Once Upon a Dream
The smoke consumed his lungs as he searched frantically through the house. Broken chunks of wood blocked his path towards the bedroom, and hot bursts of fire surrounded him. Splinters entered the palms of his hands as he pushed planks of wood out of his path and continued on through the wrecked hallway. He could faintly hear the pained coughs just a few metres from him, and he knew they were both running out of time. Now at his destination, his booted foot kicked numerous times at the charred door, before finally the dividing wood caved in and snapped a hole in an area where the wood was the thinnest. Hauling the discarded pieces out of his way, he squeezed through the small opening and called out to his lover. A weak cry of "Zoro!" gained is attention and helped direct him to where the voice came from. Immediately his eyes landed on Sanji sprawled under broken planks of wood, and the pool of blood that surrounded him. His heart squeezed at the sight, and he ran over to kneel next to the man who was reaching out for him. Without a second thought, the green haired man began the pull at a heavy plank of wood that was currently pinning down his partner. A strangled cry halted his movements, and he gazed down to see Sanji frantically wriggling in pain.
"Zoro don't, it's..." A pale hand weakly slapped at the burning wood that Zoro was holding, requesting that it be put back down.
Zoro was desperate now, not knowing exactly what his partner wanted from him. This was an easy fix. He could just lift the wood away and pull Sanji out and they would make it out together.
Tears ran down Sanji's face, and created a clean path streaming down the ash that covered his cheeks. A shaky hand covered his face in disgust of the next words that had to be spewed from his mouth.
"I'm pinned Zoro"
Yeah, he knew that already, that's why he was trying to help him out.
"Zoro stop, it's pinned me!"
Again, he knew that. Yet the words reverberated through his mind clearly this time, and he concentrated on the meaning of the words. Now warm tears were streaming down his face, as suddenly Sanji's words and the source of the blood clicked into place. His mind was switching to over drive, and he lifted the plank higher than before.
"I'll pull you out then! I will get you out of here!"
The blond screamed in agony and thrashed his arms around, desperate for Zoro to stop.
"It's useless you shithead! I CAN'T...I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS!"
The creaking of crashing wood somewhere in the apartment and the pounding of his heart echoed through his body, and his brain momentarily shut down. His eyes connected with the cerulean blue eye of the man below him, and a blubbering "No..." escaped his lips.
"Just leave me Zoro...you still have time to get out of here!"
Yet the man just couldn't believe what was happening. Everything before this moment felt like a blur. It was as if he had only entered this moment to instantly love this man, only lose him just as soon. Time after this moment seemed not to exist either, as thoughts of life without the curly gold hair, or those endlessly swirling eyebrows was a life not worth living. The mornings when he would awake to see the other man clad in a pink apron, flipping pancakes and singing along to girly songs would no longer exist. Even now the words that he would hear being sung from the blond's mouth drifted through his mind.
I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream.
Delicately, he lowered the plank back onto the mans blood covered chest, and slid his hand under the soft locks of hair to cushion Sanji's head.
"Zoro - what...?"
"You idiot, as if I would ever leave you." As he muttered those words, he propped himself next to Sanji to lay down beside him.
Numerous cries of "No!" from Sanji were protested against his motives, so instead he covered the moving lips with his own, effectively shutting the other man up. Pushing his lips harder against Sanji's, his tears rolled down his face and gently slid down onto Sanji's cheeks. Quaking hands snaked through his short, green hair and pulled him closer than before, forcibly moulding them even more together.
I know you, that gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam.
Finally separating his lips from Sanji, he brushed the man's fringe back to reveal a pair of swirling eyebrows that rested atop two large blue eyes. Sanji stared longingly into Zoro's eyes and used his thumb to brush away the crusting ash that had also managed to reach his face. Breathing was limited now as the hot, thick smoke consumed the crumbling room. The blue eyes below him diverged their gaze to the other side of the room where a brand new crib was currently turning black at the touch of the scorching fire. Zoro momentarily froze as he thought that perhaps an infant was possibly in there right now, but for some odd reason, he knew there wasn't. In an instant blurring memories of a happy Sanji running into their apartment holding a piece of paper dazed before him. The blurred Sanji jumped up to him, shouting in joy at how they had been chosen by a young couple willing to give the unborn child to them. Memories wafted into a new situation where Sanji, with a paint covered face, was instructing him to move the crib a bit more to the left, no - more to the right! Perfect! And finally one single moment fleeted past him. It was the two of them, seated hand in hand on the bed admiring their work of the spare corner of their room which had now been turned into an area for their future child.
And I know it's true, that visions are seldom all they seem.
Heaving coughs dragged him back to the reality before him, and he realised that it was from both he and his partner. He felt satisfied at what they had achieved together, even if they had not reached their joined goal of raising a child with each other.
Cupping his hand onto Sanji's cheek, he pulled the man's gaze back onto him and lowered his face for one chaste kiss against his lips. "You know I love you right? I love you so much Sanji, even your dartboard eyebrows."
Sanji in return covered Zoro's hand with his own and leaned into Zoro's warm palm.
"Of course I know that shit head. And I love you too, even if you do have the most ridiculous green hair I've ever seen."
