Everything continued on as normal despite the fact that, to Zoro, the entire world had shifted. It was difficult for the first week as the sight of Sanji had him extraordinarily flustered for reasons he couldn't quite fathom. Knees feeling weak even while being seated, and the happiness curling in his chest had twisted into a longing ache that ebbed depending on his proximity to the man.
By the second week he had started to handle it better,so that Sanji would not find anything suspicious. Although, when they went shooting one afternoon, Zoro had found himself distracted by the dorky blond's teasing and he had missed the target entirely; much to Sanji's bewilderment.
After a month, things were beginning to resemble normalcy. He was able to hold a conversation with Sanji once more without begin drawn in by his eyes and missing a statement. And he was able to be alone with him without breaking into a cold sweat at the notion that he wanted the man physically, while also having zero idea of what that even entailed.
A constant war waged within him as he tried to keep these newly discovered emotions in check; finding it very hard to keep his heart from skipping a beat at the mention of Sanji's name, and scowling to himself every time he found his breath catching when Sanji's gaze landed on him. He knew that the right thing to do was to forget any and all feelings he was harbouring for the man. However, it was far more difficult to dismiss such pervasive emotions than he had initially thought it would be.
But he was used to slow progress.
Early summer light filtered through the shuttered window to fall across Zoro's face, his gaze pinned to the ceiling as he waited for the alarm He had returned to his fitful sleep pattern thanks to the new stress that was hounding his every waking moment.
On cue the alarm beeped to announce the start of a new day, Zoro reaching out to smack the top to cut it short as Kalifa stirred next to him. She rolled towards him with a gorgeous smile on her sleepy face, a hand placing itself on his chest as she curled up to his side; her intentions quite obvious as Zoro turned away in culpable disinterest.
The relationship he had begun to mend with his wife had fallen once more into disrepair when he realized, with disgust, that he had only been using her for some selfish unrequited desire that he had no right to have. Even if she didn't know, it wasn't right to continue anything with her when his thoughts lingered elsewhere.
Looking back her way and pressing an apologetic kiss to her forehead, he climbed out of bed and got dressed for his morning workout, sensing her confused stare following him as he began to leave the room. He paused for a moment at the doorway before realizing there was nothing he could possibly say to explain his behaviour, and silently made his way out.
Scowling his way through most of his workout, he tried to release some of his sexual frustration out with heavy iron and stiff kevlar, making marginal progress as he heard Kalifa leave for the day, and he followed soon after. Heading out on his morning run – the blond absent – Zoro took off down the street with the usual cadence. Same old path, same old steps he had tracked, only, this time with a far more intimate and unexplored emotion shadowing his every thought.
Trying to keep his train of thought focused solely on himself he started his daily jog by paying close attention to the feeling of the pads of his fingertips as he rounded a street corner and passed a silver truck headed in the opposite direction.
It had been a long time since he had had a relapse. However, due to his recent revelation, he didn't want to risk his distracted mental state letting him have an since he didn't have Sanji accompanying him today. It was imperative he kept himself focused.
And so he attempted to keep himself distracted from both his thoughts - of Sanji as well as his more haunted memories. Around the neighbourhood and through the park, around the lake and back around. Slowing his jog into a few halting steps, he eventually came to a stop as he glanced over his shoulder through panting breaths while frowning shortly.
Something was off.
It wasn't something he could explain, but after spending his whole life in the military he had a sixth sense when it came to certain situations. His senses picked up on things that his brain had yet to process, but it still made him aware of the situation with a nagging feeling in his gut. He stared back at the trail, at the path where the elderly couple would always be walking when Sanji and he were on their morning run.
They were gone.
Suddenly, an image of the silver truck from the accident flashed through his mind, and he realized, with awe at his own stupidity, that it had been the same vehicle he had run by that morning while being so self involved. And it had been heading back down the street for...
Zoro's eyes widened in horror as he turned on his heels and bolted back through the park as fast as his feet could possibly carry him. Lungs burning and muscles aching, he realized with furious self-hatred that the elderly couple had been there at the time of the accident but he hadn't thought anything of it.
