p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Hey, Zoro….Zoro! Nngh, you sleep too much—I wanna play with my first mate!" Luffy shouted as he bounded across the deck of the Sunny to interrupt the swordsman's regularly scheduled nap./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I don't think pirates should be 'playing', Captain. We aren't children—although, I suppose I might be maturing you in my mind to make myself feel better about following some kid's orders."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""That's so mean! I'm not a kid!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Are you sure?" Usopp cut in. "Because even emI /emhave more chest hair than you."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We're the same age, dummy!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Having hair on your chest means you're more grown up?!" Chopper asked excitedly, eyes sparkling./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Careful, Captain-san, or you might lose your position to the alpha-reindeer."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Robin's right. If you're gonna measure maturity by that standard, then our furry doctor here is definitely the manliest man, or rather, reindeer," Zoro commented good-naturedly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Saying that won't make me happy, you jerk!" Chopper giggled, swaying joyfully on the spot. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Chest hair is the deciding factor? Hmm….I'm older than all of you in years, but I am unfortunately lacking both hair emand /ema chest! Yohohohohohoho!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'd point out the obvious fact that you have an entire emafro /emon your head, but this is the dumbest conversation you idiots have had today, and I don't want to be any part of it," Nami commented from her lounge chair. "You shouldn't encourage them, Robin. Otherwise, they'll never grow up."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Butt out, Nami! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates no matter what—even if I'm totally bald, I'll still conquer the Grand Line and be super manly doing it!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You tell 'em, Luffy! Size or substance doesn't make the man—men are manly because they have FIGHTING SPIRIT!" Franky shouted emphatically, freezing in a ridiculous pose./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""FIGHTING SPIRIT!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""YEAH!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Eventually I'm going to lose all respect for you people," Nami lamented, glancing towards the galley door with a sigh. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Sanji-kun is the manliest as far as I'm concerned—he's the only one who isn't participating in this nonsense."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"As if the mere mention of his name on a beautiful lady's lips had somehow summoned the cook telepathically, Sanji burst out of the kitchen with a beaming smile so wide that Zoro swore he caught some glare off of the other man's teeth from across the deck./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Did I just hear my lovely mellorine compliment the emonly /emgentleman on this ship? Oh, sorry Brook—emliving/em gentleman," he corrected./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""No offense taken. I don't believe that a person must necessarily be alive in order to be called a gentleman. All it takes is a manly soul!" the musician announced with an accompanying riff on his electric guitar./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I know how we can decide who's the manliest!" Luffy told them excitedly. "EATING CONTEST!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Absolutely not," Sanji interrupted, making his way to their gluttonous captain with a tray of drinks balanced on one hand. "I made these to keep everyone hydrated until dinner, and I am emnot /emgoing to slave away in the kitchen to make extra food for the bottomless pits who I have the misfortune of living with."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You don't like living with us, Sanji?" Chopper asked him tearfully, though his tears seemed to magically evaporate once the cook handed him his own sugary beverage. Luffy was already halfway through slurping his down, and the satisfied sound made Zoro's own mouth feel dry. The swordsman looked to Sanji as he approached with the final drinking glass, and time seemed to stop./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"What. The actual. Fuck./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emWrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong—/emthe word streamed continuously into Zoro's mind until his entire body became permeated with the distinct sense that he was not experiencing reality. This assumption proved true when Zoro's focus shifted entirely to the cook's face like the zooming of a camera lens—everyone and everything else in the vicinity melted away with the background, leaving nothing but Sanji. The swordsman did a sort of mental double-take, his mind scrambling until there was only one detail that he could grasp./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emHis eyebrow is—/em/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He shot up in bed before he could complete the thought, blinking away the horrifying after-image of the cook's visible eye framed by an offensively normal blond curve in place of his usual curly eyebrow. Zoro felt an actual shiver run down his back, which was sticking to his t-shirt because of the cold sweat that had broken out when he'd been wrenched from the relatively ordinary dream about the Straw Hats' daily antics./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"His gaze immediately flitted to Sanji, who was fast asleep in his own bunk. It had always amazed the swordsman to see how the cook's hair seemed to magically remain in place, regardless of whether he was sleeping, fighting, or even emswimming /emfor God's sake. The hairstyle was an affront to physics and logic, but it wasn't the main thing that concerned the swordsman./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The problem was Sanji's curly eyebrow itself, which Zoro had always considered to be the most ridiculous aspect about him. Hell, rarely a day went by when he emdidn't /embring it up during their many arguments. In fact, he would go so far as to call it the epitome of everything he hated about the cook. All of his annoying personality quirks and the various frustrations caused by his eccentricities—it was all represented by the singular detail that stood out among Sanji's admittedly handsome features as the only noticeable "flaw"./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The actual problemem, /emin other words, was that Zoro's dream had quite forcefully destroyed his current perception of the cook, revealing the utter denial that he'd been living in since the blond had joined the crew. It was probably the silliest thing on which the swordsman could've based his opinion, but it was the emonly /emthing that allowed him to believe he didn't find the other man attractive because even if Sanji were perfect in every other regard, his eyebrow was indeed ridiculous enough to ruin his entire look./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Except it didn't./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The dream proved it—Zoro had apparently come to accept the cook's appearance even if he hadn't done it consciously. His emsub/emconscious, on the other hand, clearly had an opinion of its own—perhaps the curly eyebrow wasn't make it or break it