A mirthful laugh left his mouth and unfortunately took up some of the spare oxygen left in the room. Laying his head back onto the floor next to Sanji, he leaned in close to the man's ear and whispered "I love you."
Sanji swallowed back the lump in his throat and stated "Doesn't this all just feel like someone's dream?"
Zoro huffed another small laugh and replied "What a messed up dream..."
"I wonder if in another life, we're still together..."
At Sanji's thoughtful comment, an idea sparked into his mind. "Sing that song for me. The one about the dream."
"It won't be the best performance, but I'll give it a shot..."
"Just the last line then."
With as much effort as he could muster, Sanji turned his head to face Zoro and pressed their foreheads together. With sunken eyes and blood stained lips, he croakily whispered out the final sentence of the song.
"But if I know you, I know what you'll do. You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream..."
Zoro's eyelids slowly lowered at the sight of the unmoving blue eyes before him, and a strangled whine left his scratched throat. All he could see was red and orange surrounding his vision, and only the ocean blue irises guided him to follow wherever his lover was taking him.
The swordsman awoke with a startled gasp. Sweat poured down from his forehead and slid to his scarred chest. He took a moment to catch his breath, and as he did he peered down at his shaking hands. Another surprised grunt left his mouth as a pointed finger jabbed in between his creased eyebrows. Swallowing thickly, he gazed up into a lazy blue eye that was staring right back at him. He found that his neck was stiff from his odd positioning against the railing where he had fallen as sleep seated against it. The blond chef was squatted in front of him on the grassy deck of the Thousand Sunny, with a plate of steaming food being held by the hand that wasn't poking at his face.
"You looked like you were having a bad dream, so we decided not to wake you for dinner. So here it is now, marimo."
The food covered plate was placed next to him, yet the jabbing finger remained, and it seemed that the chef was not finished talking.
"Must have been a pretty messed up dream, your face has crease lines like crazy..."
The sound of Sanji's baritone voice sparked an unpredicted sensation through his body, and memories of a croaked voice singing to him sent unshed tears to his eyes. The dream he had recently awoken from crashed through his mind, and his eye widened at the clean face of the chef in front of him. Sanji seemed confused at Zoro's reaction, but none the less returned the gaze.
But if I know you, I know what you'll do.
You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream.
A blue eye widened in what seemed to be recognition at Zoro's thoughts, and the finger finally retracted from Zoro's face.
At that moment, all the swordsman could think about was the make believe life that he had just lived with Sanji in his mind. He had just dreamt that he and the cook were happily in love and expecting a child, only to perish in flames together. It was unbelievable.
His eye followed the trail of a single tear rolling down Sanji's face, and the same feelings he held for the man in his dreams returned momentarily. Time seemed to slow as inch by aching inch their faces closed in. Their breaths mingled in nervous anticipation, and confused thoughts spurred through the minds of the both of them as their lips were almost joined. Lyrics from a song unknown to either of them wafted through their hearts and began to beat together at the imaginary song. A pale hand, stronger than that of the man in his dream, rested on his thigh as an act of support. Zoro found his support in pushing back Sanji's fringe, mimicking the movement of his dream self, and tucking it behind the man's ear.
A desperate shout of "SANJI! I'M HUNGRY AGAIN!" scared both men into retracting from each other hurriedly. Coughing awkwardly, the cook stood up and fixed his suit jacket in embarrassment, and called out in reply "Hold on you shitty rubber captain!"
With one last questioning glance towards Zoro, the chef wiped the stray tears from his eyes and re-adjusted his fringe so that it covered his eye again. The swordsman could only sit and stare at the man in both relief and disappointment. Soon the chef turned around and made his way towards the kitchen where Luffy was anxiously waiting for him. The green haired man knew that life here in his world wasn't like that of the happy couple in his dreams. Yet somehow his heart ached at the fact that life wasn't like that, and it never would be. With a sigh, he picked up the still warm plate of food and began to hungrily chow down. Faintly he could hear humming from the departing cook, and the tune was one that he would never be able to forget. He involuntarily found himself humming along messily to the tune, unheard by the chef.
Gulping down the last of his meal, the swordsman rested his head comfortably against the railing of the ship again, and closed his eyes, imagining an alternative ending to his dream. Visions of a new born child being handed from the mother to the arms of a crying Sanji entered his mind. Time moved forward rapidly as a bubble covered Sanji held the adventurous child still in the bath as he attempted to wash the shampoo out of the small tuft of hair. The dream Sanji turned to him with a pout and mumbled "Don't just stand there and laugh! You stupid marimo!"
Time moved forward once more, and smile graced his lips as a Sanji from another life kissed him gently on his lips, whispering softly "I love you."
END
As soon as I heard Lana Del Rey's version of 'Once upon a dream' for the upcoming "Maleficent" movie, I knew I had to write a sad Zosan story, sorry!
I never really write from Zoro's perspective, so it was interesting to experiment with that a bit. I wish that I could write a continuation to this story, but it just wouldn't seem right. If you haven't listened to the song yet, I highly suggest you do so right now! Reviews on your thoughts would be lovely, and thank you for reading.