"Where the hell you been, Sanji?" Zeff roars out across the kitchen the moment Sanji walks in. After lunch at Luffy's, he had received three more missed calls from the old man and decided it was best to head over to the restaurant and stop avoiding work. Especially since he needs Saturday off for Ace's party.

"You're the one who kicked me out last time I was here, shitty old fart," Sanji retorts with a glare. He and his old man have a complicated relationship. Zeff isn't his biological father but being raised by the old coot makes them more similar than either of them like to admit. Sanji was about ten when Zeff found him digging through trashcans for food. Once Zeff had fed him and called child services, he found out that Sanji was going to be placed in foster care. He immediately volunteered to foster the youngster himself.

After his application to be a foster parent was approved, Zeff took Sanji in and they butted heads from the beginning. Zeff learned that at the ripe young age of ten, Sanji was already smoking cigarettes to appear more adult. He also learned that Sanji had an aptitude and interest in cooking. Thus, he let Sanji be a dishwasher, which had enraged the foul-mouthed kid and earned him the permanent nickname of "shitty geezer." They eventually found their rhythm, Zeff teaching Sanji everything he knew about cooking and Sanji doing everything he could to prove to Zeff that his food was great. Zeff had officially adopted him by his eleventh birthday.

Now in the very same kitchen that angry child had grown up in, a very angry adult stands with his hands on his hips locked in a glaring contest with the old man. Zeff breaks first, huffing and hobbling across the kitchen. Although he'd had this prosthetic leg since before he found Sanji, it still affected his gait. Twirling his incredulous moustache as he shuffles closer, he looks the younger chef up and down. Stopping right before Sanji, who is still glaring at him, Zeff furrows his eyebrows before swiftly kicking him hard in the shin.

"What the fuck was that for?" Sanji yelps, hopping on one foot and rubbing his shin with his hand. Despite his age, Zeff can still kick pretty damn lethal and that prosthetic leg is made of hard plastic and metal.

"It's for not answering my calls or showing up to work for four days. Come talk to me in the office, eggplant."

Sanji rolls his eyes at the stupid nickname he's had since he was a kid and follows the old man into the office. It's late in the afternoon, too early for dinner rush but well past lunchtime, so the kitchen is in a lull, everyone's just prepping for the evening service. He spies Patty and Carne at the prep table staring at him and snickering so he turns and flips them the bird before slamming the door closed.

Settling down in the hard metal folding chair in the corner, Sanji reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cigarette, nonchalantly avoiding the scowl he's receiving from Zeff. A peaceful quiet settles between the two blond chefs, the only sound coming from the pots banging in the kitchen and Sanji's breathy exhales. Zeff leans across his desk, resting his chin in his palm and narrows his eyes at Sanji, "So eggplant, you going to tell me why I shouldn't fire your ass right now?"

"It's a long story, old man," Sanji retorts, avoiding eye contact. He doesn't want to hide things from Zeff, not really. But the idea of having to explain to situation to someone, especially someone he respects so much, makes him feel nauseous.

"If you want to keep your job then I suggest you explain."

Sanji sighs, for the thousandth time wishing his father were not his employer. Having that much control over someone's life is unfair. Deciding not to drag it out any longer, he huffs and crosses his arms and turns his head to glare at the older man.

"Zoro left. He's gone."

Zeff leans back in his chair, frowning at his son before gently asking, "What do you mean 'gone?'"

Sanji's bottom lip begins to tremble. He can't stand to hear the softness in his old man's voice – it's too much for him. He doesn't want anyone's pity, especially not Zeff's. It just makes it harder knowing that he's the reason why things are the way they are right now. But the lump in his throat is threatening to surface and the last thing he wants is to break down in this shitty restaurant's office with his old man's gaze burning holes into his entire being. Swallowing hard, he chokes out bitterly, "I mean we got in a fight and he walked out the door and hasn't fucking returned since. I don't know where he is. He quit his job and turned off his fucking phone and he's just GONE. Got it, you shitty geezer?"

The two men watch each other, letting Sanji's explanation settle between them. Zeff's expression doesn't change, he just continues staring at his son, twirling his moustache between his fingers. Sanji frowns and looks away from the other man, wishing he could just get up and leave but knowing that would be futile. The shitty bastard would just follow him.

"Well that explains why you look like shit."

Sanji's frown deepens and his whips his head back at his old man to shout, "I don't look like shit, old man! You better get your eyes checked."

"You do look like shit, eggplant. What did you do to that musclehead to run him off?"

Sanji hates that Zeff correctly assumed whatever is going on between him and Zoro is his fault. He decides to feign ignorance at the accusation, "What makes you think I did anything?"

"If it were that grasshead boyfriend of yours' fault, you would've been here every day taking your anger out on the staff."