after all, which meant that there was nothing left for the swordsman to cling to./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He thought that Sanji was gorgeous as fuck, regardless of what shape his eyebrows were (although he still couldn't shake the strangeness of seeing them without the curl). emGod-fucking-damnit…This is the end for me. Either he finds out and eventually kills me for it, or I slowly descend into madness knowing that I actually want to—/em/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He cut his own thoughts short, launching out of his hammock to escape the room before he caught another glimpse of his crewmate's sleeping face. If he'd thought he could hide in the crow's nest and train all day without having to face the thoughts that were constantly occupying the back of his mind, then he was as stupid as the cook said he was./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"They didn't go away, and he by no means forgot about his world-changing realization, but he was at least able to avoid the blond for the first few days until emsomebody /em(probably that damn meddling sea-witch) went and tipped him off about the swordsman's musings./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""What? You got something to say, shitty-swordsman?" Sanji barked at him one afternoon./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro felt his entire body go tense, but he didn't move from his current position, which was at the base of the mast watching Sanji's movements unabashedly. He knew that the cook was onto him, and he didn't see the point in hiding it when the other man had already figured out that Zoro was thinking about him. He also knew that Sanji had no idea what he was thinking emabout, /emwhich gave the swordsman a great deal of satisfaction because then he wouldn't be the only one suffering, and it would likely piss the cook off even more than if he knew./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He chose not to reply at all, and Sanji eventually stormed away with his hands in the air. He didn't see the swordsman smile at his frustrated gesture, but Robin happened to be passing by in time to catch the fond expression. "Don't look at me like that," he grumbled, avoiding her sly grin. "He's just…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"She raised her eyebrows when he trailed off, making her way to the nearest chair on the deck. "Must the two of you always chase each other like cat and mouse?" she asked him in mild exasperation./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Excuse me?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You and Cook-san are constantly playing this childish game—did you think nobody had noticed?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I don't know what you think you're seeing, but whatever it is, emhe /emhasn't noticed, so don't make a thing out of it."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""That sounds like you're admitting there's something to be seen," she pointed out, which he knew he couldn't even deny—he emwas /embeing incredibly obvious./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Whatever. We all live on one ship—it's too difficult to hide every moment of introspection, and what do I care if you notice? It's nothing," he told her defiantly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Not that you asked for my opinion, but I think you should tell Sanji whatever's on your mind. It looks like he's already getting antsy without your usual interactions to expend some of that wonderful energy."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""'Wonderful energy?'" he repeated amusedly. "That's a nice way of putting it. You mean that he's loud, obnoxious, totally neurotic and narcissistic, a hopeless romantic, and an insufferable show-boating know-it-all. Let me sum that up with the phrase embatshit crazy/em."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Crazier than yourself?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""…Should I be offended by that?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I don't think so. The two of you are amazing men, each with your own unique personalities and skillsets…I think you see yourself in Sanji-kun."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Please find a better way to phrase that," he told her stiffly, causing Robin to raise her eyebrows and let out an amused giggle./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'll pretend I don't understand what you mean. What I was getting at is that those qualities that you're so quick to demerit could also be considered evidence of Sanji's confidence, his determination, and the personal insecurities that he struggles to overcome in order to achieve his dreams. I'm sure you understand that no one is perfect. We must all help each other."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm not sure what you want me to say to that. Nothing's gonna help this situation, Robin. It's best to wait for it to blow over. I just need some time to reorient myself and learn to hate him again."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I can't give you an answer, but I will say that I think it's in everyone's best interest if our strongest fighters are able to cooperate. Who knows how it could affect the crew if the two of you aren't able to work well together? Even if you choose to keep these particular thoughts to yourself, please don't shy away from confrontation—you know it'll happen sooner or later."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Tch. Only because emhe/em doesn't know when to leave well enough alone."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Then be sure to face the inevitable conversation head-on and with civility," she suggested, pausing as she stood from the chair. "Oh, and one more thing…listen carefully whenever you speak to Mr. Cook. I think you'll be surprised if you try to understand him instead of assuming that any conversation between the two of you will be a hostile one."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Gee, thanks for the advice. I'll keep that in mind the next time his foot his crushing my sternum."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Trust me on this. Us women know a thing or two about…friendly relations," she told him sweetly, leaving him with the rather obvious innuendo./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Surprisingly, it didn't bother the swordsman to hear her make jokes about it because he'd actually come to trust Robin since her arrival. The woman wasn't mean-spirited—she thrived on secrets but wasn't the type to gossip needlessly. If anything, he was concerned about her ability to be subtle, especially since Sanji was not a particularly dense man nor was he unlikely to miss a double-entendre considering how perverted his mind was./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro didn't have to wait long for the inevitable conversation, as Robin had put it. A few days after his talk with the archeologist, his nightly workout was interrupted by the quick entry of Sanji, who came into the crow's nest with suspiciously quiet speed, slamming the hatch behind him. The swordsman's heart began to thump harder in his chest when he heard the distinct sound of a lock, which he hadn't even realize existed at that entrance./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""What the—get the fuck out of here, curly. I don't have time for you," he snapped, instantly regretting the response because it would only serve to irritate the other man. Sanji was not the type of person who would overlook an insult and leave without commenting on it, especially if Zoro were the one doing the insulting./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Why are you tensing up like you think I'm going to attack you or something? This bullshit attitude of yours is getting real old. Are you gonna tell me how that stick got up your ass, or what? I'm getting tired of looking at your stupid face," Sanji told him jeeringly, stopping a few feet from the workout bench./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro paused at his words, noticing that he emwas /emtense while simultaneously fighting the memory of the cook from his dream. For a split second he wanted to laugh at the irony of hearing Sanji tell him that he had a problem with the swordsman's face when the reverse was what had caused this rift between them in the first place. Then his own frustration swelled as he realized that he would have to stare at that curly eyebrow in order to get through this conversation, which would only remind him of his unfortunate epiphany. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He tossed his weights aside with an exasperated growl, muttering, "God dammit—I can't fucking stand this!" The urge to avoid looking at the other man overwhelmed him, so he pressed the backs of his hands to his eyes to procrastinate having to face the blond./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I swear I'm going to smash your skull in if you keep being so cryptic! What exactly is it about me that you suddenly can't stand? I'm no different than I have been since I joined the crew, moron. You're acting insane," Sanji accused heatedly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro dropped his hands into his lap and stared down at the floor, feeling utterly hopeless because the cook was right for once—this emwas /eminsane, and emhe /emwas insane for being attracted to his crewmate at all. Okay, maybe it wasn't totally crazy since it was undeniable that Sanji was a handsome man, but he also had what was possibly the least compatible personality to Zoro's—and the swordsman had never believed in that stupid "opposites attract" bullshit, although the idea might have some truth to it if the other person's differences were attractive qualities./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"But emSanji? /emThe man annoyed him to no end! Even if Zoro reluctantly accepted his appreciation of the blond's physical appearance, it was still inconceivable that he felt so affected by him after realizing that he might not actually mind the silly eyebrow. He knew that he'd just been using his initial aversion to it as a convenient reason to object to the rest of the cook's appearance (which was admittedly rather childish of him), but he hadn't been doing it consciously—at least, not at first./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"It was akin to someone refusing to eat a chocolate bar simply because it came in a package with a design they didn't like, but seeing it sitting on a shelf for months—knowing that it would be delicious—well, you could deny yourself a taste if you were stubborn enough, but after you got used to the packaging, and it stopped being a turn-off…who emwouldn't /emwant to eat the chocolate?/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emThat was a bad analogy, /emhe thought. emI don't even like chocolate/em. It was then that his traitorous brain decided to pose the question, emWhat if /emhe emmade it for you though, and you got to eat it off his—/emhe cut the idea short, horrified at himself for letting his desire get so out of control that he was actually thinking in kinks. Even if that particularly kink didn't seem too far-fetched with a skilled chef such as the blond, it was still eminsane /emthat Zoro would even entertain the idea of something so perverse./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""That must be it," he said finally, agreeing with Sanji's assessment of his mental state. "There's no other explanation. Just leave me alone, Cook. I don't want to look at your face either—anything but that," he told him, not even trying to pretend like he wasn't begging. He just wanted the other man to drop this whole thing—would that really be so hard?/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""What's that supposed to mean, asshole?! 'Anything but that?' All you've been doing for the past week is staring at me like a weirdo, and now you're saying you can't even look at me when I'm talking to you?" Sanji asked angrily./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Who was he kidding? This was the cook—of course that temperamental asshole would be itching for a fight. Zoro knew that his recent contemplations had baffled the blond and eventually pushed him past the point of ignoring it, but he didn't regret being obvious because the swordsman had never been able to resist a chance to make Sanji squirm. There was something about him when he was angry that just made Zoro's blood run hot./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emIt can't be healthy to keep having these kinds of thoughts, especially about one of my nakama. It's disgraceful, /emhe told himself forcefully, hoping that his sense of honor could override his lack of propriety. He wondered if his feelings would eventually fade away, but something told him that it was already a lost cause. He'd never felt so drawn to a person before, and after that dream, he hadn't been able to stop the increasingly intense urges to do unspeakable things to the other man, though he was disciplined enough to be able to resist actually trying anything like that./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Even so, he was afraid he might slip up and reveal the inappropriate feelings to the cook. Now emthat /emwould be a complete disaster—literally. He would be lucky to escape with all of his bones intact, and he had no illusions about the condition that the rest of him would be in if Sanji learned that he was having such thoughts. Despite having no way of knowing his reaction, Zoro couldn't imagine that the cook was someone who would casually brush off a revelation like this, let alone be open-minded enough to accept the swordsman's advances. He fought a wave of hopelessness, turning his face towards the ceiling and studiously avoiding looking at the cook's face./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I…really can't. It's driving me crazy. I'm gonna have to leave the crew," Zoro said despairingly,/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Leave the—I'm serious, bastard, you'd better tell me what the hell is going on emright now."/em/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The swordsman was at a loss for words. He really, emreally/em didn't want to have this conversation, but Robin was right—he needed to address the issue with Sanji or else it could cause trouble for the entire crew if things stayed tense between them. The problem was that he just didn't know what to emsay/em—he was seriously considering just kissing the other man, if only to avoid having to vocalize his thoughts but also because of the priceless look on the other man's face./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji broke the silence with a gentler tone, seeming to have finally caught on to the seriousness of the situation. "Okay…I know this isn't how we usually do things, but let's call a truce for a minute, eh? You're really torn up about whatever this is, so just tell me what's the matter, and we'll never speak of it again," he offered, prompting Zoro to look at him like he'd spontaneously grown a second head./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Holy shit—you had a heart all along, Cook. Who knew?" he asked wryly, cracking a smug smile that made the blond instantly flush an angry red./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Fuck off, man. Even if I act like I want to kill you half of the time, I'm still your nakama. What kind of pirate would I be if that didn't come first?" he asked sincerely./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Wow. Now I emdefinitely /emknow I'm insane, because I actually appreciate you saying that," Zoro replied in genuine bewilderment./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Save it—just tell me why you've been so weird lately," Sanji repeated, supressing the desire to hold his breath in anticipation./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The swordsman sighed heavily, finally coming to a decision. "Alright," he began uncomfortably, "but don't laugh."