REWRITTEN!
AN: It's finally Sunday again and THIS TIME I'm sending it out in the right time again^^ Thanks for reading and thank you all so much for all your lovely reviews ^o^
And Oh! Not to forget! Because I've got SO many reviews, over 100! I'll give review number 100 a gift! A One-shot of whatever she wishes it to be about…
And review number 100 iiis; GRACE121! You were review-writer number 100, and therefore I will write you a one-shot, and it can be of whatever you wish (inside of the One Piece universe, of course ^^), what do you wish it to be about? What should happen? You tell me and I'll write it to you^^
The same will go for the person who will become review number 200! Yay! I hope I'll get so many! ^o^
Answers on reviews from chapter thirteen:
TDI and One Piece lovur : M'sorry, can't be all perfect everytime, ne? –smiling-^o^ And this time it's up on time! Glad that you liked the chapter!
Jin-chi: -smiling all over my face- I promise you that fluffynes like this will happen again… and then back to the horror… not only the in his mind… but the REAL horror ^o^
Daschel: You're always so nice XD And yes, Sanji is too pretty for his own good^^ that's true… he's just have to be happy for that I'M not in this story –laughing out loud- thanks for your understanding ^^ and I promise there will be more Sanji-love!
Dont-stop-believing: -laughing out loud and slaps over knee- Hahahaha! Oh god I love you and your jajajaja XDD And yes, lovely ending of a chapter, no? –Shishishi!
Mish1: -evil smirk- yes I know~! Fufufufu~!
grace121: Well, one can never know, ne? Fufufu! I AM being evil now, and you know what? I looove it –laughs out loud-
Zoro: Okay that was a creepy laugh –brrr!
silentscreamer666: Shishishi! You're not the first nor do I think that you'll be the last to say, that I have written a really MEAN ending on this chapter… I'm glad that I'm not the reader, because then I think I would have kicked the writer (kicked myself, yeah, that would have looked nice XD) But I don't stop here, of being mean! Shishishi!
zoroVsanji: Hmm, do I have it my hear? Ummmm-nope! –evil laugh- sorry little frrriend, but you have to wait tilll sssunda-ha-hay! Bwuahaha!
Sanji: -steps back- she IS actually getting even scarier like that!
Usopp: Man, to have YOU to admit that, then there must be something about it!
Luffy: Huh? Was someone talking about a meatfeast?
Nille: yup! From one of our dearest readers; Francesca-chan! Let's have a partyyy!
Luffy: -raise arms in the air- SANJIII! MEEEAAAT-FEEEAAAST!
Sanji: -sigh- this going to be one hell of a party.
Usopp: you don't sound happy,
Sanji: No, because I'M the one COOKING it ALL!
Usopp:…oh, I see…
ano~miss: Zoro and Nami never had been together, it was just a cover up, so Sanji would stay away from Nami, Zoro told him this, if he got it, well… let's just say that he took it pretty well, after all that there had happened to him ^^ If she has feelings for him? No, don't think so… if I said 'yes' she would just kill me ^^; And YUP! I just HAD to put a cliffhanger like that! –biiig smile- And MAAAAAN! I loooove you! Like them! and Nami does as well XD
PiratesLife4Me02: Ah, s'okay, I won't kill you… yet –evil smirk- na, the thing is that you like my story, and THAT, I'm really glad to hear –big smile- Oh, you have a teasing computer as well? Shishishi! ^^ and nope! I'm not freaked out… I'm only weird! XDD
Yukiim : Thanks! *^o^* and this time I promise to be out on time ^o^
Pisaj-Elf: Wow! Did I… really get THAT many? … -speechless …wow… okay, I think I'll give review number 100 a gift; I'll write a one-shot after her wish^^ and the same goes for review number 200 ^o^, and if you give me your e-mail, I'll write one for you as well, for giving me the good news –big smile- I'm in a good mood today! Shishishi! And you can wish whatever it should be about, honestly, that'll be MY gift to YOU! XD
-Someone- :
ACTUALLY Zoro ARE about four months older than Sanji. In episode 102, the incident in Alabasta, (were Luffy goes crazy and Zoro and Chopper have to 'cool' him down again) In 8 minutes in the episode, Chopper does ask if that Zoro is the oldest in the gang. So actually, Zoro's a year older than Sanji for about four month… uhm, if you understand what I mean ^o^; but anyway, I'm glad that you like the story.
