Titles man. Okay so I'm starting to break my writer's block, yehaw, and I'm doing it with One Piece stories. This is a fill from OTPprompts, I saw it and last night I got inspired to write it! So I hope you enjoy. I'll post the actual prompt at the bottom as well as my pointless ramblings. So I'll see you at the bottom!
The air was heavy. It wasn't strictly from the smoke and dust clouds still settling to the ground. Nor was it from the heat and the rain that followed the battle. It was just heavy with feeling. There wasn't the super-charged with relief and happiness atmosphere that normally consumed the Strawhats after a hard one battle.
Zoro thought it was odd. Not the usual odd that went along with being part of this crew. But the type of odd that screamed wrongness. He had felt this only once before, and he cringed to remember that time. He looked around the battlefield, easily spotting what crewmembers had stayed by him when the fight began. Robin and Chopper were looking straight at him, they must feel it too.
Minutes later and Nami and Usopp wander from wherever they had held their individual battles, the looked worn and tired. Though they also looked worried, some of their tension eased when they saw three of their crewmates, beat up but alive.
That's the feeling that Zoro couldn't place. It was the same air that had filled the dojo after Kuina's death. He shook his head, knowing that it was probably just exhaustion from the battle and the fact that they all got separated. They were all just worried and stressing, there was nothing more to it.
Then Franky and Brook stumbled back to them. For being a cyborg and an indestructible skeleton they were pretty beat up. Chopper scampered over to them, examining their injuries, though there wasn't much he could treat on people who weren't flesh and blood.
Now there was only two crew members missing. Sanji and Luffy. Zoro knew those two were strong, after all he and them made up the Monster Trio of the Strawhats. But his relationship with them caused him to worry more so than if it had been anyone else still missing after a battle.
The air grew more and more tense as time ticked by as they waited for the return of their Captain and Chef. No one was speaking, there wasn't the usual questions of how the fights went. This wasn't how it usually was, there was a complete lack of joy. It had been swallowed by the oppressive air.
Eventually a single figure was spotted climbing down the hill. The oddness of it grew. They were missing two, and the town that they had fought in wasn't that large. The crew knew that Luffy and Sanji hadn't gone too far away as when they had breaks in their own fights they could make out the distinct "Gomu Gomu No"s and cooking techniques being called out
No one could make out the lone figure, and Zoro could feel his chest tighten up. The worry made itself evident by the tightness of his face. He moved to the front of the group, and folded his arms. He was about to lecture whoever it was on their tardiness (completely ignoring the little part of him that knows had he gone much further he would've been lost) and for losing their partner (so what if battlefields got hectic, you're in a crew for a reason).
The words died on the tip of his tongue, even though they were ill formed from the stress of waiting and worry. The unknown crew member became known, the lack of a straw hat was evidence enough of who it wasn't. The tightness in his chest grew tighter, constricting his lungs. He kept his face tight, afraid if he lost control he wouldn't. Right now he needed to know what was going on.
The Strawhat crew watched and waited as their cook limped through the rubble. The intensity of the battle was evident by how torn up his usually immaculate suit was.
Zoro waited, ready to run if Sanji passed out (and he looked like he was from the amount of sway his body had). He also knew that running out to help him would damage the chef's pride, and right now he didn't want to earn his ire. Sanji slowly made his way towards the crew. Zoro's eye flicked from Sanji's form to the hill that he had come from, there wasn't anything to indicate that there captain wouldn't be coming from some other direction. It was even possible that Luffy was still fighting but the fight had moved further outside of town. The atmosphere of heaviness was being made by the crew because there was no evidence supporting anything else.
Then his eyes met Sanji's and his chest tightened to impossible levels and his lips formed a taught line, barely keeping himself together. He had seen that look before. The meaning was clear as day, but he couldn't believe it. He would have to hear the story, because this wasn't something that could happen (even though it was the most realistic thing in the world, the idiot didn't have a fear of death and he was reckless.)
