Hey everybody,

so, here we go! (Yes, it's not Saturday yet, but I don't know how much time I will have tomorrow, so I thought why not^^)

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter (Gosh, we're already halfway through...) and see you next weekend!

Sharry

P.S.: thank you all for your sweet words 3

Chapter 6

-Sanji-

The day had been worse than he could have ever imagined.

With exhausted fingers he prepared dinner, rubbing his still burning eyes every once in a while. First this terrible nightmare and then real life had been even worse. He didn't know what to do, he had no freaking idea what to do.

Sighing, he noted that the sea moved rougher than usual, as some of his ingredients tried to escape from his reach.

Slowly, he started to accept it. They would lose Zoro, he would probably really leave the crew and although Zoro had not even blamed him, not one of the others had even mentioned it, Sanji had the undeniable feeling that he was responsible for what had happened.

Maybe it really had just been an accident, maybe he really wasn't at fault, but at least he had wanted to - at least for a brief moment, at least for a short, terrible second - he had actually wanted to seriously hurt the other.

His hands trembled. He put the knife aside and clenched his fists to suppress the tremor. Especially someone like him, someone with his past, shouldn't have such thoughts, right?

He had never understood why some people actually liked to hurt other people, inflict pain on them. It wasn't like a fight, in which everyone wanted to prove that they were the best, that they were superior, such people didn't want to win fair and honest, they didn't even want a fight, they just wanted to destroy others in a cruel way to revel in their suffering.

Until a few days ago, Sanji had been convinced that he had nothing in common with such monsters, and now he wondered if he was just as reprehensible.

Suddenly the door in his back flew open and Chopper stormed in.

"Sanji, come out fast!"

"What's wrong?"

"Nami says a storm is approaching, a bad one!"

He quickly turned off oven and stove, secured everything he could, and followed the reindeer outside. In such moments there was not much to think about, if the navigator warned of a storm, one would surely come.

He wasn't even out of the galley when he saw the unexpected storm clouds approaching at an incredible pace. From the steering wheel he could already hear Nami shouting commands, her strong voice and her serious gaze made it clear that this would not be a gentle breeze.

Sanji wasted another sigh on his almost prepared dinner before running after Franky to strike the mainsail.

To his surprise, he also saw Robin rushing across the deck from the corners of his eyes. She usually only had to jump in during absolute emergencies, but then he realized that they lacked a strong man, so her help was indeed desperately needed.

By the next moment, the storm had already reached them.

At first it was just windy, and rain bounced down on them. They were completely soaked within seconds, but the raindrops kept getting harder and bigger and bigger. One of them as big as a cannonball caught Usopp and crushed him to the ground. He tried to stand up, coughing water while on all four, Chopper pulled him to safety just in time before another watercannonball could hit him.

The Thousand Sunny waved menacingly back and forth as they all tried to follow the orders of their navigator, who was busy herself trying to not get hit by the huge drops of water.

Although it was just water, the fist-sized drop that hit Sanji's shoulder felt just like a targeted blow. Each impact echoed loudly across the deck, making it sound like they were being attacked.

Nami's voice could hardly be heard due to the strong wind and the blazing rain and Sanji had lost sight of the others by now. In fact, he saw little more than his own hands, holding a thick rope, the end of it disappeared somewhere in the stormy darkness.

They probably wouldn't last that long.

But as quickly as the storm came as quickly it disappeared again.

The huge raindrops turned into a blazing cloudburst, still a lot of water, but at least not hurting any more. The storm weakened to a rough wind, it was cold, but the storm had lost its danger. The Sunny sailed safely over the still rocky waves.

They all stood on deck, soaked to the skin, holding dripping strands of hair out of their faces as it continued to rain.

"Okay," Nami said in a loud voice, though it wasn't necessary anymore to yell, "Brook, you're setting the sail with Luffy before heading for the lockout." Both men nodded at the same time.

"The rest of you, go and change. Not that you are all sick tomorrow. Then you replace Brook so that he can change as well." She nodded to Usopp, who didn't dare to disagree either.

"Franky, Chopper, you check the ship for possible damage as soon as you put on rainproof clothes." She turned to Sanji. "And you can now check if there is anything left to save from your dinner."

Sanji laughed quietly, although not being in a laughing mood at all. He was wet like a snowman during spring, his shoulder still hurt and the wind was freaking cold, not even thinking about how bad things in his gally might look.

"Don't worry, Nami-dear, I will make it work as always."

She nodded approvingly and followed the boys to the cabins, closely followed by Robin, who was quite calm and only gave him a telling look, which he did not understand.

Swiftly Sanji went to change clothes, before he followed Usopp outside and turned to his kitchen.

