When Trouble Comes 4
Sanji plops his backpack down in front of Zoro on the large creek-side rock, where the mossy idiot is trying to start a fire by clumsily drilling a twig into a thicker branch by hand. The effort is clearly fruitless judging by the lack of ashes from the previous night around the cave. The sun has already set. The sky is turning darker every minute. Without help the stubborn moss will no doubt be sleeping in the cold again tonight.
Sanji digs out the lighter, one he received from one of the cooks, when Zoro seems determined not to acknowledge his presence.
"You can just use this! The cooks showed me how it works."
The cook-in-training holds out the lighter at arm's length with both hands, gives the small wheel a hard spin, and holds the tap, the way he practiced obsessively on his way here. A small orange flame bursts to life, flickering in the wind. Sanji turns to give the Zoro a smug grin.
"I don't need it." The boy says without looking up from the twig.
The flame barely lights up the front of Zoro's black sleeveless dojo uniform, now a musky grey from the dried mud. The blond makes a mental note to bring a few changes of clothes for the boy. They're around the same height, so his own clothes should work. He has brought all the necessities he could think of for living out here in the wild: Lighter, tooth brush, body soap, hand towel, lip balm, a small mirror, extra rolls of toilet paper, even a pair of salt and pepper shakers from the dining hall in case the moss head does catch anything edible. Clothes are the one thing he forgot, along with maybe a blanket or two. He'll have to ask Zeff if they have any spare ones.
Zoro's stomach growls, the sound loud enough to be heard over the waterfall behind him. Sanji takes it as prompt to pull the takeout box from his backpack and hold it over the twig, blocking Zoro's view. Rice balls, one of the moss ball's favourite foods. He asked one of the cooks to teach him how to make them this afternoon, and he's rather proud of how they turned out.
"I told you not to bring food anymore." The boy elbows the box out of the way.
"And what, watch you starve yourself out here in the wild like the hot headed reclusive piece of moss you are? You're hungry. There's food. Just eat and get it over with!" Sanji mutters, opening the box to show Zoro the content.
"You don't have to watch, and I'm not gonna starve!" The boy shoves it aside not-so-gently. "I told you, I'll figure it out."
"That's it. You're eating, now. I'll force feed you if I have to!" Sanji takes a rice ball from the box and holds it up to Zoro's mouth.
With a strong sweep of his arm, the boy wacks both the rice ball and the box from Sanji's hands. They bounce once on the edge of the rock before tumbling into the water below with a splash.
Sanji hears himself curse as he rushes forward and crouches to look over the edge. The box, now upside down, bobbles against the tree root trapping it in the stream. The rice balls are all sinking to the bottom of the shallow creek, breaking apart and being flushed away in tiny pieces.
Perfectly good food. The blond seethes.
He pushes himself to a stand, inhaling fully to give the ungrateful bastard a piece of his mind, but the words die on his tongue. He catches the shock on Zoro's face for a split second before those eyebrows pull down into an even deeper frown than usual. The boy bites down hard on his trembling lips, the hint of unshed tears barely visible against the now dimly lit sky. Guilt and frustration ball into fists and twitch against his thighs. A tinge of desperate secrecy in the way he turns to avoid Sanji's gaze.
He looks... cornered. By Sanji.
The thought deflates him, halting him in place, unable to speak or move as he watches Zoro's strong unyielding shoulders hunched and shaking in the last drops of the day's fading light.
That's right. He has messed up. He has driven Zoro into a corner, pushed past an invisible boundary despite repeated warnings. Zoro, whose whole existence is made of boundaries, has allowed Sanji to walk this far into his personal space because of trust, and Sanji has stepped on that trust in his eagerness to be of help.
"I... I'm sorry. I just... I didn't want you to be hungry." He backtracks, voice small and unsteady, hoping against hope that it's not too late to restore the boy's protective barriers, that he wouldn't be banished from the boy's side for his offense.
No response. Just the splashing of water from the waterfall into the creek.
