Come Back

by smileysoul

Sanji's convictions have ended up harming the crew more than he ever expected. Zoro can't stand the way the cook seems to slowly lose himself after this. Can he manage to bring him back? (Zosan and rated M for further chapters, just in case)

35. Chapter 35 - Listen

...

---

...

Chapter 35

Listen

...

---

...

The very first time he had kissed Sanji had been back in The Rock.

Back then, just like now, he hadn't been exactly aware of what was going on as much as he was just burning along with it without bringing himself to give a damn, but, amidst the chaos taking over him, he distinctly remembered that Sanji had tasted of cigarettes and spices, which was ironic given the fact that they had been starving, but he guessed Sanji must have kept adding his precious spices to any scratch of food he managed to put together for his crew, always keeping an eye for detail no matter how little he was being forced to feed them; such a Sanji thing to do.

The thought had hit him that it was exactly how Sanji was supposed to taste like; that was somehow unquestionable in Zoro's mind.

At that moment he could only taste the smoky twinge of cigarettes.

Zoro didn't mind it: it definitely screamed Sanji's name and he could hardly picture him smelling or tasting like anything else, but he felt himself missing the spices. It reminded him of the fact that Sanji hadn't cooked for a long time, of the fact that the blonde was yet to get well enough as to do so.

But he didn't mind the lack of familiarity, not when his whole being seemed intent on kissing the soul out of Sanji; not when his lips were trembling against the blonde's in an outburst of need he had long lost control over.

Sanji was clearly taken aback if his sudden tense frame and his lack of response was anything to go by, but Zoro didn't give a damn. He was furious and he needed Sanji to take it away like he always did, who cares if the process to his drainage was drastically out of their books for one night?

Zoro pressed harder into the kiss, forcing Sanji's lips open until the other's surprise made it easy enough for him to break through the resistance and slip his tongue inside his mouth, the intensity of the kiss making him inhale hard against Sanji, almost stealing the breath away from the blonde in the process.

Sanji's tense stance seemed to relax a tad before it went rock hard again. If Zoro could taste cigarettes, Sanji could unmistakably taste alcohol.

Zoro was too far gone in his own desperation to get rid of the unbearable itch he had been dying to scratch all night as to take Sanji's stiffness as a warning, so he was most definitely not expecting it when Sanji harshly broke the kiss and shoved him back hard enough for their bodies to stand a few feet away from each other's.

Zoro swore he'd break something. Like, seriously flip shit and trash the whole place. He wasn't sure he could get any more frustrated than he was; there had come a point where he didn't even care how much he was embarrassing himself as long as he got what he needed. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt like he was about to explode when he was normally a collected and laid back man, especially when it came to these kind of physical issues, but he had never felt a need as intense as this in his life and the fact that he was pretty much wasted wasn't helping his case.

He didn't register Sanji's eyes following his figure with an unbelieving gaze only to confirm what the blonde thought wasn't possible the moment Zoro tripped right after being pushed, barely regaining balance when his butt hit the sink, where he braced against for good measure. That's why the swordsman didn't really think twice before launching again towards him, only to be stopped by a firm hand against his chest and a glare so deep Zoro was amazed he hadn't caught fire yet.

"Are you drunk?"

The question sounded absurd enough as for Zoro to want to boisterously laugh in Sanji's face because, come on, never in his life had he gotten drunk before, but his current state wouldn't exactly help him ground his defense, so he wisely chose to shut up for good, keep the distance right where Sanji had set it, and stare at him in slight apprehension, the glint of thirst never really leaving his gaze, just in case Sanji hadn't yet caught the message that he didn't have the patience to mess around.

"Zoro," Sanji grunted, his hand pressing harder against his chest the moment the swordsman tentatively tried to take a step forward. "Are you drunk?" he repeated, tougher this time.

Zoro wanted to huff and yell at the ceiling, but he barely sent a weary glare at him, low-key proud of himself for keeping his cool for a second. "What the fuck does it matter?"

Zoro took another step forward, but Sanji pushed him back a bit, wide and incredulous eyes clawed on his. If this wasn't a first…

"What the fuck did you even drink?"

"What about you drop the crap, cook?!" Zoro barked, ignoring the clear signs Sanji was sending his way that he didn't want him anywhere near him while that conversation was still going.

Because Zoro could read between the lines, drunk or not, and if Sanji's body was pushing him away, his eyes spoke a different language. He had seen how he had stared at him just a few seconds before, he could see it now. Sober Zoro might have doubted his gut a bit more, but Zoro was nowhere near sober and he couldn't bring himself to try to paint reality differently than he perceived it. There was raw need and want behind Sanji's pupils as well, just that Sanji had a brain behind them to tone things down and think twice, which Zoro currently didn't have.

"I'm not doing this with you being drunk!" Sanji barked back, his patience being consumed in half a second, as it would usually happen when dealing with the blonde. He'd keep it cool until something Zoro couldn't quite pinpoint would unchain his well-known terrible temper, the trigger normally being something Zoro did or said.

Zoro blinked at him, frustration hitting his throat and turning it into a lump of barely held-there self-restraint.

"So you want to," he carefully stated, his eye predatorily fixed on Sanji, only barely being able to hold himself right there and humor the argument. It's not like he was going to force Sanji to do anything, no matter how much his inebriated brain may be pushing him to do so, so his only tangible chance was to break Sanji's walls one by one by playing Sanji's own game: that of persuasion. Or rather downright aggressive insistence in Zoro's case, given the fact that he didn't pack the subtlety to be persuasive for saving his life.

"I never said such thing."

"You don't say a lot of things, doesn't mean you don't want them," Zoro resolutely growled back, scowl in place as he took a step forward. Someone should make him a monument or something for not embedding Sanji against the wall right there and then.

The urgency in Zoro's voice must have been quite apparent with how Sanji's stomach dropped at his words, his feet taking him a step back the moment Zoro moved.

If Zoro was about to break under frustration, which he could clearly see, Sanji wasn't much better.

That morning had left him with a hard on and the permanent feeling of something twisting in his stomach while his brain had taken a liking to the mantra 'this is going to fuck things up, keep it in your pants'. He knew what they had agreed on. And he knew that the unsustainable situation they had been stuck in for over a week, in which every single fizz between them had been building up like a ticking bomb without any real outlet for them to use, was the exact kind of scenario their deal was meant to be used for. Didn't they say something about being… 'each other's stress relievers'? Yes, he was pretty sure they had said that. And it's not like Sanji was in angsty denial: he was perfectly aware of the fact that their deal wasn't completely unreasonable if taken with a cool head. Back when they had come to an agreement it had sounded good, great even, given the fact that they had just jerked each other off and successfully eradicated all stress through that. It definitely sounded good now, after he had spent all day long bathing in a pool of almost unbearable pent-up tension since fighting was out of the picture as an outlet.

That's exactly what they were meant to use their agreement for, Sanji knew that, yet it was easier said than done. When being completely drained of stress or when being about to burst, he was rather at peace with his choices given how they had either granted him the release he wanted or were about to do so, but all the way in between those two emotional states, Sanji's brain kept butting in and adding 'buts' to the pact. Not that he was chickening out of it, but Sanji was, and had been all along, all too aware of what that settlement could lead them to. It was as convenient as it was dangerous: that morning had not only triggered the need to make use of the deal, it had also made it crystal clear that it could easily slip from their control. Sanji wasn't an idiot: the moment they had realized that Sanji's condition wouldn't let them fight it out as they normally would, the tension had reached a breaking point and Zoro had been about to lose it and kiss him, and so chase release in the only other way he knew how to, right there, in front of Nami. Hadn't Sanji had the awareness of everything else in the picture, the swordsman might just have gone ahead and done it.

And it's not like Sanji was assuming anything out of that rather uncontrolled behavior, far from it. He knew how they worked and so he knew and understood where Zoro's behavior a few hours ago had come from, the pattern being the exact same they'd follow when fighting.

When they needed release they would just jump at each other and fight; it was pretty much an automatic routine.

Sanji could almost dissect the process in a commercial-like way:

Feeling stressed? Here are some steps that will help your case!

Find Zoro.

Get in his face. That always does the trick in riling him up.

Annoy the shit out of him.

Either wait for his first blow or kick him in the face, depending on how much patience you have left.

Fight it out.

Have a chill day.

That's pretty much how it had always worked. That's how they knew how to work; it was simple, straightforward and natural.

That's why they didn't think twice before throwing a fit, that's why they didn't give a damn about who was watching or what they were thinking about them, neither did they care what they broke; they just went with it without thinking ('without thinking' being key here) and that was pretty much it.

At some point, and he honestly couldn't wrap his mind around how the hell that had even happened, they had found their usual outlet transitioning to something other than fights. Or more like fights transitioning to something else. Back in The Rock they had been about to kill each other in a fit of rage and, the moment Zoro had managed to break Sanji down, their way to channel the desperate burn that had taken over them had been through angry kissing. From then on, that kind of outbursts had started to be leveled up to their usual fighting. They had only made out a few times but that was only because they had suppressed the angry urge to do so more times than he could count. Fighting hadn't been an option lately, and their next best choice, especially now that it was somehow normalized under an agreement, was channeling it through sexual release, which had proved to be just as good as their staple.

