Author's note: Two chapters in one week? I better be careful, or I'll get you guys spoiled. Haha.
Now where's that silver lining?
Enjoy~
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Chapter 9
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'What the hell...'
Burning.
'Fuck...'
Stabbing.
'Double fuck...'
Pain.
'Shit.. Did I die or something..?'
Swimming on the razor's edge of an inky black void and a cruel awakening, Sanji struggled to lose himself back in the darkness. That blissful numb that had cradled him peacefully was slipping away. Now the ruthless claws of pain were ripping him apart in a savage attempt to welcome him back to reality.
When he felt that burn double during his weak attempt to move away, his teeth gritted tightly as his eyes snapped open.
'Not dead.. Wishing I was now.. Fucking hell..'
It took everything he had not to cry out. He had no idea what had happened, or where he was. He had to make certain he was safe before he could allow himself the luxury of bitching.
A soft bed was under him, which was the first mystery. He recognized the faint scent of perfume on the sheets, which was the second. 'Did I pick up someone?'
If he did, the lady apparently ran him over a few times.
His eyes steadily began to focus, so he soon looked around at his surroundings. He noticed bookshelves and a small bar area. They looked familiar, but his mind was still in a pain glazed haze. When he looked down he blinked when he saw a figure sitting stiffly in a chair at the foot of the bed. A green headed figure with intense dark eyes that instantly locked with his own.
On seeing those blue eyes after what felt like forever, Zoro was suddenly at a loss of what to actually say. "You awake?" He winced mentally at the stupid question. This was going to be harder than he thought.
The blue eyes stared silently for a moment as if the owner was trying to think of how to respond. His too pale lips slowly parted and there was a moment of hesitation before he spoke. "Wh.. Who are you?"
Zoro's eyes widened as his heart seemed to fall straight into his stomach. For a moment he felt as if everything around him was about to fall apart. 'No.. No... This isn't.. He can't..'
"You don't remember?" Zoro finally asked as he desperately attempted to keep his composure.
The blonde stared at him quietly for a long moment before a wide smirk tugged over the cook's face. "Nah. I'm just shittin ya, Marimo."
His jaw literally dropping, Zoro immediately shot to his feet and clenched his hands into tight fists. "You bastard cook! To think I was actually worried!"
"Worried? You were about to shit yourself! Hahaha!" In mid laugh, his back twinged painfully, making him hiss through his teeth. "Fuck fuck fuck... That hurt..."
On seeing the grimace of pain, Zoro quickly went to the bar in the room and took up the glass of water and small paper packet that was awaiting him. He returned to the bed and carefully sat on the edge. There he held the two items in his right hand while holding his left out to the blonde. "Come on. Chopper left you some medicine to take for the pain."
Sanji looked at the offered hand for a moment before he finally took hold of it. It took a bit of effort, but he was soon pulled into a sitting position. However the strain it was putting on his injuries was making him tremble hard. It took everything he had to simply stay upright.
Seeing the pain the simple action was causing, Zoro frowned. "You.. Can lean against me if that will make it easier."
The offer made Sanji pause. He glanced briefly at the swordsman watching him, then lowered his gaze. Without a word he moved close enough to allow himself to lean against the solid frame. He took the medicine packet and the water and downed the contents of both with a faint shudder. "Yuck.. I need to help Chopper make this shit taste better..." he muttered while handing back the glass.
Zoro found himself smiling at the comment as he placed the glass aside. After that he merely allowed the cook to lean against him without making any other attempts at contact. He was amazed that Sanji was allowing him this much. "I know it's a stupid question... But how are you doing?"
"Heh.. That is a stupid question.." Sanji muttered. He tried to focus on something else other than his back, but it was proving too strenuous to continue. "How long have I been out?"
"About a day..." Zoro truly didn't want to bring up anything of the past two days, but he had to ask. "Do you remember what happened?"
A silence settled over them for a few seconds before Sanji lowered his gaze to the sheets that were still tangled around his legs. "Yeah..." His expression fell into a somber frown when he recalled anger that had taken him over. " Zoro... I want to apologize." he finally whispered.
Zoro frowned at the quiet words, but he was more concerned with the way the blond head was bowed. "... Apologize?"
Sanji gave a slight nod. "For what I did. I lost my composure. I shouldn't have gone off like I did.. Especially attacking you from behind... And when you were down.. That was disgraceful of me, and for that I'm sorry."
"Hey... You were exhausted, hurting, and angry. Anyone would have snapped after going through that." Zoro attempted to carefully wrap his arm around the bandaged shoulders, but he stopped when the thin body tensed at the action. At first he thought perhaps he had brushed against part of the extensive wound, but his eyes caught on the frown that was tugging down the pale lips. "You're still angry with me."
Those lips tightened into a thin line, but Sanji eventually gave another nod. "I am... But I'm calmer now, so you shouldn't concern yourself."
Not liking how that sounded too close to a dismissal, Zoro wrapped his arm around the thin shoulders despite the tension. He knew he was pressing his luck, but he had to start fixing this. So after a brief moment to steel himself, he moved to whisper into a pale ear. "Just listen... I know where I went wrong, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have attempted getting closer to you by using feelings that were based on the wrong things. I shouldn't have started treating you differently, and I shouldn't have continued threatening to tell the others about what happened." He held on a bit tighter and allowed his eyes to close as he came to the heart of the problem. "And.. I'm sorry that I haven't been a true nakama to you. No matter what stupid things I've done, or will do.. Just know that I do care about you."
