Title: Almost Easy
Author: kikokus (AoiTsukikage)
Rating: NC-17 overall
Characters/Pairing: Zoro/Sanji, Law/Sanji, Law/Zoro/Sanji
Chapter: 4/?
Word Count: 4014
Summary: Sequel to 'So Good So Far.' Everything was supposed to get easier after Dressrosa – at least, that's what Sanji had assumed. He was wrong. .
Spoilers: Up to chapter 773.

Chapter Five

He couldn't tell what time it was when he woke up. All he knew was that he felt remarkably slept out for the first time in a long time. It was dark in the depths of the submarine, so there was no window to tell if it was morning yet, but his internal clock was fairly accurate and he was going to assume it was still sometime before breakfast.

His body was stiff, which was to be expected, but mostly he just felt sort of gross and in desperate need of a shower. He doubted Law would mind if he used his, since it was preferable to walking all the way back to the Sunny, and he pushed himself upright and somehow managed to crawl out of bed without waking up either Zoro or Law.

Or, he thought he had, but when a hand reached to grab his wrist he had to keep from yelping in surprise.

"Get back here." Law, he'd come to learn, was not a morning person, and the glare he was leveling at Sanji at the moment would have probably made a lesser man leap to do his bidding immediately.

Sanji was used to it, though, so it hardly fazed him any longer. "I need to shower."

"Hurry," Law still looked grumpy, but half-asleep and tousled it was hard to find him intimidating at all. Sanji sank down beside the bed so he could kiss the surgeon, pulling back reluctantly and getting to his feet again.

Law was quietly snoring by the time he reached the bathroom, his body protesting remarkably little for the strain he'd put on it the night before. There was a pleasant lethargy he could feel all the way to his bones, a kind of deep-seeded contentment that he hoped would linger at least for a while.

He shut the door behind him and reached for the knob to turn on the shower, pleased that the water was almost immediately hot. Steam rose from the floor tiles, curling in wisps up around his ankles as he stepped under the spray.

It was probably best not to linger too long, since there was no way of knowing how good the plumbing on Law's sub was and he didn't want to use all the hot water for himself. He quickly rinsed himself clean, figuring he could always do a more thorough job back on the Sunny where he was sure the water would stay hot for as long as he needed it to.

He toweled off, drying his hair enough the tips weren't dripping onto his shoulders, and finally looked at himself in the mirror when he passed the sink. He looked…tired, mostly, but whatever ropes Law had used must have been made for that sort of thing because there was no evidence he'd been tied up at all, which was rather remarkable considering how easily his pale skin bruised.

The air from the main bedroom felt cool on his heated flesh as he pushed the door open again, letting the steam from the bathroom escape.

Zoro and Law were both awake now, not really talking to each other and looking a little awkward with Sanji not in the room, and the blond leaned against the doorframe and chewed on his lower lip, thinking. He knew they liked each other, or at least there was physical attraction from both sides. They definitely trusted each other by now, and last time they'd seemed fine enough touching and making out, but now that Sanji thought about it the night before they hadn't even really interacted other than because Law couldn't manage the ropes by himself.

It made him feel guilty again, because fuck knew he didn't even deserve one guy doting on him, much less two. Yes, they'd both given him the reasoning that they both had their goals and so could never fully focus on a relationship, but Law really…didn't anymore. Zoro still did, but Sanji was more than a little convinced that it would still be a long time before he was ready to take on Mihawk again, and it wasn't as if Sanji was so demanding that he would ask for more than Zoro was ever willing to give him.

So really, he was the only one benefitting at the current moment, and that wasn't sitting well with him at all.

"Hey," he cleared his throat and they both turned to look at him. "You don't have to…I mean…fuck, if you guys want to…y'know…feel free," he sighed and covered his eyes, because that might have been the most awkward statement he'd ever made. Of course, there probably wasn't a good way to say what he was trying to, but he probably could have done better than that.

"Yes, I completely understand what you're trying to say," Law deadpanned, smirking, and Sanji rolled his eyes.

