I want to thank everyone for the lovely reviews! They reliefed me a lot because I thought I was very much out of practice XDD
Anyway, I know this story is rather simple (as in lots of romance and relationship development and less plotty... stuff) but I needed something like that to get the writing gears starting again.
This chapter will also be a bit funnier... hope you enjoy! ^^
Disclaimer: Not owning One Piece, me.
Sanji tilted his head as he looked at the sight before him. It was... well, strange wouldn't be quite the right word. 'Adorable?', he thought and grinned when he heard a light snore. Yeah, adorable was definitely better.
Zoro lay in the middle of the deck, hands and feet spread out, a small bubble growing and deflating whenever he breathed out of his nose. Chopper was cuddled to his side, his small head resting on the swordsman's haramaki.
Their captain slept in much the same fashion as Zoro, his right foot lying on the marimo's chest, not disturbing him in the slightest.
Sanji faintly remembered Nami mentioning 'the idiots' were wrestling on the deck as he was preparing lunch earlier that day, so they might have passed out right after their match. That was probably thanks to the slight breeze appearing suddenly that morning. The whole crew felt rather drowsy because of the cooler air.
Sanji lit a cigarette as he watched his nakama sleep. Lunch was ready, but something kept him from kicking them awake like he normally did. They just looked so... cute?
He sighed as he breathed in the smoke. The world was coming to an end when he began describing the marimo as 'cute'. Although, he was... with those eyebrows creased in his sleep and one hand pulling the little reindeer closer to him as both snored contentedly. It made Sanji nearly envious of their small doctor, seeing him so comfortably lying at the marimo's side, his face the very picture of bliss.
Sanji gave himself a mental kick. He had to stop this pathetic behaviour before it became too late. Being attracted to that bastard was one thing, but using affectionate adjectives to describe him another one entirely. His gawking was already bad enough. If he even grew emotionally attached to the moss-head... well, things wouldn't end pretty, that much was certain.
"Oi, bastards! Feeding time!" Sanji shouted, kicking the marimo's foot when he was fed up with himself thinking strange thoughts. When the only reaction he got, was a loud snort, Sanji felt the familiar vein popping on his forehead again and took a deep breath to calm himself. He wasn't in the mood to fight... not when he had prepared such a lovely lunch for the ladies.
Crouching down, he put a hand beside his mouth and whispered, "Meat. Booze. Candy."
The effect was immediate. Luffy jumped up, fists punching the air and shouting 'MEEEEEAAAT!' while Zoro sat up, yawned loudly and rubbed the back of his head. Chopper jumped up same as Luffy, his eyes turning to stars as he mouthed 'Candy?' and began dancing around with Luffy, a chorus of 'meat' and 'candy' sounding around the ship.
Sanji watched them for a little while, sucking in the smoke of his cigarette, until he felt the swordsman's eyes on him. Turning his head, he saw a hand held out to him and for a ridiculous moment, he thought Zoro wanted his help to stand up... then Sanji remembered who he was dealing with.
"Cook, booze," Zoro said sleepily but demanding and that was all it took for the chef to snap.
A well-aimed kick sent the swordsman into the railing of the Sunny, wood cracking and bursting under the sudden weight flying into it. Luffy and Chopper stopped dancing and looked at Zoro, the captain laughing and pointing his finger at the swordsman's behind sticking out of the railing while Chopper ran around in panic and screamed for a doctor.
Shrugging, Sanji returned to his kitchen to receive a lecture from Franky not to destroy their precious ship and to serve lunch to the starving crew.
A short while later, everyone sat at the dining table and wolfed down their meal... everyone save for Usopp who nibbled on a corncob instead and watched the others eating with dismay. He hadn't been fast enough to protect his plate from the hungry captain.
Sanji felt Zoro glaring at him, a huge bump throbbing angrily on the swordsman's head. He ignored him and flirted with Nami and Robin instead while offering to refill their glasses with wine.
After everyone had finished eating, Nami-swan clapped her wonderful hands together and said, "Alright, everyone! We should reach the next island tomorrow morning. According to a sailor from the last island, it's supposed to have a big town with a good shopping district. There is also a marine base nearby, so we can't all go into the city... make a list of everything you need and Robin, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and I will do the shopping."
"Oi, why do I have to come?" the marimo asked and Sanji rolled his eyes at him. Damn niggler! He always hated to shop for anything else than alcohol, swords or training equipment.
