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01/20/22 EDIT: Thanks to KumaZura for proof reading this chapter.

Chapter 3

A taste of revenge

"There's a huge beast under the ship!" Usopp felt his legs going weak as tears ran down his face. A Sea King from his worst nightmares meandered beneath the water's surface. Looking at Seeing its shadow, it exceeded Sunny's height of hundreds of feet and his screams intensified. "We're all going to die!"

Luffy leaned towards the edge, brimming with excitement at the idea of a confrontation. "It's nice, I was hungry!"

"Don't get carried away, we don't know if it's edible," The cook warned from beside him, placing his cigarette butt between his lips.

"It's gigantic!" Chopper exclaimed in turn, worried.

A little further, Zoro clattered his swords.

"I think he did not see us", Robin noticed.

"It's coming to the surface!" The navigator got alarmed. "It will make us capsize!"

"We're all gonna die!" The sniper yelled even more, perfectly hysterical.

"Shut up, Usopp", Franky grumbled.

"Hold tight, everyone!" The skeleton warned them.

The Sunny swerved when the monster surfaced a little farther out, the waves hitting its hull violently. The straw hat crew members fell over in every direction and all of them tried to cling to something.

"This time, he saw us!" Chopper exclaimed while getting up.

A new wave of salt water crashed down on the deck and when the friends opened their eyes again, they actually noted that the monster was winding in their direction.

"Gum-Gum Bullet!" The rubber captain's fist fell with strength on the muzzle of the giant eel, stopping her travel. She screamed in rage and dived underwater to escape the next move of her opponent, who stared wide-eyed. "She disappeared!"

"This is going to hurt", Franky, who was following her advance under the water, understood.

"Exploding Star!" Usopp had taken his courage in both hands and fired a volley of shots that reached his target before it touched the ship. The eel then straightened above them, overhanging the crew from about twenty meters, fangs dripping. "Help!" The sniper yelled, dashing off.

"Weapons left!"

The Sea King avoided the gun and tried to dismember the cyborg with her powerful jaw that Sanji deflected with a kick. The eel then turned to Chopper and Nami who stood aloof, and she charged at them, causing their panic.

"En garde, monster of the seas!" Brook protected his two companions by positioning himself in front of them, the sword ready to strike. However, in the face of the animal's mass, he was less confident.

"Veinte Fleur!" Robin's hands grew on the animal's mouth and managed to keep it closed when it reached the skeleton. The musician took the opportunity to scream with fear as the navigator and the reindeer ran away at full speed.

"Gum-Gum Pistol Shotgun!" The captain exclaimed, rushing his fists at the head of the fish, which flinched under the avalanche of blows.

Zoro popped up to his side and ran towards his prey, swords ready. "Santoryu. Charming Demon Sleepless Night Oni Giri!" The sharp-edged swords hit his opponent repeatedly, signing her death warrant. Several parts of her body crashed into the ship, causing them to pitch in all directions again.

When the rolling faded, Luffy jumped up to catch a huge piece on the deck, ecstatic. "This is disgusting," The navigator noted, pinching her lips.

"Look at my ship!" Franky muttered, pulling up a shred of wood from the railing.

"You think we can eat it, Sanji?" The straw hat boy inquired with hope. "Let's see," The blond thought, "I think I have a recipe that should please you."

"Awesome!"

Sanji ran a hand through his hair. He had finished cooking the enormous eel that had been slaughtered that very morning. All he had to do was to arrange the side dish and compose beautiful plates. Since their captain had taken the opportunity of their victory to organize a festive evening, the blond had decided to innovate and strived to create a turquoise blue cocktail that reflected the monster's color for his princesses. For the others, he would open some bottle or other.

The afternoon had been peaceful, no new monster or attack disturbing the crew and everyone had been able to go about their favorite business. The sun was slowly fading on the horizon and the perfect weather had encouraged the cook to set the dinner table on the deck to enjoy it.

While he carried on with the last preparations without thinking about it, his mind slowly drifted towards the events of the previous island a few days before.

He had tried to forget the explicit glances from the swordsman by the fireside as well as his burning caresses. He was also ashamed to admit that he had been watching out for signs from Zoro to prove to him that he hadn't dreamed the whole thing up. And of course, the shitty bastard had noticed his game and since then, he was looking at him in provocation as soon as the rest of the crew had their backs turned.

Sanji had first looked the other way, too embarrassed, before feeling his self-esteem protest against such treatment. Then he had begun to be able to look the swordsman in the face before returning his mocking and subversive expressions.

