This one's a little short, but you'll have to bear with me. I have some things that I'm saving up for in the near future, so you'll get your word count payout soon enough!

"I really missed you!"

Zoro just stared for a moment, his eyes wide, and his jaw slack. What did Sanji just say? Zoro must've been hearing things, he was sure, but he couldn't have been just hearing things when Sanji laughed and smiled at him, a happy smile, not a malicious smile, or a sad smile. Happy. Sanji is happy.

"... You, too." Zoro mumbled. He wasn't sure what else could say, and he sort of missed Sanji while he was gone, he just didn't know if he wanted to say that. Would it come back to bite him? Would Sanji take back his 'I missed you'? What happened to him?

Sanji stopped just in front Zoro and adjusted the strap of his bag over his shoulder. Zoro noticed it wasn't the same blue backpack he had had nearly two years ago. It was navy blue with black pockets and zippers and Zoro could see that it was really full. He was about to offer to hold Sanji's bag for him, but the old man in the brown suit that had come in with Sanji called for the blonde's attention.

"There's nobody at the desk. Are you okay with waiting here by yourself? You can fill out the forms and all that?" The man asked, already taking steps towards the door. Sanji waved and nodded. "Yes, sir. Thanks."

The man in the suit nodded and ducked out without any further notice and Sanji rolled his eyes. He turned to look at Zoro again and his smile was restored. "You did miss me? That's good. I thought you wouldn't... well, I thought you'd be mad at me." Sanji said, his smile turning sheepish and his eyes dropping.

Zoro made an undistinguished sound of surprise. "Mad at you? I thought you'd be mad at me! I mean- y-you're not, right?" Zoro put up his hands as a defense, just in case Sanji decided that, yes, he is very mad, and wanted to hit Zoro or something. But, he didn't. Sanji just shook his head and Zoro looked at him like he had an arm sticking out of his cheek. "Ah, about that. Probably weren't expecting that, were you?" The blonde asked, laughing when Zoro shook his head dumbly. Laughing. Giggling.

"It's kind of a long story... Um... is everyone still... here?" Sanji asked, and his eyebrows drew together in curiosity and apprehension of Zoro's answer. It took a second for the older boy to realize he was asking if anyone had gotten adopted. "No- yeah! Yeah, everyone's waiting for you. We're all here." Zoro answered hurriedly and Sanji sighed.

"I'm glad." Sanji said simply. The silence following those words seemed to hold some sort of oppressive emotion. Zoro couldn't tell what it was, but he could kind of see it in Sanji's face. He knew he wasn't the best with emotions, but there was definitely something there.

Makino materialized out of thin air, interrupting whatever Zoro might've said and hugging Sanji quickly. She and the blonde exchanged polite words, a conversation Zoro didn't care to hear, and then she handed Sanji a pink clipboard with a boring-looking form on it. Sanji thanked her and smiled at Zoro before taking up a seat at the same glass coffee table that had been in the lobby the first time he ever stepped foot into the building.

Zoro went over and sat beside Sanji, curious. "What are you doing?" He asked, looking over the younger boy's shoulder at the questions and blank spaces for answers on the paper. Sanji pulled a pen out of the middle of the clip on the clipboard and pulled the cap off before answering, "I'm supposed to fill these out."

Sanji scribbled his full name in neat cursive letters on the first answer line and Zoro snorted. "Blackleg Sanji? What's your middle name? Prince?" He teased. Sanji's eye twitched. "No, it isn't. And, I like my name, thank you very much."

Slowly but surely, Sanji answered all the questions, even the ones that seemed irrelevant. He answered questions about his family's history with dozens of different illnesses on the first page alone, and then started in on the stupider questions on the second page. All the while, Zoro sat and watched. Zoro had never had to fill out a form like that, so he was curious about it, but he was also hoping to see some information as to why Sanji was back.

"So, what's been going on while I was gone?" Sanji asked rather suddenly. His voice sounded a little spacey since he was still partially focused on the paperwork in his lap. Zoro kind of wanted to say 'you first!', but he refrained. "Not much," Zoro said, shrugging. "Luffy was 'adopted' by his friend Shanks for about two months."

