Hello there! This fic is pure self-indulgence, just letting you know beforehand. Once I finished watching OP back in Spring, I was determined to write at least one multi-chaptered zosan fic, and then zosan + werewolves au popped into my head, so here we are, I guess! I hope you enjoy this fic just as much as I enjoyed writing it!
A/N: Luffy: Beta, Zoro: Alpha, Usopp: Beta, Nami: Alpha. No mpreg/heats/ruts. There is a mating season, but nothing like 'knots' or 'self-lubricating omegas' exist. (Just wanted to address these early on, so you know what is going on!)
It all started after their fight against Bartholomew Kuma in Thriller Bark.
At this point, Sanji had given up completely on trying to figure out Zoro. That green haired dog was just impossible to fucking read! He barely voiced out his own opinions (only rarely when the situation called for it), and if he wasn't too preoccupied with his ridiculous daily training, he would either be sleeping or drinking like an alcoholic.
In short, Zoro and him had barely ever had a civilized conversation that lasted more than ten seconds without yelling profanities and trying to kill each other. Sanji doubted if Zoro cared about him in the slightest, as their bond consisted of a mere mutual respect for each other's skills in battle, but besides that, they hardly tolerated each other.
And then that green haired idiot goes and pulls shit like that when they were facing Kuma, throwing Sanji completely off the loop. Just what was his deal? He knows that Zoro isn't the type of guy to want to steal all the glory for himself and boast about it. In fact, that guy is probably the most honorable man Sanji has ever come across. It makes him absolutely sick just admitting it to himself, but still. Was it something more personal? Or was it just Zoro being an idiot?
Well, he wouldn't put it past Zoro to do that just to spite Sanji. They could both reach extreme levels of pettiness when it came to being competitive. Or perhaps it was a hero complex? From what he had observed since he first joined the crew, Sanji felt like Zoro was oddly overprotective of the people he considered to be his friends.
Willing to cut your own legs without a moment of hesitation to save your friends? Willingly accepting all the pain and damage Luffy sustained in his previous battles, just so the rest could walk free? It wasn't like Sanji wouldn't make any precious sacrifice to aid his friends in need, but any logical person would hesitate, would be scared.
But then again, Zoro never had any ounce of rationality in him, did he?
"Cook-san."
Sanji turned to glance over his shoulder, a wide smile spreading on his lips as he saw Robin approaching him.
"Ah, my sweet Robin-chan, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Are you perhaps hungry? Thirsty? I could—" as he was about to stand, a hand emerged from his back, gently applying pressure on his shoulder.
"Thank you for your offer, but we're all good for the moment, cook-san. I merely came to check on you, as you've been sitting here for a couple of hours now and we were starting to get worried." Robin explained as she came to stand beside him, staring at the dark sea stretching in front of them.
Sanji clasped his hands together, "Ah, I apologize for getting my two sweet angels worried about me, that was not my intention, Robin-chan! I just came out here to clear my mind and didn't notice when time passed by." He responded.
Robin turned towards him, head cocked slightly to the side, "And what exactly would be preoccupying your mind so much that has made you lose track of time?"
Sanji waved his hand, smiling up at Robin. "Oh, it's nothing important, I don't want to waste your precious time—"
"Cook-san," Robin interrupted, "I assure you; you are not wasting any of my time. While not much unusual, it's odd to see you so hung up on something."
Sanji's lips twitched, smile slowly falling off his face. He turned back ahead, gazing at the endless dark sea filling the horizon. Robin could be so perceptive, but it wasn't like he was surprised— it was, after all, one of her amazing characteristics that Sanji loved!
"I've just been thinking about everything that happened. I don't know, I feel like…" he paused, eyebrows furrowing, "I feel like I could have done way more, yet I'm always just…losing. I feel like I'm not doing enough." He turned towards Robin, flashing her a reassuring smile, "It's okay, though, this has just made me realize that I need to get stronger, and thus, in the future I will be able to protect both Robin-chan and Nami-swan without any regrets!"
After that, Robin remained quiet, and Sanji followed suit, deciding to enjoy this peaceful moment in her presence. At least, among their crew, only Brook knew what had happened, and Sanji was sure that he wouldn't dare say anything to the rest, as the skeleton didn't want to get involved. Probably. Sanji didn't know what to think of the musician yet, but his skills were a pleasant addition to the crew.
