Most people in high school didn't have the luxury of claiming that they lived on their own, in their own apartment but Sanji did, well okay not entirely true...he lived with the last person on earth he ever thought he would live with, Roanoa Zoro. The arrangement had been made not long after they met, Sanji had rent to pay and Zoro needed a place to stay that's all there was to it, but as months went by Sanji found himself drawn to the green haired teen more and more, but today something else was occupied his mind. The burning, the itching, the tingling, it was all to much to take and Sanji dropped the knife he was holding in order to scratch his arm. Swearing under his breath he looked up as the door opened and Zoro entered setting his things down in the closet next to the front door. Sanji dropped another curse and scratched with renewed vigor as a fresh wave of itching and burning hit him like a battering ram.
"Sanji? What's wrong?"
Sanji spun around and help up his red, abused arm to show what looked like a rash.
"I have a god damn rash and I have no idea where the fuck it came from!"
Zoro took hold of the cook's wrist in a tight but gentle hold and inspected the 'rash', he looked up at Sanji and released his arm.
"Oi, shit cook, you been in the garden on the roof lately?"
"Well duh, that's where all my herbs are moss head!"
"Heh, you've got poison ivy."
"That's nice, how the fuck do you get rid of it?!"
"You don't, you have to wait til your body fights it off."
Sanji stared at him horrified as his roommate walked down the hall and into his room.
"Your shitting me right?"
He heard Zoro snort from his room and knew he wasn't. He had to be in hell, and he was being punished for something he didn't deserve...okay, yeah he was attracted to the green haired roommate, true, but that wasn't worth this punishment was it?
He sighed explosively and walked down the hall tapping on Zoro's door, which he opened with a towel wrapped around his bare shoulders already in sweatpants that rested low on his hips. Trying to keep his breathing normal Sanji concentrated on keeping his eyes locked on Zoro's.
"What is it cook? I was getting ready to train."
"Since you know what it is, do you know anything that'll help?"
"Calamine lotion and oatmeal baths. That's what I used to do when I was a kid. It'll help with the itching."
Sanji nodded letting his eyes glance at the scar on his roommates chest, it still baffled him how the young man could survive something like that. Tearing his eyes away from the gnarled flesh he nodded his thanks to the swordsman and walked back to the kitchen where he quickly finished lunch and went through their medicine cabinet looking for the pink bottle that might have been there. Finding it he looked at the directions and realized that there were places that he was sure even with his flexibility he could ever reach. Hanging his head in defeat he walked into the kitchen just as Zoro sat down at the bar with some of the lunch he had made.
"Hey Zoro, you think you could help me with this."
Zoro sat there, his fork halfway to his mouth and blinked at the blond cook as if he had grown another head, catching the look Sanji shook his head.
"No, nevermind, it's okay. I'll figure something out."
Zoro shook his head and put the fork down looking up at his roommate.
"No, no it's fine. I just never thought the day would come when you would actually ask for my help."
"If your gonna rub it in my face that I need help from a barbarian like you than I'll just suffer!"
"No-god damnit Sanji just shut up. You've asked everyone else for help but me. I just never thought you ever would."
Sanji opened his mouth to reply when the door to their apartment flew open and both Sanji and Zoro rolled their eyes as Luffy flew through the main room and wrapped himself around Sanji giving him the puppy dog look.
"Sanji, Nami hasn't fed me today and Ace has no money...feed me please?"
"It's in the pan you crazy monkey."
Luffy leaped into the air and grabbed a plate piling it as high as he could with the stirfry Sanji had made, Ace walked in leisurely and closed the door behind him and gave Sanji a kiss on the cheek before moving to get a plate himself. Sanji looked back at Zoro and blinked when the swordsman seemed to be trying to set his food on fire just by looking at it, his expression dark and hard. Sanji reached out for him when Ace set his plate on the bar and stood beside Sanji taking a bite he smiled and looked over at the cook.
"It's really good babe. Your best yet, what did you do different?"
