Stepping out into the humid night air, Zoro closed the door behind himself softly despite the fact that the deadbolt clicking echoed far louder in his ears than he had expected. That sound of the proverbial door being shut on his and Sanji's adventure, and the end of this oddly surreal time spent with the captivating man.

Forcing himself down the steps and to the street was a struggle, but each stride got easier until he was standing outside the vehicle softly idling by the curb. He threw open the door and fell into the passenger seat heavily as Viola watched him from her position behind the wheel. A predatory smirk on her gorgeous lips as he murmured, "Hey, you. Ready?"

Zoro gave a stiff nod.

After everything that he had just admitted aloud to Sanji – despite the blond being unconscious – Zoro still wasn't quite sure he could open his mouth without allowing his voice to crack. Far too much emotion still hovered near the surface that was threatening to spill out, and things he certainly didn't want to have to deal with while in the presence of this near stranger. While she was doing him a favour, it wouldn't do to have her see him break down now.

"Where's the cute blond?" She demanded petulantly.

"Not coming." Zoro grunted, nabbing his seat belt and belting himself in as he was doing his best to avoid too much eye contact and this conversation. Adjusting himself in his seat, he turned his gaze resolutely out the window despite the fact that Viola had made no motion to begin driving.

"Why not?"

"It doesn't matter." Zoro bit out quietly.

"Listen, darling." Viola crooned with a sinister tone, "I'm doing you a favour – a dangerous one – so when I ask a question, you answer it. Are we clear?"

Zoro's mouth opened to respond but found words completely useless as his throat began to close up on him. Memories of Sanji raced through his head as the full weight of what he had just done was hitting him. The fact that everything – even the small hope of affection he had suspected had been growing between them these past several days – was over.

Everything felt raw.

Like he had cried enough to spill all the tears he possibly could, and then some. Throat feeling like he had swallowed sandpaper, his eyes tender to the point of irritation, bridge of his nose itching with unshed emotion, and his chest a twisted, torment vortex of anguish that was slowly disrupting his ability to breath with every passing second.

"Yikes." Viola intoned nervously, "Why do you look like I just dragged your dog out back and shot it?"

"Kohza's taking him back to America." Zoro croaked out, "It was my fault; he was never meant to be here in the first place."

"I don't understand." Fingers drummed steadily across the steering wheel as Viola watched Zoro through narrowed eyes, "Wouldn't he want to stay here with you?"

Zoro shook his head minutely.

"Wait..." Viola surmised slowly, a dawning conclusion causing her to frown as she pointed a finely manicured finger to Zoro's right hand where his wedding band was still prominently displayed, "You and him aren't...?"

"No." Zoro managed out with a hollow laugh. There was absolutely nothing funny about what she had said, but the thought of him managing to be lucky enough to ever marry Sanji... well it was ludicrous enough to pull a chuckle from him. Eyes falling to the gold band, he was vividly reminded of whom it was promised to and the woman he had left behind.

"So you're married and he's here... why?"

Zoro turned a deadpanned look on the woman.

"Oh. OH..." Viola intoned in surprise as everything was clearly falling in place for her. Zoro was grateful since he wasn't in the mood to have to recount the entirety of his bad luck for the past couple months."I thought there was a weird vibe between you two."

"There's no vibe—"

"Course there is." Viola countered dismissively as she finally threw the car into drive and pulled out of her parking spot. Easing out onto the night cloaked street, she mused, "You're married to someone and in love with someone else; it's gonna get weird."

"I'm not-"

It was Viola's turn to gift him with an impatiently deadpan expression which was succeeded by a scoff, "Please..."

"I-" Zoro tried once more, a heated indignation flaring up inside him, but falling short as he realized there was no other way to put how he currently felt for the man; nothing that could possibly explain all his actions up until this point aside from the one Viola had so easily pointed out.

"Interesting~" Viola mused happily, looking far too pleased with herself for being able to drag as much information out of Zoro as she did while Zoro felt even more weary than he had when he had first left Kohza's.

"That good enough for you?" Zoro growled.

"Plenty." Viola simpered, "Although I feel like you have a bunch of things you still need to work ou-"

A sharp crack and the sudden shattering of glass interrupted the woman as both of them instinctually ducked and the vehicle screeched to the left as Viola lost control of the steering for a moment. The back window and front window had matching bullet holes penetrating through them, the glass cracking from the centre as their conversation was effectively ended. As Viola took the wheel again, another two shots quickly followed the first - one taking out the window and the other shredding the headrest of the driver's seat, where the brunette's head had been moments before. Hands still on the wheel, she drove with her head as low as she could get while still seeing over the dash, she turned to Zoro incredulously, "Friends of yours?"

"What gave it away?" Zoro snapped irritably, shuffling even lower in his seat as he began wrestling his jacket open to snag his gun from his holster. Cocking the weapon, he sent her a sideways glance, "Do a lap."

"Are you crazy?!" Viola spat.