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Despite his words, he couldn't bring himself to immediately explain the situation, prompting Sanji to nervously light a cigarette during the stretch of silence./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""About a week ago…I had this dream," Zoro told him finally, capturing the cook's attention. "It was so weird—I haven't been able to get it out of my head."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You mean, like, about me?" Sanji asked hesitantly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro gave a curt nod. "It really messed me up. I feel like I don't even know who I am anymore," he lamented, and it was true. So much of his identity within the crew had been shaped by his interactions with Sanji, who was by all intents and purposes his rival. The animosity between them fueled their respective egos, and now the swordsman's go-to target had been compromised./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He was reliving the horrible moment when he'd seen the image of the cook without his usual curling facial hair when Sanji suddenly sat down in the vacant spot beside him on the bench. "Okay…" he began slowly. "Can you tell me what it was about, or was it…you know…?" he trailed off awkwardly, staring straight ahead when Zoro's body immediately went stiff./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emWhat the hell? /emhe thought, accidentally saying this aloud while he was panicking internally. emThere's no way I was /emthat emobvious! How the hell did he guess?/em/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""N-no! Jesus—not everybody is a fucking pervert like you, Cook," he stuttered, cheeks flushing crimson./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Are you sure? 'Cuz I didn't even finish my sentence and you knew exactly what I was talking about," Sanji teased, prompting the swordsman to explain further./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""It wasn't like that, idiot. It started off completely normal—everybody was on the ship doing what we usually do, but then you came out of the galley with drinks for each of us, and…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""And what?" Sanji pressed with bated breath./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You were too far away for me to notice it at first, but then you walked over to hand Luffy and I the glasses, and the normalcy just…emshattered./em It was like realizing that nothing was the same even though everything else was familiar. God, it was so emwrong./em"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""What was wrong? Just spit it out already, marimo!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Your eyebrow…" he said distantly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""My…what?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""It was…emnormal./em"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""EXCUSE ME?!" Sanji exploded./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""It was the most horrifying thing I've ever seen—it was so disturbing that I woke up in shock, and I can't stop picturing it no matter what I do."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Are you fucking emkidding me /emright now?! emThat's /emwhat you've been stressing over this whole time?! My bloody EYEBROWS? I will seriously emmurder you /emfor doing this to me!" Sanji raged, nearly tearing his hair out as he grabbed at in in frustration./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""That wasn't the worst part, though."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""What, did you look in the mirror and see that your goddamn hair was normal, too, emmoss-head?"/em/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""No, I woke up from the dream, remember? I swear it felt like I was being haunted by the image. It made me realize…fuck…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I hope you weren't in the middle of a tough workout because I'm going to kick your goddamn ass all over this room in a minute, and I seriously might kill you if you don't fight me with every once of your strength," Sanji told him dangerously, still seething with rage./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You don't understand. I can never unsee it, and now I know that I…I actually…prefer it curly," he admitted in a near-whisper./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You weren't fucking joking—you're actually insane. We're gonna have to put you in a straitjacket and lock you in the brig."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""It's a big deal, alright?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""But emwhy? /emWho fucking cares?!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I do! It's my favourite thing to insult, and now I don't even have that. I've been shit-talking it for years, but at some point I must've gotten used to how you look or something. I can't accept that."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Do you seriously have nothing better to do than obsess over my goddamn eyebrows? No—you know what? I'm emglad /emthat you're suffering over something so utterly stupid. Have you ever even thought that maybe I already had a complex about it and you've been a emhuge fucking asshole/em?!" Sanji yelled, which caused the swordsman to jerk in surprise./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I…I guess I emhadn't /emthought about that. Does it really bother you that much?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""YES. I hate you emso much /emright now that I can taste bile!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Oh. Well, I'm sorry—"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Fuck off! I don't know why I was even worried about you. Do you have any idea how ridiculous this is? I actually thought that something serious was going on, and then you had to give me a bloody heart-attack talking about weird dreams, and it was all because of my emeyebrows?!"