"And why can't I go? I want to go on adventures, too!" Luffy said in his 'I-am-the-captain-so-why-can't-I'-pouty sort of voice.
"We are NOT going on adventures, Luffy! We are just going shopping," Nami hissed... if his wonderful Nami-swan ever were to hiss, of course. "And you can't go because you are way too famous by now. Even the lowest marine soldier would recognise you immediately after the stunt in Marinefort... especially here in the New World. As for you," Nami said, turning to Zoro. "I chose the five of as because we are the least suspicious... a human reindeer, a cyborg and a living skeleton would turn more than a few eyes, don't you think?"
The marimo grumbled but said nothing to that.
Obviously thinking the argument was settled with that, Nami nodded. "Alright then. We have to disguise ourselves as well, so please think of something until tomorrow."
"Oi, Nami! I'm the captain! I should give orders, not you!" Luffy said, folding his arms and glaring at his navigator.
Nami sighed as she sat back down. "Alright captain. Do it, then," she said, waving her hand in a fashion that said 'Go on, I could care less'. Nami-swan was beautiful when she was indifferent, too!
Luffy stood up and looked at his crew, face set in a thoughtful frown. "Alright, everybody! Tomorrow we'll reach the next island, so..." he began, the seriousness then leaving his face, making way for a big grin. "Do exactly as Nami said. Wooohoo! Shopping! Meat shopping!" He pumped his fists into the air, linked arms with Usopp and they began to dance around while crying 'adventure, adventure, shopping, shopping!'. Soon, Brook accompanied them with a fitting tune and the others joined in, celebrating their forthcoming arrival.
Nami sighed again. "Same thing every damn time..."
The next morning they reached the next island just as Nami had prophesied. The fresh breeze from the day before had turned into a steady wind, dropping the temperature by several degrees. The spring island ('Umbargo' as Nami had reminded them) was rather small. They could see a big town that had been built upon a hill from their ship, while the rest of the island consisted of either fields or jungle.
'Your normal, average Grand Line island,' Sanji mused while Nami ordered the crew to dock on the other side of the island.
"What? You mean we'll have to carry the shopping supplies through that thick, dark, threatening jungle?" Usopp asked, looking at their navigator with wide eyes. He seemed to come down with one of his I-can't-enter-that-jungle-diseases.
"Well, we can dock at the port, of course. If you don't mind fighting a Vice-Admiral or two..." Nami said, tapping her chin as if in deep thought.
Usopp's face became pale as he turned to rest of the crew. "Didn't you hear her? To the other side of the island, hurry up! Come on!"
"Vice-Admirals? Here?" Sanji asked, while the great Captain Usopp pushed the others to take their respective positions.
Nami shook her head. "I don't really think we'll run into any, but that old man did say a base was nearby... Better save than sorry. Who knows how long the log pose will need to set and I don't fancy running into trouble again and so soon. We really need those supplies as well."
Sanji nodded. While they did have enough provisions to reach the next island, they were rather short on meat and everyone knew how Luffy was when he didn't get his daily portions of cholesterol... it made the cook shudder just to think about it!
Shaking his head, he went to help the others with the ship, hoping that nothing bad would happen that day...
Soon, they had found a small cave for the Sunny to dock, perfect to hide the ship and not too far away from the edge of town.
The five nakama made their way through the jungle, Usopp shrieking at every noise he heard from the bushes and hiding behind Zoro while Sanji flirted vividly with the two ladies, trying not to stare at the marimo in front of him.
Of course that bastard had to wear tight jeans like that today of all days... While those and the colourful scarf that hid his marimo hair were a good way to disguise the swordsman's real identity (he appeared much more casual that way), those pants distracted Sanji in a way he wasn't at all comfortable with. His eyes were drawn to that behind and he silently asked himself why the hell the marimo had to walk in front of them when he had the worst sense of direction in history and had to be led back on the right path after every few steps.
About an hour and a few embarrassing moments later (suddenly stopping mid-sentence and staring open-mouthed whenever the marimo moved in a certain way could do that to you), they had finally reached the town where they split up (Usopp with Zoro to get the heavier supplies like metal, strong wood and gunpowder for the Sunny, Sanji with Robin and Nami to buy groceries and other stuff like shampoo or herbs for Chopper) and met hours later in the promised place in the centre of town again.
