A/N: I cranked out two chapters so far, so this one is going up too.

Disclaimer: I do not own the character, I'm just borrowing them for a bit.

Zoro can't for the life of him figure out how the organization found him. They had his phone number. It's not like they just followed him home one day and caught him, although they probably have tailed him now that he thinks about it. Shit.

They definitely know where he lives. His friends aren't safe if they come here. But he can't just disappear again. He actually has people who care about him this time. This is getting way too complicated.

First, he needs to figure out how they found him.

Oh. Shit. OH SHIT. How could he be so stupid? He had gotten back into the underground fighting scene in the last year to make some extra cash and calm the urges he had been getting. Fighting had really been helping. But his mistake was letting himself get too well known. He was somewhat famous in the underground scene here, almost like he used to be. He used a fake name though, but how could he have let himself think that could deter the organization? They probably wanted to recruit him only to figure out that this is their missing guy.

That has to be it. Once they know where he is, finding information on him would be simple.

It's his own damn fault, a stupid mistake. Now he has a choice to make. Does he uproot his life again; leave behind the only people that have truly cared about him, his first real home, and escape from his inner demons? Or does he give in and let the organization back into his life and destroy himself from the inside out, but keep those he loves safe by staying close by?

Fuck. Well who said he has to decide this right now?

And why the fuck can't he get a vision of blonde out of his head?

-:-

Two days later the crew find themselves at the new restaurant Ace and Nami found. They could not wait for everyone to try the food.

"Can I just get one of everything? I can't decide. Nami, what did you get last time? Would I like it? Did it have meat in it? I think I'll just order everything!"

"Luffy, you cannot order everything! I don't care how hungry you are we are NOT paying for that!" Nami has had it up to here with bringing Luffy out to eat. This happens every time. Once he actually did order everything. Yes he did eat it all, but he most definitely did not pay for it.

The seven seated at the table place their orders after narrowing down Luffy's choices. He agrees to only two dishes, one for now and one to go for later. Plus a dessert. Ace says the cake is phenomenal.

"So, Zoro bro, I hear you got lucky the other night?" A lecherous eyebrow waggle from the large blue haired man is directed at Zoro.

"FRANKY!"

Well Zoro is thoroughly confused. He doesn't remember getting lucky in any regard this week. "What are you talking about?"

"Ace said-"

"Franky, what happened to 'I won't bring this up again, Ace, I swear'?"

"What are you guys talking about? I don't remember-"

"Of course you don't… You were kind of… It was when we found you two days ago." Ace quietly interrupts Zoro. He seems a little embarrassed that it was revealed he even spoke about that morning to anyone. Not that Zoro cares really, he'd rather be known as the drunk than the psychopath.

"What happened two days ago?" Usopp chimes in; he apparently wasn't at the sharing Zoro's embarrassing stories party.

"I got smashed and Ace and Nami took it upon themselves to break into my apartment and clean." Zoro shoots a nasty glare to the pair of them. "In case you didn't know I like having my clothes on the floor. It's a lot easier to find everything. But wait a second, what does this have to do with me getting lucky?"

"Since you were I guess unconscious, you, uh, trapped a girl underneath you. We had to roll you off of her…" Nami was hiding her smile behind a hand.

"WHAT?" Well that's embarrassing. "Why did no one tell me about this?"

"We would have but you kind of ran out the door before we got to talk to you."

Zoro had done a lot more than he thought he did. He definitely blacked out for a few days then. Yep. He doesn't even want to think about anything else he might have done, sexually or no.

"Please tell me that's the only thing you've been keeping from me about that morning." Zoro scrunches his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. This week just keeps getting worse.

"Do you really want us to tell you everything that happened?"

"Do I want to know?"

"Nami, stop scaring him. Don't worry; nothing else happened besides hours of cleaning and turning the shower on you. "

"YOU WHAT?! How many times have I told you to stop doing that?"

"Clean or douse you with cold water?"

"BOTH. I need to get some electronic locks or something to keep you two out. Did the water really not wake me up? That usually works."

"You started to come to, but I don't think you were ready to be awake yet."

Zoro grunts in response. That shows how much he actually drank. He's going to need a new liver by the time he's 35. If not next year.

"I believe that is enough embarrassing Zoro for today, don't you? And look here comes our food." Thank you, Robin.

The food really is delicious. Either that or it tastes better than normal because this is the first real meal Zoro's had all week.

"Is everything to your liking?"

Why does that voice sound familiar? With a quick glance up from his plate that his nose is practically buried in, Zoro immediately fixes his gaze back onto his meal like he never heard anyone speak. It's the blonde, the blonde that he embarrassingly froze up in front of two days ago.