Zoro sent a dark glare her way, his earlier exhaustion gone, replaced by irrepressible rage that he hadn't realized he had been suppressing until this very moment. Every bit of painful longing, and repressed anguish bubbled to a head as he snarled, "Just do it."

"Fine!" Viola screamed as her hand fell to the hand brake and her other took a commanding grip atop the wheel. Engine roaring, she sped up towards the corner street up ahead, "Hang on!"

Engine revving louder as she weaved her way down the last of the street, Zoro had enough time to sneak a glance out the back window at the two cars in pursuit before Viola acted. In a single moment, she engaged the brake with a viscous jerk at the same time drifting the car into the side street with a sharp squeal of the tires and searing odour of burnt rubber.

Kicking open the passenger door, Zoro dove out of the vehicle into a single, well timed roll that had him coming back up onto his feet flawlessly as his gun was immediately raised and trained on the approaching vehicle. Without hesitating, he fired two consecutive shots- taking out the driver and the passenger before striding further out into the street and rounding on the other car coming a bit further back.

First car swerving dangerously before colliding with several parked cars, Zoro strode murderously forward, mind a blank slate of static for the first time in months. Pure instinct taking over in his rage, he fired several more shots to take out the driver and the front tires of the approaching vehicle.

Striding past the first vehicle that had now caught on fire, he blindly fired a couple shots to take out the men emerging from the back seat as he made for his other target. A man sat in the passenger's seat of the second car, struggling with his seat belt in a clear panic as Zoro strode forward and ripped open the door. Firing at point blank range, Zoro saw the whites of the man's eyes light up before going dim.

A sharp blow to the back of his head sent Zoro down onto a knee as he attempted to blink the stars out of his vision and the odd haziness that was starting to take over. Staying down a moment longer to make sure he could properly get his bearings before casting an unimpressed glance over his shoulder at the thug.

"Heh. Not so tough now are you, Roronoa?"

Pushing himself slowly to his feet, Zoro levelled on the rather large man with a scowl as the thug raised his hands readily to face off against him. Rolling his eyes in exhaustion, Zoro raised his gun and fired a single shot into the man's knee with a bored mein and watched with tired satisfaction as the man immediately fell to the ground with a pained wail.

As the man struggled to get back to his feet, Zoro walked forward and whipped the barrel of the gun across the man's face, sending him to ground again as the metal connected with a sharp crack to the thug's cheekbone. Popping out the magazine and inserting a new one, he brought the gun up to cock the slide before bringing it back down firing at point blank range, "I'm not in the mood."

Body slumping over on the sidewalk as a pool of blood began to form under the corpse, Zoro regaining his breath as the sound of a car rolling up behind him had him turning abruptly and levelling his weapon on the driver. Seeing Viola's face, he lowered the gun as the car stopping and she leaned across the console to throw open the passenger side door with a snarl, "Get in already, you crazy bastard!"

Jumping in, Viola didn't spare a moment before she was taking off down the street leaving behind a pack of street dogs howling. Viola sparing no time in putting as much distance between them and that mess as she possibly could, but not before casting a teasing smile Zoro's direction, "That was fun!"

Zoro scowled.

"I'm kidding." Viola intoned in exasperation, "Jeez, has anyone told you to grow a sense of humour?"

"Once or twice." Zoro grumbled as he reloaded his gun before reholstering it, hating how his thoughts had immediately returned to Sanji and how it seemed no matter what he did it would be inescapable from now on. Gaze drifting out the window to where the sun was distantly beginning to rise, he knew Sanji would be waking up any minute now.

~X~

Viola pulled the car up on a nearly abandoned lot on the outskirts of a small rural town as they had managed to reach their destination without any more interruptions. It had taken nearly half the day to get there - and while Zoro wasn't about to question Viola's motives at this point - he was understandably weary upon seeing the suspiciously empty house.

They made their way up to the building that looked as though it was one strong gust of wind away from falling over, and Zoro watched as Viola proceeded to pull a ratty string hanging from the rafters above the porch. No sound was heard as they both waited calmly, Zoro silently wondering what exactly she was waiting for but deciding to keep quiet and observe.

Several moments passed before a groaning of metal could be heard from within, followed by shuffling footsteps that slowly neared the rickety door. Zoro watched wearily, one hand removing itself from his jacket pocket so he could readily have access to his gun lest things go bad. Listening as a lock was unshackled from the otherside, the portal swung forward to reveal a man blinking blearily up at them.

Though he was probably no more than a few years older than Zoro, he stood with a lazy hunch and his hands buried deep in his hoodie's pockets. A disgruntled expression was slapped across his sleep deprived face, the bags under his eyes making the man look like he hadn't had a good nights' sleep in weeks. His hermit-esque appearance was topped off with a matted mess of black hair smushed beneath a hit baseball cap.

"Viola." The man grumpily mumbled towards the woman.

"How you been Law?" Viola crooned politely before gesturing towards Zoro, "This is Zoro; I'm doing him a favour for Kohza."