And it's not like they had consciously made it work that way, but the pattern they had naturally followed when those kind of encounters took place was awfully similar to the one they fell in when fighting. It came out naturally because it was born out of instinct and need, and the only way they knew how to deal with it was unconsciously bringing it to known territory. Zoro planting an aggressive kiss on his lips out of nowhere was not different from Zoro drawing the three of his swords and coming straight at him with killing intent. The pattern wasn't new, they knew it all too well, it's just that it was framed in a different mold, a much more controversial one.

And, if the pattern was the same, their behavior was no different; that was the major flaw in unconsciously getting both situations mixed. They didn't think when they fought, they just let thirst take them and went with the flow. And that was exactly what Sanji meant by 'not thinking' being key there. If they didn't think when they fought, neither did they put their brains to use when control slipped out of their hands and lust took over them.

So, no, Zoro's behavior that morning hadn't been as surprising as it had been alarming. Sanji could've pretended to be disconcerted at Zoro's attitude and almost-slip, but that would've been stupid, since it clearly fit the frame they usually moved in, nothing new in the way the pattern drew itself. It was only natural that, when caught in the moment, they would fall back to their stress-relieving patterns without thinking, never mind the fact that they weren't actually on the fighting spectrum of their ordinary interactions but the next best thing, that is, lust driven exchanges; there was no point in trying to deny that as a risk.

But the risk being confirmed as a very present potential fuck-up had hit him in the face the moment he had realized what was about to (maybe) happen with Nami in the room, and the thought had been shitting with him all day long.

Sure, they were both adults and free to do whatever the hell they wanted with their spare time and to each other, but their freedom ended when the rest of the crew got involved. Sanji was completely aware of what their deal could bring to not only them but also the whole crew, of how it could either make things easier or complicate them (given the fact that it was Sanji and Zoro involved, it would probably randomly range from one to the other every blink of an eye, getting to the extremes of the best and the worst, the worst being really bad), and there was the risk of that affecting the crew's stability, which Sanji had already decided couldn't happen. Whatever they chose to do, the crew had to stay out of harm's way, period. The moment that was put in danger, Sanji would be the first one to take a step back and call it a day.

And, really, the crew finding out wasn't necessarily the worst case scenario or a reason to put an end to an otherwise reasonable and attractive agreement: it's not like Sanji actually believed his nakama would think any different of them if they ever knew, it's not like he feared their reactions. Luffy wouldn't even understand what was going on; his biggest fear would be Nami trying to get under Zoro's skin and using Sanji as a weapon against his pride (not that he really thought such an angel would so something like that, of course).

But, still, if he had a saying in it (and he most definitely did), he didn't want anyone to know. Ever. It was definitely a matter of pride, but it was also a matter of him coming to terms with the fact that he was fooling around with a man, that he was fooling around with Zoro, what the fuck, and that he didn't seem to mind it all that much as long as nobody other than himself questioned it out loud. He had always thought he'd be deadly repulsed by kissing or touching another man, not because he was homophobe whatsoever since he couldn't care less what people did with their sexual lives, but because he just had never had it in him to find a man attractive or appealing at all, much less after being stalked and chased by a horde of okamas for about two years. Until now, apparently. The fact that Zoro was a man kept putting him off every now and then as he really gave it some thought and inevitably ended up asking himself the star question of his life: what the fuck.

However, Zoro seemed to be part of a category of his own rather than being labeled as 'man' or 'woman' in Sanji's head. No matter how hard he thought about it, a man's dick would never get him to feel anything but the need to scrunch his nose in distaste. Yet, whenever he was caught up in the moment with Zoro, he'd forget about that: if he had to take into account the fact that he had had some of the most stimulating make out sessions in his life with the idiot, it would be safe to say that he hadn't thought about it at all while they were at it.

But still. He wasn't ready for anyone to know he was engaging in these kind of activities with a man, much less his beautiful ladies. He was still a ladies man, he still pictured himself with a lovely wife and a horde of children at the end of the adventure, if he ever had the actual opportunity to have something as precious as that. As much as he tried, he couldn't see himself with a man, and he knew his deal with Zoro was as temporary as their apparently endless (for now) thirst would be. It was something with an expiry date, and it was something no one needed to know.

That's why moments like that morning were like fire to Sanji: they made him want to let go, pretend their deal had never happened.

They couldn't really do whatever they pleased. If Sanji wanted to keep his discretion and reputation (whatever he thought his reputation amounted to), he couldn't just 'stop thinking and go with the flow', because that was bound to take them to places he didn't want to end up in, one of them being their nakama getting somehow involved in their mess. The least they knew, the better. If the agreement backfired it would be easier to deal with it on their own than if it had already stained the rest of the crew.

If Nami hadn't been there that morning, Sanji doubted he would've denied the kiss he knew had been about to come his way. Hadn't Nami been there, the tension would have already evaporated and they wouldn't be standing in front of each other playing the mouse and cat game right now.

But here they were.

Sanji had had time to think, empowering his brain with the authority to keep his needs and body in check, keeping himself from 'not thinking' and instead treating their situation as it should be treated if they didn't want it to bite them in the ass: with caution and a good dose of reason trying to compensate the animalistic impulses kicking their guts more often than not.

Plus, Zoro was drunk. Not as drunk as not to know what he was doing; Sanji wasn't going to fool himself into thinking that just to use it as a heavier excuse out of his current predicament, but he was stepping on thin ground and he couldn't afford any misstep.

Had it been anyone else, he probably wouldn't have cared. He had learned to keep sex detached from consequences. Living the kind of life he lived, he knew he wouldn't find love at the next stop, as much as he knew he couldn't let himself find it. No relationship was meant to last beyond the time the log pose gave them, and so he kept it nice and simple: fun nights and great sex. He'd be a gentleman, he'd treat them like princesses and make them feel special until dawn but, after that, it was over. His life had become so much easier when he had accepted it as it was.

If it had been anyone else, there would have been no consequences considered. He'd just do his business when he felt like it and move on with his life after that.

But it wasn't anyone else. It was Zoro. And Zoro was his nakama, who he'd have to see every single day of his life as long as he stayed in that crew, which he wasn't planning on leaving any time soon. He was already breaking about a thousand rules by having agreed to play that betting game with him, the first one being: don't mess with the nakamaship bond, which he was currently gambling with.

And that wasn't the only reason. The amount of respect he held for Zoro couldn't begin to be measured, and he just couldn't risk fucking things up by listening to his dick and not his brain.

They were both adults with a mind of their own so, if Zoro wanted it, Sanji wasn't going to play martyr and keep his hands to himself, he wasn't that good. But, with Zoro being drunk, he wasn't quite sure of where Zoro's consent stood, even with the other practically stripping him out of his clothes with his gaze, the clear intention to do unholy things to his body for the next few hours very present behind his steel pupil.

Which had Sanji's pants getting tighter, really, but he could never be sure enough, so here he was, not knowing what came next in a pattern he used to be familiar with.

Their deal was great, really. It's just that there was too much gambling involved, and what was being gambled with was too high-valued as to not doubt if it was worth it.

Lost in his musings, he was distracted enough as to not foresee Zoro's fast foot-work when he got rid of Sanji's still raised hands and managed to get into his personal space, holding his jaw with a strong open palm and planting a wet kiss right where jaw and ear meet, earning a shocked gasp from Sanji.

And a harsh shove.

Zoro went with it as opposed to against it, much to Sanji's surprise, letting him regain some space for breathing. Just that Zoro was now determinedly and rather defiantly glaring at Sanji, almost as if he had just made a point Sanji wasn't too aware of.

Sanji led his hand against his neck with a hiss, suppressing a violent shiver as he tried to pull himself together with an angry scowl. If his pants had tightened a bit more no one needed to know. Especially not Zoro.

"Okay, enough is enough," he growled. "I am fucking tired and you are drunk, and we are not doing this. Keep it in your shitty pants, it's passed your bed time."

Sanji made it to turn away and leave before Zoro got the chance to push things further, not like he could flee too far since they shared the same room, but the perspective of a wider space than the one the bathroom offered sounded much better than staying there, where he could barely maneuver Zoro off him. He hadn't yet given his back to the greenhead when strong hands forced him to turn around, grabbing him by his shoulders. Next thing he knew he was being flashed with a sharp injection of pain somewhere in between his neck and shoulder as Zoro bit harshly into his flesh.

He heavily flinched and gasped, but the moment his hand went to Zoro's shoulder in order to push him away, it grew a brain of his own and got a vice-like hold of it instead, to the point where it was surely painful for the swordsman. Sanji's gasp was fast turned into a deep groan he couldn't restrain for saving his life. Sanji couldn't possibly explain why that sudden attack had something violently coiling in his stomach and blood rushing south, but he barely had the mind to figure it out as he aggressively pressed his cheek flush against Zoro's neck in an attempt to counter the pain that was suddenly feeling too hot for a bite and pull himself together a bit.

This shouldn't be turning him on.

