Title: This Is Your Life: One-Shots
Author: AoiTsukikage
Rating: R-ish
Characters/Pairing: ZoSan, other secondary pairings
Chapters: 1/1 for now
Word Count: 3345
Summary: One-shots set in my 'This Is Your Life' universe. Mostly because I haven't written One Piece fic in years and I wanted to dabble in the fandom again :)

"I don't think I've ever seen your office before. It looks…"

"Completely generic?" Kaku looked behind him and leaned against the doorframe, eyes directed toward the ceiling. "That's because it is. It's less an office than a…base of operations, I suppose, since we're not really city employees."

Sanji stepped backwards as a veritable herd of interns stampeded down the hallway and sighed. "Busy around here, isn't it?"

"Civic election's in a couple of weeks, so yes, I'd say that's a fair assessment," the other man slung an arm around Sanji's shoulders. "And we have to win, so that makes it a little more important."

"Because of you guys?"

"Mm, partly, it would be hard to explain to an outsider why the biggest cities in the western half of the country have a team of hired assassins working for them," he laughed and hopped onto the desk in the room, pulling his knees up to his chest. "But also because Iceburg is fully on our side, and it's impossible to tell where somebody's allegiance truly lies until they've been through the fire," he looked contemplative now.

"You think he's got a chance?"

"Four years ago I would have said no, but you know we were in Calgary for almost a year and they've got a young mayor, and it seems like the trend is skewing more toward youth and innovation over age and set ideals," he explained. "Regardless, Iceburg's well-known and well-liked and he's got the approval of the outgoing mayor, so I think we've got a good shot," he stood up then and moved out of the room, the hallway empty once again. "Come on."

Sanji followed him through the building to the front foyer, where Law was lounging against the wall, looking bored and attracting disbelieving looks from a lot of the people scurrying through the lobby.

"Finally. I thought somebody was going to ask me to vacate the premises on principle," the man pushed off from the wall and crossed his arms, and Sanji had to admit that it was probably uncommon for guys with tattoos and piercings and heavy eye makeup to just…hang around City Hall.

"Any news?" Kaku asked once they were out on the street, the bustle of the city at lunchtime vivid even in the dreary November air.

"Nah, he's laying low, from what we figure," Law had a hand braced on his hip and he was looking around cautiously, and Sanji wondered what it would be like to be on constant guard all the time. It had to be exhausting. "I mean, Krieg probably had men that weren't with him that night last year, so if there's a new gang lord rising and he's got any brain cells at all, he'll have spoken to them and they'll know this city's well-equipped to deal with threats."

"Enel's got a huge ego from what I hear," Kaku looked a little more relaxed, hands stuffed in his pockets as they meandered down the road. "Which makes him dangerous because he'll be ambitious, but it also means he's likely to be overconfident. It's probably better to play it safe, though."

"I'll talk to Hawkins when I can, see if he's gotten any visions lately about impending danger," Law had a smile on his lips and while Sanji had never met the man in question, he knew that he had some eerie psychic powers of prediction that, as far as he knew, were always right.

"You heard from Ace lately?" Kaku asked while they were waiting for a light to change, and Sanji nodded.

"Yeah, he's coming home next month for Christmas. I think Smoker's driving him crazy but we all could have told him that before he left," he knew he sounded wistful but he did miss the other man. Ace was somebody he could talk to about literally anything and know that he wouldn't be judged or have to be worried that he wouldn't be taken seriously.

They crossed the street and entered a little café, getting their drinks and heading to a table in the back so that they could talk quietly.

"So, what's the plan?" Sanji crossed his legs and draped his arm over the back of his chair, tapping his fingers idly on the wood.

"For you? Nothing," Kaku looked like he expected Sanji to be difficult about this. "I know that we told you you could help, and you can, but we're not going to go looking for trouble. We have to let him make the first move."

"Yeah, I know, I just…expected this to be a little more exciting. You know, after last time," Sanji replied, because last time it had been completely overwhelming but that probably had something to do with the fact that he was kind of the target in that particular plan.

"It's usually not," Law gave him a somewhat patronizing smile. "I mean, I like action well enough, but if we were constantly having to rush off and fight people that would be too much for me."

