Ah, later than I had planned, but, oh well. I've been having a gawdawful week, just so you know! That's how damn devoted I am to this story and it's readers, that I'd still finish a chapter when I'm having a terrible time of things! I won't bore those of you who actually read these things any longer, so...

Enjoy.

It was weird.

Very, very weird.

Well, maybe not.

But, Zoro thought it was.

He was sitting on Sanji's bed, watching the blonde rifle through his bag in the corner in search of some unknown object. All day, Sanji had been in a good mood. A great mood, actually. He was talking so much, too, and normally he was pretty quiet. He was saying something at that moment that Zoro really wasn't paying attention to.

For the life of him, Zoro couldn't figure out what was going on. He wasn't complaining, of course, he really did like that Sanji was happy, even if he was being a little annoying. He was just confused. Sanji would go off somewhere at random points in the day and just show up again whenever he felt like it. Which wasn't really convenient, since, as far as Zoro could tell, Sanji didn't tell anyone where or when he was going, so no one could plan to have him included in whatever game they decided to play.

After another week or so of barely seeing Sanji, there Zoro sat, just watching him, not really sure what to do.

"Ne, Zoro, have you been listening?" Sanji asked, a teasing smile on his face. That was something that was growing more frequent.

"U-um... yes? I mean, yeah, of course!" Zoro stumbled over his words, trying to think of the last thing he heard Sanji say. The blonde tipped his head up in skeptical belief and turned back to his bag. "So, what do you think?" Sanji asked.

Zoro's mouth fell open a bit. He really wished he hadn't lied about having listened. He struggled to find suitable words for a drawn out moment and Sanji stared at him. "You could've just said you weren't listening." Sanji pointed out.

"I was to listening!" Zoro defended, lamely, in Sanji's opinion. Sanji nodded, not believing for a second. "O-kaaaaay."

Zoro held strong for about four seconds under Sanji's innocent stare, and then, "... 'Kay, fine, I wasn't listening."

Sanji giggled into his hand. "Of course not. I guess that's okay, I didn't really say anything too important." The last part was mumbled, and that made Zoro frown. "Tell me anyway." He said, in a less-than-polite tone.

The giggles died and Sanji shook his head. "Nah. It's fine." He said, zipping up his bag and pushing it back into the corner. Sanji stood up and rubbed at the indents of the floorboards on his legs. He straightened his shirt and went for the door.

Zoro jumped up and blocked Sanji's way, looking at him with something of a glare. "Tell. Me. Anyway." Zoro ordered, narrowing his eyes. He had to work to keep the expression up when Sanji gave him the 'lost puppy' face that he seemed to like using whenever Zoro was trying to be serious.

"You didn't think it was important enough to listen the first time." Sanji mumbled, his bottom lip coming out a bit. Zoro wanted to slap himself. "Well, I'm listening now!" Zoro announced. Sanji winced at the volume.

Sanji blinked a couple of times, switching his gaze between Zoro and the door. "Can I go now?" He asked, sort of a whiney tone to his voice. Zoro thought about moving, but shook the thought from his mind as fast as it came in. "No. I want you to tell me what you were telling me a minute ago."

"You mean, when you weren't listening to me?" Sanji asked, looking up through his eyelashes at Zoro, who cringed slightly. Sanji side-stepped, but Zoro mirrored the movement. "Tell me." Zoro repeated.

"No." Sanji said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest. He stepped to the other side and Zoro followed him. "Leave me alone, Plant!" Sanji said, frowning.

Zoro narrowed his eyes at the insult. "I would if you'd tell me what you said earlier, Target face!" Zoro retorted, taking an aggressive step forward. Sanji looked confused and offended by his insult and he was a little worried for a second, because Sanji also took a step backwards when he took a step forward.

"I already told you! If it wasn't important enough to listen to the first time, then you must not really want to know!" Sanji stated, in a 'that's final' sort of way. Zoro just wouldn't listen. He kept insisting Sanji repeat himself, for minutes on end.

Zoro's back was against the door, his hands on the doorknob. Sanji's shoulders dropped. "I'm going to be late, Zoro!" He whined, pulling at Zoro's shirt to try and get him away from the door. It didn't do him much good at all, but he had to try.

"Late for what?" Zoro asked, agitated. Sanji finally decided he couldn't stand it and went over to the bunk bed. He stepped onto the foot board at the end of his bed and grabbed onto the one at the end of Zoro's bed, then hoisting himself up to sit at the end of Zoro's bed.

He stared at Zoro with, hopefully, a stubborn look. He had thought he could tell Zoro, but if Zoro didn't want to listen when he spoke, then he just wouldn't speak. It seemed similar things were always happening between him and Zoro.

