A/N: Ok, first of all, thank you for all your lovely reviews, I'm glad people actually like this.

And second, Anoni-chan, thank you for your ideas. I had already written this chapter before your review, so it hasn't been added in, but i will happy write it as a bonus chapter at the end or as a one shot, if you like ^.^

And finally, third, I've already started the 4th chapter (Spoiler alert: its going to be all cute and fluffy). For now the plan is to finish this at its 5th, and write extras for any prompts anyone would like to send in for this fic.

Thanks again for your reviews, follows, and favourites. x

Re-edited: 17/11/14


Sanji can't believe his eyes right now. He thought that when he left, all those months ago, that he would never see any of his nakama again. He thought they wouldn't want to see him after the way he left things. But here Zoro is, standing outside his apartment. He doesn't know what to think.

Quickly averting his gaze from the swordsman, he stays silent. Does he hate me for leaving? Why is he even here? Surely Zoro and the others are glad I left, right? How did the shit head even find me?

"Come home."

Snapping his head back to look at Zoro, his eyes widen once more. Did he really just say what I think he said? Or am I just imagining things?

"Come home, Sanji."

Feeling like he's frozen in place, he can't do anything other than stare at the man in front of him. Is this really happening? The moss head really wants me to go back with him? Why? He hears Zoro sigh and watches the swordsman fold his arms.

"If you're not going to say anything, at least let me inside, it's freezing out here."

Only now he notices that the idiot is just wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. What is that idiot marimo thinking? It's the middle of November!


Wordlessly turning around, he walks back into his apartment and leaves the door open.

Zoro watches as the cook walks back into his apartment, still not saying another word. Following after him, he shuts the door, and heads straight for one of the white sofas.

The main area is open plan, and the walls are bare and painted white. There are no personal belongings around to be seen, other than a few books on a bookshelf in the corner. Behind him is a door which he suspects leads to the bathroom and bedroom. Another sofa is opposite where he sits, facing him, with a vacant, glass, coffee table in between them.

Behind the sofa in front of him is the kitchen. To his left are huge glass double doors which lead out to a small balcony. There is no TV in the room, and if it wasn't for the fact that he could see the blonde making warm drinks in the kitchen, he wouldn't have thought anyone had lived here.

The kitchen is the only part of the apartment that he can see which has personal touches to it. Pots and pans are hung up on the wall above the cooker, personalised magnets on the fridge, and a few small potted plants are placed on the windowsill above the sink.

Sanji has been quiet the entire time, and Zoro can't help but think that it was a bad idea to come up here.

Eventually, Sanji makes his way over and hands him a mug of coffee, which he gladly takes. He watches the cook as the man sits down on the sofa opposite him, and sips on a mug of, what he guesses is, hot chocolate.

Uncomfortable silence seems to suffocate the room and he can tell that the cook is not going to start speaking any time soon. Observing the other, Sanji is sitting on the edge of his seat, holding his mug with both hands, and staring intently at the white carpeted floor. The swordsman takes a sip of his coffee, which has been made exactly how he likes it, and places it on the coffee table.

The shitty cook doesn't even shout at him for not using a coaster. Not like he could anyway, as there are none, but still, he is still surprised that Sanji hasn't kicked the shit out of him for it, like he normally would. The idiot only flinched slightly at the noise, and still wouldn't look up at him.

Intently he watches the cook, and tries to think of something to say.


The carpet seems so interesting to him right now. Once again Sanji loses himself in thought of how soft it is under his bare feet, and unconsciously forms patterns on the carpet in his mind.

"How have you been?"

Being startled out of his thoughts once more, he holds his mug away from him on reflex, trying not to spill his hot chocolate on his clothes, but berates himself on the fact that his move could have spilt the mugs contents on his nice, white, clean, carpet.

Thinking back to the question Zoro asked him, he holds the mug closer to him once again, and grips the handle tightly. He doesn't want to answer that. He doesn't feel like speaking at all, and even though this situation feels so awkward and uncomfortable, he decides to stay silent.

"The others are worried about you. They won't admit it, and they won't talk about it either. But I can tell."


The idiot cook still wouldn't say anything and it was really starting to irritate him. As much as he wants to shout at the blonde, or start one of their fights, he knows that he needs to deal with this as delicately as possible.

Seeing Sanji like this again is really worrying him.

"They miss you."

The cook stays silent for a while and when he finally speaks, he keeps his gaze to the floor.

"Did you miss me?"