There was no way that could've all been a coincidence?! Could it?!
Rounding the corner onto his street, his momentum carried him off the sidewalk and into the road as he bolted the last bit down the middle before sprinting up the driveway and coming bursting into the house. Door slamming into the wall as he skidded to halt and strained his ears against the pounding of his heart and his wheezing gasps.
After several silent seconds it became quite obvious that the house was empty, however something still didn't feel right. Slowly treading through each room to confirm no one was hiding, he then located his phone in the bedroom and called Kalifa, carefully making his way back downstairs as it rang. There was a single ring before she answered with a calm greeting.
"Kalifa?" Zoro demanded as steadily as he could manage, relieved that she had at least picked up the phone which meant she couldn't be in any immediate danger. He wiped a hand across his forehead to try and sop up some of the sweat dripping into his eyes, still panting heavily from his run back.
"What is it?" She replied, concern lacing her words as she could clearly hear the tension in his own. "Are you alright?"
"I just..." Zoro started, unable to properly explain the gut feeling he was getting. But, they had both been in the same line of work, so she would surely understand what he meant when he continued, "Something's wrong..."
Trying to understand what was going on and why he had such an uneasy feeling that refused to abate. His mind started to wander as he mulled over the situation, ignoring Kalifa's worried responses as his gaze fell out of focus. It didn't make any sense.
A silver truck. And an old couple.
Zoro had been in the game long enough to recognize surveillance when he saw it; although he was somewhat peeved at himself for not realizing it sooner. In retrospect, the couple's presence now seemed obvious, and the driver was even more so. However, if they were all hired surveillance; did that mean there were others he had yet to notice?
A million questions whirled around Zoro's head as he began to logically break down the situation in an attempt to try and figure out who these people could possibly be and what they wanted; desperately trying to remember if the faces were familiar from his previous life, or if the M.O. was indicative of an old enemy. Question after question, scenario after possible scenario played out in his head as he couldn't figure out what they wanted.
Why were they staking him out for so long? Why the car accident? And why such an obvious drive-by to grab his attention today? If he was correct in his assumption that the missing couple and the truck were meant to tip him off, then why did the man drive by his house but not come in? If they were here for him then why hadn't they come after him directly yet?
What else would they be after...?
Eyes widening in horror, he realized that if they had been spying on him for the past couple months then they would've seen everything. All the time spent together; their morning runs, afternoons shooting, each time they had been near the other. Any intelligent operative would have eventually come to the conclusion what Zoro himself had been fighting against.
"I'll call you back." Zoro murmured hollowly into the phone, cutting the call with his wife before he dialed Sanji's number and held the phone to his ear as he began pacing through his house in agitation. He made for the basement, descending the stairs as it rung once, twice, then three times, his heart thundering in fear.
On the fourth ring he muffled his gasp of relief when Sanji finally answered and his soothing, reassuring baritone met Zoro's ears.
"Hey, whatcha need?"
"Where are you?" Zoro asked immediately, knowing that the question was demanding but if his suspicions were at all correct then he didn't have time to mess around with politeness. Holding the phone in a rigid grip, he was beginning to wonder if perhaps he was just being paranoid; looking for danger when there was none.
It wouldn't be the first time...
"Uhm..." Sanji hummed before chuckling, "Home, why?"
"Alone?" Zoro barked, instantly realizing how weird the question must have sounded as he was really beginning to doubt himself, his pacing slowing to a stop. From Sanji's perspective, Zoro must have seemed almost insane; calling and demanding to know where he was.
"Yeah." Sanji snorted, his tone becoming a little more weary, "What's up? Why are you so out of breath?"
"I just-" Zoro began hopelessly, not even sure how to possibly begin to explain the situation without sounding completely insane. His panicking cut off as a distant sound could be heard in the background of Sanji's apartment, and Sanji began shuffling his phone around in his grip.
"Hold on, someone's at the door." Sanji muttered, "I'll call you back."
"NO! Wait!" Zoro bellowed into the phone just as he heard an audible click and cursed loudly as the line went dead. "Sanji!"