A big thanks to Jessica (Cloud-Ima) who's been beta-reading this chapter!
I've got great friends, that's for sure, and one day I'll pay it back to you…
I promise!
I owe you a lot!
Please enjoy! ~^o^~
Taste of bittersweet Disaster
-A One Piece fan fiction
By Crystalbluefox
Everything went so well,
And then I couldn't keep my hands from you.
Now I've ruined the only chance
To have a real friendship with you…
If I just had stayed dead!
14. Chapter
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
That Thing you're feeling…
Can I kill it now?
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Drip… drip… drip… drip…drip…
The air felt heavy and warm. Time felt as if it stopped and the noises the seas made sounded like they were disappearing, leaving a single swordsman in the world of silence. Zoro gasped for air heavily and swallowed to moisten his dry throat… but the blood collecting in his mouth stopped him from even breathing. He coughed and spat the crimson stuff out of his mouth. Damn shit! Not what he had planned for today. He tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword that was stuck in the stomach of the ex-marine. He looked up into his eyes and watched the life slowly draining out of the man. This was almost a competition of who would first die, who would let go at first. His head was spinning, exhaustion were slowly taking over him, together with the feeling of pain growing in his chest, where blood ran from and dripped down onto the deck… Franky would get pissed at him if the blood would stain the deck.
Sanji starred in uttermost horror at the scene before him; to hell with the fact that he was still half naked and was bleeding, It wasn't near as bad as the damn swordsman's, who just had jumped in front of a bullet. He clenched his fists and swallowed. He could still feel the little bag of white powder hiding in his trembling fist. It was his fault, it was that damn drug's fault, if he hadn't taken it, none of this would have happened, he would have been more alert, and not laying here and watching the damn swordsman bleeding to death before him. Sure he had bled a lot before, the idiot sometimes just ran right into the battle and almost got himself killed more than once, one could almost think of him for being suicidal the amount of times he did it. But not this much, he had never seen the swordsman bleed this much in a fight, not since Thriller Bark, and it kept increasing in a pool before the swordsman.
"Where the hell did it hit you?!" he suddenly blurted out as his eye flickered around the green haired teen's back, searching after the spot. "Zoro! Where the hell did it hit you?" Said person answered him with another coughing fit followed with another huge amount of blood being thrown up. "ZORO?!"
Zoro turned his head slightly to look back at the blond, who sat, panting, eye wide open as he stared horrified back at him. Che! That idiot looked like he just had seen a ghost. "Oliver?" the swordsman managed to say through the mass of blood in his mouth. He gritted his teeth and grabbed even tighter around the sword's hilt… it was the only thing that would keep him from falling. He presumed that the kid was listening and spoke again. "Get Aho-cook away from here…" he gasped "NOW!" and coughed again. If he was to die, he didn't want the blond to see him dying… but damn hell, he wasn't going to die! Not that easily! That would be a damaging blow to his reputation if he died just because he was shot by one fucking bullet!
Oliver nodded, even though he knew that the first mate couldn't see him and scrambled up onto his feet. The ex-marine before him had become silence after the wolf had bitten, ripped and scratched him to the point where he was all bloody… but he didn't know if he was dead or still alive… only that the man was completely silence as the wolf sitting on top of him lifted its bloody head and howled sadly up into the darkening sky. He ran towards the half naked chef and pressed the straw hat further on his head and concentrated.
'Doppelgangers!'
Sanji didn't notice that there was more than one Oliver to grab his arms and legs. He didn't hear what was being said around him… the only thing he noticed was that he couldn't hear his own voice, even though he knew he was screaming the swordsman's name. Damn! The soon-to-be-greatest-swordsman, the strongest crewmember on this ship right after Luffy, couldn't, shouldn't die this easily. Not like this!