Sanji talked so quietly, that Zoro almost couldn't make out what he was saying, however he can clearly hear the sadness in the others voice. Should I tell him? How much should I say? Do I tell the shit cook that I love him? His cheeks start to feel warm at this thought and he quickly takes his gaze away from the blonde, looking out through the glass doors instead.

"O-of course I missed you….bastard."

He mentally berates himself. Wow good going Zoro, didn't sound nervous at all. Insulting the shit cook at the end of it was a great idea. Why is it so hard to tell the idiot that I missed him?

Zoro swallows thickly as his cheeks keep getting warmer. He refuses to look at Sanji, and is surprised at how easy his next few words came out. This time, once he starts speaking, for some reason, he just can't stop himself.

"Idiot, of course I missed you, how stupid can you get. Your stupid face and your idiotic eyebrows wouldn't get out of my head. I looked for you almost every day these past few months. I even got Smoker to find you. I pestered him so much about finding you that he blocked my number. As soon as he told me your new address I came straight up here, didn't even tell anyone. Did you really think that none of us would care if you just upped and left with no explanations? Did you think that I wouldn't care? Did you think that you were replaceable or something you shitty cook? Because you're not you idiot, no one could ever replace you. So yeah, I missed your stupid face and those curly eyebrows, I missed your cooking, I missed our fights, I missed hearing you sing at the bar, and when you would hum while cooking,

…..I missed you."

Zoro feels the tension within him fade away after that rant. His cheeks have cooled down, and it felt good to finally get that off his chest. However, he slowly turns back to the cook, only for his cheeks to heat up again at what he sees.

Sanji is looking at him now, with the warmest smile on his face, and his cheeks slightly flushed. He hasn't seen the blonde smile like that in years. His heart flutters at the sight.


Sanji can't believe what he had just heard. The idiot moss missed me! He actually missed me! He found himself smiling halfway through that little rant.

Seeing Zoro smile warmly right back at him makes him even happier. He is grinning like an idiot, but he doesn't care. He takes a few sips of his hot chocolate and feels anxious again as he watches the marimo's smile turn into a frown.

"Why did you leave?"

Sanji sighs. He knew this was coming.

He gently places his mug on the table and looks down at the carpet again. He can't tell Zoro. Yeah, the shit head missed him, but there is nothing more to it than friendship. It's not like the marimo has suddenly fallen in love with him.

Like that could ever happen….

He'd never talked to Zoro about his dark feelings before. He mentioned them to Nami once, but he didn't like voicing those thoughts to his nakama. He reckons he can tell Zoro a little bit though. He deserves some kind of explanation. But there is no way I can tell him that the other reason I left was because of him and Kuina. It wouldn't be fair.

Sighing again, he looks back up at Zoro.

"I lied."


Lied? What is that idiot on about?

"Shit cook, what do you mean you lied?"

"Back when I started working for Shanks again, I lied and said that I was feeling better. I wasn't better at all. I was still as bad as I was before. I had just gotten better at hiding things. I didn't want to burden anyone, or bring you guys down. You all tried so hard to cheer me up, but it never really worked. On the occasional times when it did, I'd go back home and I'd feel like shit again."

Zoro didn't know what to think about this. He wishes he realised back then that the idiot was hiding things. He doubts that he would have been able to help though. He doesn't feel like he could now. He has no idea what to say or do for the blonde, other than listen.

"I left because I'd had enough. It got harder and harder for me to fake being happy around everyone. So I decided to leave so that I could start over with my life. Move on and be happy."

"Did it work?"

"…no. If anything it made it worse."

"Then why didn't you come back?"

"I didn't think anyone would want me back. The longer I left it, the harder it was to come home. I was worried that everyone would hate me for what I did, and I was worried that I would come back to find that everyone was getting on just fine without me. Not that I'd wanted them to still be torn up about it or anything. Not that they even would be….I just- Ugh, I don't' know, it's hard to explain. I don't understand most of it myself."

"Right, well…..let's just forget about it for now and talk about it later, yeah? Got any beer?"

Sanji chuckles at this and Zoro watches the blonde get up and head for the kitchen.

"I might have some in the back of the fridge. Finish that coffee off first though. I don't care if it's cold, you'll drink it or you'll get the shit kicked out of you instead, your choice."

Zoro grins, picks up his mug, and quickly downs the rest of the coffee. It was slightly cold but he didn't care. He was just looking forward to the beer. The cook walks back over with a couple of bottles for them both and hands him his share.

"This is all I've got shit head so don't drink them all at once."

Grunting his thanks to the blonde, he opens his first bottle, and takes a sip. Watching Sanji, once more, the blonde quickly finishes off his hot chocolate before opening his own beer.

"So….you coming home, curly?"

"….yeah."