, and it was obvious that he had been there a while. The sun had risen and was halfway through its climb in the sky.

"Vivi mad at me for taking over her bed?"

Luffy made a face. "Why would she be mad about that? You were hurt."

Sanji shook his head. "Never mind."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Sanji waited for his friend to say something, but it seemed the longer he waited, that he was supposed to be the one talking.

"How long has this been going on?" Sanji asked, studying his hands.

Luffy shrugged. "They've been weird around each other since Ace told Zoro he was in love with him. Zoro took it pretty well, but never did anything about it. Ace had it rough for a while, but then he got over him and moved on to you."

Sanji nodded slowly. That was pretty much what he had guessed from the conversation the night before.

"What about Zoro?"

Luffy slid his arm out from underneath his chin and fell sideways onto the bed. "What do you think?"

Sanji's throat tightened. He had know, he had always sort of known about Zoro's feelings for him. But nothing had ever been said, so nothing had ever been done.

Sighing, and covering a humorous laugh with the heel of his palm, Sanji closed his eyes to stop tears from gathering.

"Do you know how long I've loved them? Loved them both?"

When Luffy said nothing, Sanji looked up. The younger Dee brother looked at him with an uncharacteristically serious face, and slowly nodded.

The tears finally slid from the corners of Sanji's eyes. "How do I choose?"

Suddenly, Luffy grinned, and sat back up. The light in his eyes returned, and suddenly and inexplicably, Sanji felt relief.

"Who says you have to choose?"

Sanji looked at his young friend.

He smiled through his tears.

The cold leather of the steering wheel felt good on his hands. His body sank into the familiar leather seat, and the radio blared his favorite band on the loudest setting. Sanji felt a rush through his whole body as he started the engine. His ribs were healed, and the bruise on his neck was only a memory. Today, he was going to the dojo, the training field, the YMCA—anywhere he thought Zoro or Ace might be hiding out.

He was going to confront them both.

And he wasn't taking no for an answer.

END