Frostbite Chapter 6
Okay, people, I'm pissed at myself for taking so damn long again, but I had another shit week. That and I'm now the new best friend and 'adoptive' older sibling to a local 7-year-old. Anyway, some personal 'thank you's and stuff:
HappyMe-O: Thank you for always reviewing and answering! Your vote has been taken!
preisempf: Thank you for answering and reviewing!
holic: Jeez! Get a grip, for crying out loud! It's just another freaky thing about FanFiction! Ya never know what the Hell you'll find! Besides me being a total ass, I'm thanking you for leaving the longest review so far. Schwarzenegger? That scares me... Anywho, I'm glad you were honest and that you think it's good.
Bubbles1802: Yeah, but normal people also get weak and whiny. Mwahahahaha! Oh, and Sanji would get knocked up. ^~^
cy-grl: Your reviews bring warmth to my icy heart. I truly hope it gets better with this one.
Next chapter! Enjoy!
Sanji began to hyperventilate, his pulse racing. Yes, the attractive blonde had caught his interest; her hair flowed down her back in golden ringlets and her skin was a shade lighter than Zoro's. Very sexy, to say the least. But, he had no idea who she was and she had been in the same room as Sanji and Zoro while they were asleep. The cook tried to crane his neck over to sneak a peek at his green-haired lover, who was sleeping soundly, but looked like total crap.
"Miss…?" Sanji said as he sat up, Roxi's eyes snapping open. She stared at him for a fraction of a second, and then gave a warm, comforting smile.
"Oh, you're awake. Good. Are you in any pain? Hungry? Thirsty?" She seemed genuinely concerned, but Sanji's heart continued to flutter, struggling to control his breathing. Her emerald eyes wide and motherly, she stood over him.
"Uh, no," he lied. Sanji tried to stand out of bed, but she pushed him back down, not helping his panic attack in the slightest. "May I ask your name?" he asked, voice shaking terribly.
"Roxi. Your nakama, Chopper-san, told me to not let you leave this bed. Sanji, I presume?" the cook visibly relaxed, soothed by the fact that his friends were nearby and safe.
"Yes… What happened? How did I get here?" Sanji begged as he lay back down. He may have calmed down about Roxi, but his anxiety was starting to build back up again. All she did was smile, glowing with relief and joy.
"As soon as you've eaten and rested a bit more, your friends will explain everything. I'll be back in a minute with your supper and Chopper-san."
"But, I'm not hungry," a growl from his belly betrayed Sanji. He internally scolded himself for being so rude and refusing a pretty woman's hospitality. Roxi just chuckled.
"Of course you're not. Feeling nervous about Zoro-san?"
"Yeah, a little bit." Holy shit, she can read my mind. Roxi patted Sanji's shoulder and walked out the door, leaving the cook to his thoughts and Zoro.
"Jeez, Zoro. You probably feel like shit. Can't believe that happened," Sanji muttered, eyeing the growth in the blanket where his foot belonged. Since he was alone, aside from his snoozing roomie, he decided to take in his surroundings. The cook was in simple flannel pants that weren't his own, and the room he was in had soft yellow walls and thick carpeting. Small, but not cramped, and a four-foot gap separated the two beds. A basin of iced water sat on the nightstand in place of a lamp, which sat on the floor in the far corner.
Wound sealers and thin bandages patched up Sanji's back and wrapped around his front, which he traced with his hand. Not being one to go against a lady's orders, the cook stay down in bed. However, he did push the covers off to the side to get a better look at his legs. A cast sheathed his left leg from the knee down, even past his toes.
Damn. This'll take some time to adjust to, since I haven't broken my leg in ages. It's bad enough I broke my leg, but it's just shit that it was from tripping. Sanji leaned onto his side to get a better look at Zoro, who, for once, was sleeping silently. The swordsman was tucked into the bed to his neck and had a wet towel across his forehead. His normal tan was pasty, but his face also carried a crimson stain along his nose and cheeks. Sanji stared at Zoro for what felt like forever, but Roxi rapped on the door, pulling him back into the bed.
"Here you are, Sanji-san," Roxi said as she sat a tray over his lap. The dish had an unfamiliar type of soup, large crackers, and a mug of tea on it. It took a few tries to balance it properly, for Sanji's leg was elevated on a pillow.
