The door was closed behind Zoro and the guard said that he would have five minutes. Ace turned around and chuckled when he saw Zoro.
"Well, well, well. To what do I owe the pleasure swordsman?" the man asked.
"I assure you this isn't a pleasant visit," the marimo answered.
"Why so serious Roronoa? Take a seat," he instructed and Zoro sat down on a bench that ran along the wall.
"I guess you know about Mai then," he sighed.
"Yeah but there's nothing I can do to make it better for Sanji."
"Then why are you here?" the man asked pulling a hand through his black hair.
"I need to know why you called Sanji yesterday."
The rest of the group filed into the common room just as dinner was placed on the table.
"Oi Sanji!" Franky exclaimed slapping the cook on the back.
"You're up," Nami said cheerfully as she sat down next to him.
"Where's Zoro minna?" Sanji asked as he began to serve himself.
"He went out earlier," Robin glanced at her watch. "Though I am surprised that he isn't back."
"Never mind, that baka swordsman knows how to look after himself," he chuckled digging into the steaming roast.
Zoro knew what he needed to know. Well that's what Ace had said to him anyway. The bus was empty like it had been earlier that day. The sky outside was dark and as the bus continued down the road Zoro wondered whether his nakama were at all worried.
The girls were sleeping in the boys' dorm yet again, in order for Sanji to have a room to himself. Only Sanji didn't want to be alone. He wanted to be with Zoro. The cook knew that as soon as he shut his eyes the nightmares would take over so he sat on the edge of the bed waiting for the marimo to return. He had taken his new medication that Chopper and Kaya had made immediately after dinner. The horrible taste of that mixed with water and his minty toothpaste still remained in his mouth.
"Only take the medicine before bed because it has some sleeping effects," Kaya had said.
Sanji's lean fingers tapped against the empty glass. So far the sleeping effects hadn't began to affect him yet and even if they had he was much too agitated to notice. He desperately needed a smoke but Luffy had banned it while he was recovering. The straw hat had even confiscated all of his packs. The waiting was much too nauseating for Sanji to handle. Cooking, Sanji thought as he stood up from the bed.
He walked into the pristine kitchen and retrieved the ingredients needed for biscuits from the cupboards. The cook hadn't made biscuits since Ace and thought of this the perfect chance to get that memory out of his head. He was sieving the flour into the mixture when the Thousand Sunny door was pushed open and green hair became visible.
"Sanji?" Zoro asked as he came to sit down on the sofa.
"Why didn't you tell me about Mai and Ace?"