15 Reasons to Fall in Love

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

13. They were nakama.
Sanji, Zoro, and the rest of the crew as well; they were all nakama. Surely a relationship would complicate that.

Sanji loomed over Chopper, one foot placed threateningly on the wall above the little reindeer's head. Chopper stared back up at the cook, tears welling up in his eyes. Behind them the rest of the crew had gathered loosely and were watching the scene unfold.

"Chopper, I'll ask one more time," Sanji spoke, his voice low and dangerous. "Did you steal the herbs I had gathered from the last island?"

The island in question has been rich in natural resources, and Sanji had felt like he'd struck gold when he found a plethora of herbs he'd recognized. He'd been sure to collect as many as he could, hanging them from the kitchen ceiling on neat lines that Usopp had to sacrifice some rope to hang, in order for them to dry. They'd be used to replenish his seasonings. Or they would have been, had Sanji not woken one morning to find his collection of hanging herbs had severely depleted overnight.

They were drifting at sea, miles and miles from the nearest island, with only eight other crewmembers. That narrowed the list of suspects down significantly. And Sanji knew he could narrow it down even further. Neither of his precious ladies would ever take something without asking. They were far too cultured and polite to do something so unrefined. Sanji ruled out Brook next. Despite his tendency to be downright indecent, Brook was for the most part polite. Besides, it's not like a skeleton has any use for seasoning herbs anyway. Franky was innocent. The older man was eccentric but honest, and Sanji couldn't think of a single use Franky would have for some spare herbs anyway.

Zoro was out too. If there was one thing that Sanji had learned about Zoro in the past couple of months it was that the marimo knew how to respect Sanji's kitchen. It was possible Zoro had taken them just to piss the cook off, but that was unlikely and Sanji dismissed the idea as quickly as it had come. Once upon a time he probably would have jumped on the idea like Luffy on meat, but Sanji had spent the past couple weeks getting to know Zoro far better than Sanji ever would have thought he could.

One thing he'd learned, that had actually shocked him speechless at the time, was that Zoro knew where to draw the line when they fought; which they still did, frequently. Even with all their feelings out on the table now, Zoro still managed to push every one of Sanji's buttons just right, and vice versa. Sanji feared that would never change between them, but he'd noticed things. Subtle things, things he probably would never have noticed had he not been seeing Zoro through new eyes these days.

There were times in their arguments, usually when tempers were really heading towards boiling, that Zoro would just stop. He'd throw in a couple of weak insults, perhaps, to keep his pride; but the fight left him pretty much entirely. The first couple of times it happened Sanji barely noticed, his own rage making his thoughts a mess. But when he started picking up on it, it floored him. He couldn't believe Zoro of all people, was backing down from a fight.

Sanji wasn't sure what the triggers were that made this happen, though he had some ideas. Some days the marimo would fight with him until Nami or Luffy called them to order. Sometimes though, Sanji noticed the argument was headed perilously close to personal territory, and it was times like these that Zoro seemed to give up the most.

It didn't take a genius to realize what was happening. The nature of their relationship had changed recently, taking a step into new and uncharted territory for the both of them. So new, in fact, that it was still relatively fragile with all of their uncertainties. Or, perhaps they were mostly Sanji's uncertainties. He hardly let the marimo do more than kiss him since the swordsman had awoken from his cricket-induced coma. It was Sanji's temper that flared first in most of their fights; lashing out at the green-haired bastard was easier than admitting he was still unsure and self-conscious about entering a relationship with another man, let alone a man he'd been at war with since he'd joined the crew.

So Sanji picked the fights, setting them up just so to try the marimo's patience. And when these fights started heading towards fragile territory, where insults that honestly might hurt Sanji could be thrown, Zoro gave up. Once Sanji had figured that out, he was nearly taken to his knees with the shock of it. Zoro, whose dream was to be the greatest swordsman in the entire world, was giving up a fight so as to not hurt Sanji's feelings.

The idea was ludicrous, impossible, and very, very flattering.

So, if Zoro could throw a verbal fight with the cook in order to keep the other man happy, Sanji highly doubted Zoro would steal Sanji's fresh herbs. Besides, Zoro had already long ago proven he would show respect for the things in Sanji's kitchen. Booze was the exception of course, the marimo was always going to steal that, but by this point in time Sanji was mostly over that and only put up a fight in the interest of keeping traditions.