Nami nudges Zoro in the ribs, "Hey, Zoro, you remember Sanji right? You met him a couple days ago when we ran into you outside."

"Don't be mean to the poor bastard, my beauty, he probably can't remember. Is he ok in the head? Does he need anything?"

"You know what, you're a real fucking asshole." There. Got some words out. And a nice death glare.

"Oh, he speaks!"

"You're fucking right I do. This is you're place right?"

"Yes, I opened it up about a month ago."

"Yeah? Wow. That's great. Are you the chef too?

"Yes, actually. I'm the head chef here."

"Oh. You could probably use a little more practice in the kitchen."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Your foods alright."

"Just alright?"

Zoro pulls his shoulders slightly up into a half-assed shrug, scrunches up his face, and starts pushing the food around his plate.

"You are going to finish every last bit of that meal. I don't care how much of a bastard you are, you ARE NOT wasting food just to spite me."

"I'LL EAT IT!"

"No. This moss-headed idiot is going to eat it all if I have to force it down his throat myself. Go on. I'm waiting."

Zoro can't bring himself to look at the fucker in the eyes any more. He's getting that weird brain mush feeling again. Maybe he should just eat the food so he'll go away. He shovels the rest of the food on his plate into his mouth in the most unpleasant way possible, chews, swallows, and promptly opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue.

"Happy?" He grins at the swirly eye browed asshole. At least he got one last word out before his brain quit on him.

"You are disgusting. How can these lovely ladies stand be around something like you? Just for that horrid display of manners, the ladies' meals are free of charge. I can't possibly apologize enough for him."

Nami pat him on the back. "Good job, Zoro. Maybe I should bring you here more often."

-:-

Over the next week, Zoro saw a lot more of that stupid blonde than he ever wanted to. Why did Luffy have to make friends with everyone? He's practically been inducted into their group already. The only good thing about this is the hordes of free food he comes with. He refuses to feed Zoro, but everyone gives him some of their food, so it all works out.

They're all currently at Luffy and Ace's, party central. This is going to solidify the cook as a friend, just like they did with Zoro. He'll never get away from him now. Zoro doesn't mind the name-calling or the antagonistic banter; he actually quite enjoys it.

What really gets on his nerves about the cook is the fact that every now and then his brain just stops working and he finds himself staring at him. Its gotten to the point where he'll leave a room if Sanji comes in, or Zoro will find a seat that keeps the blonde out of his direct vision. He can't figure out what is wrong with him.

"Here you go bro, you were looking empty," Franky hands Zoro a full beer and snaps him out of his blonde contemplation.

Zoro gives Franky a nod of thanks when Nami reaches from behind and grabs the beer. "I don't think so, Zoro. How many is this?"

"What? Are you counting my beers now?" Is she serious?

"Yes, Zoro, in case you have forgotten, you were practically dead last week because of alcohol. I have not forgotten, and I am taking this beer."

"That was my second beer! Give it back!"

Nami had already claimed it as her own and downed half of it. Witch. He'll just sneak into the kitchen in a little and grab a few for himself.

"Why are we watching Zoro's alcohol intake? You've seen him drink, he can handle himself." Franky was on his side at least.

"Yeah, listen to Franky, Nami. He's talking sense for once."

"This is exactly because I have seen him drink. You didn't see him last week, Franky. You'll thank me later, Zoro."

Zoro glares at the back of Nami's orange head as she walks away. Maybe if he concentrates hard enough her orange hair will actually become flames. Nope. It was worth a shot.

"What's this about the moss-head not being able to drink?" Please don't tell Sanji. This is not something he needs to know about Zoro yet. Or ever.

"Zoro has been having a bit of a drinking problem lately. Nami and Ace have decided that they should monitor his alcohol consumption to be on the safe side." Robin, no! Why would she do that to Zoro? Robin was always on his side. At least for the past week.

"A drinking problem? I'm sorry to hear that. I'll be happy to help keep an eye on him if you would like, Nami-swan." After making googley eyes towards Nami, Sanji gives Zoro a subtle smirk. He almost seemed sincere, too.

It looks like that smirk wasn't as subtle as the cook had thought, "Sanji, this is serious. Zoro really needs to watch himself."

"What is this an intervention? Ace, I'm fine. I can handle myself, really."

"You keep saying that, Zoro, and I keep finding you in positions proving that otherwise. Last week was not an isolated incident."

The entire room is silent. The two men hold each other's gaze for a long 10 seconds. Zoro shoves off of the couch he had been sitting on and heads for the door. He needs to get out of here. Right now. He can't get into this, especially not in front of everyone.

"Zoro, you are not walking out again! You need to talk about this!"

"JUST STOP, STOP TRYING TO HELP ME. I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP." Zoro leaves through the front door, but he fails to close it. He doesn't miss the deafening silence that he leaves behind.

