So, this takes place two days after the last chapter... One Piece is still not mine! And thank you all for your reviews and your support!
Sanji's life was in pieces.
Small, grey pieces.
Actually his life wasn't in pieces, it was in ash.
The "Baratie" had caught on fire and now there was nothing left - nothing but ashes. The ashes fell from the sky like snowflakes; they covered Sanji in a grey dust. He stood in the parking lot before the "Baratie", trying to understand. Where once had been the beautiful building that was called the "Baratie", nothing was left but charred chunks of wood.
Sanji couldn't really process that everything was gone. His work, his home, his life – everything had just vanished.
He couldn't. This had to be a bad dream, the firefighters, the police, the ambulance, and the ashes falling from the sky covering everything in a thin film of what was left of his life.
Yeah, his own life. He was still breathing, he was still alive. That was about it. That was all he got left. He knew he should be lucky that he was alive, but right now he cursed his existence.
He had lived as long as he could remember in the "Baratie, had his own two-room apartment above the restaurant, he had worked there, in his assigned hours and even in his free time…
Zeff…
They brought Zeff in a hospital, they said something about smoke poisoning… But the medics didn't look really positive when he'd asked what his chances were… They had shaken their heads and left with sirens…
He had been lucky, he had been in a bar, drinking all night because he wanted to think about the green-haired bastard… When he'd stumbled home he'd seen the fire, it had been fucking huge, burning everything what meant something to him…
He wished he would wake up, but he'd already slapped his face twice – and the tired firefighters were still there, investigating and analyzing the gutted remains, the police was still there, asking witnesses, the medics were treating neighbors that inhaled too much smoke… And above this surreal scene was slowly rising the sun, not bothering that Sanji's life would never be as it was before: Carefree and happy.
He smoked his last cigarette right now, getting slightly sick at the sight of the small flame that came out of his lighter. He couldn't cry because crying would make it real. He slightly wondered what Nami, Robin, Kaya, Vivi, Kaku and Law were doing because usually his friends were the first one's that somehow got the news of something happening and showing up out of nowhere to comfort him… But if he thought about it, he didn't see them that often the last week, it seemed everybody was busy with their own crap…
Well, Sanji was actually relieved that his friends weren't here to witness his lowest point in his life. He felt like breaking down, like crying, he wanted to scream, he wanted to know if Zeff was alright, he wanted to know who or what was responsible for this fire…
But he couldn't move. He stood in the same spot he had been standing in for hours, and he could just watch the ashes fall from the sky. The medics wanted to treat him, they said he got a shock, but when they wanted to move him, he started to scream and to kick and he scared the medics away.
The sun rose slowly and everything started glowing in the soft light. Sanji hated it. He hated fucking fire and the fucking sun and fucking glowing things, like the two obscenely huge cigars hanging out of the mouth of a bulky police officer that walked over to his spot.
"Hey brat, you alright there?" The officer asked.
"Leave."
"Listen, kiddo, that ain't an option. You are Sanji, right? The old geezer Zeff told me 'bout you. Said that you were probably the cheekiest brat he'd ever met, but at the same time probably the most talented. He wouldn't want you to suffer like you do now. Come with me to the station, I need your report. And after we're done there we can go and visit the old geezer in the hospital."
"You don't know shit about Zeff!"
"Haha, yeah, I do. I'm pretty sure I knew him even before you were even born. So come on, brat, I'm pretty sure I've got a carton of Marlboros somewhere in my desk, with the rate you smoke I'm surprised you didn't run out yet-"
"This is my last one. Fine. I'll go."
"I'm Smoker, by the way."
"No fancy title? You policemen just love to show off with your retarded ranks and titles."
The grey-haired men chuckled deeply. "You know, damn brat, I am that good. I don't need a fucking title for respect. So it's Smoker. Come on, my car's parked over there."
Sanji followed Smoker to a police car that looked pretty beaten up. "That piece of shit is your car?"
"This night I already had something else to do besides this arson investigation."
