Title: Whatever Happened
Author:kikokus (AoiTsukikage)
Rating: NC-17 overall
Characters/Pairing:Law/Zoro/Sanji, in all combinations
Chapter: 2/?
Word Count: 4536
Summary: Sequel to "So Good So Far" and "Almost Easy." Sanji had always known it would be foolish to hope, and after five years, he was certain both he and Zoro had given up on ever seeing Law again. But then again, it wasn't like Law had ever made things easy…
Spoilers:For recent chapters

Chapter Two

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah. Thanks," Sanji scrubbed a towel through his hair, letting it collect all the moisture it could before he draped it around the back of his neck to let it hang there. Before he'd even gotten a chance to talk about what had happened to Zoro, Law had told him to take a shower and freshen up, and he was glad for that since at least his emotions were a little less fucked up now. "D'you want something to eat?"

"Only if you want to make something," Law's eyes had a bit of a sparkle in them that Sanji was fairly sure meant he did want some of Sanji's food again, but of course he'd never admit that outright. At Sanji's nod, he continued, "feel free to use whatever you want, but there's no bread."

"Of course not," Sanji wasn't surprised, since he doubted Law would have gotten over his strange vendetta against bread in the past few years. The other man's pantry and fridge were rather woefully understocked, but he had some fresh fish and an abundance of freshly-picked vegetables that Sanji could easily do something with. There were also enough spices and fresh garden herbs to make a good rub for the fish, at least, so he set to work.

The robe he was wearing was soft and plush and smelled like Law, the sleeves a little too long so he had to keep pushing them up to stop them from getting in the food, and it was surprising even to him how quickly he relaxed just by having something familiar to do.

He tried to work out in his mind the simplest way to explain to Law what was going on, because he had a feeling the other man would want to know the entire story and probably wouldn't let him get away with leaving out any details.

By the time he'd come up with what he felt was a decent explanation in his head (and, admittedly, one he could get through without letting any sort of emotions or guilt overwhelm him), the fish and the vegetables were done and he turned to serve them, taking the plates to the table and setting them down.

"So. I…"

"No," Law shook his head. "Eat. And calm down, I can see how tense you are from here," he said, quietly but firmly, and Sanji sighed and forced himself to relax. Law usually had that effect on him, or at least he'd used to, because when he was sure of himself he just exuded this aura that made other people feel it.

"Sorry. I've been beating myself up about this since it happened," he sighed and rubbed his temples, starting to eat.

For working with a limited pantry, he had to say he'd done pretty well, and if the speed Law was chowing down at was any indication the other man obviously agreed. Sanji was kind of pleased to note that Law hadn't stopped eating like a chipmunk in the last few years, because it was ridiculously endearing to see him with his cheeks puffed out and still trying to cram more food into his mouth.

"Is it okay?" he asked after a while. Law finally swallowed before looking up.

"Sanji, I'm quite convinced by now that anything you choose to cook will be exceptional," he said, completely earnest, and Sanji blushed and went back to picking at his own plate.

Fuck, Law still made him giddy, even after all this time.

He forced himself to eat everything on his plate, knowing he'd need the energy if he was planning on starting a days-long journey in the morning, even though ever since it had happened all food kind of tasted like ash and he got no enjoyment out of it at all.

Once they were done, he took the plates to the sink to rinse them off (ignoring Law's protests that since this was his house he should really be the one cleaning up) and decided to make some coffee.

Really, it was just killing time, but once the coffee was made and they were both settled on the sofa again he knew there was no way he could put it off for any longer.

"You don't have to tell me," Law, damn him, could still read him like a book, and Sanji knew that at one time he'd felt comfortable telling Law almost anything and, really, that hadn't changed.

"Fuck that," Sanji decided, throwing the last remaining vestiges of his pride away and practically crawling back into Law's lap, leaning his head against the older man's shoulder and letting his eyes close. "Can I…is this okay?"

"Yes," Law's voice sounded a little strained, but he clamped one arm tightly around Sanji's waist to hold him in place. "Yes, more than."

