Sanji didn't think he could feel any wearier until the scent and warmth of home hit him and he's knees almost gave out on him while he slipped he's shoes off in the entryway of his flat. Zoro pushed past him, and Sanji watched with furrowed brows as the tiger stalked passed the living room and into the kitchen space. There was a pause, before he heard the squeak of the tap and water running into the sink
Discarding his bloody and tattered jacket on the floor by his shoes, Sanji walked in and peered into the kitchen. He watched Zoro, staring intently at the water, before cupping his hands below the tap and splashing it onto his muzzle.
The cook left him to it and retreated to his en suit. As the lights brightened, Sanji startled at the sight of himself in the bathroom mirror. Despite the wild lifestyle he used to live in his younger life, it was safe to say he'd never come back from a night out looking as worse as he did today. But then again, he'd never been mauled in the literal jaws of death before.
He stood in front of his reflection. Skin paler than usual, hair frazzled from the rain, dark bags getting heavier under his eyes and blood flecked across his skin, stained through to his shirt.
Shit. Did he really get on the tube back like this?
Sighing, he butted out his cigarette on a glass dish beside the sink and began to unbutton his shirt. Peeling it away as carefully as he could from his untreated wounds, Sanji winced as he inspected the gaping scratches still fresh on his shoulder and hip. Blood dripped from the wound on his shoulder as he moved.
"Ah, fuck," muttered Sanji. Maybe he should've let Heat patch up these wounds as well before he left
He let the water in the tap run and pulled out a small med kit from the cupboard under the sink. When he glanced back in the mirror, he noticed a pair of amber eyes watching him from the doorway.
Sanji turned around and the eyes were gone. He waited a moment, considered calling out or running after the tiger, but decided he should probably tend to the scratches first.
Patched up and changed into fresh clothes, Sanji walked back to his living room. He stopped when he caught sight of Zoro in his peripheral. The tiger was back in his room, lying curled up in the futon and facing the wall. Sanji's heart sank. If he intended to say something about tonight, he better do it now.
"Zoro," Sanji called out. The tiger didn't move, but his ears swivelled a little atop his head. He was still awake.
"Look, it's okay. I get it, you lost control, but it's fine. At least we managed to get out of there in one piece."
Zoro said nothing. Sanji sighed. Perhaps it wasn't best to talk to him now. Not knowing what else to do, the cook ran through what had become routine for him since the tiger moved in. He poured a bowl of water from the kitchen and left it in the tiger room before retreating to his own bedroom.
Sanji considered switching the ambience on, but as soon as his body hit the mattress, all the energy drained out of his muscles and he plunged into sleep. After what felt like only a couple of hours passed, a weight on the other side of the bed woke him up. Disorientated, Sanji cracked his eyes open to a dark and lifeless room. His muscles were numb and nausea bubbled away in his gut. Then that unfamiliar presence beside him jolted his consciousness. He turned his head to find Zoro curled up on the bed, back turned to Sanji and snoring gently. How long had he been there for?
Sanji nearly fell off his bed when he turned back to his side. Of course the tiger would take up more than half of the bed, whether he intended to or not. He couldn't blame Zoro, though. His bed must have been more comfortable than that futon. A deep sigh left his lips and his stiff muscles pressed him for more sleep. He'd have to deal with this in the morning.
Sanji faced his blank wall and stared at it with tired eyes that refused to close. He felt constant awareness of that other weight on the bed. All of a sudden, it was too warm and stifling under the covers. No matter how hard he tried, Sanji's mind couldn't shake off the thought of someone else being there next to him, and it kept him awake.
He sighed, slowly slipping out of the bed. Pleased that his motions didn't wake the tiger, Sanji padded to his living room and collapsed onto the couch. The fish in his tank hesitated in the water, confused by the shape that had suddenly appeared in the distance, beyond the water and the glass. Sanji watched them float around for a while, before sleep finally blessed him with its presence.
That morning, Sanji nearly stepped on the tiger as he moved to get up form the couch. He stopped, staring down the ball of green and black curled up against the foot of the couch. Did he follow him here too?
Sanji wondered if this was Zoro's way of showing remorse for his actions. Unable to put an apology into words yet, maybe the tiger thought his presence would have to do for now. Or, perhaps, he was just worried about the cook.
With a sigh, Sanji slumped back into the couch. He was probably thinking too much about this. He checked his bangle, the screen lighting up and happily alerting him that it was 6:53 am! Still early. At least early enough to call in sick for work. Sanji didn't feel like going in today, with his aching muscles and his wounds still throbbing. Besides, it was probably best find Chopper or someone to look over them properly.