Zoro did one thing that Sanji never had seen him do ever before… at least not towards him…
Zoro smiled!
-TOBD- TOBD- TOBD—
The lonely wolf kept crying up into the darkening sky that soon would pull its cover of night over the land and sea. Then it stopped and looked down at the still form underneath its paws. The ex-marine looked horrified back up at him, not daring to move a muscle. He was in bad shape, but at least not dead, another thing indicating he was alive, was the strong smell of urinate. The oh-so-fearful bounty hunter had pissed in his own pants. Paws spread to each side of the man's body and soon, crackled into a form of a human's hands. The ex-marine stared up into the changing face above him; fur on the wolf's head soon grew longer and turned into light blond bangs, the nose grew smaller and not long time after he looked into the eyes of a young and man's face, who stared with an empty expression back down at him. The young blond man leaned down to his one ear and growled in a whisper. "Piss off!"
As soon as the blond stood up, the ex-marine had scrambled away to the railing and jumped into the dark waters. The young blond stood in silence and looked around on the deck. Two forms stood almost leaning up against each other; the one smelled strongly of death, the other almost the same. He stepped up to them and with sorrow looked at the gasping swordsman. His body was shaking, threatening to give up and let him fall. He leaned closer to him and saw that haunted look in his eyes, there soon would turn all glassy and emotionless… like it always did. He hated to look into a dying man's eyes.
"He's dead, Zoro," the naked man whispered to him. Said teen looked slowly up at him with trembling movements. He choked out a chuckle as he fought to get enough air to speak.
"Never thought… you were a wolf… Nicki…!" Nicki pulled a small smile and 'hmphf-ed' as he stared up into the sky, like he was looking for something. Soon he heard a thump as the swordsman's legs had given in and let him fall to his knees, the dead bounty hunter still leaning up against him. Zoro gasped more than before. It was hard to breathe with all that blood still in his mouth and lungs.
"Never thought you would last this long," the blond man said, half joking. He knew Zoro didn't appreciate all that sad talk, and thank God that the first mate found it funny as well and forced out another chuckle.
"I won't die… that easily… I won't… die," he swallowed hard and spat out another amount of blood. It almost felt like he was slowly drowning in his own blood. "S-Sanji…?"
"He's okay, but he's afraid, sad, and angry,"
"You can hear that?" Nicki nodded slowly.
"Yes, but weakly. I can hear their voices in the infirmary, but not what they're saying… Oliver is having a hard time keeping him inside." Zoro chuckled, pain running through his chest.
"He's… getting better then?" Nicki nodded and Zoro smiled. He pushed the body away from him, tired of smelling the scent of death. As soon as he did, his sword clattered to the ground. Zoro swayed a little and not long after, his body couldn't hold him up any longer and let him fall onto the deck. He hissed and spat another huge amount of blood out. "Hey, wolf-boy," Zoro half joked, even though he could swear that his voice was filled with sadness as he suppressed the urge to cry. The blond looked down at him from the corner of his eye. "I don't want to die…!"
"I know," Nicki stated with a deep sigh, then turned fully around to look at the dying swordsman with a smile. "But she's here now. She will help you!" Zoro never managed to open his mouth to ask who and how before the sound of flapping wings reached his ears; something white came into his vision for a moment and soon disappeared. Funny enough, he couldn't even hear himself breathing any more… he tried to move his hand, but not even a finger would follow his command. Was he… already dead?
A light shone above him, a weak light. Snow white feathers were carried away with the wind; he no longer could feel. Everything felt so cold and empty. 'Sanji…' was the only thing he could think of before darkness slowly overtook his vision. 'Sorry to die like this …' The darkness closed in on him. 'Was I really not any stronger than this?'
'You want to die?' a female voice suddenly spoke in the darkness.
'No…' he answered at once.
'Will you let me help you?'
'…yes…'
'Then grab my hand…!'
'Which hand? I don't, see any hands…'
'Right before you…'
'I'm falling…'
'Grab my hand, Roronoa Zoro…!' that voice said… 'and open your eyes!'