Sanji made it to only a few feet away from the steadfast swordsman before his legs and consciousness gave out. Zoro reached out and caught the chef before he fully hit the ground. He could hear the clicking of Chopper's hooves on the stones as he rushed over to Sanji.
Zoro laid the chef down carefully, kneeling by his head, watching the rise and fall of his chest. Chopper reached them and set out to do his examination, muttering and cataloging injuries. Knowing that the chef would be out for awhile, and he couldn't really help their doctor, the swordsman turned his gaze forward, sweeping it through the rubble, waiting for his captain to return.
The rest of the crew gathered behind the first-mate, either looking over Sanji themselves or like Zoro staring out into the distance waiting for the familiar form of a boy with a straw hat.
Chopper had finished his triage but wanted to get Sanji back to the ship. Usopp volunteered to carry their chef and Franky said he'd go with to make sure there hadn't been any damage done to the ship. Their quick discussion didn't make it way into Zoro's ears. He was staring and waiting while his palm felt the accelerated but faint breathing of the chef.
Usopp carefully maneuvered so that he could pick Sanji up and carry him bridal style, gulping from the look Zoro gave him (it was scarier than being outright glared at the sharpshooter realized). The swordsman relented and took his gaze from Usopp and turned it back so that it did one more sweep of the horizon.
Sanji's breath stopped brushing against his palm as he was lifted up, Zoro ignored him. Still staring ahead, waiting loyally. He did allow his ears to listen to the fading footsteps of the three crewmembers as they left. The remaining ones hadn't moved from their spot.
The sunset faded into night and Robin and Brook knew the dangers of staying in a battlefield past dark. Their words didn't register with Zoro, but he heard their retreating footsteps. He didn't turn to bid them farewell. It had been too long for a fight to continue, but the swordsman kept his eyes looking for the captain. There was no way that he wasn't going to be coming back. He'd be worn, but he would still use whatever energy he had remaining to yell out and wave. Letting them know he had survived another tough battle. He would be the one Zoro would run too, the captain didn't care much about honor when he was faced with his nakama.
The moon was high in the sky when Nami finally placed her hand on his shoulder. He knew because it was the navigator that he stood up under the gentle pressure she provided. The redhead was the one he had known the longest, aside from the captain, and she had experienced his loyalty for his captain before they had even started the relationship. She understood. Meaning that was probably the reason she had stayed with him for so long and was only now prompting him to return to the ship.
Even though he was standing now, Zoro didn't move from his spot, he eye moving from one side of the ruins to the other and back again with frequency. Nami squeezed her hand on his shoulder once more, and said something so quietly it was like the wind about Sanji's condition. There were few things that could tear Zoro away from waiting for his captain, and surprisingly the chef was one of them.
Nami didn't say anything when Zoro kept turning his head back to check the ruins, or how he would stop and wait for a few minutes before he would turn and keep making his way back to the ship. She kept a gentle guiding hand on his arm. She would even glance back at the ruins with him, hoping like the swordsman hope that they would spot their captain.
Though the Thousand Sunny eventually came into view and the town and disappeared behind the hills of the island. Smoke still swirled up from its location.
The crew was standing on the deck, waiting for the return of their other crewmembers. Zoro could see them straighten up from where they were leaning against the rail. Nami shook her head and continued walking, the pressure of her hand more noticeable. They walked in silence, and climbed the rope to the ship as well. Even the waves lapped quietly against the hull. The night had grown still.
Standing on the deck was different from walking up to it. The Thousand Sunny had always been a place of warmth, joy, and high spirits. It had the feel of a family. To Zoro it had been a place he could sleep quietly knowing that this is what peace was like. Now it was a foreign feeling, but the swordsman could liken it to how he felt before he had befriended his captain. It was like the loneliness that had consumed him when he had been just the "Pirate Hunter."
He guessed that Chopper was still working on Sanji as the reindeer was the only one not waiting for their return. Everyone who had been leaning against the railing waiting, dispersed to various places on the deck. Zoro merely turned around and stared at the road he and Nami had walked.