Flicking up the screen on his bangle again, Sanji typed out a lengthy message peppered with flowery apologies that were, for the most part, heartfelt. Sending it to his boss, he turned in the couch and managed to catch a few more hours of sleep. When he next awoke, the screen on his bangle was blinking furiously and he pulled up the hologram to reveal a flurry of angry messages from his boss.
Jessica was a ruthless woman. Often labelled 'bossy bitch' by the rude members of Sanji's team. But her assertiveness was probably what Sanji liked about her the most. Grimacing to himself, Sanji sent a final, shorter message of apology. One with less flirting this time. He got a curt reply.
'Fine. We'll cope without you. Get well soon and come back to work when you feel better.' –JM
Sanji contemplated sending her a message of thanks but decided against it and settled back into the couch. He turned to find Zoro still slumbering away on the floor. Sanji watched the tiger's eyes move behind his lids, and the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Zoro managed to wash all the blood from his fur. But now, Sanji could see his injuries from the fight with Killer. It wasn't anything major, just some scratches, bruises and swollen face. But they were noticeable enough to be questioned.
The cook sighed, wishing he had tried harder to convince Zoro not to enter the ring last night. His mind recalled the fight. The terror that pulsed through him when the tiger's glowing red eyes locked on him, just before his fangs did. Sanji shuddered. He really should stop taking his near misses with death for granted.
He glanced back down at the tiger. To Sanji's knowledge, there were only a few other times he'd seen Zoro's red-eyed state. The first time he'd seen him down in Law's lab, the night he tried to escape in the warehouse, and that night he fought with Luffy. Sanji's brain ached as he tried to correlate the three events together.
It had to be something, there had to be a trend, a trigger. If anything, it definitely wasn't that Zoro was rabid. Sanji had seen rabid Companions before, enough to last him a lifetime. He watched Law furiously treat the masses of them that got shipped into his labs during the outbreak. It was a stressful time for the doctor. Sanji was sure Law didn't sleep a wink during those weeks of battling the virus.
No, Zoro wasn't rabid. The Companions Sanji had seen were different. You couldn't talk to them. They could barely even recognize their own owners. Sanji didn't even own the tiger, but he managed to stop Zoro's rampage last night. A little too late, but he stopped it. He saw the shift in his eyes from red to gold, saw the realisation on his face.
So what was it?
Zoro stirred beside him, curling further into himself. The tiger chuffed, before returning back to gentle snoring. Absently, Sanji's hand moved from the couch to hover over the tuft of green fur atop Zoro's head. He wanted to run his hand over those stripes, but something inside him hesitated. Was it fear, planted from last night's events? Sanji's hand inched closer. What would happen if Zoro woke up now, to find Sanji stroking his fur? Would he be angry?
A knock on the door stilled his actions. Zoro's eyes shot open, ears twitched upright on his head. Sanji pushed himself up on the couch and checked his bangle. 8:48. Who the hell was visiting them now?
"You better hide in the room," he said, turning back to the tiger. Zoro had his eyes on Sanji's hand. But a second knock on the door had him scrambling up and retreating to the tiger room.
Sanji ran a hand through his hair and hoped that whoever it was, at least wasn't a lady to witness his dishevelled state right now. He stalled at the entryway, giving Zoro some time to get the collar back on.
Sanji opened his door, confused at first at the sight of no-one, before looking down to see Chopper, stopped halfway through lifting a keycard to the door.
"Sanji!" The reindeer squeaked. "I'm sorry! I didn't wake you, did I? I didn't think you'd be in."
"It's fine," said Sanji. "I was already up anyway. Uh, what are you doing?"
"Ah sorry," said Chopper, sheepishly tucking away the key card. "Robin let me borrow it so I could come check up on Zoro."
Sanji nodded. "Right. Come in. Just you today?"
"Yes. Bepo's helping Doctor Law in his lab. How's Zoro?"
"Fine, I guess. You know, the usual."
Chopper nodded and made his way to the tiger room. Sanji stopped him.
"Er, have you eaten?" he asked. "I haven't made breakfast yet."
"I'll be fine for now, thanks. Let me check on Zoro first."
"He's probably still asleep."
"Is he?"
Chopper tried to walk around Sanji, heading for the room. But the cook swooped down and picked the reindeer up off the floor.
"What are you doing?" exclaimed Chopper, squirming in Sanji's hands.
"I… er… I should probably tell you something before you check on Zoro…"
The Companion stopped and turned slowly to glare at Sanji.