"Yeah, I guess," Sanji admitted they had a point, and he opened his mouth to say something else when Law's phone buzzed and a rather high-pitched squawk followed by the shriek of people at the front of the coffee shop interrupted him. A second later a large white bird had settled itself on his shoulder, 'broo-hoo'-ing happily even as Sanji flinched because wow, he was not expecting that.

"Trouble?" Kaku asked Law, who nodded and put his phone down.

"Yeah. I'm guessing that's why…"

"Rob apparently thinks that sending a text is too basic a means of communication, so he sends a pigeon," Kaku looked highly unimpressed, but not as unimpressed as the coffee shop owner who was currently rather angrily pointing toward their table.

"Well, Mr. Blackleg, you wished for action and you've got it. Coming?" Law stood up, seemingly unfazed by the fact that the entire patronage of the shop was giving them curious glances, and Sanji scrambled to his feet a moment later with Hattori cooing rather indignantly as he tried to keep his perch.

"You're serious? I can come?"

"As long as you don't cause trouble," Kaku gave Sanji a look that told him he was fairly sure Sanji wouldn't, and Sanji gratefully followed them out of the shop and down the street.

000

"So what's the news?" he asked once they'd turned onto a mostly-empty side-street, a few dilapidated buildings dotting the roadway. Law was holding up his phone, checking addresses as they went, and Hattori seemed to be directing them with his wings.

"Not sure. Just that we're supposed to come," the dark-haired man replied as he sighed and directed them down another alleyway.

"And they won't be mad I'm tagging along?"

"Well, Rob will be grumpy, but that's not new," Kaku rolled his eyes. "He's gotten worse ever since he turned 30 this year; seems to think he has to keep proving he hasn't lost it," he sounded rather fed up and while Sanji knew that Lucci could be trying at the best of times, he had to imagine a Lucci who was constantly seeking to prove something would be even worse.

"Hey, everybody agreed that Mr. Blackleg and his friends could assist us if they chose, so as far as I'm concerned, nobody has any grounds to complain," Law stopped in front of a place that was boarded up and looked at the peeling numbers above the door. "Here."

"What is this place?" Sanji asked, looking around curiously.

"Just old businesses that are slated for demolition so a new condo development can be built," Kaku shrugged. "Progress, you know. Upwards and upwards," he gestured to the two-story buildings that would soon make way for 20-or-30-story ones. "Would you like to do the honors?"

"Yeah," Sanji grinned, glad that he'd kept up with his training even though the past year had been peaceful for the most part, but it only took one well=placed kick to smash the door in and then they were inside, climbing the rickety stairs to the second floor where two men were waiting.

"About time, boy," Rob Lucci looked, as per usual, disgruntled, his arms crossed over his chest, and he barely spared a glance for Hattori as the pigeon fluttered to his shoulder.

"To be fair, Rob, you just sent a pigeon. It's not like I can read his mind," Kaku held out his hands and Lucci sighed, passing over a set of katana that the other man accepted with a nod.

"Hey, at least I sent a message," the other occupant of the room grumbled, and Sanji glanced at him. He was wearing a cloak that had more guns than he could count strapped to the inside and it would probably have been daunting had Sanji not known whose side he was on.

"And I do appreciate that, Mr. Kidd, but sadly your message lacked any pertinent details," Law clapped the man on his shoulder and turned to the grimy window. "What are we in for, lads?"

"Bunch of guys keeping a firearms cache across the street," Kidd pointed to a building nearby. "Dunno who they are, if they're Krieg's old men or with Enel or whatever, but they've got guns and they're not allowed to have them so…"

"So we go in there, disarm them, and wait for the police to clean up the mess," Lucci replied simply. "Which means no unnecessary violence unless it's in self-defence, so you two watch those swords," he looked pointedly at Kaku, who spun his katana around almost as a challenge, and Law, who'd picked up his giant sword from where it was resting against the wall.

"I claim no responsibility if somebody gets in the way of my blade," he replied.

"And Sanji…" Lucci looked at Sanji before shaking his head. "I should have known they'd drag you along, but you don't use weapons, right?"

"Just my feet," Sanji replied, crossing his arms and tapping the toe of his shoe on the floor.