He did, but his vision blurred in the sharp light. He blinked as he saw a girl before him. Short bangs, dark-blue hair, a white shirt that was too big for her to wear, and dark shorts. He blinked again.
'K…Kuina…?' The girl smiled.
'It's too early Roronoa Zoro… you haven't even fulfilled your dreams…!'
'Don't you mean "dream"?' Kuina shook her head.
'No, "dreams"!' she looked up. 'They're calling for you, Zoro-kun, can't you hear them?'
'No.'
'Then listen!' He listened… but he heard nothing. He was about to say something when he suddenly heard the same words again as before. …grab my hand…! 'Grab her hand, Zoro-kun.'
'What hand? Who's hand?'
'My hand!' Zoro saw the hand before him now, but he couldn't see whose hand it was, but none the less, he grabbed it.
'Thanks Zoro!' The dark-haired girl gave him a warm smile.
'Wait, Kuina!' he reached out for her, but she just kept smiling at him as he felt himself being yanked forward. 'KUINA!' Then he felt a shot of pain in his heart and soon was grabbed into darkness once again, as he kept being pulled up. It was as if he were being pulled up from the depths of the seas, for suddenly to break through the surface and finally be able to breathe. He panted and coughed as he grabbed his shirt right above his heart, right there where the bullet had pierced through him. He opened his eyes slightly, but was once again met by a sharp light. The light soon faltered and he soon could see something that looked like people and a big ball of something brown. They were talking to him, loudly, they were being too loud, yet they were so far away that he couldn't understand the meaning of each words. He closed his eyes once again and sighed.
Was he dead?
Or alive?
He felt a cold tear running down along his cheek.
What angel just brought him back?
"…Kuina…" he breathed out and fell asleep.
-TOBD- TOBD- TOBD—
Clouds were floating in the blue sky above, the sun shone brightly over the fields. A child, no more than ten or eleven stood under an old oak and pulled off his clothes. Sweat covered his little muscled body and his chest moved in a fast pace. He walked up to the little river, where he often was training, and looked into the running waters that reflected his red face and short green hair. Then he let himself fall into it. The cool water felt so wonderful to his heated skin as he dived deeper into it. He turned around so he was facing the surface… the sun looked so funny under the wicked 'mirror' of the river. He closed his eyes and let himself be pulled slowly back up to the surface by the gravitational pull. He sighed at the feeling of the heating sun above him and the cooling waters underneath him. This was just so perfect.
A shadow suddenly appeared above him. He cracked an eye open and, just in time, pushed himself away before a loud SPLASH was heard right beside him. The impact caused him to go under the surface and slung him around in the depths of it. The boy swam back up to the surface and gasped for air as soon he reached it, and stared at the place were the huge SPLASH had come from. A dark head approached the surface short time after and the boy trembled of anger.
"KUINA! Are you trying to kill me?" Kuina laughed.
"Is it that obvious?" she joked, but the boy didn't find it at allfunny. "Oh, come on, Zoro-kun, don't be like that!"
"Don't call me that," Zoro mumbled and dived under the water again. That damn Kuina! Why did she have to follow him to this place? He just had some wonderful peace for himself until she came.
Man, the water was so wonderfully cool that he almost could have stayed in it the whole day, but the need for air soon forced him up to the surface again so he could breathe. He looked around himself and found that no one was in sight, not even the dark-haired teen. That only meant onething. Zoro let out a high pitching yelp as someone suddenly grabbed around his waist and pulled him under the water once again. As he came back up, a half naked Kuina sat at the shore and was laughing her ass off. Zoro's face reddened even more. That damn girl!
"S'not funny!" he stated and dived a bit under so his mouth was just right underneath the surface and blew bobbles. Kuina rolled around on the grass right under the old oak and pointed at him while still laughing like a hyena.
"The hell it was! Hahaha! You should've seen yourself! That face! That face was just priceless! And then that girly scream!" Zoro did notjust blush by hearing that! He gave the heating sun the fault to the redness on his face. Yeah, exactly! It was the sun's fault! "To think that you're so ticklish right there!" Okay, now he wasembarrassed for showing his weak side soclearly. "Oh, come on Zoro, stop pouting so much and get up here!" Zoro did that, but it wasn't because shesaid it… he just didn't want to swim around anymore.