But his hand was gripping Zoro's shoulder like his life depended on it and his other hand had gotten a hold of his nape, unable to decide if he wanted him closer or far away, all the while pressing his face against his neck for purchase, because he wasn't sure of how stable he'd be standing on his own at that point.

"Shit, Zoro, that hurt," he groaned as he let a shaky breath escape his lips, eyes scrunched shut and brain barely cooperating with him in the sanity's department.

Which Zoro didn't help either as he started running his tongue over the mark (if not wound), wetly lapping at it and placing open-mouthed kisses where he knew he may have scratched flesh, causing Sanji to sharply inhale against his shoulder and hiss, because the way Zoro was latching at his neck was way too intense to be simple teasing, and he swore he was beginning to melt at the same time his stomach seemed to be combusting with badly controlled need.

Just that, the moment he inhaled, something ticked him off as his sealed eyes snapped open, and he felt something boil in his organism other than intense lust. Name it intense anger.

Zoro growled when Sanji pushed him away without much effort this time around. He was about to protest like the angry adult he was when his clouded eye landed on Sanji's expression, which positively shut him up like a slap in the face, his inebriated brain freaking out the moment it registered that something was wrong other than Sanji's stupid stubbornness.

"What now?" he huffed nonetheless, his irritation earning ground over caution or apprehensiveness, because, really, he was beginning to feel grumpy as fuck.

"Care to explain why you smell of perfume?" Sanji shot, venomous tone effectively freezing Zoro and erasing all traces of anger only to have it finally and completely replaced by dread and a drama-queen worthy freak-out session in the privacy of his head. Oh, shit.

"It's not what you think," he was fast to start babbling, the urge to somehow fix his fuck-up no matter what taking over him. Just that that was probably the worst kind of answer someone can give in these kind of situations. Oh, shit.

Sanji fixed him with a heated glare that began to turn into an 'I'm done with your shit' expression faster than Zoro would have liked. Then it turned into something else, but Zoro's judgement was too clouded with alcohol and the steam of his fried nerves as to pinpoint what it was; the only thing he was positive of is that it was not good. Oh, shit.

"I am going to sleep," Sanji coldly stated. "Get rid of that boner however the hell you want to, but don't you dare drag me into this." And if Zoro hadn't been able to tell what Sanji's expression meant, he could definitely feel the coldness in his tone now, he could definitely feel the restrained rage wavering under it. Oh, shit.

"Okay, no, wait, you need to listen, this isn't-"

The moment he saw Sanji turn around to leave, Zoro's stomach dropped as he grimaced and jumped behind him, rushing to stop him in his tracks with a rather clumsy choice of movements that ended up spinning Sanji around too harshly and causing the blonde to hit his head against the wall, earning a pained groan from someone who was already injured and only starting to do well in his recovery. Oh, shit.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry, I didn't- oh, shit, are you okay or-?"

Sanji glared hard at him and Zoro's already messed up words got stuck in his throat as he realized he was doing everything wrong and as lamely as it could be done. Sanji didn't even bother to answer as he shoved him back and left the room, leaving Zoro to gap at the door Sanji had just banged shut, his brain starting to form curse words of utmost originality and self-loathing that he ended up yapping out loud with his hands tangled in his hair, whishing that the floor would stop moving under his feet at least so that he could have some actual stability of mind to come up with something other than bullshit. For fuck's sake, he was doing a great job at cockblocking himself! He slapped his own face a few times, hard, hating on life and his own person and his awful luck. He was too drunk for this shit, he should've listened to Chopper. What the fuck was he even doing? He swore he was going to burst and start yelling bloody hell at the ceiling at this rate. Oh, shit.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," he kept mumbling like a mantra, his voice growing high-pitched in stress with every new 'no' he uttered. Why was he such an idiot?

He didn't quite register it when he viciously started splashing water all over his neck and shoulders, drenching his shirt and making a mess in the otherwise neat bathroom. An outsider would have wondered if Zoro may have intended to make a replica of the ocean he missed so much in the reduced space he had chosen as his freak-out refuge; but, other than that, the only plausible conclusion would have been that Zoro was drunk out of his wits and thoroughly going through a distressing rethinking-horrible-life-choices phase which he wasn't handling too well, by the looks of it.

Why he was freaking out like that was beyond his or anyone's understanding, but alcohol tends to mess things up tenfold in one's brain, and Zoro was currently going through distressful times of utmost gravity, since his main goal right now (read being laid or at least scratch that goddamn itch) had been frustrated beyond repair. Add the fact that Sanji's expression had just made something similar to sharp regret and guilt snap in his chest, and you had a hysterical Zoro ready to flip shit.

Damn, he needed to get this right.

He glared at himself in the mirror, completely soaked and looking like a lunatic who just got out of a mad house. Only the thought that he had probably managed to get rid of any traces of perfume reassured him of the fact that he might have a better chance of getting Sanji to listen to him this time around, which he had his hopes set on.

That's why his spirits fell underground when he stomped out of the bathroom with his hands raised in a defensive pose and found Sanji in bed staring at him as if he had gone crazy, which was a pretty justifiable reaction to show, in all honesty.

"The fuck are you doing?" he groaned with his eyes wide open as his gaze flickered from Zoro's drenched upper body to the stains he was beginning to leave on the carpet as water drops started pooling at the swordsman's feet.

"Look, I need you to listen, okay?" Zoro insisted, taking a few steps forward with a wary stance. Sanji looked like he was about to repeatedly kick him in the face and Zoro wasn't in the mood for that. "I got rid of the smell!" he was fast to defend when Sanji opened his mouth; not that Zoro knew what he had been about to say but it's not like he cared as long as he got the chance to defend his case. "I swear it's gone!"

"What the fuck do I care?"

Zoro frowned at him and took a tentative step closer, Sanji automatically sitting up in bed, just in case he was about to be jumped at again.

"Okay, look, listen- no, no, shut up for a moment, will you? Just- just listen, yeah?"

Sanji would never fail to be taken aback by Zoro's rare gibberish state, he swore. How he went from a man of few and precise words to a babbling mess who couldn't build a straight sentence for saving his life escaped all reasoning he could come up with, and it definitely fried his nerves given how out of character it was. If he wasn't so thoroughly pissed off he would have probably found it funny and worth laughing at. Because, really, Zoro making a fool of himself would never get old, and Zoro making a fool of himself while drunk was pure gold. But, then again, Sanji was feeling too enraged and confused out of his mind as to have the mind to take advantage of it. What the fuck was Zoro doing? And why the fuck was he even wasting his time to listen to his bullshit?

"What about you drop it, do your dignity a favour, go to sleep and leave me alone?"

"No, nonononono! Listen, I need you to listen!" Zoro bewilderedly yelled, his voice tight with stress.

"Listen to what?"

"I, uhm… Okay, I get you are angry but let me explain, it's not what you think. Just, let me- yeah. Uhm, I kind of…" Zoro proceeded to keep on making a fool of himself, much to his despair and utter lack of ability to stop, as he tried to look for a softer way to deliver the information but came up with none. "I kind of kissed a woman back in the party. Uhm, yeah, that's… that's where the perfume comes from, pleasedon'tbemad."

Zoro sounding like an actual five-year-old would have been funny in any other context, but that's the last thing Sanji thought of the situation at the moment.

"You kind of kissed a woman?"

Zoro's rant of bullshit became automatically invalidated by Sanji's tone. Zoro felt a shiver run down his spine as he actually felt the threat and cutting coldness of Sanji's voice. His expression wasn't that menacing, it was more of a stop-giving-me-bullshit-you're-lame glare, but Zoro could still read between the lines and he knew he was walking on thin ice. Sanji was pissed off beyond belief, but there was something else behind his façade and Zoro was beginning to feel anxious about it. Which led him to the conclusion that he wasn't going to get away with bullshitting his way out of this one.

"Okay, I most definitely did kiss a woman," he grunted, almost as if he was raising a question, slightly scared (not that he'd admit it) of what the reaction would be. It still was a mild way to put it. Sure he had kissed her, but there had also been groping and the intention to take things way further. Not that Sanji needed to know that much, not if Zoro still held hope that he might get away with placating him and getting what he wanted in the end (yes, his brain's focus was this limited at the moment, it's not like he had much scope for thinking other than to come up with ways to scratch the itch).

He wasn't exactly surprised when Sanji's expression turned into a vicious snarl, but he was disappointed anyway when the blonde spoke next, his tone glacial and cutting like Zoro's blades, which made him flinch.

"Go to sleep."

Which was a really nice way of telling him to fuck off. Because either Sanji forced himself to have the self-restraint of a monk right now or he'd flip to the opposite extreme and deal with Zoro by kicking him in the face and doing some real harm; there was no in between with how infuriated Sanji was at the moment.

"Okay, no, wait-"

And, really, Zoro should have kept his mouth shut, because Sanji had been one strand away from losing his patience and that's all it took for him to snap and jump out of bed, adopting a defensive stance so that Zoro wouldn't even think of taking a single more step towards him.

Zoro's stomach churned and he was fast to stop in his tracks and raise his hands in the air.