The moon was starting to dip below the horizon and the purple of day started to streak the sky. Zoro barely noticed the ache in his eye from keeping it mostly stationary for hours. The crew jumped as the door leading to the inside of the ship creaked open. It had been the first non-monotonous sound the crew had heard all night, and it caused them to jump.
Tiredly the first mate swiveled his eye over to the reindeer. Noting the posture and body language, there was no twiddling of the hooves which was a good sign. But the youngest of the crew was hunched over in exhaustion.
Their doctor announced that Sanji would be fine, and was awake, but he only wanted to speak to Zoro. The swordsman knew that those were the chef's exact words, but he would deal with it. He gave a meaningful glance to Nami who nodded back and took his place by the railing, Robin moved to join her fellow crewmate.
Zoro followed after Chopper, watching the hat bob up and down with the steps the reindeer took. He would occasionally glance at the walls of the Thousand Sunny, still in pristine shape even after the beating that they took on a regular basis. They entered into the infirmary.
A bed was of course taken by the chef. Another had been made up, ready for the captain. Sanji was sitting up, cigarette in his mouth, unlit. Their eyes met and the same feeling he had got before washed over him. He crossed the infirmary in three easy steps. The chef inhaled but continually met his eyes as he chewed on the butt of the nicotine stick. Nothing was said for minutes, but the air was growing thick. It wasn't from the medicine Chopper was mixing.
Finally Sanji removed the cigarette from his mouth, and swallowed once. He quickly and quietly told what he had witnessed, his voice rough from yelling, or from dehydration. Zoro listened as he was told the story. By the end of it his knees gave out, and he was kneeling by the chef's bedside. His hand gripped at the cotton covers, an anchor. He barely felt the warm hand over his or the pawing of hooves.
Minutes went by, and Zoro still wasn't able to fully understand what had happened. He understood enough of the story. He bit his bottom lip and pushed himself to his feet. He had to fulfill his duty. The crew needed to know. The walk back to the deck went by fast, it could've also been that the swordsman was noticing less in his shell-shocked state.
Opening the door was enough to gain the crews attention. It had to have been the look he wore, the lip between his teeth and his inability to hold eye contact. He saw in each pair of eyes the realization form, and also the hope that they were wrong.
Zoro sighed. He told them what Sanji had in short. There wasn't a need to tell them just yet how the entire thing happened. The swordsman knew that job fell to the chef, but also knew that he couldn't take hearing it, much less saying that.
He left the crew to their own grief. It wasn't something he should bother about, they could heal as a crew. Zoro returned to the infirmary, where he and Sanji could attempt to heal as lovers. Chopper left them alone, presumably heading to the deck to join with the crew's mourning.
Sanji was watching him with guarded and saddened eyes. The first mate (now acting captain, but no one could be the captain but the captain himself), sat on the bed next to the chef. Seconds ticked by before they were both leaning into each other, and letting their bodies give way, fitting themselves together when they were also missing a piece.
Zoro nestled into the junction between the blond's shoulder and neck. The chef brought his hands up, both bandaged and laid them one across the swordsman's waist and the other gripping the short green strands of hair.
The first mate didn't notice much. He felt the coarse bandages rub against his neck, the heat coming from his only remaining lover, puffs of air rebounding against his face as he breathed in gasps. Zoro found himself laying on top of the chef, one hand in long blond locks and the other gripping the fabric of the shirt the other worse.
Neither cried. They laid together, muddling through their emotions and thoughts. The two took some comfort in being with the other, but it wasn't the same; they still had their animosity towards each other, never fully able to relax around each other unless they had their captain.
Nami came in at some point. She didn't say anything when she saw the two men gripping at each other like their lives depended on it. The navigator waited to be addressed before reminding them that they would be on this island for another two weeks before their log set, she also said that the villagers were grateful and would throw a party in the evening. Zoro knew there were hints in both those statements, he didn't decipher them however.
He returned to his previous position on burying his face into the crook of Sanji's neck. The chef placed his hand back on Zoro's head. Their breathing had calmed down, and they were both physically and emotionally exhausted.