"Don't get smart with me. Just…" he huffed, annoyed, and walked over to sit on the bed. "It shouldn't be about me. I don't feel…comfortable being some sort of neutral center so the two of you don't have to actually be involved. I know you like each other," he pressed, deciding he really needed a fucking cigarette and going to grab them from his discarded jeans. "So start acting like it, and don't hold back because you think I've got such a jealous streak that I'd have a problem with it."

Law was still giving him a rather annoying grin, but Zoro looked between them and shrugged.

"Okay," he replied, looking completely unconcerned, before turning to Law and yanking him into a kiss. Law squawked, flailing his hand, and fell half into Zoro. The swordsman wrapped a broad arm around his shoulders, never breaking the kiss, and Law's body eventually relaxed as he cupped his hand to Zoro's cheek and kissed back.

Sanji watched them, lit cigarette held between two fingers, and was surprised to find that the expected burst of jealousy he thought he'd feel wasn't there (yeah, he might have said he wouldn't have been, but who was he kidding, really). He knew how both Zoro and Law felt toward him, and he was rather amazingly convinced that wasn't going to change.

And, well, he was only human, and there was something more than a little appealing about seeing two people he was incredibly attracted to going at it like that.

"Happy?" Zoro broke away to ask, raising an eyebrow.

"You're an asshole," Sanji replied, because Zoro pretending he'd only done it to prove a point was expected but hardly necessary. "Just admit you like each other."

Law looked over at Zoro, who met his eyes, and they stared at each other for a few seconds before both nodding. Great, Sanji thought with a sigh, apparently they were enough alike that they didn't even need to talk to come to an agreement.

"Sanji," Law beckoned him over with a crooked finger, and he went willingly, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at them. "You're a romantic by your very nature. The two of us aren't, really, so is it any wonder that our interactions might be a bit different from how we act with you?"

It made sense, Sanji guessed, but that only made him feel worse because Law seemed to be implying he and Zoro were acting out of their own characters for his sake. He knew neither of them were big on emotional displays normally, but he'd never been under the impression they'd been doing it just for him and that made him feel shitty.

"If you don't like acting that way, don't do it for me," he said, his voice terse yet perfectly controlled, and Law narrowed his eyes. "Seriously, if it's…"

"You're being exceptionally thick-headed this morning," Law cut him off. "Do you honestly think either of us would do something if we truly didn't want to? Think of it this way," he frowned, tapping his long fingers against his chin. "You would give up your life for anybody on your crew, yes?"

"Yeah, of course," Sanji had no idea where this was going, but he decided to play along for now.

"So in a way, you care about them on the same level. Despite that, though, you treat Miss Nico and Miss Nami in ways you would never treat the men, but that doesn't mean as people they mean less to you," he explained, and Sanji kind of got where he was coming from with that.

"You're saying that just because you and Zoro don't act the way either of you act toward me, that doesn't mean you don't like each other," he decided, and Law kind of gave him a half-nod that didn't really tell him much. "I get that, but if you're saying how you act with me isn't how you normally…"

"Stop," Zoro said, and Sanji did, although he leveled a glare at the other man for good measure. "Look, yeah, Law and I aren't guys that are gonna go around being all touchy with a lot of people, but that doesn't mean it's bad if it's the right person. And like he said, we're not gonna do something we don't want, so stop trying to make yourself feel bad when you don't have to."

And Sanji realized that, yeah, he was probably doing that. He did understand, but it wasn't like he was particularly touchy with other guys either, so he didn't think it was the best comparison. Still, he knew that Zoro and Law weren't nearly as averse to cuddling as they might pretend to be (sometimes he thought they liked it more than he did, since they were usually the ones to instigate it), and he had to trust that they weren't lying about what they were comfortable with.

"Okay," he sighed, standing up and going to butt out his cigarette. "So. I should go make breakfast."

"Seriously? We go through that and you're just gonna take off?" Zoro crossed his arms and glowered at him.

"I already skipped out on dinner last night and you know Luffy will whine at me all day if I don't at least make breakfast," he reached for his pants, but before he could close his hand around them he felt his body…the only word he could think of was shimmer…like he was being taken apart and reassembled at the speed of light, and when he blinked again he was seated on the bed with his arm still extended.

Fucking Law and his fucking Shambles, he thought irritably, because that was obviously what had happened and a look back to where he had been standing did indeed show a pillow from the bed lying on the floor.