The pen in Sanji's hand slipped a little as he jerked his head to look at Zoro. "What?" he asked, confused and a little worried, but mostly confused. Zoro made a face of realization and nodded slowly. "Luffy didn't tell you about Shanks before?" Zoro questioned and Sanji shook his head. "Right. Okay. Well, Shanks is some sort of explorer or something and he comes around every few months or so and pulls Luffy and Ace out of this place to stay with him and his crew on his boat for however long he stays on the island, and they come right back when he leaves." Zoro explained.

"That sounds kind of... mean." Sanji said, his expression somewhat troubled. "Making them move back and forth like, 'I'm gonna adopt you, but no, wait, go away again'."

Zoro laughed. "Yeah, that's what Ace thinks. But, Luffy really likes Shanks. He's the closest thing they have to a dad."

Sanji nodded slowly as if he wanted to say something else, but he turned his eyes back to his paperwork again and started scribbling before Zoro could question him. He didn't want to interrupt Sanji if he was doing something important.

After another ten minutes, Sanji had filled out all he could on the form and he slid off the seat and stretched. Zoro stood up beside him and followed the blonde over to the desk, where he placed the clipboard full of information. "Anything else I have to do or fill out?" Sanji asked politely, looking only the slightest bit bored and fidgety.

The woman at the desk, (Zoro hadn't noticed before that Makino left), laughed. "You're a responsible young man, aren't you?" She squealed, before picking up the clipboard and doing a quick once-over of the information. "Naw, you're good to go. Know which room you're going to?"

Sanji nodded. "Yes, ma'am." He said with a small nod. The woman giggled behind her hand and whispered something to herself as she gestured towards the elevator. Sanji looked over his shoulder at Zoro as he moved towards the elevator. "Where is everyone? Do you know?" Sanji asked excitedly.

Zoro was thrown off by the recurring smile and bright eyes, so much so that he forgot to answer before they were in the elevator. "Oh, crap! Everyone's waiting in one of those playrooms!" Zoro announced suddenly and he saw Sanji jump. The blonde blinked at him, all stiff limbs and wide eyes, and he slowly started to loosen up. Sanji laughed quietly. "Good timing on that one, genius." He commented.

"Already with the insults?" Zoro complained, miming punching Sanji in the nose. Sanji actually flinched a little, causing one of the purple bruises on his cheek to twitch. That reminded Zoro what he had wanted to ask earlier. "How'd you get hurt like that?"

Sanji froze. "Maybe... maybe that's a story for later?" He offered, his fading smile giving way to a slight frown. Zoro mimicked his expression. "No, I think now's a good time. What happened?" He asked sharply. Sanji fixed him with something of a stubborn glare. A moment later, Sanji turned his head away and just stared at the elevator doors.

When the doors opened, Sanji walked briskly out of the elevator and started down the hall. Nothing had changed about the decor since he'd last walked the halls; it didn't even look like the rugs had been washed. So, Sanji was fairly certain he knew exactly how to get to his old room and exactly what he would find there. He was wrong.

The door to room 3-22 had a single strip of paper taped to it, just under the numbers. 'Blackleg' it read. That alone confused Sanji, but then he opened the door. Both beds were stripped of any personality, covered by thin, white hospital blankets and sheets, without pillows and with a layer of dust. All four drawers in the single dresser were wide open and the lamp that had been there once was gone. The bookshelf in the back right corner of the room was naked and dusted with cobwebs. Where he stepped on the hardwood floor, he left footprints. Sanji looked at Zoro, who was standing in the doorway, with minute terror in his eyes. "What happened here?" Sanji asked.

Zoro's lips pressed into a thin line. "I moved to Luffy's room when Ace moved to the fourth floor. That was a little over a year ago." He answered, shrugging. The look on Sanji's face was complicated and confusing and Zoro couldn't tell what he was thinking. Suddenly, the blonde plastered a grin on his face and swung his bag around off his shoulder and onto the bottom bunk. "Good. I could use some time to myself." Sanji said positively.