They fell asleep.
~
The severity of his injuries had finally caught up to his captain. The wearer of the straw hat stood at the edge, his breath coming out in quick rasps and legs twitching with the effort to stand up. Several of his injuries leaked blood. He was alive, and he had won.
Upon seeing his captain's victory the chef threw himself into the combat with his opponent. Leg burning and the desire to win so he could follow his captain back to the others.
As usual the captain was worn from the fight and didn't move for several minutes. He could feel the gaze of his captain on him as he fought. He kicked with more fervor, he wanted to go back to the ship.
The chef was spun so he was facing his captain unintentionally. He watched as the previously thought unconscious or dead opponent shoved himself from the ground and barrelling into his captain. Sanji was horrified, losing his breath for a few seconds as the flame on his leg lost some of its heat.
He watched him fall.
Sanji woke up, his breath catching in his throat. His body was tight from the dream and from his injuries. Zoro was sitting up next to him. Tired, based on the bags underneath his eyes (it was weird how the other still acted like it was there, but the eye was actually missing), and concerned, based on the hand hovering over his shoulder.
This was nothing new to them, nightmares. Though now there wasn't a second person providing comfort. The nightmares had become frequent in the past week, from the chef. He had watched as his captain and lover was pushed down into a river from an impossible height. Zoro's comfort was there, but it wasn't helpful. The swordsman had gone into himself at the loss of his captain. He took it as a failure, though he wasn't there.
He waved his hand, the swordsman knew what he was dreaming about. There wasn't comfort from that, at least not so soon after the memory was created. Zoro grunted and used his scarred arm to push him back to the bed.
Sanji's wounds were healing, but he was still sore and prone to pain. Physical injuries were easier to treat, that emotional ones. Zoro settled down, resting his head on Sanji's chest (above where his heart was beating, it was steady and strong). The chef raised an arm and rested his palm on the back of the swordsman's head. He stroked it, it was soft but not as soft as their captain's.
It took several minutes but he finally calmed himself down enough to return to sleep. He still had to make breakfast for the crew. When morning was started to break, he was woken up by a mostly asleep first mate, mumbling about food and his job.
Breakfast was different. His cooking was still perfect and it was still ready by the time that everyone was up. But there was no longer any banging of the door followed by excited yelling. Nor was it as quick, with the crew no longer having to devour their food lest it be stolen. Sanji still waited on the ladies of the ship hand and foot, but it lacked his usual enthusiasm.
The differences continued throughout the day. There wasn't any demands for meat, or complaints the ladies got their snacks first and more carefully prepared. At one point the cook would've enjoyed the break from defending his fridge, but it just now reminded him of what was lost.
He would gaze out to the sea, and think about All-Blue, he dreamed more while he was awake. There wasn't much else to do. The Strawhat pirates had grown listless and bored while they waited for their log to set. Zoro slept more, Nami drew and worked on her maps alone, Usopp made up more of his ammunition, Chopper mixed medicine and rumble balls, Robin read, Franky made minor alterations, and Brook hummed melancholy tunes.
There was no more declarations of stupidity or laughter or demands to play. Sanji couldn't look out to the figure head and see a red vest and straw hat. The ship was simply dead.
Sanji had also noticed that while everyone had recognized what had happened, it hadn't been talked about. He could tell the crew was hesitant to bring it up, they tip toed around him and Zoro. It wasn't like he wanted it to be true, but this wasn't how he pictured the crew to respond. They had been a lively bunch, not whatever they were now.
A week still remained before the log set. There had been no discussion on where their end goal lays now. They still had reasons to complete the Grand Line, but they didn't have the force driving them. It hadn't been said what they were planning to do about informing people, the guy the captain always talked about in an awed voice should be told, that Sabo guy, maybe the Heart pirates (they were still allies, and as far as Sanji could tell Law liked the captain), Princess Vivi was also in need to be told, and the various other people that their captain had met and befriended.
