A/N: Another challenge done. I got the idea after re-watching those final moments of Zoro's fight and all with Kuma. Pretty intense, eh? Sanji and Zoro's friendship has become something really awesome to me lately. I hope you enjoy :3
Pairing: None, though if you squint really, reaaaaaaally hard, it could be SanjiZoro. COULD be. But it's intended to be strong friendship.

23. Talk

It had been two days since Sanji had found Zoro after the ordeal with Kuma. Obviously, the blonde had made it his business at the time to find out everything he could about what had happened to Zoro after he'd been knocked out, but he hadn't directly asked the swordsman. Personally, Sanji didn't believe the marimo's head could stand up to being asked about it right now. Luffy was okay for the moment, leaving the guy alone and just believing that his first mate had been the awesome, strong guy as always and had beaten the enemy back whilst the captain was out of action. No one corrected him on this.

Or at least, no one who knew about the situation. Robin kept her eyes on Zoro almost always; smiling her mysterious smile and leaving him wander freely as the group prepared to depart from Thriller Bark. Sanji cooked food for everyone, delighting in the different expressions and everything he received from everyone as always, but the one expression that he just couldn't bear to look at, was Zoro's.

The guy had looked distant and quiet ever since he'd woken up. It was almost disturbing to Sanji at times to see the man's expression so far away, even when he was eating the delicious food that the blonde had put everything into making, just so that expression wouldn't be there. Brook also seemed to know a bit about the situation. Sanji could tell this by how the skeleton's hollow eye sockets seemed to follow the swordsman's movements as he wandered back and forth. The day came that they were due to leave. Sanji was packing his things up again when he heard a voice speak behind him.

"Na," Luffy spoke, his voice oddly quiet and mixed with a tiny hint of worry, "Have you seen Zoro?" The chef blinked and turned, watching his captain for a second before slowly shaking his head.

"Not since… we woke up, actually," Sanji replied before frowning softly and turning back to his stuff again. This could wait. It was time to go and find out where the marimo had ran off to. Despite himself, the blonde felt a strange swell of protectiveness coming over him and he sighed, wandering out of the kitchen and adjusting the sleeves of his blue hoodie before hopping off the side of the ship. He landed with a slight stumble but kept his feet easily enough, frowning at the slight drain that went through his legs at such a simple thing. Sunny wasn't exactly small or anything but still, jumping over the side of the ship and such had always been something he'd done quite easily. Just like any other member of their crew always did.

Luffy had wandered off, calling Zoro's name and frowning when he received no response. Sanji had a feeling he might know where the guy had gone and so he followed that instinct, stuffed his hands in his pockets and wandered towards the area where he'd found Zoro the other day. It wasn't a long walk but it took him a bit of time, considering he paused at one point to light a smoke and didn't exactly hurry towards the location. They were due to leave, sure, but it didn't mean he had to run his guts out just so they could stand around for hours saying goodbye to everyone who was staying behind.

Flicking the butt of the cigarette away as he reached the location, Sanji sighed softly when he saw the green haired swordsman indeed sitting in the middle of the disaster sight. He was quiet and it was obvious he could hear Luffy's calls but he was just choosing to ignore them. Sanji gently slid down the rock again and a flash of when he'd first found the guy, came back to him.

"Hoo, talk about déjà vu, eh?" Sanji smiled a little as he wandered over to Zoro who barely showed him any attention whatsoever. Green eyes opened for a second before closing just as quickly, indicating quite obviously that he wanted to ignore the blonde just like he was ignoring Luffy. Sanji wasn't so easily put off and instead just raised a hand to rub at the back of his head.
"What are you doing here, Zoro? We're leaving soon so you should get back to the ship and be ready, eh?" Zoro didn't respond to that and simply opened his eyes, instead turning his gaze towards the sky. Sanji watched him but didn't comment on the action, simply finding himself a seat on some of the cracked rock and folding one leg beneath him so he was comfortable. A stream of smoke was blown from the corner of his lips and then finally, he sighed again. He hoped this wasn't how Zoro was going to be from now on.