"Was that necessary?"

"It was the easiest way to get you back here, yes," Law slid his arm around Sanji's waist and yanked the blond to lay against him. "Tell me that you honestly don't believe I enjoy this with you."

"I know you do," Sanji mumbled, grunting when Zoro basically flopped over his back. "Fucking cuddlers, both of you."

"Yeah, don't tell anybody," Zoro kissed the nape of his neck and Sanji told himself to relax, because obviously he wasn't going anywhere for a while.

Zoro reached over Sanji's side, resting his hand on Law's hip, and the older man looked surprised for a second.

"Hey," Zoro grunted, Law glancing at him and eventually nodding, and Sanji wondered how often they were going to have these seemingly silent conversations.

"I hate you both," Sanji decided, closing his eyes and burying his nose against Law's neck.

He still had to go make breakfast, but maybe he had a little time to spare first.

000

She was a princess.

She had to be: all lithe limbs, pale as a fresh winter's snow; long, flowing blonde hair that shimmered in the sunlight; grace in every movement of her slender body. Yes, she was wearing men's trousers, but the beach wasn't any place for formal dress, after all, and she seemed to have her hands full taking care of a rather energetic white horse that was prancing around her, whinnying happily.

"Farul, calm yourself!"

Okay, the voice was a little deeper than expected, but that hardly diminished the perfection laid out in front of him.

Perhaps she needed his assistance, he thought idly, and started to make his way across the sand.

As he neared the girl and her horse, the creature spotted him and neighed, stepping away from her and trotting over to him.

Sanji wasn't sure what to make of the horse, who seemed friendly enough but had a rather large swath of bandages wrapped around its head. He held out a hand hesitantly, feeling warm breath and a velvety nose nuzzle it before the horse apparently decided he was a friend and nudged him right in the chest.

"Farul!"

Sanji looked up, breath catching as the girl ran over, but the closer she got Sanji realized that his eyes had deceived him and, while he supposed the word 'beautiful' might still apply, it was definitely a man that was standing in front of him. Same flowing golden hair, same lily-white skin, and his eyes were a shade of blue that rivaled even the cloudless sky.

"I apologize, he's rather frisky since he's been cooped up for a while," the man also had a rather impressive sword set on his hip, and he settled an elbow on top of it, standing in a pose that was both relaxed and yet told Sanji he could hold his own in a fight if it came to it. "Cavendish of the White Horse, the Pirate Prince, at your service," he inclined his head and held out a hand, and Sanji shook it cautiously.

"I'm…"

"You're one of Strawhat's crew, yes?" the man pressed. "Don't worry, I'm most certainly allied with you at this point. I must say, Black-leg Sanji, your bounty poster does you no favors," he took his arm off of his sword, opting to raise his hand to stroke the side of Farul's neck.

"It's the back of my head," Sanji muttered, and now he just felt more envy than anything. He'd tried so hard to be a prince, to be some sort of white knight, and here was the real thing standing in front of him doing it better than he ever could have hoped.

Still, it wouldn't do to act cold to one of Luffy's allies, and Cavendish seemed amiable enough otherwise. "So, how d'you know Luffy?"

"Come," Cavendish swept out his arm rather dramatically (Sanji had a feeling he was unable to do anything without it being needlessly showy) and gestured toward a well-worn log a few feet down the beach. "It's quite the tale, but if you've got time to listen, I'm happy to tell it. Farul could use more time to exercise anyway."

Sanji went, hands stuffed in his pockets, and listened to the other man talk: about Luffy and the Colosseum, about being saved by Usopp from, as he put it, 'a horrific life of meaningless drudgery as a forgotten toy,' about helping Robin escape an explosion (and, well, he was definitely jealous at that one, since the whole prince-on-a-white-horse-saving-Robin thing had played out in his fantasies several times and here was some stranger who was everything he'd aspired to be).

By the time he'd finished, Sanji had realized two things: how much he'd missed by being away from Dressrosa, and how quickly Luffy was gaining allies in the New World, although he supposed the second thing could only be a positive.