Zoro stood for a long moment staring down at his phone as a cold dread began to slide down his veins in an icy trickle; an unpleasant sensation in his gut starting to mount. All of his training told him something was wrong, even though a small part of him was screaming to stay rational and not do anything crazy that he might regret. The debate in his head kept him frozen to the spot as he desperately tried to think of any solid proof he had to back up his insane theory.
A horrified thought occurred to him. Beginning to sweat profusely as he handled the phone with weary trepidation, flipping it over and gripping it in a shaky hand. Fingers slipped a few times as he tried to get his nails under the back to pry it off.
He finally managed it, the cover falling from between lax fingers, revealing the battery and the internal circuits. His stomach dropped as he reached out with trembling fingers to pluck out a bug that had been wired into the phone, holding it aloft as terror now ran through his veins.
They had heard everything...
Phone slipping from between numb fingers, the shattering on the floor echoed in the small area as Zoro remained still for several seconds. The reality of what was happening was still sinking in. Whoever was after him, whatever they wanted, they had been listening to every call he had had with the blond, every message. And now they no doubt knew he had called to warn him.
Suddenly, his fear was no longer keeping him pinned to the spot, but instead, it sparked a rush of adrenaline that had him surging into action. Tearing open his storage cabinet with a vengeance, he began pulling out everything he needed while the freezing terror was instead exchanged for burning fury.
Military pants and shirt replaced his running gear in just a few moments, his old combat boots pulled on and laced up snug. Throwing open the door to his equipment, he snagged a shoulder harness off the hook and began looping it over his shoulders, quickly lashing the front together before sliding a pistol in each holster before reaching for his belt.
Looping it around his hips swiftly, he already began filling the empty pockets with extra mags as he rushed upstairs, stopping only to throw on his jacket to cover up the weapons as he burst out the front door in a rush. The drive over to Sanji's in his truck was a blur of panic, adrenaline, and several skipped red lights before he was skidding into the loading zone out front and leaving his idling truck behind as he rushed inside.
Taking the stairs two at a time, he soon found himself on Sanji's floor, quieting his steps as he neared and keeping his hearing pinned for any signs of a struggle. Once at the door, he listened for a few moments but heard nothing as the panic began to manifest itself into a breathless tightness just below his sternum.
Not now...
Zoro found himself slouching into the wall, breathing becoming more difficult as the high pressure situation was causing him to relapse. Pressing the palm of his hand into his chest, he desperately tried to force himself to draw air into his increasingly tight lungs.
Even as thoughts whirled around his head - that he was most likely over-reacting and Sanji would be fine, he couldn't seem to get his breathing in control. Edges of his vision began to blur, sending him into a horrified spiral until a muffled form of scraping from within the apartment had him snapping back into full clarity. He wasn't entirely sure what it was that was suddenly keeping him so grounded, but without pausing to question it he moved into action.
Slowly pulling a gun from the right holster, he held it confidently in his left hand as his right came up to support it. Holding it at arm's length in front of himself, he rounded on the door and readied himself to kick it in. It would be nearly impossible to explain it to Sanji if he was just imagining everything, but the risk that something was amiss was too high and he wasn't going to ignore his gut instinct over what Sanji might think. Even if that meant possibly scaring the blond away from him.
Levelling on the door, he took a calming breath as he tried to get himself back into his old mindset before bringing his leg up and kicking the door off its hinges in one smooth motion. The cheap wood went sailing into the room to land with a loud smack on the entry floor as Zoro immediately darted in, keeping low as he turned aggressively to check each corner and blind spot as he moved forward into the apartment.
Just as he was beginning to wonder if the place was empty, he rounded into the living room and nearly startled himself when he found Sanji strapped to chair with a livid, if not relieved, look on his frazzled face. Making the mistake of dropping his guard for a second in relief of seeing Sanji alive, he made the crucial error of not checking a corner as something darted forward when his gun was lowered.
