A/N: I love having nakama-ship between these two! It just makes me want to squeel and grin like a maniac! I hope you guys like this story too!
After they got out of this section of the Grand Line, Zolo swore that he would never eat another piece of squid again. Even if it was the only thing left in the ocean. The slimey meat would never come near him again.
He wasn't the only one to be thinking those same thoughts though. The rest of the Straw Hats, with the exception of Brooke, were thinking along those same lines. At least, Usopp and Chopper were. The others had given up on just thinking and were now loudly exclaiming it in a, failed, attempt at getting something different for dinner.
"Come on, Sanji! I don't want squid agaaiin!"
"Tastes sort of like last nights dinner...Not very supah..."
"Squid again, Cook-San?"
"Gee, thanks Sanji. Just what I wanted. Again."
The blonde-haired chef didn't bother making any responses; he just shook his head and swept back into the kitchen to bring out the rest of the squid.
It was fried today. Yesterday, grilled. Before that it had been bar-b-qued, shiska-bobbed, sashimi, soup, stew, sandwhiches, spicy, the list went on and on. They'd been traveling out in this particular section of the Grand Line, a large swath between a Summer island and a Fall island, for almost two months now. The original stores of meat from the last island were long gone and, while this normally wasn't a problem, they'd been forced to have whatever was caught for dinner the past few weeks.
Unfortunaly, all that swam out here was squid and everyone was tiring of eating that.
Zolo shook his head at his captain, both in annoyance at the remark and at the fact that Luffy hadn't actually eaten the squid he'd been served yet. Not many of the others, the only exception being Brooke and Usopp, had touched their plates yet either.
He, however, was just finishing the last of his. Zolo stabbed the remaining piece of squid with his fork, the plate making a clattering noise on the table that seemed to echo through-out the room, and held it up to his face for a few seconds.
The piece of meat, still sort of pink looking, was about as appatizing as a rock. Sanji's cooking normally stood out from everything else, no two dishes ever tasted the same. Until every meal revolved around the same type of fish. Now the flavors just blended together and tasted like the last meal they had.
Shoving the bite of food into his mouth, Zolo dropped his fork back on his plate and took his time chewing. Sanji hadn't sat down yet, he was busy listening to Nami ask about tomorrow nights dinner, but there was more squid sat out on the table. Not that anyone was going to eat it. Even if they did finish their first plates, which was highly unlikely with how dinner was going so far, they wouldn't get more.
Just as Nami mentioned how tired she was of squid and Luffy's demands for 'Real meat, Sanji!' got louder, Zolo swallowed his food and shoved his plate towards the middle of the table. "Oi, Needle-brow!"
The noises at the table fell silent. Both Sanji and Nami, along with most of the other members of the crew, turned to face him.
It was with a straight face and a bored tone that Zolo demanded a second helping. And it was with a trained eye that he caught the look of relief on the blonde's face as he snatched away the plate, a retort about hm being 'lazy', to fill it back up.
Yes, Zolo hated squid. He always had and he always would, though his hatred for the meat was deeper now, but that wasn't going to stop him from finishing this plate and getting a third.