He was well aware of his ambivalent attitude. Zoro had been clear with him but on his side of things, the cook was still floundering. After having taken the time to think about his casual attitude on the island, he had concluded that he was obsessed with his desire for vengeance. It urged him to respond to the swordsman, even though this was dangerous territory. Just the idea of making him pay for the domination he had inflicted on him, he was feeling like doing it again. So there was only one plausible explanation for the fact that he might want to share that kind of thing with him again, and that was his need for revenge.

However, the stupidity of his reasoning didn't elude him. His body wasn't for leverage to console his self-esteem in front of a powerful rival he shouldn't underestimate. Zoro wasn't only an opponent but also a man. Two characteristics that should have already dissuaded him from rushing into an escalation of glances. Probably his ego has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to the swordsman. He needed to measure himself against him. To prove to him that he didn't stop at anything. To prove to himself that his pride was intact.

But Sanji had taken it a step further the day before. During a falsely trivial conversation, he had taken the trouble to check with Chopper the nature of the examinations which he made them all regularly perform and he had been reassured. At least on the side of illness, he had nothing to fear.

The cook sighed as he finished seasoning his vinaigrette. Somewhere along the way, he had already made up his mind. He wanted to get his revenge on the swordsman's body and then classify this matter definitively. He needed to demonstrate to this moron that he could take control in this kind of situation too, otherwise he would dwell on his humiliation forever.

So there he was. He was okay with positively replying to Zoro's proposal for this one and only time but he didn't know how to give the word. And it was out of the question to speak to him during one of his training sessions or when the fencer passed by the kitchen. In case he had changed his mind, Sanji didn't want to be the laughing stock of the swordsman until the end of his life…

The blond was just finishing setting his plates when a brown tornado broke into his den. "Sanji, I'm hungry!"

"Wait another minute, you glutton!"

Finally, he arranged the final touch to his dish and satisfied, he invited the crew members to start dinner. Nami and Robin sat down first, delighted to discover the delicacy of the presentation. Very quickly, everyone sat at the table and the blond served the plates before putting down the cocktails in front of the two young women.

"Sanji-kun, it's splendid and really delicious!" The navigator complimented. She loved being the center of so much attention.

"Nothing but the best for you, Nami-san!" The cook swirled before carelessly throwing a bottle on the boys' side. "Robin-chan, do you want me to warm up your dish? I know you don't like it when the food is lukewarm!"

"No thanks, it's perfect," The young woman thanked him politely with a smile.

Reassured, the cook sat down at the end of the table, a cigarette on his lips. He nonchalantly watched the course of the meal, the well-being of Nami and Robin being his real priority. Of course.

The plates were emptied and refilled many times before Luffy pushed back his own with an enormous smile, his stomach full. "It was so good, Sanji! You must do it every day!"

"No way," The man grumbled, "Cooking such a thing takes hours!"

"Awesome! We'll have some lamb legs tomorrow!" The captain strangely deduced then laughed out loud.

The blond shrugged and Brook began to play an energetic repertoire of songs, dragging Chopper, Usopp, Franky and Luffy into a farandole at full speed. Then the straw hat boy asked for the song of the Binks' Sake from his musician and Brook adapted it successively on the violin, the piano and the guitar. Franky took advantage of it to invent a choreography and he dragged Usopp and Chopper with him until his friends tripped over their own feet and fell flat on their faces on the deck. Luffy roared with laughter and tried to take up Brook's Yohohohoho in rhythm with him.

For their parts, the girls applauded and enjoyed the attention of their personal cook who brought them a piece of cheesecake meringue with raspberry before refilling their glasses again. Although he was still, the swordsman wasn't outdone and he took advantage of the crew's joy by letting himself be driven by their good mood.

The evening went on cheerfully, the dishes and the bottles succeeding each other on the table. Eventually, the girls headed for their room but the dancers didn't want to stop there and Brook started a very entertaining country tune.

After drinking a coffee, Sanji quietly smoked his cigarette, his gaze lost in contemplation. He might've had a little too much of the wine he had taken from his reserve but he had seen it as a way to give himself some courage to speak to the swordsman who was now having a discussion with Chopper not far from him. He knew that this technique wasn't very honorable but with the alcohol's help, he had even come to recognize that his rival's body wasn't so horrible and this prospect would allow him to pass a little more pleasantly what he wanted to do.