Turning around a moment too late, a body pounced on him, hands coming up and over in a motion that could only be intended to wrap a wire around his neck and choke him. Zoro cursed as he spun on the man with furious intent, hand snagging the wire just before it could close around his neck as he pulled and twisted, dropping his gun in the struggle. Leg hooking the man's calves in a vicious swipe had the assailant flipping over to land flat on his back where Zoro pounced on top of him with his knees pinning the man's arms to the floor.
Left hand immediately falling to press into the man's jaw bones painfully, he kept it pried open while the other swiped the gun from the left holster and levelled it on the man. With the scuffling ended, Zoro allowed himself a moment of shock before grunting, "You're the driver."
With Zoro's hand keeping his mouth pried open, the man couldn't respond beyond giving a toothy grin and chuckling darkly with a pleased nod. Zoro took a moment to recover from the realization that it was the same man who had hit him with the truck several months ago. It was too much of a coincidence, which meant...
Zoro tightened his grip on the man's face painfully as his blinding rage was somehow managing to keep him level, "Who sent you?"
The question was just met with another chuckle as Zoro could only assume he had been around town for so long to shadow him. It infuriated Zoro to no end that he hadn't noticed the man trailing him before this. It seemed suburbia really was making him go soft. His scowl darkened even further when he noted the man's tongue attempting to free one of his molars in the back.
"No." Zoro grunted with a scowl, dropping the gun as he reached his other hand into the man's mouth to pry out the tooth he had been trying to dislodge and tossing it across the floor, "I don't think so."
Giving one last look for any other false teeth that might hold a cyanide capsule, he finally released the man's jaw and snatched up his gun once more. Cocking it and training it directly to the man's forehead, he once more levelled on the man with the intention of finding out who the hell he was and what he had done to Sanji.
Before Zoro could get any words out, the man underneath him started chuckling smugly as his body went lax in defeat. His hands fell to his sides as maniacal happiness lit up his eyes, and Zoro finally noticed the odd shape of the man's torso that he had been sitting on. Free hand coming down to rip open the man's shirt, he glimpsed what was very clearly a massive amount of C-4 taped to his chest with a detonator.
Without even hesitating, he fired a bullet into the man's head - the noise thankfully muffled by the silencer - before he bolted over to Sanji. Picking him up - chair and all – and running down the hall as far as he could make it before an audible click echoed through the apartment and Zoro was forced to throw Sanji to the floor and dive on top of him.
A deafening explosion rattled the building as walls were torn to shreds, furniture was sent flying, and the foundation of the entire building shook. Shrapnel was sent hurtling around the room, several shards ending up in his back but he refused to move from his place on top of the blond until the commotion had ended.
Ears ringing from the blast, Zoro cautiously raised his head and looked back through the debris and thick dust hanging in the air. Flames already licking at the more flammable items in the living room and the charred remains of the assassins body. Low visibility and contaminated air made his chest tighten and breathing laboured as panic started to creep it's way back. Sanji coughed under him, and Zoro snapped his gaze back to the blond, the man's presence bringing about a calm inside him, his concern for Sanji overpowering the panic.
"You okay?!" Zoro asked him immediately, surprisingly steady hands coming to grip Sanji's face and turning the man to face him, trying to stamp down his residual panic. Sanji opening eyes sent a wave of relief crashing over him, the tightness in his chest finally loosening.
Sanji winced through a painful smile, "Just some external injuries."
Pulling out a knife and cutting the restraints, Zoro slowly helped Sanji out of the chair, the blond leaning back against the hallway wall and easing his right arm into his lap. Zoro remained crouched beside him, breathing heavily as he still was trying to fathom what had just happened and why.
The fire alarm began shrieking out through the building as someone had no doubt pulled it in their panic. Zoro's mind was already racing with different possibilities, escape times, and how to handle the situation; the seriousness of what this meant going far deeper than just a death threat on Sanji.
"Almost definitely dislocated." Sanji surmised, pulling Zoro from his thoughts as he turned on the blond with a stern frown. Zoro knew what had to be done from here on out, and also knew that Sanji was definitely not going to like it; if anything, what was about to happen was probably going to make Sanji hate him.