/em/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro just stared at the other man as he became increasingly more irate, which caused a sharp pang of regret in the swordsman because he hadn't actually expected Sanji to emcare /emabout what the swordsman thought of him. He had never imagined that the confident cook might have a real insecurity about his appearance, and suddenly Zoro wished he could take back every petty comment he'd made about it./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji threw his cigarette butt against the far wall with a violent toss, scowling angrily as they both lapsed into silence. The swordsman waited to see if he was going to continue his rant, figuring that the blond was more than entitled to be pissed off, but the silence continued to stretch until it became unbearable. Zoro forced himself to meet his nakama's gaze, hoping that Sanji would be able to read his unspoken apology in his expression, so he was not prepared when the cook's demeanor suddenly become resolute as he slowly reached up and ran his fingers through his hair./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro felt his eyes go wide, unable to stop himself from reacting appropriately—and it emwas /emappropriate because he never would've expected the blond to reveal the other half of his face, especially not after learning that Sanji had a complex about his appearance, and to the swordsman of all people. He immediately felt a wave of shame and unworthiness wash over him, which was quickly overwhelmed by the incredible awe at what he was witnessing./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"God emdamn /emwas he attractive—painfully so. His face was perfectly symmetrical (except for the eyebrows, which curled in the same direction), and his eyes were just so fucking emblue /emthat Zoro instantly felt like he was drowning as he looked in them. He'd never realized just how expressive Sanji's face could be, since he was used to seeing only a fraction of it twisted into a mocking grin, or worse—his typical love-struck demeanor when in the presence of a lady./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro recognized the slight hesitation in his eyes when the swordsman failed miserably at concealing his honest response to the sight, causing an embarrassed flush to creep into both of their cheeks. emShit—he'll figure it out, /emZoro worried internally, shoving the thought away immediately. It was probably too late anyway. Sanji was a smart man, so there was no way he hadn't realized that Zoro found him attractive. They were too close—too bare—for either of them to convincingly lie about what was happening./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He decided that it simply wasn't worth the energy./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""emHoly shit…/em"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The blush on Sanji's face darkened, coloring his pale skin a rosy pink and alerting the swordsman to the fact that he had unconsciously spoken aloud. The cook stiffened awkwardly under Zoro's intense gaze, his hand twitching as he made to drop the blond fringe back into place. Without thinking, the swordsman captured the cook's hand before it could descend, holding it gently in place to prevent him from covering the amazing view before Zoro had had his fill. He might never get another chance to see this, after all, so he couldn't let the moment end too soon./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Wait!" he said sharply, sliding his fingers further into the other man's hair as he voiced the automatic command. His touch drew a stuttered breath out of the other man, who just stared at him with those gorgeous eyes as though Zoro's sudden action had frozen him in place. "S-sorry," Zoro told him apologetically. "I just…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"His words trailed off as Sanji dropped his hand, and suddenly neither of them could deny that this exchange had become mutual. The cook wasn't pulling away—he was actually emallowing /emZoro to touch him—and that, on top of the fact that the blond had been the one who'd initiated this reveal, proved that he was not the only one who was under the spell of whatever strange tension seemed to be drawing them together./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"After what felt like an endless period of staring at one another in confused contemplation, Sanji managed to regain his speech long enough to reproach the other man. "Oi, you're not supposed to emlike /emthis," he complained in an uncharacteristically soft tone./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro's blush deepened, and he instinctively tried to deny it. "I—I don't! I'm just relieved that you weren't hiding a normal eyebrow under there after all. That would've been even more ridiculous than them both being curly," he rationalized, causing the cook's eyes to narrow in suspicion. Sanji's anger returned with a vengeance, and he responded with perhaps the last thing that Zoro expected him to say./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Don't fucking lie to me," he growled, but there was undoubtedly an underlying hurt that his harsh words failed to hide. Zoro's eyes widened impossibly larger at the pissed off cook's retort, and he slowly retracted his hand, though Sanji's hair remained swept back over his forehead. The swordsman let his guilt show on his face since he doubted that he was in any frame of mind to conceal it even if he'd wanted to./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""No…you're right," he said finally. "That was rude of me. I don't—I mean, I like them, okay?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Just the eyebrows?" Sanji inquired wryly, causing the swordsman to finally break their gaze with a knowing smirk in response to the blond's sudden change in attitude. There was something so distinctly playful about the question that instantly increased Zoro's embarrassment ten-fold because despite the swordsman's sometimes dense nature, he was sure that he detected a hint of emflirtatiousness /emin the cook's voice./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emWhat the hell? He can't seriously be flirting with me right now. How am I supposed to respond to something like that? /emZoro asked himself, too overcome with a sudden fit of nervous jitters to think of a clever comeback. Instead he studiously avoided the cook's eyes, which caused Sanji to let out a pleased laugh, giving away the fact that he was obviously glad Zoro wasn't falling back into their usual pattern of meaningless insults./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""They look fine. You…look good…I guess," the swordsman managed to get out, rubbing the back of his neck in a gesture that similarly revealed his true feelings. "How the hell does your hair stay so perfect, though? You shouldn't be able to just rearrange it however and just have it mold into that shape. emThat's/em the weirdest part," he rambled awkwardly, glancing away again when Sanji cracked an amused grin./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You're such an idiot," he remarked fondly with a genuine smile, adding, "Thanks…I guess."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro frowned at him, still too embarrassed to make fun of the other man for getting soft on him of a sudden. "You're welcome," he replied offhandedly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"There was a distracting tension in the air that made the swordsman's hair stand on end with anticipation, but he couldn't quite pinpoint the cause. Despite the awkwardness of their conversation, Sanji was still holding his gaze even as they both flushed red. Zoro swallowed thickly, training his eye on the little crease that had formed between the cook's curly eyebrows with growing curiosity—his expression was far too complicated for the straightforward swordsman to understand, but it was clear that Sanji was doing some serious thinking./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The moment stretched as they both attempted to figure out what was happening between them, but Zoro could hardly think at all with the captivating sight of the cook's face so close to his. Suddenly, he realized that Sanji really was closer than usual—even closer than he had been a few seconds ago. They were unconsciously leaning towards one another as the silence became tangible, filling the crow's nest like a mass of water weighing down on them, surrounding their bodies with a slowly increasing pressure that demanded they move closer./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro couldn't stop himself from looking at the