"Thank you very much, Roxi-chan," Sanji bowed his head in thanks and tucked in, quickly downing what he guessed to be some sort of stew. When he was finished, the cook felt the odd sensation that he was missing something important. Sanji cupped his mouth reflexively, expecting to grab a cigarette.
Oh, yeah. Where're my smokes?
"Is something wrong, Sanji-san?" Roxi asked as Sanji sighed in defeat, knowing his cancer sticks were M.I.A.
"I can't find my cigarettes. Have you seen them, Roxi-chan?" the cook could feel his hand twitch with anxiety. The girl gave him a sly look. Before she could answer, however, Chopper busted through the door, brandishing his medical case.
"Checkup time!" Chopper sang as Sanji groaned dramatically. Roxi giggled when he flashed her a playful grin, showing that he would be fine. The furry doctor hopped over to his nakama, drawing various instruments out of his bag as he went. Sanji barely had time to react before a thermometer was shoved in his mouth.
"Wha 'ives 'Opper?" Sanji forced around the cylinder under his tongue. No response, but a cold stethoscope kissed his chest through the gauze strips. "Mmmphh!" Roxi snickered at Sanji's facial expression: childish distress. The cook blushed and pouted until Chopper took the tube out of his mouth.
"Why must you embarrass me in front of a lady?" he hissed. "And what's going on? How did I get here in the first place?" Chopper ignored him easily, too intent on measuring Sanji's blood pressure. He let it drag on until Chopper spoke.
"Turn around. I need to see how the cuts on your back are healing," for some reason, Sanji complied. After Chopper changed the blond's bandages, Sanji turned on him.
"Seriously. What's. Going. On? I fall asleep under a tree and I wake up in here! Wait…" the flush on his face deepened. "Did you see me…?" he trailed. Roxi gave nod, red herself, but grinned like a child given her favorite candy. "Oh, shit. I swear, I was just trying to cool the stupid Marimo down!"
"If you want to know what's going on, we'll tell you. But, we need to know about what happened to you while you were out there. Sound fair?" Roxi bargained. Sanji nodded, not meeting her eyes.
Before they knew it, everyone was on the same page, but Sanji decided to censor the details about stripping and dressing Zoro.
"So, now that you know of our marvelous misadventure, may I please go out and have a smoke? I can't stay in bed all day; it's the Marimo who's sick!" Chopper shrugged and motioned towards the door. "Thank you!" Sanji shot out of bed, only to stumble back into it, thrown off balance by his cast and still weak.
"Want some help, Sanji-san?" Roxi offered her arm out, which the Ero-Cook took with joy, his eye a massive heart.
"Ah, you're far to kind, Roxi-chan!" Sanji cried as she snaked her arm around his waist and tugged his around her shoulder. The male blond hiked his heavier leg up and the duo teetered down the narrow hall as Chopper tended to Zoro.
His fever is still at 103. Good… The medicine should be ready by tomorrow, but I'm worried that we may have to leave before he's fully recovered. Only time will tell… Taking a fresh towel to the green-haired man's forehead, the reindeer was spooked when Zoro jerked in his sleep and gasped sharply. His eyes flitted open for a fraction of a second, then were forced shut as though he was in pain.
"Oh, Zoro. I'm so sorry this happened to you," Chopper whispered as Zoro sighed in his sleep. His lips cracked open and the doctor struggled to make out the words.
"Sanji...I'm…sorry…" he didn't know why, but Chopper felt his eyes tear up. He brushed them out and continued his work, but the feeling of pity and fear still lingered about.
Meanwhile, Sanji and Roxi had made it downstairs without incident, if you don't count Roxi "accidentally" slipping and squeezing Sanji's ass. The poor man almost had a heart attack at the concept of a pervert-woman. Fortunately for Sanji, Usopp appeared and saved him from further molestation.
"Sanji! Holy crap, you're awake!" the marksman cried and all but glomped down on the blond cook.
"Whoa! Down boy!" Sanji barked as his foot thoroughly smothered Usopp's face. He teetered on his cast and caught himself on the railing, making sure to twist his leg a bit as he disengaged it from a rather bloody mug.
"Someone's in bad mood," Usopp slurred with blood leaking into his mouth. Sanji flashed him a death-glare and limped into the living room where he had been treated just the night before.