"Okay," Sanji told himself to stop being such a shitty coward, because that wasn't him at all, and he knew Law wouldn't judge him for this no matter how badly he was judging himself. "So. Basically I was a fucking idiot and let my guard down, and he ended up paying for it," he sighed. "We had…well, it's not that our relationship was suffering, exactly, but we didn't get a whole lot of time to ourselves with the restaurant. I basically worked from 5 in the morning sometimes until 1 or 2 the next morning, so I was usually too tired to do anything more than fall into bed and hope I fell asleep right away so I'd get at least a few hours," he sighed, because when he put it that way, their relationship had suffered even if it didn't mean they were any less close than they'd been before.

Their sex life had definitely suffered, though, in no small part because neither of them were as inventive as Law, but also because there'd always been this sort of…shadow hanging over them, that something was missing, and even if neither of them would acknowledge it they both knew what it was.

Sanji hated himself for that, really, because Zoro was more than enough for any one person and, for something he'd wanted for so long, to finally have him and not be content made him feel horrible. Yeah, Zoro might have felt the same, but the thought that they could have drifted farther and farther apart just because of a guy that may never show up again was kind of shitty in his mind.

"Anyway, one day I decided we needed a break, so I left the restaurant in the hands of one of my sous-chefs and took Zoro out to the nearest island for a picnic, with the plan being that that night we'd stay at the inn in the local village so we could, y'know," he shrugged and Law smirked at him, because of course he knew.

"Yeah, well, we didn't get that far…after lunch, Zoro took a nap in this meadow we were in and I went to find a stream to wash out the dishes in, and when I came back…" he sighed. "He felt safe falling asleep because he trusted me to be alert enough to sense any danger, and maybe five years ago I would have been, but I think my sense have grown rusty from sitting in that restaurant for so long."

He stopped then, breathing heavily, because this was the worst part of the tale to recount. Law's hands stroked down his back as if he were trying to soothe a spooked animal, gentle and steady. He didn't do anything to pressure Sanji, just waiting until he was ready to speak again.

"I think I'm so fucking rattled because these guys…whoever they were…they were waiting for us, which means they must have been watching us for a long time. They…" he stopped, scrambling out of Law's lap and over to his backpack, scrabbling through the pockets until he came up with a crumpled piece of paper and thrust it toward the other man.

He didn't sit back down right away, hovering nervously and shifting from foot-to-foot, as Law scanned over the note and then looked up.

"Yeah, so," Sanji shrugged one shoulder rather listlessly. "I came back and the…the only person in the clearing was a little girl. I…fuck, she couldn't've been more than five or six, and she looked fucking terrified, but she told me that the men had told her to give the note to a 'skinny blond man with a weird eyebrow' and after I took it she just ran off back toward the village," he sighed and sat down beside Law this time, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "So I don't have any idea who these guys are, or how many of them there were, but that they'd threaten a kid means they're the lowest kind of bastards that exist," he snorted, his fingers curling involuntarily into fists.

"How do you know it's real?" Law asked suddenly, and Sanji looked up in disbelief. "Well, if this is all you have, that's hardly definitive proof," he shrugged.

"I mean, yeah, Zoro could have woken up and wandered off, but even he's not that hopeless when it comes to directions," Sanji was a little annoyed that Law didn't believe him, because to him there was no doubt that the ransom note was legitimate. "And if it was anything else, he would have found a way to tell me by now, so that he hasn't means I have to believe it," he said firmly, eventually getting a nod from Law.

"Right. In that case, why not capture both of you?" he asked calmly, and Sanji debated not answering because this wasn't supposed to be a fucking interrogation. Of course, he knew that Law always wanted to have as much information as possible, so it shouldn't really surprise him.

"Probably because people would know if I suddenly went missing. Zoro's a wanderer, he doesn't really have a home base and he certainly doesn't have several employees underneath him that would notice an unexplained absence…I told them all I'd only be gone for a day, after all," he replied slowly. "So out of the two of us, Zoro disappearing wouldn't be odd at all since he comes and goes whenever he feels like it. And, if I were a bounty hunter, I'd go for the biggest price, too," he added, and while it would always rankle a bit that Zoro's bounty was so much more than his, he did spend his life fighting while Sanji spent most of his time in the kitchen these days.

"What the note asks for…that's far greater than his bounty," Law said, and Sanji smirked to himself because apparently Law had really been keeping tabs on them if he knew their new bounties.