"Cook-san," Robin started, breaking the silence, "What's your knowledge on werewolves?"
Sanji's eyebrows creased, nose wrinkling. "Werewolves? Where did that come from so suddenly, Robin-chan?"
"Humor me for a second."
Sanji leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. "Well, first of all, everyone knows that Marines hate werewolves, so that's why most of them end up becoming pirates. I also know that there is something called 'secondary gender' which only applies to them? Some are born alphas, some betas and some as omegas, but I have heard that anatomically there are no differences between the three 'genders', just that women mostly tend to be born as omegas and men more as alphas or betas." He answered, scratching the back of his head.
"Oh, and amongst our crew, Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Nami-swan are werewolves, right?"
"Correct."
"If you don't mind me asking, Robin-chan, why did you want to know? I'm sure you are far more knowledgeable on the subject than me." He reasoned, turning his head towards her.
Robin propped her right elbow on her left hand, her right hand slightly covering her mouth as she turned her dark eyes towards Sanji, the vague, amused glint in her gaze making him seize up.
"It's nothing, I was just curious to see your side of things. Thank you for your time, cook-san, I will be taking my leave now." Robin offered him a small smile and turned around.
Sanji watched her leave, mouth open as he tried to find words.
"Oh, and, cook-san? If you want to fully understand the meaning behind Zoro's actions, I would advise you to learn about werewolves' culture and their view of things."
Sanji's eyes went round, a lump forming in his throat as he watched Robin disappear back into the half-wrecked building, leaving him in the ruins of the courtyard alone.
The next day, after Sanji had woken up early to prepare breakfast for everyone, a pleasant melody had flowed through the building, succeeding in soothing his frantic mind. As he went around, distributing everyone's meal, he thanked Brook for the music and, after he had made sure that everyone had taken a platter of food, he took his portion and sat down, leaning against Zoro's bed.
Once he had eaten, he placed the empty platter next to him and discreetly glanced around, making sure that no one was looking towards his direction. Then, he shifted on his knees and reached over, placing his two fingers on Zoro's thumb side of his wrist. When he found a faint, but steady pulse, he let out a small sigh.
Suddenly, he flinched as he felt something nudge his elbow and turned to the side, a small smile twitching on his lips as he came face to face with a six feet tall black wolf. He reached up and placed his hand under Luffy's chin as he ducked his head to Sanji's height, making it easier for Sanji to pet him.
"Hey there, captain, you're up early." He chuckled as the wolf nudged forward and pushed him back until he could place his head on Sanji's lap, his tail wagging happily.
"Aren't you energetic?" he huffed as the wolf pawed at him and he placed his hand over the captain's head, running his hand through the black fur soothingly. "You do know that I have to get up soon, right?"
The wolf yowled in protest and burrowed his muzzle further into Sanji's lap. He resigned for the time being and decided to remain there for a while and keep Luffy company. Either way, it wasn't until a few hours that he would have to get up and start to work again for the preparation of lunch, so he had time to spare.
As he sat back and relaxed, Robin's words creeped into his mind again. What did she mean to view things from the werewolves' point of view? Sanji knew that werewolves, while in their true form, had at least strength tenfold of an average man, thus occasionally being more aggressive and temperamental, as they were part wolf, but other than that, nothing could explain the meaning behind their spontaneous actions.
Or it could be that just Zoro was the defective one. Or maybe…maybe Zoro knew that he was weak. Weak enough not to be able to survive Kuma's vicious attack and decided to take him out of the way, so he wouldn't embarrass the rest of the crew.
Only a hit to the side with the hilt of Zoro's sword, and Sanji was out cold.
He narrowed his eyes and grabbed a cigarette from the front pocket of his jeans, biting down on it viciously when he placed it between his teeth. What 'impossible to read' bullshit was he spewing on about yesterday? When had he turned into such a little sissy, running away from his problems? Just how desperate was he, denying to accept the fact that he was weak, weak and useless.
Perhaps they were right all along.
A whine snapped him back to reality and as he turned his head down, he was met with black fur as Luffy nuzzled against his neck and cheek.
