Sanji

Sanji watched as Tesoro fell to the ground in a hail of gold and seawater. His friends cheered, but the only one Sanji could focus on was Luffy.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Sanji looked on in fascination as Luffy beat Tesoro with a desperate ferocity that Sanji had never seen before.

Sanji approached his captain. "Luffy, that's enough! He's down!"
Sanji grabbed Luffy's elbow, remaining unfazed when Luffy whirled around with that same rage on his face.

"Sanji."
"You're killing him," Sanji said calmly, "you won. It's over."

"Zoro," Luffy, blind with panic, clutched Sanji's arm in a vice-like grip, "Where's Zoro?"

Sanji glanced over his shoulder. The idiot who'd gotten himself captured within an hour of being on this stupid ship was sitting patiently against the wall as Chopper examined him. Chopper fretted and fretted until Zoro gave him a tired smile and reassured him that he'd be all right with some sleep and the best doctor in the world looking out for him.

"He's fine, Captain," Sanji said at last, "Chopper's checking him out now over there."

Luffy's grip slackened, the wave of relief so visible that it caused him to stumble.

"Woah there," Sanji caught his captain before he could hit the deck, "Are you ok, Luffy?"

Luffy gulped and for a moment, Sanji was stricken by just how vulnerable his captain looked. "We have to get stronger, Sanji."

"Of course we do," said Sanji, "We always do. What's gotten into you? This is hardly the first time one of us has been captured."

"That was different," Luffy insisted, "This is Zoro."

With that, Luffy pushed past him, heading straight for Zoro.

"You ok, Sanji?"

The dainty feminine hand of his one true love placed itself delicately on his shoulder.

"WONDERFUL NOW THAT YOU'RE HERE, NAMI-SWAN!" Sanji noodled.

Sanji barely noticed Nami patiently waiting for him to finish professing his undying worship to her eternal beauty. Calming himself down, he shot a glance over his shoulder.

"Actually, look at Luffy."

The two watched their captain approach his first mate. Zoro attempted to brush Chopper off, insisting that he could walk on his own. The bullheaded idiot made it three steps before swaying violently. Luffy smacked his first mate lightly over the head, exchanging a few inaudible words with the man before Zoro conceded, allowing Luffy to sling an arm over his shoulder and help him follow the rest of the Straw Hats to the exit.

"Let's walk and talk," said Nami, "the sooner we can get off this gilded cage, the better."

"I'LL FOLLOW YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, NAMI-SWAN!"

"So, what's the problem?"

"Luffy almost beat Tesoro to death earlier," said Sanji, "Long after he was down. I stopped him but I haven't seen him look that scared since Kuma made Zoro disappear first back on Sabaody over two years ago."

Nami bit her lip. "Did he say anything else?"

"Well, yeah," said Sanji, "He said we all need to get stronger. I think Zoro getting captured really set him off. We all get captured from time to time; I don't see why the Marimo idiot getting captured is so jarring."

"Hmm," Nami said thoughtfully, "It's true that we've all been captured once or twice."

"Yeah, and Luffy came to the rescue, as always," said Sanji, "His faith gives us confidence that everything will be ok."

"That's also true," Nami agreed, "We can always rely on Luffy to bail us out before we ever get into any real danger. But this time was different because it was Zoro."

"Oh?" said Sanji, "Why's the directionless Marimo special?"

Nami glared at Sanji, sending an iron dagger through his heart, "Zoro's different because he's the first mate. Luffy can usually count on Zoro to take care of himself. Didn't you notice that it took Luffy seeing Zoro on his execution platform to start worrying about him?"

Sanji blinked. It was true that Luffy's non-chalance in the face of Zoro's execution had concerned Sanji a little bit.

"Exactly," said his ever-so wise Nami-swan, "Luffy couldn't come to face the possibility of Zoro being executed until he saw him on that platform. I also think that maybe Luffy feels a little guilty."

"Oh?"
"Yeah," said Nami, "I think that maybe Luffy feels a little responsible for Zoro's capture and almost execution."

Sanji tensed, his observation haki telling him something was very wrong.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING, STRAWHAT?"

"Damn, he's fast," grunted Sanji, the golden trail of Tesoro streaking past him before he could react. The defeated devil-fruit user darted past the band of straw hat pirates, wrapped a tendril of molten gold around Zoro's torso, and ascended into the air.

"I PROMISED THE PEOPLE RORONOA'S EXECUTION, AND THEY'RE GOING TO SEE RORONOA'S EXECUTION! LIVE AT THE GRAN TESORO! MAY I PRESENT OUR GUEST OF HONOR: THE DEMON PIRATE HUNTER'S CAPTAIN!"

Sanji instinctively stepped in front of his Nami-Swan. "This man is deranged."

"Everyone, stand down," ordered Nami, "Let Luffy take care of this."

"But Nami-" Nami's purple haired friend, Carina began to protest.

"Stand down, Carina," Nami insisted, "Luffy needs to do this."

Sanji saw Luffy tense in barely controlled fury as he watched Zoro's face bead with sweat at the effort to ignore the vice like grip tightening around his already burned and bruised torso.