"It's strange," Zoro finally spoke, his voice as distant as the look in his eyes, "That… we never really pay attention to how much pain and suffering Luffy goes through, every time he fights." Sanji blinked slowly and shifted his gaze, not saying anything for fear of putting the idiot off his train of thought. If Zoro wanted to talk, then Sanji would let him and if the guy went quiet now, then he would leave him alone. It was as simple as that.

"You know, eh?" Zoro's green eyes turned to the blonde man and fixed him with an almost penetrating stare. Sanji shifted slightly nervously before sighing and nodding once to confirm that he did indeed know.

"I heard it from… those two possum guys. They were gonna tell everyone so I asked 'em to be quiet after they'd told me what happened. I was the one who found you after all, so I thought I'd like to know," Sanji said. Zoro's lips twitched in the ghost of a smile before he returned his gaze to the sky again.

"It's fine. Doesn't bother me that much, really. I just don't want Luffy to know, that's all," he said. Sanji nodded a little.

"I won't tell him…"

"Good," Zoro nodded before raising a hand and idly rubbing at his chest. "… I felt it. Here. At first. It was… insane to put it bluntly. Just a tiny bit of what Luffy was feeling and I was almost on my knees. Then he wanted me to take the rest of it, showed me mercy. Let me pick where I wanted it to happen. I didn't want everyone to see or hear what was going on. Least of all him." Sanji knew instantly who 'he' was and nodded silently. Luffy. Zoro hadn't wanted Luffy to know about any of this and understandably so. The kid would feel only the utmost guilt for putting his swordsman in such a position not to mention he'd want to go after Kuma and as Zoro had already foresaw, the guy was just too strong for them to face yet. If they went after him now, he would destroy them all.

"You…took all of Luffy's pain and fatigue then?" Sanji was hesitant to ask but let out an inaudible sigh of relief when the swordsman didn't take it badly and simply nodded.
"For the moment I was engulfed in that ball of misery…I knew him. Everything about him. I can't remember half of it now but, at the time, I just felt like I was him. Fighting those battles, taking on the shadows to defeat Moria. All of that," Zoro said and turned his gaze back to Sanji, strong admiration shining in his green eyes.

"He… is pretty incredible," Sanji said, allowing a small smile to work it's way onto his face before he leaned back and looked at the sky as well. "You're an idiot, Marimo. I could've helped…could've taken half of it or something." Zoro watched him for the longest time before snorting softly and raising his eyes to the sky again as well.

"You would've died, idiot," he said. Sanji frowned.

"Would not."

"Would too."

"Would not!"

"Besides, I had to leave someone strong in charge of everyone whilst I was out and Luffy was down, ne?" Zoro got to his feet, dusting off the dust and rocks from his pants before pushing his hands into his pockets and offering Sanji a smirk before he turned and started heading back for the ship again. The blonde was about to retaliate when the reality of what the swordsman had just said, sunk in. Had that been… respect? It had sounded something like it. Something akin to it at the very least. He didn't comment on it and just got up, following after the swordsman and muttering about idiot marimos and their weird ways of communicating. Inside though? He was quite a little touched.

oooooooo

They'd been sailing for half a day already and Sanji was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen whilst the crew happily ate and talked amongst themselves. The blonde was rewarded with thanks and appreciative comments about the greatness of his food as always and he smiled to himself as he continued doing the dishes, proud to be the chef of this crew. He was proud to be a chef in general. Then it started.

"So can you tell us how you fought that guy and everything, Zoro?" Luffy was asking, leaning towards his first mate with a wide grin and attentive eyes. Zoro frowned slightly and shrugged.
"I just fought the guy, what more is there to say?" He could feel Brook looking at him and he shot the skeleton a slight glare, warning him to back off right now. It wasn't like he didn't like the guy but he had a feeling the bastard knew about this as well. Zoro didn't like it and he was hoping Brook would know how to keep his mouth shut. Usopp joined in the action this time.

