Has anyone else wondered what may go on when the girls aren't around and no one is posturing, they are just relaxed and having fun? Me too.

Disclaimer, I own nothing.

Zoro and Sanji stood side by side at the sink, both in the midst of their morning routine, the swordsman had a towel hanging around his neck his hair still moist from his shower, while Sanji's shirt hung open while he shaved showing the white tank top he wore underneath. Both reached down wordlessly grasping their toothbrushes, the cook reaching for the toothpaste and putting it on the bristles of his brush, before turning to the waiting swordsman and putting toothpaste on his brush as well.

As the blond put the toothpaste back in its designated spot, Zoro began to vigorously scrub his teeth, Sanji joining in as well. A few seconds passed, with a companionable silence broken only by the sound of scrubbing before suddenly Sanji began to hum, dancing a little in his spot, and then he softly started to sing.

"What you want, baby I've got it,"

Zoro smirked around his toothbrush before shooting back "What you need, you know I got it,"

Sanji bobbed his head in time to the music in their heads "All I'm askin',"

"Is for a little respect!" the green haired man finished.

The two did a little hop, dancing in place each singing after the other.

"Just a little bit," Sanji sang into the bristles of his toothbrush.

"Yes sir," the swordsman sang holding his toothbrush in his mouth rotating his arms in front of him as he danced.

"Just a little bit," the blond continued.

"Hey baby," Zoro echoed.

Without warning, Franky and Usopp burst through the door, wiggling their hips, and bobbing their heads as they sang in unison.

"R. E. S. P. E. C. T, find out what it means to me, R. E. S. P. E. C. T, take care, TCB,"

Zoro started swinging his hips and head from side to side while Sanji held his toothbrush between his teeth and did mock punches at the mirror.

"Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me,"

"Yeah, a little respect!" Zoro sang loudly.

Suddenly Sanji grabbed his toothbrush and ripped it out of his mouth to sing into it a loud off key wail, making the entire bathroom stop and give pause, watching as Sanji continued to sing before the cook's voice eventually faded away when he realized he was the only one still doing so. His face grew red as he saw their wide eyes, and he went back to brushing his teeth.

Zoro however began to snort, and then snicker, before an all out guffaw burst from his lips.

"That really sucked,"

…..

Sanji and Brook sat in the kitchen, chuckling over some story the skeleton had been telling before Zoro burst through the doors and around the counter of the kitchen only to duck behind it. The cook and musician exchanged looks of bewildered amusement before both stood in unison and walked over to where the swordsman was currently hunkered down.

"Uh…" the cook tried, suddenly unable to keep the chuckles at a minimum "Something wrong?"

"Quick," Zoro said in a hissed whisper "hide me!"

"From what, Zoro-san?" Brook ventured before a bellowing voice answered his question.

"ZOORROOO!"

Zoro winced at his captain's yell and sent a pleading gaze to his crewmates "Please, I'm begging you, don't let him find me!"

Sanji opened his mouth to say that maybe he should let Luffy find the man, but something in the green haired man's eye told him not to. So with a longsuffering sigh, the cook opened a cabinet "Get in here, moss head."

With a speed not before seen, the swordsman slithered across the floor, and crawled into the cabinet, somehow making his hulking mass fit into the small space. Sanji bent down and pile various items in front of the man, hiding him from view when he heard the door to the galley bang open, making the cook straighten up and nonchalantly kick the cabinet shut.

"Where's Zoro?!" Luffy asked, his eyes as bright with an evil gleam that glittered just below the surface.

"He's not in here," Sanji shrugged "have you tried the crow's nest?"

"Yes, I've tried everywhere, but Zoro's gone!" Luffy pouted as he suddenly began to ransack different cabinets as he searched for his swordsman.

Almost in slow motion, Sanji watched Luffy dive for the cabinet Zoro was hiding in, only to see the boy leap back with a disgusted snarl "Yuck," he spat "vegetables."

"Yep," Sanji nodded his heart thudding in his ears "vegetables."

"Hey look," Luffy suddenly broke in, cocking his head with vague interest "this vegetable has green hair."

Sanji felt his jaw drop and he realized that not all of Zoro had been hid, but you could see the top of his head hidden within the piles of cabbage and lettuce "Uh…" he chuckled nervously before an idea struck his brain "Yes! That is the…incredibly rare…MOSS VEGGIE!"

"What's a moss veggie?" Luffy asked turning innocent eyes to his cook.

"It's a special kind of vegetable," Sanji said slowly desperately grasping for an explanation that would drive Luffy away "that is incredibly nutritious for you because…because…the inside is made completely of cooked spinach!"

Luffy recoiled, slamming the cabinet door shut with a look of supreme disgust "I hate spinach!" He declared standing up so to point a finger at Sanji "I hereby order you never to serve this vegetable at any of our meals!"

With an indignant huff, Luffy went back to search for his swordsman elsewhere, and Sanji finally was able to open the cabinet once the captain had left "Coast is clear, Marimo."

Zoro slowly crawled out of the cabinet, sending heads of lettuce rolling across the floor, only to send an amused glare up at the blond "The incredibly rare moss veggie, made of spinach?"