This whole storm had not lasted five minutes, perhaps about ten, but even the short distance from the men's room to the galley was almost enough to soak Sanji again despite the rain jacket.

Luckily, the galley didn't look nearly as bad as he had feared. In fact, Franky's forward-thinking design of the kitchen had ensured that no ingredients had fallen to the ground, only the pans he had already put out and the knife he had previously used had been scattered.

The Sunny still rocked quite strongly, but not nearly as bad as before. In a hurry, he completed the remaining deeds and set the table so that the exhausted crew, who would come in at any moment, could eat something warm at once.

But suddenly he heard a quiet noise from the adjoining room.

Zoro!

For a few seconds he had completely forgotten about the other. Had been so taken in by work and chaos that he had completely forgotten that there was still someone.

With hasty steps, Sanji rushed over to the sickbay. Here it looked much worse than in the kitchen.

Some bulky chair had flipped over, blocking the door and preventing him from opening it more than a few inches, forcing him to squeeze through a rather narrow gap. It was only then that he realized that it was a wheelchair.

Chair, stool, and bedside table had all been overturned and probably flown through half the room. Luckily, desk, cupboard, and bed had been screwed to the walls, but everything that had been on them was wildly spread through the room, including the Marimo.

At first, Sanji did not see the swordsman, but then he found him behind the desk, halfway buried under all kinds of stuff, swords in one hand, with the other he tried to pull himself up. He had several red marks and streaks on his face and arms and had probably also been thrown through the room.

"What's going on out there?" His voice was calm, but his eyes flashed with suppressed, wild emotions.

"It's okay. Just a storm."

"So we're not under attack"

"No." Sanji grabbed the wheelchair and set it up before clearing away the rest of the stuff burying Zoro. "What about you? Are you okay?"

He was unsure how to deal with the other, only a few hours ago he had caused Zoro to slam a freaking fork into his leg. Now Zoro held three swords in his hand and seemed even more emotional than before.

Zoro just grunted as a reply but did not manage to put himself in another position, he seemed exhausted and simply allowed Sanji to dig him up. After Sanji was done, he sank down on the stool and watched the other put his swords aside.

None of them spoke, Sanji looked at the other attentively, but Zoro stared to the small window in the door, watching the rain bounce against the glass.

After a while, Sanji leaned back, already a hand at the cigarette packet in his pocket. He should leave before something happened again, but he felt responsible and like it would just be the easier way to go and leave the other alone.

"I've got to get out of here." Zoro's dark, rough voice surprised him when the other suddenly whispered quietly after minutes had passed and turned on his stomach.

"I have to get out," he urged more forcefully, and began to crawl across the floor, completely ignoring Sanji, his eyes on the door.

"Wait a sec, Marimo, hey!" Sanji jumped up and pushed the stool aside as the other man moved forward in such an unfortunate position. "What the hell is going on?"

"I have to get out of here! I have to get outside!" Zoro sounded reckless, almost insane, barely paying attention to Sanji, but pushed the bedside table aside with one hand and pulled his body forward with nothing but the strength of his arms.

"Yeah okay, okay!" Before he knew what he was doing, Sanji bent down and grabbed him by the arm.

"What the hell are you doing?" Zoro sounded as if he had only just noticed Sanji being there.

"I'm helping you," he replied with the same drive.

"No, let me go! I'm fi..."

"Damn it! Stop this bullshit! You're not fine and just admit that you need some fucking help right now!"

Shocked, Zoro stared at him. But Sanji didn't care. He grabbed the other's arm and pulled it over his shoulders.

"Cook...," Zoro started.

"Just shut the hell up, Marimo. I am so done with your self-pity! Fucking damn it, you want to get out, so let's just go out!" With his right hand he grabbed Zoro's rough hand over his shoulder, the other he placed around Zoro's waist. "I'm not doing this here for fun, you bastard."

The other just grumbled quietly under his breath.

Sanji had to confess, he was surprised by the weight of the other as he straightened up, fighting for balance but winning.

"You're just too kind." This was clearly not meant as a compliment.

"And you're just too stubborn." Nor was this.

Carefully, he took one step at a time, dragging Zoro's feet across the floor. Kind? Yeah sure. If the other knew what Sanji had wished on him, just seconds before it had happened, he wouldn't say that.

"You have to open the door; my hands are kind of full."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

But Zoro reached for the handle and opened the door. Immediately, the rain whipped into their faces.

"Sure you want to get out?"

Zoro just nodded.

As soon as they made it past the door, it slammed shut behind them.

"Great," Sanji hissed, holding the other firmly as the ship wavered, "now we're standing here like two ducks in the rain, satisfied?"

"Let go of me."

"Wanna fall flat on your face?"