That left Sanji with three likely candidates for the thievery. The first was Luffy. It wasn't uncommon for Luffy to sneak into the galley and steal food. Sanji had learned that the hard way not long after he'd joined the crew, and had carefully kept all scraps of food locked away since then. Sanji hadn't thought that Luffy might eat raw herbs, especially given that they were mostly a little bitter on their own. However he knew better than to put it past the rubber man to eat them anyway.

The second was Usopp. Usopp was another Sanji was fairly used to be raided by, though not for the same things or reasons as Luffy. Mostly Usopp would deplete Sanji's pepper supply, use up all the ketchup, and occasionally dip into Sanji's spices, looking for new blends and reactions for his weapons. Sanji certainly wouldn't put it past his long-nosed friend to steal fresh herbs that undoubtedly could be made into some sort of ridiculous-but-effective form of ammo.

The last was Chopper. Sanji hated to accuse Chopper, because even if it were the little doctor there was probably a good reason. Sanji knew Chopper was constantly blending herbs, much like Usopp with his spices, but Chopper's herbs were usually made into things that would greatly benefit his nakama later. Medications, pain relievers, tranquilizers, the little doctor could make them all and use them to more than effectively heal his crewmates.

It was also difficult to accuse the little reindeer because, well, unlike Luffy and Usopp, Chopper had never stolen from Sanji before. He collected or bought his own herbs when he wanted them. It was unlikely, but Sanji couldn't let the doctor of free without at least asking.

Still, Sanji started with the other two first. Even though they were both no good little thieves, they were also terrible liars. Luffy usually bragged about his accomplishment, and Usopp cracked easily under pressure. When asked however, Luffy seemed to curse that he hadn't thought of the idea (Sanji decided the herbs would have to be locked in the pantry at night). Usopp cowered in fear, but swore up and down he hadn't touched Sanji's herbs or anything else in Sanji's galley recently. He even swore it on his dead mother's grave, and that was more than enough for Sanji.

Which left only one possible suspect.

That was how Sanji came to stand before the little reindeer, questioning him in his most intimidating manner. The first time Sanji had asked, Chopper had actually had the audacity to lie to the cook. Sanji could see the truth plainly written in the doctor's tense stance and guilty eyes that wouldn't meet Sanji's own. Sanji had been trying to be patient with the little guy; he was the youngest on the crew after all and was usually not the most annoying. But the lie struck Sanji like a physical slap. That little, innocent Chopper would lie to him hurt worse than when Zoro made fun of his eyebrows.

"Chopper," Zoro growled warningly from behind Sanji. Sanji spared him a brief glance, noticing the rest of the crew had surrounded them as well and were looking on expectantly. "Are you lying to Sanji?" Zoro continued. "I would hope you would know better than to lie to one of your nakama," His voice was stern and his gaze was unyielding. Sanji knew the moment he heard his name come from Zoro's mouth that the swordsman was serious.

Sanji almost thought to tell the swordsman to ease up, it was just a few herbs after all, but he could see Zoro's true intentions written plainly in his eyes, even if they were currently concentrated on the doctor. Zoro had been as hurt by Chopper's lie as Sanji had. They were nakama, they trusted each other without question. An outright lie like that was unforgivable.

Tears welled up in Chopper's eyes, spilling over and flooding down through the fur on his face. "I'm sorry Sanji!" The little doctor wailed, wiping furiously at his eyes. It did him little good, the tears continued to fall in full force as he continued to sob. "I'm sorry I lied! I took them. I got distracted at the last island and didn't pick any for myself, and the ones you had were good for pain and I needed them so I took them," With his confession made, Chopper broke down into unintelligible tears.

Sanji sighed, patting the little doctor's hat gently. He glanced at Zoro. The swordsman's eyes had softened, as they often did when Chopper was around. All was forgiven again between the three off them.

Luffy stepped forward, laughing as he approached. "It's okay, Chopper," He said, patting the reindeer on the shoulder and effectively calming him down much better than Sanji had. "You're forgiven, and I know you won't do it again," Luffy continued standing to clap Sanji on the shoulder as well. "We're all nakama, I know none of you would do anything to mess that up."

The crew quickly dispersed after that, each returning to the various tasks they'd been working at before the cook's little show. Sanji returned to the galley, set to make breakfast which he'd been putting off in order to figure out who'd been in his galley.

