A/N: For kumiko-sama-chan's Zosan Christmas Drabble Exchange on Tumblr.
Everything hurt. That was the first thing that permeated Zoro's thoughts as he began to slowly become aware of the senses accumulating across his injured body; a pressure across the front of his chest followed the opposite diagonal pattern of his childhood scar, his knees were aching with a fierce intensity, and his entire body was stinging in a fiery cold. Each pain and discomfort weren't exactly cataloguing correctly in his mind as he was beginning to realize he hung at such an angle that gravity was slowly pulling more and more blood to his head.
Fighting to open his eyes he felt small ice crystals tearing as the lashes were forced open, bleary eyes vaguely focusing on the ground beyond the missing front window that was bathed in shards of glass and freshly fallen snow. His breath was clearly visible through every small tentative breath as a few more confused blinks had the entire previous incident coming back with surprising force as he remembered the terrifying feeling of losing control on the road, and then tumbling over the edge of the road, then pain. And then finally darkness.
They had been arguing over the radio – a stupid thing in retrospect – as Zoro had been complaining about the annoying Christmas carols, Sanji had adverted his eyes from the road for only moment to call him out on being a bastard. But the small lapse of concentration had been enough and a strong lurch had overcame the car, effectively cutting off Sanji mid-sentence as the entire world seemed to lack any gravitational laws and everything seemed to jerk in terrifying slow motion. Tail end of the car had whipper around at a dangerous speed as the movement had made Zoro's gut wrench sharply in fear.
The car had spun out of control as they were caught up on the black ice as the ABS breaks were completely useless, road illuminated by the headlights completely blurred in their circular motion as the crunching of metal resounded far too loudly in their ears. Splintering and cracking could be heard echoing in the car before the barrier gave way and the vehicle was sent tumbling over the edge of the road. Everything in Zoro's memory after that was completely blank.
Placing a hand to his pounding head he glanced over to the man in the drivers seat, body stiffening intensely – though out of fear, not cold – eyes widening in horror as he took in the blond to his left. Hanging much the same way Zoro was in his seat belt the blond was limp and unconscious, as Zoro took in the fact that the man was covered in blood.
There was so much blood.
In a frantic panic Zoro released his seat belt with a click, falling forward and banging his knees against the dash once more, hissing in pain as he realized that he had probably injured his knees in the exact same fashion during the crash. But adrenaline was already kicking in and he quickly brushed the pain aside as he threw open the passenger side door and stumbled out of the trashed vehicle. Not stalling to assess the damaged he limped around to the other side of the flipped car, throwing open the driver's door and dropping down in front of Sanji, ignoring the throb in his legs.
Hands shaking as he reached out for the blond he felt his throat begin to shut in his panic, breathing becoming difficult as panic was starting to set in as he took in the blood pooling at the ceiling of car and still running down Sanji's face. Trying to remain calm was hard as he fought against the terrified voice at the back of his mind screaming for Sanji to not be dead, wailing at the very idea the man wouldn't wake up.
Trembling hands worked desperately at the buckle, gently cradling the blond as he dragged him from the vehicle and into his shaking arms. The man's body was so cold, and though the blood was mostly just splattered across his face and hair because of how he had been hanging; it still was apparent in his pale face at how much blood he had lost. Crystals of ice had already formed on the man's flesh and lashes, making him seem almost ethereal in his unconsciousness.
"Don't be dead." Zoro murmured quietly even as his chest was beginning to hemorrhage in his effort to hold back his sobs, "Don't you dare fucking be dead you damned bastard."
Dropping forward he placed his ear directly in front of the man's mouth as he desperately listened for any sign of life. A long, terrible moment of unbridled fear when nothing met his ears had him nearly choking on his own breaths, but a soft gush of warm air was released into the shell of his ear and he nearly choked in his relief. Pulling away in shock he stared down at the man in his arms, having to force himself to take several calming breaths to reassure himself that he was okay.
