So sorry for the wait! I hope you enjoy this chapter, even though I'm not very happy with the end result.

Ch. 12

Zoro woke to a feeling of sheer awesome.

Something good had happened, and while he didn't know exactly what, he was content as he lie there dwelled on the feeling. It was like he'd conquered the world in a day, defeated Mihawk over and over, like he'd-

He hadn't noticed the figure lying beside him until it stretched and moaned, but as arms rose above a head if luxurious blonde hair, his gave traveled to it, and he smiled.

-Like he'd bedded some smokin' hot babe. He still didn't remember doing anything with a hot chick, but the lingering pleasure of the past night was all the memory he needed.

He shifted to his side, pressing himself into the curve of the woman's body. She was warm and soft and smelt of strawberry candy, sex and sweat. He inhaled deeply, loving the combination. If only all women smelt like this. He could defiantly tolerate the sea witch more if it was so.

He usually didn't stay with the women he banged the previous night, as he often left as soon as they fell asleep or he woke up, whichever felt best. But he just had a feeling that he should stay until this one woke up. Maybe it was just the mystery of her, or the curiosity he felt, or the toe-curling pleasure that had shot through his. Whatever it was, it made him stay next to her.

He raised his hand, finding her hip under the blanket. He ran it up the slope of her waist, then back down to her thigh. She sighed and rotated her hips a little, making his hand slide down to her ass. He raised an eyebrow but smiled, pinching lightly at one cheek. The woman-oh, fuck, what was her name?-drew in a small breath, the hummed in approval as his fingers fanned out across both cheeks. He gave one a small squeeze and she moaned.

He fondled her ass for a little while longer, then reached around her to her lower stomach. His fingers met up with her pubic and he combed the digits into it, letting it curl around them. He would've kept going lower and lower until he found her core, but as the inched downwards towards he hot, slick depths, she moaned and rolled over in her sleep.

..."Her" sleep.

With a small cry Zoro jerked away from Sanji, falling off the couch with another yelp. He clattered loudly to the floor, but the chef slept on as peacefully as ever, undisturbed by the swordsman's rude awakening. Zoro rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, sure that is he made them focus a chick would be on the couch instead of the perv-o cook. He blinked his eyes, still seeing Sanji before him as the fog cleared.

What the hell?

No. No way. No way he could've slept with the shit-cook! Not only were they both guys, but both of them were totally straight, and Zoro knew that. Had they both been drunk off their asses? No...Sanji couldn't really hold his liquor but Zoro sure could, and there was no doubt in his mind that even if he WAS drunk, he'd kick the blonde's ass up between his eye brows before he'd even THINK of fucking him. Then what? What happened?

He closed his eyes, trying to recall anything that would lead up to Zoro and Sanji totally naked under the same blanket. A minute ticked by, but nothing realistic came to him. He had a few theories, but nothing at all logical. He was getting angry now. What had happened?

Sanji moved, and Zoro's contemplations crumbled. The swordsman watched as the blonde cook stretched out and moved into the vacant space Zoro left, listening to the soft sighs and little grunts he made. The blanket was pulled down by his legs, and his pale stomach was slowly exposed. He settled back down into the couch, and his eyes fluttered open.

There was a blank look in his eyes for a second, but he blinked twice and then frowned. He sat up and turned to Zoro, eyes automatically going wide when he saw him.

"Oh," he said, voice scratchy from strain and underuse. "You're awake."

"What the hell happened last night?" Zoro demanded. He felt Sanji's eyes travel downward, and with an uncomfortable jerk he grabbed his pants and covered himself.

"We got into a fight and fell over board," Sanji said. His tone was flat, lines obviously rehearsed in his head. "We fell overboard and had to take off our clothes because it was cold-"

"Don't bullshit me! What. Happened."

Sanji flinched into his shoulder, averting his eyes as a deep blush graced his pale face.

"Fucking tell me!" Zoro growled through clenched teeth, reaching the boiling point.

Sanji closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "We had sex."