Pulling himself closer, he took up Sanji's injured arm, while mentally tallying the amount of time they had before the fire department would arrive – followed by the paramedics – and figuring out just how small their window of escape would be. His hand took a firm grip on Sanji's upper arm as his other came to rest on the blond's shoulder; wanting to apologize as there was no time to be gentle with the man.
"Woah! Woah! Hey!" Sanji protested loudly as he attempted to weakly wave Zoro off with his other arm, obviously still in shock from the explosion as his actions were a little dazed. Closing his eyes out of guilt, Zoro jerked hard in one single motion, without warning while Sanji was still speaking, "I'm the nurs—"
Cut off in the middle of his sentence, Sanji screamed, a pained and keen sound, breaking Zoro's heart into hundred pieces.
Several moments passed as Sanji whimpered in pain before going completely stiff and holding his breath as he seemed to fear moving lest he cause any further pain to himself. He finally released a breath after a while and his shoulders fell, eyes flying open in surprise as he glanced down at his arm and moved it carefully to find it fully functional.
"You're..." Sanji murmured in quiet surprise, "actually not bad at that."
Pushing himself to his feet as they needed to leave now before they began inhaling more smoke than they already had, he offered his hand out to the blond who was understandably weary, but took it anyway and allowed Zoro to haul him to his feet.
"Had to do it to myself a few times." Zoro explained tersely.
"Oh, yeah?" Sanji questioned sardonically, cradling his arm as he muttered through gritted teeth, "Care to elaborate?"
Zoro just shook his head shortly, grabbing Sanji's wrist and begun to guide the still shocked man out of the room. Gathering up his guns that had somehow managed to survive the blast and reholstering them, he answered, "Classified."
"'Course it is..." Sanji mumbled with a hard roll of his eyes, speaking more to himself than to Zoro as he slowly released his elbow and began testing the limits of his arm. Reaching the door to Sanji's apartment, they stepped over it's remains from where Zoro had kicked it in and made their way out into the hallway, blending in the crowd of people, all trying to make their way outside.
No one was really rushing as false alarm fire drills happened all the time – most of the tenants looked more annoyed than anything else. Zoro had to make an effort to keep his guns concealed under his jacket. Once out the front doors, Zoro directed Sanji through the mass of people gathering outside to look up at the building to try and figure out which apartment might be the cause of the alarm, faces dropping as people began to realize from the smoke that the alarm was far more serious than they had initially thought.
Getting Sanji over to his truck, Zoro opened the passenger door for him as the blond finally seemed to be coming back to his senses, his gaze travelling from the burning building to Zoro before asking incredulously, "Shouldn't we wait for the cops?!"
"No." Zoro grunted sternly.
"Okay..." Sanji mused, nodding as he continued with a hint of hysteria in his tone, "and why not?"
"Because I don't know who sent him." Zoro responded quickly, getting more and more impatient as he could distantly hear the sounds of fire trucks nearing their location. Even when they arrived it would be a while before they started questioning bystanders, but he wanted to be long gone by then.
"What do you mean?" Sanji frowned in concern, hand coming up to hold open the door Zoro was slowly trying to close on him.
Casting a furtive look around before levelling back on the blond, Zoro murmured conspiratorially, "He could've been CIA."
"Weren't you CIA?" Sanji balked, "Why the fuck would they want to kill you?"
"I know a lot of things that people don't want getting out." Zoro explained tersely, stalking in closer to the man and angling the door a bit more closed so that hopefully no one would overhear, "If one day someone decides that the information needs to be buried; they could choose to have me killed."
"Well..." Sanji floundered, "What if it is the CIA?"
"Then I'm gonna kill the bastard that gave the order." Zoro affirmed darkly.
"Oh." Sanji clipped sarcastically, "Wonderful. And why can't I stay here?"
"Because they might come back." Zoro barked, allowing a little bit of his panic and anger to slip through and immediately regretting it upon seeing Sanji's change in expression. Desperately fighting to soften his tone as he urge quietly, "Now please, get in the truck."
