Hands nipped with frostbite, Sanji dropped the bags at the foot of the mountain. A small cave was carved into the side of the mountain. He sighed. Finally. Sanji took a few feeble steps towards the entrance of the cave, hauling Zoro's unconscious body on his back. "Here we are, Mosshead. You better appreciate this shit," Sanji said as he carefully laid Zoro down inside the cave. There was adequate room for the both of them and the bags, which remained closer to the entrance. Sanji worked on making Zoro a makeshift bed out of their coat. Huge bags were smeared under his eyes, but only when Zoro seemed as comfortable as possible did Sanji relax, removing a cigarette from the now soggy box.
He gazed at Zoro as he took a long, well-deserved drag. The shitty swordsman looked terrible: flushed cheeks, ashen lips, panting breaths. God-damn, if only Chopper were here...! He leaned over and placed a hand on Zoro's forehead, who murmured softly in his sleep and curled into the cool touch. "Woah! This is even worse than before..." Sanji narrowed his eyes. "Okay, Mosshead. Wait here. I'll be right back."
"I-I'm... N-not going... A-anywhere..." Zoro said between pants. Sanji raised his eyebrows.
"You're conscious!?"
"Evidently." Zoro smiled weakly. "Wh-where are... You g-going?"
"I'm gonna get that fever of yours lowered, so stay there and don't move."
"I-I'm not sure... I c-can even if... I-I try." Another faint smile. Sanji only frowned in return and began to walk out of the cave. The trees outside were stippled with red berries. The meat in the hunting bags couldn't be cooked without dry wood, but at least the two of them could feast on berries until the snowstorm died down. He plucked a few pocketfuls of berries, scooped up a handful of snow and trudged back to the cave.
"Oi, mosshead. I got some food for you," Sanji said as he knelt at Zoro's side. He spread the snow across Zoro's forehead and reached for a berry. "Sorry. This is the best I can do."
"I-it's okay..." Zoro cleared his throat. "Uh... Th-thank you..."
Sanji shrugged awkwardly. "It's okay. Can you sit up?"
"Y-yeah... J-just hang on a sec..." He winced as and inhaled sharply as he sat up, clutching his stomach. Sanji's eyes trailed down to the hand gripping Zoro's side. Neither of them noticed the snow falling from his forehead.
"Your stomach..." Sanji exhaled smoke.
"I-it's n-nothing," Zoro said, taking the berry from Sanji.
"I'll say it again, idiot swordsman: it's okay to admit you're not okay."
"A-alright then... It h-hurts. A-alot..." Zoro popped the berry into his mouth and chewed slowly, his eyes glued to the floor. "Uh... I'm n-not really... h-hungry... S-sorry."
"It's okay; I'll eat them," Sanji said, grabbing a handful. "We better get you to Chopper after this storm dies down though. Here, let me feel your temperature..."
"S-Sanji."
"Yes?"
"Wh-why are you... d-doing this?"
"What, helping you?"
"Y-yeah..." Zoro swallowed and scratched the back of his neck.
"Because you're part of the crew... You're my friend." Sanji stubbed out his cigarette. "And also because Luffy would be pissed if I let you die." He smiled faintly.
"Y-yeah, but... You h-hate me." He gritted his teeth and averted his eyes back to the floor.
"I don't hate you. You do annoy me sometimes, but I don't hate you, Mosshead," Sanji said, lighting yet another cigarette.
"I-I don't... h-hate you either... S-Sanji..."
The two of them sat in silence, Sanji eating berries and Zoro sat against the cave wall, until he eventually cleared his throat.
"How... How c-come you smoke s-s-so much?"
"Hm? Well... It was a stupid habit I started when I was a kid. Heh, Zeff was so pissed off when he found out." Sanji chuckled at the memory. "I should quit, really."
"T-too addicted?" Sanji nodded in reply. "Y-yeah... I-I understand th-that."
"You mean you've smoked before?"
"N-no, I mean b-booze..." Zoro shook his head. "F-forget it. I-I'm gonna nap."
Sanji frowned. "Just lie on your side and not your back, okay?" Zoro only grunted in return as he lay down on his side, facing the wall of the cave.
With a long sigh, Sanji turned and stared outside, hugging his knees. The cave was surrounded by a dense forest of pine trees and small bushes and shrubs. A few large boulders were scattered about outside. Fluffy squirrel-like creatures sat amongst the tree branches, nibbling on berries and nuts. The snowfall was growing softer now and the flakes now fell delicately on the ground. Sanji looked back at Zoro, contemplating whether they should start moving back to the ship, but he was out cold. Besides, it was too dark out to find their way back. Sanji narrowed his eyes. There, between the trees, was torchlight, illuminating three figures. Their unfamiliar voices could just about be heard over the howling winds. Men. Heading in the direction of the cave.
Sanji bit down hard on his cigarette. The men were now in sight and were dressed in the white navy uniform. "Oi, look over there! In the cave!" The Marine gestured toward the cave with his rifle and the three of them began running towards the cave. Upon closer inspection Sanji saw that one of them was Smoker.
"Shit," Sanji hissed. He stood up, hands in his pockets, and exited the cave, striding up to the marines.
"Black Leg Sanji."
"Smoker." Sanji took a drag from his cigarette. Smoker looked back at his men.
"Bring me Pirate Hunter. He's in the cave. I'll deal with Black Leg."
"O-oi! Stop!" Sanji grabbed one of the men's sleeves and yanked them so his face was almost pressed against theirs. "Don't you fucking dare go near that cave." He shoved them away and they fell to the ground, eyes widened. Sanji's leg flew up, blocking Smoker's incoming attack.
"Go get Roronoa," Smoker barked at the man on the floor, who scrambled up and ran towards the cave.
"Bastard!" Sanji withdrew his leg, dropped his cigarette and stomped it out. He began to run towards the cave. But Smoker was ahead of him before he could get to the entrance, billows of smoke surrounding him. Sanji skidded to a stop as Smoker swung his jitte. It smashed into Sanji's cheek. Smoker swung again, but this time Sanji dodged.
He steadied himself and turned towards Smoker, his brow furrowed. Flames engulfed his leg and he kicked. His foot collided with Smoker's arm and the jitte clattered against the floor. Sanji's second kick smashed into Smoker's stomach. As the third kick rushed towards him, Smoker grabbed Sanji's leg and threw him to the ground, winding him. He reached for his jitte. "There is no escape."
"Vice Admiral! We have Roronoa!" The two marines dropped Zoro on the ground before Smoker, who turned away from Sanji. He bent down and inspected the unconscious swordsman before him. Then, he pressed the back of his hand to Zoro's forehead and narrowed his eyes.
"This man is incredibly sick." He stood back up and glanced at Sanji and then diverted his attention back to his men. "Leave them both be."
"B-but Smoker-san... This is the perfect chance!"
"It would be unsavoury to capture a man who doesn't even have a chance to defend himself. Leave him be."
"But-"
"That's an order!" Smoker glared at his men. "We have the supplies we need. Take them back to the ship and make sure Tashigi leaves the Straw Hats be." The two men turned and marched back through the forest. Smoker turned back to Sanji.
"Th-thank you..." Sanji stuck his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground awkwardly.
"Don't thank your enemies," he said as he began to walk after his men. "And get Roronoa medical attention."
"Bastard," Sanji muttered under his breath as he thumbed his lighter. Another cigarette. He sighed - he really needed to quit the damn things.
I suck at fight scenes sorry, but I hope you enjoyed anyway! I'm sorry if there are any mistakes also.