Title: Almost Easy
Author: kikokus (AoiTsukikage)
Rating: NC-17 overall
Characters/Pairing: Zoro/Sanji, Law/Sanji, Law/Zoro/Sanji
Chapter: 18/?
Word Count: 3707
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 781.

Chapter Eighteen

He must have eventually fallen asleep, because when he woke up he was significantly warmer than the thin blanket covering him would normally warrant. He knew there was only one person it could be, since Zoro wouldn't be climbing in with him (and honestly, the hammock probably wouldn't have been able to support his mass, unlike Law who weighed next to nothing because he was all legs), and instead of panicking he decided to savor what might be one of their last mornings together.

While his mind still wasn't a whole lot clearer than it had been the night before, he knew somewhere deep inside that Cavendish was right in implying that he would regret it more if he pushed Law away instead of trying to soak up whatever time they had left.

And Law, well, for once he wasn't trying to push Sanji away, which was kind of a miracle all by itself, and one that Sanji really should take advantage of instead of turning himself into the difficult one in the situation.

Fuck, it made his head hurt for his thoughts to go in circles like that, and he groaned and rubbed his temples. Law gave a tiny little sigh, nosing against Sanji's neck, before he shifted and opened his eyes.

"Good morning," he murmured, looking like he wanted to lean in for a kiss but thinking better of it at the last moment. "I apologize for joining you without your approval, but I had thought it might be the easiest way to force a conversation."

"By lying on top of me?" Sanji couldn't keep from smiling, though, and Law looked relieved at his reaction. "It's fine. I was being shitty yesterday."

"Mm, we figured you needed your space from the way you took off," Law's eyes were half-closed, his head tucked under Sanji's chin. "And it was partly my fault for trying to hide my decision from you in the first place."

"You shouldn't have to justify it," Sanji frowned at the ceiling, letting his hands slide up and down Law's back over his soft sweater. "I mean, it's not like you've got any obligations toward me or anything."

"Hmm, I had always assumed part of having a relationship was being open and discussing important decisions," Law sounded disinterested, but Sanji had a feeling he'd said something wrong by the coldness of the other man's tone.

"Law, we're not…"

"No. Of course not," Law reached up his real hand to cup Sanji's cheek, stroking his thumb over the ridge of the blond's cheekbone.

Sanji blinked, biting his lip and staring up at the ceiling. He felt indescribably guilty, even though he'd never thought of what they had as any sort of defined 'relationship.' At least, he'd never call Zoro and Law his boyfriends or anything. They just…were what they were, and he didn't see any need to label it as more than that. Truthfully, being pirates, if they did label it as more than that it was probably just asking for trouble since there were never any guarantees.

"It's just a word," Sanji swallowed, breathing out slowly. "We're in love with each other, right? So that's all that matters, but what Zoro said yesterday is true: if this is something you need to do, and you're gonna save over a hundred innocent lives by doing it, we'd be fucking out of line to try and stop you just because it would mean going our separate ways," he tried to keep his voice steady, to keep any emotion he was feeling out of it, even though just saying the words made him feel like a hand was squeezing his heart (and really, he kind of knew what that felt like, and it fucking hurt).

"I suppose," Law pushed himself up again, bracing his metal arm against the bottom of the hammock to stabilize himself. "I just feel like I'm letting you all down somehow. I'm the one with the plans, and I was the one who proposed this alliance in the first place, and now I can't even see it through," he leaned closer, nudging his nose against Sanji's.

"Luffy's not gonna be mad at you for this," Sanji promised him, because he was sure of that. "In fact, if he found out and you tried to leave with us anyway, he'd probably pick you up and fling you back onto the island. So don't worry," he kissed the tip of Law's nose, grinning at the rather unimpressed glare he got in return. "So you and Zoro slept together?"

"In the most innocent sense of the word, yes," Law nodded. "What, you think we'd be intimate while you were out there having a crisis? I doubt either of us are that cruel," he noted, finally leaning down to kiss Sanji properly, and the blond clutched at his shoulders to return it. "There may have been a little of that, though."

"I don't blame you," Sanji was a little surprised, and more than a little happy, to note that the jealousy that still sometimes flared up when he thought about Zoro and Law doing anything without him was completely absent this time around. He didn't know how they felt about each other, not exactly, but there was something between them and it seemed genuine.

"Hmm, his talent for speaking clearly with anything in his mouth is really quite remarkable," Law murmured against his lips, his tone utterly sultry and knowing. Sanji grinned and kissed him again, deeper, losing himself in it. Maybe it would be easier to just…cut off all contact with Law, but he'd never exactly taken the easy path before and even if losing this was inevitable…he didn't want it to be yet.