They lied together under the old oak and stared up at the endless blue sky above them. White clouds floated above them like ships on the sea. Kuina pointed up at a certain cloud and told what she thought it looked like. Zoro didn't want to do that, but as soon the teen asked if he were a pansy or what, he took up the 'challenge'.
Some of the clouds looked mostly like animals or old wrinkled people. "That one just needs some green colour and you won't see the difference between that one and your hair." Zoro roared angrily and the dark-haired girl couldn't stop laughing at him… but he soon had to admit that having such a peaceful moment with his rival was actually nice.
The green haired boy almost fell asleep by the lukewarm wind drying his body and hair, as he suddenly heard the teen next to him sigh deeply. He opened his eyes and looked at her.
"What's wrong, Kuina?" he asked quietly, like he was afraid of someone else hearing him. Kuina didn't answer him at once and just stared up into the sky.
"Zoro, would you ever miss me… if I died?"
"Huh?" She was joking, right? She turned her head to face the questioning boy.
"Would you? Or would you forget me?" Why was she suddenly all this serious? He pulled a small smile.
"How should I ever forget an idiot like you, who I can't even beat in a fight?" he joked. Kuina laughed.
"Watch it, or this 'idiot' will kick your sorry ass back into the river!" She tried to sound cool, but Zoro watched her face changing… it looked so… peaceful and, relieved? What was up with her?
"Kuina…"
"Hm?"
"Uhm." Oh, damn it! He hadn't even meant to say that out loud. He had to find an excuse for saying her name out loud. "What is love?" What?! Where the hell did thatcome from? Kuina blinked as she looked at him and then smiled.
"Is that a proposal? I'm not dating babies, you know." Zoro blushed and then yelled back at her.
"What? NO! It's not! It was just a question… just forget it…" He turned his back at her, and crossed his arms as he pouted. Where on earth didthat question come from, anyway?
"Well," Kuina slowly began and suddenly sounded so serious. "Depends what kind of love you mean. Love can be many things." Zoro turned slightly back and looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "You can love your mother, and a mother can love her child… that's known as 'motherly love'. Parents can love their children, and the other way. You can love your friend, that's called true friendship… then you can love a dish, a special thing, a pet and a special place." The green haired child turned a bit more to see her better. Kuina laid on her back, arms behind her head as she spoke and Zoro couldn't stop looking at her in fascination. "Love can be many things, but mostly it means that it's something your heart treasures. But then there is the other meaning of love, when you're in love with someone." She sighed dreamingly as she kept her gaze on the skies above her.
"And, what is that? What does it mean?" and why did he keep asking such things? He really didn't know. Kuina smiled, still floating in her own dreamland. He had never seen her like this before.
"To be in love in another person is the most wonderful thing in the world, but you can never choose on your own who to be in love with. That is something your heart decides. Love… when you really are in love in another person, it's like you feel alone and not complete without thatperson by your side. And when you can't stop thinking about him or her, when you're even dreaming of him or her and if you get that weird feeling inside of you every time you see that person, then you really are in love. Sometimes, if you think too much about that person, you can get all lovesick… that can both be good and bad; good, if you can be together with that person like you wish, and bad, if you can't be together with that person because of some special circumstances. Then your heart can be in so much pain, that it one day, if the loneliness and grief gets too much for it, can kill you…"
"Sooo," Zoro started and looked up at the skies, "Love can be both bad and good?" Kuina nodded. Zoro thought it all through again. It both made sense, and then again not. He closed his eyes and thought. To be in love… would someone ever love him like that? Would he, for that sake?
"Aaaand," He heard the dark haired teen say not long after and suddenly got a bad feeling about this, "this is what Ilove to do!" Zoro shrieked loudly as the teen suddenly began tickling him everywhere and couldn't stop giggling.