"Okay. Okay…" he tried to placate him, voice wary. "But, like, can you listen at least?"

"Can you stop?!"

Zoro wasn't expecting Sanji to yell at him like that. Sure the blonde had the patience of a brick, but that had sounded pretty strained even for him. That until Zoro's eyes travelled south and noticed a slight semi in Sanji's pajama pants, the pieces of the puzzle slowly sinking in.

Sanji was furious. Zoro had come in there, jumping at him right after fucking someone else, and Sanji was all but okay with that. Here he was, having to deal with the pent-up tension he had been bottling up all day, still being half aroused because of his encounter with Zoro and yet being forced to bottle it up again because the swordsman had been selfish enough as to put them in that shitty situation. No, he wasn't okay. That wasn't okay. This wasn't what their deal was meant to be used for and the lack of respect Zoro was showing towards him was, at the very least, offending. If there was a high dose of disappointment meddling with Sanji's dark emotions at the moment, no one needed to know.

Zoro was blinking at him with a confused expression, clearly not understanding his outburst as much as Sanji was being consumed by it.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" he continued, Zoro's obliviousness making him all the angrier. "Do you think you can go, fuck some random stranger and come back here expecting me to comply with your selfishness?"

Now Zoro was completely lost. "Who said shit about fucking? I didn't fuck her, I kissed her!" he defended.

Sanji shut up for a second, staring him down only to glare harder. In that short time, he managed to compose himself a bit and control his voice, the calmness of it only making it sound deadlier.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. A girl rejects you, leaving you horny as fuck, and best idea you come up with is to come back here so that I can finish the fucking job? Is that what I am? Your second option after being cockblocked?"

"No! No, for fuck's sake, no!" Zoro tightly exclaimed, hands thrown in the air in disbelief. How could Sanji be so dense? Not that Zoro was being a helpful genius in the eloquence department, so it's not like he was making it easy for Sanji not to explode the way he was currently doing.

"I'm done with your bullshit," Sanji sighed, shaking his head and alarmingly making his way towards the door.

What the fuck was he doing?! Zoro was faster than him and stopped him in his tracks, forcing him to look back at him and not letting go when Sanji tried to snatch his arm away from the greenhead's grasp.

"No, no, come on, stop it!" he groaned, starting to lose his patience as well. He was way too frustrated and on edge to deal with this.

"What about you stop it?! Can't you leave me the fuck alone already?! You are drunk, go to bed!"

"What the fuck! This is not about me being drunk, this is about you being fucking jealous!"

There. He had gone and said it. Zoro's mouth clacked shut as he stood there, only barely keeping a hold on Sanji's arm and staring wide eyed at the blonde, suddenly realizing the meaning of what he had just blurted. Sanji wore the most outraged and irked expression he had ever seen him wearing. There was a few seconds of deafening silence in which Zoro genuinely feared for his life, already seeing the kick coming his way one moment or another. Then Sanji snapped.

"I am not fucking jealous! Get your shit straight, will you! This is not about me being jealous, this is about you not giving a fuck about what respect means! I am not a fucking second option, and if this is your idea of how our deal will work then consider it over, because I'm not doing this, Zoro!"

Zoro was left speechless for a good ten seconds, only managing to hold onto Sanji's arm tighter the moment he felt him wanting to leave the room again. Shit. There were so many things that were wrong with the situation. His drunken brain toyed with the thought that both their accusations held a point, but it was mainly screaming at him that he was doing this wrong, that he had only been babbling bullshit and giving half-assed information that had led to Sanji picturing things a whole lot different than they had actually happened and thus making him unreachable for what Zoro was trying to say. He clenched his jaw, trying to get Sanji's gaze on him, which was being slightly difficult with how Sanji seemed intent on avoiding it. Why he hadn't yet kicked him in the gut and left was beyond Zoro's inebriated understanding, but he guessed he wasn't in a good enough physical condition as to engage in such a violent move yet. That would explain why his reaction the moment he had snapped had been trying to leave the room rather than doing what he did best: angrily kick ass.

"Okay, Sanji, I'll need you to listen," he heard himself ask with a soft tone, almost sounding like a whisper. He was half fearing Sanji would blow up at the next thing he said, so he did his best to sound soothing, which he would've never attempted had he been sober, but he needed to get to Sanji and that's the best idea he could come up with at the moment.

Sanji sneered. He had called him by his name again and he was getting sick and tired of it. It was no secret by now that Zoro using his name did things to him and that it predisposed him to listen way more easily than if he didn't. He wasn't exactly sure if Zoro was aware of it or not, but it pissed him off big time, because it shouldn't be affecting him enough as to turn his gaze towards Zoro, which he ended up doing.

"Let me go."

"Okay, but listen for a second. Just a second. Then I'm letting you go, yeah?"

Sanji frowned at the way Zoro kept asking for concessions. It didn't suit him. Which he shouldn't be giving a fuck about, because Zoro was drunk and Sanji was angry enough as to not give a fuck about anything the swordsman did, but it still unsettled him.

He didn't answer, but Zoro took it as a yes and he was fast to order his thoughts and start clarifying things he had left hanging in the air for no valid reason at all.

"She didn't dump me, okay? I dumped her."

Sanji blinked at him and scowled, which made Zoro realize that hadn't been the smartest choice of words since it made it seem like Zoro had some kind of pride issue with Sanji assuming somebody would have dumped him; it made him sound like he needed to prove a prideful point, and that's the last thing Zoro wanted it to sound like at the moment, because that would only lead to Sanji losing his patience once and for all.

But he had to thank his lucky star that Sanji was able to read between the lines as well. He had to thank his lucky star that, after an initial rush of outrage at Zoro's statement, Sanji had realized there was an actual point behind it. Zoro hadn't meant to sound like a self-conceited macho, he had merely tried to clarify the fact that he had willingly been left hanging. Which, even with how pissed off he was at the moment, managed to make a difference in Sanji's head. He felt something deflate inside him, only a tad, but it was there, and he was definitely more willing to listen now, even if he was feeling quite suspicious about it.

"Why?"

Zoro tried to come up with something other than 'because she wasn't you', which was the first thing that came to mind. He had already opened his mouth to say it, but some upper force had miraculously kept him from doing so, thank fuck. Even his inebriated brain could tell that that particular statement wasn't a good idea. So he went for the next best thing; one that hadn't exactly been in his mind the moment he had decided to cockblock himself back in the club, but wasn't exactly a lie either since it was an actual doubt running through his head.

"We didn't talk about if we wanted this to be exclusive or not," he blurted, hoping it wouldn't backfire. "I didn't want to fuck this up, so I thought I may as well wait a bit and discuss it with you before I do anything… so I stopped."

Sanji felt his chest getting rid of the major anger he had been building up, leaving him staring at Zoro with a slightly lost look, almost as if Zoro's words had confused the hell out of him. Which they had, but not because of their meaning. They had made something stir in his stomach, and they had definitely placated him, much to his annoyance; it may have something to do with the fact that he could no longer assume Zoro had no respect at all towards him but rather the opposite, if Zoro frustrating his own night to make sure he wasn't crossing any limits was any hint of it. Plus, it was a valid point. It still didn't explain why the fuck Zoro would try to get into his pants afterwards, much less when he had clearly had the intention of not telling him he had kissed someone else until Sanji had noticed (that was most definitely not respectful), but it was an irrefutably legit doubt.

Sanji sighed and let his back softly hit the wall as he dragged a hand across his face, trying to calm down. Dealing with Zoro could be a pain in the ass, let alone dealing with him being drunk, which was a first (and hopefully the last time he'd go through this). They were in no condition whatsoever to discuss something like that at the moment, but it felt wrong to just ignore what Zoro had said. He doubted Zoro would remember the answer the day after, but they could always go back on the topic later on.

"Exclusive sounds embarrassing," he groaned.

Zoro relaxed the moment he heard the complaint come out of Sanji's lips, knowing that the most imminent danger had faded away. He mentally patted his back for the success. Wasn't he a genius?

But his thoughts were put to a halt by Sanji's serious and thoughtful eyes boring in his as he seemed to calculate his next words, forcing Zoro to concentrate and listen.

"As far as I'm concerned, no, we are not 'exclusive'. I'll let you know I'm still planning to be with as many women as I feel like whenever we reach land; that's not going to change. The deal changes nothing. It's a convenient agreement, and that's exactly its purpose; we'll use it whenever it's convenient for us. For both of us. It was never meant to be a boundary."

Zoro stared at him, undecipherable expression taking over his features as Sanji tried to read him without success.

"So you can do whatever you want, because I will too," he felt the need to specify seeing how Zoro had just put an end to a perfectly doable fun night when facing the doubt.

At that point he doubted Zoro registered what he was saying. He wondered how drunk the greenhead actually was. That until Zoro gave him a slow nod, letting him know he understood.

"Are we on the same page about this?" Sanji asked, tone careful. It was an important part of their deal, he now realized, and it was absolutely necessary for them to agree on this one for it to work.

"We are."

Sanji sighed, relieved. Good.