Sanji was still alive.
With that small, yet oh-so-significant detail Zoro felt a bit more rational thought return himself as he began taking in the destroyed car and situation that they were now in. Car completely flipped upside down, windows all smashed and the bit of gear that they had was strewn about the small forested area under the base of the cliff they had driven off of. Glancing far above at the top of the distant cliff edge that was almost invisible in the darkness, the broken and twisted metal of the barrier could faintly be seen. The fall was substantial and it was amazing that they were even alive.
But they wouldn't be okay for long if they remained out in this cold, and with the state of his knees he didn't think he would be able to carry the blond up the huge cliff. Pulling out his phone he cursed as it was completely dead, and he had no clue where the blonds phone had even ended up in the chaos of the accident. Gritting his teeth at the frustrating situation he bit his lip as he looked back down at Sanji, still asleep and bloody. They couldn't call for help, help that Sanji desperately needed.
It seemed the best bet would be to get up onto the road and hope for a passing vehicle. So it seemed that Zoro's only current choice was to carry Sanji until there was a break in the cliff that he could climb up onto the road and hopefully signal for help. Though there was the foreboding thought that not many people would be out on this road, especially on Christmas Eve.
Shaking off negative thoughts he forced himself to focus on the main problem at hand; Sanji. The man was severely injured and needed to be warmed up quickly, and the freezing air of the night was hardly helping. Gently laying the man back onto the glass scattered ground Zoro stood with a wince as he hobbled over to the rear of the car.
Searching through the back of the totalled car he managed to find their backpacks, and light winter jackets – he was really starting to regret having Nami take up all of their heavy gear earlier that week. Shoving as much as he could into the two bags he returned to the blond, carefully manoeuvring the man onto his back while holding the packs in a free hand as he started to set off.
"Alright, curly." Zoro mumbled quietly as he hefted the man up higher onto his back, "Hold on for a little longer."
Sanji hung limply on him, cheek lolling on his shoulder as his bare hands were slung over Zoro's shoulders. The precious tools belonging to the man were pale, tips tinging an unhealthy red as frostbite seemed to be beginning to set in and he quietly cursed to himself. Half focusing on where he was walking, he let out harsh pants towards the fingers, doing his best to warm them.
It felt like an eternity trekking through the underbrush, knees throbbing and Sanji still completely unconscious in his arms as there still didn't seem to be an appropriate break in the cliff line to allow Zoro to climb while holding another body. It was when his weary feet landed on a worn pathway that was sparse of any vegetation that he looked up, glancing down the small trail in confused hope.
Mouth parting in slight disbelief at the sight of the small cabin a ways down the trail he felt a rush of gratitude and relief wash over him in an invigorating wave. Already running as fast as his injured knees could carry them toward the small building he began thanking whatever dumb luck he had been gifted with. Zoro was even so grateful as to call it a Christmas miracle.
The door was unlocked and Zoro became extremely grateful to the trusting trappers that clearly used the area as he stepped within the small cabin. There wasn't much to it; a small bed in the corner on a rusty frame was bare but for the sheets on the mattress, a wood stove was parked in the corner with a rickety pipe leading up through the roof, and a table was set up in the middle of the room.
Dropping the bags he made for the bed, laying the blond gently down as he slipped his arms out from under the man as Sanji was left laying limply across the covers. Still looking so pale Zoro began to panic once more as he realized that the blond's head wound would be nothing if the man wasn't warmed up.
Fingertips already feeling numb he struggled with the zipper on his hoodie for a few moments, swearing quietly to himself before finally managing to get the damned thing off. Carefully manoeuvring the blond he managed to get the black cotton around the blond, doing it up around the man, torso and arms. Then throwing the rest of their spare clothing from their packs onto him as well he finally stood back with a sigh.
That would have to do for now, at least until Zoro could get a fire going and then start checking out how bad that head wound actually was. His light shirt was hardly keeping him warm but ignored it as he started inspecting the stove, finding absolutely no wood, only an axe leaning up by the doorway. Nothing else to it but finding some wood on his own.