They hadn't made a grave. No one knew what they should do, there wasn't a body or the straw hat. Though they knew it wouldn't do their captain justice to not mark where he died. A tombstone in a town he saved to impersonal, but a stick in the ground with his name didn't portray how much they truly cared. Again it hadn't been discussed. Sanji guessed that this is what many people would call the time of mourning, when the person who died was still fresh in their minds and the pain was too new to think about the after-death things.
The chef sought out the swordsman more, and the both of them stood close or sat close or laid close to each other. They needed to be close to each other. What they had developed because of their captain was the only physical thing he had left that meant anything. The crew, if they found it odd (they didn't they completely understood), said nothing.
Nightmares had become a nightly occurrence, the chef no longer found the need to bolt upright and shake the dream off. It was now a fact, and not an anxiety driven thought. Zoro was less disturbed by them, the swordsman would crack his eye open, and wait for the confirmation that the chef was alright and once it was given he would fall back asleep.
Sanji knew that Zoro wasn't handling the loss well. He could see it in the amount of sake he drank and the increase of his napping. The crew saw it as well. Nami, which he still didn't get, would often cover the swordsman up with a blanket, or sit next to him and try to engage him in the conversation. The chef wished he could help, but he was never the one that was needed when the swordsman was about to break, that was the captain's job.
It was their captain's job to comfort his crew. That was how it always had been. The captain had always been the first to rush to their aid, or to do something silly when it got too serious. He was also the one that would jump into the battle first, to protect his nakama without thinking about the injuries he would incur.
There was no surprise that the captain was being missed so badly. They didn't have a leader who lead with passion, nor did they have someone who would willing shoulder everyone's burden. Sanji knew that he and Zoro would hold the captain's personal burden themselves but they couldn't handle everyone's so expertly.
In fact, Sanji wasn't surprised that no one had tried to help everyone through their grief, the only one that could make everyone smile was the one they were grieving for.
On the morning of the day they were meant to set sail a miracle happened. There was no other way any of the Strawhats could think to describe it. They had wrangled out the details from Sanji a few days ago and all of them agreed that it was impossible for even their captain to walk away from that.
They hadn't been over their grief, they had just made a grave yesterday, and some of the crew was still prone to burst out in sobbing. The crew was also aware of Zoro and Sanji's depression and sudden desire to be in the same area of the other. The loss of the captain had affected them deeper than they had previously thought it would.
So when they heard the familiar voice calling out to them they thought that it was their head, making something come true that they wanted to. But instead of it being a singular event it became frequent and louder.
Usopp was the first to give in and check. He had seen the captain pull off the impossible before, and entertaining fancies is what he did as a liar. He looked out over the rail of the ship and he felt his jaw drop in pure shock. For several seconds he was unable to find his voice, and even then it felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. So instead he gestured until the nearest person, Robin, noticed.
Robin looked to where Usopp was pointing with a wildly shaking finger. Her calm demeanor slipped as she saw what had made the sharpshooter lost for words for once. The archeologist rubbed her eyes, and when the figure didn't disappear she called for the rest of the crew to come over.
Out of everyone who was on the deck, only one came over. The others were involved in their tasks or asleep, and somewhere inside of the ship where they wouldn't have heard Robin's slightly above talking level voice. It was Franky who shuffled over to them.
His reaction was more vocal than the others. He was also more excited than the two previous reactions. The cyborg didn't seem the least bit shocked, though the there was still the breathiness of surprise in his voice.
The yelling of the cyborg attracted two more crew members. Nami and Brook. The navigator had been wondering what was going on since Usopp had started flailing around which was followed by Robin's call shortly. Brook on the other hand, had slowly been making his way towards the growing crowd, caution but eager. When they saw what the other two had been gesturing at they both gasped in surprise. The skeleton followed his gasp by laughing his trademark laugh. Nami swore before she yelled for Zoro, Sanji and Chopper. The latter of the two just now coming from inside of the ship.