"Yeah, it's nearly twice as much, but bounty hunters are greedy, and they obviously know our crew well enough to know that we'd do anything to save one of our own," he said firmly. "So they ask us for an outrageous price, and if we don't pay, they hand him over to the Marines and still get a good chunk of money for him."

"But you don't think they'll be expecting you might try a rescue mission instead?" Law's voice was still entirely neutral and Sanji elbowed him in the side, getting a rather affronted look in return. The older man sighed, tugging on his arm and laying back along the couch so that Sanji had little choice but to crawl up his body and sprawl on top of him. Not that he really minded, of course, no matter how irritating Law was being at the moment.

"Of course I do, which is why I'm waiting until the day the exchange was supposed to take place. I think they'd be fucking stupid to think I'd just roll up with the pirate king and expect them to keep their end of the bargain, but maybe if I wait it out they'll let their guards down a bit…and it also gives the guys who are supposed to help us escape a reason to be sailing close to the docks there," he added, and Law nodded thoughtfully.

"Wait, if none of your crew knows, who's helping you get away?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"The same guys that brought me here," Sanji replied. "Their captain's an old friend of mine…I've known him longer than I've know you," he grinned, and Law frowned at him. "Don't worry, he's trustworthy."

"I know your judgment is impeccable," Law murmured, obviously referring to his Haki allowing him to tell if somebody was being truthful, but Sanji would take it as a compliment regardless even though it was a skill he'd never consciously tried to develop. It had saved him enough times in the past, after all. "So, you're doing this knowing full-well you could be running into a suicide mission just to save him?"

"Of course I am. If there's even a chance…fuck, it's all I've got," he mumbled, because he knew damn well it was the only way to even have a chance at rescuing Zoro. He doubted Zoro was even their main target, which was why he was keeping Luffy as far away from it as possible, and the only way to keep him away for sure was to make sure none of the crew knew about it (he knew Law would at least understand that without asking, of course, since he'd done the same thing back at Punk Hazard to keep his own crew safe). Brook had been a little surprised when he'd said he was taking a couple of weeks off, but he thought the skeleton had bought his story about him and Zoro going on vacation especially since, as far as he would know, Sanji had no reason to lie.

"Well, if nothing else, you've got the element of surprise," Law trailed his hands up and down Sanji's back, his tone soothing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sanji looked up, blinking.

"It means that they might know everything about you and how to counter any attempts you might make to break Zoro out, but I doubt they can do much against my powers," he smirked, and Sanji opened his mouth although no sound came out.

Yeah, a part of him had been hoping Law would come with, of course, but…

"You don't…"

"Do not finish that sentence," Law pressed a finger to his lips and gave him a stern look. "If you think I'm letting you head off into a trap on your own, you're sorely mistaken. I'm the best chance you've got of getting him out safely," he said, and Sanji knew he wasn't bragging; it was just the truth.

"I know. Thank you," he curled up, nosing against Law's neck and hugging him as tight as he could from his current position. "They won't fucking know what hit them."

"That's the general idea," Law murmured, nose pressed into his hair. "Besides, it's been a few years since I had some excitement. I've been missing it," he sounded eager and Sanji couldn't say he disagreed with him on that point, since working in a kitchen had gotten pretty damn boring considering what his life had been for so long.

Of course, he'd prefer to have the excitement without the man he loved being in danger, but he'd long since accepted that his life was just never going to be that easy.

000

"The bed's yours, if you want it," Law said sometime later, both of them falling silent after Sanji had finished his story.

"Yeah?" Sanji blearily looked up, yawning and trying to force his eyes open. The coffee had done little to keep him awake after all, although getting through his explanation was probably more the cause of his exhaustion at the moment. "Where're you gonna sleep?"

It was an obvious bait and he knew it, but the chances of Law being stubborn were still extremely high.

"I don't mind staying on the couch…" he stopped when Sanji leveled a glare at him and then sighed. "I didn't want to presume."

"It's not 'presuming,' idiot," Sanji stood up and stretched, yawning again. "From here on out, just assume that if it's anything that means we get to spend more time together, I'm not going to say no," he went to rinse out his empty coffee cup, drying out the sink and heading into the bedroom.