Snatching up the axe he exited the cabin, closing the door gently behind him as he circled the small building, finding a pile of logs stacked in the back and a single chopping block standing up right. Wasting absolutely no time he snatched up the first log, setting it up and slicing through it with a swift thwack from his axe. His hands still were cold and a few near misses and failed attempts had Zoro startled, before the menial task began working up a sweat and his body was growing warmer by the minute.
Once a small pile of decent kindling was chopped Zoro swiped an arm across his brow, light shirt now feeling too warm on his over worked flesh. It was small bonus that he no longer had to deal with his own state of cold, now he could solely focus on getting Sanji warmed up.
Gathering up an arm load of wood in one arm and grabbing the axe with the other he returned to the cabin, dropping the kindling onto the floor and discarding the axe before making his way over to Sanji. Quietly thanking Sanji for his terrible smoking habit he ruffled through the blond's pockets before locating the small lighter in victory. Returning to the stove on a dropped knee as he began stuffing the wood into the small iron box.
Receipts and various garbage from his pack was tossed in as well before he flicked Sanji's lighter twice, bathed in the hopeful glow the flame provided as he set about lighting a larger fire. It wasn't long before the paper and smaller pieces of wood were crackling sharply and a small radiance of heat was being emitted. Leaving the door slightly parted to warm the small building up, he quickly returned to Sanji's side.
The man was looking a lot less pale, though still showed no sign of waking. Carefully sitting down next to the blond he gently tested out the drying blood around Sanji's face, relieved to note that at least the bleeding seemed to have stopped and the wound was clotting. Giving a cursory glance around the room he knew that there wasn't much else to do but wait until morning and hopefully help would come looking for them.
Nami and them would grow worried when they didn't respond to their texts, and by morning if they had not shown up the loyal group of misfits would be out on the highway in an instant looking for them. Zoro chuckled lightly to himself as he pictured Robin sitting in a plush chair in the corner of Kaya's large resort cabin, snidely saying to Nami that perhaps they had been killed in a car crash. Completely in jest of course, but Zoro was grateful that her morbid humour had not come true; at least not yet.
Glancing back at the blond he realized that the fire wasn't nearly warming the man was much as he had hoped, his inner body temperature still far too low from however long they had spent unconscious in the car. Wracking his brain for any quick idea on how to warm the man up, his cheeks immediately tinged a slight pink as he thought of all the various movies he'd watched that mentioned skin contact being the fastest way.
Biting his lip he paused, he looked down at the unconscious man as the awkwardness of the idea of laying mostly naked next to him arose. It wasn't that he was particularly adverse to the idea of lying naked next to him, but it was more of the thought that Sanji didn't know that Zoro wanted to lie that way with Sanji that made it weird. It only took another moment to rationalize that this was for Sanji's own good, and that the blond would totally not think anything weird of it after Zoro was clearly just doing this out of kindness. Removing his shirt he lay down beside the man, pulling the blond carefully into his arms as he covered a bit of himself in the spare arms of the jackets as he kept Sanji buried under the most of the fabrics.
This wasn't exactly how he had been expecting to spend his Christmas Eve with Sanji up at Kaya's family's resort. As with every year he had been expecting to sit moodily on the couch in the lodge in front of the rustic fireplace while drinking a concoction of rum and eggnog that was ninety percent rum. Trying to drown out his sorrows as Sanji would be off flirting and fucking every damned snow bunny[1] on the hill that even sent a look his way.
That was how it went every year, and his friends were always annoyed by the fact that he 'didn't enjoy the holidays enough'. But in all honestly, it had nothing to do with the holidays and had everything to do with his long infatuation with the man currently half-dead in his arms. Sanji knew his preferences, but had no idea about his feelings, and Zoro had never dared risking ruining their friendship over something he knew the answer to.
