Zoro sat alone in the men's quarters, a bottle of sake in one hand, the other dug into his own hair, pulling hard. He wanted to get drunk, to stop feeling so fucking miserble.
He wasn't used to feeling thos way: helpless, weak.
Hze hated this.
He pulled harder on his hair. Pain might help, he thought.
But that wasn't true, however.
His scalp was screaming with pain but he didn't stop, he needed all pain he could get to keep his sanity.
He'd been dumped.
He. Had. Been. Dumped.
He put the bottle away, grasped his hair with both hands and started to scream.
It was a pathetic scene.
He was hurt in a way he couldn't handle.
Physical pain was no big deal, but mental? To his very core?
He felt worthless, used and thrown away.
Being unwanted wasn't easy to deal with, especially not for him, as proud and overly confident as he was.
He cried out again, utter despair resonating in his voice.
He fell to his knees, sobbing, his fists hitting the floor, his forehead resting between his elbows.
The pain wouldn't help. Not at all.
Seeing such an impressive, tough man on his knees, crying like a little kid, was heart-breaking in the worst way.
A shadow moved in the doorway.
Someone softly breathed out, barely audible.
A little twirl of smoke drifted into the room.
Zoro could smell it.
He stilled, hid his tear-covered face behind his arms, still kneeling on the floor.
"Get lost," he growled, his voice raw from crying and screaming.
The shadowy figure stepped into the room, blowing out a ring of smoke.
"No," the figure said, "you oughtn't be alone now. Even if I'm the last person you want around, I'm not leaving."
Zoro grumbled something but still didn't lift his head.
He didn't want Sanji to see him like this.
Another sob shook his chest, he couldn't hide it.
He felt ashamed, wanted to crawl into his own skin.
He heard movement, hoped Sanji had changed his mind and left.
Then he felt some weight on his shoulder. He stiffened.
No. Don't. Please, don't.
"It's okay," Sanji murmured, his hand still resting on Zoro's shoulder, "no need to feel ashamed. We all experience this shit, you know."
Zoro didn't answer. He doubted that anyone'd turn down Sanji.
He swallowed hard, dared to look up at Sanji who smirked down at him.
"Good boy. Cry if you need to. That's okay."
Some more tears ran down Zoro's cheeks but he didn't make any sound.
Sanji patted his back and pulled him into a hug.
"Hush, it's alright. Don't beat yourself up. You're..." he breated, thinking of what to say, "a real good guy, you didn't deserve this but it's happened. You're not alone, though.
I'll make sure you're okay, no matter how long it's going to take."
Zoro blinked at him, unbelieving.
"How come you're so nice to me?"
Sanji chuckled.
"Cuz I'm your friend, stupid marimo. And friends care for each other, especially in bad times like this."
One corner of Zoro's mouth twitched.
He let Sanji pull him to his feet, gave him a look and hugged him, crying on the slightly smaller man's shoulder.
Sanji didn't say any more, just held his friend until the tears ceased.