Luckily, Sanji's group had found out about the town's unique vessel for transportation and organised a small cart, powered with steam, that was able to carry up to three people as well as all their shopping supplies.
Nami, Robin and Usopp rode on the cart while Zoro and Sanji walked beside them. Bored out of his mind, Usopp began to throw small 'returning balls', which he had bought before, to see how they stopped immediately after hitting their target and returned to their owner.
Naturally, it was just their luck when a group of five marines walked by as Usopp threw another ball, hitting one of them on the head.
The marines turned around and looked at them, startled by the sudden 'attack'. Both groups stood still, staring at each other until the eyes of one soldier hushed to Zoro, over his three swords and to the scar on his left eye. Mouthing 'Roronoa Zoro' with widening eyes, he looked at the others, sweat beginning to shine on his forehead as he recognised each and every one of them from their wanted posters.
"Strawhats," the soldier said, quietly at first. Then he grimaced in fear, turned around, began to run and screamed, "Strawhats! The Strawhat pirat-"
Zoro moved quickly to knock him out with the back of his sword, but it wasn't fast enough. Several marines had run long since away, one of them holding something that looked suspiciously like a snail phone in his hands.
"Damn it! Run!" Zoro said to the others. "We have to get out of here before they-"
But it was already too late. More marines came running down their path, called by the soldier's panicked screams.
"Bring the supplies back to the Sunny," Zoro said as he drew his swords. "The shitty cook and I will hold them up long enough for you to escape."
"Deciding things on your own again, eh, marimo? Che, can't be helped..." Sanji said, taking a deep breath from his cigarette. Then he turned to the cart and waved around his arms, his eyes turning to hearts. "Nami-swaaaan, Robin-chwaaan! I'm going to protect yooooou, my beautiful flow-"
His flirting was interrupted when several bullets flew at him. With a swift kick, he created enough wind to knock them back. His face now distorted in an angry grimace, he said, "Don't ever interrupt a man's romance, you shit-heads!" and kicked several enemies down with another kick.
Zoro snorted at that. "Romance? More pathetic theatre, if you ask me..." he said, knocking out whoever he could reach with his three swords.
A kick flew suddenly at him, which Zoro parried easily, his attention now entirely on the cook.
"You wanna fight?" Sanji asked, leg already raised to sent another kick at the marimo.
"Bring it on, dartbrow!" Zoro answered, smirking and directing a hard blow at the cook.
Two of the remaining marines watched the scene in disbelief.
"Ehm... should we wait until they kill each other, or...?" asked one of them, not quite knowing what to do with himself.
The other one shook his head. "Honestly, I have no idea but... I really don't want to be hit by any of that."
They continued to watch the unbelievable exchange of blows and kicks, their weapons hanging uselessly at their sides, praying that more assistance would come before those monsters remembered who their real enemies were...
Sanji cursed under his breath as he dragged the marimo behind him. It had been hours since the fight and the two were on their way back to the Sunny, hoping not to run into another swarm of marines. Save for two captains with devil fruit powers, no one of them had been strong (and even those two were defeated in mere minutes), but they had surpassed them greatly in numbers which had made the whole situation so damn annoying... it had taken too bloody long and wasn't fun at all.
"You damn idiot! I just don't get how one person can have such a bad sense of direction! We could be back to the Sunny ages ago, you moron!" Sanji said angrily. He was tired, sweaty and bruised all over, more by Zoro's attacks than those of the marines.
"Oi! It's not my fault that you give such shady directions!" Zoro yelled back, making Sanji hiss like an angry cat.
"Shady directions? SHADY DIRECTIONS? I said to turn right and what do you do? You run to the freaking LEFT!" Sanji shouted, his one visible eyebrow twitching angrily.
A faint blush appeared on Zoro's cheeks. He turned his head to the side to hide it and mumbled something incoherent, a pout on his lips as he crossed his arms, showing the very picture of stubbornness.
Sanji's eyes widened and his cigarette nearly fell out of his mouth. All anger seemed to disappear at once as he pondered if he had ever seen Zoro blush before. That morning, it had been just a passing thought, but now... now he realised the moss-head really did have a cute side to him.
After waiting a few seconds to see if the world didn't just decide to end itself at that shocking revelation, Sanji shrugged and took one of the marimo's hands, tearing it away from its tight and stubborn place between his armpits.
"What do you think you're doing shitty cook?" Zoro asked wide-eyed. He clearly didn't expect that.