Zoro stood calmly as he waited for Law to drag his gaze up and down him critically, eyes narrowing for a shrewd moment before conceding with a bored shrug. "Alright, let's get you sorted." Law grumbled wearily as he turned and gestured for them to follow him further into his boarded up, condemned, shack of a house, "Sooner we get this done, the sooner you can leave."

Upon getting further into the decrepit building, it became obvious that the noise he had heard earlier came from the large metal hatch currently sitting open in the middle of the floor. And judging from the flooring and carpeting attached to the top half it was meant to remain well concealed to unwanted visitors.

"So this house is a decoy?" Zoro inquired as his brow raised in interest.

"Of course." Law scoffed, "You think I'd leave myself so readily out in the open?"

Zoro ignored the scathing comment and instead cast a glance down the hatch and to the holding area below. He was able to see a ladder leading deep into what appeared to be a bunker below ground, and several living essentials that were already in view, "What is it?"

"An old submarine." Law explained casually, "Had it buried by a friend who owns an excavator company. Impenetrable and untraceable."

Zoro made a noise deep in his throat.

"Just because your government hasn't turned on you yet, doesn't mean they won't," Law dismissed as he clearly picked up on the judging tone of Zoro's behaviour. Smugly noting, "Though from what I've been seeing, you might already have them on your tail."

"I need to change my bandages." Zoro pointedly changed the subject, "Got somewhere I can use?"

Exchanging a glance with Viola, Law gestured to a door down the hall with a lazy wave of his hand, "Over there; don't stay above ground too long."

Zoro nodded shortly. "Got it."

As Zoro began making his way towards the room, he heard Viola murmur, "C'mon, I'll brief you on what he needs."

In the grungy bathroom Zoro went about changing his bandages as best he could on his own - realizing he had begun to take for granted having a ride along paramedic. Cleaning and salving the scabbing mess that was his shoulder and hip, he slapped on another stick on bandage with a lazy smack. Rubbing it on enough that the glue wouldn't catch on anything, he shucked his shirt and jacket back on impatiently.

Returning the medical supplies to his bag, he pulled a new burner phone from his bag and let the sack fall to the floor with a pathetic slump as he flipped open the mobile and punched in Kalifa's number. All the pieces were falling into place; Sanji was on his way back to America, Zoro was about to find out where – and potentially who – set his bounty, and he was practically days from ending this whole ordeal. Which meant it was about time he started focusing on reality and less on his foolish delusions regarding Sanji.

The phone trilled three times before there was a calm, yet wary answer, "Hello?"

"Hey..." Zoro breathed out the word on an exhale, allowing his shoulders to cave as the act of finally calling her had made him even more aware of his previous follies. While the love between them had fallen away months ago, he couldn't deny she had been there at a time when no one else had been, and despite her aloof behaviour he knew she still cared.

"Oh my god!" Kalifa gasped, "Zoro!"

"Shh." Zoro hushed as soothingly as he could managed, "It's alright; I'm alright."

"Where are you? What's going on?" Kalifa stammered nervously, "I got wind there's a bounty on your head; and you've kept silent for over a week! Do you know how worried I was?!"

"I know. 'M sorry." Zoro murmured softly down the line, a genuine smile touching his lips at her concern. Perhaps living the rest of his life with her wouldn't be so bad... "I didn't want to risk it until I knew it was safe. You haven't had any trouble?"

"No. None." Kalifa muttered, much calmer now as she urged sincerely, "I'm more worried about you; anything happen?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Zoro shrugged off casually, ignoring the ache in his shoulder that flared up on cue as though to call his bluff. Tone growing quiet, he reassured her gently, "I should have this sorted in a few more days."

"Okay... Okay." Kalifa murmured nervously before becoming more resolute, "If you're sure."

"I'll be back soon." Zoro forced out cheerfully, hearing the lie in his tone so audibly it was nearly painful. Shoulders caving in and voice growing oddly small as he added, "It'll be like I never left."

Right.

That's what all this was for, after all. Sanji should already be back home with Kohza, getting his new apartment set up and coming up with a plausible cover story for officials there; it was nothing he couldn't handle. And Zoro was going to finish up with the last of the mess here; which meant it'd be no time at all before he was back in Merryville like nothing had changed.

Old routine would start up again, and he would get back into his same old rut as he attempted to forget everything this trip had done to him and forced him to endure with Sanji. And Sanji – well Zoro still wasn't sure what Sanji wanted but it didn't seem too hopeless – him and Sanji would probably go back to being forced acquaintances.

"Babe?"

"Sorry..." Zoro shook his head to remove the weighted thoughts and conceded, "Just a little tired; distracted."

"You... you'll let me know if you need my help... right?"

"Of course."

"Stay safe." She whispered softly down the line, "I love you."

"I love you too." Zoro responded on reflex, however now the words left an acrid taste in his mouth as he now knew for sure how much they tasted of a lie. Hating himself even more for what he was putting her through, her adulterous habits aside, he couldn't abide his own awful behaviour.