But it didn't stop him from caring so much it hurt, and his arms instinctively tightened around the body pressed up against his as he prayed for the guy to be alright. He didn't think he'd ever be able to forgive himself if Sanji didn't come out of this okay, regardless if the blond would never return his feelings or not. Terrible thoughts were welling at the idea that even if Nami and them found them tomorrow, that perhaps the blond might now awaken. What if the head wound had caused to much damaged?
Sanji's steady, living breathes were panted out against Zoro's throat and it seemed to be the only reassuring action that was keeping Zoro from completely breaking down. Hand gently coming up to run through the blond hair comfortingly as the cabin began to slowly warm from the fire in the stove, Zoro slowly let his eyes fall shut. The steady, reassuring breathes from the man in his arms and the crackling of the fire lulling him to sleep.
~X~
Sanji opened his eyes to meet blackness, brows coming together in confusion as he wondered if maybe he hadn't even opened his eyes at all. The small motion of his eyebrows however was painful, and brought about the stark realization about how much his head was pounding. Trying to move a hand to press it against his head he found his arms immobile, and for a long terrifying moment – bound and blind – he was left worrying about what the hell had happened to him.
It took a long moment before he inhaled sharply as he remembered the crash... and then nothing.
Shifting his body some more he found that whatever was around him was like a jacket of some sort, and with a bit of adjusting he managed to get his arms through the sleeves. It took a bit of effort as his moving made his realize there were more spare hoodies piled on top of him in a make-shift pile. A heavier object lay on his midriff and as he managed a hand down to assess what it was he inhaled sharply as his hand closed around a wrist.
Glancing to his left he found Zoro beside him, partially covered in the random pile of clothing, barely able to make out the man's face in the darkness. Eyes gently closed as that man seemed to still be fast asleep Sanji's eyes widened at the notion that he was lying in a bed with Zoro for some reason. How and where were they even?
Sitting up slightly he cast a glance around the small cabin, frowning as he noted that he definitely did not recognize the place, nor did he have any clue how they had ended up here. A stove in the corner had some pitiful embers laying amongst the ashes and Sanji shivered at the cold that was settling in from the lack of fire. Turning back into Zoro he appreciated the warmness as he vaguely realized Zoro had given him almost all of his clothes to keep him warm. Cheeks flooding lightly at the thought that Zoro had done something so caring
Eyes coming back up to sheepishly look at the guy he found the man's brows were drawn down even in his sleep, obviously in discomfort from the cold. Reaching out a tentatively hand he reached around to touch the man's back, gasping in shock at how cold the skin was. Had that dumb idiot really not taken the time to keep himself covered? Why had he given Sanji all of the clothes, the damned idiot?!
Looking down at himself he found Zoro's trademark black hoodie on himself – the same one Zoro had been wearing a few hours ago in the car – cheeks flushing red as he could smell Zoro's musk off of the worn fabric. Trying not to dwell too hard on how ecstatic it made him feel to be wearing something of Zoro's he tried to figure out how he could get one of these hoodies piled on top of them on the currently sleeping man.
Sanji's shifting seemed to agitate Zoro as his eyes slowly cracked open, slits of enchanting hazel eyes glinting tiredly before surprise set in and they snapped open sharply as Zoro sat up. Looking Sanji up and down carefully he hardly paid attention that he was half laying on the blond as he leaned over him with one arm propped by the man's shoulder. Letting out a relieved breath the man grumbled, "You're awake."
"Yeah," Sanji murmured quietly, knowing that the situation was far more serious, but still immaturely noting that they were in the same bed together and Zoro was intimately close, "What happened?"
"I don't know." Zoro shook his head, the words seemed forced though as Zoro was still watching Sanji far too intently, "I woke up in the car with you all bloody. I got us here and made a fire- Shit!"
