Sanji cooked breakfast for the group. Everyone gathered in the back room in the kitchen for a more private get together. He placed the last dish of the meal on the table which was what Luffy had really been waiting for. It was baked honey ham. The fucker immediately stretched across the table. Sanji kicked the leg of his chair out from under him and Luffy toppled.

"SANJI!"

"Ladies first. You know the rules. Now," He turned to Robin and Nami "Would you ladies prefer coffee or tangerine juice?"

They both giggled at his usual antics.

Robin answered first. "I had enough coffee earlier. Juice will be fine, thank you."

Nami looked at him. "You already know I want the juice."

"Coming right up mademoiselles." He stepped out and brought back a pitcher of juice and a coffee pot. He poured each girl a glass of juice. Then he looked at Zoro. "Juice or coffee?"

The trainer blushed a little. Clearly caught off guard. "Uh juice please."

Sanji heard a couple snickers when the trainer said 'please'. Sanji smiled though. Some of his manners must be rubbing off on the brute. He poured the trainer a glass and the man muttered a thank you. Sanji placed the pitcher in the middle of the table so whoever else wanted some could get some. He looked at the table and couldn't help but, notice the group had left the seat next to Zoro open. As Sanji made his way to sit in the chair Zoro stood up and pulled it out for him. He cursed the heat he felt spreading across his cheeks. He sat in the chair and let Zoro scoot him in.

Sanji looked up to see everyone staring at the two of them. His face got hotter. Zoro sat down and started digging in. Paying no mind to the stares. Sanji followed suit and suddenly everyone was in motion. Eating. Talking. Laughing. Sanji had finished eating and was watching Luffy go in for his fourth round when he felt a warm hand on top of his. He looked over to see it was Zoro's hand.

Zoro smiled at him. "Thanks for making breakfast it was delicious."

Sanji blushed at the genuine compliment. "It's no big deal."

Sanji looked across the table in time to see Nami looking at him and his partner and whisper something into Robin's ear. He couldn't help but, feel paranoid. He tried to distract himself with other things. Brook talking about how phenomenal his performance was last night. Chopper discussing cases in the medical bay with Luffy's boyfriend, Law. Franky was chatting excitedly with Luffy about 'the chute system' upgrades. His eyes then wandered to Usopp. Usopp quickly looked away from Sanji. He couldn't help the scowl that crossed his face. He watched Usopp writhe under his stare until Zoro nudged him.

Sanji looked at Zoro exasperatedly. "Yes?"

Zoro gave him a look as if to say 'c'mon you know what you were doing' and crossed his arms.

"What?" Sanji played stupid.

Zoro said quietly "You have to let it go. It's not like it matters anyway. These are our friends."

Sanji sighed. He knew the mosshead was right. "Fine." Sanji huffed and pretended to listen to Franky's conversation about the garbage chutes.

Zoro cleared his throat. "Usopp good news. We have decided not to murder you."

Usopp laughed nervously. "I'm glad. I'm sorry. I didn't think it was a big secret."

Luffy threw his hands up in the air excitedly trying to say something with his mouth full of food.

"Luffy, finish eating and then speak. I refuse to help you if you choke." Sanji crossed his arms and glared at the boy who just smiled and chuckled mouth still full of food.

Zoro grunted in response and turned his attentions elsewhere. It seemed that everyone had relaxed a little now that Usopp had been verbally forgiven for outing the two.

The rest of the meal passed quickly. People started filing out of the kitchen to start their days. Zoro had stayed behind to help Sanji clean up. Sanji was washing dishes and the Marimo was drying them. It was a comfortable silence. Sanji's conversation with Robin flitted around his head. He handed the last spoon to Zoro. He wiped his hands off on a stray towel. He looked at Zoro who was clearly trying to make a spoon shine. A small smile found its way to his face.

"Hey." He said quietly moving towards Zoro.

Zoro set down the spoon in a pile of silverware and turned to face Sanji. "Hey."

Sanji placed his hands on the counter on either side of Zoro. "Thank you for helping." Sanji leaned forward and kissed Zoro softly.

