Title: Come Back To Me
Pairing: Zoro/Sanji
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters I just like playing with them.
Rating: M
Warning: This story will contain mature Yaoi content if you don't like it don't read it.
Sanji let out a heavy sigh and dropped his head into his hands. His body ached all over and his muscles protested every movement and yet he hadn't moved from his position on the hard stone floor. He had collapsed against Zoros makeshift bed hours ago, not really understanding why but needing to be close to the idiot. He hadn't so much as twitched since he collapsed against the cook and Sanji had found it hard to distract himself. Zoro had been close to death before, hell the first time he had met the man he had nearly been chopped in two by Mihawk, so seeing Zoro all wrapped up in bandages was nothing new but this time was different. This time Sanji couldn't shake the horrible feeling settling in his stomach, the weight in his chest made it hard to breathe and the pure anxiety that was consuming him was making a big dent in his cigarette supply. It was really starting to piss him off.
They had always fought, he knew how strong the bastard was. He spent most of his day finding new ways to rile the man up just so he could fight him. This was another problem that plagued the cook. It had taken him a while but ever so slowly he had noticed that he sought out the swordsman more and more frequently, even more so than his precious ladies. At first he didn't think anything of it, the man was always fun to fight, easy to rile up, always coming up with interesting new ways to get around the cooks legs, a challenge that Sanji revelled in trying to overcome. Zoro pushed Sanji to be better, to think harder, to come up with impossible counter attacks and strengthening himself so he could defend himself against any blow the swordsman threw at him. However recently during their fights he had started to notice things, little things that shouldn't have mattered. The way Zoros eyes lit up every time the cook challenged him, the way his jaw tensed and his eyebrow would twitch whenever he was getting truly annoyed, the slight smirk that crossed his face whenever Sanji entered the room and he was about to make the cooks life hell, not to mention the way their bodies moved together when they fought.
Oh that had been a surprise.
It had all started when Sanji found Zoro sleeping at the back of the ship after he had missed lunch. He had kicked the green-haired idiot hard. Zoro had reacted instantly, swords drawn and furious expression on his face. Zoro had leapt at Sanji and their dangerous dance had begun. Blow after blow rained down until Sanji managed to get past Zoros swords and landed a few good hits on his sides, Zoro had grabbed his leg at the last second which resulted in them crashing to the deck in a heap of limbs as they each tried to wrestle the other into submission. He had felt the heat radiating off Zoro, the way his rough, calloused hands had held the cook in a deadly tight grip, muscles straining as he fought to gain the upper hand. The swordsman growled low in his throat, the pure animalistic sound made Sanji lose focus for just a moment and he had ended up pinned to the deck under a very sweaty, very satisfied swordsman who had a shit eating grin plastered on his face. Zoro had pinned his legs with his own and had Sanjis wrists in a tight grip on either side of his head, his weight pressing down on the cook causing his skin to feel like it was on fire wherever they were pressed together. He had been so close, his breath tickling his cheek, his dark stormy eyes boring into Sanjis dancing with triumph, the position was so intimate and Sanji had forgotten how to breathe. Zoro had leant down and whispered in his ear, sending shivers running though his body until his foggy brain had registered what the bastard had said.
"I'm hungry now shit-cook, what's for lunch?"
Just like that, the spell had been broken and Sanji had proceeded to kick Zoros ass. That had been 3 weeks ago. He hadn't been able to get it out of his head since and he had grown so hyper aware of the swordsman's every little move that he had found every excuse under the sun to avoid him as much as possible. He had been so confused about his thoughts and the way he had reacted to Zoro that he had even started neglecting his beautiful Nami-san and Robin-chan.
However when he had heard the swordsman offer his own life for the crews everything had become crystal clear. There was no way he could let the idiot die, somehow the green-haired man had pushed his way into the cooks heart without him knowing and he would do everything in his power to make sure he stayed alive. His body had moved before he could register what he was doing and the words flooded out of his mouth offering himself instead, there was no way in hell he was letting Zoro die for him. Although apparently Zoro had the same thought because the next thing he knew there was a burst of pain in his side, driving the breath from his lungs. He spun around to give the asshole a piece of his mind when his vision had begun swimming with black dots and the last thing he had seen was Zoros bloody face, eyes cold and filled with determination.
The panic that had engulfed him when he finally regained consciousness was something he had never felt before, it had shaken him to the core and the only thought in his head was Zoro. He hadn't even given a thought to how everyone else was, ignoring the pain that racked his body he had searched frantically only to find him covered head to toe in blood. He had quickly made his way over to the swordsman, noticing that even though he was standing he was breathing harshly and his limbs were trembling with the effort of holding himself up. When he suddenly collapsed the relief he felt at seeing Zoro alive had quickly been replaced by that horrible panic once again. Sanji managed to catch him before he hit the ground and he had immediately screamed out for Chopper. Not waiting for the little doctor to find him, he picked the unconscious man up gently and rushed back the way he had come.