He fiddled with the tie on the robe before deciding that it wasn't like Law had never seen him naked, so there wasn't any reason for him to be awkward about it now. Hanging the robe up on the bathroom door, he pulled back the covers and crawled in, waiting with baited breath for Law to show up.

Shuffling footsteps reached his ears a few moments later, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to sit up against the headboard, watching Law closely as he padded around the bed and stood there playing with the hem of his shirt.

Eventually his shoulders slumped in resignation and he tugged it over his head, tossing it carelessly into the corner of the room before pushing off his jeans. He paused once he was undressed, glancing at Sanji as if for approval before he moved toward the bed.

Law's body was as perfect as ever, lean and muscular, all dark skin and darker ink and Sanji felt his fingers twitching with the urge to touch.

Law yanked the covers back and crawled in, sitting beside him with their arms barely brushing. Sanji could feel him trembling, like he wanted so badly to do more, and he decided that for once he'd be nice and take the first step.

"Hey," he murmured, sliding his hand down to clasp Law's and holding it tightly. "It's okay."

"This is still a little…surreal for me, to be honest," Law turned to look at him, raising his metal arm and hesitating for a moment before he settled it around Sanji's shoulders, a cool, heavy weight across his back. "I can't believe it's been five years."

"It's fucking crazy," Sanji snorted, letting go of Law's hand so that he could burrow under his arm. He let his head rest on Law's shoulder, humming in contentment. He was starting to relax more fully, feeling like a weight had been lifted off him now that he'd finally been able to tell somebody the whole truth about what had happened. It might have been a blow to his pride, but with Law at least there was no reason to be ashamed of that. And that Law had immediately decided he was coming even though he had nothing but Sanji's word to go on…that meant more than the blond could ever express properly. "Fuck, I love you," he didn't even think twice about saying it now.

No matter how long it had been, it would always be true.

Law's breath caught in what sounded like a choked-off laugh, and he buried his nose into Sanji's hair. "You know I feel the same. No amount of time could change that," he promised, unconsciously echoing Sanji's thoughts. No, he hadn't said the words themselves, but with how long it had taken him to say them the first time around Sanji couldn't get too upset about that now. "Don't berate me for asking this, but may I…that is, I'd quite like to…" he stopped, huffing and sounding annoyed, and Sanji had an idea of what he wanted just based on how awkward he was being.

He pushed himself upright enough that he could cup Law's cheeks, leaning in and brushing their noses together. "Yeah?"

"Yes. If you'd permit it," Law's voice was so soft that Sanji could barely hear it, but when their lips met it seemed like all of his inhibitions flew away and he clutched tightly at Sanji, pulling their bodies together. Sanji was sure there were all sorts of clichéd descriptions about how it felt to kiss somebody for the first time in far too long, but the only thing he could think in that moment was how right it still felt.

Law, as much as he hated to admit it, and as much as it would probably come to bite him in the ass in the end, had crawled his way under Sanji's skin so deeply that there was no way he could ever let him go for good.

"I've missed you, too," Law barely whispered, returning Sanji's words from hours before, and Sanji held him close. "I've been the worst sort of stubborn idiot, and I realize that now."

"You know, I'm not even that mad because I kind of expected it from you," Sanji admitted, brushing his fingers through Law's hair and staring down at him. "Don't think I'm ever letting you go again if I can help it, though."

"I don't have any complaints about that," Law assured him. "Though, I don't think I'd be much help on a floating restaurant."

And Sanji sighed, because of course Law would ruin the moment by bringing reality into it. No, it wouldn't be the most ideal place for Law, but he was starting to realize that it wasn't exactly the most ideal place for him, either, and that was something he'd been struggling with for a while.

"Sorry, can you…" Law let go of him and Sanji nodded, because he knew that look. Law needed space, so Sanji clambered off of him, not entirely surprised when the other man turned his back on Sanji and curled up, arms wrapped around a pillow. Law had always responded that way, though; if he'd thought he'd said something wrong, instead of even asking if he had, he just decided to close off.

And yeah, it was just as aggravating as it had always been. Law didn't say anything more, hugging the pillow tight enough that his fingers left indents in the soft fabric, and Sanji decided that meant the conversation was over for the time being.