"Luffy," Zoro grunted.

With a guttural roar, Luffy leapt at Tesoro. "GEAR, SECONDO!"

"Guard Point!"

"DON'T TOUCH MY SWORDSMAN!"

With a sickening crack, Tesoro went spiraling off into the air. Using his enhanced speed, Luffy quickly severed the tendril holding Zoro before he was dragged off with Tesoro, allowing his first mate to land softly in Chopper's guard point.

"So like I was saying," Nami said nonchalantly, "If the enemy's strong enough to take down Zoro, that'll frighten Luffy easily."

Sanji and Nami jogged to catch up with the rest of the Straw Hats.

"Oi, Chopper, put me down! I don't need to be carried like a friggin' baby!"
"Sorry, Zoro, but the sooner we get off this ship, the better, and we really don't have time right now for you to prove how independent you are."

"Just listen to Chopper, you shitty damsel in distress," scoffed Sanji, "If you're stupid enough to get yourself captured, then you can let Chopper carry you back to the ship."

"What did you just say to me, shitty love cook?" demanded Zoro, "I will kick your ass-"

Zoro winced, hissing at a pain in his side.

"Zoro, stop moving," scolded Chopper, "Honestly, you of all people should know that moving around will jar your broken ribs."

Zoro, lacking a proper retort, opted to pout in silence the entire way back to the ship.

"Chopper, put me down!" Zoro tried again once they'd reached the ship.

"Chopper, don't put him down," ordered Luffy, "Do whatever you need to make sure he's ok."

Zoro's protests died in his throat. Sanji watched Zoro and Luffy exchange an entire conversation without so much as a word before Luffy broke the stare-off.

"I'm fine now, Luffy," Zoro said softly, "I'm right here."

Luffy's face hardened. "But you almost weren't."

"Ok! Why don't I get dinner started?" said Sanji, clapping his hands together, "The rest of you can figure our way out of here while Chopper checks out Zoro. That alright, Captain?"

Luffy swallowed. "Y-yeah. What Sanji said. Nami, Franky, get us out of here."

Nami winked, "Aye, aye, captain!" and leaned in close to Zoro, muttering some inaudible threat that made the unworthy moss head pale even more than before.

Franky chuckled nervously, "Yeah, what she said."

Sanji sighed. Following Luffy and Chopper to the upper level, Sanji wished Chopper luck before disappearing into his beloved kitchen.

Kami only knows how much Chopper was going to need it.

Luffy

To say that Luffy was upset was an understatement.

Watching his swordsman use every once of his effort not to show Luffy and Chopper how much pain he was in as Chopper tightly wrapped his chest and treated his gold burns, Luffy was ready to either punch Zoro, or himself. Whoever he could reach first, really.

"Would you stop looking at me like that?" demanded his first mate. "It's not like you and I haven't broken more ribs than there are in our bodies over the past few years; this is just two more."

"Three," Chopper said flatly, "You broke three."

"Fine," said Zoro, "This is just three more."

"Chopper, will you leave us alone for a bit, please?" Luffy said in a low voice, "I need to talk to Zoro in private."

Chopper gulped. "O-ok. But don't hurt my patient, Luffy!"

Luffy paled. Is that really what Chopper thought? That he was going to hurt his nakama even more than he already had?

"Why don't you go see what Usopp's doing, Chopper?" said Zoro, never taking his eye off Luffy, "I promise I won't die before you come back."

Chopper closed the door softly behind him, leaving Luffy and Zoro alone with their thoughts.

"We need to get stronger," Luffy said softly, "I almost lost you."

"Yeah, you did almost lose me," Zoro agreed, propping himself up against the wooden wall of the infirmary, "But you didn't. We get captured all the time, Luffy, and you always pull through."

"But I almost didn't," Luffy insisted, "This time was different because it was you. I can always count on you to be strong, to face the enemy when I can't."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Are you saying you wanted me to escape on my own? Believe me, Luffy, I tried. I almost succeeded once. Tesoro's executives caught me and beat me unconscious. That's when Tesoro melded me to that stupid golden cross."

Luffy felt like he was going to be sick. "There's my problem. While Tesoro's executives were beating you unconscious, I was laughing and joking with everyone else."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"What do you mean, and?" demanded Luffy "I should have been more concerned! I should have known the second you were immobilized not to underestimate Tesoro."

Zoro's face went slack. "Oh. Luffy-,"

"It took me seeing you on that execution platform to realize that this guy means business, that he's really going to kill you," Luffy said through gritted teeth, "My nakama, my fukusencho, my-,"

Zoro grabbed Luffy's hand and splayed it across his own chest. "Do you feel that?"

Luffy concentrated. Thump. Thump. "Your heart."

"And what does that tell you?"

"That you're still alive."

Zoro locked eyes with his captain. "That's right. And it's going to stay that way because I may be strong, but I have an even stronger captain to catch me when I fall through the cracks."

The two stayed like that, swathed in a moment of secureness before Zoro smirked.

"Want to go raid the kitchen?"

"Chopper's not going to be happy," Luffy grinned, "I'll race you there!"