He stops about 10 paces from the door and takes a deep breath. Zoro feels a tap on his shoulder and tenses. This is really not a good time for someone to be near him. He bites his tongue and digs his nails into his palms in attempt to supress his anger.

"Zoro? I know you probably don't want to talk right now, but don't take any of this the wrong way. This isn't some kind of an attack. We really want you to get better. We've all noticed something going on with you." Oh, Usopp. He means well, but he should really just go back inside.

Zoro slowly turns around and keeps his eyes closed. He's afraid if he opens them he might do something he regrets. He really needs to calm down. Zoro speaks slowly, "Usopp, go back inside."

"Usopp, he's right, come back in." Good, Luffy. Get him out of danger. "Zoro, you need to leave. Go calm down."

With a stiff nod, Zoro turns back around and continues his exit. He doesn't even know where he's going. He just walks.

-:-

Luffy and Usopp make their way back inside. The room is stunned into total silence. So this really is serious then. Sanji thought maybe they were poking fun as the poor moss covered man, but wow. That was not what he was expecting.

"Nami, I think we should tell them."

"Yeah, I guess we can't really keep this to ourselves anymore."

This is probably the worst time to be introduced to a new group. Sanji really just wants to head back to the kitchen to make sure nothing is burning. He's halfway to the door when Ace calls to him. "Sanji, go turn off everything in there and come back. You need to be here for this too."

With a deep breath, Sanji does as Ace suggested. Everything is removed from heat and set aside for later. Maybe once the atmosphere is a little less tense he can finish up and pack everyone a to go box.

Sitting back down in the chair he occupied earlier, Sanji looks over to Ace and Nami.

"I know we kind of joke about Zoro having a drinking problem, and maybe some of you haven't really noticed the degree that he actually consumes alcohol, but this is really serious." Ace pauses and looks to Nami, as if to give her a cue.

"I haven't told any of you this, but remember when Zoro just kind of disappeared for a while a couple years ago?" Heads around the room bob in affirmation. "Well, I went to go check on him since he wasn't answering his phone. When I got to his apartment, I thought he had drunk himself to death. I never wanted to see him like that again, but that wasn't the only time. He hadn't gotten himself in that state again, but he we have found him on multiple occasions in a similar state. And last week, that was exactly how Ace and I found him. He was completely unresponsive."

"Why haven't you told us about this?" Luffy looks really angry. Sanji would be too if he had known Zoro for as long as they had and didn't know this was going on.

"We didn't want to scare you guys. He didn't seem like he was going to get back to that state. Once he bounced back two years ago, I thought he was going to be ok. We really should have said something about this earlier."

He's been doing this for two years? If no one's said anything for two years, of course he doesn't think he has a problem. Sanji feels really bad for saying that comment about something being wrong with his head. There very well might be.

"Well, there isn't anything we can do about that now. You've told us, and now we know. We are all tasked with helping Zoro now. This is not going to be easy, you all know how he is. I suggest not approaching him in a group this size once he has calmed down. He will probably be more comfortable if he speaks about his problems one on one. He may find that one of us is easier to speak to about what is going on in his head than others. We will all just have to speak with him to find out who that is." Robin's words calm the atmosphere in the room substantially. She's right, there is no use arguing over what has already happened. It can't be changed. But Zoro's future can be changed. The question now is, how long does it take for a moss-ball to calm down?

-:-

Zoro is wandering the streets. He feels like a kid again. Not sure of where he should go, aimlessly slipping through alleyways and onto the next street over. He knows he's going to end up hopelessly lost, but he couldn't care less right now. The cool air is doing him good.

He's been sitting on a bench in some park for a long time now. He lost track of time a while ago, but the sun looks like it will probably be rising soon. Maybe he should try to find his way home. He's starting to get tired now; he'll probably sleep all day.

He's calmed down completely now. Zoro really wishes Ace hadn't done that in front of everyone. Oh well, it's out now. If they didn't know he purposely drinks himself into a coma on occasion, they do now.

And to top it all off, the organization is back in his life.

Zoro takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. "Fuck. Why does everything have to happen at once?"

His phone starts vibrating in his pocket. Who the fuck is calling him right now? There's no way any one in this city is awake right now besides him.

He pulls his phone out of his front pants pocket and glances at the caller id.

Unknown. He squints his eyes at it. This better not be who he thinks it is.

He flicks the phone open and slowly brings it to his ear, disturbing the three earrings that hang there.

"Hello?"

"Oh good, you answered. I didn't wake you did I?"

Like she would care if she did. Zoro frowns at the empty bench across from him. "No. I've been up."

"Perfect. We have another job for you."