"Stop! Stop! Hahaha! I can't take it! Aaaah! No, not there! Hihihi! Stop it!" he tried to sound as serious as possible, but failed miserably, and of course Kuina didn't want to stop either.
"You know why I love doing this?" she asked as she kept on tickling him, as the boy tried rolling away from her, but just laughed out loud instead.
"Hahahaha! No-hoho sto-hop! Haha!"
"Because I hear you laugh, and that's something I rarely hears from you." She stopped for a while and Zoro looked up at her, blinking in confusion as he tried to catch his breath again. The girl smiled at him. "Don't stop laughing like that; it's so nice to listen to."
"Kui-WHAAA! Hahahaha! NOOOO! Not aga-haha-in!"
"Told ya, don't stop!"
"UAAARGH! You're killing me-hehe~!"
The world slowly fogged around him, he couldn't stop laughing, he couldn't breathe and soon, he couldn't see anything, but damn hell he could still feel those fingers on him. His shriek faded in the distant, and soon, everything was gone.
Zoro groaned as he slowly woke up. That dream… he had almost forgot all about that day, even though it was his first peaceful day with his rival. He cracked an eye open and was met by darkness. The hell? He blinked a couple of times as a weak light suddenly was turned on in the corner. Then it went out and he heard someone cursing. Then another weak light was lit, and soon that light became even brighter. He turned his head slightly to look at the source of it and saw a blond man sitting in a chair lit up by an oil lamp that soon was placed up on a table. Blond hair shone like gold in the weak light as Sanji sucked on his one finger, still cursing. He sat a bit more up in his bed as he watched the blond before him. It was nice to see him acting 'normal' again, cursing and all.
"You burned your little pinkie, Aho-cook?" he asked, smirking at him. The cook turned at once in his seat to look at the person speaking, and then groaned in irritation.
"You just shut you mouth, Asshole!" Good, cheese-head was getting back to 'normal' again.
Zoro looked around in the dark room and furrowed his brow. "Where am I?"
"Che! Are you blind? You're lying in a sickbay in Chopper's infirmary!"
"Actually, I can't see anything else than that light and your fucking face!" Sanji froze for a moment and Zoro cursed himself for saying that word. The blond shook his head, like he tried to shake a bad feeling off him, and rolled over to the side of the swordsman. Out of all expectation the cook suddenly laid his hand over his eyes and pressed him back down to his pillow.
"Lay still, god damn it," he sneered as the swordsman tried to get back up again. "It's like what Anna-chan said; there can be some after effects."
"After effects of what?" Zoro asked a bit unsure. He tried to keep his beating heart from beating too loud as his skin felt as if it was burning, right where Sanji was touching him. He swallowed and had to control himself from grabbing that hand and kissing it, licking it, sucking its fingers and… oh god, he had to stop thinking like that! Suddenly he felt the blonds' hand trembling slightly, and couldn't help to lift a brow at it.
"Of 'what'? Of 'what'?!" the cook hissed through gritted teeth and the swordsman felt the other's hand grab tighter around his face. "You damn idiot! Don't you get that you've just been dead?!"
"W-what?"
"Lay still, I said!" Sanji pushed the other teen back down onto the bed as he tried to get up, and sighed. "Damn it… hadn't it been for Anna-chan you wouldn't have been here now."
"Wait, what are you talking about? And what does that have to do with me not seeing clearly?"
"Because you were falling, deeper into the darkness… urgh! How to put it?"
"I thought Oliver brought you up in here." Zoro said honestly.
"Well, think again, but don't get stupid ideas about it! You were so stupid to jump right in front of a bullet that ripped your one lung apart, and some of your heart as well! Idiot! Who the hell wouldn't get worried? But that damn Oliver wouldn't let me get out until I kicked him across the room and hurried outside."
"You walked?" he asked hopefully, but Sanji only sneered at him.
"Don't be stupid, asshole, the only thing I could do was crawl. When I came out I saw this light and hurried over to you, and you…damn it, you didn't move, you were just still… you were… dead!" He choked on the last word, his eye felt wet, a small tear betrayed him and ran down his cheek. Sanji cursed himself for almost letting his feelings affect his voice, and dried the tear away from his eye. The moss-head didn't have to know how he felt when he saw him laying there, all still… all dead!