After they parted slightly Zoro responded with that smile that made Sanji melt a little. "Anytime, cook."

Sanji stepped back a little and shoved hands in his pockets. He felt his face getting hot.

"Spit it out cook. I know you want to say something." Zoro crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows expectantly still smiling.

Sanji cleared his throat and mumbled "I did miss you yesterday." He paused. "And last night."

He was pulled into a warm hug all of a sudden. "I missed you too." Sanji had to admit to himself he was expecting to be teased. How did Robin know? He pushed those thoughts elsewhere in his mind for the time being.

He breathed Zoro's scent deeply. Mint shampoo and was Zoro wearing cologne? "Are you wearing cologne?"

"Yeah, why? You don't like it?" Zoro stepped back and sniffed his shirt and muttered "Damn witch."

"It smells nice. It's just different." Sanji shrugged and took a mental note of how cute Zoro was when he was flustered.

Zoro sighed. "Nami helped me pick it out a couple days ago. It's in my room and I'm almost never there so I hadn't worn it yet. If you don't like it-" Sanji cut him off with a kiss.

"Shut up you idiot. Of course I like it." Zoro blushed.

Sanji pulled Zoro into the backroom and they made out a little bit. Nothing intense like in the ladder well. After a while Zoro had to get going. He had to man the service desk in the gym. Sanji kissed him goodbye and closed the door to the kitchen behind him.

He moved around the main kitchen. Supervising the meal prep for lunch.

He walked past Patty and said nothing. He kept moving through the kitchen. Making sure the mixture of spices smelled right. He still said nothing. He couldn't be more content right now. Everyone was performing perfectly.

On his third round Patty finally spoke up. "Sanji, are you with us today?"

"Of course. I'm right here in the same shitty kitchen as you, aren't I?" Sanji retorted.

"You're not… Yelling today? It's freaking everyone out a little."

Sanji looked around and everyone was nodding in agreement. Sanji shook his head a little. "So let me get this straight. You prefer me yelling at you?"

"Well no. It's not like your yelling makes anything better. We know what we are doing."

Sanji's brows furrowed. "So what do you want? You know what? Fuck it! Never mind. Everybody get back to fucking work. You all just wasted ten minutes. You better find a way to make up for it you bastards."

Everyone grumbled a bit but, couldn't keep the smiles from their faces with the return of normalcy.

Had Sanji really been acting strange? He just felt happy was all. He decided not to dwell on his behavior and do what was expected of him.

"You assholes better not burn any of my food otherwise it'll end up being your dinner!"

Zoro knew he was smiling like an idiot at the damn service desk. He consciously made an effort to pull his face either into a scowl or just a neutral face at the very least. When he had that dumb smile plastered on his face people actually came up and asked him questions.

"What classes are being offered today?""How difficult is that class?""Is it for beginners?""What classes do you teach?""Are you single?""Where is the restroom?""Where is the cardio equipment?""Can you spot me, bro?"

Annoying. All of it. He didn't care. He didn't want to talk to these people but, he couldn't stop thinking about the cook. The cook had missed him. The cook liked his cook was his.

His thoughts went on like this in between customers. By the time his shift at the desk ended all he wanted to do was see the cook. He pulled out his communicator.

1342 Are you busy?

He paced around the different areas of the gym trying to look like he was doing something useful.

He looked at his communicator. Tch. Only fifteen damn minutes had gone by. No response from the cook. That answered that question. He decided to actually focus on his job. He helped a couple people correct their form in the weight room. He restocked the towels. He wiped down equipment not being used. Zoro huffed. Why was today going by so slowly?

Some relief came when it was time to teach his class. At least then he was instructing people. Correcting forms. Passing on some of his art. Today he was teaching an intermediate class. He made the students move through the basic forms anyway. Good technique always started from mastering the basics.

After the class was over a woman came up to him and tapped on his shoulder. He turned around and froze. No. That couldn't be possible. His ears started to ring as his pulse picked up speed. His breath left him.

Kuina.