"... Can I... still come visit you?" Sanji whispers through the lump in his throat.
The words make Zoro turn to look at him, his frown of frustration partially smoothed out in surprise and worry.
"I'm not mad at you." The boy blurts.
Don't leave me, Sanji hears, and relief washes over him, along with a multitude of tears. He wails to his heart's content, barely registering the flustered voice, the arm pulling him forward to lean on a muddy shoulder, and the warm hand making soothing strokes on his head.
"Don't cry, idiot. I'll go grab the box for you afterwards, aight?"
The blond cries harder just because.
By the time the tears subside, Sanji finds himself staring up at a vast and brilliant sky. The crisp night air feels light in his lungs, and the stars look almost within reach. All heaviness and obstructions seem to be washed away. His head rises and falls with Zoro's ribcage underneath. The sound of the waterfall fades into the background against the faint throbbing of the boy's heart not far from Sanji's ear. One of the boy's hands is draped over Sanji's chest. The other absently tangles and untangles its fingers in Sanji's hair. The blond draws in a breath, letting the last of the shudders pass through him.
"It wasn't your fault, you know." He hums, listening to the way his cracked voice dissipates into the air without the faintest resonance. "What happened to Kuina wasn't. Koshiro lashing out wasn't either."
"I know that, idiot." The boy's quiet words rumble through his ribs, making them louder. "It's nobody's fault."
"So why are you punishing yourself like this?"
"'M not."
"Why won't you eat my food then?" Sanji tears his eyes from the sky and casts and sideways glance, not quite seeing the boy's face in the dark.
"I can't go back to relying on people, Curly." Zoro breathes after a pause. "They'll all leave me when I become too much of a burden. I don't want to be left alone again."
A few long seconds pass before the words sink in, and when they do, Sanji bolts upright and turns to the boy.
"I'm not leaving." Sanji declares.
Instead of answering, Zoro reaches a hand up and runs two fingers along the base of the blond's empty neck, resting just above the second button of his dress shirt. The necklace, Sanji realizes, he's looking for the gold bar necklace.
"You will if I keep relying on you." The boy says, sounding resigned. "I can keep myself alive. It's not rocket science."
"I'm not leaving." Sanji says again, taking the necklace from his breast pocket, where he hid it just this morning, and laying it onto Zoro's hand.
By the dim light of the stars he sees the boy's shadowy form sit up on crossed legs.
"So rely on me, Marimo. Let me help. You can't let me watch you starve."
"I'm not starving. I caught a fish this afternoon."
"You did?! How?" Sanji gasps, unable to contain the squeaks of joy bubbling up from his belly.
"Wacked it with a shinai-"
"Show me where it is, and I'll get to work cooking it right away. You just sit tight and watch! But first we need a fire before you freeze to death. I'm using the lighter, K?"
Sanji reaches an arm out to feel for the pile of twigs in the dark, but the boy grabs him by the sleeve.
"I... I'm not hungry or cold." He pulls Sanji back to him with an insistent tug. "Just... stay with me."
Sanji complies. The part about not being hungry or cold is clearly a lie according to the sounds his tummy makes and the way his arms shiver slightly, but for now Sanji decides to believe him in this. He lets Zoro wrap those thin but muscular arms around his waist and bury that dusty nose in his white dress shirt, wishing his own heartbeat will soothe Zoro's fears, the way the boy's did for him earlier.
"I'm here for you. What do you want me to do?" He whispers, and the boy thinks for a moment before reaching up with both hands and looping the necklace over Sanji's head. The three chilly gold bars rest over his chest once again. This time, it's not a cheerleader's badge anymore. This time a new promise is being made.
"Don't take it off again." The boy breathes, pleading.
Don't leave me, Sanji hears again.
"I won't." He answers. "I promise."
A/N:
I swear I had to start over like 5 times when writing this chapter. It kept changing what it wants me to say. XD Anyway, I hope this makes sense...
Do I get to call this Angst with Happy Ending now?...