And that's when they came back. All his memories for the last week, all the memories of the past night. Chasing Sanji around, flirting relentlessly with him, stealing a quick kiss here and there, the random groping. And a jungle of some sort, strange, meaningless women falling in showers of blood, running on a beach. And Sanji, wrapped in his arms, seated in his lap, kissing him passionately. And the chef on his back, Zoro's face between his legs. And the tightness of him, the taste...

"What did you do to me?" he asked. Sanji looked at him blankly, and he exploded. "What the fuck did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, fucking idiot!" Sanji screamed suddenly, jumping up. Zoro saw anger in his eyes, but more than that, the chef looked wounded and confused. Tears poured freely down his face, which had gone from flushed cheeks to complete redness with his wrath. "If you hadn't fucking almost died right in front of me, I wouldn't have all these mixed up feelings. If you hadn't raided my fucking kitchen and stolen the lust potion, none of this would've happened. This is all. Your! Fault!"

Zoro just stared passively at him. He was breathing hard, the faintest hints of sobbing in each gasp. There was silence for many moments, until Zoro said, "Lust potion?"

Sanji rolled his eyes, throwing a hand up in disgust. "Why had I thought you might figure it out on your own? Yes, Zoro, what you found was a lust potion. Some creepy shopkeeper forced it on me. She said it was made with an Ecstacy-Ecstacy fruit and make anyone who sniffs it fall in lust."

Zoro knew it was unbelievable, but somehow, just because of the past week's events, he was able to accept it as the truth.

That didn't cool down his anger any.

"You set me up."

"What?"

"You put that lust potion or whatever where you knew I'd look. You planned this!" Zoro accused.

"I did not!" he defended.

"Then why the fuck did you have it in the towel drawer?"

"Because no one looks in that drawer."

"I did!"

"And you're an idiot who doesn't know how to respect other people's personal spade or possessions! If it was hidden, one would assume I didn't want anyone to find it!"

"But someone did!"

The arguments continued for minutes, accusations growing more and more absurd each time the men opened their mouths, insults flying from their lips with practiced ease curses and taunts all filling the room as the bellowed. It was still much too early for the rest of the crew to be awake, but each kept expected one of their nakama to walk in and tell them to shut up. Regardless, the arguments continued.

"Why the hell did you fucking buy it anyway?"

"I said the shopkeeper forced me to!"

Zoro scoffed. "Is that your excuse? Tell the truth, you wanted a way that you could fuck everyone on board with no strings attached, did you, you fucking whore.

As soon as the words left his mouth, there was a loud crack, and his face was tilted to the right. A bright hand-print patch of red tattooed his left cheek, stinging with a pain so fierce it brought tears to his eyes. He managed to bite his tongue somehow, and the taste of salt and metal filled his mouth.

He looked up, meeting two angry eyes shining with tears, furrowed brows and a tight lipped mouth. He couldn't remember if he'd ever seen Sanji so pissed off before, but he promptly decided he never wanted to see him like this again. He could almost see the fires of hell burning in those tremulous cobalt eyes. And after he got over that, he looked down at Sanji's right hand, which was raised slightly more than the other, fingers curled towards the middle and palm blazing red. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He raised his hand and felt his cheek tenderly, just needing something to do so he didn't feel like a lump.

Sanji glared at him, looked down at his hand, then turned away. He found his clothes and threw them on, not bothering to button his shirt or put on his shoes correctly. He didn't give Zoro even a glance as he did so, and walked towards the door head held high. The door closed behind him with a slam.