Zoro looked to the side at the fire that had long since gone out, already jumping up from the bed as he ran over and began stuffing more wood into the small stove, adding more paper scraps and relighting it. Sanji watched quietly from the bed as Zoro knelt in front of the fire, working diligently. Small flickers of the flames cast warped shadows across the man's concentrated face, as the hardened, rigid muscles in his back were outlined perfectly.
Sanji tore his eyes away from the man when he finally turned back to Sanji after satisfied with the fires growth, grabbing his pack and coming back over to the bed. As Zoro was rustling through his things Sanji made an effort to push himself up into a seated position, groaning as even the small effort caused his head to throb and colours to flash behind his eyelids. Placing a hand to his forehead to try and relieve the pain, he withdrew it, startled at the amount of blood on his hand.
This must have been the reason his head hurt like such a bitch.
The bed sunk a bit as Zoro sat next to Sanji once more, a water bottle in hand and a crumpled up bit of fabric in the other, already tipping some water onto the clothe. Confused, Sanji watched as Zoro set the bottle aside and turned towards him, hand reaching out to gently grasp his chin as the cold water soaked rag was pressed to his forehead tenderly. If it wasn't for Zoro's hand on his jaw his mouth would've dropped open as he stared up in disbelief as Zoro quietly cleaned his wounds.
Eyes set on his task, Zoro seemed to be firmly focusing on each careful dab of the wet clothe as he tried to wipe away as much blood as possible. Sanji just remained shell shocked, beaten to silence by his disbelief as the man re-soaked the clothe before returning to gently cleaning Sanji's face like a mother would to a son's mud-caked face.
"You're so bloody." Zoro murmured quietly, concern lacing his voice as something in his words seemed tight – almost restrained – and it only took another moment to notice Zoro's hands had begun to shake ever-so-slightly.
"Head wounds tend to bleed a lot." Sanji jested with the man, the sassy remark uttered almost on instinct as he was still in shock by how emotional and caring the man was currently acting. But even the joking words didn't get a rise from the man as he only gave a worried nod.
"I know."
"Well, then quit your worrying." Sanji smirked lightly, "I'm fin-"
"Dammit Sanji!" Zoro snapped, voice rising for the first time since Sanji had awoken, bloody clothe being whipped at the ground furiously as Zoro managed through gritted teeth, "There was so much fucking blood, I thought- Do you even know-?! How was I- ?!"
An angry grunt was hissed between Zoro's teeth as he turned his face away from Sanji, eyes scrunching shut as he seemed to be trying to hide something. Sanji sat awkwardly beside the man, not sure what he was even supposed to say in Zoro's weirdly misplaced anger as his eyes fell on the bloody clothe that had been thrown to the floor. It was Zoro's shirt...
Oh...
Eyes sliding back up to the man sitting in front of him he felt like he was really seeing the man for the first time since waking up from the wreck. Skin was tinged pink and whitening in some areas where he had obviously ignored the frostbite that had been setting in, his face was covered in nicks and scratches from the crash, half of his clothes were missing as they were now either on Sanji or coated in the blond's blood, and every rigid line and tense muscle in Zoro's body breathed anxiety. Zoro had completely neglected himself in favour of looking after Sanji.
A surge of gratefulness hit the blond so hard he felt he might choke, taking in a shuddering breath as he realized everything that Zoro had just done. Carrying him to this cabin, looking after him, saving his fucking life. Hands trembling as he reached out, he linked them around the man's neck he pressed his forehead into the man's shoulder, squeezing tightly as he tried to calm whatever fears were currently racing through Zoro's head.
He couldn't find the words to say everything he needed to in that moment; he needed Zoro to know he was okay, needed the man to know that he was alive and wasn't going anywhere, wanted to desperately tell the man how damned important he was to the blond! But all he could do was lamely hang onto the man that had saved his life, too stupid to even get words out passed his lips.
"T-Thank you." Sanji finally whispered quietly, knowing the words didn't even express an iota of how grateful he was.