"ARSON?"
"Damn, kiddo, get in the car, I'll tell you what I know on the way to the station."
The whole car ride to the police station Sanji listened disbelieving what Smoker told him. Why would somebody do this to the beautiful "Baratie"? He burnt to know who would do this – and then he would find them and beat the shit out of those fuckers; he would set their homes on fire!
At the station Sanji got a new pack of cigarettes and he told Smoker everything he knew – why he'd been the one to call the firefighters (because he came home shitfaced from a bar) and if he knew if somebody hold a grudge against Zeff, the restaurant or himself. He didn't know.
It was already dusk when Smoker and some other officers stopped the questioning. Apparently he was the prime witness and he knew most of Zeff's friends and personal life. If he didn't knew – nobody would know.
Smoker smoked probably his hundredth cigar and the room they sat in was basically a huge cloud of smoke, since Smoker and Sanji both never stopped smoking. Finally Smoker sighed and buried his face in his hands.
"Thanks for your cooperation, Sanji. Based on what you told us and what we already know I'm pretty positive it was arson. Have you ever heard of someone named Don Krieg?"
"Nah, I don't think so. Why?"
"Try to think hard, did Zeff ever mention Don Krieg? Or the Krieg-Gang?"
"Wait, the name sounds familiar-"
"Yeah, I don't know how much Zeff trusted you with his past; the days before he'd opened the "Baratie"."
"I don't really know what you're hinting about-"
"That's what I thought. Before he settled down he used to run in a gang – and he wasn't just a simple member, he was the leader. He caused some serious havoc back in his days; I wasn't even involved with the police back then… One day he'd cut all the ties to his past out of the blue and became the owner of the "Baratie". Suddenly he was back on the right side of the law and had a little kid he took care off – you. Well, back when he was involved with all kinds of crimes, dealing and shit, he must have stepped on the toes of Don Krieg. At least this is my best guess. Krieg is one of the last remains of the old days, and now he had his sweet little revenge, when no one would suspect it any more."
"What the FUCK? So you're telling me that this Don Krieg dude just burnt down the "Baratie" because of shit that happened over twenty years ago?"
"Basically."
"Are you sure about Don Krieg?"
"I'm positive. I don't wanna tell you why I know what I know, but since this is an arson case; Don Krieg is the only one who is capable of this shit."
"Don Krieg, was the name?"
"Listen, kiddo, I didn't tell you about my suspicions so you'd get all out of your mind and so you'd try to bring down Krieg on your own. Krieg is one if the bigger fishes out there. We'd known about him for over thirty years and we still didn't catch him. Brat, I told you because I like you and I owe the old Zeff one. So you got a name you can curse."
"Thanks, but it's like night again. This took way to long. Can we please leave now and visit Zeff at the hospital? Maybe he can tell you more about the Krieg-affair-" Sanji lost his words. Suddenly Smokers expression changed from professional and concerned to agonized.
"Sanji, I'm so sorry. I didn't tell you earlier because you wouldn't cooperate as smooth as you did. But Zeff didn't make it."
Sanji felt numb, just numb.
"What do you mean?" But he already knew what that meant. Zeff had died.
He saw how Smoker's mouth still moving but he couldn't make out the words. He heard a high pitched sound in his ears, he saw the office blurring – he needed to get out of here.
He stumbled out of the office, out of the police station, stumbled down the streets, he didn't know where he was going…
Numb.
Zeff.
Fuck, Zeff. He'd been his father, the family he'd never have, he'd give him a perspective, his life, his friends, his skills, his wealth – all because of Zeff.
And now he wasn't there anymore. Gone, Zeff was just gone. Gone, and he'd never return. Gone, gone, gone, GONE!
His mind broke down. There was so much pain in his head, why was his head hurting so much? Without Zeff his life was worthless, without Zeff he was nothing – what was the loss of the "Baratie" compared to the loss of Zeff?