Sanji pulls out another cigarette and lights it angrily, not wanting to admit the geezer is right. Zeff knows he's correct though and guffaws at his son's denial. Annoyed with his laughter, the younger man stands up and walks towards the office door. Realizing he hasn't brought up the subject of needing Saturday off, he turns and asks, "By the way, can I have Saturday off? It's Ace and Marco's wedding party."

Zeff quits laughing immediately and snarls, "You just had five days off! What makes you think I'm going to let you have anymore time off?"

Pulling an apron off the hook by the door and tying it around his waist, Sanji stubs out the butt of his cigarette in the ashtray on the corner of the desk. Opening the door to go back into the kitchen and begin his shift, he glances at his father and says quietly, "Because Zoro will be there."

xXx

After dinner service, Zeff approached Sanji and informed him that if he wants to have Saturday day off, he'd have to stay late every night this week and do intensive cleaning. After some shouting and insulting passed between the two of them, Sanji agreed to the terms, knowing how important it is to go to that party. It's now way past closing and with a grumble about certain eggplants not being too loud, Zeff ascends the stairs to the apartment over the restaurant and leaves Sanji to begin his work.

Deciding he doesn't want to get oven grease all over his nice clothes, Sanji goes into the office to change back into the t-shirt from his earlier escapade to the gym. He pauses, shirt halfway pulled over his head and numbly wonders how he can be so calm when just this morning he had found out Zoro is nowhere to be found. Tugging the shirt on completely, he wills his thoughts away from all things mossy, knowing that mulling over it will do him no good. Leaving the office, he spots his small speakers on the shelf behind the desk. Glancing above him while biting his bottom lip, he shrugs and grabs them. If the shitty geezer wants him to stay late and do extra work, he's not going to do it in silence.

Returning to the kitchen, he places the speakers on the counter facing towards the commercial ovens and hooks his phone up, tuning into a random radio station. Gathering his cleaning supplies, he hums along quietly to the song that's finishing. Once he's sure he has everything he needs, he begins spraying degreaser and cursing under his breath. These assholes can't even keep the ovens –

He freezes, hearing the first few beats of the song that comes on his phone. A strange feeling settles in the pit of his stomach as he remembers the last time he heard this tune.

It was Nami's 21st birthday and she demanded that everyone meet at a local bar to party with her. They'd been there a few hours and Nami was pretty trashed – which was a feat considering she's one of the few who can keep up with Zoro. Their whole group of friends were there, spread across the bar. Zoro and Franky were finishing up a pool game towards the back while the rest of their crew sat at a large corner booth watching Luffy as he devoured hot wings with fervor unknown to most of mankind. Rolling her eyes, obviously tired of his display of chicken bones and hot sauce, Nami pulled on Sanji's arm and yelled, "Come dance with me!"

Feeling pretty drunk himself and unable to quite hear her over the loud music booming from the dance floor, Sanji bent down and asked loudly into her ear, "What was that?"

"I said come dance with me. Vivi's coming too!" she responded at full volume, tugging on the sleeve of his pink button up shirt.

"Where am I going?" Vivi giggled, appearing next to Nami.

"We're gonna dance with Sanji – come on! I love this song!" She grabbed both of their hands and dragged them onto the dance floor before either could protest. The song playing was a poppy tune and Sanji had never heard it before. Vivi was laughing and shrieking as her and Nami danced together. The bar was dark but there were colored lights flickering across the dance floor giving it more of a club feel, the bass thumping and the throng of bodies jumping and swaying to the music. Allowing the alcohol in his veins and the rhythm of the music blaring from the speakers to take over, Sanji shook his hips along with the two women and laughed as they danced.

Sober, Sanji would have never said he was a great dancer by any means – just average at best, able to keep up with rhythm and tempo. He was better at organized dancing like ballroom or the tango. But in that moment, on that dance floor, in a group of strangers with three hours of shots and cocktails in his system, he swore he was the greatest fucking dancer in the world. Nami and Vivi moved sandwich the redhead between them and they all three cheered and giggled, causing a commotion that attracted the attention of a few others in their surrounding area. Thrusting himself into the song with as much feeling as he could, he swung his hips and sang along to he words he didn't know, enjoying his time with his two friends.

Suddenly a large body appeared behind him and two strong hands grabbed his waist. A familiar scent of mint and whiskey filled his nostrils and he smiled to himself as a square jaw brushed against his ear and set of sharp teeth nipped playfully on his earlobe. Sanji turned around and came face to face with Zoro, who was grinning and licking his lips at the sight of him swaying on the dance floor.

"Dance with me, mossy," Sanji demanded, pulling Zoro's hands to rest on his hips.

Zoro chuckled and shook his head, glancing off to the side and responded, "C'mon, cook. As hot as it may be to watch you out here shaking your ass, I don't like the look of those two."