Zoro blinked stupidly after him, mind drawing a blank. He was still for a long moment, then he growled and kicked the couch. God damn love-cook.

~~~ZsZsZsZs~~~

Sanji closed the galley door behind himself, slid to the floor and brought his knees to his chin. There he proceeded to fight back tears, but the stinging of his hand reminded him of Zoro, and wouldn't let him forget the bustard's words. They replayed over and over in his head. He saw the anger in Zoro's eyes as they argued the surprise on his face when he struck out and slapped him. He'd expected a reaction like this, so why...

Why was he so sad?

Tears threatened again, filling his eyes and getting trapped by his lashes. He blinked when his vision got too blurry, and the tears were set free, sliding down his cheeks. More came, and then even more, and soon he was pushing his face into the fabric of his trousers, trying to muffle the sobs,

He really had expected the worst, and had tried to harden himself against all possible insults. He'd imagined each of Zoro's reactions, all of the things he could do. Zoro could've raised his swords against him, or try to strangle him. He could've cussed him out until he was blue in the face. And yet, though Sanji had prepared himself, Zoro's words had still gotten through his protective barrier and hurt him. And now that they'd gotten so close, and so intimate, those words had the worst effect on him. They stung now more than ever.

"You fucking whore."

And there was no doubt Zoro hated his guts now. He had thought of waiting until Zoro fell asleep, slip out of the room with all his clothes so there was evidence left of their love making. But Zoro's warm body had been so enticing, and his sweet breath against his cheek had lulled him, and he'd fallen asleep before Zoro had.

So now what? He wouldn't waste his time crying and simpering like a fool with a broken heart. He had to find something constructive to do that was guaranteed to take his mind off Zoro. Of course, he could always cook a big, delicious breakfast and surprise his nakama with a huge spread when they woke up. Cooking would soothe the pain, if only for a little while.

He checked the clock- It was 3:21! No matter how much pain he was in, he was going to cook at 3 in the morning! He assumed it was much later than that for some reason. True, he hadn't been paying attention to the time when he'd been screaming his head off at Zoro, but he'd just assumed.

He sighed, standing up. Lord, he needed a cigarette, and damnit, he needed one now. He'd left both pack and lighter on the table by the ash tray, and now he scooped them up, hitting the pack against his arm to make one pop up. He grabbed it with his lips and pulled it out from the rest, lighting it seconds later. He took a deep drag from it, familiar smoke burning the roof of his mouth, taste of tar and nicotine heavy on his tongue. He let out his breath and took another, not feeling any depression or anxiety filter away.

It wasn't until he was pushing the butt into the ash tray and pulling out second did he realize the cigarettes weren't working. His usual crutch had failed him. He let out a smoky breath and sat down, putting his head in his hands. If only he hadn't ever bought that stupid potion. None of this would've ever happened. It wouldn't have made himself all confused about his feelings towards Zoro and the bastard's death would've been just another one of his almost-deaths, and Sanji wouldn't have almost drowned or been killed by native and they would've never had sex and they wouldn't totally hate each other again.

So why had he bought the potion?

He kept telling himself the woman had forced him to, but while she was persistent, the fact remained that he could've walked out of the store at any given time. In fact, now that he thought more about it, if he hadn't taken the time to purchase it, he could've been out of the store sooner than he had, Zoro would've found him quicker, and they could've avoided the group of marines, leaving Zoro to suffer only one bullet wound.

And even if the shopkeeper had forced it onto him, he was still able to throw it away, wasn't he? Why hadn't he done that in the first place?

He stood up quickly, hardly taking notice of the chair as it fell to the floor, and marched over to his towel drawer. He'd put what remained of the potion back into its original hiding place after Usopp returned it that first night. He hadn't seen it since. He studied the squat, crystal bottle, the chapped black wax, the glowing pink liquid inside, and he scowled. He'd suffered so much because of this potion. He didn't see and end to it until it was gone.

He ran towards the door and burst out of the room, skidding to a stop before he fell over the railing. He turned, raced down the stairs and onto the deck, where he then turned to the side of the ship, raised his arm up high and chucked the potion. It soared through the early morning air and out of sight into the darkness. A few seconds later, Sanji heard a satisfying plop and splash duo. He smiled slightly and returned to his kitchen.

He picked up the chair and put it back in its original arrangement, falling back into it in a much more relaxed way. One worry down, one to go. Now if only he could throw Zoro over board too, and when they pulled him back on, he'd apologize to Sanji, saying he'd come to his senses, realized he couldn't live without him, beg for his forgiveness. And Sanji would refuse him at first, pretend he was too heart broken to give the swordsman a second chance, make him suffer a bit before he finally forgave him. And then he'd throw himself into Zoro's arms and they'd kiss, and he'd say "I love you" and Zoro would say it too and then-

He was about two syllables away form smacking himself. He had to stop having these fantasies; Zoro hated him now, and no matter how he dreamed differently, there was no way that would ever change. The most he could hope for now was Zoro sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

He tried to summon up some anger towards the marimo as proof that it was over, but he was only able to conjure up anger towards himself. He was acting to stupid, so pathetic. He should've cried it out and moved on like one was expected to, not dwell on what could've been and wish for some kind of happy ending. If Zoro hated him, Zoro hated him. Life went on.

So why did his heart throb every time he thought of it?

The answer was obvious, bug white letters against a black background, a bright neon sign piercing a dark, rainy night in vivid colors.

But he refused to believe that answer was the correct one.

With a sad smile, he stood up and prepared to start the day.