"Shit, Luffy, I almost ate a ball of your fur! Back up a bit!" he swore as he coughed, but the wolf refused to listen and almost mauled him as he rested his head on Sanji's shoulder, occasionally licking him and making those low, whiny sounds.
He let out a heavy sigh, "Luffy, get up, I have to go out for a smoke." He tried to push the oversized wolf off him, but he refused to budge and stubbornly remained planted on top of him, making a huffing sound.
Sanji clicked his tongue, "Do you want me to smoke right next to that green haired idiot while he's on his death bed?" he pointed out.
A moment of silence followed wherein neither Sanji nor Luffy moved. Although, after a while, the black wolf reluctantly pushed himself off Sanji and instead curled up next to him, close to Zoro's bed. He smiled as he watched Luffy nudge Zoro's cheek with his nose and turned around, walking outside in the wrecked courtyard.
Sanji grabbed his lighter and flicked it open, lighting up his cigarette. He took a long drag as he placed the lighter back inside his pocket and slowly exhaled the smoke, watching it dispatch into the air.
Time passed by quickly without even realizing it, and soon it was almost noon, time for Sanji to prepare lunch drawing near.
"Guess I should head back, huh…" he murmured to himself as he gazed at the cloudless sky. He took one last drag of his cigarette and then threw it on the ground, stomping on it with his heel. As he was on his way back, there was debris on the path and had to jump on each mountain of rocks to get through. As Sanji stepped on one, he landed quite awkwardly, the impact vibrating through his body, pain buzzing in his bruised ribs.
His jaw clenched, holding his side with one hand as he hunched over. Sanji took a deep, shaky breath, trying to get himself together.
"Should you really be jumping around like a monkey with those bruises?"
Sanji's breath hitched in his throat, hand on his side clutching on the fabric of his blue sweater. He slowly lifted his head, locking eyes with Zoro.
How the fuck did he already wake up? Barely three days have passed!
Sanji scoffed and averted his eyes, gaze falling over the half-wrecked building in the distance where everyone else was.
"I don't want to fucking hear that from you." He grumbled and took the one last leap down on ground level, starting to walk towards Zoro. He passed by him without paying Zoro any mind and hoped that the swordsman wouldn't retaliate, as he was sure that one simple word would set him off.
"The fuck is that supposed to mean, shit-cook?"
Sanji gritted his teeth, pausing in his steps. God, that ignorant and oblivious fucking tone, as if Zoro had no idea what he had done! He turned around, lips pressed into a thin line as he glared at the other man.
"Oh, you damn well know what the fuck I'm talking about, do not play dumb with me!" he exploded, jabbing his finger towards Zoro accusingly.
Zoro merely raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, peering at him with that haughty expression that Sanji despised so fucking much.
"You come to me, preaching me about not being careful with my injuries, but what about you?! You— you almost fucking died! When I found you covered from head to toe with blood I thought—" his throat closed, and paused, running his hand roughly through his hair, "And now only three days later you're up and about, strolling around like nothing happened?" he panted heavily, a wild look in his eyes.
Zoro bored his eyes into him, his face not betraying anything. After a few tense seconds, Zoro sighed and scratched the back of his head. "You're making this more complicated than it already is. Just leave it alone, curly-eyebrow, it is what it is."
Sanji felt his eye twitch, blood boiling inside his veins. How could someone be so insensitive? Here Sanji was, trying to actually talk to that green haired bastard for once and not result in kicking his ass from the first second, but Zoro was making it really fucking hard to restrain himself.
"Will you fucking take this seriously, for once? You're not invincible, none of us are! If you keep up this hero complex of yours, sooner or later, you won't be able to walk away from it unscathed!" he snapped.
Zoro sighed and murmured something incoherent under his breath. "Look, what happened, happened. There's no use talking about it, so will you stop bitching like a damn woman now? You're impossible sometimes, shit-cook."
Sanji let out a humorless laugh, "I'm the impossible one? Me?" he shook his head, a bitter smile spreading wide on his face. "You know, I don't fucking get you. Why go through all that trouble to knock me unconscious when I was fully willing to take your place? It's not like you give a shit— on the contrary, you probably hate my guts, so why not just let me die and finally enjoy the moments of newfound peace? It would be like killing two birds with one stone."