"That doesn't mean you can come to me right after you've had something with someone as if it's no one's business. I don't care who you sleep with, I don't care if you kiss half the people in the club, but then count me out for that night. When it's others, it's others; when it's me, it's me. Don't go thinking you'll get away with both because that's not how I'll be playing this game. If you get dumped or cockblock yourself it's your problem, not mine, are we clear on this?"

Zoro gave a small nod and Sanji knew that's all he was going to get out of him, so he ended up sighing and running a hand through his face, nodding as well.

He still had his fingers pressed against his closed eyes when he muttered: "Come on, let's get some sleep." His tone was tired and all the tension he was still feeling had him ready to pass out in an attempt to make it go away.

When he felt lips latching to the skin on his neck right below his jaw, Sanji stiffened.

"What are you doing?"

Zoro didn't answer, instead he ran his lips all along his throat until he reached a spot by his earlobe, which he began kissing softly as ever.

Sanji let his hand fall from his face, putting a half-assed effort in trying to pry the swordsman away from him.

"Stop it. Were you even listening to what I just said?"

"Please."

Sanji froze at that, not really processing what he had just heard. But it's not like Zoro was planning for his voice to go ignored, because he kissed his way up to his ear, where he planted another gentle kiss before repeating: "Please."

Sanji's body became tense as hell, his face contorting in a grimace as he tried but failed to get the greenhead away, his brain trying to block the words spoken and the tone Zoro was using at the moment, which had every cell in his body feeling tingly and a heavy weight settling in his stomach.

Zoro kept him in place, not aggressively so but just insistently enough, as he went back to kissing and licking his neck and throat in a way that had Sanji's brain short-circuiting because that was nowhere near how Zoro would normally kiss him (the few times he had done so). While it lacked the usual aggressiveness, it seemed to pack enough intensity as to start a fire.

"Zoro-"

"Please. Come on, Sanji, I really need it. I can't go to sleep like this, Sanji, this itch is killing me," Zoro groaned against his skin, eyebrows knotted in self-restraint as he did his best to illustrate his need through his dragged kissing. "Just this once. I promise I'll leave you alone after this, just… please."

Sanji's stomach dropped, his breathing becoming uneven and his body feeling slightly numb as his ears had a hard time processing everything coming out of Zoro's mouth, which he had yet to comprehend. Zoro was… begging? Just how much did Zoro really need to get the frustration out of his system as for him to forget about his pride and let himself beg for it? Even if he was drunk, the thought hit Sanji that Zoro baring his needs like that hadn't solely been born from the alcohol effects but from a deeper itch which alcohol was happening to ease him into expressing out loud.

"Don't do this," he heard himself muttering, his attempts to drive Zoro away diminishing until the only trace of them was Sanji's hands against Zoro's shoulders.

Zoro hummed, dragging his mouth north until he captured Sanji's earlobe with his teeth, proceeding to run his tongue over where he had just bit.

"Do what?" he lazily asked.

Sanji felt a violent shiver run down his spine.

"Don't beg. It doesn't suit you."

If Sanji's hands hadn't managed to get Zoro to leave him some personal space, his words did as soon as they left his mouth, Zoro slowly titling his head back to fix Sanji with a stare he couldn't read for saving his life.

Sanji blinked at him, half wearily so, and half shocked at the heaviness he was being stared with, which hit him like a punch in the face, momentarily interrupting his breathing. And he honestly didn't know what he was expecting, but he didn't back away when Zoro's lips met his own, the friction nowhere as bruising as it had initially been but double the passionate in some sort of weird way Sanji couldn't understand.

Zoro breathed hard against Sanji, his lips slightly trembling in their slide against the blonde's. If Zoro's quiet begging had unsettled Sanji to the point where he didn't find it in him to deny the greenhead; Sanji's attempt to protect Zoro's pride on his behalf by keeping him from pleading anymore and giving in, for his sake, had driven Zoro's heart to a painful halt he didn't have the mind to interpret.

What Sanji didn't understand about the kiss, which definitely felt different than the ones shared before, was the fact that it was packed with gratefulness, which intensity overshadowed the underlying lust and need Sanji had expected to exclusively feel with it. As drunk as Zoro might have been and as much as he had consciously put himself out there by begging for Sanji to help him out with this one, the greenhead wasn't about to put into words the overflowing feeling of thankfulness that was currently choking him for Sanji to better understand; instead putting every bit of it in the kiss he had impulsively initiated, leaving it for Sanji's brain to decipher if he felt like it.

In the back of his mind, Zoro knew he shouldn't be taking advantage of Sanji's once-in-a-blue-moon understanding and generosity, but he couldn't stop himself, something painful in his chest keeping him from leaving it at that, pushing him to take this further.

Then again, whatever Sanji was expecting was not Zoro suddenly dropping to his knees, lifting Sanji's white T-shirt and almost instantly kissing his abdomen and working his way down. The moment he processed what was going on, Sanji's hands darted to push Zoro's head back, shock rapidly making him freak out.

"Zoro, no," he was fast to reject, his voice mandatory yet slightly trembling, because, holy shit, there was no way this was happening!

Zoro let his forehead rest against Sanji's pressing palm and raised his gaze to fix it on him which, given the angle, made a shiver run down the blonde's spine. Zoro leveled him with a slightly challenging and more than resolute half glare that had Sanji gulping. When Zoro pressed forward again, Sanji's palm pressed back to keep Zoro's head in place, his stomach flipping in the process.

"No. You are going to regret this in the morning."

He had tried to sound firm and final, he really had. And he half succeeded. Just that the now more than obvious wavering in his voice gave away the fact that not every part of him agreed with the way he was trying to make things go: that is, cockblocking himself again.

But he couldn't let Zoro do this, not when he may not be on his right mind, not when it meant taking things to a level he hadn't yet considered taking them. One thing was a quick hand job, the other was having Zoro pretty clearly wanting to give him a blow job and ready to do so on his knees. But there was something on that exact same sight that had Sanji's body rebelling against his rational self, all blood rushing south. He had never in his life thought he'd see Zoro on his knees. Much less in front of him. Much less for him. And such display of willingness had him feeling a bit lightheaded, not to say fundamentally pulled apart.

Zoro's hand on his wrist ripped his brain out of his freak-out session, his eyes shooting south only to meet with Zoro's intense stare, which had him stiffening.

"Sanji, I want to. I mean it."

He had called him by his name. Again. He had been calling him by his name all night. Did Zoro know how it played with Sanji's will-power and weakened it? Did he know how much it made him feel like he was being bared for Zoro to see right through him, how much it made him feel like Zoro was letting him see through him as well? Sanji was slowly starting to realize that there never were any lies attached to his name when Zoro used it. Whenever he did, the word came with honesty around and following it. Or so it felt like. If that wasn't the case, Zoro had a pretty cruel way of playing with Sanji in order to get him to do what the swordsman wanted.

Zoro pulled at his wrist, first tentatively, then more firmly as soon as he felt Sanji's resistance faltering. Sanji found himself not being able to tear his eyes away from Zoro's in an attempt to find something in Zoro's gaze that told him that this was a mistake, that Zoro didn't know what he was doing, that Sanji should stop it since he was the one with his reasoning capacity less tainted at the moment. But he found none of those signs. Zoro's stare was unhesitating, and Sanji's hand felt to his side in surrender.

Zoro took it as permission to lift his shirt again and kiss his navel, slowly dragging his lips towards the hem of Sanji's pajama pants, where he stopped for a second and breathed deep in an attempt to steady himself. He was in no way doubting what he was about to do, but there is a difference between being positive about wanting to do something and not really knowing how to go about it. That had him feeling nervous and unsure. He had never in his life given a blowjob, nor did he understand why he was feeling so up for it at the moment since he doubted thankfulness was all there was to it; but the thing is that he totally wanted to, his stomach flipping at the thought. It's just that he didn't know how to pull it off without embarrassing himself.

Zoro wasn't great at dealing with inexperience. Not of others, but his own. He was the kind of person who wants to get things right as fast as possible, someone who'll be relentless to be the best at everything he had an interest in, which meant that stuff that made him feel insecure about his own abilities usually had him in a bit of a tight spot as to how to deal with it.

Then he felt Sanji's hand pulling at his green strands and forcing his face a few inches away from his crotch, giving him a small glare.

"Come on, you don't have to. Let's stop this, it wasn't a good idea to begin with."

Sanji's tone wasn't only firm but it held a certain amount of bad concealed care. He respected Zoro enough to be the first one to offer a way out when he felt Zoro's slightest doubt about it. Enough as to be slightly trembling in restraint but ignoring it in favour of getting Zoro to stop where he thought the swordsman wasn't all that comfortable.

And, really, Zoro didn't deserve this amount of care and mindfulness, the swordsman thought to himself as images of him kissing that blonde woman at the club ran through his head. But Sanji was misinterpreting. Zoro's doubt wasn't grounded on him not feeling secure about doing this. It was grounded on him not feeling secure about how to do this, and he wasn't about to leave Sanji hanging once he had clearly initiated something only because he couldn't pull his shit together. Or so went his reasoning.