"Good. I don't expect this to be overtly difficult since they have no idea we're planning on ambushing them, but I'd rather not have to deal with your boyfriend if you get hurt," he looked resigned and Sanji laughed and shook his head.

"Zoro knows I can take care of myself. It's not his call to make whether I do this or not," Sanji knew that Zoro wouldn't like it, at least since he wasn't there to look out for him, but he could handle himself.

"Right, then. Let's move."

000

It was thrilling. Honestly, most of that was because they had the element of surprise and none of the would-be gangsters had actually bothered to arm themselves, but actually fighting for real instead of having just air (and occasionally Zoro) be his opponents gave him a rush he hadn't even realized he'd been missing.

Not that he was an overtly violent person by nature, of course not, but working under Zeff gave him a lot of extra aggression to burn off and he thought that he might have just found his outlet (the shitty old cook never would admit anything he did was ever good, even if he knew his dishes were the epitome of perfection).

At any rate, a good roundhouse kick or two was all it took to stun most of the men, and the five of them were more than enough to surround them and make sure they didn't try to escape.

Not that, with Kidd pointing two of his many guns at them and Law and Kaku with their swords drawn they would, Sanji thought they'd have to be pretty stupid to try it, but he was still on his guard until the police burst through the door and assured the men they'd handle it from there.

"So?" he asked when they were walking out of the building, hands in his pockets and a lit cigarette between his lips (that Law, of course, had to steal and take a drag of before handing it back to him). "Did I pass?"

"It was hardly a test," Lucci gave him a sideways glance that very clearly told him he was bullshitting. "And we already knew how proficient you are, but yes, you did well. I think we'll all be glad to have the help you and your friends can offer, especially if Enel is as egotistical as the stories say."

"Law and I will try to go deeper underground and find out a little more about him, but from what I hear, he thinks of himself as some god reborn so he's a fucking nutjob, and half the time those guys are way more dangerous than the sane ones," Kidd muttered, folding his cloak tighter around his body.

"Insanity is unpredictable," Law added calmly. "But if there's anything to be found, we'll find it. If they aren't going to give it up willingly, well…they call me the Surgeon of Death for a reason."

His voice was so mild and his delivery so calm that it made Sanji shiver, and not for the first time he was glad that these men, for whatever reason, were his friends.

"But keep it quiet for a couple of weeks, we'd like for Iceburg to be in office before word gets out his hired guns are causing trouble," Kaku cautioned, getting a grunt from Kidd and an understanding nod from Law.

Sanji's phone going off startled him and he pulled it out of his pocket, seeing Zoro's number and biting his lip as he tapped some ash off his cigarette.

"That your lover?" Lucci was smirking and Sanji glared at him. "I know it is, don't get so uptight. Go home and see if you can't…put some of that pent-up adrenaline from the fight to good use," he had an evil glint in his eye and Sanji knew exactly what he was talking about.

And he also knew that Zoro would be more than okay with it.

000

"Fucking hell, cook, you gonna explain that one to me?" Zoro was panting, a thin sheen of sweat covering his perfectly toned body, and Sanji groaned and let his head thunk back against the wall, legs still firmly clamped around the other man's waist.

Okay, so maybe attacking him as soon as he'd gotten through the door hadn't been the most well thought-out plan, but they were both half-undressed and against the wall in the front entrance and wow, yeah, way to look desperate, Sanji.

"I…" Sanji unlocked his legs and whined a little when Zoro pulled out, holding him gently as he lowered him to the ground (and yeah, he was definitely going to be feeling that tomorrow). "Um…" he paused then, because Zoro had a knowing smirk on his face, and all he could do in response was to roll his eyes and groan, burying his face against Zoro's neck and hearing the other man's hushed laughter. "Fucking long-nosed freak texted you, didn't he?"

"Hey, at least somebody's giving me updates on your crime fighting ways. You should have invited me," Zoro poked his shoulder and Sanji growled and swatted at him.

"There wasn't a chance to. Next time," he promised, because he was sure there'd be a next time, but right now he was sweaty and dirty and tired and he just kind of wanted to curl up with Zoro and sleep for a while. "It was fun, though."

"You sound like me now, getting all worked up over fighting," Zoro didn't look displeased by that and Sanji irritably shoved at his shoulder, leaning onto him more heavily. "It's hot. I like it."