Sanji could feel the large breath that the man drew in, a sharp exhale followed and suddenly Zoro was turning jerkily in the blond's grip. A strong hand gripped his jaw as he was pressed back into the small mattress as a firm pair of lips met his. Everything in the motion was aggressive, and yet the hands holding him were gentle – handling his cheeks as though he were delicate glass – as rough lips remained sealed over his forcefully.
Just as soon as the chaste kiss had been placed it ended as Zoro pulled away swiftly, dark eyes levelling with Sanji's as he muttered lowly, "I never want to lose you like that again."
Sanji remained laying back on the bed breathless for a moment, as Zoro continued to loom over him and had that dead set scowl of concentration etched into his brow. And Sanji didn't know why it had just happened, but it did, and it seemed all that time thinking Zoro just wasn't interested was wrong. Throwing his arms back around the man's neck he hauled him down for another kiss, a real kiss.
The shock for either didn't seemed to last very long and soon Zoro was climbing more fully onto the bed, carefully placing himself between Sanji's legs as curious yet cautious hands began to roam. Every touch and lick was almost worshipping in it's carefulness and Sanji realized it was because he was hurt. Part of Sanji was instinctively riled up at the thought of being considered weak, but he quickly stamped it down in favour of seeing this weird new side to Zoro.
It wasn't long before the cabin was sweltering and all clothes were either discarded or shoved from the bed as Zoro leaned over Sanji panting harshly as he slowly slid within the blond. Sanji's hands tangled in the bed sheets by his head as he kept his eyes scrunched shut from the overwhelming feeling of pleasure coursing through his body at finally having this man inside of him after so long. The pain in his head was long forgotten as everything was focused on Zoro.
Each thrust was slow and deep, methodically placed rolls of his hips that were solely meant to make the sensations last as long as possible and prolong the ethereal feeling of finally being in each others arms. Sanji knew another part of Zoro was staying reserved to keep from hurting Sanji, and had long since accepted that this was a side to Zoro he was growing fonder of with every minute.
"Z-Zoro," Sanji murmured out breathlessly around each perfectly punctuated thrust from the man above him, hips rotating in amazing circles to force himself as deep as possible into the willing blond, "Zoro, I've wanted this for so long."
The words seemed to break something deep within the other man, as a stifled groan was released in agony as Zoro dropped his head to the crook of Sanji's shoulder. Barely whimpering into the skin as his thrusts grew a bit more erratic and his grip tightened slightly. The lack of blood was causing Sanji's head to rush and he let his eyes slide shut as he completely handed his senses over to the man that seemed so perfectly be able to take care of him.
"I never-" Zoro let out a small grunt, eyes shutting as his brows knitted together in pleasure, body shivering into Sanji's as they were both nearing their peaks. A few uneven breathes were stuttered out before Zoro managed, "I never want to lose you."
Hands tightened to nearly painful levels on his hips, one releasing and sliding up to tangle with Sanji's, gripping the blonds hand desperately as the man placed his forehead against Sanji, "Never again."
"Never." Zoro grunted sharply with his next thrust, repeating the word in a terrible mantra along with each perfect thrust that had Sanji arching up into the hot body above his and tightening his grip on Zoro's hand, "Never. Never. Never."
Sanji could no longer keep his eyes open against the onslaught of everything currently crashing down upon him, emotional and physical. All he could do was tighten his grip on Zoro's hand as he threw his head backing, screaming the man's name as he finally reached his peak. Blackness eating at the corners of his vision as his whole body shook, as he could vaguely feel Zoro reaching his end as well.
Under Zoro, body still buzzing he turned his head to lightly brush his cheek against Zoro's, humming lightly, "Talking about losing me; you're the one that always gets lost, shitty mosshead."
Zoro grunted at the annoying response, his arms tightening in silent punishment at the blond that just seemed so dead set on ruining the moment. But even as Zoro bit out his next words they were laced with thinly veiled affection as he grinned against the blond's shoulder , "Oh, fuck off."
~The End~