She watched as the three shared a confused look before wandering over to the rest of the Strawhats. It took them a few seconds to see what everyone was looking at. Chopper was the first one to notice and he squealed in pure joy, making the older pirates smile at their youngest's innocence. Sanji and Zoro's gaze must've landed on what everyone was looking at, almost at the same time.
Zoro started to move before Sanji, but the chef was only a step behind. Their captain was closer to the ship now, close enough that the crew could tell that he was still covered in injuries and was barely standing upright. The two lovers of the captain vaulted over the railing and rushed towards their captain.
The swordsman, being less injured and faster and also more driven to see his captain after so long, was the first to reach the rubber boy. For once he forwent his pride and wrapped his arms around their captain in a tight hug, but still not tight enough to agitate the injuries. Sanji seemingly slowed his pace as Zoro continued to hug his captain, the chef nearly stopped. The rest of the crew could guess he was trying to remember this version of their captain and not the one who had fallen off the cliff.
Then Sanji rushed forward, the first mate stepped back. The chef having more tact, held the younger boy out at arms length observing him, before slowly bringing him into a hug.
The two didn't hog their captain, knowing the crew and the captain himself wouldn't enjoy that very much. Still they didn't stray from the Straw hat's side.
There was much rejoicing on the Thousand Sunny. The lively atmosphere that had made the ship was back. The crew was laughing and taking, relief filled their voices. Their captain was being looked over by Chopper on the deck, the infirmary was too small to have all nine of them in the room.
It seemed like their captain's injuries weren't severe, though he was badly bruised from his fall. The crew stayed around him, talking about the various happenings on the ship (though not much happened, they were about to set sail today). In return the captain told of his story about how after he fell he was saved by a kindly old woman.
Not that the crew particularly cared about the how of their captain's survival, just that he was alive. Still they listened to him give his tale in the voice that was always filled with boyish excitement, one the crew would never get tired of listening to. Which was good, because they knew they were stuck with their captain for the rest of their lives, the bonds they had with him wouldn't allow them to leave.
However the two that the captain was closest too didn't join in on the merry making that much. They kept their eyes trained on the small back of the captain. Neither of them went further than arms reach until dinner rolled around and their captain demanded some of Sanji's famous cooking.
The chef shared a look with the swordsman. Zoro agreed to watch over him while the other went into the kitchen, not that they needed to with everyone else watching, but it provided the comfort both of them hadn't had for fourteen days. Dinner had resumed its usual fast paced loudness, that Sanji had grown to miss and Zoro easily slipped back into the habit of moving his plate to dodge thieving hands.
It was nice. When the crew settled down to sleep their captain headed to sit on the figure head, they hadn't set sail after all. Sanji finished cleaning his kitchen and headed out onto the deck He saw Zoro was already sitting behind their captain letting the black-haired youth rest on the swordsman's shoulder.
Sanji headed over to them and leaned against the railing smoking. Finally he was able to breath without the oppressive saddened air that had overcome the ship the past few weeks. Eventually he finished his cigarette tossing the butt into the sea. It happened just as Zoro was helping their captain off of the lion figure head.
There was a brief moment where Sanji's and Zoro's eyes met, they couldn't help but to let out breathy laughs of relief. Their captain looked between them in confusion before smiling softly at his two lovers.
Shortly after that the three of them headed off to bed, for the first time since the battle the lovers were reunited. They settled down in their bed, the captain between the two older males. Zoro and Sanji's hands intertwined over the waist of their captain, who had quickly fallen asleep. They followed after him, finally able to get a peaceful night's sleep.
Yay, this is my second story for this fandom. So I hope you all enjoyed it. I still would like to know if I'm writing the characters right. Also this story style is slightly weird so, I don't really know but I like it. How did you guys like it? Thanks for reading, leave your thoughts and likes/kudos! Later! ~IF
PROMPT:
Imagine that Person C is seemingly killed, and Persons A and B are devastated. Now imagine that sometime after that (how much time passes is up to you), Person C shows up at their door somewhat beat up looking, but alive and well. Persons A and B immediately attack C with hugs and kisses.