Once he'd made it to the safety of his kitchen, he placed both hands on the counter, leaning against the solid support hoping it would help to steady his spinning mind. It did little to help though, at his captain's last words repeated again and again in his mind.

"We're all nakama, I know none of you would do anything to mess that up."

Zoro had no idea what he'd done wrong. Granted even he could admit he tended to act or speak first and think later, he usually knew the moment he'd said or done the wrong thing. Nothing came to mind though. He could not think of a single reason the cook would suddenly start avoiding him like a bad odor.

In fact he knew he'd been especially careful around the cook lately. He knew Sanji, knew the cook would be wary of any relationship they might have. Hell, Zoro hadn't imagined he'd even get this far with the cook, figuring his one-sided affections for the other man would remain just that, one-sided. The fact that Sanji seemed to return those affections was a dream come true. Getting to spend time with the cook, getting to kiss the cook was so unreal to Zoro that he thought he was dreaming half the time. There was absolutely no way possible he was going to screw that up.

Except...apparently he had. He wasn't sure how, but something he'd said or done had obviously upset the cook. He'd poured more time into figuring out exactly what he'd done than he had on his daily training lately, which only served to put him into a darker mood about the whole thing.

It seemed to have started a few days ago, when Chopper had confessed to stealing some of the cook's plants. Things were still going well there, nothing seemed wrong at the time. The cook had made breakfast and served it in good spirits, making sure to shower the women in an exaggerated amount of stupid compliments. It was a breakfast like any other.

And then after breakfast, Zoro did as he always had been doing lately. He gathered the used plates, platters, cups, and silverware and brought them to the sink where Sanji had already started on the pots and pans. Every other day, Sanji would slide over, allowing Zoro room to stand beside him, and Zoro would take up a clean dish towel and start drying.

On that day though, Zoro had hardly set the plates down on the counter before Sanji stopped him.

"Thanks, Marimo," Sanji was speaking, but if Zoro hadn't seen his lips move he wouldn't have believed it. Sanji's voice was usually so full of life, either passionate anger or playful teasing or delighted cooing when there were women involved. Never had Zoro heard Sanji use such a flat, disinterested tone. "I don't need help today. Why don't you just go lift something or take a nap instead?" The cook continued.

Zoro would have expected a line like this to be delivered with an eye roll and a touch of sarcasm, but there was none of that. Instead Sanji stared blankly into the water before him, no hint of emotion written on his face.

"I don't mind helping, Cook," Zoro frowned, watching the cook for some hint of something.

"No, I can do it," Sanji replied, his voice still flat and his eyes still carefully averted from Zoro. "It's not much."

Zoro looked skeptically at the large pile of dishes he'd amassed on the counter. There was no such thing as "not much" when it came to the Straw Hat's meals, and this morning was certainly no exception to that.

"Are you okay?" Zoro asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Fine," Sanji shrugged. "Just giving you the day off, Marimo, are you really going to complain about that?"

The question had enough bite that it almost sounded normal. Almost, though not quite. But it was enough that Zoro decided for now that he might be imagining things. Perhaps the cook was just tired, or still frustrated at the loss of his plant-things. Either of these made plenty of sense, and Zoro decided just to let it go for now. He'd help the cook at lunch when the other man was in a better mood.

But the cook's mood never improved. During meals, and when the crew was gathered together on deck, Sanji acted perfectly normal. But the moment he and Zoro were alone, Sanji adopted the same disinterested behavior he had in the galley that morning.

And it had been that way for days now.

Zoro had tried several times to question the cook's sudden change in behavior, but the cook was avoiding him like he was a professional at it. In the galley Sanji always insisted he needed to be left alone; a wish Zoro could not, in good conscience, deny him this seeing as the galley was Sanji's and Sanji's alone. The man was suspiciously never on watch when Zoro checked, and he left the boys' bunkroom early in the morning and retired late at night. On the deck the cook surrounded himself with at least one of their nakama at all times.

He didn't appear to be actively avoiding Zoro, but Zoro knew better. It was all just a little too convenient to be coincidence. No, Zoro was definitely being avoided; he just couldn't come up with why. He needed to talk the cook, and soon before everything he'd been hoping for crumbled apart again. Zoro wasn't going to let that happen; he wasn't going to get Sanji get away without at least trying. Zoro's dream was to become the world's greatest swordsman. You didn't strive for a dream like that without a massive amount of determination.