He was being honest. That much Sanji could tell. However heartfelt words couldn't hack away the bitter feelings that were still lingering around him. "I'm afraid a simple apology won't fix this, Marimo. It won't fix it for either side. The rift between us has just gotten too wide. We've hurt one another and been at odds for too long. Trying to act otherwise is just going to be cruel to both of us."
It hurt, but Zoro knew the blonde was right. His expression fell, but he hid it against the soft hair so close to his face. "I understand... But... Luffy doesn't want us to hate one another. We're still nakama, so we have to trust one another..." He held on a bit tighter as he braced himself. "At least tell me you still trust me."
Another silence fell over them. When it seemed to linger, Zoro felt a chill trying to grip over his heart. Had he lost everything?
Sanji kept his eyes locked on the sheet as he attempted to figure that out for himself. His mind wandered to the feel of that warm arm gently around his shoulders and the breaths that stirred his hair. "Would.. I let you this close if I didn't trust you?" A bitter sweet smile curled his lips as he allowed himself to lean further into the embrace. "You're an idiot.. But you're still a good man, Zoro. I know your shit brained self didn't do this on purpose."
Zoro had to restrain the relieved sigh that wanted to escape, so settled for hiding his smirk against the golden hair. "I'm glad to hear you say that. Will you let me try to fix this?"
"... If it's that important to you." Sanji pulled away in order to look into the swordsman's eyes. After a moment a smirk suddenly formed on his face. "But you're gonna have to jump some serious hoops to get off my shit list."
"Hm.. I like a challenge anyway." Zoro mused as he carefully brushed away the blonde bangs from the pale face. He then looked into the blue eyes watching him and gently cupped the cook's cheek. "I do care." he whispered once more.
His smirk softening into a barely there smile, Sanji leaned into the touch. "I know." His eyes suddenly felt heavy as that numbness tried to take hold of him again. "Heh.. Chopper gave me the good shit.. Gonna be out in a minute.."
On hearing that, Zoro pulled his companion to his chest and carefully held him there. "Go ahead. I'll look after you."
The action was unexpected, but Sanji still rested his head on the broad shoulder. Once he felt the warm embrace wrap around him, he allowed his eyes to finally slid shut. "Hm.. Stupid Marimo.. Told you about that falling for your rival shit."
Zoro hummed thoughtfully and lightly nuzzled the blonde hair. "I suppose I'm just a glutton for punishment. Rest now."
Barely a second passed before he felt the thin body go limp against him. The moment he was out, Zoro finally let out the deep breath he had been holding. Everything had gone a million times better than he had expected, but he still felt like he had failed. Even though he had the blonde in his arms, he still felt like Sanji was out of his reach.
'I shouldn't expect anything. It's a wonder he's allowing this.' Zoro reminded himself.
He had to make due with what he had. He had to prove that this time the feelings were legit.
At that moment he heard footsteps heading towards the stairs of the girls' cabin they were in. Zoro wasn't certain if Sanji wanted anyone to know about the depth of this situation, but he honestly didn't care who knew. As they drew closer to the open doorway at the top if the stairs, Zoro merely held the blonde to him tighter and buried his face against the soft hair. He wasn't going to let go for anyone.
"... Zoro..?"
On hearing the voice, Zoro glanced up to see his captain descending the stairs with a confused look on his face. "Luffy." he acknowledged. He wasn't even going to try coming up with an explanation.
Luffy stopped at the base of the stairs and tried to understand what he was seeing. His swordsman was holding his injured cook in a tender embrace as the blonde slept peacefully. Zoro's posture was clearly protective, and from the faint smile that curved Sanji's lips, the closeness was consensual.
After a moment, Luffy was smiling brightly. "I get the feeling that things are better." he stated instead asking while crossing the space between them.
A slight smirk twitched at Zoro's lips as he focused on the form in his arms. "A little. I'm no where close to fixing this, but we're still nakama."
Stopping in front of the two on the bed, Luffy hummed quietly and took a look at the gentle expression that was on the pale face. "Hm... It looks like he wants to forgive you. You just have to meet on equal ground. Things will fix themselves eventually." He placed his hand on Zoro's shoulder and grinned at the dark eyes that met him. "You better take care of my cook, Zoro. I'm gonna die if I keep having to eat Nami's cooking."
A snort of amusement left the swordsman as he nodded. "I will."
"Yosh. Everything's gonna be fine." Patting the broad shoulder, Luffy turned away and headed back for the stairs.
As Zoro watched the captain leave, he couldn't help but feel as if things would be better. That groundless confidence always had a habit of making things seem a bit brighter. "If Luffy's confident, I should be as well." He mused to himself as he gently petted back the golden hair.
When he did Sanji lightly shifted in his grasp and gave a soft mumble. "Mm... One hoop down..."
Hearing the words made Zoro pause. It seemed as if Sanji was still asleep, but he had a feeling that the cook was still aware of what was going on around him. Maybe he already proved something?
'That's it.. I didn't attempt to hide this from Luffy... I didn't make any excuses for being this close...'
Understanding that he had just taken the first step in proving this was real, Zoro felt his confidence raise another notch.
Things were going to be better.
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TBC
Ah, there it is.
Later~