"That sounded weird." Zoro commented idly. It did sound weird, yes, there was something strange in Sanji's tone, but he didn't know why he would mention it. Then he pieced together where he'd heard that tone before. "You're upset?" Zoro asked.

Sanji raised his eyebrows at Zoro and tossed his hair out of his face. "Should I be?"

"No! You shouldn't! What've you been here, five minutes and you're already getting mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you." Sanji said, frowning slightly. "But, you seem to be a little ticked off."

The blonde crossed his arms over his chest in a stance that Zoro had never seen him use before. The pitiful, skinny, pathetic Sanji was actually standing his ground. Zoro didn't know whether he was glad or angry. He might be glad because Sanji was finally toughening up, but he might be angry because Sanji was using that newfound bravery against him. Because he wasn't ticked off. Really.

"What the hell ever. I'm gonna go find the others." Zoro scoffed, putting his hands in his pockets and leering at Sanji before walking off down the hall. Sanji thought of mentioning that Zoro was going the wrong way, but he didn't care. Let the idiot get lost. Serves him right for welcoming people, friend people, like criminals.

Sanji dusted off a spot on the floor by his bed and sat down there with his back against the rail. He pulled his bag into his lap and unzipped it. He reached in and pulled out a stuffed envelope. It was slightly crinkled, but it wasn't open. He'd looked at it, thought about it from the outside so many times in the past two years. He'd thought about steaming it open like he saw someone do once, or just ripping off the short end like his mother used to do. But, it never felt right. He never felt up for the nostalgic sadness he knew it would bring.

The blonde slipped his finger into the small opening between the corner of the envelope and where the glue started. He ripped another small section open experimentally. Sanji stilled and spaced out looking at the envelope. Not today. He sighed and gently replaced the envelope in his backpack, as he had done countless times in the past, and stood up. He wanted to see the others, to know for sure that nothing had really changed.

Sanji looked around at the empty room once more before he stepped out and shut the door behind himself. He headed down the hall in the opposite direction from where Zoro had disappeared and made it to the stairs without any interruption of any sort. He could hear the constant murmur of voices, either on the floor above, or the floor below him, but that was the only sound aside from the chirping of birds outside the windows. It seemed eerily calm, and calm had been his enemy these past few days.

The door that let him out of the stairwell on the ground floor squeaked when he opened it, causing the lady at the desk to look over at him. He waved at her as he ducked into the mass-interview hallway that was lined with open doorways into rooms of maroon carpet and minimal seating. Boxes and baskets of toys lined the back wall of each room he passed, looking for his friends. Zoro had said they'd be there, right? He couldn't remember his exact words, but he believed he was on the right track.

He held his breath and listened for their voices, slowing his pace just in case that helped. "*M~ooouuuu! How long do we have to wait?! He should be here already, right?" Luffy's voice cracked the silence and Sanji smiled. He willed Luffy to keep talking so he could find which room they were in. And, that he did. Luffy whined, and Nami shouted at him and Ussop told them both they were being noisy. Sanji followed the racket to a room on the right side of the hallway, second from the last.

"Guys!" He called, smiling wide. All three turned to look at him, jaws dropped and eyes wide. He was expecting some sort of comment from them, since they seemed to be staring at his injuries, but instead they jumped up and tackle-hugged him to the ground. Sanji laughed as his friends babbled incoherently, albeit loudly, in his face, teary eyed and grinning. He really loved his friends.

"If you leave again I'm f-fining you e-eighty-zillion beli!" Nami blubbered, wiping her eyes on Sanji's sweater. Luffy and Ussop wailed then, and he took that as agreement. Sanji wrapped his arms around his friends, his hands far from touching behind their backs, and laughed. "It's good to be back." He said, not entirely sure that they could hear him over their own bumbling speech. But, he didn't mind. He liked their welcome much, much better than the first one he got.

"**Ne, Sanji. What happened to you?"

* Mou - Geez, gah. He's irritated, ya know?

** Ne - I don't know if I've explained this one in this story yet. It means 'hey', in that context, but sometimes it means 'right'.