"What happened?" he asked, in his low doctor voice.
"I got injured last night."
"Injured!" Chopper squealed, wrestling himself out of Sanji's grasp. "How? What did you do? How bad is it? Why didn't you come to see me?"
Sanji smiled awkwardly. "It was late, and I didn't think they'd be that bad."
"That bad!" Chopper gawked up at the cook, wide-eyed and trembling. "What happened?"
"Just calm down, look," Sanji sat back down on the couch and lifted his shirt over his head. Chopper's jaw hit the floor, gawking at Sanji's badly dressed wounds and looked about ready to pass out.
"I patched them up as best I could, but I thought I should probably get an expert's opinion on them."
Chopper bristled at the compliment, cheeks flushing despite the angry scowl on his face.
"D-don't try to change the subject, dumbass!" He squealed, taking a seat next to Sanji and opening his medkit. "You should've come to me sooner! I can't believe you didn't even think to…"
The reindeer's voice trailed off as he snipped away the bandage from Sanji's arm, revealing the bite mark. Sanji winced at the shocked expression on Chopper's face.
"That bad, huh?" he asked.
Chopper glanced up, dumbfounded, before his face straightened and the cook could tell he'd gone into doctor mode.
"Could you close you hand into a fist for me?" instructed Chopped.
Sanji did so, gritting his teeth as his muscles stung. The pain didn't feel any better or worse from last night, so Sanji took it as a good sign.
"You're lucky your tendons weren't torn," the Companion doctor continued. "The muscles that were torn will take some time to realign, so I suggest refraining from strenuous activities."
Sanji nodded, taking in the advice, as he watched Chopper spray another dose of green liquid onto his arm.
"I'm glad you sterilized the wound at least before wrapping it up. But you're going to need stitches," he reached into his med kit and pulled out some clear thread and a small needle. "Do you mind?"
Sanji shook his head and let the silence fall between them while the little doctor set about stitching his arm up.
"How bad are the other wounds?" asked Chopper.
"This one's the worst, and the one I was most worried about actually," Sanji said with an uneasy chuckle. "I'm just glad I haven't lost my arm completely."
Chopper didn't reply. When he did, his voice was quiet.
"Your arm… These are bite marks, aren't they?"
Sanji swallowed but gave a slow nod. There was no way he could've convinced Chopper they were something else.
"And they're Zoro's, aren't they?"
Sanji didn't say anything after that. He stared at the fish in his tank, avoiding Chopper's scrutinizing glare.
"Sanji," Chopper groaned, snipping the thread and dressing up his arm in clean bandages. "Did you go over the line again? Law said everyone should stay behind the white tape at all times."
Sanji gave a wry face. "It's a bit more complicated than that…"
Chopper frowned up at him, unwrapping the plastered bandage on his shoulder.
"I'll tell you everything," said Sanji. "But you're gonna have promise to keep it between the two of us for now."
"Why?"
"Its… er… I don't think Law or Robin are quite ready to hear it yet…"
Chopper didn't answer, and Sanji noticed that he'd stopped dressing his wound. He turned to find the Companion frozen on the couch, fur bristled and staring wide-eyed and jaw agape at the hallway to the tiger room.
As Sanji followed his gaze, he saw a stripped tail disappear into the room. Shit.
"T-t-ti-tiger… Th-the tiger," Chopper stuttered, shaking visibly as he turned to Sanji. "He's out! H-how? We have to call Law."
"No!" Sanji grabbed the Companion as he ran for the transponder. "Chopper, wait!"
"Wait! What do you mean 'wait'? The tiger's out! How did he get the collar off? This is bad!"
"Chopper, I took the collar off!" Sanji blurted out. At least that stopped the Companion from reaching for the transponder. Chopper whirled around and gawked at Sanji like he was a mad man.
"What?" he squeaked.
Sanji didn't think the reindeer's voice could get any higher. He sighed, relaxing his grip on the Chopper's arm.
"Look, I'll explain everything from the beginning. Will you sit down and listen for a minute?"
Chopper didn't nod, or reply, so Sanji picked him up and sat him on the couch. He glanced at the empty hallway behind him.
"It's alright, Zoro," he called out. "It's just Chopper."
There was nothing for a while. Then Sanji watched a pair of amber orbs peer around the doorway. He gave the tiger an encouraging nod, and Zoro finally stepped out into the living room, looking as stoic as ever. Sanji sighed and turned back to the gawking Chopper.
"Where do I begin?" he muttered, before deciding to start at the time he went to the shelter and borrowed the scrambler from Usopp.