The call ended with a click, and as Zoro pocketed the phone he found himself fighting the whole new issue of his further complicated relationship with his wife. Heaving a sigh, he stared down at the dark mobile screen in defeat, even if she didn't know anything about him and Sanji, it didn't change the fact that everything wouldn't be the same when he got back. At least not in Zoro's eyes.

"Hey!" Viola snapped loudly, "Wedding crasher!"

Zoro rounded on her with a weary gaze.

"You're in luck." She claimed with a grin, beckoning him with a wave, "Law says he found something useful."

Following the woman back to the hidden hatch, Zoro dropped down into the area as Viola followed shortly behind after finally closing the hatch and firmly locking it behind her. Staying on his guard, Zoro took in the impressive area Law had set up for himself.

Indeed it appeared as though the inside of a submarine had simply been remodeled into a rather cozy living quarters; complete with a spacious common area, a well stocked and tidy kitchen, and even a bedroom with a seperate hall. Aside from the metal walls with large bulbous rivets and the wall of dirt visible through the portholes present along the walls, the place would appear like a totally normal bachelor suite.

Zoro made his way over to where Law was sitting comfortably with the same setup as Khoza's intel room - though there were a handful more servers and monitors. Sipping on a mug of coffee, Law stared at the multiple programs he had running simultaneously, and without even bothering to wait for Zoro to speak, started explaining irritatedly.

"Okay, so from what Viola told me your boy was able to get past the double VPN that was put in place to throw most agencies off their trail," Law gestured towards his monitor which was displaying a map fairly similar to the on Coby had pulled up at Kohza's, "and he ended up with something like this, correct?"

"Yeah." Zoro nodded simply, arms coming up to cross over his chest carefully, "Couldn't get a location beyond that."

"Well he wasn't wrong, because they were all sent from these places simultaneously, or rather that's what it's supposed to look like." Hand striking several keys, the image was sent from his computer to a larger monitor on the wall. Law pushed himself out of his chair and strode over to it while tapping his pen on several of the European locations lit up across the screen. "Theeese all were uploaded at the same time with the identical content of the bounty for your head. However, theeese were all actually loaded several seconds apart from the initial upload; though the discrepancies are most likely inconsequential."

Zoro simply shook his head with a small shrug to show he had no idea what the man was getting at.

"Most likely the bounty was stored in a shared cache before it was accessed simultaneously via alternate servers and then was uploaded at the same time." Law explained wearily, "I'm assuming whoever did this knew you would try to locate the original bounty and decided to make it difficult for you."

"So I'm back to square one?"

"No." Law sighed heavily as he rounded on Viola with an exhausted expression, "Did he not listen to a word I just said?"

"Easy, darling."

A disgruntled huff came from Zoro as Law rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Anyway, I can't find the cache, but the shared copies are all traceable as being copies. The only original document came from here," Law finished his spiel by tapping his pen against the monitor behind him as it landed on a glowing dot right off the coast of the Mediterranean. "That, would be the sight that uploaded the original bounty."

"Not bad."

"'Not bad' he says." Law scoffed, dropping back into his chair and swivelling it around dramatically as he turned to face his monitors once more, "You're a piece of work."

"Thank you, Law." Viola placated soothingly, "Sweetie."

"As for the address of origin; it came from the Blue Nose Pub." Law announced to no fanfare, pulling up a random photo of the outside of the building and sending a sideways glance at Zoro, "Ring any bells?"

"Not particularly..."

"Let me see if I can grab any interior photos…" Law murmured to himself rather absently as began dragging several located photos up on the screen for them to see. The interior of the bar completely unremarkable as it had all the decor of a regular pub; cheesy ox horns hanging above the counter and all. Though there was something oddly recognizable about the bar top in one of the photos… " How about now?"

"Vaguely..." Zoro murmured through a frustrated scowl, he wasn't certain whether it was the angle or the quality of the photos but he just couldn't understand why he found the place so familiar. Absolutely no memories of the place, just the barest hint of deja vu while staring at the bar top, as though it was something out of a dream long ago.

"Well..." Law mused shortly, "I could cross reference upload time with security footage and see if that turns up anything."

"You won't find anything." Zoro slowly shook his head as a bad feeling was beginning to grow in his gut, having spent enough time dealing with stuff like this that even he could see a subtle invite for what it was. It was just a hunch, but the fact that the place was eerily reminiscent did not bode well for him, "Whoever set this bounty wants me there..."

~X~

Viola pulled the car up into a spot on a street just a few blocks away from Kohza's apartment that would ensure no one would be following them as Zoro stiffly pulled himself from the vehicle. The events of the past couple days were really taking their toll on him; shoulder growing stiff without Sanji's attention and his other injuries still needing time to properly heal. Wearily snagging his pack off the floor and slinging it over his shoulder, he leaned further into the car and noted, "Enjoy your honeymoon."

