Author's Note: I'm gonna try to keep notes to a minimum for this fic. But welcome to Full Circle, an angsty idea that struck and was supposed to be one long short story. Of course things don't work out that way, my brain decided it wants to try pulling this into pieces, so we'll see what happens. I'll try to make updates every Tuesday (forgive me if I'm a little off on some days, I just write A LOT of stuff at once and it all depends on what ideas are spamming my brain.

Apologies in advance by the way.

There was no warning for the marines approaching over the horizon, but the crew paid no attention to the potential dangers. They'd dealt with idiots who thought they posed a threat, admirals with ridiculous moves and outlandish objectives, all easy obstacles they could waive their smallest finger at now. So watching the marine fleet approach was nothing new, nothing too terrifying. In fact they all felt a little excited with the prospect of a new fight.

They were horribly mistaken though. The fight was rough, lasting nearly twice as long as most of their major battles, the marines refusing to give up. The crew fought back just as hard until a disgruntled and nearly hysterical Chopper demanded Franky find a way to escape, worried about everyone's conditions and unable to fight much longer without being afraid of the consequences. He was already beaten and desperate to help any of their nakama, and Franky felt they had no choice. Nami and Brook were practically on the verge of collapsing, Sanji and Usopp were completely missing, and Zoro had jumped in to fight off marines from a recovering Robin. Franky wasted no time shooting the Sunny ahead and watched as Luffy threw any remaining marines overboard.

There was only a moment of relief from the situation, everyone collapsing when the ship hit calm waters and Chopper ran around to check their conditions. Then they heard the choked sobs, the frantic screams for help, and the heart-wrenching, throaty whine of pain, both physical and mental coming from the back of the ship.

Chopper and Luffy, the only ones able to stand after the battle, ran towards the source and found their two missing nakama next to the outside infirmary door. Usopp, battered and bruised but still primed for a fight, huddled close to Sanji and hardly acknowledged Luffy and Chopper standing nearby. His attention, his words, his everything was focused on Sanji, the cook wrapped in a ball around himself. "Chopper's-Chopper's gonna help, he's gonna be here in a sec, just hang on-"

When Usopp noticed them, Chopper had already moved as close to the cook as he could get. Sanji was cradling one of his hands and choking back cries of pain. Chopper tried to pry his hand free to get a better look, Sanji shaking and resisting all urges he had to jerk away. He didn't speak, left hand reaching around Usopp's waist to hold him tight while he burrowed his face against Usopp's shoulder.

"Wh-What happened to him Chopper?" Luffy asked, peering over Chopper's head and reeling at the bruised, twisted appearance of Sanji's right hand.

"A few broken fingers and it looks like he's fractured his wrist and scraped it in several, various areas," Chopper said, staring at Sanji with fear and general dismay. "How did this happen?"

Usopp inhaled, a cut off wheezing noise when Sanji's left hand squeezed tighter around him. Chopper noticed there were cuts and bruises on Sanji's left hand as well, but they weren't nearly as damaging. "S-Sanji was protecting me," Usopp said, his own tears pooling in his eyes. "The m-marines tried to hurt me and-and-and take ad-"

Sanji interrupted with a pained grunt, demanding Usopp stop and jerking against Chopper's grip on his hand, which made his pain increase and his cries even more hurtful.

They didn't need the rest of the story, not yet at least, and Chopper quickly moved to action. "We need to move him inside and take care of his hands. Usopp, do you think you can help me move him?" he asked, smiling as much as he could when the sniper nodded.

Watching Chopper and Usopp get Sanji to stand, Luffy stood frozen and unresponsive while they moved. He only looked towards Chopper when the reindeer tugged on the end of his shorts. "Luffy, tell everyone to gather in the dining hall so I can check on their wounds. It might be a bit since I'm helping Sanji and Usopp first," he said.

"Yeah, sure," Luffy said quietly, watching Usopp comfort Sanji while fighting tears of his own. Chopper thanked him before running into the infirmary where Sanji and Usopp waited for him. Luffy stared as the door closed, and with a solemn frown, he pulled his hat down to cover his eyes before running to the main decks of Thousand Sunny.

XXXXXXXX

When the crew filed into the dining hall and heard small noises coming from Chopper's infirmary, they immediately looked towards Luffy for answers. Luffy wasted no time detailing what he saw at the back of the ship, resisting his own breakdown as the noise level in the other room increased. Everyone watched him tell the tale amidst strangled cries that grew louder in time with Luffy's story, cutting off just as he finished. They all sat around the table and stared down at the tablecloth or the wall, unable to look each other in the eye. Even Robin, who normally stayed calm in every situation, froze in place and watched the coffee maker with a bitter stare.