"She's trying to pull him back."
That's what Nicki had said to him back then when he had come to them. Why the blond had been half naked, he didn't know and he honestly didn't care about that at that time. "Anna-chan leaned over you, with her hands on your chest as she tried to 'pull' you back. Don't ask me how, that's just what I was told. And then, a minute or two later Chopper came back to the ship and saw it all…" Chopper had cried out loud as he had seen the dead swordsman, but had controlled himself as he what was happening. "One minute later, you started breathing again, and your wounds were healed as well. That's what happened."
"Does…Luffy know?" the swordsman asked carefully. Sanji shook his head, even though he knew the other couldn't see him doing it.
"No. None of the others knows about this. Didn't think you wanted them to know that you died of a single pathetic bullet and then returned back to life." Zoro grumbled but didn't say anything else about it. "Nicki and Oliver cleaned the deck and removed the 'evidence' before anyone returned back. But you had lost a lot of blood, so you needed a blood-transfusion. Chopper fixed that and told the others that you was tired and had just fallen asleep in my bed."
"And the reason I can't see much is~, what?"
"As I said; it's an after-effect of what happened, you know, being dead and then pulled back to life. But that should soon return back to normal… if there's something 'normal' about you."
"Oi! I heard that, curl-brow!" Sanji pulled a smile.
"Good! Hoped you did too!" the blond removed his hand and Zoro cursed inwardly of the loss of warm. "Now, go back to sleep, you need it!" Sanji was about to turn around and roll away, but was suddenly grabbed by the arm. He looked quizzically up at the teen holding him and by accident looked into his eyes. He winced by the sight; those ever so strong and grey eyes still had that haunted look in them, and the grey colour still looked a bit pale.
"Wait Sanji," the swordsman said and tightened his grasp around the thin arm. Said person winced at the rough grip. One thing was for sure; the marimo hadn't lost any strength at all.
"What?"
"Thanks," Sanji blinked and then looked away.
"Don't mention it," he said with a small smile creeping onto his lips.
"Sanji."
"That's me." Zoro groaned.
"What about you?"
"What about me?" he repeated, the swordsman sighed heavily.
"Are you okay?" Sanji shrugged.
"Sure, I'm fine."
"Cook, I'm serious."
"I'm serious too, I'm fine, idiot, you did come to my rescue, right?" Zoro let out a huff of a chuckle.
"Yeah,"
He smiled, warmly at him.
"Cook, seriously."
He patted his shoulder. "Seriously, I'm fine, been through worse." He grabbed the wheels and turned the wheelchair, the marimo was all good now, now he needed some fresh air for himself, it had gotten a bit claustrophobic in here.
"No, wait."
"What now?" He turned his chair since there were no response from the moss on the bed. "What?"
"Stay?" Sanji blinked, did he hear right?
"Eh? Afraid of the darkness?" Sanji teased, smirking as a frown grew on the other's face.
"Just shut the fuck up and get back here." The swordsman half commanded and pointed to the side of his bed. Sanji sighed and rolled back to the bed's side.
"Okay then, but don't pee in your bed if you get too scared, you're going to wash the sheets yourself if you do." Oh, it was such a joy to piss off the stick-swinging swordsman, who cursed under his breath, everything almost felt normal like this. He locked the wheels and made it comfortable in his seat, as comfortable you now could get with a back there still hurt like shit at times, what did they say about ribs and backs there once been broken? It could take from months to years? Freaking great! Suddenly an arm snuck around his waist and pulled him up from his wheelchair. "Hey! What the...?! The hell are you doing?"
"Shut up," the swordsman said as he pulled the cook up into his bed beside him and slung another arm around him. He snuck his nose into the neck hidden behind golden hair and sniffed in his scent; it was just as he had remembered it. He pulled the blond closer against his chest and felt the other man freeze. He just had one single question to himself; why the hell was he doing this?