"Oh, I intend to." Viola huffed, her playfully annoyed tone obviously forced, "After the heart attack I nearly had dealing with you, I might even try to extend it."

"Thank you again." Zoro grunted sincerely, "I'll make sure to make it up to you after this whole thing is over."

"You really want to do me a favour?" Viola murmured rhetorically, "Start looking after yourself; you look like you're suffering from a three year hangover."

"I..." Zoro fumbled for a moment, averting his gaze, "I'll try..."

Shaking her head lightly, she threw the car into drive while giving a teasing wave farewell, calling out as she began to take off down the street, "Give Sanji my best!"

Zoro gave a final wave before turning and making his way back up the streets as cautiously as he could, the walk feeling a tad longer than he had thought it would be, but with the several blocks he had got turned around at, he was certain that at least no one was following him. He managed to reach Kohza's where he could vaguely see a light on in the dining area that was likely from Stussy, painfully reminded that at this point Sanji and Kohza were long gone.

Rubbing a hand across his eyes wearily, he pushed into the building as he found his mind already turning back to the blond man with treacherous and depressing thoughts.. He barely got the door closed before there was a sharp skidding of wood on wood and then a loud clatter.

"YOU!"

Zoro's head whipped up at the murderous snarl that was bellowed upon his arrival, finding a very livid Sanji standing at the dinner table with an accusatory finger extended in his direction. Completely caught off guard by his presence as Kohza had supposedly taken the blond home hours ago – though from the sheepish look Kohza gave it hadn't exactly worked out. Stussy however was smirking around her tea like she was about to witness the best show of all time.

Panic had Zoro backing out of the room with wide eyed swiftness as he did his best to make his way to the stairs and to his room even as he heard Sanji storming after him. Loud stomps indicated that the man was actually running after him which instilled more fear in him than anything else that had happened in his life. Even as he raced up the stairs, he could faintly hear Stussy's amused comment of, "That's the first time I've seen him that terrified."

"That's the first time I've seen him run from a fight." Kohza agreed on a bewildered chuckle. Zoro ignored both of them as he continued to run as fast as he could from the demons at his heels. Landing on the second floor, he bolted to his room with Sanji close behind and screaming bloody murder.

"Where are you going?!" Sanji bellowed after him, before trying once more with far more indignation in his tone, "HEY!"

Zoro got to his room just as he heard Sanji land at the top of the stairs, striding inside, he slammed the door shut firmly and let his back fall against it heavily. He had not at all been mentally prepared for the fact that Sanji might have still been here, and certainly not ready for the fight that was about to entail.

When Sanji's fist connected with the door as he pounded against the wood, Zoro could feel each furious thump as the blond demanded, "I'm talking to you!"

Zoro considered jumping from the window but the thought itself made him realize how crazy he was acting. His hand tightened nervously on the strap of his bag before releasing in defeat. There was no way Sanji would give up and let him be. Caving in, Zoro slowly turned and opened the door to find a seething blond giving him a murderous glare on the other side of it. Teeth bared and face flushed, Sanji pointed an accusatory finger at Zoro and shouted, "What the FUCK are you up to?!"

"Curly." Zoro tried weakly.

"Don't you 'Curly' me!" Sanji threatened with a brandished finger, shoving past Zoro and storming into the room as the man just stood by the still open door nervously, wondering if he could maybe just run outside and barricade Sanji in the room and make a quick get away.

"What the hell?!" Sanji demanded immediately, arm gesturing indignantly at the door as he was clearly indicating what had just taken place... as well as no doubt being left behind.

"I could ask you the same thing." Zoro countered tiredly, closing the door slowly, not entirely in the mood for dealing with Sanji's explosive nature at the moment.

"Leaving me here with him?" Sanji balked indignantly, gesturing aggressively towards the door, "What kind of bullshit are you trying to pull? I thought we agreed I could stay!"

"You're safer with him." Zoro attempted wearily, not even able to muster the energy to be annoyed at Kohza for not following his orders and taking Sanji home. Unable to force any real emotion into his argument, his shoulders sagged under the exhaustion plaguing him, "I can deal with the rest of this on my own."

"Like hell." Sanji scoffed, "And what happened to you saying I could stay! You're lying to me now?!"

"I'm not lyin-" Zoro tried again weakly.

"Bullshit!"

"I'm trying to get you home!" Zoro exploded suddenly, an anger he had hadn't realized he had been harbouring surging out of him as he seethed back through gritted teeth, "You were the one that was livid over the inconvenience I caused you by having to bring you along; now you're pissed I'm trying to send you back! Could you be any more fickle?!"

"I thought I made it pretty damn clear that I changed my mind!" Sanji bellowed back, his anger having not wavered in the slightest, and if anything seemed to only thrive on Zoro's reactions.

"You also made it pretty damned clear that you weren't interested in me!" Zoro shouted, hating that he could hear the faint cracks in his voice as he was beginning to break. All the emotion and pain finally leaked through as he found himself talking about things he had promised himself he would never bring up with the other man, "So why are you still here?!"