"Aww, come on, Zoro! There must be some great tale behind it or something! None of us saw anything so you have to tell us! Like always, ne?" The long nose was grinning just like Luffy was.

"His wounds are amazing," Chopper breathed, "I thought he was going to die when I first started bandaging him!" Luffy huffed and pouted a little.

"C'mon, Zoro! Naa, tell us!" The captain was whining again and Zoro's temple twitched but he kept his mouth solidly closed, deciding to just clamp up instead of telling some cock and bull story about nothing. He wasn't a liar and he wasn't going to start being one now. It was against his moral code. Sanji frowned at the sink, listening to what was happening behind him and his fingers clenched slightly on the towel he was holding before he set the dish down and let his hands rest on the edge of the sink. Couldn't they just leave Zoro alone? It hadn't been a few days after everything and they were already hounding the guy!

Sometimes, he wondered just what kind of children he'd been mixed in with here. Usopp and Chopper joined in with Luffy as Zoro continued eating his food and keeping his eyes closed and story to himself. Steadily, Sanji got more and more enraged. They should have had more respect for the guy who'd saved ALL their asses! Stupidly so, but had still done it!

"Pleeaaaaassse?" Luffy's voice was so whiney that it made the blonde's curly eyebrow twitch.

"Luffy!" Sanji snapped, turning to look over his shoulder at the kid, "… Enough. Eh? That's enough. Leave him alone." The captain blinked and looked towards the other, pouting a little.

"But-"

"No," Sanji frowned, turning completely and putting his hands on his hips, "Trust what your first mate says. Respect him. If he doesn't want to talk about it, then leave him alone! Jesus, Luffy. It's… what, three or four days since it happened and you're already hounding him like it'll be the end of the world if you don't know what happened!"

"But… I want to know… so I can know how awesome Zoro was," Luffy frowned a little, "I just want to hear how awesome a fighter he was being." The childlike innocence in his captain's face made it slightly difficult for the chef to continue being mad but he had to do this. He had to stop them from disrespecting Zoro's sacrifice by forcing the man to tell them something he didn't want to say. In future, maybe then the truth could come out but not so close as it was now.

"That's great, kid, but Zoro doesn't want to tell it. Respect that and let him alone, eh?" Sanji frowned in return, his eyebrows creasing a little in mild concern before he sighed and turned back to his dishes. Robin smiled a little and let out a soft 'fufu' over her coffee and Brook took the silence as a chance to let out a rather loud, and disgusting sounding fart. Sanji spun and threw a spatula at the skeleton's head.

"You have NO manners!" The chef was hissing as he threw another utensil at the afro-headed Brook. The newcomer to the crew just laughed his 'yoho' laugh and grabbed the gear, setting it on the counter so Sanji could just pick it up from there and rewash it when he was finished snarling. The rest of the crew steadily exited, leaving Sanji finishing his cleaning and Zoro sitting on the couch at the other side of the room.

"You still here, marimo? Get the hell out, I need to clean everything and I don't want your broody presence making my mood any wo-"

"Thank you," Zoro said, cutting him off and then getting to his feet. Sanji stared at the green haired man who looked him straight in the eyes and then inclined his head in a small bow before walking out the door and closing it softly behind him. For a long time, the blonde couldn't get over the shock of what had just happened but when he did, he sighed and snorted.

"Lousy marimo… making me want to protect his ugly ass," Sanji muttered nastily as he continued with his work but there was a definite undertone of a smile on his face. Distantly, he could hear Luffy and Usopp playing a game but after that, there were no more whines for Zoro to tell them anything. Even when they went to bed, nobody spoke a word about Zoro's wounds as Chopper applied a fresh wad of bandages to the older man. Now was the time for the idiot to heal and Sanji understood that and wanted it to happen. An angsty marimo hanging around was just something he wouldn't abide by. Not on this damn ship.

End

A/N: Thanks in advance for any reviews I may receive. I am certainly most grateful :)