~~~ZsZsZsZs~~~

The day passed slowly after that. It was a relatively calm afternoon with a lot of clouds and hardly any sun. Its wasn't all that chilly, but the sky was a blue-ish gray. Everyone on board was off doing whatever was expected of them; Nami was in her cabin working on her maps, Zoro was on the deck working out, Sanji was planning meals in the kitchen and Luffy and Usopp were messing around and pissing off the rest of the crew. To the uninformed, it would've looked like a normal day for the mugiwara, but those upon the Going Merry could all feel the tension in the air radiating off the cook and their bushido. The crew had grown pretty used to the two being all over each other, so they, naturally, felt confused when the curses and glares started up again. Both Sanji and Zoro were trying their best to avoid each other...which wasn't that hard for them since they had so much practice with it. Neither was acting anymore reclusive than always. They glowered at each other when forced into the same room, or just ignored each other all together.

If they were to get too close to each other, like a very chaotic scene at lunch, the curses would fly and a fight would break loose. It was as evenly matched as always, but Sanji came out of each battle, either verbal or physical, with scars and bruises. It was tearing the poor man up inside, feeling those cold glares on his back, hearing those mumbled curses. Had Zoro known him better, or was more insightful and observant, he might have been the tears that threatened Sanji's visible left eye, could've told Sanji was really faking the hate.

But Zoro didn't know Sanji that well, even though they were nakama, and he definitely didn't have that much insight into the human mind and emotions. He was only observant while training and fighting. And that was fine with the swordsman. He could care less about Sanji's feelings and what the pervert thought of him. He didn't care at all about Sanji. They lived on the same boat, sailed under the same flag, fought in the same battles, served under the same rubbery idiot captain. Sanji meant nothing to him. Just an extra hand (foot) in fights, a means to rum and food, an extra body that slept in the hammock next to his and flirted with women and made good grub. But that was all. Sanji wasn't a friend, or a lover or whatever else it was their nakama thought they were.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself. Nowadays, Zoro didn't know what he felt for Sanji, if anything. If he was totally honest, he could say that the chef had a pretty nice figure... And it had felt really nice waking up next to someone, all warm and snug under the blanket. Not to mention the jerk was a pretty good fuck. He figured, once he'd gotten all those memories sorted out, that Sanji was way better than the whores he slammed into in dark alleys and cheesy motels... Made a lot of cute faces, too.

He rolled onto his back, using his arms as pillows behind his head. It was about time for sunset, but the thick gray clouds that surrounded the goat ship hardly let any light from it through. A very faded, distant orange was all Zoro saw of it.

"Hey, Zoro!"

Zoro's eyes twitched closed as he steadied his breath, feigning sleep. He usually didn't ignore his captain when the boy's voice sounded so urgent, but he was just not in the mood to listen to the dunce's babble about adventure and what not. He had deep thinking to do. Now if Luffy went overboard and was drowning, that would be a totally different story.

"Zoro." The voice was close. In fact, right above him. Maybe if he didn't answer, the boy would go away.