However, he found no occasion to tackle the subject with the swordsman and Zoro left the table shortly after for the lookout, leaving the blond disappointed.

Two hours later, Sanji opened his eyes and noticed that he had fallen asleep on the table. He glanced around and found that Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, Franky and Brook had collapsed on the deck, snoring soundly, smiling and foaming at the mouth. The night was deep black and the water was calm around them, Sunny seeming to glide over its surface without a sound.

Sighing, the cook unfolded his long legs and undertook to clear the table a bit. He was feeling the effects of the alcohol on his body even more heavily since he got up and he winced, thinking of the headache he would probably have the next day.

Finally managing to get to his galley despite his awkward movements, he knocked the pile of dirty dishes across the floor on his way to the sink and nearly met them while leaning forwards to pick them up. Annoyed, he decided to sit on the floor because the chair was definitely too far from him. He pushed back the scattered plates with his foot, determined to wait a little until his head stopped turning and he lit a cigarette, his back against the counter.

At this moment, the galley's door opened and the swordsman entered with a confident step. "A problem, cook?"

Sanji slowly raised his head before excessively shaking it from right to left, which accentuated his sensation of spinning. "I'm resting."

"On the floor? In the middle of the plates?" Zoro pointed out in a mocking voice.

"What do you think, marimo head? Everyone isn't insensitive to alcohol like you, you know."

"Why did you need to drink so much then? You know you don't hold your liquor, darts eyebrows", the swordsman sniggered over him.

"I didn't need it!" The cook flushed, feeling that his tongue was answering more quickly than he would have liked. "Besides, I'm not so drunk." To prove it, he straightened and managed to get up. "Oh, shit, I feel dizzy…"

He chose to take hold of the nearest chair to not fall and narrowly sit there. "Impressive", Zoro soberly said. "Shut up. What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"I heard a noise, I came to see what it was."

"You worried about me? You're too kind," The blond ironically said, crushing his cigarette butt in the ashtray.

"Whatever. I'm on watch, that's all." The swordsman didn't move so Sanji grabbed the rest of the bottle from the counter and threw it at him. "Sit down, I won't charge you."

Zoro obeyed and a few minutes of silence followed during which the fencer slowly drank and the blond struggled to keep his eyes open. "By the way, I thought about it and I agree."

The swordsman gazed at his interlocutor as if he didn't understand, encouraging him to clarify his thoughts. "What are you talking about?" He asked him.

"Your proposal. On Nerwa's island."

As Zoro increased his so-called misunderstanding that Sanji didn't notice because of his condition, the cook sighed and came closer over the table, unsteady. "For the both of us."

The swordsman had a knowing smile then shook his head firmly. "No way," He said, suddenly serious. "What? Why?!"

"You're completely wasted, you don't know what you're saying."

"How do you know?" The cook replied, outraged.

"I know that tomorrow when you'll wake up, you'll come and skin me alive if I have taken advantage of your condition."

"You really are a marimo head," Sanji replied as if it was explaining everything, "I tell you I agree, what more do you want? You want me to sign you a waiver?"

In a bad mood, the blond rose, dangerously staggering, and headed for the door. "I'm going to bed," He grumbled.

"Wait," The swordsman stopped him, holding his arm. The blond glared at him, challenging him to continue. "If tomorrow you haven't changed your mind, I agree."

Sanji pulled away from his grip with a sudden move and shrugged before slamming the door behind him.

The cook stood up like an automaton the next morning. He vaguely remembered their little party and he discovered with distress the extent of the damage in his galley among smashed dishes. As he began his day with a cleaning in due form, the memories gradually surfaced. When he put away the bottle left on the table, his discussion with the swordsman came back to him. He grabbed a chair with a trembling gesture and let himself fall heavily on it.

He was now terribly ashamed. On the one hand, he was glad to have wrung out of Zoro the promise of revenge but on the other, he had made a fool of himself on a subject where there was nothing to laugh about. Geez, he had almost begged him and it was that idiot who had been the more mature of both of them! Given his condition, if the swordsman had accepted straight away, no doubt the cook wouldn't have been able to impose. Zoro had probably pitied him. He wanted his rival to have all his lucidity to face him with dignity. What a disgrace…

Mortified once and for all, Sanji let his head crash on the kitchen table. With a little luck, the ship would split in two and the Grand Line would swallow him up forever. Yeah, that was the best thing to hope for…

Eventually, the blond sat up straight. He had a terrible headache, as expected, but he still had to prepare breakfast. So he forced himself to hurry up and prepare the meal as best he could for the usual hour.