He stumbled back. He clutched at the wall for support. How? Why? This wasn't a possibility. He had said his goodbyes. He had mourned. His hearing was coming back.

"Sir? Sir, are you okay?" Kuina looked at him with concerned eyes.

"Kuina, h-how are you here?" Zoro felt dizzy. The room seemed to slant and then he was falling.

It was long after lunch when Sanji had time to step into the back of the kitchen to get his nicotine fix. He took a long drag of his ecigarette. In a few hours he would be off shift and he could surprise Zoro with dinner. He allowed himself to smile. He pulled out his communicator. It had been buzzing in his pocket but, he had been busy each time and decided to check it when he had a chance but, that chance hadn't come until now.

1342 Marimo: Are you busy?

1437 Law: Your boyfriend passed out at work. He is here.

1517 Chopper: I don't know if Law let you know but, Zoro is here. He seems to have lost consciousness after teaching his class.

1520 Chopper: I should add that he is in a stable condition. Don't worry I am watching him closely.

Sanji had dropped his ecigarette on the floor. It was now almost 1600. Sanji sprinted out of the kitchen. He couldn't imagine why Zoro would pass out. He ran down the ladder well and to the infirmary.

He slammed the door open and Law was at his desk doing some in depth reading.

"Zoro is in a private room. He's fine from what Chopper and I can tell. Two doors down on the left, lover-boy." Law hadn't even looked up.

Nevermind. Sanji made his way to Zoro's room and carefully opened the door. Chopper was on a stool next to the bed writing down some readings from the machines hooked up to Zoro. Sanji couldn't believe his eyes. Zoro had seemed fine this morning. Was this some sort of virus?

Sanji moved closer to the bed. Zoro had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead and looked flushed. His eyes were moving under his eyelids.

Sanji's hand had naturally found Zoro's. He only noticed when Zoro seemed to squeeze his hand.

He looked at Chopper to see Chopper had already been staring at him. "What happened?"

"We aren't sure. We did all kinds of scans and tests. There was nothing conclusive. His brain scans showed a lot of activity in his limbic system."

Sanji squeezed his eyes trying to remember to be patient. "Okay, what does that mean?"

"Oh, well the limbic system is closely attached to memories and dreams. We think maybe he's reliving something traumatic."

Sanji's brow furrowed. "How do you know?"

"We don't know for sure that is our best guess at this point. Right before he went unconscious he was reported calling a passenger by the wrong name," Chopper looked through the notes on his tablet "Kuina is what he called her. Does that name mean anything to you?"

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to beat me, Zoro." Kuina smiled smugly.

"You've got the upper hand! You're taller and have been training wayyyyyyyyyy longer than me!" He retorted his face growing hot with anger.

"If you keep making excuses like that you'll never beat me." She turned to leave.

Zoro rushed towards her. His shinai raised over his head for a strike. Kuina turned quickly. A loud crack could be heard around the dojo. That sound had been Kuina's shinai breaking in half as it made contact with Zoro's face.

"How dishonorable?! You would strike me with my back turned?" He had only just barely heard those words as he fell to the floor. Knocked unconscious by a girl.

A few hours later….. Zoro heard two voices.

"Kuina, you cannot continue this. It is not your fate to become a swordsman."

"Why not?! Why can't I choose my fate? What kind of planet is this that suppresses women?"

"This is your HOME! Women are honored on this planet. You will marry and care for a family of your own. You already have been promised to a boy and you will fulfill your duty as a woman when you come of age."

"That's not what I want! I want to be strong! I want to be a fierce warrior! I want to see the galaxy someday. How small minded are you father to believe I would stay on this planet?" There were footsteps and a door being slammed shut.

Koshiro sighed heavily and left through a door in the other side of the room. Now that he was alone Zoro sat up.

He considered what he had just heard. Kuina would make a fine wife some day. Could she not see that? Surely her father would pick a fine man to arrange her with. One that would take care of her despite her hideous anger.

Zoro got up and went out the door Kuina had left through. He found her throwing rocks into a creek. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Get away from me, Zoro. I am not in the mood." She threw another rock into the creek.