No such luck.

Something warm and heavy was dropped onto his chest, and after a small coughing fit and he regained his breath Zoro realized Luffy had practically cannon-balled into his gut. The damn fool felt so much lighter when he was being dragged out of the sea.

"What?" He wheezed, clearing his throat. "You could've nudged me or something."

"I didn't think about that," the captain admitted. "Anyway, Nami wants you."

Zoro fell back onto the deck. "Lemme guess, she wants all the money I owe her, doesn't she? The witch."

"I think she just wants to talk to all of us. Let's go."

Zoro looked up into the sky. The clouds were starting to look dark and dangerous. "Yeah, I bet she does."

He grabbed his swords and stood up, following Luffy into the galley where everyone else was gathered around the table in the center. His eyes automatically locked onto Sanji, who was reclining in his chair, lit cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. When he saw Zoro, his upper lip curled into a silent snarl. He returned it with an obscene hand gesture and took a seat at the other end.

"'Kay, guys, here's the deal," Nami started once the two were seated. "There are several cumulous clouds outside that might very well turn into cumulonimbus storm clouds. I'm really not in the mood to drown tonight, so we need someone to keep watch and alert me if anything changes. Any volunteers?"

"I'll do it Nami-swan!" Sanji cried with hearts in his eyes. Zoro raised his eyebrow. Bastard sure did bounce back.

"No way!" Luffy cried. "You're the cook, you need to sleep all night and cook all day!"

"Don't I already do that anyway?" Sanji mumbled as he fell back into his chair, clearly disgruntled that he could be of no use to his precious sea witch.

"Never fear! Brave Captain Usopp shall take watch!" Usopp said as he did his signature "captain" pose.

"Uh, yeah, we need someone trustworthy," Nami said, and Usopp deflated back into his seat.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "I'll do it, I guess," he said. He was the only one left anyway, why not volunteer? Besides, it would mean a full night to himself, complete silence for him to think over all the trouble some things going through his mind. Some peace and quiet would do him some good.

Sanji scoffed. "You're probably the least trustworthy person on this ship," he said with a small growl. "You'll fall asleep before you even have the chance to watch for anything."

"So that just leaves Nami and Luffy."

"Nami needs her beauty sleep! Even though she's already the most beautiful woman in the world."

"And I don't want Luffy up there. If there is a storm he could fall off board and drown."

All eyes went back to Zoro.

"You win by default, I guess," the navigator said with a shrug.

Zoro nodded.

Night fell soon after, and Zoro made his way up the rope ladder to the crow's nest, his swords in tow. It was sprinkling a little bit, but Nami wasn't really worried about mist, telling him to watch out for dark clouds, thunder and lightning and huge amounts of rain. He doubted he'd see any of that tonight, though. The air was hardly blowing, and the moon was out, letting him see his way up.

Once in the crow's nest he sat down, folding his legs up and propping his swords against his shoulder, wrapping an arm around them. He should've brought something to cover up with. The mist was making him feel sticky, and the wind was starting to pick up, so the rain drops started hitting him in the face. He wouldn't have volunteered to do this if not for the memories and thoughts he still needed to organize. He could've just camped out on deck or something to get his peace, but there was really no telling how much privacy he could get down there.

He still couldn't get over what he'd done last night.

He turned his gaze back to the sky. Besides, he liked the crow's nest. It was where he could get the most breeze to ruffle his hair, or the most sun to caress his skin. He liked the feeling of being so high up, as if his worries couldn't reach him at such high an altitude.

squeak

Or not... Zoro only heard the sound ever the waves and wind thanks to his meditation skills. It was the sound of wet rope, pulled taut against a metal ring. A straining sound, like a hand gripped tight against that rope. A shifting sound, a foot moving from a lower rung. Someone was coming up the ladder. And he had a pretty good idea of who it was.

More small squeaks followed as the visitor made his way up the rope ladder, rung by rung, until a head of blonde hair bobbed into view over the edge of the nest.