"Holding your hand so the little lost kid won't get lost again," Sanji said simply, dragging Zoro on behind him.
"I won't get lost if I walk behind you, you bastard! Let go, this is embarrassing!" The marimo's blush deepened when a group of girls nearby stared and started giggling at them.
Sanji winked at the ladies, for once not caring what they thought. "We have to get back to the Sunny. Or do you want to walk through the jungle in the dark?"
When he didn't get a reply, Sanji walked on, trying not to linger on the thought how warm the swordsman's hand felt in his own. He hated how much he liked the feeling.
"You know, you're quite docile today," Sanji mentioned when no more complains were thrown at him. "What's wrong, marimo? Your brain can't come up wi-" His try to get under Zoro's skin was suddenly interrupted by a quick jerk on his hand that made Sanji stumble. "What the hell are you-"
"Shut up, idiot!" Zoro hissed at him as he pulled Sanji into a dark alleyway.
"Shut up? You nearly made me fall, you damn bastard!" Sanji yelled, raising his leg to kick Zoro on the head. What he didn't expect was Zoro catching his foot and pushing him against the wall, one of his large hands covering Sanji's mouth.
"Quiet! Or do you want to get caught?"
Sanji's eyes widened as the words sunk in. Turning his head, he looked at the place they had stood in before, now seeing two marine soldiers looking around.
"They can't see us in the shadows. Don't move or they'll see..." Zoro whispered into his ear, his breath tingling Sanji in a way that sent a sudden rush of warmth straight to his crotch.
The ridiculous situation suddenly crashed down at him. His leg that Zoro had caught before, rested on the swordsman's left shoulder, the swordsman's hand that didn't cover Sanji's mouth lying on the underside of the chef's thigh. What would've been uncomfortable for a less flexible person, left Sanji shuddering with excitement and want as his body was pressed flush against the wall by the swordsman's body, causing Sanji to feel every one of the muscles he had admired before, pressing up against him.
"What a surprise, shitty cook... your thigh is so soft, it feels more like a girl's," Zoro said smirking, his lips mere inches away from Sanji's now burning cheeks.
That damn bastard... Sanji knew he was just teasing him, but the swordsman's fingers began to stroke his thigh, moving up and up and it took all of the cook's willpower not to moan at the feeling.
His eyes darted to the marines, who still stood at the entrance of the alleyway. Zoro was right... one move and they would be out of the shadows and in plain sight.
"What's wrong? Your face is all red..." Zoro said quietly, his lips now brushing Sanji's skin on his cheek as he spoke.
Absurdly enough, this situation was just like one of his wilder fantasies and Sanji prayed to whatever deity existed that he won't become hard... Zoro's body was pressed so tightly against his own, that he would definitely feel it and THAT just wasn't allowed to happen.
"You're so warm..." he heard the swordsman whisper and fought the increasing blush. That hand on his thigh moved further up and had nearly reached his ass... Just how far did that idiot intend to go? And everything just to piss him off? He hadn't expected such a low blow... not even from that moron.
When the soldiers had finally left, it felt like they had spent hours in that alleyway. Zoro released Sanji from their awkward position and walked out onto the street, looking at the setting sun.
"That was damn time... thought they would never leave," Zoro said, grinning from ear to ear. "What idiots... can't see what's right in front of them. Am I right, shitty cook?" When he turned to look at Sanji, his grin suddenly vanished.
If Sanji looked anything like he felt, he couldn't blame him. His face was burning, his fists shaking with barely suppressed rage. He bit his bottom lip nearly enough to draw blood and glared at the swordsman with all the menace he could muster. "You... damn... pervert!" he pressed out and raised his leg.
Sanji thought he heard Zoro voicing something like 'Holy shit!' right before his foot connected with the swordsman's face and he was sent flying into the next building, scaring the innocent people who were just passing by.
Stomping off, Sanji left the marimo where he lay, not looking back or caring if the marines came back at the commotion. His heart was beating just too damn hard in his chest to think that far.
Zoro lay in the debris of the destroyed wall, ignoring the blood dripping down from his head. Scratching his chin, he looked questioningly at the sky.
"Well, that's strange... I was so sure he liked it," the swordsman mumbled and sighed.
Shrugging, he stood up and brushed the dirt off of his clothes, already wondering in which direction he had to go to reach his ship.
He got the feeling it would be a very long night.