"So, I do owe your crew a lot," Cavendish continued, stretching his legs in front of him, "and Strawhat seems to have some mark of destiny upon him. Aligning myself with you will only prove beneficial to myself as well, even if it also means I'm aligned with other people…Trafalgar, for instance…" he said Law's name with a good deal of derision, but Sanji really hadn't been expecting him to talk about Law at all and he couldn't stop himself from looking up in surprise. "Well, I suppose he's not all bad. Without him, Farul would surely have perished."

"He saved your horse?" Sanji asked, because in his experience Law was generally much more concerned with saving people than animals, but it wasn't entirely surprising.

"Mm. We ran into a few nasty henchmen of Doflamingo's and my darling Farul got his skull cracked," he sighed heavily. "I hadn't expected it from him, considering his reputation, but he's…rather contrary to what I was led to believe."

"Yeah," Sanji lit up a cigarette, needing to do something with his hands. "He most certainly is," he said it far more fondness than he'd intended, and far more than a casual acquaintance would.

He realized he'd been had a moment later when Cavendish smirked at him, a shadow stealing over his face although there was nothing to throw shade, but it was gone the next second although the knowing smile remained. "I didn't realize it was you."

"What?" Sanji asked, genuinely confused.

"On the journey here…his life was hanging in the balance for a good deal of it," Cavendish looked serious now. "He was…a lesser man would have most certainly succumbed to his injuries, but Roronoa spent a lot of time with him, doing what he could to ease his suffering, and more than once he said that Trafalgar had to hang on because 'he' was waiting and would want him to fight. I had no idea whom he was referring to, naturally, but seeing your reaction just now…"

Sanji tried to keep his expression neutral but failed rather miserably, tensing up and stammering out something that certainly didn't resemble actual words.

"I'm hardly going to judge you," Cavendish assured him. "Not that I'm in a position to, but I would…caution you against one thing."

Sanji bristled a little, not really needing to hear from some random pirate prince how to deal with his own love life, but…allies. Right. Best not to piss him off.

"Yeah?"

"Trafalgar Law is…not a typical pirate. Pirates take to the seas for power, for wealth, for fame…your captain, for instance, is after the One Piece, yes?"

Sanji nodded, since that was pretty well-known information already.

"And myself, well, I'm in it for the fame. I want people to cheer for me, to worship me, to aspire to be like me…" he stared up at the sky, and suddenly there were fucking sparkles around him and he'd pulled out a rose from somewhere, his voice rising in pitch dramatically, "Oh, Cavendish-sama, you're the most handsome and perfect man in the entire world!"

Sanji blinked at him incredulously, because that sort of vanity wasn't something he'd come across all that often, but thankfully a second later the sparkles vanished (although the rose didn't) and he went back to looking focused on the conversation topic.

"Regardless, Trafalgar's entire ambition was simply for revenge, as I've come to understand it. Now that he's achieved that, there's no longer anything calling him out to the sea, and you…you'll sail with your captain until the end," he stated, waiting for Sanji's nod of affirmation. "So it seems to me your paths are very different, and I have a bit of a feeling that if Trafalgar finds some reason to stay in one place, there will be nothing to stop him from taking it."

Sanji wanted to protest, saying that Law had his crew, that of course there was something else out there for him…before he realized that there wasn't, and Cavendish had just brought to light something he'd been stewing over in his mind since they'd all reunited. He tried not to think about it much, since it only served to speed up their inevitable separation, but it was impossible to ignore.

The cook didn't know what to say, but before he could form a response there was a shout from farther down the beach.

"Oi, Cabbage, get your shitty ass in gear and take me to fucking lunch already!"

And Sanji nearly burst out laughing, because Cabbage certainly did a lot to dispel the haughty air Cavendish seemed to perpetually exude. The man himself lumbered into a view, and he was an…odd-looking creature to be sure, from his ungainly bow-legged walk to his shock of green hair that resembled a rooster's comb to the fang-like eye-teeth protruding from his mouth.

"I never gave you a time," Cavendish bristled, flipping his hair back over his shoulder and sniffing. "And come closer, there's somebody I'm sure you'll want to meet," he glanced at Sanji, blue eyes filled with undeniable mischief, and Sanji was about to question that before he was literally swept off the ground and held aloft by a pair of strong arms, and then immediately plopped down again.

