EDIT: aaagh! I meant to split this chapter into two because the second half just wasn't working yet, unfortunately i uploaded part of the second half, so those of you that read it before this message got up got a sneak preview of the next chapter. So... yeah. ^_^;;
Zoro opened his eyes to the sight of Sanji's polished shoes on the floor by the edge of his bed, one of them was tapping against the floor slightly in what Zoro had learned to associate with Sanji in a tense and irritated mood. He could hear Chopper and Sanji talking to one another, he kept his eyes shut and kept pretending to be asleep curious as to what they were saying.
"His temperature is still higher than I'd like, but it's down from before." Chopper said in an optimistic voice.
"But is he going to be stoned out of his brain again when he wakes up?" Sanji asked, Zoro could hear his foot tapping again, that wasn't a good sign.
"We won't know that until he wakes up. But I changed his medicine though, so hopefully he won't be." Chopper replied.
"I really hope now, I'm not sure I could cope with that again after he-" Sanji cut himself off and let out a tense sigh.
"After what?" Chopper asked, the curiosity ringing in his little voice loud and clear.
"I- nothing Chopper. Don't worry about it." Sanji said dismissively.
Zoro felt worry coil in his gut uncomfortably, was Sanji mad at him? Had he said or done something to offend the cook? And they'd been getting on so well lately too. Zoro had felt for once that the cook didn't hate his guts completely. He decided then to 'wake up' obviously, maybe he'd get a better read on Sanji with his eyes open and when the cook could see that he was awake.
He yawned loudly and rolled onto his back. He took the opportunity to examine his arms, his skin was still covered in red splotches all over and his faintly itched with every movement. Chopper dashed over to him and started feeling his forehead and pressing a startlingly cold stethoscope to his skin.
"How do you feel? Do you hurt anywhere? Does your chest feel tight? Do you feel light-headed or dizzy?" Chopper asked far too quickly for Zoro to even begin to answer.
"I feel fine Chopper, really." He answered with a smile. The sweet little doctor was always so anxious and worried for his patients, even though they all knew that they couldn't be in better hands, or hooves as the case may be.
"How do you feel mentally?" Chopper asked concerned.
"Again, I feel fine." Zoro replied honestly.
Sanji leant down and gave Zoro a studying look, it was then that Zoro noticed that Sanji was holding a covered plate in his hand. Zoro's stomach growled appreciatively, Sanji's food was always welcome.
"Well, he doesn't look stoned." Sanji stated as he straightened back up again.
"I'm fine." Zoro repeated with a roll of his eyes.
"Yes, but you very nearly weren't. You're lucky that you didn't die Zoro. Allergic reactions are dangerous enough without having so man so close together. I think that Sanji's suggestion of only eating food carefully prepared by him from now on is a sensible one." Chopper said sternly, his little arms folded seriously.
"I can live with that. And I'm sorry for making you worry Chopper. But I'm sure that your medical skills saved my life, so thank you." Zoro said with a smile. As predicted the little doctor blushed furiously and wiggled in embarrassment.
"Compliments won't make me forgive you asshole!" Chopper shouted, still wiggling in embarrassment.
"Heh, speaking of food, is that for me?" Zoro asked hopefully as he pointed to the covered plate in Sanji's hand.
Sanji looked surprised for a second, almost as if he'd forgotten that he was carrying the plate at all.
"Oh, yes. Here you go." Sanji said, his voice sounding too stiff for Zoro's liking. Perhaps the cook was still mad at him, he's sounded pretty furious at the time.
He took the plate from Sanji and experimentally took the lid off of it. He was greeted by the warming smells of tomato and basil. Sanji had made him meatballs! In the hopes of making amends with Sanji he flashed the cook his brightest smile.
Instead of cheering up though an uncomfortable and awkward expression ran across the cook's face. The cook's body visibly stiffened and he coughed uncomfortably and turned away from Zoro. The cook paused and turned slightly to look at the swordsman. The curtain of blonde hair that was perpetually in the cook's face made his expression completely unreadable.
"When you're better we need to talk." He said emotionlessly before leaving the room.
Zoro felt his blood run cold, nothing good ever came from the phrase 'we need to talk'. What had he done? Had he blathered his fantasies about Sanji to him in a drug induced painkiller haze? And, god, even if he hadn't he'd not exactly been subtle yesterday when Sanji had pressed his mouth to Zoro's hand. Sanji had just been trying to save Zoro's life by getting that sauce off of him without spreading it around and making it worse. And he'd probably saved Zoro's life too and all he had done was stand there gawping with everything written across his face, as if Sanji's actions had been some cheap come on. Of course Sanji knew, he'd have to be stupid to think that the cook wouldn't realise. Now Sanji would hate him and he wouldn't even have Sanji as a friend, heck, he'd be lucky if Sanji still wanted to be nakama after this.
Chopper looked at him nervously. Zoro cursed himself again, now even Chopper knew that there was something wrong, did he have to be such an open book to everyone?
"Did you and Sanji have a fight?" Chopper asked warily.
"Not yet." Zoro said gravely.
He looked down morosely at his food, he wasn't sure that he felt much like eating now. He put the cover back on the plate and put it on the floor by his bed with a sigh. He pulled the covers back up to his beck and rolled on his side away from Chopper.
He heard the little reindeer's feet shuffle awkwardly for a while before they clipped over to the door.
"Goodnight Zoro." Chopper said quietly and switched off the light.
Zoro lay in the dark and stared at the wall. He wasn't usually one for self pity, he preferred usually to face and overcome his obstacles rather than feel sorry for himself.
He'd known from the beginning that Sanji wouldn't be interested in him and he'd been okay with that. He'd accepted that and dealt with it by being as nasty back to Sanji as Sanji was to him, he figured that getting some kind of emotional response from the cook was better than nothing, so he'd settled. Not to mention that his verbal sparring matches with Sanji were fun, the cook's tongue was as sharp as his precious cooking knives, and he wasn't an easy opponent in a physical fight either. And all the fighting had been so much easier when he had thought that the cook hated him.
But then Sanji had told him that he liked Zoro, that he respected him, that he was happy to have him as a nakama. And then he'd shown Zoro genuine concern and compassion. Or at least that was what he'd interpreted it as. In reality Sanji had probably just felt bad or guilty for what his food had done to Zoro, maybe he felt like his reputation as a cook was threatened.
He'd not even realised that he'd allowed his stupid heart to hope for something more, he had thought that he'd squashed that idea only minutes after he first felt something for Sanji. But judging from the sting in his chest and the prickling behind his eyes that was exactly what had happened. And so every little move that Sanji had made had been distorted into a hint of something more, every touch had a hint of a caress in it, every look held something just for him in it. And so he'd become so delusional that Sanji had picked up on what he thought and clearly Sanji was not pleased in the slightest.
And so Zoro lay in the dark feeling rejected and alone and hating himself for every moment of it.
When he finally fell asleep he dreamt of Sanji with eyes like ice, he dreamt of Robin and Sanji smirking at his foolishness with their arms around Sanji, the cook's disbelieving and harsh laugh echoed in Zoro's ears right until he woke up.