He stumbled through empty streets, he didn't care, he wanted to forget, he wanted to destroy, he wanted to feel pain somewhere else than in his mind, he wanted this to be not real…
He wanted to be with Zeff, it was unfair that Zeff got to leave this earth together with his beloved restaurant and that Sanji was left behind, nothing left but ashes…
He wanted to find Krieg and beat the shit out of him, he wanted to burn this man alive, he wanted to see his brains splattered on the pavement…
He wanted to get beaten, to feel a different kind of pain; he wanted to get raped, to feel anything than this all-consuming numbness…
He let his feet carry him out in the night, waiting for fate to decide about his future.
Zoro sat on his usual barstool in the "Arabasta" and tried to forget.
Fuck, why was Sanji the only thing he could think about?
Luffy was with him, he was eating and telling Zoro something about tangerines and oranges and some girl - usually Zoro would be out of his mind that Luffy showed interest in a girl, but he didn't care; not today. He watched Luffy eat, but didn't listen to his words. But still, there was this foreign glow in Luffy's eyes…
Zoro let his mind wander; he played every second of their encounters in his head again, that fucking hot blow job in the parking lot, their intense fights, and their intense kisses. Why the fuck did Sanji leave that night?
He ordered another drink. He was lucky that it was only Luffy with him and not Usopp or Franky, those two were getting way to insightful over the last weeks. Luffy seemed all fed up in his own thoughts about oranges or whatever, Zoro doubted it was about a girl – he was talking about Luffy after all. He probably had just some really tasty orange ice or whatever for lunch today.
Zoro was happy that Luffy left him alone just drinking and being mad. He had tried to get a hold of Sanji; he'd asked the manager of the "Ring" if he had some information, he had asked Usopp or Ace, they both knew a ton of people – but nothing. His only hopes were to run into Sanji at the "Arabasta" or at the "Ring" again. But if Sanji avoided him on purpose, he would most likely not show up in those places. But there was still the smallest chance - and Zoro wanted to get at least a little bit of distraction. He scanned the crowd for blondes with curly eyebrows and with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth – but nothing.
He thought about actually paying some blonde dude to go upstairs and use one of the guestrooms together, but Zoro knew as long as it wasn't Sanji it wasn't good enough for him.
He thought about the possibility that he might be in love with Sanji – ridiculous, only after three encounters, and one was just a look through a room… Zoro knew nothing about the blonde; he knew how he smelled and looked and tasted, he knew he was rather rich, smoked and drove a blue Mercedes. That was it – oh, and Sanji was the most awesome fighter he ever fought with. He loved that Sanji only fought with his feet, so unique… Wait, did he just think he loved it? Fuck, he didn't want to have feelings for this man, this man did nothing but make him feel miserable…
Zoro downed the rest of what was left in his glass and got up. He felt like he needed fresh air.
"Lu, I'm getting some fresh air."
"Mmmh."
Zoro left the club through the same side entrance he left the club with the certain blonde that night. Fuck, he couldn't ban that night from his mind, fuck!
Outside he drew in some deep breaths, he needed to cool his head off, no way in hell he was falling for a man he only met…
He heard some man shout and yell. He shrugged. Probably some shitheads getting in a fight. Yeah, a fight, sounded like a fucking awesome idea…
He cracked his knuckles and jogged over to the scene. A bunch of men were currently kicking the shit out of a helpless bundle on the floor. Zoro only saw a glimpse of blond hair – something inside him broke. Five bulky men against a defenseless one already on the ground was not fair. No shit, Zoro didn't hold his morals really high, but this was not acceptable. He didn't think twice, he let his instincts act and the attackers were on the ground in less than a minute. They were crawling away, cursing, or not moving at all.
Zoro crouched down and turned their victim around.
The man lying on the pavement covered in dirt and blood was Sanji. Unmistakable, the curly eyebrow, his hair, his eyes, the way his features were shaped… Zoro tried to find the pulse, he panicked for a second when he couldn't find it, shit, fuck, Sanji - relief flooded him when he finally found his pulse.