Zoro growled and snatched Sanji's hand away from his hair, quickly lowering the blonde's pants before he could start acting like a fucking altruistic monk again. Sanji's hard on was revealed to both of them, leaving Sanji furiously blushing and Zoro feeling a bit intimidated. He had never felt so when giving the blonde a hand job, but putting that in his mouth was a completely different thing.

Okay, but what the fuck, he was Roronoa Zoro, he wasn't about to let himself be scared of dick, what the hell!

Next thing he knew his hand was on Sanji's length, stroking it as he eyed it with more intensity and intent than Sanji's dignity would've liked, trying to get his brain to come to terms with how this would work. He reached the conclusion that he was definitely going to suck at this (both literally and figuratively), but just as his dignity took the blow, his brain came to the second conclusion that everyone had a first time and that first times couldn't be used to keep score, not even by himself. As long as he didn't bite Sanji's dick off, it's not like his mistakes were going to be of catastrophic consequences. That if he left his pride aside and didn't take the whole issue as something he had to be a pro at from the start. Zoro remembered some of his previous partners' first times doing something like this; there undoubtedly had been something erotic about the inexperience they had showed, which Zoro had enjoyed as much as a professional blowjob.

Half reassured by that, Zoro mustered the courage to try to do what his urges were pulling him to do.

The moment Zoro's mouth covered Sanji's head, skipping tentative licks and preliminary testing as was Zoro's style, the blonde closed his eyes tight and decided to fuck it, embarrassment and awkwardness clear in his features. Was he really letting Zoro do this? When Zoro started experimenting with his tongue along his length, Sanji came to terms with the fact that, yes, he was pretty much allowing Zoro to suck his dick without putting a fight anymore, which had his face turning even redder than before. Sanji bit his lip and mentally cursed at Zoro, himself, and the world, trying to restrain a moan and actually succeeding. There was a difference between letting Zoro do this and showing the fact that he was beginning to enjoy it amidst the mortifying awkwardness he was feeling. Basically because some part of his brain was yelling at him that this wasn't okay, that they shouldn't be taking things to this level, that it was Zoro who was on his knees and attempting to give him a decent blowjob. Zoro's first blowjob, presumably.

Sanji groaned, more at his conflicting feelings than because Zoro had done anything that felt particularly great (if you took out of the picture the fact that receiving a blowjob was, as a general fact, a more than pleasurable experience).

He didn't know why he thought this was a good idea (it clearly wasn't), but he ended up trying to pretend Zoro was someone else, maybe a beautiful lady, the only reason being that the certainty that it was Zoro doing that was too much to process and digest at the moment and he needed to keep his mind off that piece of reality. Just that there was no way he was fooling himself out of this one. The ragged breath and occasional guttural sounds he was hearing were clearly and unmistakably Zoro's; the callouses grazing his skin were Zoro's; and the way he was hesitant but firm couldn't be anyone else's doing, the brief reminder of Zoro's strong hold on Wado very much present in the way he worked with his mouth.

Okay, his great idea was a failure.

This was very much Zoro and it very much felt like him, what was the point in trying to take him for someone else? Where was the respect Sanji claimed to hold for him if he depersonalized Zoro's actions like that? It hit him like a punch, sudden and violently, guilt eating him the moment the thought crossed his mind. He couldn't do that. He couldn't pretend Zoro was someone else for the selfish purpose of easing himself into the situation, that would be anything but fair on Zoro, who had just dropped his pride and defenses to do the last thing Sanji had expected him to do, something Sanji knew he couldn't bring himself to attempt not even as repayment since the mere idea of being in Zoro's place had something fundamental yelling 'no' at him for simply toying with the thought. No, Zoro deserved better than that, and Sanji owed him that at least, out of respect. If he was letting him do this, he was doing so while acknowledging everything it entailed.

His hand unconsciously went to card in Zoro's strands rather softly, almost apologetically, his gaze lowering to watch what Zoro was doing, even when he had half a mind in scrunching them shut. Sanji needed to come to terms with what was happening and he would get nowhere if he tried to cheat his brain out of this. The sight he was met with had his stomach churning and his fingers twisting a bit tighter in Zoro's hair, if only for self-restraint purposes. It was as surreal as it was devastatingly hot, Zoro's determined ministrations captivating him as he did his best to keep himself grounded and maintain the increasing pleasure at bay.

At some point Zoro had started taking more of his length in his mouth, experimenting with how far he could get before gagging, which earned him his first gag after a few clumsy tries and a soft reminder by Sanji not to scratch him with his teeth, which Zoro was still adjusting to. By then, Sanji was breathing hard and most certainly enjoying the attention, putting all of his concentration in keeping his own movements and sounds at bay to make it easier for Zoro and, maybe, to make a point: that he wasn't all that affected by what Zoro was doing to him, because he definitely shouldn't have been. Oh, God, this was so wrong. Sanji couldn't help but watch with glazed eyes as Zoro ripped his head away and started coughing, unfamiliar wetness settling behind his eyes at the slight choking sensation. The sight troubled Sanji as much as it turned him on, his stomach twisting.

In Zoro's favour, Sanji had to say that he looked confident and decided as fuck, but he could also see and feel the hesitation and inexperience in his movements, which had Sanji completely aware of the fact that Zoro had put himself in a vulnerable position which Sanji wasn't used to seeing him in, much less in front of him. And Sanji honestly didn't know how to deal with it if it wasn't by keeping Zoro from putting himself in that position for any longer.

"Drop it, it's enough," he found himself saying with evident strain in his voice.

Sanji had crouched in front of Zoro and was now holding his shoulder in an attempt to get his attention, but next eye contact he managed to achieve he received a glare.

"You don't like it?"

Sanji sputtered, the straight-forwardness and shamelessness of the question wiping his brain clear of linkable words for a second.

"Well, yes-I mean, yes, but-"

"Then shut up."

A flash of pain shot through Sanji's lower back when Zoro followed his words with a shove that had him falling on his ass, his back bumping against the wall, where it remained pressed for good measure as Sanji's body tensed up and the blonde made an effort to keep it still for a few seconds so that the burning sensation faded away. It took Zoro about two seconds to stop his advances as he registered Sanji's hiss and slightly pained expression, all of his annoyance being replaced by a sudden 'shit, I fucked up again' feeling the moment he realized what was going on.

"Fuck, sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Sanji tuned the apologies down, cursing under his breath for good measure because, what the hell, this was about the fourth time this kind of situation happened with the greenhead, and the second that night; that damn caveman couldn't be thoughtful for saving his life! It's not like the pain had been insufferable, it was definitely the best it had been for a while since Chopper's treatment had been doing wonders to heal the damn wound that had nearly gotten him killed, but that didn't mean that harsh treatment didn't get his back to protest against it, and the feeling was less than pleasant. There was also the fact that Sanji was pretty much fed up with being shoved around by now, especially with how Zoro had been making a habit out of it lately.

He felt Zoro's hands pressing against his bent knees, one of them trying to reach for his shoulders, or his face, Sanji wasn't sure and he doubted Zoro had any idea of where he was intending that hand to land either. He was muttering stressed and pissed off apologies, more than likely cursing at his own idiocy and clumsiness in the back of his mind.

"I'm not fucking dying, can you, like, chill a bit, for a change?" Sanji groaned, feeling a headache forming. The fact that his dick was very much erect in between his thighs despite the accident, suddenly deprived from contact, wasn't helping him gather his thoughts together either. That might be why his reaction had been milder than Zoro had been expecting, which had him stilling and carefully examining Sanji's features as they relaxed, trying to pinpoint when was the right moment to try something again without the blonde kicking his face in.

Sanji felt Zoro trace circles on his knee with the palm of his hand in an attempt to be soothing, maybe. At some point his other hand, which had been hovering in the air for a while, ended up landing on his other knee, giving it a light squeeze before imitating his other hand's rubbing motion.

Sanji silently raised his gaze until his eyes met with Zoro's intense scrutiny, which had him tensing for a whole new list of reasons that had nothing to do with pain. His knees were still stiff, but it barely took a few minutes until Zoro felt them relax. It was around then when the swordsman gave a tentative attempt at spreading them apart, barely pushing, more like nudging them in opposite directions. Sanji's first reaction was to press back in, but Zoro's fingers went back to gently squeezing and rubbing, way more patiently so than before, the numbing contact making Sanji relax enough as to end up sighing and doubtfully letting Zoro spread his legs apart on his second attempt.

Another sigh made its way out of his throat much shakier than the previous one as he watched Zoro bend his body forward and seek his length with his lips until he was back into business, his tip swiftly sliding back in Zoro's mouth as he took care of the rest with his hand, which he attempted to coordinate with his bobbing motions. Sanji felt heat rise to his cheeks, which he concealed by hiding his face behind his hands and trying to coordinate his breathing so as not to let out any shameful sounds. Why it felt this wrong to let it be known that he was enjoying this quite a lot he didn't exactly understand, the only thing he knew is that it did. He wasn't supposed to be letting Zoro do this, there were limits that shouldn't be crossed and he still hadn't come to terms as to why Zoro had chosen to break through them, if he dismissed the fact that he was quite obviously drunk. Inebriated state aside, there was an actual powerful will which Sanji could totally read behind Zoro's pupils, and that was the part he couldn't put a name to or understand.