There was only one place Zoro knew he could catch the cook alone and the bastard couldn't avoid him. It was risking Sanji's ultimate wrath, but even the shit-cook's wrath would be better than the absolute nothingness Zoro had been getting from him lately. So he was sticking to this plan no matter what.

It was after dinner that Zoro had executed his plan. He laid down on the deck in a specifically chosen spot. Specifically chosen because it gave him a clear view of the galley, as well as a wide view of the rest of the back half the ship. Then he waited.

Sanji emerged from the kitchen well over an hour after dinner was over. Apparently it took a long time to wash dishes by yourself, but that was the stubborn cook's own fault and Zoro didn't pity him too much. He watched through squinted eyes as the cook leaned against the woodwork and lit a cigarette, taking a few minutes to enjoy a post-chore smoke. Zoro watched while the cook finally finished, stubbing the cigarette out on the bottom of his shoe and moving to the railing to pitch the finished butt over the side of the ship.

Finally the cook moved on, the swordsman watching with relief as the idiot chef moved in his usual predictable manner. At least he was keeping to his usual routines; Zoro's plan wouldn't have worked out if he hadn't. Zoro watched until the cook had moved out of view and then patiently counted to ten before pulling himself up to follow.

Zoro stood outside of the door he knew the cook was behind, taking one last final breath, mentally preparing a speech. Not that it was going to do him much good, he sighed to himself. Zoro didn't have a talent for calm, communicative speech. He was really more of a man of action.

With a forceful shove, one that would probably get him into trouble with Franky later, Zoro swung the door open inside with enough speed to startle the room's occupants.

Sanji spun quick as lightening, his startled gaze searching for the cause of the sudden commotion. He'd already lost his shirt, and the button of his pants had been undone. His hands were on the waistband of these pants and Zoro silently wished he'd had better timing.

When Sanji's eyes met his, the startled look in the cook's eyes contorted to one of rage.

"What the hell, Shitty-marimo?! What's your problem?! Can't you even knock, you uncivilized bastard?" He cook cursed, a glare shooting daggers at the other man.

Zoro pushed further into the bathroom, ignoring the cook's snarl of protest, and swung the door closed behind him. "We need to talk," He announced.

"Are you KIDDING ME?!" The cook shouted. His face was the picture of outrage and his hands had released his pants in favor of clenching into tight fists at his sides.

Zoro tried to push the inappropriate thoughts concerning the way Sanji's pants hung so low on his hips out of his mind, instead turning his attention back to the cook's angry expression.

"I'm trying to take a bath," Sanji hissed. He was no longer shouting, but the quiet tone held more venom and anger. "Something I know Neanderthals like you don't do, but they require privacy. So get out." The last two words were spoken with so much menace that Zoro almost winced.

But he was not going to be deterred. Not now, when he had the cook cornered in neutral territory where he would have to speak. Instead he plowed through the planned speech in his mind. "Why have you been avoiding me?" He asked.

Sanji's glare softened ever so slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about," He replied. "I've just been busy lately. It's nothing personal."

It was almost a believable lie, but Sanji looked away when he said it, failing to meet Zoro's eyes.

"Bullshit," Zoro frowned, stepping closer to the cook.

Sanji took a startled step backwards, looking as though close proximity to Zoro might actually hurt him. It stung, a lot, Zoro could almost feel it like a knife in his heart, but he was determined to force an answer from the cook regardless.

Seeing the determination written plainly on the marimo's face, Sanji knew it was pointless to fight him. When Zoro wore that face, he wasn't going to give up until he got his way. It was similar to the look he got when someone mentioned Mihawk, or when Zoro was standing between his crew and a threat. He wouldn't back down no matter what.

"We're nakama," Sanji finally said.

It was clear by the look of confusion that swept over the marimo's face that this simple sentence didn't hold the same meaning to him that it did to Sanji. Sanji sighed heavily. It was bad enough having to ignore the bastard and hope he'd get the hint, now he was actually going to have to explain something to this empty-headed marimo.

"We, you and I and the others, are all nakama," Sanji repeated again, pausing to see if maybe the other man got it. He didn't so the cook continued. "We can't mess that up," Another pause. Confusion still clouded the marimo's features. "You and I can't mess that up, Marimo," Sanji said finally, with a heavy sigh. "We can't do anything to mess that up."