Because that was the real issue here; wasn't it?

After everything that had happened and all that Sanji had learned and seen while in Zoro's company; why on earth was he still wanting to stick around? Why would he keep torturing Zoro with his presence when he knew how Zoro felt about him? And why would he keep stubbornly risking his life when Zoro had finally given him a safe way out?

It made no sense.

Sanji's face contorted in indignation, "When the hell did I say I wasn't interested?"

"Um..." Zoro hummed with a sarcastic viciousness, "My apartment. When I was trying to drag your whining ass to Japan."

A frown of confusion graced Sanji's handsome face before being replaced with a stark look of understanding until it was back to livid disbelief, "Oh my god, you dense idiot! I fucking like you; how on earth do you not get that?!"

Everything screeched to a resounding halt as a pin could have been heard dropping in the silence that followed the blond's irritated confession. Zoro's shocked eyes locked with fiery blue as they both stood off against the other with only their breathing and the distant sounds of traffic breaking the tension. The meaning of Sanji's words seeped through him with heart-stopping slowness as Zoro was certain he must have misheard.

"B..But..." Zoro managed with a breathless wheeze, too shocked at the reality of what Sanji was saying and the incredulity of it that he was still attempting to rationalize his previous thoughts. Grasping desperately at their first – and only – conversation dealing with all of this, he floundered, "You said..."

"I wasn't saying that I wasn't interested!" Sanji barked with a nearly hysterical laugh, extending a hand in a wave of frustration, "I was saying that I can't do anything about it while you're still married!"

All the confusion came to a chilling front, the rushing in his ears going completely silent as Zoro was finally able to turn to Sanji completely calm. Everything felt completely frozen in time as the events of the past week began playing before him from a horrifying new perspective and he wheezed out softly, "...what?"

"Your wife?" Sanji prodded with an air of mockery, "The woman living in your house that was somehow less important than me to deserve getting kidnapped."

"...oh." Zoro finally managed quietly, the word shrinking as he began curling in on himself in embarrassment of the misunderstanding. Everything suddenly clearly falling into place; their original conversation playing over in his head with the sudden new context and making himself feel like a fool.

"How the hell could you think I wasn't interested?" Sanji balked in confusion, "I was throwing signals left and right; I knew I was a piece shit for being into you but I couldn't exactly help myself."

Zoro said nothing. Couldn't.

"Besides, I was pretty sure you were straight so I was damned surprised when you confessed to me." Sanji admitted with a tad of shame gracing his features, hand coming up to rub the back of his neck guiltily, "I'd like to blame the shell shock, but I honestly think it was just me reacting like a shitty idiot."

"Why didn't you say something?" Zoro asked hollowly. Still trying to process all the information, knowing he should be ecstatic but unable to illicit the emotion after having resigned himself to rejection for so long. Part of him still felt like this must be some massive joke the blond was playing on him.

"I tried!" Sanji implored earnestly before curling back into himself with a regretful moue, "But every time I did you changed the subject; I assumed you were angry at yourself for feeling that way. That you hated me for it."

An icy silence followed the statement as both men remained standing silently opposite each other as each processed the new information they had been given. Zoro was growing increasingly more hysterical than Sanji however, and the blond's final confession.

"Are you joking...?" Zoro croaked out in livid disbelief, indignant over the notion that Sanji would even think something like that about him. Blinking incredulously, he glanced around the room in insulted awe as he tried to formulate any words that weren't going to come out as angry nonsense, "Do you have any idea..."

Cutting himself short with a hand clamped viciously over his mouth, he squeezed his jaw pointedly before allowing the hand to slide away as he tried again. Both hands shaking worse than he could remember, his mind a jumbled mess of exhilaration over knowing what Sanji felt for him, and chagrined fury over the idea that Sanji would ever think he would hate the blond for something so unbelievably stupid.

"You..."

Again falling short as nothing conceivably coherent could possibly come out of him, that would make a lick of sense. Sanji had the grace to look guilty as he wearily watched Zoro fume over this new information, while also having the intelligence to remain silent.

Finally looking up at the blond with enough resolve to not get distracted by his enchanting features, nor the newly realized feelings between them. Zoro was able to get a handle on his hectic thoughts long enough to point an aggressive finger at the man and accuse childishly, "You're a fucking moron."

Sanji was genuinely shocked for a moment – blue eyes innocently wide – as it seemed he had not at all expected that as Zoro's reaction. But it was soon replaced by his own indignant scowl and he was taking an aggressive step forward while rebuffing, "Oi!"

"How could you think that..." Zoro demanded hoarsely, looking anywhere but at Sanji as he tried to summon the verbal capacity to reprimand the idiotic man the way he wanted. Pain surfacing in his words as he choked out in an angry grumble that slowly trailed off, "How could you think I..."