"Hey, don't complain when it worked on making Luffy go away." Sanji sneered

Zoro's mouth was suddenly twitching violently, and the cook watched as the swordsman bit down on his lips and ducked his head, before his shoulders started trembling as well. Before the blond could ask what was wrong, guffawed laughter rang from the moss headed man from where he was still on his hands and knees. Sanji tried not to join in, he really did, but there was something about Zoro's laughter that made it infectious, and soon both men were laying on the floor laughing their heads off, and kicking their legs helplessly as they were afflicted by their immense mirth.

"T-The…the moss veggie…?!" Zoro cracked up "Maybe you should save the lying for Usopp!"

"Luffy looked so mortified!" Sanji cackled.

Both paused remembering, or in Zoro's case imagining, Luffy's face, before they once again melted into another round of laughter. This continued for almost five minutes, before the cook and swordsman calmed, wiping tears away and rubbing sore stomachs.

"So," Sanji snickered "what was so bad, you were willing to hide in a cabinet?"

Zoro winced, giving a small shudder "The girls are gone shopping, and Luffy is raiding their clothes playing dress up with Usopp and Chopper. They wanted me to join in, and while I don't mind playing the occasional game, that is where I draw the line."

Sanji gave a gagging sound "Ew….I did not need that image…just, no…no…"

"What image? Luffy in a dress?" Zoro asked.

"Nah, the idiot is stupid enough, he could probably get away with it, but you in a dress? That image is worthy of nightmares!"

Zoro felt his mouth twitch again as he and Sanji turned to look at each other in unison, and once again the kitchen was drowned in helpless laughter.

….

Usopp turned over in his bed, the mattress not as comfortable as it usually was, and his pillow mysteriously lumpy and suffocating. He couldn't sleep. Not that he wasn't trying, but due to a certain part of his environment not being present, he was finding sleep elusive at best.

Turning over once again, Usopp met the eyes of Chopper and Brook, both wide awake and suffering from the same malady apparently. With a resigned sigh, the sniper sat up and opened his mouth, only to hear their captain voice what everyone was thinking;

"Neh, Sanji," Luffy whined "I can't sleep,"

The cook let out a frustrated growl "I know Luffy, no one can. Just try your best to go to sleep, ok?"

Luffy was silent for a moment before his voice once again broke through the dark silence of their room "It won't work, Zoro isn't here, so I can't sleep."

Usopp braced his chin on his fist, his elbow resting on one knee as he considered the blatant truth of their predicament.

To be perfectly truthful, no one could sleep because the snored lullaby provided by a certain swordsman was not currently echoing throughout the men's quarters. At first the sniper, and a couple others, had been annoyed by the chainsaw that usually accompanied Zoro when he slept, but by now in their adventures, they had all grown so used to it, none of them could sleep peacefully without the calming strength exuded by the moss headed man.

And it looked like they wouldn't have it back for a while.

Earlier that day, the straw hats had been in the midst of an intense battle, and Zoro had done what they had seen him do dozens of times, he protected his nakama. Someone had thrown a bomb towards Chopper, and the little reindeer had nowhere to escape to. Chopper had given in to the thought of death, but a green blur had jumped in, throwing the animal like a football before catching the full affects of the impending explosion.

The swordsman had been thrown a few yards, landing roughly on the ground, with a large piece of metal shrapnel sticking jaggedly out of his ribs and one broken arm. The crew finished the fight with renewed gusto, ending it in record time and rushing out of the way so to ensure that their doctor had direct access to the infirmary.

Suffering from multiple fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, broken bones, and a concussion, it came as no surprise that Zoro would be in the infirmary for a while. Which of course led to their current problem, the entire men's quarters unable to sleep, both from worry over their nakama, as well as the keen understanding that something very important was missing from their room.

Eventually Luffy gave a heavy sigh, grabbed his pillow and blanket, and left the room. Usopp felt one eyebrow raise as Chopper soon followed, and then Franky, and then Brook, and shockingly even Sanji. With a chuckle at the dynamics of their odd family, the sniper joined them not forgetting his blanket and pillow.

The next morning Nami and Robin walked into the kitchen and were shocked to see not even a single person awake or around. Exchanging confused looks, they decided that maybe they should check and see if Chopper was awake and in the infirmary taking care of Zoro. Technically they were half right, but they never would have expected the sight that greeted them.

Within the infirmary lay Zoro, still unconscious, his face still slightly sweaty from the fever that was raging the day before, but snuggled into his sides were Luffy and chopper. At the foot of the bed lay Usopp, and along the side of the bed, his head resting on his arms on top of the mattress, was Sanji. Brook and Franky were propped up against the wall on the far side of the room, each sleeping contentedly near the swordsman.

With a giggle, the girls straightened blankets, and distributed pillows before once again sneaking out of the room. They were a family, of that there was no doubt, and as they walked into the kitchen for an early morning cup of tea, the girls found themselves smiling softly as their hearts thrummed with warmth at the bond they shared as nakama.

So…Fluffy?

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