When the swordsman crossed the doorstep, the breakfast was already well advanced and no one paid any attention to him. Sanji had decided to play the amnesia card, at least until he found a solution in order to not appear totally unworthy if Zoro came to talk to him. However, the fencer didn't flinch more than the others and he sat down like a mass to attack his meal. Then he went out at the same time as Usopp who wanted to show him a new invention the swordsman probably didn't care about.

The rest of the day was spent as normally as possible for such a crazy crew, meaning that Luffy went overboard only once, that Ussop had the scare of his life when his new tabasco star hit one of Nami's tangerine trees and Chopper had one crying jags after Franky took one of Zoro's huge weights to the head. Thanks to them, the cook was feeling good and he forgot little by little the events of the previous day.

During the evening meal, Nami announced that they shouldn't be very far from the next island, which was welcomed in joy. So Sanji stayed a little later than usual in the galley after the washing-up to count up the supplies but especially to think about his next purchases for new recipes.

He was still there as the ship became silent, the crew getting back to their respective beds. Busy scribbling his thoughts, Sanji didn't pay attention to the door that opened on a thirsty swordsman who naturally headed for the bottle reserve. Finally noticing him, the blond's heart skipped a beat and he kicked the oaf who dared to enter his den without permission.

Zoro stood up in a flash, his swords out and his eyes furious. "What was that for?" He roared.

"To teach you politeness, you idiot swordsman!"

Zoro rushed the cook who narrowly shifted to avoid a sharp blade but he couldn't avoid taking the counter to the kidneys. He winced as Zoro attacked again and he swept him with a kick in the ankles. The fencer only owed his life to the table behind him which prevented him from collapsing to the floor and he raised his swords against Sanji who stopped them with his leg raised.

There followed several minutes of fighting where the swordsman and the cook gave as good as they got in the middle of the room, trying to avoid the furniture.

Finally out of breath, they glared at each other, ready to relaunch the fight at the slightest sign of provocation of the other. "You're a seriously disturbed guy, stupid eyebrows", Zoro said, repositioning his swords in front of him.

"You're one to talk, marimo head!" Sanji replied, stretching his leg. "You have no concept of propriety!"

"Oh, yeah? Yet, I didn't touch you yesterday, I'll remind you!" The blond lowered his leg, staring at him. "And don't tell me you forgot because I noticed your side glances when I was training today!" Sanji became crimson and Zoro plastered a victorious smile, lowering his swords. "When I think you had to drink to talk to me about it. I'm sure you don't even dare looking at yourself in a mirror," He sniggered.

The cook felt his shame come back at full speed and he straightened up, livid with anger. "You're gonna shut up, shitty swordsman!"

He rushed at him and Zoro was cornered, not having foreseen his impulsive reaction. However, even with his back to the wall, he didn't disarm, his air of superiority at the corner of his lips. "You don't even have the courage to admit that you liked it and ask for it again."

"I'm not attracted to your out-of-date marimo head!" The blond shouted, extremely tense. "You're gonna pay for what you did to me the other time and that's all!"

"You lose your temper, cook. You're pathetic."

The bright smirk of the swordsman a few inches from his face finished hardening Sanji's resolve and he put his mouth on his to silence him. Zoro abruptly put his blades down on the counter and caught the cook's body to press him closer. The blond grabbed his neck and deepened their kiss as the swordsman swung him, trapping him against the wall in turn.

Sanji resisted. If he was here, it was to take the lead over Zoro and nothing else. So he shoved the swordsman to escape and pushed him as far as the bench against the right wall of the galley on which the man collapsed, dragging him down against his body.

The blond smiled. There, he was feeling better. It was him who was going to call the shots and the other could do nothing about it. His knees on either side of Zoro's waist, he ran his hands under the swordsman's tee-shirt who helped him remove it. Satisfied, the cook let his hands go down to his pants and he quickly unbuckled the belt.

He wasn't going to waste time, he had to establish his domination over Zoro. He pushed the fabric down and felt the swordsman help him to get rid of his boots while he was at it. However, the fencer took the opportunity to pull the blond's shirt off who grimaced before focusing on the next step. Zoro was almost naked and he had just lost his shirt, he could deal with it.

He ran his hand over the hardened member of the swordsman and felt him react as his hips moved against his hand. Definitely, it was real child's play…

Sanji relaxed a bit and then became aware of the fencer's harsh caresses against his back as well as his aggressive kisses on his neck when he pressed himself against his chest. A muffled excitement overcame his body to concentrate in his lower abdomen. These sensations weren't so unpleasant, they… They distracted him from his thoughts and his objective!