Sanji was understandably weary but finally followed Zoro's orders and climbed into the vehicle, closing the door behind himself as he waited for Zoro to get in on the driver's side. Throwing it in drive, Zoro sped out of the lot as fast as he could, passing by the side of the building that brought Sanji's – now engulfed in flames – apartment into view, causing the blond to mutter numbly, "My... my apartment..."
"I'll buy you a new one." Zoro muttered shortly.
"'I'll buy you a new one'." Sanji mimicked in a horrible imitation of Zoro's voice, waving his head mockingly as he said it before rounding on the man in a completely serious tone and snapping, "Who the fuck says shit like that?"
Passing by the fire truck headed in the opposite direction, Zoro finally took his gaze off the road to look the blond directly in the eye. And Sanji must have seen something there because the anger abated long enough for Zoro to state firmly, "I'll make this up to you; I promise."
~X~
Inside Zoro's house, Sanji stood on the second bottom step of the basement still in a state of shock as he cradled his injured arm while Zoro ran about throwing the necessary items into a bag. All the unmarked bills he had kept stored in an explosive proof safe, along with several fake identities, passports, a burner phone – his was now useless after being tapped – and other espionage documents that had been of use in his former career.
Throwing in a few holsters, his three favourite guns, and all his remaining ammo, he headed back upstairs with Sanji in tow. Tossing the bag aside on the couch, he began flipping through a small black book he had snagged from a hidden hole in the wall downstairs as Sanji began to come around.
"Why'd that guy try to kill me?" Sanji asked softly, clearly worried as his voice came out shaky and barely noticeable.
Zoro guiltily ignored it as there was no way he could answer without divulging more than he was comfortable with, instead focusing more on finding the number of the pilot he needed to get them out of Merryville as Sanji seemed to grow irritable at being ignored. Stepping forward and grabbing Zoro's attention by snagging the front of his shirt with far more force and ferocity than Zoro would have expected from the usually gentle paramedic.
"Why'd that guy try to kill me?" Sanji repeated with a growl, his words quiet but his tone unmistakably livid in his hysteria, and when Zoro didn't initially answer he jerked his grip aggressively and added, "Huh?!"
Teeth clenching, the muscles in his jaw worked in agitation as he knew there was no way he could lie to the blond about it now; there was no conceivable lie that would make sense, desperately wishing there was something else he could say before Sanji's impatient glare had him resigning himself to his humiliation.
"They came for you because of me." Zoro informed shortly, not intending on this being the way that Sanji found out about his obscure feelings for the other man. If he had had it his way then Sanji would have likely never found out at all.
"Wha-?" Sanji balked, grip on Zoro faltering as it was clearly not what he had been expecting to hear before managing to recover his aplomb and demand, "Why on earth would they do that?!"
"They know how I feel about you." Zoro admitted flatly.
The admission had Sanji freezing in his tracks, gaze burning into Zoro shrewdly as a small frown graced his features and he blinked in genuine confusion, "What?"
"They've been watching me; monitoring my calls." Zoro explained, keeping the bitterness from his tone as he admitted things to the man that he hadn't even been comfortable admitting to himself. Not only that, he hated that these strangers had been privy to his conversations with Sanji and had probably, even known before him, how important Sanji had become, "They've seen how I am around you."
"And...?" Sanji pressed, still clearly confused. "How are you around me?"
"I care about you." Zoro murmured quietly, watching Sanji with regret radiating off of himself in waves as the blond just stared back incredulously. Probably not even aware that his hair elastic had slipped and was now barely keeping his hair tied back; most of it falling into his confused blue eyes.
"What about your wife?" Sanji uttered in bewilderment, "Our friends; you care about them right?"
"They're not in any danger. And Kalfia can take care of herself, but they wouldn't go after her anyway." Zoro stiffly muttered, "They would know that our marriage has been over for months."
"Oh, yeah?" Sanji laughed hollowly, "And what makes me so special?"
"They went after you because they knew you'd be the best leverage on me." Zoro admitted, a little frustrated that he had to spell it out for the daft blond, wishing that there was anything else he could tell him besides the truth, "Because I like you."