"Why're you sitting on my bed?" Zoro asked, not moving a single inch from the door.

Sanji blinked slowly, turning his eyes to look at some random spot on Zoro's bright green sheets.

"Hey!" Zoro yelled, trying to get the blonde's attention, but only succeeding in making him jump a little. He could tell it was starting. Sanji was getting mad at him. He had two choices; give in and let Sanji leave, without getting the information he wanted, or, don't give in and have Sanji mad at him for who knows how long. He wasn't very good at just giving in.

When Sanji had finally gotten to leave, after no small amount of struggling, he was on the brink of tears. It had been hours since he first said he was going to be late for whatever it was he was doing, and Zoro hadn't gotten a word out of him since. Of course, he felt kind of bad about it, but wouldn't it just be simpler if Sanji just told him what he had been trying to tell him? Then, they both could have gone on their way, without all the fussing and fighting.

In any case, it totally wasn't Zoro's fault. Not in the slightest. And, he definitely didn't feel guilty for upsetting his roommate. Nope. So, he didn't have to answer when his friends asked him if he did something to Sanji, or if he knew where Sanji was. Because he didn't; to both of them.

Sanji didn't turn up again until after dinner, and even then, he didn't say a word. They shared the elevator, which wasn't something they would normally do, (put aside the fact that they usually took the stairs). Zoro had asked where Sanji had gone and his reply had been the sleepy elevator music. He'd asked if Sanji went to one of their friends' rooms earlier, and Sanji had completely ignored him. Zoro took note that Sanji was getting better at that.

Once they got to their room, Sanji grabbed his pajamas and left right away, before Zoro could say another word. Zoro couldn't think of what he'd done that was bad enough to warrant that kind of behavior from Sanji, but he was getting tired of it fast. Sanji didn't get to be mad. All Zoro wanted was to know what he was up to.

Zoro changed into his green and white striped pajamas and turned off the lamp. He didn't think he was going to actually sleep, but he was tired as hell. Zoro climbed up and was about to get onto his bed, when he remembered earlier. Sanji had sat there. For a long time, actually, while Zoro sat in front of the door. It was weird to see, since Zoro never let anybody touch his stuff, or even look at his stuff. Especially his bed. But, he let Sanji sit there.

Sanji had dangled his legs off the end of the bed and kicked his feet idly, sitting there, plucking at something unseen. When Zoro told him to get off, Sanji had slid off the end of the bed and gone over to sit in the corner with his bag without a word, without even a glance. It was almost disturbing. Zoro even tried to sit next to him once, to get him to say or do something and not look so damn hurt, but Sanji had just gotten up and moved.

Zoro hurt a little bit just thinking about it. He wasn't sure why, because, obviously, it wasn't his fault. Maybe it was the fact that he didn't know what was going on that pained him? Yeah. He hated mysteries. Especially ones that related to his friends. They were just that much more frustrating.

Zoro stepped back down onto the floor and rolled into Sanji's bed. He didn't know why, but it seemed like the thing to do. He didn't think Sanji was coming back, anyway. Whenever they were having any significant fight, Sanji would go stay with Ussop or Nami, since neither of them seemed to keep roommates for very long. Zoro didn't understand it, especially since those two were more annoying than Sanji, or anyone.

It was a long time before Zoro fell asleep. He was almost certain he'd seen the first rays of morning light before his eyelids finally got too heavy and his teetering consciousness tipped over the edge and he slipped into a dreamless sleep. The blackness existed for mere minutes before he awoke again.

The door opened with a small creak and Zoro pretended he was still asleep. He didn't know why he would do that, but he did. Sanji tip-toed into the room, day clothes in hand. He crept over to the dresser and opened the whiney drawer just enough to shove his clothes inside it, then shut it right back afterwards. His pajamas were just barely visible in the early morning light and Zoro could just make out the outline of the fish pattern on the pale blue fabric.

Sanji looked exhausted, Zoro noticed as Sanji looked around the room. When his blue eyes fell on Zoro, for a moment the green-haired boy was certain he was caught. Sanji just stared for one minute, then two, but he never said anything. He just watched Zoro, seemingly unaware that Zoro was watching him as well.

Zoro's heart settled after a minute, having been beating rapidly at the thought of being caught doing something as ridiculous as sleeping in the other boy's bed in his absence. Sanji finally frowned and approached the bed, causing Zoro to go rigid.