Because, in the end, Law might have said that Sanji made him happy, but the blond was quickly coming to realize that that particular sentiment went both ways. Yes, Law was exceedingly difficult at the best of times, but there was just something about him that Sanji felt drawn to, and when he was like this, open and calm, it was easy to see what sort of person he truly was.

"What?" Law asked, narrowing his eyes, and Sanji shrugged. "You're having sappy thoughts, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Sanji didn't see any reason to lie about that. "It's better than being depressed about this, since it's not like we can change it."

"This is true," Law admitted, and he looked more relieved than Sanji had ever seen him, all because of how the cook had finally decided to approach the situation. Really, though, despite his obstinance earlier that morning, there was no other decision, no matter how hard it would be to let go of Law eventually.

Their moment was interrupted by somebody falling on them from above, the hammock rocking precariously as Sanji grabbed at Law's shoulders to keep him balanced.

"Hey, no sleepovers unless everybody's invited!" Luffy was wrapped around Law from behind, chin hooked over his shoulder, and he blinked at Sanji. "You guys look really serious. What's up?"

Law's body was rigid, his mouth drawn into a thin line, and Sanji reached for his hand where it was kind of squished between their bodies and grasped it tightly, giving the surgeon a tiny nod.

"Straw-hat," Law started, his voice quiet. "I'm…afraid I need to dissolve our alliance here. There's something on this island that I need to do in order to save a large number of innocent lives, and it will likely prevent me from relocating for several years, which means that accompanying you to face Kaido would be impossible. I realize that this is going back on our agreement and…" he stopped when Luffy picked up his hat and plonked it on Law's head, grinning.

"Shishishi, don't worry, Torao! I'm not mad," he promised, and Sanji could feel Law relax. "I get it, and if it's something you feel that strongly about, I'm not gonna stop you. I mean, I'm gonna miss you, but I can tell this is important."

"Thank you," Law sighed, and Sanji thought he was being especially accommodating of having Luffy spread over him like a blanket. "I might, against all of my previous suspicions, miss all of you, too. Some more than others," he added, pointedly glancing at Sanji, who rolled his eyes.

"Did I hear 'sleepover?!'" a high voice came from above them and Sanji had to brace for impact again when Chopper flopped down on top of Luffy's back. "Yay!"

"You're gonna break the hammock, idiots," Sanji grumbled, because he could feel the fabric stretching underneath him and he didn't exactly relish the thought of landing on the hard floor with three bodies on top of him. "Get out."

"Aw, you're no fun, Sanji," Luffy pouted. "But why are you guys having a sleepover without Zoro anyway? I mean, since you're all toge-"

"Luffy!" Sanji hissed, but when the word died out it would have been possible to hear a pin drop in the bunkroom and he knew their secret was out.

Chopper kind of squeaked, flailing his hooves, and Sanji could hear a 'yoho?' and a 'bros, really?' from opposite corners of the room.

Well, at least everybody knew now, even though he'd have preferred it to be under different circumstances.

The silence remained absolute after that, nobody wanting to break it, and Sanji could feel Law trembling against him and grabbed his hand again.

"So," Chopper's voice sounded higher than normal in the stillness. "Um, is that why…back before Dressrosa, when I came into your room…was that why Zoro was in bed with you?"

Sanji groaned and closed his eyes, tilting his head back. "Yeah, Chopper. That was why," he mumbled, still not looking around.

"…Oh," Chopper hopped off of Luffy's back so that he was close to Sanji, wriggling in between him and Law and whispering, "Did you lie about the other thing too? The love thing?" he asked quietly and Sanji almost hoped the hammock would fall so that he wouldn't have to answer.

"Chopper," he muttered, using his free hand to cover his eyes now so there was no chance of accidentally meeting somebody else's gaze.

"Shishishi, of course they love each other," Luffy spoke in the same level of whisper, leaning in close, and Sanji wondered when the torture would end.

No, he wasn't ashamed of any of it, but it wasn't something he wanted to broadcast, either, especially in a situation like this where he had absolutely no control over anything and half of the crew was listening in.

"I don't see how it's anybody's business but our own," Law said shortly, and Chopper squeaked and tried to move away. Law sighed heavily, using his real arm to hold the reindeer in place and stop the hammock from rocking more. "You're not wrong, though, Straw-hat," he added in a low voice and Luffy snickered.

