Thank you, GeckoMoriaShadowLord, for the proofreading.
Thank you, Lolly Dream, for the idea to the sequel. This is for you!
A/N: I will not be updating this very often. I'm just sticking it out here and in the open, for now.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters.
Wheeling to Love
Chapter one
~X~
The sun shone brightly through the open window, a soft breeze passed by; blowing the light gray curtain so it danced away from the wall. Birds chirped on the small window, waking the bundle that laid on the bed across the room.
The pile of blankets on the bed shivered from the breeze, a pale hand reached out of the thick covers and pulled it closer to his small frame. He sighed softly, wishing he had closed the window before he got into bed. When the alarm went off only a moment later, he groaned, and pushed the blankets off his chest and sat up.
The blond glanced at the clock, with one eye open and rubbing at the other. "Seven," he said softly, letting his hand drop to his lap. He whistled and patted the side of the bed. A Golden Retriever jumped up on the bed, and sat down by Sanji's legs and licked his face for a sloppy kiss.
Sanji chuckled, and ran his hand over the large dog's head in a gentle motion. "That's my girl. Can you help me out, Mr. Prince?" he asked, scratching behind the dog's ears.
Mr. Prince licked Sanji's face once more, and jumped off the bed and ran out the room. Sanji watched with a smile, and listened. When he heard running water from the bathroom he chuckled. "Good girl," he called out, and pulled the blanket off his legs.
He pushed himself up, and grabbed his chair, pulling it closer to the bed. With great effort he turned sideways and slid into the seat. He yelped in slight pain from his back, and closed his eyes, letting it ebb away. Once the pain was gone, he let out a soft sigh and began to wheel himself backwards away from the bed.
As soon as he had enough room to turn, Sanji wheeled the chair out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. There Mr. Prince was waiting for him, her tail wagging with delight.
"Hey girl, back up," Sanji said, pushing the chair into the bathroom and parking right next to the tub. He frowned and grabbed the end of his shirt, and slid it over his head, and tossed it into the almost full clothes hamper. I wonder if Ace is up to helping me do some cloths later, he wondered, and tapped his right leg. "Okay Mr. Prince pants off, please."
The dog barked and made her way over to Sanji. She gripped the end of Sanji's pants with her teeth and eased back, pulling them right off. She then turned, jumped up and placed the pants on top of the clothes hamper. "Good girl!" Sanji said, grabbing a small box of treats from his little pouch on his chair and tossed one to Mr. Prince who caught it with her teeth.
Sanji smiled at his beloved pet and sighed, gripping the handle on the tub and he pulled himself out of his chair whimpering from the intense pain in his back. He grabbed the shower chair and eased himself into it, breathing heavily. Everyday gets harder….
~X~
"Daddy!" a little girl shouted as she ran into her father's bedroom. She climbed onto the bed and on top of her father's chest and smacked his chest a few times. "Daddy I up!"
A loud snore turned into a snort and Zoro opened his eyes blinking some and yawning loudly. "Eh? Lilly, how did you get out of your bed?" he asked, lifting her off his chest so he could sit up. He rubbed at his eyes and stretched.
"I climbed. Daddy I hungry!" The little one said, tugging on Zoro's arm.
Zoro smiled at her, running a hand through her long green curls. "Well all right, let's go and have breakfast then," he picked her up and carried her out the room and downstairs. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Mushrooms!" Lilly shouted with excitement.
"What else?"
"Cheese!"
"Mushrooms and cheese, huh, okay, what else?" Zoro said, setting her down in her highchair. He went over to the fridge looking inside to make sure there was enough food for breakfast.
"Um that's it!" Lilly shouted as she watched her daddy with a smile.
"That can't be it, how about I make you a Mushroom and cheese omelet?" he asked and grabbed the carton of eggs. He looked inside making sure he had enough and sat it on the counter. He then grabbed the cheese and a can of mushrooms. "Do you want bacon?"
"No!"
"Okay," Zoro hummed, looking in the bottom cabinets for a frying pan. Once he found it he placed it on the stove and grabbed the butter. "Okay, before I cook do you want anything to drink?"
"Yes please, Juice daddy!" Lilly said, smiling brightly at her father, her dark blue eyes shinning with happiness.
Zoro retuned the smile and grabbed one of her sippy-cups. "Okay, what do you want, orange or apple?"
Lilly put a finger to her lips trying to decide what she thought was a hard decision. "Or-nng!"
Zoro laughed and he grabbed the carton of orange juice, and pored some in the little cup. He placed the lid on tight and handed it to her. "What do you say?"
"Tank you, daddy!" she said with a giggle and took her cup and immediately started to drink.