Finally understanding seemed to sink in. Zoro's face seemed to reach an epiphany of thought before a scowl settled on his features again. "You think a relationship would mess that up?"

"I know it would," Sanji replied. He was wearing that stoic expression again, the one that masked all his emotions. But looking closer, Zoro could see the slump in the cook's shoulders, the sag of defeat weighing heavily on the other man's body. "What if something goes wrong, and it doesn't work? One of us would have to leave," Sanji continued. "And what about the others? What if in the heat of battle we're so worried about each other that we forget about them and something horrible happens? Could you forgive yourself? I know I couldn't."

Sanji looked sad, Zoro realized. It was such a foreign look on the cook's face. Sanji didn't get sad about things, he got angry about them. Seeing the forlorn expression on his face sent a wave of sadness through Zoro as well.

"Cook," He frowned. "I don't think it would be like that at all."

Sanji looked at him, the sadness in his eyes piercing the swordsman's heart. "It would be exactly like that, idiot," He replied. "Now get out so I can bathe. I have the midwatch tonight and I want to get some sleep before then."

Zoro was weak against the look in the cook's eyes and found himself obeying the cook's demand. Once he was on the other side of the bathroom door, he leaned against the frame letting out a heavy sigh of frustration. Of course Sanji was going to be an idiot about this. He wasn't thinking entirely too much about this, and no doubt he'd had plenty of time to freak himself out a million different ways.

Zoro knew Sanji wouldn't give in about this. Not when the cook thought it was something for the best of the crew. Meaning there was nothing Zoro could do to change his mind. Or, rather, there was nothing Zoro could verbally do. But talking had never been Zoro's strong point. He worked much better with action. Another plan formed in his mind, and he couldn't help but smile at the genius of it. It was right up his area of expertise after all.

Sanji relieved a tired looking Franky from his watch. The cyborg gave Sanji a grateful (and thankfully more gentle than usual) pat on the back, assuring him that the night was quiet and uneventful. Nothing too unusual there, the Straw Hats usually went looking for trouble; it wasn't often that it found them on its own.

Sanji took a seat on the bench and stared out the window. Of course there hadn't been and danger, the night was so peaceful it couldn't be possible. Even the ocean was almost perfectly still, the multitude of stars from the perfect cloudless sky reflected clearly in its black depths. It was a truly beautiful sight, and Sanji thought it made the midwatch just a little bit worth it.

The night was so quiet and so still that he nearly shrieked when the hatch to the crow's nest flew open with a loud bang. As it was, he jolted in his seat, taking a moment for the idea of 'danger' to sink in before he leapt to his feet, ready to take on the intruder.

He relaxed a bit once he saw that the 'intruder' had stupid green hair and wore and a shitty smirk. Of course it was the marimo, because Sanji knew he wouldn't actually let his crew be caught off guard while he was on watch, and the shitty bastard was the only one who would be awake at such an indecent time of the night. Sanji always said he napped too much during the day.

"What do you want, Shitty-marimo?" Sanji asked, his face slipping back into the perfect portrayal of disinterest. He was an expert in that look by now. "I'm not cooking you food, just so you know."

"I don't want food, Shit-cook," The swordsman chuckled darkly. "Let's fight."

It was the least subtle attempt at goading him into a fight that Zoro had ever made. Sanji frowned, what exactly was the marimo pulling here? Sanji wished he'd just leave him alone. In fact Sanji would happily give Zoro all the booze in the world if the shitty bastard would just disappear and stop wearing that cocksure grin that was absolutely torturing Sanji's insides.

"I don't want to fight, Marimo," Sanji sighed heavily. "There's booze in the kitchen pantry. Top shelf on the left behind the sugar. Take it all, I don't care."

But of course Zoro didn't move. He was stupidly stubborn all the time and why, just why, had Sanji fallen for such a thick-headed idiot?

"Alright," Zoro said, his confidence never wavering. "If you won't fight I guess it'll be a one-sided ass kicking then," He shrugged before unsheathing Wado and charging the cook.