"Yes, from the way you so willingly went along with this, I'd gathered," Sanji replied dryly. "Now the least you can do is carry me to the bathroom. I want to sleep but I'm going to regret it if I don't at least shower first."

"You're such a baby, Cook," Zoro grunted but easily picked him up, and how gentle he was despite grumbling in annoyance the entire way told Sanji more plainly than anything else ever could how Zoro really felt about him. "But you promise? Next time?"

"Yeah. Or, I mean, talk to one of the others. They said they want to keep things quiet for a bit until the election's over but…" he didn't have the energy to explain everything now and he hoped Zoro wouldn't ask.

"Hey, whatever, as long as I don't get left out of the fun," he grinned and reached to turn the shower on, helping Sanji out of the rest of his clothing before getting undressed himself and guiding the blond under the water. "Something else is bugging you."

"Nah, nothing important. Just…do you know if Law's actually had medical training?"

"You mean, do I know how he knows how to torture guys?" Zoro laughed and Sanji's head snapped up. "Hey, easy, I don't think he's ever actually done anything illegal…but yeah, I'm sure he could. He told me about it once. And yeah, I guess he was training to go to med school and kind of…got sidetracked by the whole mercenary thing and then fell in with Lucci and them," he replied and Sanji hummed in acknowledgment, because for as much as he liked Law, if he was truly some sort of sadistic torturer that might put a damper on their friendship.

"Remember how five years ago we were just some kids in high school who had no idea what life had in store for us?" he was tired, and he got contemplative when he was exhausted, but it was something he thought about often.

"And now we're mixed up with gang wars and undercover agents?" Zoro replied, smirking, and Sanji had to smile back. "Because I've gotta tell you, I kind of prefer life this way."

"I'm starting to think I do, too," Sanji threaded his fingers through the other man's green hair and kissed him, meaning to keep it chaste but when it turned deeper he didn't see any reason to stop that.

"Hey, I thought you were tired," Zoro laughed breathily and Sanji shrugged.

"I am," he yawned to prove his point.

"You don't work tonight, do you?" Zoro looked like he really hoped the answer was 'no', and Sanji thought about it for a moment before groaning. "What?"

"No, but we're supposed to meet Nami and Luffy for dinner, remember? Shit, I completely forgot about that…"

"We can cancel," Zoro shrugged like it was no big deal and Sanji resisted the urge to kick him, but only because it would take too much energy to do that.

"You oaf, you do not cancel on a lady," he sniffed and tried to get out of the shower as gracefully as he could, drying himself off hurriedly with a towel before digging his phone out of his discarded pants and checking the time. "And it's only mid-afternoon. I won't need that long to re-charge."

"Fine," Zoro turned the water off and grabbed a towel for himself, drying off before scooping Sanji up (amid much protesting, of course) and carrying him into the bedroom. "Hey, you're the one complaining about being tired."

"I can still walk," Sanji muttered before scurrying under the covers, shifting so that his head was pillowed on Zoro's shoulder once the other man had climbed in as well.

"So. Next time…"

"Yes, as long as it's not short notice like this one was, you can come along and get some sword fighting practice in," Sanji promised, reaching for the other man's hand and hiding a smile when Zoro laced their fingers together. For as gruff and stoic as he always pretended to be, he really could be sweet.

"Good. I'm holding you to that."

"Mm-hmm, now sleep," Sanji yawned again and heard Zoro sigh in response, and a part of him thought that if having a little danger and excitement still meant coming home every day to this, he could easily get used to it.

Notes:

1. Holy crap where did this come from? I have not written One Piece fic in almost three years, and haven't written in this 'verse for nearly four years, so I have no idea if this will be an ongoing thing but…it was really, really fun to come back to and I'm reminded how much I love these characters.

2. I also haven't kept up with the manga for a couple of years but upon going back to do a quick recap on what's going on the fact that Law and Sanji are actually canonically having conversations now makes me very happy since when I'd first written 'This Is Your Life' I kind of…threw Law in there without him really having interacted with most of the crew.

3. Um, hi? Nobody remembers who I am, I'm sure, but if you do, yes, it's me, feel free to review :)