Sanji glanced in the direction Zoro nodded his head and caught a glimpse of a tall redheaded man and three other guys making their way to where he was standing. The man's eyes were glued to him and he wore an amused smirk on his face along with an expression that told Sanji he was definitely up to no good. He grabbed Nami's shoulder and shook her lightly, pulling her out of her dancing and motioning her attention to the group of guys making their way over. Before they could leave, however, the man and his friends stopped and the redhead crossed his arms, looking Sanji up and down with a wicked smile.

"Y'know, I thought you were a total fag out here dancing like a chick but when I saw this guy come and rub himself all over you, I knew I was right," he spits out, jabbing a thumb in Zoro's direction. The green-haired man growled from behind Sanji and pulled on the back of his shirt, obviously wanting to leave.

"Who the fuck are you calling a fag? You're wearing fingernail polish and a fur coat in July," Sanji snarls at the man, causing Nami to giggle.

"I'm calling you a fag, since it's pretty obvious you take a dick up your ass nightly."

Sanji grit his teeth, his blood boiling. Who the hell did this guy think he was? He was about to ask him as much when Zoro pushed Sanji behind him, barking over his shoulder "Take the girls and get the others and leave. I'll deal with this."

With that, Zoro reached over and plucked a beer out of the hand of an innocent bystander, who was apart of the circle of people who had begun surrounding them when the group of guys showed up, and smashed it over the redhead's skull. In an instant, all hell broke loose and Sanji found himself grabbing Vivi and Nami and pulling them away from the brawl, trying to keep them safe. A guy with long blond hair jumped on Zoro and Sanji heard a woman scream, "Oh my god, he's got a knife!"

Sanji turned to the girls and roared, "Go get Luffy."

Nodding, Nami grabbed Vivi's hand and ran in the direction of their friend group as Sanji rushed back to the clash and tried to pull the blond guy off of his boyfriend. The other two guys rushed to stop him and a fight broke out between them and Sanji. Although Sanji was probably stronger than them, they kept fighting dirty, throwing elbows and sucker punches and preventing him from getting close to Zoro.

Zoro's a strong man – he's a personal trainer for fuck's sake – but the guys he was fighting were no joke. The blond one was about Zoro's size and the redhead even bigger, with a mean glare on his face making him look like one nasty son of a bitch. They were giving Zoro a run for his money and Sanji couldn't find an opportunity to help him.

Seeing a familiar straw hat bobbing in the distance, Sanji yelled for Luffy and pointed at where the redhead and his long-haired friend were ganging up on Zoro. Blood was gushing from someone and Sanji felt panic rise in his chest, hoping that it wasn't coming from his partner.

In almost an instant, sirens could be heard approaching and the crowd of people who had gathered around the brawl began clearing out, not wanting to get caught by the cops. Apparently the redhead and his friends heard the sirens, too, as they immediately stopped fighting and tried to flee. Franky grabbed one of the guys who had been fighting Sanji and he himself grabbed the other. Luffy tackled the guy with long, blond hair and the shitty ginger bastard ran for the door. Unfortunately for him, the police busted in at that same moment and, with one look at his bloody nose, arrested him on the spot.

Before Sanji knew it, Zoro was handcuffed and being dragged outside too, everyone else being let go free. Sanji ran to follow them, wanting to explain the situation but he felt a warm hand grab his wrist. Turning, he saw Luffy watching Zoro's form being taken to the police cars, keeping a tight grip on his arm.

"Luffy – what are you doing? They're arresting Zoro, I gotta tell them what happened."

"Sanji you have a black eye, they'll arrest you too if they know you were fighting. Nami's already on her way out there to give a witness statement. Let her handle it."

Sanji scowled at his words but stopped pulling at his arm, knowing it wouldn't do Zoro any good if Sanji got arrested too and couldn't post bail. Seeing that he wasn't going to try anything, Luffy let go of his wrist. The bar was emptying out and Sanji looked around and spotted the rest of their friend group huddled near the entrance. Robin waved at him and he nodded his head, tapping on Luffy's shoulder to point them out to him. The two made their way to the rest of their friends and were promptly assaulted with questions on what was going on.

"What happened to Zoro, bro?"

"Sanji! Zoro was bleeding! Is he okay? Does he need to go to the hospital?"

"If you needed help in the fight, you should have called me! I've been in hundreds of bar fights and never lost a single one."

"Hey everyone shut up for a second, I got news on Zoro," Nami yells, reappearing at Sanji's side. He held his breath as he waited for her to share her information. She bit her lip and lowered her head in defeat and said quietly, "He's getting arrested and being taken downtown for the night. Apparently they have to finish their investigation and get a few more witness statements before deciding whether or not to stick him with assault charges."