Very slowly he bent his knees and then let Zoro down carefully.

A few seconds later, both pirates sat on the ground and leaned against the door, already soaking wet.

"And? Happy now?"

But the other did not respond.

After a while, Sanji looked over to the other. Zoro leaned with the back of his head against the door and looked up to the dark sky. For the first time since that fateful day, he actually looked like Zoro. Not this indirect anger or this lying serenity.

His face was serious but calm, his eyes clear. Rain dripped down his face and for a split second Sanji wondered if he was actually crying, but Zoro didn't cry, Zoro would never cry, right?

With a sigh, Sanji pulled a completely soaked cigarette out of his jacket, a few attempts later he actually managed to light it, like the last spark of hope he looked at the embers that seemed as hot as ever.

"I bet I'm sick tomorrow," he murmured softly, taking another draw.

"Certainly." Zoro grinned. "You'll definitely spend all day sick in bed, but I won't."

"Well, you'll probably spend all day in bed, too."

He bit his lip, but Zoro just laughed softly, without replying.

Just like this they stayed there in the rain, it was freaking cold, but Sanji hardly dared to look at the other, let alone get up and go, so he took another draw from his cigarette and then offered it to the other.

It wouldn't have been the first time one of his crewmembers would have a smoke, but this time the swordsman refused with a soft head shake.

Again Zoro looked into the sky, drops running down his cheeks like sweet tears. Then he laughed quietly.

"What's so funny?" Sanji asked, looking at the other.

Zoro shook his head again.

"Usopp called me a coward," he laughed.

"What? Our scaredy-cat?"

The Marimo nodded. "And the worst thing is, I think he's even right."

"Sure. I'm not even sure you know how to write coward – do you even know how to write in general? - you may be a braindead, socially restricted idiot, but you are certainly no coward."

The other looked at him from the corners of his eyes, a slight grin on his lips.

"Just shut up, dartboard brow, at least I don't make a fool of myself in front of every woman I come across and don't scream like a baby whenever a spider hangs over my bunk."

"That was once, you asshole! And I know that you put it there, you or Usopp."

Zoro laughed quietly again and Sanji also had to grin. This moment was almost like those nights they had spent together over a bottle of sake or wine. He felt comfortable, for a moment he could forget what had happened.

"Do you remember how Chopper became part of our crew?"

That question surprised him.

"Yes, of course, like all of us. Luffy saw him and declared him a crewmember without thinking for even a second."

"Exactly." Zoro smiled weakly. "That's how it was with everyone except for Robin and me."

Astonished, he looked at the other. What was he talking about?

It was true that Robin had invited herself, so to speak, but as far as Sanji knew, Luffy had also decided that Zoro would join him at first sight. And it wasn't like the whole thing with Franky had been unsurprising.

"What do you mean by that? Don't tell me you decided to join in, just like Robin did?"

"Oh no, of course not." But Zoro did not laugh, almost sadly he looked out to the far sea. "The difference between me and you guys is, Luffy got to know you and then he decided he wanted you to join."

"And he didn't with you?" Sanji barely understood a word, he hardly knew anything about the time before Nami and Usopp had joined the Crew. Luffy did mention one thing or another out of context every once in a while, but Zoro rarely talked about anything in general, so Sanji actually didn't really know how he had ended up joining the crew except for that Luffy had apparently saved him from some Marines.

"I didn't know at first. Corby mentioned it on Water Seven and then everything made sense."

"I don't get your point, Marimo."

"Before Luffy came to Shelltown, he had already been looking for me. He had told Corby that he needed strong men for his crew and that I had a dangerous reputation."

"Yes, so? What about it?"

Then Zoro looked at him again, placing both hands in his lap, as if he had to warm them.

"Although he wasn't even sure if he really wanted me to join the crew before he met me, I'm still the only one of us he chose beforehand."

"And I still don't get what you're..." Sanji stopped as he slowly understood. "But even if, Zoro, that does not change anything. That doesn't really mean..."

"But cook, at least for me, it does make a difference. Luffy chose me before he knew me because of my reputation, because of my strength. When he heard how strong I was on Shelltown, he decided to take me with him. It is a different kind of responsibility. It wasn't about personal preferences or whether we would get along. It is very unusual for Luffy not to decide from the gut but to act on reason, so I think..."

"Oh, that's nonsense! I mean, it's obviously hard to get along with some bastard like you, but Luffy would never have picked you if he wouldn't be able to stand you at all, infamous pirate hunter or no infamous pirate hunter. You can trust him that much."

Zoro did not answer, but continued to watch the sea, while the rain seemed to subside slowly.

"I think now I get why Usopp calls you a coward. Let yourself be troubled by such thoughts. That's pretty ridiculous, Marimo, especially for some brainless idiot like you."