cook's mouth as his lips migrated within kissing range, teasing him with their proximity. Sanji probably hadn't meant to get so close, but the swordsman had instinctively let his gaze drift to the other man's approaching mouth, which caused a sharp wave of panic to wash over him when the cook's lips parted in the tiniest gasp. Realization dawned on his face, changing his expression immeasurably, and suddenly his flushed cheeks and glazed eyes became an indication of something much less innocent than the earlier embarrassment./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He wasn't moving away./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"That fact struck the swordsman as impossible because he emknew /emthat Sanji understood the meaning of his glance. There was no other way for that look to be interpreted in this situation—Zoro had been thinking about kissing him, and the cook knew it…so why wasn't Zoro's advance being immediately rejected? Why was Sanji just staring at him in silence, his eyes surprisingly serious as if he were emdaring /emthe swordsman to do it./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emHell, I think I'm drowning, /emZoro thought absently, falling toward the cook's blue eyes. He couldn't stop himself from leaning across those final inches—couldn't tear his gaze away from the gorgeous pools that were drawing him in—it was all happening too rapidly. He didn't even care about the consequences because he wasn't thinking about anything beyond the face in front of him, which had gone completely still as he slowly leaned towards the blond. Sanji showed no signs of wanting to retreat; in fact, his expression smoothed out as he continued staring, transfixed, at the swordsman's face./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"It was so surreal that Zoro felt like he was in a dream, which explained why he closed the remaining gap between them and pressed his lips against the cook's without thinking. He expected there to be a pause, during which they would realize that they were emkissing /emand tense up in panic, but instead there was a clear moment of release, as if they'd both been cured of their restraint with the kiss. Sanji responded without hesitation, moving his lips over Zoro's with a carnal hunger that surprised the swordsman and instantly set his skin on fire. Touching the cook seemed to have the contrasting effects of both soothing as well as inflaming the blaze, which quickly became like a fever making them half-delirious with passion./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro threaded his fingers into blond hair, anchoring the other man in place as their kisses became rougher and more desperate. He wordlessly adjusted their positions on the bench, creating space between his legs, which the cook immediately filled with his slim frame. His hands were on the swordsman's biceps, fingers digging into muscle with insistent pressure to force them closer together. Even chest to chest, Sanji didn't seem satisfied. Once the cook literally climbed onto Zoro's lap, the swordsman could no longer justify the layers of clothing that they were wearing. In the scramble to extricate themselves from the offending fabric, they relocated to the floor without exchanging a single word./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Once, Zoro had broken their kiss to ask what Sanji wanted to do, figuring that it was best to get the logistics out of the way before things got too heated, but it seemed like the blond was even further gone than he was. The only verbal instruction the swordsman received was to "shut up and do everything," which pretty much solved the logistics problem. Zoro decided not to think about it from then on, choosing instead to pin a very naked Sanji against the workout mats and explore every inch of his porcelain skin with his lips, teeth, and tongue. He received a half-hearted smack in retribution for the bright-red hickey forming on the cook's collar, which turned into a vice-like grip when Zoro responded by shoving his fingers into the one place that he was certain the cook had never been touched./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji moaned, long and loud, as the swordsman distracted him from the uncomfortable preparation with a particularly thorough blowjob. Long fingers slipped into his green hair, carding through the short strands with occasional tugs that encouraged him to swallow deeper. Zoro really emdid /emsuspect that he had somehow fallen asleep and entered a dream because the cook insisted (rather violently) on returning the favor after the swordsman finished. As soon as he'd recovered from his orgasm, Sanji placed a foot on his shoulder without warning and kicked him onto his back. He was on top of the flustered man in seconds, taking his cock into his mouth without preamble despite never having touched another man's dick before./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" The sight literally took Zoro's breath away. He thought that absolutely nothing could be hotter than Sanji Blackleg on his knees. He couldn't speak—couldn't focus on anything besides the inside of the cook's mouth, which was especially welcome because it had been emso long /emsince the swordsman had gotten laid. The velvet-soft touch moving determinedly over his eager erection was like heaven to the sexually deprived swordsman, who found himself wondering in the moment if perhaps he was wrong to deny religion since it seemed like a perfectly reasonable explanation that the cook was in fact a particularly foul-mouthed angel taking pity on a lost soul./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Whatever the reason for Sanji's sudden sexual interest in his rival, Zoro was not in any state of mind to question it. The cook and the swordsman's relationship had always been predictable, but there was obviously something between them that both men had refused to acknowledge until this silly misunderstanding had uncovered a mutual attraction./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emWe've wasted so much time, /emZoro thought regretfully. He wished he'd had that stupid dream sooner, but he also didn't want to change anything that had happened because it had led to this—to the swordsman sitting in the crow's nest with Sanji's lean body nestled between his legs, sucking him off like he did it everyday. The cook seemed to have completely given in to his carnal desires, gazing up at Zoro's panting face with an expression akin to someone in a trance. He gave no commands, asked for nothing, and generally let his instincts simply guide him as they each followed their basic instincts./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji's first verbal reaction came in response to the swordsman's hesitant fingers threading into his hair, warning him that Zoro's orgasm was approaching. He paused in his diligent task, releasing the throbbing cock and looking him straight in the eyes, face flushed with the heat of his own arousal./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Now?" he asked breathlessly, which should have been vague but was somehow perfectly clear to the swordsman./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Yeah," he replied, just as breathless. Zoro wordlessly got to his feet and retrieved a bottle of lubricant from his locker, returning to the workout mats and crouching behind the kneeling cook. Sanji's body immediately became tense as the other man met him from behind, prompting Zoro to drop an uncharacteristically gentle kiss on his neck, pressing his lips against the flushed skin in a reassuring gesture while quickly uncapping the lube and reaching around to coat the cook's erection with the slippery