Sanji opened his eyes, probably wondering why the beating suddenly stopped. His eyes met Zoro's.
"You fucker! You shithead! You damn bastard! What the fuck are you doing?"
Sanji sat up and screamed at Zoro. He was taken aback. What the fuck?
"What the fuck is wrong with you, curly-brow? I just saved you-"
"Save me? You fucking moss brain, I could've easily defended myself, I didn't want to!"
"Sanji, are you alright?" Zoro was now seriously worried.
"Am I alright? Of course not, you shithead, I wanted them to beat me, I provoked them so they would beat the shit out of me – no they are gone, so could you please finish what they started?"
"What?"
"Are you slow or something? Beat. The. Fucking. Shit. Out. Of. Me."
"Sanji, what happened, come on, I'll get you somewhere where-" Zoro was kicked in the stomach, hard.
"FUCK YOU!" Sanji screamed.
Zoro took a closer look. Sanji seemed really out of it, beneath the blood and the dirt he discovered tear tracks; and what was that grey stuff in his hair and on his clothes? Ash? Sanji needed help right now that was sure. He couldn't leave him here, in this parking lot, not in this stage where he would get raped or whatever shit happened out here. He tried to help Sanji to his feet, but he wasn't cooperating.
"Come on, Sanji. I'll get you somewhere save." He just picked the lean figure up and threw him over his shoulder. Sanji was fighting back, but Zoro could tell that the earlier beating affected him badly.
"Let go." Sanji sobbed on his back.
"No."
"Beat me."
"No."
"Fight me."
"Not right now."
"Hurt me."
"No."
"Rape me."
What the fuck! What was wrong with Sanji? "NO! Now shut up."
Sanji bit his shoulder. He winced but he wouldn't let go of Sanji. They were almost down the road; he could already see the gates of the Galleya-Shipyard. He snuck in the yard and entered the "Sunny" without that someone noticed him carrying an almost unconscious blonde man on his shoulder, a man covered in blood and dirt, asking for rape. That would definitely raise some inconvenient questions.
He allowed himself a shaky breath when he finally closed and locked the door to his room behind them. He dropped Sanji on his bed and tried to figure out what to do next.
Sanji laid on his bed, staring expressionless at the ceiling. Suddenly he turned his head around and faced Zoro. "So you're gonna rape me now?"
"Sanji, rape is not something you should make fun about. This is serious. I would never take you against your will, never, you understand?"
Sanji just nodded and faced the ceiling again. Zoro saw that Sanji really needed a shower, or even better: a hot bath. He wanted to draw Sanji a bath, but he was afraid what Sanji might do if he left him alone in his room.
"Don't leave the bed."
Sanji kept on staring at the ceiling.
Zoro rushed in the bathroom and filled the bathtub with hot water. He lifted Sanji from his bed and started to undress him. His clothes were pretty much ruined. He stripped Sanji naked and put him in the bathtub. Sanji was passive and didn't even acknowledge that he was soaking in a bathtub right now.
Zoro worried about Sanji's state of mind. He needed Sanji to show him some kind of reaction.
"Oi, curly-brow, you like your bath?"
No reaction. Fuck this; this bath looked way to inviting. Before he could think any farther he dropped his clothes and joined Sanji in the bathtub. He knew he was taking advantage of the vulnerable stage Sanji was in right now, but it felt so damn good to have Sanji's back lean against his torso. He felt his ass sitting on his groin, he felt their legs tangle; it felt so damn right.
For a moment he was scared that Sanji might trash and leave the tub, or do nothing at all and just stay in that passive state of mind, but to his relief Sanji snuggled closer and buried his head in Zoro's neck. Zoro sighed. He put his arms around the lean torso of Sanji and placed a light kiss on Sanji's head.
This was heaven.
He couldn't believe his luck; he was soaking in a bathtub, together with the man that haunted his hottest dreams, naked.
He drew Sanji a little closer.