"Oh, hello, Cook-san. I trust that you are feeling well?" Robin greeted Sanji with a calm smile. She was curled up in an easy chair with a small stack of books next to her. In an instant, the cook snapped into ero-mode and a big, pink heart swapped places with his visible eye.
"Greetings, Robin-chwan~! I'm feeling a thousand times better, thanks to you, Nami-swan, and Roxi-chwan! I shall repay you all in any way you want! Preferably with my body…" he muttered the last part at an audible, but soft, level. Just enough for them to hear, but he received no reaction.
"Sanji-kun! You shouldn't be on your feet so much! Chopper said that you should be resting, so just lie down," Nami ordered. Sanji whipped around to her and began to whimper "mellorine" like a puppy in heat. (A/N: WTF?) He stopped when hands grabbed his waist and shoulders, pulling him onto a dark red futon.
"Robin-chwan, why so rough? I'm fine, and it's my job to care for you," the three women stood over him, still held to the sofa by the assassin's disembodied hands. Roxi leaned in close, waving a package of his favorite cigarettes in front of him.
"I went out and bought these, just for you, Sanji-kun," Nami smiled evilly. "They're yours if you do as we say. All we ask is that you take it easy until you're all better…and tell us what's going on between you and Zoro." Sanji flushed and struggled to answer.
"N-Nami-san, wh-what makes you th-think there's anything going on? I just helped the stupid Marimo get back here; I wasn't going to let my nakama die out in the snow!" Roxi smirked, leaning in closer and pressing their foreheads together softly. Sanji flinched and accidentally made an uke face. Realizing the horrifying mistake he had made, he lay there open-mouthed, eyes bugging-out.
"I did not expect Cook-san to be capable of such a vulnerable visage. It is quite likely that Swordsman-san is the dominant one in the relationship, considering the possibilities." Sanji appeared to have suffered a massive stroke from the sheer embarrassment the girls were putting him through.
"P-P-Possibilities? What on Earth are you talking about, Robin-chan? It's impossible for anything to happen between Marimo and me!" Roxi sighed, about to call his bluff.
"Marimo? When I was speaking to you earlier, you called him by his name. You said you were worried about him," she sighed again. "I guess you don't want to have a smoke. Nami-san went out of her way to get your preferred brand," Roxi stood up straight and rubbed her head in false defeat.
"I guess he's to much of a coward to be honest," Nami chided as she followed Roxi's league.
"Perhaps Swordsman-san is abusive with Cook-san, and he will harm Cook-san if he tells us the truth. What a pity. I anticipated a relationship very different from this; they are violent with one another in front of us." Robin stated, ignoring Sanji's choked words of protest. The dark-skinned arms around the cook's body remained tight; escape was out of the question for him. Roxi noticed the pained, embarrassed expression plastered on Sanji's face and felt herself becoming… Turned on?
That's ridiculous! He's just a visitor! Hell, he's gay and his boyfriend's asleep upstairs… I wonder how their relationship is, if they're in one. Maybe he's just scared that Nami-san and Robin-san will think of him differently. She turned to Robin and Nami.
"What is it, Roxi-san?" Nami asked as she dropped the pack of smokes next to Sanji's face.
"We all know the truth, so why are we harassing the guy? Besides, you don't yet know what happened to them. I bet if you let him go, Sanji-san will tell you that much," Robin shrugged and lowered her arms, simultaneously releasing their captive.
"Guiwls awre soooo scawy~!" Sanji made a face with exaggerated rivers if tears streaming down it. His childish lisp was lost on the females, while Luffy, Usopp, and Mox were cracking up in the kitchen. "Shadap, you bastards! Shit…" he muttered, even more red.
"So you're Sanji…nice to meet you. My name's Mox. I see you've already been tortured by my sister," Mox said as he walked into the room. He held his hand out, the other jammed in his pocket, which Sanji shook.
Hmm… They really are siblings. I'd call them twins if Roxi-chan wasn't obviously older. Sanji sized the younger man, who had cropped blond hair and eyes like his sister. He was a few inches taller than Luffy, and had a slightly less mischievous grin on his face.