Before he knew it, Sanji found himself slammed against a wall, the impact rattling his bruised body, knocking the wind out of him.
"Do not fucking assume things about me on your own accord. Next time I hear you spewing bullshit, I will maim you myself, Kuma be damned." Zoro growled, eyes almost fully dark with fury.
Sanji stiffened as he noticed the subtle hints of Zoro transforming; his teeth and nails becoming sharper, longer, something dangerous and primal flashing in his eyes. Sanji placed his hands over Zoro's where he was gripping Sanji's collar tightly, his skin burning at the touch.
"Zoro, let me fucking go." He commanded, meeting Zoro's gaze head on. The swordsman remained silent as he glared at Sanji, only the sound of his heavy breathing able to be heard. For a second, Sanji thought that Zoro's eyes had become a black abyss, his pupil swallowing the iris, and his body trembled, fear spiking inside his chest as he felt compelled to shrink away from that predatory gaze.
It was all over in seconds, Zoro had backed away a few steps from Sanji, turned away, his broad back now facing him. Sanji squared his shoulders, smoothing down his sweater and observed Zoro's back for a few seconds, noticing how tense he was.
Without a further moment to lose, Sanji walked away and made his way back. For the rest of the day, not even cooking, or talking to Nami and Robin could keep those dark and sinister eyes from flashing in his mind.
"Sanji, come here, I need to change your bandages!"
Sanji blew out smoke, watching as Chopper wobbled over to him.
"I know that almost a week has passed and that you heal relatively quickly in comparison to the average person, but I still don't want to be too hasty, so let me at least check your injuries again to estimate your condition— Sanji!" Chopper exploded, "What did I tell you about smoking while injured?! I told you to cut down on chain smoking until you got better!"
Sanji smiled sheepishly as Chopper fumed, glaring up at him disapprovingly. "I'm so sorry, doctor, you know I can't help myself with this addiction of mine," he nibbled down on his lower lip, trying to keep his grin at bay, "I swear I'll take your trusted and professional advice more seriously next time."
Immediately, a huge, pleased smile stretched on Chopper's mouth, cheeks turning red. "Shut up, bastard! It's not like this makes me happy!"
Sanji's eyes softened and patted Chopper on the head, "Yes, yes, you're doing an incredible job, doctor."
"Now you're just trying to get on my good side, asshole! I assure you, it won't work!" Chopper said, although the smile was still evident on his face.
"Well, I think it's quite effective, Chopper-kun." Usopp commented, lifting a hand.
"Don't think that you can get away with— Zoro! What did I tell you about not training yet?! Put that rock down!"
Sanji watched as Chopper ran away, completely forgetting about what he had come here to do in the first place, although Sanji supposed that attending to that green haired idiot was more urgent. He placed the cigarette between his lips and joined Usopp on the table, taking the seat across him.
It was just an hour or two after lunchtime, therefore there was still a lot of time until he had to get up for dinner preparations, and could relax for the time being. Time passed by pleasantly, the joyful melodies of Brook's violin echoing throughout the whole establishment. At one point, Sanji felt pressure, like someone was watching him and turned around, locking eyes with Usopp's nervous gaze.
Sanji lifted an eyebrow as Usopp yelped and ducked down, hiding under the table. "Usopp, what…what are you doing? You okay?"
"No, I'm not okay, I have the Can't-talk-about-feelings disease! It's very deadly!" Usopp protested, peeking up from the end of the bed at the other side.
Sanji gave him an unimpressed look and patiently waited as Usopp slowly stood up and took a seat across from him again. Sanji crossed his legs and folded his arms over his chest, whilst Usopp was looking anywhere but him. He sighed, "Usopp, if you have something you want to tell me, just out with it, I'm not gonna bite."
After a few seconds of silence, Usopp peered up at him with a serious glint in his eyes, making Sanji shift in his seat.
"Did anything happen between you and Zoro?"
Sanji's eyes went round, gaping at Usopp. How did Usopp know? Unless he had talked to Zoro, which meant that Zoro had to open up and share his feelings, which, in return, was plain impossible, he didn't know how it was possible for Usopp to know. Sanji didn't even know if that green-haired idiot was competent in processing the meaning of human emotions. On the other hand, they had barely talked or looked in each other's general direction since their fight in the wrecked courtyard. However, that was hardly something recently-developed. More or less, they had always been like that, thus the question still remains.