Despite his reluctance to fight with the shitty-marimo, Sanji wasn't going to sit there and let himself be beaten either. Once Zoro had come within striking distance, his katana swinging down in a deadly arc, Sanji kicked off with his foot and slid down the bench and out of harm's way. Zoro stayed his blade just before it sank through the seat of the bench, an action that surely would have cost him his life at the hand of an angry cyborg shipwright. He sent a slightly impressed look down the bench to the cook. His speed was as impressive as ever.

Sanji stood from the bench, pausing to light a cigarette before he looked up at the swordsman. "You missed, Shit-swordsman," He commented smugly, exhaling a cloud of smoke before he moved to the offensive.

It was the perfect fight, and Zoro relished it. There was nothing more enjoyable to him than fighting with Sanji. The cook's strengths were Zoro's weaknesses, and he loved the exertion fighting with the other man put on his body. It had been too long since he'd last gotten to fight with the stubborn cook that he'd almost forgotten why he'd come up here in the first place.

But he couldn't forget. He had a goal, and he was going to reach it at any cost. He just needed to wait for the perfect moment.

It happened when Sanji caught the swordsman off guard. Zoro had been swinging his blade, sure that he finally had the cook this time, when Sanji suddenly disappeared. Or seemed to disappear, in reality he'd ducked obscenely low, waiting for Zoro's katana to pass by before flipping back onto his hands and bringing his feet up. Zoro knew he'd messed up when he saw one polished shoe making an elegant drop towards him. He'd seen this attack used against their enemies, usually leaving them dead or incapable of moving ever again. It would snap into his neck, breaking vital bones and severing the nerves beneath them.

Except Sanji changed the angle of the kick at the last moment, allowing it to barely glance off the swordsman's shoulder. It hurt, there would undeniably be a bruise there tomorrow, but the bones remained unharmed.

Zoro recovered quickly from the blow, taking a few safe steps back. "You're holding back, Shit-cook," He said smugly.

Sanji glowered at him. "Of course I am, Shitty-marimo," He spat before moving to attack again.

A few swings and kicks later it happened again. A blow aimed to break Zoro's ribs into his heart was softened at the last moment, leaving him bruised and slightly winded, but unharmed.

"Why aren't you fighting seriously?" Zoro asked, taking another practiced swing at the cook.

Sanji's face darkened with his scowl. "I am fighting seriously!" He growled, launching a kick at Zoro's chin.

Zoro managed to dodge at the last second, bringing his sword up at the same moment. His sword connected, ripping the cook's shirt and slicing into the skin. It was a shallow wound, Zoro wouldn't actually want to hurt the cook, but the blood stain would be enough to really piss Sanji off.

"You bastard!" Sanji roared, throwing a fair bit more force into his next kick.

Zoro blocked it with his swords, but he could feel the force of it rattle down the blades and into his own body. It was a stronger kick, but nothing compared to what he knew the cook was capable of. He knew Sanji could break boulders and dent metal with his feet, there was no way he wouldn't break Zoro's bones if he was determined enough to.

"Not good enough, Cook," Zoro reprimanded. "I know you can do better."

Sanji pulled his foot back, hardly giving Zoro a moment before bringing the other one around to dislocate his jaw. He missed again, but Zoro could feel the wind left by the power of that kick. "Still not enough," He growled, taking a step back, just out of Sanji's reach. "You could have broken my ribs, my neck…why didn't you?"

Sanji fumed across from him. His patience with the marimo's little game had long since evaporated. He wasn't even sure what exactly the bastard was playing at, but it was really starting to piss him off.

"You know why, Shithead," Sanji growled.

"No, I really don't," Zoro shrugged. He looked so confident and sure and damn proud of himself that Sanji really wanted to kill him, but settled for aiming a hard kick in the thigh.

Zoro took the blow, barely wincing as he continued, his voice a little tighter now as he spoke through the pain. "Why don't you tell me?"

Sanji didn't bother humoring him, instead he just resumed his attack. Zoro wanted a fight, Sanji was going to give him a fight, and fighting did not require talking.

But Zoro didn't give up. "Come on, harder Cook," He'd comment.

"Why are you pulling back at the last second?"

Sanji fought harder to ignore him.

"Again,"

Sanji tuned him out.

"Why didn't you just let that one connect?"

"Because it would kill you!" Sanji shouted. He clenched his hands into fists at his side and panted with both the exertion of the fight and his boiling rage.

"So?" Zoro paused, feigning a look at confusion. "So why don't you kill me?"

Sanji's rage reached a breaking point. "Because we're nakama, dumbass!" He screamed.