Eventually Chopper emerged from the infirmary alone, closing the door quietly and with an extra first aid kit in hand. "Usopp is still helping him cope, but everything's alright for now," he said. He quickly moved on to help his nearest nakama, Nami, to take care of her obvious injuries.

"Chopper, how bad is it? Is Sanji gonna be okay?" Luffy asked as he nearly crawled over the table.

"Sanji has three broken fingers on his right hand, along with a broken wrist that makes his right hand completely useless until it heals up," Chopper explained, frowning as he focused on Nami. "That could take a few weeks."

"What about Usopp?" Nami asked.

"He's shaken, but he's holding up well, probably to help Sanji cope," Chopper said. "He only has minor injuries and bruises, but he could have been much worse."

"How did everything happen?" Franky asked, already working on fixing his mechanical parts while he listened to Chopper explain the situation.

Chopper finished examining Nami and moved on to check Zoro. "From my understanding, the marines cornered Usopp towards the back of the ship and started beating him up, threatening to-" He paused, suddenly shaking a bit. "Th-They threatened to- to-"

Another pause, accompanied by Chopper's trembling shoulders, made him hardly able to cover one of Zoro's still bleeding wounds. "Chopper, you don't have to say it if it didn't happen," Robin said quietly from the coffee maker, pouring herself a cup of coffee that had almost gone cold.

Chopper sniffled and nodded, blinking away his tears and resuming his work. "Sanji jumped in, temper raised to its highest and mind focused on one thing. Usopp said Sanji was fighting back so hard that he even tried throwing some punches. One of the marines caught his hand, snapped his fingers and his wrist, and Usopp regained some of his fighting spirit They fought off whoever was left before Sanji broke down and huddled up into a ball."

"So they really hurt them both and severely injured Sanji-san's hands," Brook frowned, denying Chopper's offer for medical assistance by assuring him that he didn't need much.

"He's physically going to be fine so long as he ensures he doesn't use his hand until he is fully healed. But mentally, considering how often he uses his hands and how much he depends on his hands, he's not doing well," Chopper said. "Usopp said he'll try to get Sanji to calm down, he's already doing a pretty good job, but we'll have to keep an eye on Sanji for a while."

"So Usopp's gonna be with Sanji for a bit?"

"Mmn. They're both going to be resting for a while."

The crew looked up at Luffy when he stood. "We'll start cleaning up if everyone is able. Chopper, make sure everyone is healthy and tell Usopp and Sanji to relax for now. We can take care of everything."

Chopper nodded, watching Nami and Zoro stand to follow Luffy out the door. Nami stood next to Chopper and leaned down to pat him on the head. "Tell Sanji-kun that Robin and I will take care of dinner for now, free of charge," she smiled, standing again to walk out. Franky followed, Brook leaving after grabbing a glass of milk.

Robin stood next to the coffee maker still, watching Chopper sit at the table and sigh. "Doctor-san, do you need any assistance with handling Sanji-san's recovery?"

Chopper nodded, not really able to say much as he sniffled again. "Do you think Sanji will be alright? Without being able to cook, he's surely going to fall into depression or become unstable-"

"He will be just fine Chopper," Robin said. She walked over to the dining table, sitting next to Chopper before pulling him into her lap. "Don't worry, Sanji is strong, he will be able to pull through without much trouble. Usopp-san will also be there for him, just like the rest of the crew."

With the end of Robin's statement and a small and reassuring hug, Chopper nuzzled against her torso and nodded. Robin pat his hat while she smiled, looking towards the infirmary door with concealed anxiety.

XXXXXXXX

"Can you feel anything?"

"Nothing that hurts. It's-It's a throbbing kind of feeling now."

"Ah. So the pain meds haven't numbed it yet."

Sanji watched Usopp for a moment, eyes burning from his crying and throat raw. He couldn't take his eyes off the way Usopp gently cradled his injured hand, how the sniper avoided touching his thumb and pointer finger that escaped harm's way. Sanji was too worn out from the ordeal, leaning against Usopp's body with a blanket pulled up to his chest. He just wanted to sleep and forget about the whole thing, remind himself when he woke up and didn't feel like he would break into little pieces. But feeling Usopp behind him, the sniper covered with minimal bandages, Sanji felt his fried nerves relieve themselves, anxiety slipping free in a good way while Usopp gingerly held his hand.

"You didn't have to throw those punches for me. Not if they would've ended this way," Usopp mumbled, kissing Sanji's hair while his thumb smoothed over some of the splint Chopper wrapped to Sanji's hand.

"I'd do it again if those assholes appeared on the ship," Sanji growled, his left hand already curled into a fist to stress his point. "No one threatens you without getting the shit beat out of them by me, not when they're low life, scum eating trash that can't live up to standards that their employer set."