"Will you tell me what is wrong?" Zoro asked calmly.
Sanji turned his head and stared into Zoro's deep grey eyes. Gently he raised his hand and swiped some blood from Sanji's face. Sanji closed his eyes and laid his head back on Zoro's shoulder.
"I am a cook, actually a chef. That's what I do, and that's all I want to do, all I ever wanted to do." Sanji started. "I work at a restaurant called the "Baratie". I don't only work there, I live at it. The "Baratie" is my home."
Sanji stopped for a moment. "I wanted to say: Was my home. It caught on fire last night. Nothing is left…"
Sanji kept on explaining every single detail what had happened to the "Baratie", what Zeff had meant to him, that his entire existence had been extinguished. He explained what Smoker told him, he explained his anger and his fear, his grief and his despair.
The water was getting cold when Sanji finally stopped talking, but Zoro didn't want to move, he didn't want to destroy their moment, their moment of trust. Zoro closed his arms around Sanji and murmured in his hair: "I'm sorry. Sorry for everything you had to endure."
Sanji nodded faintly.
Zoro felt Sanji slightly shaking, he didn't know if he was cold or crying, but he figured the later. He added some fresh hot water to the tub and started massaging Sanji's shoulders.
"You can stay here, you know. Nobody will mind, you can have my bed and just let some time pass, figure out what to do next..."
"Thanks. I'll think 'bout it."
After a while of silent massaging Sanji asked: "Distract me?"
"As long as it doesn't involve rape or beatings, sure-"
"You shithead, I'm vulnerable right now, and you hold those things against me I've said at my lowest point-"
"Haha, see, you got distracted."
"Fucking moss-brain."
"Uhm, what I always wanted to ask you..." Zoro trailed off and smirked.
"Spit it out, shithead!"
"When was your last HIV-test?"
"WHAT? Why? Why would I need one? Do you think I'm a sex craved animal like you? I've only slept with two girls in my entire life, and I'm a hundred percent sure that they were clean, I can't believed you asked such a thing-"
"So you only had sex with two girls in your entire life?" Zoro chuckled.
"What is so damn funny about it? Did you think I was a slut – oh, you probably did since I asked you that night so bluntly about that blow job." Sanji blushed madly. "I think I owe you an explanation there."
"You ain't no slut, I knew this from the beginning, you were just so damn inexperienced, it was cute-"
"I'm not INEXPERIENCED!"
"I got my last HIV-test last week. Negative, before you ask."
"Why the fuck are you telling me this?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Zoro laughed. Before Sanji would get really mad and before his raging erection and his lust clouded brain would start something – seriously, being naked in a tub with the hottest man he'd ever seen – fuck, he was lucky he had at least some self-control left…
"I got you distracted. Now get up, the water is really getting cold."
They got up and Zoro handed Sanji a towel, he gave him a pair of sweatpants that were way too big for Sanji's lean hips and grabbed a pair for himself. He hoped his erection wouldn't show too bad in those loose pants.
Before Sanji got back in his lethargic stage he grabbed him and put him in his bed. Zoro joined him without a second thought.
He dimmed the light and listened to Sanji's breathing. It somehow calmed him to hear this sound; he just wished the circumstances that lead to having Sanji in his bed were different. He almost felt the grief in Sanji's heart as if it was his own.
"Good night, Sanji."
"Good night, Zoro."
He wished he could reach out and just hug Sanji, draw him close, feel his steady heartbeat against his chest. He longed for the other man, who was only a couple inches away. He could just cross the distance and touch him - but he didn't want to scare him away, he didn't want to make their situation more awkward than it already was. Zoro already felt like he had crossed a line with their shared bath.
So he tried to be satisfied with the steady breathing and the heat Sanji was radiating. Suddenly Sanji shifted and he felt a warm hand touching his bare chest.
Zoro didn't need more for an invitation and leapt over Sanji, drew him close, pressed his body against his and tangled their legs together. He held Sanji as close as possible when they both fell asleep.