"I know. It's easy to see how you guys look at each other," he added softly, and Sanji was reminded yet again of how Luffy wasn't nearly as naïve or unobservant as people often assumed him to be. "But seriously, I'm not mad at you," he pushed himself upright and hopped out of the hammock, stretching up an arm to pluck Chopper out as well before flinging them both out onto the deck.

Law adjusted the hat on his head, smiling faintly, and Sanji wondered when he and Luffy had gotten so close…or, rather, when they'd gotten to a point that Law didn't look perpetually annoyed with the boy. He guessed there were still things that happened with Doflamingo that Law hadn't told him about, and while part of him didn't really like that, he wasn't going to press Law about it.

"Hey, bros, don't wear out that hand, k?" Franky called as he also left the cabin, and Sanji grumbled under his breath because Franky was far too obsessed about what they did with the vibrating arm.

It was silent after that until they heard the padding of hard-soled shoes across the floor, and when he finally opened his eyes Brook was staring down at them.

Sanji wasn't nervous, exactly, since he and Brook had always had a strange type of understanding, partly because they were the only ones (well, he was pretty sure Robin probably knew, too, because she knew everything) who knew the extent of Zoro's sacrifice at Thriller Bark, but he really had no idea how the skeleton would react to this sort of news.

"Hey, Brook," he mumbled, shifting so that Law could move onto his side and look up as well. "I guess you knew already, huh?"

"About the two of you? Yes. You were certainly rather…lively back at the Inn on that island!" he laughed, his high-pitched Yohoho-s even more piercing in the small confines of the cabin. "I have to admit, though, this new information…I had not anticipated it, though perhaps I should have. Back on Thriller Bark…" he paused, looking at Law, and Sanji nodded. He was okay with Law knowing about this, at least. "Your reaction to what Zoro-san did…was that…"

"That was when I realized, yeah," Sanji's throat was tight and he coughed to clear it. "I mean, I offered my life in exchange for his with no hesitation, even though I was more injured than he was and probably had less chance of surviving. And then after…" he sighed. "Until he woke up, I felt guilty, like I should have been able to do more, and that's when everything kind of crashed into me and I realized what had been building toward him for a while," he laughed, although there was no mirth in it, and Brook nodded slowly.

"I see. And this…?" he gestured, and Sanji shrugged.

"It started out as just…trying to make Zoro jealous, or to see if he'd even notice, and it kind of turned into…" he shrugged, glancing over at Law when the older man threw his real arm across Sanji's chest and cuddled close, and Brook sighed rather dramatically.

"Ah, it does these old bones good to see young love, though I do not have eyes to see it with!" he chuckled before tipping his hat to them both. "Trust me, my young friends, I've seen far stranger things in my life than three people falling in love with each other. There's nothing wrong with that," he assured them, turning on his heel and humming a jaunty tune as he left the cabin.

"Well, that went better than expected," Sanji groaned and rubbed his eyes, because in a way it was a relief. At least now that everybody knew they wouldn't need to worry about accidentally doing anything suspicious around them, and he supposed he should be thankful that it had gone over so well.

"Indeed," Law kissed his cheek and sat up, stretching his arms over his head. "I believe your musician is a little mis-informed if he believes that Zoro and I are falling in love," he didn't sound bitter, just honest, and Sanji supposed that was probably true although, from what he'd seen, Zoro and Law were certainly much closer than the initial nature of their relationship warranted.

Maybe neither of them would admit it (hell, Zoro hadn't even told Sanji that he loved him in plain words yet, and Law had only said it once, so to have them say it about each other probably wasn't going to happen), but Sanji knew there was something between them, at least.

"I should make breakfast," Sanji knew it was late now, so it was probably more like brunch, but regardless if he didn't Luffy would probably eat everything that wasn't behind locked doors. Since they had no idea when Kaido would show up Sanji had been keeping more food than usual on board just in case they needed to make a quick getaway so it would be even worse if Luffy somehow got into it "And wake Zoro up, I guess, or else he'll probably sleep all day."

"I'll do that if you want to get started in the galley," Law offered and Sanji nodded, knowing he'd have to talk to Zoro later anyway. "I do…like him quite a lot, you know. Certainly more than I had suspected considering his initial animosity toward me," he got carefully out of the hammock, Sanji hopping down after him. He grabbed his suit jacket from where he'd tossed it on the couch the night before, stepping into his shoes and re-tying his tie before sliding it on and deciding he looked presentable enough.

"Yeah? Well, good," Sanji walked out of the cabin and stretched his arms skyward, letting the warm sunlight shine on his upturned face. It looked to be a beautiful day, the sky free of clouds and the winds calm.