"Right back at ya. So, anyone care for a story, or would you three prefer a beating?" Sanji asked as Mox propped his leg up on a pillow. The boys shook their heads fervently, not wanting to be ground to a paste by the cook's dress shoe.
"Yes, please tell us what happened, Cook-san," Sanji nodded as he lit up a smoke, all without sitting up. He found a more comfortable position on his side and repeated the process of debriefing his nakama. This time, the cook completely deleted any parts that could be used against him, which was most of the time in the cabin.
"Well, that makes sense. However, I can't believe you broke your leg like that," Nami commented at the end of it all. Had one of the boys said that, Sanji would have turned them all into a few new pairs of boots.
"Neither can I, Nami-san. I blame Shitty-Marimo for it all, though," Sanji concluded. Luffy jumped up off the floor and walked over to his cook.
"Sanji, why do you blame Zoro? He didn't do anything wrong; he just got sick," the captain seemed disappointed, somehow.
"'Course I blame him! He was sick before we left, decided not to tell Chopper, and I had to pay for it!" Luffy stayed stoic, despite the fact that Sanji was blowing up in is face.
"Chopper said you saved his life…and that you could've died yourself. He owes you, and I bet he'll be grateful for what you did," Luffy explained. This struck a chord with the blond.
"Huh… I guess you're right," Sanji yawned. "What time is it?"
"'Bout six o'clock," Mox answered, "I'd better start up dinner. How's pot roast sound to you guys?" Sanji was about to offer to cook, but Nami shot him own with a glare.
"Fine to me. Anyone object?" everyone shook his or her head. Minutes later, Chopper came down.
"Oh, hey Chopper," Sanji greeted from the futon. "What's up? Something happen to Marimo?"
"No, not yet. He should be conscious soon, so who wants to take the next watch?" Luffy and Usopp fooled around on the floor, useless. Nami 'studied' her maps; Robin was absorbed in her newest book. Mox and Roxi were finished with their turns, and Chopper refused to bother the Strawhats' gracious hosts.
"I'll take care of him," Sanji suggested. Chopper did a double take.
"Huh?" the poor doctor was utterly bewildered.
"Sure. I'm bunking with him, so why not. If anything happens, I'll get you right away," Sanji rose off the sofa and began to trek upstairs.
"Are you absolutely positive?" Sanji nodded. "Okay. Have fun."
Long after the cook had taken up the position of Zoro-watching, he realized how easy it was to work himself up. Boredom and worry swirled around inside his stomach, fighting for control of Sanji's body. He had stayed by Zoro's side long after dinner, and just wanted to sleep. But, whenever his eyes would close, the blond would have flashes of Zoro in pain and scared about being alone in a foreign environment. Trusting that Zoro would stay asleep throughout the night, Sanji crawled into bed, facing his lover. He closed his eyes and went out immediately, subconsciously relishing his forty winks.
"Ah… I slept sooo damn well," Sanji yawned and stretched his arms. He slid out of bed and crawled across to Zoro, actually upset to see the Marimo still out it. "Hahh…" Sanji sighed. "Wonder how you've been doing these past few days," he whispered.
"I don't know," Zoro's eyes cracked open, voice weak. "You tell me, Swirly," he smiled. The cook stared, eyes moistening. Zoro sat up on his elbows, only to be glomped back down by a softly crying Sanji. The blond hugged Zoro as tight as he could, face becoming damp.
"Stupid…(hic) Marimo… Scaring us (hic) like that. Scaring me like that," he felt Zoro squeeze him back. Sanji cried silently, muttering curses and words of love into the swordsman's ear. He pulled away, eyes red and puffy.
"Sanji…" Zoro had no idea about what had happened, but remembered the nightmares he had. All were about Sanji.
"Shhh…" the world could wait. "Zoro…to be honest, I was scared. Tell me…are you in any pain? Chopper will kill us both if I don't tell him you're awake." Zoro though for a moment, then pulled Sanji down next to him.
"No, I'm fine. At least, now that I can see your face. Thank you for all you did," Zoro brought their faces together. "I love you, Sanji," he whispered.
"I love you, too, Zoro."
They brought their faces together, and kissed, all too happy to be together, no matter what.
Wow. That was kinda sappy, wasn't it? Ah, screw it.
Roxi's a perv, and she is like me personality wise. That was an accident, and I look nothing like her.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everyone!