And there was no way that Zoro had told Usopp about everything that had taken place— unfortunately, he knows that idiot.
"What do you mean?" Sanji asked, puzzled.
Usopp averted his eyes and lifted his hand, scratching his nape. "I mean, I get that you're not a werewolf and you don't have the abilities to sense it, but Zoro has been giving this…depressed vibe, lately. So, I was wondering if something happened between you two."
A second passed. After two, three seconds of complete silence Sanji burst out in loud laughter, doubling over. He held his stomach with his left hand and with the right one slapped his knee, trying to get a hold of himself. By the time he had calmed down, his stomach was throbbing in pain, unshed tears glistening in his eyes.
"I think I missed the joke, Sanji-kun." Usopp commented, staring at him with a blank expression.
"Okay, first of all," Sanji started, "Did I really hear you correctly? You said that Zoro was what, 'depressed'? Zoro? That green-haired ape, incapable of understanding human emotion, depressed?" he scoffed, shaking his head.
"Second of all, even if he was 'depressed', the fuck does that have to do with me? If anything, I'd say he's acting pretty fucking normal; sleeping, training and not talking to anyone. Oh, and drinking gallons of alcohol, how could I ever forget that? So yeah, I fail to see how this is any of my fault." He finished, shrugging a shoulder.
Usopp gawked at him, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, his expression frozen into one of astonishment. "Sanji, you…you have no idea, do you?"
Sanji cocked his head, "About what?"
"What do you mean 'about what', it's obviously because you and him—" before Usopp could finish, an arm emerged from his shoulder and covered his mouth, cutting him off.
"Oh, there you are, Longnose-kun, I believe Franky is requesting your assistance back in the Sunny; he mentioned something about the last finishing touches just before we set sail." Robin walked up to them, flashing a small smile towards Usopp. Usopp let out a muffled whimper behind the hand and stumbled to his feet, breaking into a mad dash away from them.
Robin merely nodded at him with that mysterious smile and walked away without saying anything. What the fuck was that all about? Usopp seemed like he knew something about…Zoro and him?
"What the fuck am I thinking, that doesn't even make any sense." He mumbled to himself, hand on his chin.
Then, Sanji felt a heavy presence on his back, and whipped his head around, eyes scanning through the crowd of people. At a corner, he caught a flash of green, before it disappeared from his vision entirely. Sanji stood up from his seat and went after it, walking out of the half-wrecked building and into the courtyard. He walked a few feet away until he spotted it in the distance and paused.
A seven feet tall, emerald wolf running away in the opposite direction. Sanji remained there, watching as Zoro's huge wolf silhouette started becoming smaller and smaller in the horizon, until he eventually vanished.
Wasn't that idiot supposed to be critically injured? Well, it's not like Zoro had ever listened to anyone's advice before, and surely, he wouldn't start now, but the fact that the swordsman managed to make an escape under Chopper's watchful eye was a rare feat.
Not that Sanji cared.
As he turned around, about to walk back the same way he came, he caught a glimpse of something gleaming from the corner of his eye. Sanji turned towards it and took a few steps forward, coming to a stop before a wooden plank. He threw it off with his foot and frowned once he saw what was underneath.
Sanji turned his head back towards the place he had seen Zoro disappear off to, something heavy settling in his stomach.
Three swords glistened under the afternoon sun on the ground, a green haramaki wrapped around them.
Sanji was in the galley, rearranging food ingredients and spices when he heard the commotion going off outside. All he heard was muffled yelling, both male and feminine and quickly went outside, worried that something had happened to Nami or Robin.
"—told you, I'm not fucking leaving until I find who took my god damn swords!" Zoro yelled at Nami.
"Well, if you weren't such a moron and forgot where you had placed them, we wouldn't be doing this right now, so it's not my fault, is it?" Nami shot back, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Shut up, you fucking witch!" Zoro took a threatening step towards her, lips pulled back in a snarl.
"Hey, watch how you're fucking talking to her, bastard!" he fumed, shooting a glare at Zoro.