Sanji abruptly straightened up but the swordsman followed him, pressing their pelvises together and holding him in an iron fist. He eagerly kissed him and the blond noticed that his hands were unbuttoning his own pants. Anyway, he would have to do it so he could let him have the illusion of being in charge…

He took off his clothes, his shoes and his socks with a movement of his legs and then flattened Zoro back against the sofa. The swordsman seized his buttocks with both hands and the blond couldn't help but shudder. His skin bristled beneath the fire of the swordsman's caresses and his tongue flicking his ear wrung little sighs out of him in spite of himself. He had to stay focused. He had to…

It was time to get down to business. He groped for the last piece of cloth on his rival's body and tried to take it away, breathless and confused. Zoro moved against him and the cook let him, thinking he was going to make it easier for him once again.

The swordsman actually got up to get rid of his last garment as well as the one of the cook but he also took advantage of it to grab the hips of his companion. He then pressed him against the sofa under his own weight. Horrified, Sanji tried to move but the hand of the fencer was making wonderful back and forth movements on his manhood. He moaned and tried to muffle it between his lips with rage. After a few moments of this treatment he didn't really manage to escape, the other man began to slip his fingers towards his intimacy, setting off the alarm in the cook's head.

It shouldn't happen like that. He couldn't allow it.

Sanji contorted himself to escape Zoro's caresses, only increasing the friction between their two skin and he bit his tongue as to not moan at this contact. He grabbed the swordsman's member in order to drown him with sensations and regaining control but he got hoarse sighs in return that only aroused him more. It allowed the fencer to resume his previous activity around his intimacy.

It was becoming unmanageable, everything was falling apart.

The cook tried to push away the swordsman. Zoro was using brutal back and forth movements with his fingers now, leaving him panting with pleasure but also terribly angry. He finally straightened up, his forehead beaded with sweat, when Zoro withdrew to position himself at his entrance. Sanji desperately shoved him to prevent him from committing the irreparable.

There was no way. It wasn't conceivable. His body was maybe screaming to find Zoro's but he couldn't stand another defeat. He abruptly stood up, snatching a surprised look from the fencer who followed him with his eyes.

Sanji grabbed him by the arm and toppled him over the floor with a firm gesture. The swordsman grumbled but agreed to follow the movement and he welcomed the cook again on his hips above him, sitting on his pelvis.

Breathing short, they watched each other for a few moments. A smile at the corner of his lips, the fencer then moved his pelvis, reminding his partner that their bodies were still hungry. The blond regained a little control of his breathing and calm when noticing that Zoro was accepting the position. Then he replied to his movement and soon, their sighs resumed, softly muffled by their will.

Here, the pleasure was more acceptable for the cook. And it was growing. A wave was growing from the bottom of his stomach and threatened to surge at any moment.

Suddenly, the swordsman raised his hips and Sanji frowned before understanding his intention. In this position, he wouldn't lose face, he could dominate Zoro. Here, he would impart his own rhythm and the swordsman would follow his moves.

Satisfied, he softly let himself fall on the hard member but he nevertheless quickly froze in pain and closed his eyes. The suffering totally came over him.

He suddenly felt the swordsman's mouth against his. Zoro had straightened up and tried to relax him, letting his tongue discover him as best he could. He accepted his help and got carried away by more pleasant sensations until he could move again.

Pleasure was equal to pain. Waves of contradictory emotions overwhelmed Sanji, from bestial desire to absolute happiness, through the joy of knowing that he had reached his goal. Soon however, his thoughts faded away, only leaving room for the search of ultimate enjoyment.

When they finally freed themselves, breathing short, Sanji fell on his forearms around the fencer. All the muscles in his body and even those in his legs were atrociously aching from having held this position for too long but he didn't care. All that mattered was that he had got what he wanted. For sure, he would have preferred to take full power over the swordsman but he had come so close to disaster that this conclusion had amply relieved him. He was overjoyed.

After a few seconds, he stood up to briefly dry himself, his walk staggering but his smile confident. He picked up his scattered clothes and gazed at Zoro who was slowly straightening up, his gaze still blurred. Smiling again, the cook quickly put on his shirt and pants before slipping away from the room towards the bathroom.

Tonight, he was going to sleep well.

Zoro's point of view is coming!