Not that he was in any condition to mull over it when his dick was inside the swordsman's mouth, who was currently trying out a few tricks to get more of his length covered, the effort and concentration clear in the sounds that were filling Sanji's ears and invalidating any attempt of distancing himself of what was going on by shielding his eyes. Not seeing was of no use when he could hear and feel what he was hearing and feeling. The sounds were lewd enough as for Sanji's composure to crack.

As for Zoro, he was beginning to get frustrated. To be honest, last thing he had in mind when he had first attacked Sanji in the bathroom had been to give him a blowjob. It's not like it had even crossed his mind before. But there had been something in Sanji's eyes when he had tried to stop him from embarrassing himself even further, there had been something about the way he had decided to give in because he had sensed Zoro really needed it that had the swordsman acting out of impulse and very willingly so.

First thing he had been looking for when he had kissed the blonde had been to scratch his itch; he had been selfishly seeking his own pleasure in an attempt to placate his inner revolting self. He didn't exactly know how he had gone from that to kneeling in front of Sanji and sucking him off, which did little to solve Zoro's own physical frustrations, but he knew that, at that point, he wanted it to be good for the blonde. Not that much out of an altruistic urge, but out of his own challenge thirst which had his pride seeking for him to be good at what he was doing, thus making Sanji lose it.

So far he had only gotten a few muffled grunts out of him, but that was about it. His free hand was gripping Sanji's thigh for leverage and he could feel it flexing as much as he could feel Sanji's abs tightening every now and then, which lead him to believe that he was doing something well, but it still didn't feel like it was enough. Sanji wasn't a moaning mess or anything remotely similar to that, and Zoro's pride was beginning to feel threatened. Did he affect him this little? Come on, Zoro was roasting his wits to try to recall and recreate all the techniques he had ever enjoyed receiving, and the most he was getting was a grunt? It's not like Sanji had ever made a show out of coming or sharing hand jobs with him; the blonde was definitely more vocal than Zoro, but he wasn't obnoxiously loud either. But still, that was too quiet, even for him.

Feeling slightly annoyed and a bit disheartened, fearing that he was doing an awful job at what he was expecting to at least do a decent performance at for a beginner, he looked up to check on the blonde and was met with a sight that had his doubts vanishing. Sanji had his face covered, his jaw clenching and his sweaty neck putting on show Sanji's strain as he kept whatever he was feeling to himself. There was something in the way he was pressing his face hard against his palms that had Zoro believing he had him on edge, tight self-restraint visible for everyone to see.

That had his vigor increasing tenfold, his attention switching back to what he was doing as he made it a goal to at least get a moan out of the shitty cook. Sanji was more than likely not seeing this as a challenge, but Zoro's less than sober brain sure as hell saw it as one.

He chocked again, forcing Sanji to snap out of it and try to get Zoro to take it easy or just downright stop it, but Zoro was hearing none of it, his fingers digging in Sanji's tight as he held on tighter and went back to doing his thing, which left Sanji cursing and pressing a hand back against his eyes, his self-control running away like Luffy would run after food.

It was a few moments later, neither of them could really tell how much time had gone by at that point, that Sanji's throat let out a dragged loud moan that startled Zoro enough to jump back and stare at Sanji like a deer right in front of headlights, his heart beating at a mile per second with surprise.

If Zoro was surprised, Sanji was dumbfounded and irrevocably mortified for life. Their eyes met as Sanji's turned the size of a plate and Zoro's squinted in a mischievous glint that quickly led to a less than innocent smirk being flashed his way. There he had it. His price.

Zoro was fast to lower his head again, taking as much as he could in his mouth in one go, almost choking himself in the process, but humming the moment he heard Sanji hiss, which he took as a good sign, his mind set in trying to repeat what he had been doing when he had earned the moan he had been seeking. Whatever he had just done had worked, it was just a matter of perfecting it.

"Fuck," Sanji muttered. Not out of pleasure but out of utter defeat and embarrassment. He knew what Zoro's look meant and he didn't like it one bit.

It was at that point that Sanji allowed himself to look again. There was no point in trying to keep his eyes shut to reality, not when it was very much happening right between his thighs and quite evidently so if his slip in his self-restraint was anything to go by.

He watched with hooded eyes and heavy breathing as Zoro's head bobbed up and down his length, which he could see disappearing in between his lips as Zoro's calloused hand worked with whatever he couldn't reach in what now seemed like coordinated moves which had Sanji losing focus at bits. This shouldn't be messing with him like that. He shouldn't have found it this hot, but it was, and damn if all his blood hadn't rushed south by now.

Zoro earned himself another breathy moan before Sanji's body clenched for good and the blonde went completely silent. His gaze raised to find Sanji biting hard on his lip and barely breathing as he tried to fight a lost battle against composure. The thought hit him that Sanji was close, and Zoro's might went straight into achieving to make him come, something intense hitting his chest at the sight.

It was with that impulsive mindset that he carelessly tried to fit all of Sanji's length in his mouth in one go, which had Sanji's tip hitting the back of his throat and igniting his gag reflex like lightening. Zoro ripped himself away from Sanji, thrown in a violent coughing fit, but his brain hadn't ignored the way Sanji had quite obviously moaned through gritted teeth the moment that had happened, so his hand went straight to pumping the blonde as fast as he could to coax release out of him even as he covered his mouth with his free hand and coughed his life away against it, reflex tears piling up behind his eyelashes. The moment he felt Sanji shudder, his strained eye snapped open to watch, and the sight went right to his crotch. He had never watched Sanji's expression as he came and he swore this was his best and worst idea to date. Any brain cell that had managed to survive the effects of the alcohol he had ingested that night was now officially deceased. How the fuck was this so hot? How the fuck had Sanji's expression turned into that, even when he was pretty clearly restraining himself through it? How the fuck was Zoro supposed to look at Sanji without replaying that scene in his head from now on, especially when they fought?

Just as Zoro's world felt apart a bit, his stomach doing crazy flips and willing him to do indecent things to the blonde, his body decided to remind him of his own problem down south through a particular coiling feeling at the pit of his stomach. Shit. His hand stilled on Sanji as the blonde regained his breath, eyes scrunched shut, and that was the moment he decided to let go and scramble to his feet and to the bathroom, away from Sanji before he could do any of the things his everything wanted to do to him at the moment. He couldn't impose that on Sanji, and if he stayed there any longer he would attempt to do just that, if his understanding of how his brain worked while drunk was correct.

Shit, fucking shitty fuck, everything he was doing was backfiring and he was starting to freak out. Had he just done that? Had he just thought of doing-? Oh, shit.

Sanji's breathing seemed to come to a stable pace after a while. He could feel his heart beating in his temples and he had lost all hearing abilities for a moment, to which he was still readjusting. He may or may not have lost his sight, but he couldn't really tell since he had closed his eyes the moment everything had gone down; his dick hitting the back of Zoro's throat being the end of him.

He took a deep breath and let his eyes slip open, blinking at the empty space in front of him but feeling too drained and lazy to do anything about it. He stayed there, sat with his back against the wall and his legs spread in front of him, his pants pooling at his ankles, as he stared at the opposite wall with hooded eyes while he tried to calm his heart rate and even his breathing. It took him a while to distinguish the sound of running water over the pounding in his head but, when he did, he frowned.

What the fuck was Zoro doing? As far as he knew (not that he knew much about anything at that given moment in time), Zoro hadn't come nor had he even touched himself, and he was more than sure that he hadn't touched him either. A weird sensation hit him, the reminder of wariness making its way into his chest and forcing his body to stand up, quite unstably so, and make his way towards the bathroom to check what that bastard was up to, because he was more than definitely up to something or at least doing something stupid.

He knocked on the door with a small scowl, but was met with silence. And so he went ahead and opened it, thanking fuck it wasn't properly locked, only to find the swordsman stark naked in the shower, absolutely wet and quite evidently jerking himself off even though Sanji was faced with his back.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Zoro seemed rather startled as he swept around with his eye wide open, his hand jumping away from where he had it wrapped around as he stared at Sanji like he had just seen a ghost. Which confirmed the fact that he was far from sober. Zoro didn't normally jump at Sanji's sudden presence since he could always sense it coming, and he definitely didn't just stand there watching without his brain cells connecting when the blonde found him in embarrassing situations.

It took him a few seconds to register that Sanji had asked a question and a few more to process it; by the time he did he was warily biting his lip.

"You didn't look that much into it and it's not like I'm going to force you to return the favour," he stated in a low tone. Not only was he taken aback, he was quite upset that he had been interrupted this rudely by the guy he was trying to pry his own hands off. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"You are an idiot."

Zoro stilled, eye fixed in Sanji's expression as the other growled and got rid of his own clothes, jumping into the shower before he had a chance to react (or maybe he was being too slow). Next thing Zoro knew, he was being pushed so that he was facing the wall, Sanji's arms wrapping around his waist and being fast at grabbing Zoro's aching member and stroking it at a burning pace that had the swordsman choking a gasp since he hadn't been expecting it.