Usopp gave a bittersweet smile, hugging Sanji a little tighter with his nose pressed against Sanji's scalp. He could feel his own bruises start to hurt a bit, but he really didn't care. Sanji was pushing back on him as he sighed, stressing his desire for sleep, and he was starting to get a little tired himself. "Thank you," he said.

"Mmmn," Sanji moaned, eyes locked on the splint on his hand. He moved his pointer finger a bit when Usopp's hand came close to it, locking a couple of the sniper's fingers in a circular grip around them. "I can't hold your hand with this thing."

"You can when it's healed. Besides, you still have the left," Usopp said. "This is good though, this is better than nothing."

The quiet way Usopp said it, how much fear and relief he exuded with just one little statement, Sanji could feel himself tearing up again. Usopp was right, things could have been much worse. He could have permanently damaged his fingers, maybe even lost them the way Chopper was explaining his luck. Sanji was assuming he should feel good about the situation, given the chances and the way things could have gone. But then again, there was nothing to feel good about when it came to injuries, none that he could figure out after all.

They sat in silence for a moment, Usopp still playing with Sanji's hand despite the cook's iron grip on his fingers. Soon Usopp let out a yawning noise before snuggling even closer against Sanji's back. "We should take a nap," he whispered.

"Mmn, let's," Sanji yawned, sitting up to pop his back for a moment while Usopp readjusted himself. Sharing Chopper's infirmary bed was not easy, the cot usually only big enough to fit one person. Sanji even needed room to elevate his hand, doctor's orders, so the chances of them both fitting were almost impossible. They paid no mind though, Sanji lying on his back with his hand propped up on a pillow, Usopp snuggling against his left side and all but curling his body over Sanji's.

They settled against each other, sighing through their noses with small, relaxing smiles. Sanji even rubbed part of Usopp's waist where his hand rested and pulled him a little closer. "When we wake up I can make us some-" Sanji cut himself off, a pang in his chest at the realization that he couldn't cook for at least a few weeks, and that in turn made him tighten his grip again, fingers of his right hand twitching. "Shit… Shit I-I can't cook," he said.

Usopp found that he couldn't really speak up, tight lipped to hold back the truth and the tears that wanted to spill over. He pushed against Sanji even more to relay his unspoken words, even pressing a couple kisses against his chest through his shirt. "I'll cook for you. I'll do all of your cooking until you're healed," Usopp said.

"No, no you don't- you don't have to do that," Sanji frowned, suddenly reminding himself of the useless feeling that hit. He felt worthless without his hand and cooking abilities, making a lump form in his throat again. "Geez I-I don't know how I… how I'm supposed to do anything."

"You don't have to do anything, you have to rest," Usopp said. "Remember what Chopper said? The more you rest, the faster you can get back to cooking again."

"It's not that easy though," Sanji frowned. He was wide awake again, stomach feeling empty and heart pounding in fear. "What am I supposed to do while I heal? What good is a cook who can't cook?"

Usopp was rubbing soothing circles over Sanji's stomach, unaware of the way it churned under his palm. "You're just as good you know. Just because you can't cook right now doesn't mean you're a failure."

"I sure as hell don't feel like it," Sanji grumbled. He sat up again, pulling the blankets off his body and groaning as he threw his legs over the side of the bunk. Usopp moved to stop him, but Sanji brushed him off. "I-I think I'm gonna go get some fresh air."

"What about resting?" Usopp asked. "Chopper said-"

"I'll be right back, I just wanna go out for a sec," Sanji groaned while he walked toward the back door or the infirmary.

Usopp was out of the bunk in a second, arms reaching out to wrap around Sanji's torso despite the aches from the fight. He snuggled against Sanji's back, sure there was something deeper behind Sanji's insistence that he go outside. "Talk to me," he whispered. "Don't go outside if you're just gonna get upset."

Sanji was quiet and unresponsive while Usopp tried hugging him even harder and making their already aching injuries hurt more. He didn't realize his shoulders were already trembling and showing off more than his nonexistent words. The dam finally cracked, another soft sob jumping out of his throat before he had a chance to stop it, Usopp squeezing him tighter again.

"Shit…" Sanji choked out, left hand reaching to cover his eyes while his right hand rested on Usopp's arms. He sniffled as his tears returned, everything hurting all over again. "U-Usopp, I-"

"Let's get back in bed. You can let it all out," Usopp whispered, easing Sanji back into the bunk and crawling in next to him again. Sanji was a little rough as he pulled Usopp closer, snuggling against the sniper's chest to cover up the shaky breath that he released. Usopp gently rubbed his shoulders and encouraged him, holding back tears of his own.