He'd expected Zoro to continue with his tormenting comments, but instead the swordsman was smiling at him. "Exactly."

Now Sanji was confused. The fight, the rage, it drained out of him pretty quickly in his confusion. The swordsman's smile left him feeling completely lost. "What?" He asked, hoping Zoro would enlighten him to what he was missing.

"We're nakama," Zoro repeated Sanji's words. "And nothing, nothing," He repeated forcefully. "Can ever change that."

This statement was so obviously true that Sanji felt a little stupid for needing to hear it from the marimo. But he did need to hear it, because he'd really almost forgotten it.

"What would you do if Nami or Robin were in danger?" Zoro asked.

"I'd rush to their aid, of course," Sanji replied simply. He was, after all, Mr. Prince. Rescuing damsels in distress was his job.

"Even if I was in the same danger?" Zoro egged him on, like he already knew the answer.

"You can take care of yourself, Shitty-swordsman," Sanji answered, though the words lacked the bite of insult he'd usually give them. He was realizing what the swordsman was getting at.

"I don't need to be rescued by 'Mr. Prince,'" The swordsman snorted. "Do you get it, Cook?"

Sanji did get it. He knew why Zoro had picked a fight, why he'd accused Sanji of not trying hard enough. He also knew exactly what Zoro was telling him. A relationship between them wouldn't destroy their bonds as nakama. The relationship itself may or may not work out, but even if it didn't they'd still be nakama.

He trusted Zoro; he'd always known the swordsman could take care of himself in a fight, and somehow he knew Zoro could take care of him in a relationship. At least well enough to keep them bonded as they always had been, close as family but bitter rivals. And Sanji knew he'd certainly never do anything to force Zoro away from their crew, and he definitely didn't need to be rescued by a green-headed idiot.

"So this," Sanji gestured between them. "Is okay?"

Zoro took a step closer. Sanji had relaxed his fighting stance some time ago, but Zoro could never be sure the cook wouldn't lose his temper and fire off like a rocket at any moment, especially with such a touchy subject. Now that he was sure the cook wasn't going to explode, he felt it safe to move closer.

"More than okay," Zoro replied. He pulled the cook to him and let out a happy sigh. "I think it's pretty damn perfect."

Sanji sighed as well, though he was glad the swordsman couldn't see his face at the moment. He was feeling rather foolish. "Well that's good," He chuckled. "It was getting really hard to pretend I didn't miss you so badly that it hurt."

Zoro pulled back just enough to send the cook a look of surprise. "Wow, Cook, are you sure you're feeling alright? That's by far the sweetest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Shut it, Marimo," Sanji growled menacingly, or as menacingly as he could while still being held by a smug looking swordsman.

"It's not a bad thing, I think it's pretty endearing really," Zoro continued, his grin widening in a way that served to piss Sanji off.

Sanji moved his leg back. "I said shut up!" He snarled, swinging his leg back again with the intent of smashing it painfully into the marimo's shin.

It didn't happen though, since Zoro had already released him and slid back just out of reach.

"Well if you want to continue our fight, that's fine too, Cook," Zoro chuckled, unsheathing his katana.

Sanji had never enjoyed a fight with the marimo so much as he did in that moment. He knew that despite the fact that he was going to be pissed for weeks about the blood stains and holes in one of his shirts, they'd still be okay. He knew that even though Zoro would be cursing him for the blow to his arm that would keep the swordsman from weightlifting for a few days, they'd be okay. He knew that no matter what he, the idiot swordsman, and all the rest of the crew were nakama, and nothing could ever, ever change that.

A/N:

Ah, I love this chapter. I hope you guys did too. But I really, really loved writing it. I loved reading it over. I just have no complaints about this chapter. (If you do please do let me know.) I think it was the fighting. I love making Sanji and Zoro fight. It's so fun.

Did you notice? This is the only reason so far that hasn't directly used Zoro's name. Random trivia there. Also it's the second longest chapter in this whole story. Yes!

It's also reason number 13. Of 15. We only have two to go. The next chapter might be delayed...I think. (We'll see) I think it's going to be a long one, or one that's going to require a lot of effort. Thank you for all of your patience!

A humongous THANK YOU again to all my wonderful reviewers! I love your input and your words of encouragement, I can't even tell you how happy they make me!

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed~!