He had the sinking feeling that Sanji had forced him to turn around so that they wouldn't have to face each other, and he wasn't far from the truth. Sanji didn't want to see Zoro's face as he did what he was currently doing. His swollen lips and glistening eyes hadn't escaped his gaze the moment Zoro had looked back at him. Something had coiled quite aggressively at the pit of his stomach at the scene, and he had decided he was having none of it. Sure he could've just walked out of the room, but that didn't seem fair nor would his honor tolerate it after what Zoro had just done to him. He wasn't about to let Zoro fare on his own when he knew he had initially come to him to chase his own release, which had quite clearly gone the other way around; but that didn't mean that he had to look at him while helping him out, specially not his reddish lips, which he could now only picture around his dick. Great. Just great.

Sanji scrunched his eyes in frustration and let his forehead fall against Zoro's nape as he tried to do a quick job out of it, his left hand pressing against Zoro's twitching abs (what the fuck, they were rock hard how were those even natural?) to keep him still while he jerked him off in fast and precise movements that had the swordsman holding back a few groans against his forearm, which he was using to support himself against the wall.

Zoro wasn't thinking. The itch was insufferable now, and he swore that if he didn't get release he'd just go mad. Something at the back of his mind wanted to turn around and touch Sanji, but he never did so; partly because it was obvious that that as about the last thing Sanji wanted right now, and partly because his body wasn't responding.

And Sanji must've thought that he wasn't being efficient enough, because it didn't take long for him to drag his hand from the greenhead's abs to his nipple, which he pinched and rubbed out of instinct seconds before he craned his neck to get access to Zoro's earlobe, where he began abusing his flesh with a mix of teeth and tongue, trying to get him to his climax the fastest possible. He wasn't sure he could manage slow games without his brain cells committing mutiny and leading him to do something stupider than letting Zoro suck him off, and he was positive that Zoro didn't have the patience for it if the angry jerks of his hips against his hand were anything to go by.

Zoro bit back a deep growl at the increase of physical contact, Sanji's chest wetly sliding against his back with each slight movement he made. He was aware of Sanji's dick somewhere near his bare ass, but Sanji was purposely keeping a distance in between their lower bodies, which had Zoro intuiting it rather than feeling it against his skin; which he had to be grateful for because he honestly didn't know what his reaction might have been had there been any contact down there.

Sanji's mouth, which Zoro had no choice but to classify as talented, made its way towards his neck, where he began biting and licking in a way that had him feeling like he was about to be devoured. That and a few A+ performed hand movements had him groaning out loud and losing sight as he came all over Sanji's hand only to have everything washed away by the shower spray pouring onto them.

Amidst his short-lived moment of ecstasy, he didn't miss how Sanji's breath had become heavier against his neck, and he stayed somehow aware of the few seconds the blonde took to get away from him and regulate his oxygen own intake, which had become unbalanced at some point.

It took him a while to pull his wits together, but senses came back to him eventually. His forehead was still pressed against his forearm, which he didn't dare to stop using as a crutch to keep himself standing for the moment. The most elaborate movement he managed was to tilt his head to the side in order to focus his blurry gaze on Sanji, who was currently doing a quick job at spreading soap all over his body and hair, the few bandages Chopper still ordered him to use gone to waste. Zoro found himself not being able to do anything but stare in a daze, his eye travelling all over the expanse of Sanji's body.

The thought flashed him that he was beautiful.

And then he snapped out of it, brutally and suddenly, eye widened as he registered what his brain had just thought of. When Sanji turned around with what seemed like a tattooed half frown, he found Zoro's slightly freaked out stare on him, which contrasted with how relaxed and satisfied his body looked like. In his rush to get out of there before awkwardness got the worst out of him, he didn't pay much attention to it other than allowing his frown to deepen questioningly for a second.

"Come on, take a shower and go to sleep, it's about time we passed the fuck out."

Zoro moved a tad to allow Sanji to get out of the shower without any skin touching with his, but that's about as much as he did since he didn't find his voice to answer.

He watched as Sanji dried himself and silently exited the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around his hips, closing the door behind him in an attempt to put some much needed distance in between them.

Zoro's gaze was left with nothing to stare other than the mess the bathroom had become; his and Sanji's cum stained clothes messily laying on the floor, which resembled a huge puddle after Zoro had tried to wash away the smell of perfume that had made things go downhill without much care.

He felt the need to roll his eyes. He'd have to clean this in the morning, it wouldn't do for the hotel staff who regularly cleaned their rooms to find such a suspicious state of things, that if one of his nakama didn't come in first. Speaking of which, where had Robin gone? Was anyone planning on coming back for their watch or what? He would have cleaned everything now, but his ass had hit the floor right before he could order his body to do something productive. Not that he had his mind set on it either; he was too entranced in trying to comprehend how the fuck his brain had come up with the thought that Sanji was beautiful, out of all the adjectives possible. He was fast to blame it on the alcohol which, in all fairness, was probably the cause of something like that occurring to him, but that didn't reassure him as much as it should have.

Damn, he hated being drunk.

The floor was currently spinning under his weight and he was beginning to feel dizzy as fuck, his brain less than stable. While he had been at it with Sanji it had been easier to placate given how much concentration and self-restraint it had taken for him to get what he wanted, but right now, as he was coming down from his high and his body felt lightweight and foreign, the drunkenness effects were coming back with vengeance. Not to mention that his head was playing games with him and he didn't like it one bit.

Water was still running and hitting his skin in hot sprays, but Zoro's mind was far away from that and his body was way too exhausted as to start properly showering like Sanji had pretty much ordered. Man, he was fucked.

He'd regret all of this in the morning, he was sure of that. Not the blowjob per se but the way he had proved not to be able to control himself, the way he had begged and pushed and more than likely made a fool of himself; the way he had been forced to face an uncontrolled need he had been able to conceal up until now.

But, at the moment, he didn't care. He'd worry about it when the sun rose, there was no rush.

As for now, the only thing that mattered was that his body was completely relaxed and emptied of stress and frustration, his limbs feeling limp in a good way.

As for now, the itch was gone.

---

Chopper had been yelling for a while, outraged and angry at every single one of his crewmates. Not only had Robin left her watch earlier than she should've, she had apparently convinced the rest of not taking their turns, at least until morning, which had an injured Sanji and a drunk Zoro alone in their room while not being monitored by anyone.

"Believe me when I say you don't want to be there," Robin calmly repeated for the umpteenth time, not elaborating further, which had Chopper on edge because, what the hell, that was not a valid reason whatsoever!

"They need monitoring!" Chopper countered. "Especially Sanji!"

"Are they fighting again?" Luffy popped in. He had been quite easily convinced, but his curiosity didn't keep him from asking.

"Something like that," Robin muttered.

There was no trace of her mysterious chuckles or know-it-all stares, she was rather serious, but not necessarily worried. Nami and Franky hadn't asked and were fast to add their efforts to the cause, and Usopp had been smart enough not to protest, something in the back of his mind telling him that he shouldn't. Luffy had been asking questions non-stop, momentarily worried that the duo was playing fun games without him, but hadn't been particularly insisting, and Brook hadn't given a fuck.

Chopper had sworn he'd end them if they didn't fulfill their responsibilities, but it's not like he stood a chance. He was currently trapped in between Nami's arms as she smoothed him with reassuring words here and there which had him yelling back at her, but she wasn't listening. Instead, she frowned at Robin, not knowing what her expression meant. It wasn't good nor was it bad, it was pretty much neutral, but it had Nami worrying over it. She had been the one to send Zoro back to his room after having half stopped him from hooking up with some stranger and, by the looks of it, he had made it there, else Robin wouldn't be back in the club and starting a mutiny against Chopper's orders to begin with. But Nami had been expecting her to send her a knowing smirk which never came her way, which could only mean that the situation had been rather delicate the moment she had left those two idiots alone.

Whatever was going on between them (and Nami had a fair idea of what it might be), they were walking on thin ice and both her and Robin were starting to understand the potential extent of the consequences. Meddling in their business had been rather easy and a bit like an obligation as nakama for them at the beginning, but it was now becoming a touchy subject. Sure they could give a nudge here and there, but things were visibly starting to become complicated and there was only so much they could do without messing it up for them.

Robin's blank expression confirmed it. She believed herself in no position to judge or foretell anything anymore; it had stopped being a betting game.

It was downright gambling, yes, but it wasn't for any of them to put their bets in anymore. It was between Zoro and Sanji and they could only trust them to have enough sense to not make a bet they couldn't back up afterwards.

Chopper kept scolding them all in her arms and Luffy kept asking questions that Robin kept dismissing one by one by delivering opaque answers which seemed to satisfy his captain. Usopp had long ago disappeared to get some drinks with Brook in an attempt to distance himself from the situation before he could really start wondering what was going on. He had the feeling that he didn't want to know.

Nami sighed, sharing a quick glance with Franky, who was pulling the same kind of face Nami and Robin were wearing.

She had never wished for those two idiots to pull their shit together as much as she was currently wishing they would.

TBC