Zoro whipped his head towards him so fast, Sanji was almost convinced that he had heard a crack in his neck. Zoro glared him down, his pupils almost completely blown and animalistic. His fingers twitched and swallowed the lump in his throat, forcing himself to stand his ground and not cower away.
"W-what makes you think you can talk to Nami-san like that, huh? I thought dogs were supposed to be obedient," a smug smirk twitched on his lips.
Although, as Zoro's eyes became fully black, void of any humanity left, his canines slowly turning sharper, deadly, Sanji could admit that, perhaps, considering the current circumstances and the mindset Zoro was under, he might have had crossed the line.
Only slightly.
"Oh no, that's— you shouldn't have said that, Sanji, really bad timing." Usopp fretted, immediately diving behind Nami for cover.
Zoro lowly growled, two black globes locked on him as he slowly advanced on him. Sanji lifted his hands in front of him and took one cautious step back. In terms of strength, he was on par with Zoro, but that was only because Sanji had never attempted to fight Zoro when the man was in his wolf form. It's not like Sanji thought that he could get defeated or anything, but it just never occurred.
"Oi, Straw-hat, don't we have to stop them? I may not know much about werewolves, but I think Zoro-bro is about to rip cook-bro to pieces!" Franky declared, taking a step closer to Zoro, but suddenly, Luffy jumped down next to him and extended his arm horizontally, blocking Franky from taking any step forward.
"No," Luffy said, his eyes shadowed by the brim of his straw-hat, "they need to solve this on their own."
Everyone held their breath as Zoro slowly advanced on Sanji, his shoulders now hunched forward, as if getting prepared to transform.
I have to act fast or this moron is going to wreck the Sunny!
"Your swords!" he exclaimed, and Zoro slightly paused, yet that murderous expression was still very much evident on his face, but Sanji guessed that was a signal that he had caught his attention.
"Your swords," he started again, calmer this time, "I…I have them." As soon as those words were out of his mouth, Zoro made an animalistic snarl and Sanji raised both arms in front of him in a calming manner.
"Don't jump into conclusions, and just control your god damn temper!" Immediately, Sanji went back into the galley, took Zoro's swords that he had propped against the wall and brought them outside.
"I happened to be wandering outside and surprise, surprise! I found these three little guys all alone and unattended under a wooden plank— a wooden plank, Zoro!"
Zoro growled at him, and he lifted his hand, pointing his finger at him, "Oh no, don't you fucking growl at me like that, it's your fault for leaving them out in the wrecked courtyard in the first place! Like, seriously, what did you expect to happen? You're lucky I was the one that found them and not some thief!"
Sanji lowered his hand and glanced down at the three swords in his hands. "Aren't these supposed to be your most prized possession? The reason why you're fighting? The means through which you are going to achieve that dream of yours?" he lifted his head, locking eyes with Zoro and tossed him his swords, "Make sure you treat them with the respect they deserve, then."
Sanji grabbed a cigarette from his front pocket and lit it with his lighter, breathing the first lungful of smoke. Sanji waited for something to happen, although it was too quiet for some odd reason, and looked up, almost choking with his own spit as he came face to face with everyone's shocked faces staring at him.
"W-What? Why are you looking at me like that?!" he stuttered, feeling his face heating up as Robin and Brook started chuckling, Franky gave him a thumbs up and Usopp was glancing away— even his sweet Nami-san was giving him a rather peculiar smirk!
"It's— it's not like I give a shit about what happens to his shitty swords or anything! I just— what kind of swordsman would he be without swords, huh?! A damn useless one, that is!" he stressed, gesturing with his arms around awkwardly.
Suddenly, Zoro was up in his personal space, only inches apart and Sanji flinched at the close proximity. He didn't know if Zoro was back to normal or not, and honestly, a fight was the last thing he wanted to have now, but if Sanji sensed the least amount of hostility from him, Zoro was going to go flying, injured or not.
He remained frozen as Zoro leaned his head to the side, his body jolting when the swordsman lightly bumped his nose against Sanji's neck, but everything was over in a second. Before Sanji had much time to realize what happened, Zoro had already disappeared off into the crow's nest.
"W-What the fuck…" he whispered, cigarette falling off his lips as he covered his mouth with the back of his hand.