Zoro watched her for a moment a small smile on his face. She was the most precious person in his life right now and she always came first. She looked like her mother, but with his green hair and long curls. She was too cute for words.
Shaking his head Zoro turned to the stove and plopped a spoonful of butter into the pan and turned the burner on light to let it melt. While the butter was melting he grabbed a bowel and cracked a few eggs in it. "Uh, Daddy forgot to get a spoon," he said, turning back to the stove and turning off the burner. He then opened the silverware drawer and grabbed a spoon and began to beat the eggs. He remembered when he first made an omelet, it was back in high school and it was with Kuina. Oddly enough it was on their first date.
Zoro had said he didn't care much for cooking and that he refused to learn. Kuina had said he needed to learn because there were going to be days were he will need to cook something. After a hard beating Zoro was dragged back to his own apartment and received a cooking lesson from his girlfriend. Even now he still hates to admit: she was right.
Once the eggs were ready, he poured the mixture into the pan and turned the stove on high, letting the eggs cook. Once the eggs were half way done Zoro added a few slices of cheese and the mushroom. He flipped the egg over in a fold so the cheese would melt and flipped again to let it cook on the other side.
Once the egg was done he cut it in half, putting one on a plate for Lilly and the other half for him. "Do you want ketchup?"
"No!" Lilly said and wiggled in her seat.
Zoro chuckled and handed her the plate with a plastic fork. He had cut the omelet in small pieces for her. "It's hot, blow on it ok?" he said as he sat down in a chair next to her.
"Okay, Daddy."
Zoro smiled, watching her eat her breakfast. The little one sitting besides him was his only joy in life, and he cherished every waking moment with her. There were some days when it was tough and he missed Kuina, wishing for her help, then other days were wonderful like nothing could go wrong.
It was just the thought of waking up and getting through the day that was tough. After he had met Sanji at the beach he felt his world crash down on him. Sanji was the reason Kuina was dead. If she didn't save him she would still be here and with her family. But she wasn't, instead somewhere in the same city some blond was still alive instead of his late wife.
Zoro knew it was cruel to say or think about, but sometimes he did wish Kuina never saved Sanji's life. When he first met Sanji he was glad to have met him, he knew it wasn't Sanji's fault that Kuina had died and he now sat in a wheelchair. It was something his wife would have wanted.
She was always someone to look out for others before herself and that's how she wanted to die, and she got her wish. Zoro couldn't be angry at that, but he was. He didn't show it at first, but when he got home from the beach that night, it all tumbled down on him. It was the first time since his wife had passed on that he cried. He hasn't seen Sanji since then and it was over two months ago.
"Daddy, work today?" Lilly asked looking at her father with a cheese covered face.
Zoro looked at her and blinked, then laughed softly. "No, daddy is going to spend the day with you today, how does that sound?" he asked, reaching for a paper-towel.
Lilly beamed at him and bounced in her seat. "We can go too da park?" she asked, hope shinning in her eyes.
Zoro nodded and rubbed a hand through her hair. "Of course then we can go out for lunch. But first, you need a bath!" he said and lifted her from the chair and carried her back upstairs.
"Okay, daddy!" she said with excitement, hugging onto her daddy. To her, her daddy was the best person ever!
~X~
It was almost lunch time when Sanji managed to get himself out of the house. At first he was just going to stay home, but in the last hour he decided to go out and have some lunch. So he put Mr. Prince in her vest and the two went out together, Mr. Prince leading the way.
Sanji pushed his chair down the street towards the park. "Let's go to Jenny's Pizza, girl. Jenny's Pizza," Sanji said and whistled for the dog to follow him, turning his chair so he was facing the street. Once the red-light flicked on Sanji wheeled himself across the street with Mr. Prince, right behind him. "Good girl," he said, reaching over to pet her head.
The dog barked and licked Sanji's hand in appreciation. Sanji smiled at her and wheeled over to the small Pizza shop. "Okay Mr. Prince, push the door open, come on Open," he said, wheeling his chair so he was facing the door.
Mr. Prince barked again jumping up on her hind-legs and paws on the door and she pushed it open just enough so Sanji could push it the rest of the way open with his chair. "Good girl," he said, moving out o f the way so she could follow him in.
"Daddy Puppy!" the shouts of a child echoed through the store, catching Sanji's attention. Gently he reached over and grabbed Mr. Prince by her vest before she could jump up with excitement.
"Easy girl," he said and smiled at the little girl that ran up to them, her smile bright and just shinned Sanji's day.
"Is dat your puppy?" She asked, looking up at Sanji and pointing at Mr. Prince.
"Yes, she is mine," he said, returning the smile. He noticed her green hair and tilted his head. Is she Zoro's? He wondered to himself looking around for the other man, knowing if he was her father he would be close by.