He made to lay down, but something on the bedside table caught his attention as he turned, glinting in the light coming through the bedroom door. It was small, barely noticeable in the half-dark room, and if it hadn't been made of metal he probably never would have noticed it in the first place. Now that he had, however, it felt like something was compelling him to take a closer look, and it didn't take long for him to recognize what it was once he looked a little more closely.

He realized, with something tightening in his chest, that it was his lighter - the lighter he'd given Law the day they'd parted. He reached out to grab it, flicking at it without expecting anything and being a little surprised when it sparked to life right away. Of course, it wasn't like Law smoked much so he wouldn't have used it up, but that he'd purposefully not used it and yet still kept it beside his bed five years later…

Fuck it, Sanji decided, setting it down and turning so he was looking at Law's back. He wasn't letting this happen now, not when they'd already spent far too much time apart.

"I suppose my penchant for saying the exact wrong thing and ruining the mood remains woefully intact," Law mumbled, his body tensing when Sanji's hands came to rest on his shoulders.

"No, you've got a point," Sanji shifted closer, pressing his lips to the back of Law's neck. "Truth be told, I'm…not sure I want to stay there long-term either."

"I thought it was your dream."

"Mm, my dream was the find the All Blue," Sanji said, trailing kisses down Law's spine and over the tattoo on his back. "I did that, and while having a well-regarded restaurant is validating, the thought of being twenty-six and stuck in the same place for the rest of my life is really fucking depressing. Every time Luffy stops in I kind of want to drop everything there and take off sailing with him again, and I know…I know that it's affecting my relationship with Zoro, as much as we both pretend that it's not. I mean, if it really wasn't, we wouldn't be in this mess," he kept peppering Law's skin with kisses, sliding down on the bed and feeling the other man relax slowly under the attention.

"That's…understandable," Law sighed. "You're a pirate, after all."

"I guess at heart, I really am," Sanji pushed himself back up, tugging on Law's arm until the other man rolled over. "So don't fucking feel bad about bringing it up."

"…Alright," Law didn't sound convinced, but he did curl closer.

"And I see you still have my lighter," Sanji tried to lighten the mood a little, his voice teasing as he tugged at a fluffy tuft of Law's hair.

"Yes, sentimental as it may be, I like having it close," he laughed, sounding a little ashamed. "But then, I've always tried to find ways to hang onto the past, haven't I…" his voice was thoughtful, but Sanji knew what he meant, since everything from his crew's name to his jolly roger to his entire body was a tribute of sorts to Corazon.

"I still wear your hoodie all the time," Sanji shrugged. "It's in my bag right now," he added, and Law glanced up at him.

"Zoro was right all along. We're really a couple of sentimental fools, aren't we?"

"Yeah, well, as long as I'm not the only one," Sanji craned his neck down so he could kiss Law again. "We should…I mean, I want to get an early start tomorrow, so…"

"Yes. Sleep is probably a good idea," Law yawned as if to emphasize his own words. "Hmm, I apologize if I'm not the best bedmate anymore…it's been a long time since I shared with anybody," he pressed even closer, all his inhibitions gone with his exhaustion.

Sanji frowned at that, though, because he hadn't expected Law to just…become abstinent without him and Zoro, but that was what he made it sound like. "Law, you…"

"Truth be told, Sanji, I'm not that obsessed with sex. I know it probably seemed otherwise with the both of you but that was most assuredly an exception. Otherwise I'm content to go years without it," he said it so matter-of-factly that Sanji knew he was telling the truth, even though it still made him feel a little guilty.

"Still…"

"Don't," Law shook his head, cupping his cheek and pressing an insistent kiss to his lips. "And besides, even if I had taken other partners in the meantime, they'd all pale in comparison," he smiled thinly and Sanji felt his stomach do that weird flip-flopping thing again. "Now, sleep."

Sanji nodded and settled down, wrapping himself tightly around Law and smiling when the embrace was returned just as fiercely by the other man.

"We'll get him back, Sanji," Law promised before they fell asleep, and Sanji knew that, with Law along, the chances of that had just gone up about a million times.

And he was so, so grateful for it.

Notes:

1. Uhhhh I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter because I wrote it in a different way than I usually do (normally I write completely in order with very little revision and this time nothing felt right to me the first time through so I changed a lot and I'm not sure it reads well now…).

2. Thank you to all of you who have already left comments on the sequel!