This is for Nami-san. It would be wrong to fail her. This is for Nami-san. It would be wrong to fail her.
Sanji kept the mantra repeating in his head as he headed across the ship in search of Zoro. They had been at sea for two days since departing from Cenna's village, and it had taken the cook all this time to get up the nerve to attempt to follow through on his promise that he had made to Nami of working things out with the swordsman.
What really drove him absolutely crazy was that this whole mess wasn't even his fault! It was the green-headed idiot's fault, yet here he was, being the better man (as usual), and trying to fix this, well, whatever this was.
He finally found the swordsman sitting alone in one of the more secluded sections of the deck. He was resting against the railing with his eyes closed, but Sanji could tell that he was not asleep. Without invitation, the cook sat down beside him.
"Hey Asshole, I know you aren't sleeping."
For a moment there was no reaction, then Zoro opened his eyes to glare at the blonde.
"Maybe I could be, if you would leave me the hell alone."
"You sleep all goddamn day, you can stay awake for a few minutes while I talk to you."
Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"You wanna talk?"
Sanji shrugged, and then lit a cigarette to try to cover some of his nervousness. His plan, such as it was, only went as far as cornering the other man so they could try and resolve this mess. He never really thought through the actual conversation.
"So?"
"Huh?"
The swordsman rolled his eyes, and looked at him carefully.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Sanji spoke directly to his own knee caps.
"You know. The thing."
Zoro said nothing, and Sanji knew that if the idiot even attempted to pretend that he didn't understand what he was referring to, then he was going to have to kill him.
"What about it?"
Sanji looked up at the bored tone in Zoro's voice. The other man was relaxed once again, with his head tilted back and both eyes closed.
"Wh—""Drop it, Cook. It was nothing. I just wanted to test something out. Are you so hard up for action that you have to go and make a big deal out of a little something like that?"
Sanji was absolutely stunned.
"No big deal?" he repeated dumbly.
Zoro snorted in annoyance, and his frown tightened.
"Will you just fuck off and let me get some sleep?"
Sanji continued to sit there in momentary shocked silence. A test?
"A test?"
"Jesus." Zoro muttered under his breath.
Before he knew fully what he was doing, he had pulled himself to his knees, and had shifted so he was directly in front of the swordsman. The other man's eyes flew open when Sanji grabbed two fists full of Zoro's shirt and yanked. A surprised swordsman pitched forward far enough that the blonde was able to press their lips together.
There. Now they were even. If the asshole thought he could just walk up and molest him anytime the whim hit him, then he had another thing coming. A 'test' indeed. Well, Sanji could perform his own little 'test'. And his 'test' told him that kissing the stiff unresponsive mouth of the other man was a lot like kissing sandpaper. He pulled back with a smug little grin.
"Huh. It's like kissing a big ugly sheet of sandpa—"
But, he never got to finish the statement, before two large arms suddenly snaked around his waist, and pulled him forward until he was flush against Zoro's chest. Then, his mouth, which was slightly open in pure shock at the quick unexpected movement, was busy once again as lips pressed against his, and a slick tongue took advantage of the small gape and pushed inside.
Sanji quickly released the hold he had on Zoro's shirt. But, before he could start to push against the other man to get loose, the arms around his waist tightened until he was pressed even closer against the unyielding body beneath him.
His struggles began to slow somewhat, but Sanji was unsure if this was due to the reduction of air he was able to draw, or from the way the strong tongue was now stroking against the top pallet of his mouth. He had never felt a sensation quite like that before, and he didn't hate it, in fact, his body seemed to enjoy it quite a bit, as it completely betrayed his dignity and relaxed into a drape across the other man.
After a time, Zoro, pulled away slightly, and Sanji, utterly dazed by what had just occurred, did nothing but spend moments sucking in large gasps of air. He had no clue where his cigarette had gone. He supposed he ought to be happy he wasn't currently on fire.
"Is this pity?"
Sanji eyes were half-closed, and he barely noticed, much less comprehend, the soft rough words that were spoken. The only thing that he understood at that moment was that he wanted Zoro to shut the fuck up, so they could get back to the damn test. Aggravated, he started to lean forward, and was startled to feel the arms around his waist loosen, and then he was being shoved harshly back.
He landed with a jolt straight on his ass, but was able to throw out his hands behind him to prevent himself from toppling completely over. The other man was glaring at him with an expression that was pure venom.
"Wh—"
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Cook?"
Sanji blinked.
"What?"
"What the hell was that, Asshole?" Zoro demanded in a deadly tone.
Sanji had never felt more unbalanced in his entire life. He gaped at the swordsman, who was still glaring at him with something that closely resembled hatred. Then, his befuddlement receded somewhat, and was replaced by frustrated anger.
"What the fuck are you talking about? You kissed me first!"
"So, this is some sort of payback?"
The swordsman's tone was flat and his eyes were cold and distant.
"Payb- YOU are the biggest dumbest bastard in the whole fucking world!"
Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"So it wasn't payback? You wanted to kiss me?"
Sanji glared and didn't respond. He didn't know how to. This was all happening so weird and so fast. He had no idea what he was feeling.
"Can I fuck you?"
Sanji flinched at the blunt question which caused Zoro to smile nastily.
"Is that a no? Do you want to fuck me, instead? Is that more what you're thinking?"
"I'm not—""Where do you think this going to lead, you idiot cook? Do you think this is all some sort of joke?" Zoro's voice rose with anger.
"Do you see me laughing, Asshole?" Sanji exploded, "And I certainly wasn't laughing before, but, of course, that could have had a lot to do with the fact that our tongues were down each other throats!"
"So what the hell are you saying? That you want me?"
"I'm saying that I DON'T KNOW! Jesus fucking Christ, can't you give me a little time to figure it out? You can't just out of the blue jump up and kiss me one day, and then ask to fuck me the next! I had no clue, none, that this was coming, and you expect me to instantly know what to do. Well, I don't fucking know what to do, OK? I don't fucking know what I want. Do you?"
"Yes."
The biting anger was gone from the swordsman's voice, and the dark eyes regarded him with intensity and searing decision. The tension, that had been thick between them, shifted, as if pulled taunt by the weight of honest confession.
Sanji wanted to go running from the face of Zoro's calm determined want, and he was ashamed of himself at such fleeting cowardice.
"What do you want from me?" he asked instead, and there was sadness, confusion, and just the slightest trace of hope shading the words.
Zoro stared at him for a moment, and then sighed deeply.
"Whatever –"
He stopped, and looked angrily to the side.
So this is what you look like when you're afraid. . .
"Whatever you're willing to give."
Sanji closed his eyes against the tight quiet words. This was all too much for him. This was too much for him to take, to be offered, to wonder if he really wanted.
"I don't know that. I don't think I know anything."
He laughed humorously at himself. Zoro was still staring quietly at the deck beside him, and Sanji had never seen him look as shut-down as he did at that moment.
"But let me figure it out. I have to."
TBC. . .