A/N: This one's a bit short, but no worries, you won't mind once you read it…

A few days passed, but Sanji still was not willing to talk to anyone for more than a few syllables. He had taken to sulking in a corner of the deck and staring off into the sky. He hadn't smoked once since that day in the woods. Nami approached him.

"Sanji? Can I talk to you?" A barely audible grunt was his reply. "It's just that, for a couple of days now you haven't been talking, you haven't been smoking, and you haven't even flirted with me once! I need to know what happened that day. Would… would you tell me?" Sanji shifted and turned his head away to the right. Nami sighed and started to get up when he reached out and touched her hand. She stopped and looked at him.

"I… I can't tell you. I'm…sorry…Nami," he said quietly in a hoarse voice. He shot a quick glance at Zoro, who was sitting on the opposite side of the deck with a half-empty beer mug in his hand. His breathing quickened just a little. "I ca- I can't t-tell you! You have t-to understand!" he said in a frantic whisper. He had begun to shake, and was gripping Nami's hand tightly. She saw desperation in his eyes.

"Sanji..?" Nami began, when Zoro looked at the pair, at Sanji with fear on his face, and at Nami with a look of almost understanding on hers. Sanji noticed Zoro looking, and he began to shake harder than ever. His face paled and his eyes widened as he tossed Nami's hand out of his and almost ran to the kitchen. He slammed the door behind him and locked it. He slid down the door to rest on the floor as he bit his lip to keep from sobbing out of fear. He'd thought that Zoro and he had been friends, even if they frequently argued. The arguments had never been that bad, in Sanji's eyes; he'd always thought of them as heated friendly competitions. He'd never even considered that Zoro hated him or wanted to hurt him, in fact, he'd assumed that they were very close, by the way that Zoro treated him when they weren't yelling at each other. He became lost in his thoughts. A long while passed before he felt that it was safe to come out.

It was dark outside, and it sounded like everyone had gone to sleep. Sanji sighed out of relief. He walked to his room and opened the door as quietly as he could. There was no movement inside. He turned to close the door, and stripped down to his boxers to climb into bed. He was so exhausted and relieved that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. It wasn't long, however, until images of Zoro haunted his dreams. His tossing and groaning woke Nami, and it wasn't long before she was trying to wake Sanji up from his nightmare.

She climbed down from her bunk and looked at Sanji. He was curled up into a little ball, panting, shaking, and in a cold sweat. He was hugging his chest and babbling in his sleep. Nami shook him and muttered his name. She was unclear as to what he was saying, except for a few words here and there. One word caught her interest.

"Z-Zoro…"

Nami's eyes widened. Her efforts to awaken Sanji doubled, if not in volume. He awakened with a start, and when he saw a shape over him, gasped loudly and instinctively grabbed a corner of the bedpost to anchor himself. The blanket fell away from his neckline, exposing his heaving pale torso.

"Sanji, it's me, Nami," she whispered to him. "Calm down." He let out a long breath and slumped against the headboard, gasping.

"Nami..? What—?"

"You were having a nightmare, Sanji." She put her hand on his shoulder. "You…you mentioned Zoro." Sanji shook his head and looked away wide-eyed. "I think I understand. Did… did he do something to you?" Sanji was silent, but through the gloom, Nami could make out his head nodding hesitantly. "What was it?" she asked gently.

"Ah, he… ah…" Sanji couldn't finish. A light went on behind the two suddenly. Nami twisted around to see Zoro looming over them. Sanji's breath caught audibly.

"He what, Sanji?" Zoro's voice was full of rage. Nami stood between them with her arms spread.

"You leave him alone, Zoro!" she threatened. He bared his teeth and backhanded Nami across the room. She lay there, stunned. He turned to Sanji.

Sanji's hand went to the bedpost again, but Zoro was too strong for him. He grabbed Sanji's wrist and threw him into a corner. Sanji cowered, trembling.

"Didn't I tell you, Sanji, that I could do worse?" Zoro growled. He unwrapped his bandanna from around his left arm and tied it around his head, shadowing his eyes. Sanji tried to slide away from Zoro, but he backed into the wall.

"I-I didn't t-tell her anything!" he pleaded. "Sh-She guessed it—I-I didn't—I didn't! She doesn't even kn-know! Don't hurt me!"

He was cornered. Zoro unsheathed one of his three swords, and raised the sheath over his head. He brought it down on Sanji's back with enough strength to make the air whistle, leaving a long, red welt. Sanji covered his head with his left arm, and bit down on his right hand to keep from yelling. Zoro repeatedly struck him, over and over, talking to him in rhythm to his beatings to maximize the overall effect.

"Now didn't I tell you specifically not to tell anyone? Didn't I make myself clear enough for you? Or are you just going deaf?" Zoro didn't need to shout the words as the sheath made contact with Sanji's back with a sickening THWACK to each of Zoro's stressed syllables. Sanji could hear them all, ringing in his head louder and louder to each of the new welts blossoming like flowers on his back.

Sanji panted when Zoro finally stopped. His back was a tortuous mass of welts and bruises. Zoro stepped back and grunted. He frowned, put away his sword, and walked to where Nami lay. She appeared to be out cold.

Just don't move. Just pretend you're unconscious… Nami thought, afraid. Pretend you've forgotten what you saw in the morning. He won't hurt you then. Damn him! He could kill us all whenever it suits him! Just stay low for now… Zoro picked her up and put her back in her own bed. He left Sanji alone to hurt and whimper as he went back to bed. Sanji looked at his hand. It was bleeding.

I'm sorry, Sanji, Zoro thought. I just can't have you letting out the fact that I was weak and couldn't control myself… But I wish you wouldn't make those noises—Sanji was still audibly fighting back tears—it pulls at my heart when you do.

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Seriously, I want to kick my own ass for this. BUT IT'S NOT MY FAULT I DREAMT THIS!!! –sobs-