Chopper had done everything he could and he had told Sanji that he would have to wait until Zoro regained consciousness before he could do anymore. The tears in the little reindeer's eyes had made Sanjis chest hurt. He had reached out and hugged him while he cried and tried, unsuccessfully, to quell the uneasiness in his stomach. The feast that followed had been a good distraction for everyone, although Sanji had found it very hard to keep his eyes from wandering over to the prone form of the swordsman and once everyone had collapsed from exhaustion he had made his way over to check on Zoro for himself.
His skin was pale, even more so than Sanjis, a stark contrast to his normally golden, sun-kissed tan. His brow was creased in a scowl and his forehead was beaded with sweat. Sanji grabbed a cool cloth and leaning down, gently wiped the sweat away, watching as the scowl started to soften under his touch. After studying his face for a while Sanji had felt exhaustion pull at him and had collapsed on the ground which is where he still sat, eyes heavy but mind racing with unpleasant thoughts.
Sighing, he rubbed his hands down his face leaning his head back against the makeshift bed. Closing his eyes he muttered quietly,
"Don't you dare die on me Marimo, I know how stubborn you are. You're the only one I know that could take that much damage and call it nothing, the only one stupid enough to be that reckless." Sanji swallowed thickly, feeling the tell-tale prickling in the back of his eyes.
"I know you can survive this, just like you survived all those other assholes and as much as I hate to admit it I need you on that ship, I need someone to fight with, someone to push me, someone who will tell me exactly how it is, even if it is with that smug ass look on your face. So please Zoro just….."
Sanji felt tears fall down his cheeks and he was trembling with his supressed emotions.
"Just please come back to me"
He whispered, voice cracking at the end. Burying his head in his hands knowing no one was awake to see him this weak, he let himself cry.
Struggling against the darkness of unconsciousness Zoro slowly felt his senses returning to him. The first thing was the pain that wracked his body, he had never felt anything like it. It felt like his entire body was on fire, and he hadn't even moved yet. Once he had adjusted to the pain he noticed he was lying on something hard, blankets covered him and there was something cool on his forehead. He heard a sigh and some movement to his right, he could smell the distinct scent of the cook's cigarettes and started to wonder why he was there. The cook had been acting weird around him lately, ignoring him whenever he walked into the galley, always finding an excuse to be somewhere Zoro wasn't, he wasn't even rising to the bait anytime Zoro finally managed to get close enough to rile him up. He had started to miss their fights and the blondes' fiery attitude.
As much as people thought they hated each other they didn't, well he didn't hate the cook, far from it. He loved the cook, he had for a while but he knew that there was no way he had even a sliver of a chance with the self-proclaimed ladies man, so he had settled with what he could get. Finding reasons to fight him just so he could be close, so that he knew he had the cooks undivided attention, always having his back in a fight, arguing with him to see the fire in his eyes when he got riled up and suddenly it had all changed and it had confused the hell out of him. Dumb cook and his stupid confusing actions.
He heard the cook begin to speak, the low timbre of his voice somewhat soothing the swordsman as he listened to him speak. Zoro had never heard Sanji compliment him before, even if it was a round-about way but as the cook kept speaking, his voice getting closer to a whisper Zoro noticed something off about he cooks voice. He couldn't place what it was at first and then the cook said his name. His actual name, not Marimo or shitty swordsman, not even moss head. And then Sanji said something that Zoro never would have expected.
"Just please come back to me"
His breathing hitched and his heart started to pound, he hadn't heard right surely, there was no way that the cook would've said that right?
As the thoughts raced through his head he heard a quiet sniff and realised that Sanji was crying and he felt an odd sensation in his chest. He wanted to tell him that he was ok, to wipe the tears from the cooks face, hug him and make sure he knew he wasn't going anywhere but his body wouldn't move. He couldn't even open his eyes to see the blonde-haired man.
Zoro mentally cursed. If what he had heard was real and not some pain riddled delusion that his brain had conjured then maybe, just maybe he had a chance and that chance was now. However his body wouldn't obey him, so instead he laid there listening to the cook cry until his breathing finally evened out signalling that sleep had finally over taken him.
Zoro had never heard the cook cry, not like that. He was too proud, too stubborn and it broke his heart. As much as people thought he was a heartless bastard in truth he would do anything to make sure his crew stayed happy. Hearing the one person who meant the world to him crying because of him and not being able to do anything hurt.
He laid there for a long time contemplating what he was going to do about the cook now. Would he still avoid him? Or would he finally be himself again? Would he be able to tell the cook the truth? Either way Zoro was going to get some answers, even if they were ones he didn't want to hear.