substance./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji sighed gratefully, his back curving to accommodate the swordsman as he slowly moved his wet fingers to the cook's opening. Perhaps it was just the anticipation, but Zoro swore that the heat inside of Sanji had increased, causing his own erection to twitch as it became painfully hard. He rushed to slick himself up, not even bothering to make sure that he wasn't wasting the lube and spilling it all over, before unceremoniously thrusting his cock past the first ring of muscle./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The cook gasped as Zoro entered him, his muscles contracting deliciously around the head as a long shudder briefly overwhelmed his senses. He remained absolutely silent as the swordsman carefully seated himself inside except for the sound of his focused breathing. The silence was broken by Sanji suddenly crying out in pleasant surprise when the swordsman's practice thrusts stimulated his prostrate for the first time./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Oh emfuck/em," he hissed quietly, but it sounded less like a curse and more like a prayer. Zoro took that as a good sign and began thrusting deeper, dragging a series of uninhibited moans out of the enlightened cook. As soon as Sanji figured out how good it felt to have the swordsman moving inside him, he began to rock his hips in in sync with the other man, encouraging him to move faster until neither of them could hold back any longer./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro quickly discovered that Sanji was hottest when he was making noise—there was something so utterly satisfying about hearing the smart-mouthed cook's gasps and moans in response to Zoro's touch, so it became the swordsman's mission to find the position that would make the blond scream the loudest. Then there was the dilemma of wanted to kiss him but emnot /emwanting to prevent him from making those sounds, so he kissed him everywhere else instead./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji's long limbs wrapped around the swordsman as he continued thrusting into the cook with increasingly erratic motions, marvelling at the slimmer man's flexibility as Zoro guided him onto his back and essentially folded him in half. When their orgasms hit, the swordsman was sure that the entire ship must have heard them, but he didn't have the presence of mind to stifle any sounds they made. Instead, he got to witness Sanji at his most vulnerable—hair swept back to reveal two blue eyes, clouded with pleasure, mouth wide as he cried out and came violently between them, and all the while gripping the swordsman with clawed hands that left bloody scratches along his smooth back./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"They collapsed with Zoro still inside, not even bothering to untangle their limbs until their racing hearts and laboured breathing slowly returned to normal. The silence that followed was agonizing, the air thick with tension and unspoken thoughts that were clearly occupying both of their minds. Almost a full ten minutes had passed before Zoro finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Oi, cook…what the hell? I never would have expected you to emlike /emthat."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"What he also meant, though, was that he would never have expected Sanji to be so open about his desires. Although he hadn't actually admitted to wanting to have sex with the swordsman, his body had made his enjoyment perfectly clear, and that was something that Zoro still couldn't believe even though he's just seen it with his own eyes./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji sucked in a breath, no doubt preparing to justify his actions to minimize the shame of submitting to his feelings for his crewmate, and suddenly Zoro realized that what he emreally /emwanted from the cook—more than nakamaship, more than sex even—was for Sanji to just be honest with him. All they ever did was pretend. They pretended to hate each other, always acting like petty children and never saying what they truly felt, because the other option was utter embarrassment—God forbid two badass pirates admit to having actual human emotions that didn't involve vengeance or competition./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Before Sanji could answer him with what would inevitably be some sort of half-assed excuse that neither of them believed anyway, Zoro tightened his grip around the cook's torso, turning a haphazard pile of limbs into a real embrace./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Don't lie," he whispered, refusing to loosen his hold on the other man despite the way he tensed at the swordsman's words./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Okay," Sanji told him quietly, relaxing into the other man's arms and taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I…I liked it a lot," he said finally, face flaming. Zoro released him instantly, turning the cook toward him so that he could see the swordsman openly grinning./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Me too. We'll have to do it again sometime…" he suggested with a smirk./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""…or a lot of times," Sanji replied slyly before extricating himself from the swordsman. They redressed in silence, but the air no longer felt heavy or stifling. In fact, the casual way in which they parted felt as though nothing had changed. The only indication Zoro had, proving that all of this hadn't been another crazy dream, came the next morning when he was doing his usual reps on the deck of the Sunny./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"During a particularly intimate moment in which the rest of their crewmates were busy enjoying the nice weather, oblivious to the locked gazes of the cook and the swordsman, Sanji nearly caused him to drop his weight because of the knowing smile on his face—Zoro felt himself flushing as the other man's gaze raked over his naked chest, glistening with sweat in the summer heat, and then his mind literally short-circuited when the cook licked his lips like he was looking at an ice cream cone and contemplating how delicious it would taste. Before anybody could notice the heated expressions on their faces, Sanji disappeared into the galley./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Hey, Zoro? Can I ask you a personal question? I'm a little worried," Chopper said suddenly, capturing everyone's attention immediately despite his soft, respectful tone. The entire crew except for the cook was present for the little reindeer's next words, which quite possible stopped Zoro's heart for the duration of the stunned silence that followed. "It's just…I don't remember those scratches on your back from yesterday. They look fresh. Something like that could get infected if you don't take care of it right away! I'm your doctor—I need to know when you're injured so I can give you the correct treatment."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""What's he talking about, Zoro?" Nami demanded, eying his frozen form suspiciously. When he flat-out refused to answer, she bribed Luffy and the others into chasing him down and forcing him to show his back to the concerned doctor. The women, however, were not nearly as naïve as the younger men on their crew. "Is that what I think it is?! But we haven't been to a port in three days…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The observant navigator did not miss the flash of panic that Zoro quickly attempted to disguise with an angry glare. She turned her suspicious gaze to the only other woman on the ship, but Robin was already laughing quietly in a way that was not particularly incriminating. "I would certainly remember doing something like emthat/em," she told Nami slyly, making her denial clear./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Well, it sure as hell wasn't me! Are you seriously suggesting that Zoro fucked somebody emelse /emon this crew?!" she asked incredulously, to which the rest of their crewmates collectively shouted in surprise./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""emWhat?