A heavy silence hung in the air between the two men as the situation finally clicked and Sanji's eyes widened in surprise at the revelation. Zoro's shoulders tensed incredibly as he couldn't bring himself to meet the blond's gaze, painfully aware of what the response would be, almost hating Sanji for immediately piping up with words he no doubt thought would help ease the rejection.
"Zoro..." Sanji began carefully, tone utterly shocked as Zoro kept his head turned firmly to the side as he had already known Sanji's response before admitting it, "I-"
"Don't." Zoro interrupted shortly, "I get it."
Zoro couldn't bring himself to look at the blond but he could tell from the palpable tension in the room that the blond's shoulders were no doubt hunched in guilt. A struggle was clearly taking place within the blond's head as he fought to come up with something to say, and Zoro already didn't want to know the details of it. Certain that words would hurt far more than he already knew that they would.
"I would..." Sanji began lamely, floundering as he waved his hands in a desperate attempt to get the words out as he rambled on before he trailed off pitifully and once more cast his gaze aside, "I just... I'm..."
Zoro finished each sentence Sanji was struggling to get out perfectly in his head, not needing or wanting the blond to try and continue with his unflattering rejection. It was clear that Sanji didn't want him, and while he may be trying to lighten the blow he was in fact making the whole ordeal much more painful than was necessary. Cutting him off once more Zoro said succinctly, "I understand; it's fine."
Sanji opened his mouth as he still seemed desperate to try and make things right, but a look from Zoro had his words falling short and he closed his mouth silently. Muttering a hushed, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Zoro reassured sternly, turning back to the discarded black book as he muttered, "It's my fault."
Sanji deflated hopelessly – still looking like he desperately had something else to say – but remained silent as he watched Zoro return to his book. Flipping through his contacts hurriedly until he finally came across the name and number of the man he needed, and began punching it in on the burner phone. Taking Sanji's stunned silence as an opportunity to hit call and grunting into the phone when the line was answered, "Hey, Rayleigh."
"Roronoa?" Came the raspy response, "It's been years."
"I don't have time to chat." Zoro cut the man off quickly, "Someone has been tracking me and I nearly got taken out this afternoon; how soon can you be at Merryville airfield?"
"Two hours." Rayleigh supplied easily, "Sorry to hear about that; not exactly a peaceful retirement."
"We can talk later." Zoro urged firmly, "See you there."
Without waiting for a response, Zoro hung up the phone and pocketed it as he finished zipping up his bag and began heading upstairs for a couple last items. Sanji trailed behind curiously as it was clear that despite the blond reeling from their conversation, he was still a blatant concoction of annoyance, anger, and agitation over everything else that had happened.
"Who was that?" Sanji asked apprehensively as he cautiously followed Zoro to the landing of the first floor. Keeping a few steps behind him as Zoro made for the bedroom, "What was that about the airfield?"
"Friend." Zoro grunted as he began pulling some spare clothes from the closet – both his and Sanji's clothes having gotten significantly burnt and torn in the explosion – while he continued absently, "We need to get to Japan."
"WE?!" Sanji screeched, eyes wide in disbelief, "What the fuck do you mean we?!"
"It's not safe here." Zoro muttered, throwing the clothes into a separate bag along with a few other things. He then attempted to leave the room before having his path blocked by an enraged blond as he amended, "If I leave you here then someone else will try to use you to get to me again."
"But JAPAN?!" Sanji implored, uninjured arm beginning to flail hysterically, "Why do we have to go to Japan?! Can't you just call somebody and get this sorted out?!"
"I already told you; I don't know who's after me." Zoro repeated somewhat irritably, "If I were to leave you with someone at the CIA, I could very well be handing you over to the same person responsible for trying to take your life this afternoon. Rayleigh is one of the handful of guys I know I can trust. On the other hand I can think of a couple hundred people that would love to see me dead."
The reply seemed to pacify the blond a little, and gave Zoro enough reprieve to dart past him and head back downstairs. Mentally tallying up everything he had already packed, he tried to think of anything else he might need while he still had the opportunity to grab it.