On cue Sanji noticed Zoro making his way over. He glanced away and turned to Lilly who was softly petting Mr. Prince again he smiled at the small girl.
"Lilly," Zoro said and stopped in front of Sanji, the two making eye contact for a brief moment before Zoro turned to his little girl. "Lilly, you know not to run from me," he said, crouching down so he was face to face with his little girl.
"But daddy it's a puppy, see," she said, petting Mr. Prince still, the dog licking her face.
"Sorry," Sanji said, keeping a hand on his dog's vest afraid she might knock the small girl over if she got to excited.
Zoro shook his head and stood back up. "No, it's fine, she loves dogs and cats." He felt awkward, talking to Sanji after not seeing him since the day at the beach. He still wasn't sure what to feel about this man, if he cared for him or not. It was a tender situation on his part.
"She won't bite, she's a good dog," Sanji assured Zoro, looking away. He too felt awkward, he had a feeling Zoro didn't like him much because of what happened four months ago. An accident that still haunted his dream's and left a lovely scar on his lower back.
"She's a help Dog?" Zoro asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he watched Lilly pet and hug Mr. Prince. He smiled at her and glanced at Sanji again.
"Yeah, though, I had her before the accident. She was a Christmas present from some friends last year. I thought she was a boy so her name is Mr. Prince," Sanji said, finding himself interested in his own pants, brushing his fingers over the soft fabric.
"Heh, dumb," Zoro said and reached his hand out to Lilly. "Come on Lilly, our pizza will be ready soon."
"Okay Daddy, can we eat with the puppy please?" she asked, her big blue eyes, shinning up at Zoro with a pleading look.
Zoro groaned as he stared down at his daughter. He bit his lip not wanting to say no to her though he really wasn't sure if it was a good thing to have lunch with Sanji. However his daughter came first and he couldn't say no to her, not with something like this anyway. "Uh that's up to Sanji."
Lilly beamed and turned her attention to the blond in the chair giving him the same pleading look. "Can we eat with you and the puppy, please?"
Sanji smiled at her then turned to Mr. Prince. "Well what do you think?" the dog barked in response and he chuckled. "Okay, Mr. Prince agrees."
Zoro smiled at his little girl who looked as if Christmas came early. I suppose it won't be too bad. He thought to himself motioning for Sanji to flowing him back to their table. "We just ordered a few minutes before you came in, so it might be all right to catch Jenny and order for yourself too," he said kindly.
"Ah, thanks," Sanji said wheeling after Zoro, letting Mr. Prince go on her own. The dog passed by Zoro and went right into the back and barked several times.
"What she doing?" Zoro asked, picking Lilly up and plopping her in the highchair. Sanji noted the chair was in the place were he normally sat, and bit his lip.
I can make due. Sanji thought, fixing himself so his chair was against the booster seat. He used the table for support and carefully eased himself out of the chair and into the seat at the table. He took a deep breath from the slight pain and glanced at Zoro who was watching him. "She, go's back there to let Jenny know I am here."
"Oh," Zoro said, sitting down across from Sanji. He had watched Sanji as he slid into the seat and noted the man's arms must be strong for him to lift himself like that. Though he didn't fail to notice the pain he was in either and wondered if Sanji had any help with that kind of thing at home, and if he didn't he wondered how Sanji managed everyday.
A moment later Mr. Prince jumped onto Sanji's wheel chair, sitting there with her tongue sticking out and as if she owned the place. Sanji smiled at her, and gently ran his hand over her back, running his fingers through her fur. "Good girl," he said and smiled.
"That puppy's chair?" Lilly asked, petting Mr. Prince's head gently.
Sanji shook his head. "No, it's my chair; she is just guarding it for me."
"Why?" Lilly asked tilting her head a bit confused.
"Ah so no one tries to take it."
"Like at the beach?" Zoro asked, absentmindedly sipping at his soda.
Sanji blushed, thinking back on that event. It a day he often thought about at night right before he fell asleep. It was a rotten day that ended in good spirits, until he got home. Then he wondered if it was a good idea to have met Zoro or not. Now, seeing that Zoro had a little girl he was sure it was a bad idea. Now he didn't just take away someone's wife but a little girl's mother too. I shouldn't be sitting here with them, these people. I should be alone eating lunch at home without bothering anyone.
It was a da thought and Sanji knew it, but he couldn't help but feel it was true. He glanced up at Zoro who was busy giving Lilly her drink and he looked away, staring at the brown tabletop in front of him. At moment he felt lost and out of place he wished he wasn't there or maybe alive even.
It was that thought that made Sanji realize he was heading into a dark path, but at the moment he didn't really care.
To be continued….
A/N: Please review and let me know what you all think!