Sanji felt enraged at the news. Why would they arrest Zoro? Puzzled and angry, he retorted, "But that asshole started it! He was insulting us."

"Yeah, but Zoro stupidly admitted to throwing the first punch."

Sanji let out an exasperated sigh and turned on his heel to exit the building for a much needed smoke. Cigarette in his mouth before he even made it outside, he lit up immediately and let the calming nicotine fill his lungs. While they lived in a pretty open-minded and accepting community, there were always those one or two assholes that felt the need to insult him and Zoro while they were out trying to have a good time.

Nami came out of the bar as well, coming over to stand next to Sanji and watch the cops as they continued taking witness statements. She seemed like she wanted to say something but never got around to it. Finally, when Sanji finished his cigarette she turned to him and said, "I got a look at his face. I think they carved him up pretty good."

Sanji's stomach dropped as he remembered the blood he had seen earlier and Chopper's cries about Zoro needing a hospital. He turned to Nami, stunned and wide-eyed, asking "Will they take him to the hospital and get it taken care of?"

"Yeah, if they see it's bad enough to need medical treatment, they will," she nodded.

Groaning, Sanji reached into his pocket and pulled out another cigarette, looking back at the cop cars. He spotted the mosshead sitting in the rear of one of them, head hung low. His heart felt heavy – Zoro was getting arrested for defending him and he had gotten hurt in the process. They should have just left when he had spotted potential danger but Sanji's shitty pride wouldn't allow him to go without being heard. He blinked, realizing Zoro had lifted his head up and locked eyes with him. They stared at each other for a few seconds before the green-haired man, whose face was still covered in blood, gave him the biggest smile Sanji had ever since. He grinned back and didn't break eye contact until the car pulled away.

In the end, Zoro's charges were dropped and he was released the next day. Sanji was at home nursing a hangover when he received the phone call notifying him to go to the hospital and pick Zoro up. When he got there, he found his partner sitting in an examination room with his head bandaged, being informed that he'd lost almost all vision in his left eye.

Sanji frowns at the oven he's been scrubbing, realizing for the first time that it was already clean. Guilt swells in his chest as he throws the scrub brush he'd been using into the sink. Zoro was lucky he could still practice kendo after his eye healed. Kendo and kenjutsu have always been Zoro's biggest passions and Sanji felt personally responsible for hindering that, no matter how many times the bastard said otherwise.

Sighing, he switches to the next song on his radio station, and continues his cleaning well into the early hours of the morning. By about three, the commercial ovens are clean and he calls it a night. Grabbing his bag out of the office, Sanji leaves out the back, locking the door behind him. The crisp, cool air feels refreshing against his sweaty, flushed skin. His forearms ache from hours of scrubbing and all he can think about is how badly he wants to fall onto his sofa and sleep for hours. Walking the few blocks form the restaurant to his apartment, Sanji decides to cut through the parking garage instead of using the front entrance of his building. It's the faster option when coming from the direction of the Baratie.

Arriving at the garage, he quickens his pace, passing all the cars in a breeze to get in the building and to his bed. However, something catches his attention off to the side and he turns his head, mouth going dry as he becomes aware of what he's looking at. Right in its normal parking spot sits Zoro's black Honda Civic. Sanji's eyes go wide and his heart jumps to his throat. Zoro came home? Zoro came home! He takes off running to his building as fast as he can. Pounding up the stairs two at a time, his mind rushes a mile a minute with all the things he's going to as Zoro. Where was he? Why did he quit his job? Is he still mad? Can they work it out? Does he still love him?

Stopping in front of his door, he fumbles to pull his keys out of his pocket and goes to jam them into the lock. His hands are shaking, his pulse hammering so hard he swears the neighbors can hear it. Holding his breath, he unlocks the door and pushes it open.

He's greeted with pitch-black darkness, not a single light on in the home. Dropping his gym bag on as quietly as he can, Sanji tiptoes into the living room stealthily, checking to see if Zoro's asleep on the couch. Grimacing when he only finds the blanket and pillow he abandoned there earlier, he chooses to check the bedroom instead. Softly, he pads down the hallway and turns into the doorway of his room. His body tenses as he spies in the dark the outline of a form in the bed. Unable to contain his excitement, he takes a running leap and crashes onto the bed to hug the person lying in it.

Except it's not Zoro - it's not even a person. Sanji's heart breaks as he finds himself hugging his comforter, which is bundled up on one side of the bed in a deceiving fashion. A small sob escapes and he's unable to stop himself from letting the tears flow. Curling into a ball and resting his head on Zoro's pillow, he continues to hug the blanket and cry into the dark. Unsure of why Zoro would have left his car here but too exhausted and upset to contemplate a reasonable answer, his cries turn into soft whimpers and he allows himself to be swept into a restless sleep.