"What's in Japan?" Sanji broke the silence that had begun to stretch between them. Zoro turned to see Sanji halted at the bottom of the stairs with his good arm still resting on the handrail. While much calmer than before, it was obvious that he was hurt, and afraid, and it caused Zoro's chest to ache in guilt.
Knowing that he was the cause of all of it, and also knowing that there was really nothing he could do or say to make it better. Even pulling the man into his arms and promising him nothing else bad would ever happen to him wasn't enough to make up for everything; it wasn't like the blond would let him do that anyway. Instead, Zoro just had to stand in his shameful guilt at the realization he had probably hurt Sanji more in these last few hours than anyone else ever had.
"I have some informants there that can hopefully get me some information on what's going on." Zoro divulged softly, the initial anger and consternation that had been coursing through him since they had gotten back leeching from him, replaced only by self-hatred over how he had behaved towards the blond in his panic, "Once I know who's after me, it'll be easy to put a stop to all of this..."
"I have a job; a life..." Sanji argued before trailing off as his eyes grew wide in horrified realization, "I can't just- Oh... god...They'll think I'm dead..."
"It's better this way." Zoro replied softly.
"Better?!" Sanji bellowed, his placid demeanour swiftly forgotten for indignation, "You think my friends and family thinking I'm dead is fucking better?!"
"It'll only be for a few days until they identify the body in your apartment as not being yours." Zoro clarified rationally, "And a few days would be a massive head start for me to figure out who is behind this."
"This isn't fair..." Sanji murmured in defeat, distraught pain creasing his face into something heartbreaking as he choked out, "All of it... And you expect me to pick up and leave on some trip because you have some unfinished CIA business to attend to; I'm not part of this."
"You became part of this when you forced yourself into my life," Zoro grunted back childishly as he knew it was an unfair jab at the other man. He pointedly kept his gaze away from the blond as he knew that if he did, the well of guilt pooling in his chest would swallow him whole.
"How the hell was I supposed to know this was part of the deal?!" Sanji bit back, "It's not like when you make friends with someone, 'might get assassinated' is on the list?!"
"Look," Zoro growled earnestly, meeting Sanji's gaze and hating the pain he saw there. Forcing his voice to remain as gentle as possible while he reassured, "Once I figure out what's going on I'll bring you back here and have you under protective surveillance from people I trust; you can go back to your life like nothing's happened."
"I..." Sanji fumbled in surprise, still a little taken aback by what Zoro had just said. "But..."
"You won't have to hear from me ever again."
"That's not... I mean, I... What..." Sanji stumbled over his words several times in an attempt to respond to Zoro in any way, but it seemed as though he just couldn't simply wrap his head around what was currently happening,no doubt still a little shell shocked. Finally giving up and throwing his good arm in the arm as he muttered hopelessly "Alright..."
~X~
Even though it was summer, the evening wind carried a slight chill to it as it whipped at Zoro's hair playfully. Phone held to his ear as he finished explaining the situation to his wife – however leaving out some less important details involving a certain blond – and his current location.
"You want me to come with you?" Kalifa asked seriously, the genuine sentiment meaning the world to him, but also aware that there was no way he could bring her along. Not without having to explain why Sanji was with him, and that was a conversation he was hoping to never have.
"No." Zoro murmured gently, "It's alright."
"You sure it's safe?" She inquired in concern, clearly alluding to his mental state rather than the physical risk of what he was planning to do, "Going alone?"
The question had him pausing because in all honesty he wasn't certain; this was the least certain he had ever been of his capabilities in his life. He had been out of the field for years, his mental state had improved but he still was not in perfect control, and he was way too emotionally invested in the target.
But when he glanced over at Sanji – the blond still looking weary and dazed as he talked to Rayleigh – Zoro had never felt more certain in his life. Even if Sanji might hate him, even after all this was over and he may never see Sanji ever again; it was worth it to make sure Sanji got out of this safely.
"Yeah." Zoro murmured softly as he continued to gaze at the blond intently, "I'm sure."
TBC...
A/N: A HUGE thank you to zosanlaw on tumblr for being such an amazing beta! (Don't know what I'd do with out you!)