"Would you still think like this is if you couldn't move your hands anymore, if you couldn't cook anymore. But even then, at least you could still fight more or less with your legs."

"What is that supposed to mean? That's something totally different! Good grief, you're weird today. So much lamenting doesn't suit you."

"You have no idea, cook."

They grew silent again. It was surprising that no one came looking for them yet, but maybe it was for the better. Zoro's mood was strange, it unsettled Sanji, and it was better if the others didn't notice.

"You should use Usopp's and Franky's wheelchair, so you don't have to stay in the sickbay all day. I don't think that's good for you." Sanji looked at the sky, trying to maintain a carefree mood.

After a while, Zoro sighed. "Maybe you're right, self-pity won't take me anywhere. I have to make the most of my situation now."

"You just admitted that I'm right? Hold up, I'm really starting to worry about your mental health."

But he didn't find it funny. Feelings of guilt plagued him. He should tell Zoro, free his conscience.

"Believe me, this won't happen a second time."

Sanji was searching for a new cigarette.

But then he looked at his hand in confusion. Where did his first cigarette go? Didn't he have it just a few seconds ago? He hadn't even finished it yet.

"Oh," Zoro's surprised sound made him look up.

Zoro pulled at his left trouser leg, showing a small, charring hole. The tiny spot of floor between them had been protected from the rain and obviously Sanji had lost his cigarette there. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.

"Oh shit! Sorry!"

"It's okay."

Zoro seemed rather surprised than angry, while he took the still burning cigarette with one hand and inspected the hole with the other, the skin underneath was reddened and showed a small blister, nothing serious, but nevertheless already unpleasant to look at.

Sanji bit his lower lip, again he had hurt the other by his carelessness.

"It's weird." Still highly concentrated, Zoro looked at the small wound. "Sometimes I almost imagine the pain. For a moment, I really thought I was feeling the burn, I almost hoped I did. I hate when this happens."

He leaned forward with a deep sigh while Sanji leaned back against the door.

"But that means you haven't given up yet, right? Otherwise you wouldn't be hoping anymore."

"That's just the annoying thing. Although I know it can't be, I still hope that maybe everything will be fine."

Sanji nodded and made a decision.

"Can you promise me something, Marimo?"

Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Can you promise me not to leave the crew while you still have a glimmer of hope left?"

The other tilted his head.

"I mean, even if you need someone every day to vent your spleen on, to yell at if you're angry, then I'll be that person; I mean, I've been that person all along, so wouldn't make such a big difference."

"What…?"

"I don't know this crew without you and even if you're a nail to my coffin, I don't want to imagine this crew without you."

The swordsman laughed. "Even if I roll around uselessly in a wheelchair on the ship and order you around like Nami because I'm pissed that I can't fight myself?"

Sanji also laughed.

"As long as I can talk back, I'm happy to accept that."

Zoro laughed softly and shook his head. After a long second he nodded.

"Well, for all I care. But I promise you that I will make you regret this request every day."

"Oh, good, I was already afraid that you would be nice for a change."

Both stared up to the sky, where the dark clouds made way for the first stars.

This time Zoro took the offered cigarette.

"Say," Sanji muttered, and began counting the stars, " how did you even notice the cigarette that quick? I didn't even realize I've lost it."

Zoro shrugged his shoulders and gave the cigarette back after a draw. "Heat and the smell of burning flesh are quite good indicators, you would know if you wouldn't deaden your senses with this stuff."

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Oi, it's bad enough Chopper lectures me about this all the time, I really can do without your two berries, and by the way, didn't you just…"

In surprise, he choked on the smoke.

Zoro laughed. "What's going on? Forgotten how to smoke?"

"No, you idiot!" Sanji turned to him as serious as he could, even though adrenaline pumped through his body. Again, he coughed. "You said the cigarette was hot."

"Yes, so? Simple law of nature. Fire equals heat."

Agitated Sanji brushed his wet hair back, before it fell back in place.

"Hey, cook. Your eyebrows are actually..."

"Heat is a feeling, Marimo! How could you notice the fucking heat? Where the hell did you have your hands? Could it be...?"

Zoro's eyes grew large as he stared at Sanji and then at the small hole in his pants.

"You noticed the cigarette before I even smelled anything."

"Pinch me, cook!"

"Sure!"

"Not in the shoulder, you idiot."

"Oh yes, of course."

He saw Zoro covering his eyes with one hand and leaning his head back. Slowly Sanji leaned forward and pinched the flesh under the soaked pants.

Zoro took a hard breath.

"Right," he whispered, his voice breaking, "you pinched my right leg."

And this time Sanji was sure it wasn't just rain.