"Why are you so angry? You've got it made." He crossed his arms.

"What the hell are you talking about?" She was facing away from him but, he could see her fists clenched at her side.

"Your father will pick a great guy for you to marry. Why are you so upset?"

"You don't know what you're talking about Zoro. Go away."

"I know plenty."

She turned and stalked up the bank and grabbed him by the shirt roughly. "You don't know a thing! You men are all the same. I am a person! I just want to be free, Zoro!" Her voice broke at this and tears started to flow freely. "You are a man. You get to choose what you do. Where you will go. What your fate will be! I will be married off. Made to bear children with a stranger I don't know. Then he will tell me what I can and cannot do till the day one of us dies!"

Zoro had never thought of it that way. From that perspective… That was the first time Kuina made that face. Distant. Isolated. Alone. Hopeless.

He pulled her close at a loss for words.

Sanji woke up in the chair next to Zoro's bed that he had fallen asleep in. The noise he woke up to was Zoro waking up. He rushed to Zoro's bedside.

"I'm so glad you woke up. The doctor's couldn't figure out what was wrong. Zoro?"

Zoro's brow was furrowed. He looked around the room blankly then stared at Sanji for moment. "I-I saw… or I think I saw one of my friends aboard this ship."

"Well… why would that have anything to do with anything?" Sanji was trying to understand what significance this had to the current situation.

"She died a long time ago." Zoro looked at the ground. Pain flashed across his face briefly. "We were very close."

"Kuina…" Sanji muttered out loud. This was starting to make sense but, to think Zoro was that shaken that he blacked out seemed impossible.

"How do you know that name?" Zoro was staring at him. His eyes seemed to be burning a hole through Sanji.

"You said it before you passed out. Chopper asked me if I knew the significance of it. You called a passenger named Tashigi by the name of Kuina right before you fell."

Zoro nodded slowly. "Of course it wasn't her. That lady just looked exactly like her, Sanji."

Sanji didn't know how to respond. He wanted to comfort the trainer but, didn't know how. Fuck! He had never been good at this sort of thing. He was a terrible boyfriend. He hadn't even known Zoro had lost someone so close to him. He was always wrapped up in his own shit, when would he have had time to even ask about Zoro's previous life? He'd been goddamn selfish. Zoro was always doting on him and his needs and he hadn't figured out that Zoro needed him just as much.

Zoro looked up from the blank space on the wall he had been staring at to see that face on Sanji.

Distant. Isolated. Alone. Hopeless.

His pulse quickened. No. He yanked Sanji toward his bed roughly. "Cook, what is going on in your mind right now?!"

Sanji looked confused. "Nothing, why? What's wrong?"

Zoro slammed his fist on the table next to his bed. "Do NOT lie to me. I know something ugly is going on your head. I know that face you keep making and I. Will. Not. Lose. ANYONE ELSE!"

Sanji looked scared now and was trying to pull his arm out of Zoro's vice like grip. Zoro realized he had lost control and let go of Sanji. Sanji moved out of reach massaging his arm where Zoro had grabbed him. Zoro immediately felt guilty.

"Sanji, I'm sorry. I-"His fists grabbed his blanket as he broke eye contact. Weak. Too weak to protect Sanji.

"It's okay. I know you are hurting right now." His eyes snapped back to where Sanji stood. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking at the floor. "It's hard to lose someone you love. It's even harder to let them go. I can't imagine seeing them again after that."

Zoro couldn't help but, notice Sanji stayed out of his reach. Zoro sighed.

"I am going to tell Chopper you're awake." Sanji turned and left the room quickly.

A/N: SORRY SORRY SORRY I know. I know I am bad. There are just a lot of facets I want to portray in these characters. Sometimes I feel like I've got a full stove and I am trying to cook everything at once. Both Sanji and Zoro have issues. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter….. I will try to get the next one up soon because I too need a resolution after the stress of this chapter. I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors. Half of this chapter has been read through like five times in the past week. The other half just flowed out of me tonight. Thank you so much for the reviews I have been getting. They are always welcome and helpful.