Infallible words escaped him as his disbelief crashed with his crushing reality of just how much Sanji meant to him and how incapable he was of explaining it. Sanji had hung the stars to cure of him of his fear of the night, and he was unable to express even an iota of it with words alone. Words didn't feel like enough.

"I told you how I felt!" Zoro accused, anger bubbling up in place of his fumbling inability to express himself. Guilty over not being able to keep a level head but still lividly indignant over the nerve wracking ordeal he had been through the past week because of Sanji's ineptitude, "Did you... you think I got shot because I felt guilty?! Because of some martyrdom I had over liking you?"

"Fine!" Sanji finally bellowed to cut Zoro off, arms thrown up in defeat as he admitted heatedly, "I'm a fucking moron; happy?!"

Zoro just gave gruff huff. He clearly wasn't.

"You confessed and I fumbled like a shitty idiot." Sanji fumed, "I was given the perfect opportunity and instead of just taking it I said nothing! You were clearly in pain and I shut myself in like a coward! I messed up! I hate myself! Is that what you want to hear?"

"NO!" Zoro growled indignantly, "Haven't I made it clear that I don't want you getting hurt?!"

"Well, what do you want?!" Sanji snapped, "How can I make this right?!"

"I just... want you..." Zoro murmured hoarsely, "happy."

Once more, a rare moment passed where Sanji didn't speak, instead listening intently to Zoro's broken words.

"And if that means getting you home, then I'd do that." Zoro stated with intense conviction, a confident step bringing him closer to the still shockingly silent blond, "If I had to remove myself from your life; then I'd do it in a heartbeat. As long as you're happy I don't care; I'd do anything... Whether that meant letting you be with someone else..."

Zoro realized he was rambling and let his words trail off hopelessly, not entirely sure where he was going with the ridiculous monologue, but knowing he needed to get his final point across. Breathing becoming tense, he was horribly aware of how close he was to Sanji.

"Or..." Zoro croaked out on a raspy breath, body unfalliably steady for how much he felt like his insides were shattering to pieces. Walls he had built up for years crumbled away, he felt completely stripped bare before the other man as he admitted things he had still been having trouble admitting to himself.

Trembling breath stuttering out over dry lips as he slowly raised his hand towards Sanji's limp one, nervousness beginning to show in the faintest of shivers running the length of his arm. Middle finger twitching for the faintest of moments to flicker across the back of Sanji's hand which didn't pull away, allowing Zoro to continue moving forward to gently place his hand over Sanji's.

All of his focus zeroed in on Sanji's hand and the skin beneath his fingertips, the bony knuckles protruding up to brush against his calloused palm, and the warmth radiating through the sacred appendage. Unsure why the simple gesture felt so monumental, Zoro had to stifle a nervous inhale as he finally raised a vulnerable gaze to the man watching him so intently. Blue eyes wide and curious – not judging – but also not responding as he was clearly waiting on Zoro to continue with what he was intending.

"Or... with me..."

Hand twisting around to grab Zoro's wrist in a vice-grip, Sanji was jerking Zoro forward into a painfully intense hug. Arm around his shoulders trapped him in place as another around his waist kept him pinned to Sanji's body. His own hands hovered awkwardly behind Sanji as he was caught off guard by the sudden motion and what it meant. Slowly, he allowed them to fall to the small of the blond's back as Sanji groused into his shoulder.

"Definitely with you."

Knees buckling for a heart stopping moment, Zoro caved into the other man at the intense relief that came with Sanji's words. A weight Zoro hadn't even realized he had been carrying tumbled from his shoulders and it felt like he was standing free for the first time in years. The only thing keeping him earthbound was Sanji's currently desperate hold on him.

Hands shakily pulled away from where they rested in the small of Sanji's back, moving to cradle his hips in his hands and get used to the feeling of holding someone much broader and thicker than he was used to. Waist still fairly tapered, but with an enormous added rigidity of muscle tone that he had never felt before when holding a woman. It was different, but not bad, and he found his hands aching to explore more.

Slithering higher as he felt the corded muscles of Sanji's sides through the fabric, the powerful flex every time he breathed in – a pleasant reminder that the man was still alive, that Zoro still had him. Coming around higher to trace up with sharp bones in his back before reaching the blond's neck, fingers trembling as they slide from shirt to bare skin, totally unprepared for the heated warmth that he met there. Unable to stop himself once there as they travelled higher.

Fingers tangled in blond hair he had dreamed about – fantasized about – that was even softer in his weathered hands than he had ever expected. Silky tresses falling between his fingers and curling around his hands as they tightened and he pulled Sanji closer to him. Cradling his head against his shoulder, he nuzzled into the blond curls below Sanji's ear and simply allowed his forehead to rest there amongst the warmth and curls trailing across his face.

The world had stopped turning for all he could care as he just wanted to remain with Sanji finally in his arms until the whole damn thing fell apart. Bounties and marriages, and all other things were insignificant compared to finally knowing that Sanji felt the same as him. All these tumultuous emotions were not just one sided, and maybe – just maybe – after Zoro cleaned up this whole stupid mess they might just stand a chance.