/em Zoro had sex with someone on the crew?! I—I know I'm a liar, but I emswear /emit wasn't me!" Usopp announced, turning to Luffy for barely a second before adding, "No way it could've been you, Luffy. You're too pure to be corrupted—even by your first mate."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""But who..." Nami's words trailed off as the galley door swung open and everyone turned to stare directly at the approaching cook. Sanji took three strides and stopped, looking around at the mixture of shock, skepticism, and dawning realization on the faces of his nakama./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Oi, I made you all drinks, so why the hell are you looking at me like I'm holding a bunch of severed heads?" he asked them in confusion./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""YOU HAD SEX WITH ZORO?!" Usopp shouted without a second thought./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The tray of drinks slipped from the cook's hands and clattered to the deck, glasses shattering between the cook's frozen feet. There was a very, very long and uncomfortable pause followed by Sanji's deceptively calm reply of, "…Excuse me for a minute." He walked straight towards the swordsman, who was still in a borderline catatonic state between their nosy nakama, but the ominous sound of the cook's approaching footsteps snapped him out of it./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""H-hold on a minute," he said quickly, holding up his hands in a placating gesture./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Alright…emone/em minute—make it count, because it'll be your last," Sanji growled threatening./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Cook, I didn't—"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""57…56…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Don't be mad at Zoro, Sanji! It was my fault for asking questions about the scratches," Chopper explained woefully, seeming to understand that his concern had accidentally revealed his crewmates' secret. The cook instantly went pale, his gaze turning on the swordsman with daggers in his eye./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You fucking emidiot!/em Couldn't you have gone a few days without stripping in the middle of the goddamn deck?!" he screeched, yanking at his blond hair in frustration./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm sorry! I forgot—"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Oh, you emforgot?! /emThat's not fucking good enough, bastard! I'll KILL you!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Relax, Sanji-kun," Nami said placatingly. "I'm sure everybody's surprised, but like, not emthat /emsurprised. I mean, the two of you are sort of…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro didn't think it was possible, but the cook actually went even paler after hearing those words from one of his precious ladies. A strangled noise left his lips and he hung his head in his hands, mumbling, "Please don't say anymore, Nami-san. That shitty-swordsman and I are complete opposites—not even emwe/em saw this coming," he lamented./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Actually, I predicted that the two of you would become lovers the day I joined the crew."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Robin!" Zoro groaned, mimicking Sanji's face-in-hands gesture./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Don't just rebuke her—tell her it isn't true!" Sanji wailed, gripping the swordsman by the shoulders and jolting him as if he could actually shake some sense into the other man. Zoro avoided his eyes and stayed silent, unable to bring himself to come up with another pointless excuse. The truth was that he was actually a little bit proud of what they'd done. He didn't want to lie about something that meant so much to him—because it did, and he wasn't about to pretend otherwise…not this time./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Cook-san, don't you think you're being a little hard on him? It was emyour /emfingernails that left incriminating evidence in the first place," Robin reminded him with a devious grin./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji just stared at Zoro's unwavering expression, seeming to realize that the swordsman wasn't going to act like nothing had happened after all. Slowly, he relaxed his grip on the other man and let out a long, defeated sigh./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""…It couldn't be helped," he said quickly, his face flushing with embarrassment as he finally gave in and made the admission. "I'm a pirate—I don't have time to trim my nails and file them down everyday! It's not like they'll scar or anything, so it's not even a big deal. Besides, this is between Zoro and I anyway, so everybody should mind their own business and never speak of this again," he rambled nervously, surprising the swordsman with his sudden change in attitude./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Do you really think our crewmates are capable of minding their own business?" Zoro asked him rhetorically./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Dammit—why did you do this to me, moss-head?!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm not sure I did anything."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Except Sanji, shishishishi!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You are emso/em lucky that rubber isn't edible, you loud-mouthed little shit!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Wait, you actually understand what's going on, Luffy?!" Nami asked him in disbelief./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Of course! I don't think I'll ever be as loud as you guys—I could hear you both from all the way in the kitchen!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Oh no, I think Sanji's about to pass out! Somebody, get him to a doctor!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You're the doctor, Chopper."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Maybe you emshould/em treat these scratches," Zoro said to the little reindeer. "They're starting to itch, and who knows where that pervert-cook's hands have been."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I know wher—oompfh! Hey, that hurt, Sanji!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""The next person who mentions my sex-life will eat nothing but raw ingredients for a month—and emno meat,/em only soy products."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""NOOOO! Okay, I'll shut up—I'm sorry, Sanji. Please don't take away my meat!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Good choice, captain. Now embehave/em while I remake everyone's drinks."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro watched the two men bicker until Sanji finally escaped into the galley to finish the refreshments. He sat with the rest of the crew, feeling a distinct sense of dé-jà vu because of his earlier obsession with the dream that had started this all. He didn't have any reason to dwell on it any longer, and thankfully he didn't have to. Now, whenever the cook came out of the galley, Zoro never noticed his eyebrows because he only saw his rival—his nakama…his lover…his Sanji./p