"O-oh...um...I made my own sauce instead of using the store bought crap."
Ace nodded and took another bite closeing his eyes and humming appreciation.
"Really good."
"Thanks."
Sanji looked back to Zoro only to see him inhale the last of his food, stand swiftly, walk to the sink and drop the empty plate there and than walked away and retreat back to his room. Luffy looked up, his cheeks bulging from the amount of food he had in his mouth and some how managed to swallow it all.
"Sanji, did you and Zoro get into a fight?"
"Um, no we didn't...I don't know what's wrong with him all of a sudden..."
Luffy's hand shot into the air as if he had to wait to be called on to speak.
"I bet he's jealous of big brother."
Sanji and Ace looked at him and blinked, Sanji spoke up, his voice slightly high than he would like to admit.
"Jealous? Why would he be jealous?"
"He likes you."
Luffy had said it as if it was nothing new, and didn't bother him what so ever, which nothing usually did bother the monkey. Sanji glanced over at Ace who stood there smiling as Sanji mulled what the younger D had just said. After a while of talking and just bullshiting with each other the brothers took their leave and left Sanji to his thoughts...that is til his arm started in on him again reminding him what he was trying to do before the duo had paraded through his and Zoro's door. Growling he reached over to scratch and it blinked as his wrist was caght in the firm grip of a large, calloused hand.
"If you scratch it, it'll spread."
"Spread? You mean it spreads?"
Zoro shook his head and than looked at Sanji.
"You've never had poison ivy?"
"No dammit, never."
"Than yes, if you scratch and than scratch another spot it'll spread to the other spot."
Sanji groaned as he recalled scratching nearly ever part of his body so far...well almost every part of him, he looked up at Zoro and felt a small blush creep into his cheeks as he noticed how close Zoro was as he was looking at Sanji's arm.
"You have that lotion?"
Sanji nodded not trusting his voice at the moment and handed the pink bottle to Zoro who took it and began applying the lotion(which to Sanji's horror was pink also) to the broken out spots on his arm. The relief was almost instant as Sanji sighed.
"Better?"
"Much, thanks alot."
"No problem. If you need help again, just let me know alright?"
Sanji nodded feeling as if there was something else that the larger man wanted to say but as Zoro turned and went back to his room Sanji sighed and began to clean up after the meal he had previously made. Later on that night as Sanji sat on his bed getting his clothes ready for school the next day he thought back to first meeting his room mate, Luffy had introduced them at luch along with everyone else at the crowded table. Only a few months had passed since than, he and Zoro got along okay, that wasn't the problem, the problem was the fact that Zoro seemed to think him inferior, or something like that. In truth he would never really know would he? He shook his head and hung his uniform up on his closet door, slipping out of his room for one last glass of water he stopped seeing the light from the fridge on and gleaming down the hall. Tip toeing his way down the hall he let an amused smile slip onto his face as he watched Zoro raid the fridge of it's leftover from previous meals.
"You know, if your ever hungry, you can ask me to make you something."
Zoro jumped and spun around, a half eaten piece of sesame chicken in his mouth. Sanji chuckled and reached into the canbnet by Zoro's head and retrieved a glass and filled it with water from the sink. Taking a long gulp of it he leaned on the counter and watched as Zoro swallowed the bite he had been chewing for a few minutes.
"Uhm...I didn't know you were still awake. Your usually asleep by this time."
"How do you know that?"
Zoro's cheeks turned slightly pink and he looked away.
"I usually see your light go off."
Sanji nodded and shrugged.
"You want me to make you something or just continue with your previous pilfering?"
"Eh, I'll pilfer, fridge needs cleaned out anyway. You always make something different for dinner everynight so we never have the chance to back and eat leftovers."
Sanji nodded in understand and waved goodnight to Zoro taking his glass of water back with him to his room and climbed back into bed setting the water on his nightstand he curled up under his blankets and closed his eyes listening to the sounds of Zoro raiding the kitchen.