After long moments, Zoro eventually felt a soft murmur against his shoulder which had him releasing the blond enough to let him pull back and speak. Confident as ever, the blond stared him straight in the eye without any trepidation, a single line creasing his brow in a frown as he intoned seriously, "I'm sorry."

Zoro could already feel his face contorting in confusion at the blond's admission, mouth opening to retort only to have Sanji's slender finger press to his lips firmly. Thoughts derailed, Zoro tried to pay attention to the blond and not let himself become distracted by the feel of the calloused tip pressing against his lower lip; and the weird urge he had to dart his tongue out to taste.

"I realized I didn't say that properly, so..." Sanji fumbled, hand pulling away just enough for his fingers to retract nervously, "yea..."

Zoro hadn't thought his heart could ache anymore than it already had after finally getting Sanji in his arms, but the blond had a remarkable way of constantly proving him wrong. Such an open and apologetic expression warped the man's face into something soft and vulnerable that had Zoro pretty sure he wasn't going to be able to breath properly ever again.

Swatting Sanji's hand away, he pulled the blond back into him again in an attempt to stop his chest from trying to cave in on itself. Hand tightening in silken blond tresses, he pulled the man in as tight as he could manage, "I'm sorry too."

"Hm?" Sanji grunted in confusion.

"I'm sorry I made you think I was angry with you." Zoro amended with a childish murmur into Sanji's shoulder. Allowing himself to nuzzle into the fabric for the first time and fully enjoy being able to embrace him. Breathing in the intoxicating smell of cigarettes and musk before breathing out heavily, he added snidely, "It's just how my face looks after getting shrapnel in my side."

"Hmpf." Sanji made an unsightly snorting sound into Zoro's shoulder, his arms tightening around Zoro while muttering playfully, "I forgot you had a sense of humour."

"Only for you."

"I can't tell if you're being sweet, or insulting my sense of humour."

"A bit of both?"

"Seems about right..." Sanji trailed off quietly, watching Zoro carefully before inhaling with a nervous breath, "What happens now?"

In a single moment, Zoro was fifteen years old again and his cheeks were lighting up like a damned stoplight as the slight intonation to the blond's words caught him off guard. Knowing that it was not what Sanji had at all intended, but was unable to stop his mind from linking their current embrace to several other unsightly things that had been growing in the back of his mind for weeks.

"Wow..." Sanji mouthed slowly, eyes widened massively as he took in Zoro's blush, "That's a new look."

"I..." Zoro stammered out hopelessly, hating the way Sanji's entertained smirk only grew wider as Zoro's panic increased. Noting that Sanji's hold had tightened enough that Zoro couldn't exactly run away, babbling as Sanji leaned in with a predatory grin, "I - I know where the bounty was posted!"

Sanji blinked owlishly, clearly not expecting that response, but going along with Zoro's change of pace easily – however Zoro had a suspicion Sanji wasn't going to let Zoro forget the conversation any time soon. Instead, Sanji tilted his head curiously and noted teasingly, "Really? Does that mean I'm allowed to stay, or is this your way of telling me I have to leave?"

"Letting you stay," Zoro paused with a wary wince and a thick swallow, "would be against my better judgment..."

"No offence," Sanji began cheekily before leaning in with a shrewd smile. Their playful banter was able to rid Zoro of his momentary embarrassment as he became far more interested in the blond's face and how he was only just now realizing how close it was to his own, "but I just got you; you think I'm going to let you get rid of me now?"

A fond chuckle shook Zoro's shoulders as he found himself being pulled in, eyes unable to tear away from hypnotic blue as he chimed in softly, "You think you can stop me?"

"Pretty much," Sanji goaded with a shaky breath. Zoro felt the heat of Sanji's exhale on his lips as they were now barely millimeters from each other, "yea…"

Whatever clever quip Zoro had trailed off with the last of his attention as he became entirely focused on the blond's lips about to touch his own. An intoxicating aroma of tobacco wafted off of Sanji and across his own lips which parted eagerly, aching to know what it would taste like.

"Uh… Sorry." Sanji hummed nervously, head dropping forward so the blond bangs brushed lightly across Zoro's lips while he was left looking down at the man in confusion. The paramedic's hands tightening in regret as he muttered, "You're still married. And I can't besmirch a woman in such a manner."

The breath Zoro had been holding in before their almost-kiss refused to exhale properly, and Zoro was left to grasp awkwardly,"You know that she cheats on me."

"Don't care." Sanji murmured softly to the floor, remaining in Zoro's grasp and keeping his head tucked against Zoro's shoulder, "It isn't right."

A tender smile touched Zoro's face and he allowed his head to tilt and rested his cheek on Sanji's head, arms coming up to embrace the blond in a gentle hug. One hand coming to cradle his shoulder, the other swept low to wrap carefully around his hip as he found himself immediately at peace once more - kiss or no. "I'd expect nothing less."

TBC...