Sanji hummed to himself. It was a quiet, thoughtful sound, but Zoro nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard it. Sanji reached down, looking almost ghostly in the blue-ish light. His hand stopped inches from Zoro's head and he bit his lip. Sanji's arm fell to his side and he walked around to the end of the bed and climbed up onto the top bunk. There was fidgeting for a while, but Sanji settled in pretty quickly and Zoro could finally relax.

He sank into the mattress a little further after he released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. What had Sanji been about to do? Zoro wanted to know. He almost wanted to ask. To ruin his whole 'still sleeping' act by speaking, just for the sake of getting a most likely un-important answer. Not that Sanji would answer. He probably wouldn't acknowledge Zoro in the slightest.

Zoro didn't end up going back to sleep that morning. He was going to be dragging tail all day, he knew, but he couldn't get to sleep. It was odd for him, since, usually; he could sleep anywhere, anytime. He couldn't figure it out. He knew his mind was preoccupied, really wanting to know what Sanji had been about to do and what he was mad about, but he could always sleep. Every time, through just about everything, Zoro could sleep.

The sun couldn't rise fast enough for Zoro, leaving him in utter silence. His brain wasn't functioning quite the way it normally did, whether because of exhaustion or confusion. He was torn. He couldn't decide if he should be mad at Sanji, too, or if Sanji was wrong to be mad at him in the first place. Or, why. They were just fighting about... wait, what were they even fighting about? Zoro couldn't remember anymore. Probably because he wasn't actually doing any fighting. It was all Sanji.

At that thought, Zoro sat up. It was reflexive, the way he hopped out of bed and walked far enough back that he could see onto the top bunk. Sanji's back was to the wall, his eyes closed and his hair falling over his face. Before Zoro had half a moment to think about what he was doing, he walked up to the bed and used the bottom bunk as a step to see onto the top. He reached his hand out and shook Sanji by the shoulder. He almost stopped, mid-shake, uncertain about whether or not it would be a good thing to wake him, but he continued anyway.

Sanji groaned, a pitiful frown crossing his face before his eyes opened. He blinked a time or two at Zoro, not really processing, at first, what was going on. Zoro words died in his throat. Sanji only looked a little confused. Not angry, or sad, or anything. Had he forgiven him?

Silence controlled the room, disturbed only by the shrill morning birds. "Uh..." Zoro began, arms hooked over the guard rail around the edge of the bunk. Sanji raised his eyebrows slightly. "W-what were we fighting about yesterday?" Zoro asked, immediately questioning the decision.

The blonde pulled further away from the railing, frowning a little. Zoro's switch flipped to auto-pilot and he started trying to be angry, but he quickly righted that. "I mean, I just can't remember, that's all! It's not like I wanted to apologize or anything, I, uh, just wanted to know!" Okay, so, not entirely, but it was better than it might have been.

"We were fighting yesterday, because you're a butt face. Thanks for reminding me." Sanji said, blandly. He started to turn over to face the wall, but Zoro grabbed his arm. "Wait a second! I'm the butt face? You were the one keeping secrets and being all... snooty!"

Sanji pouted slightly. "I wasn't being snooty. You weren't listening to me; you're never listening to me." He said, quiet and tired voice slowly sounding more awake. "I decided, since we were friends and all," Sanji gave him a pointed look, sarcasm radiating off of him. "That I would tell you what I wasn't telling anyone else. Obviously, that was stupid."

Zoro narrowed his eyes at Sanji. "No, you're stupid! And, I listen to you all the time, and the one time I don't listen you got your feelings hurt!" Zoro snapped, jumping off and away from the bed, expecting the argument to follow him. Instead, he got silence. He had to stand on his tip-toes to see Sanji's face, after the few moments it took for curiosity to overcome him.

Sanji's pout was more prominent then, his eyebrows furrowed. He pulled the blanket up over his head and turned over to face the wall, completely shutting Zoro out. "Hey! Don't you have anything to say?" Zoro yelled, shoving the bed a little. Sanji didn't answer.

What, what? A fighting chapter? What is this mystery that Sanji told Zoro about when he wasn't really listening? Why haven't they made up yet because of it? Why do I ask so many questions when probably no one reads this? xD

Well, the other day I was reading over the past chapters and I realized that I didn't quite get the nine and ten year old attitude right. Or the vocabulary. Or anything. FAIL. But, that's why I've decided that I need a pretty serious time-skip. Not next chapter, maybe not even the one after that, but, soon. I really need to do something, though.

In any case, I think this was a good chapter. Dramatic-y. I don't want them to still be fighting, but I'm not sure how to mend it. Oh, well. 'Tis for another day! xD Reviews, please!

Ciao~