"Forgive me! I should have asked before daring to touch you!" the man looked close to tears. "I never could have imagined meeting Black-leg Sanji here on this beach! The greatest cook in the New World! The man whose brilliant strategic mind ensured victory for the Strawhats too many times to count! Can I get your autograph?!" he was full-on sobbing now, shoving a pen and pad at Sanji, who blinked incredulously because what the hell?!

"He hero-worships your entire crew," Cavendish told him in a stage-whisper. "Just indulge him and he'll go away."

"And this is what you want out of life, huh?" Sanji replied, because the whole celebrity thing he could see getting old really fast.

"Fufufufufu," Cavendish chuckled, and then he started eating the damn rose and Sanji officially decided to give up on his sanity for the remainder of the day. "He's also one of your allies now, and he's surprisingly useful in a pinch."

"Eh?" the man snapped out of his Sanji-induced haze and stomped over to Cavendish. "What was that, shitty Cabbage?"

"I gave you a compliment, Bartolomeo," Cavendish replied, looking bored. "And I'd suggest you be nice to me if you want lunch."

Bartolomeo snorted but didn't say anything else, crossing his arms and frowning.

"Um," Sanji cleared his throat, prompting them both to turn toward him and Bartolomeo to start wiggling around excitedly. "If you guys want, you can come to the ship for dinner tonight. I don't mind, and if you're allies it'd be good for the rest of the crew to meet you," he decided. He'd managed to get up in time that morning to make Luffy a late breakfast, but no doubt he'd expect more for dinner.

"The rest of the Strawhats!" Bartolomeo yelped excitedly. "And Sanji-senpai's cooking! It's been my dream to…"

"Yes, yes, we know," Cavendish looked at Sanji and rolled his eyes. "Come on, then, let's eat now so we're hungry later," he whistled and Farul came trotting over, falling into step beside him. "It was nice meeting you, Sanji."

"Likewise," Sanji replied, because they might have been odd, but then…well, with his crew, he wasn't one to talk, and they seemed like good people otherwise.

"And, you know, sometimes the best things can be found in the most unexpected places. Despite the outcome, it's never bad to take a chance," Cavendish started walking away after delivering those words, Bartolomeo following and sliding an arm around his waist in a move that spoke of some much deeper intimacy than their previous interactions would suggest, and Sanji's eyes widened as he understood.

So that's what Cavendish had meant when he said he wasn't in a position to judge, and while part of him was surprised because those two argued almost more than he and Zoro (and had the exact same hair colors as the two of them, which was a really weird coincidence on top of everything else), he knew Cavendish's parting statement was referring to Law and himself as much as to whatever the other pirate apparently had going on with Bartolomeo.

Well, if nothing else, one thing was certain: today had given Sanji a lot to think about.

Notes:

1. So I've had a lot of people asking me about how much Law/Zoro is going to be in this fic and what the nature of it is going to be. Obviously, since I've chosen to write this strictly from Sanji's POV, everything's going to be seen through his eyes, but I hope this chapter has kind of explained my intent with regard to the different relationships within the three of them. Zoro and Law have a relationship that's built on mutual attraction and slowly growing trust toward each other, and while that may differ from how either of their relationships with Sanji came about, that doesn't mean it's not as valid or viable. I don't believe there's set 'rules' to be followed when deciding what actually constitutes a 'relationship', and I'm trying to also explore that idea within this fic because all three of them are different characters who wouldn't interact the same with every single person, so I hope that's at least starting to come through as the fic progresses.

2. Yeah, there was a Cavendish cameo, because I adore him and I wanted somebody to play the role of an impartial observer. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume both he and Barto will become Luffy's allies after this arc, especially after the last chapter (and yes, if I didn't ship them before, the last couple of chapters certainly convinced me. They're very similar to Sanji and Zoro in a lot of ways, which is probably why it's easy for me to ship them at all ;) )

3. Thank you all as always for the lovely comments, and I hope you're still enjoying this sequel! I do know where this fic is going (and, I may as well say it now, I plan on this being a three-part series eventually so there will be one more fic after this one…) so hopefully I can keep updating regularly as long as real life doesn't suddenly swamp me.