Law passed by him and hopped over to the sub, and he watched the other man go inside before heading to the galley to start cooking.

000

"Was he awake?"

"Sort of," Law leaned against the counter, Luffy's hat still perched on his head, and Sanji opened the oven to check on the quiches he was making. So far so good, as long as they could stop Luffy from trying to steal one before they were fully cooked. "He said he was coming, and I suppose if he doesn't show he won't get any food, so that should be incentive enough," he reached up to adjust the hat slightly so that it wasn't flopping over his eyes.

"That reminds me, how did you and Luffy get so close? This morning you didn't even look annoyed to have him lying all over you," Sanji moved back to where he had a cutting board set up, deciding to use some of the ripest fruits they had on board to make a salad, and he began peeling and chopping while he waited for an answer.

"Hmm? Oh. Well, I suppose I do owe him a lot for what he did for me back on Dressrosa, and I feel at least a little guilty for…"

"Saaaanji, foooood!"

"Speak of the devil," Sanji muttered, throwing up a leg and hearing Luffy bounce off of his foot. "You'll get it when it's ready, shitty kid, same as everybody else."

"Aw, you're mean," Luffy pouted, but his eyes lit up when he saw Law and he latched onto him again, grinning. "Were you guys talking about me?"

"I was explaining to Sanji what happened in Dressrosa, yes. He was curious as to why I was suddenly tolerating you," Law reached for the hat but Luffy shook his head.

"Nah, keep it for now," he smiled.

"As I was saying, there was a moment when the only way I could survive was by pretending to be dead, and Straw-hat unfortunately was not privy to my plan," Law's voice was softer now and Sanji stopped what he was doing, because fuck, after what happened to Ace, if Luffy thought somebody else had died and he couldn't save them…

"There was so much blood," Luffy, for once, sounded completely serious. "And your arm was goneand I…I just thought I still wasn't strong enough to save anybody," he murmured, hugging Law more tightly.

"You were. More than," Law promised him, hesitating before patting the young man on the head. "I just couldn't tell you until the time was right, because if Doflamingo had suspected, I'd surely be dead. I feel a little bad for using that man as a body double for me but, well, he was no longer among the living," he shrugged, and Sanji glanced up in surprise.

"You…"

"I may or may not have flipped Doflamingo off and caused him to lose his temper and shoot me several times. Or well, not me, as the case may be, because I..." he gave Sanji a look, and cook was a little amazed but not entirely shocked at just how utterly fearless Law could be. He knew that look, though; it was the one that said Law wanted to do a demonstration and Sanji was going to be the guinea pig for it.

Well, he knew Law wouldn't hurt him, so he nodded, and after a quick 'Room-Shambles' he found himself blinking from the other side of the kitchen, Luffy wrapped around him now, and while he'd been on the receiving end of that particular technique a few times now it had never happened quite like this.

"You can…did you just…" Sanji looked across the galley and gulped, because fuck, Law looked damn good in a suit. The pants were a little short on him, of course, but the jacket fit him like a glove and Sanji coughed to cover his reaction. He glanced down at himself and saw that Law's jeans were pooling around his feet, but the Jolly Roger-emblazoned t-shirt was pretty much the right size.

"Yes, I just warped you naked," Law was smirking, arms crossed and one eyebrow slightly raised, and Sanji sighed. "It's not something I do very much, for obvious reasons, but in that moment obviously I had to make Doflamingo believe he was still shooting at me and the only way for that to happen was to leave my clothes behind."

"Well, whatever you did, I'm glad it worked," Sanji tried to unwrap Luffy from his waist and the boy eventually let go. "Scoot. I've still gotta make food."

"You want your clothes back?" Law pulled at the tie to loosen it and Sanji shrugged.

"Nah, 's fine. You should wear suits more often," he said, brushing by Law and picking his knife up again.

"Too much work. Unless I can just get you to put them on for me and do this," he set his real hand in the small of Sanji's back, and Sanji didn't feel like moving him away so he let him stay there until he had to go check the oven again.

000

When Zoro came in for breakfast he looked between the two of them and their still-swapped clothes before sighing and rolling his eyes, and Sanji decided he'd go talk to the swordsman after.

He had to let him know their secret was out, after all.

Notes:

1. For those of you who wanted a fluffy chapter, that's pretty much what this was! I was going to include the conversation with Zoro as well, but it was getting long so I decided to save that for next time.

2. That's about it, I think, but I have to say the last OP chapter was immensely preferable to the one before it for…obvious reasons! And yes, some of that did sneak into this chapter, but the idea of Law not only being able to swap people's positions but also swap their clothing was too great to not use.