Sanji's eye widened when his and Zoro's met, and he stilled his movements like a deer caught in the headlights. His skin had been shined with the night's mist, and Zoro watched involuntarily as a few beads of water met at his jaw and pooled together, then slipped down his throat to disappear into his shirt collar. If only they were lovers so that he may catch those droplets on his tongue, trace the paths the beads had taken.

"I thought you'd be asleep by now."

Sanji's voice broke his reverie and his gaze snapped back to the cook's face. By his tone of voice Zoro knew he hadn't meant it as a jeer, merely a statement. Nevertheless, Zoro didn't know how to act in these kinds of situations. He knew power, brute force, pigheadedness. He didn't know how to be understanding, or gentle, or kind.

"What do you want?" he demanded, running his hand up the sword's length until he reached the hilt. "If you're gonna try and rape me again I

I'll kick your ass."

Sanji snarled, biting down on his cigarette. "I've told you a thousand times, I was reaching over you to get the salt shaker for Nami. Get it through your thick skull."

"Then what the hell do you want?"

Sanji stepped over the wall and into the nest. He held up a blanket. "I came up here to offer you a blanket, even though a jerk like you doesn't really deserve one. It's gonna get cold tonight, and you're gonna get sick, and I don't want to make separate cold-friendly meals for you."

"I'm not cold. You're wasting your time."

"Idiot, I can see you shivering."

Zoro stilled his body's trembling as best he could. He could feel goose bumps all over his skin, and a very uncomfortable tingling was crawling up his legs. He couldn't feel his toes. He hadn't realized until now how cold it had gotten while he'd been thinking, but now he really wished he had brought something to cover up with.

He sneered at Sanji from under his bangs. "I'm just trying to suppress the urge to get up and kick your fag ass outta here."

As soon as the words left his mouth he was sorry he'd even spoke. Sanji's face held a mixture of shock and pain, anger and disbelief. The hand that held the blanket tightened until his knuckles started turning white. The other clenched at his side to the same pale pigmentation.

A small silence followed, stretched out even longer for Zoro by the awkwardness he felt and the shame that burned his cheeks. He didn't want things to get worse between them. He wanted to patch things up so they were friends again, or whatever it was they were before the lust potion affected him. But he knew there'd be no way they could do that now.

He could here Sanji swallow hard at the end of the silence. He put out his cigarette on the railing of the nest and let the butt fall to the deck below them. "Well then," he started, voice strained for the slightest second. "If my presence here bothers you so much, I'll go." He turned, flinging the blanket over to Zoro so it hit him in the face and blocked his view.

Without another word the blonde jumped over the edge and started down the ladder. Zoro pulled the blanket off his face. It was warm and smelled like Sanji. He looked to where he'd last seen the cook and sighed. He might as well use it, as long as it was here, he decided as he threw the blanket over his shoulders and head, protecting himself from most of the mist.

It was going to a long, painful night.

Zoh my Ray William Johnson, guys, I'm sorry that ending(this chapter) sucked so bad! I'm not making excuses, but I've been terribly busy with schoolwork, and play practice, and just life in general. Its been a very hectic October...*sighs* I also had a concert Monday night, and play practice will be tonight (we're ordering Pizza! Yum!) Wednesday and Thursday, and I have plans with a friend on Friday, Saturday AND Sunday...I'm just not sure anymore when I'll have time to finish Rapt...It'll truthfully be a while until chapter 13 is up (I can't even believe I've made it this far!) because I haven't even started it for real. I keep changing how it begins, and haven't decided what will happen...I need encouragement and motivation, like, whoa. (Every time I see that sprite commercial where the rapper is "not feelin'" it, drinks some sprite and gets uber motivated I look at my sprite can and ask it why it doesn't make ME motivated.)

Anyway, that's chapter 12 of Rapt! Ha-ha...ha. Chapter 13 will be up ? and that might actually be the last chapter. :\ I honestly was hoping for more...

Also, please excuse any grammar and spelling mistakes, as this was proof-read in a hurry.