"Oi-oi, Z-Zoro…? This is a bit of a, uhm, awkward position, you know." He only got a groan for an answer, as the swordsman made it comfortable behind him, as they laid flush against each other, back to chest, and hell no he did not just have a thought of how nice it actually felt and how it would be nice to just stay like this! Fuck it, he just thought it again! Argh! What the hell was wrong with him?! "If you wanted a teddy bear you could always have asked Chopper, I guess he has a smaller collection of them somewhere."
"Shut it, Cook. Sleep."
"No, you do, I go." He tried to get free, but the muscle-head only increased his fierce iron grasp around him. Stupid, impotent, stubborn, snuggling, warm, idiot! He could feel his cheeks heat up as the other, if possible, moved closer against him, and, oh God, it was actually nice to have something warm against his arching back. He swallowed hard and tried to pull away again, a lost battle, he already knew, but at least he'd tried.
"Lay still…!"
"Okay." Okay? Okay what? No, it wasn't okay, and he did not just surrender that easily! No, this battle was for him to win and –
"Idiot, you're not gonna die for laying here, so, lay still and stop thinking too much." Zoro and his stupid logic. Sanji groaned and let it be for now, it was okay to enjoy someone else's presence against you, wasn't it? Even moss for brains like he. Trying to relax in the hold, Sanji was surprised to how fast he actually got comfortable with it. No one else was there, so it couldn't hurt to just let your guards down for a moment and just enjoy it. The drug in his blood was at fault, he told himself. It was the drug there made it feel nice to lay like this. It was the drug there made him lower his guards and actually enjoy the other's presence this close up to him and it was the drug there made him get comfortable in the hold, and appreciate the feeling of the other's thumb repeatedly brushing his arm in a gentle gesture.
He wasn't sure of how long they lay like that, but at some point he was starting to doze off. "Cook?" came the careful question, Sanji groaned tiredly, too comfortable to even want to start a conversation. He didn't get what was said next and he didn't even knew what he rambled back, but soon he was laying on his back with a Zoro looming over him. It gave an unexpectedly heartbeat as those dark grey eyes stared intensely at him with a strong warm look he hadn't seen before, it felt almost too intense.
"Wa- what are you doing?" he asked carefully, swallowing a dry lump there had formed in his throat. Strong arms planted at each side of his head, and he caught himself stare at the large wound crossing the man's naked chest, the one that had almost killed him, the one he got from Mihawk. And then there were the other one, the new one, only, it wasn't there, though Sanji fancied himself there was a faint mark that forever would be there, unseen for others, but forever visible for him. Then his eye went back to the one gnawed deeply in the tanned flesh, almost golden in the light of the oil lamp. Following it down inch by inch, he unknowingly licked his dry lips, as it dipped underneath the rim of the black slackers. He felt warm, his ears and face felt heated and his heart shimmered in a weird beat. "Zoro, what-?!" Sanji panicked as the man above him leaned down, and brushed his lips carefully against his in a fleeting kiss, eyes half lidded the man dipped down for another one, this time deeper, almost tasting his lips. Sanji was trembling, he was panicking for the warm unknown feeling it awoke inside of him, and grabbed the white sheets underneath him in such a fierce grip, that his knuckles almost turned white. He wanted to protest, he wanted to push away, yet, he was stuck here, frozen in place, almost afraid to break this weird intimate feeling there most likely would make his heart explode.
A warm tongue licked carefully at his bottom lip, tasting, asking, almost begging, it was so unexpectedly soft, that a gasp left his mouth, lips parting enough for the tongue to slid inside, and, oh God, he thought he would die as the tongue caressed against his tongue, and then ran along his palate. It send an electrifying shiver through him, a nice shiver. Slowly his hands released their death grip and relaxed. He moaned into the kiss, as the tongue ran across every wave of his palate, tickling, caressing, he almost forgot to breathe. Oh, by Roger's beard, it was… he was… oh fuck it!
Zoro leaned down on his elbows and ran his fingers through his hair, fisting it, before releasing it only to repeat the act. Sanji was lost, he was in a bliss he never had been in before, this new feeling was so intense. As he tested the mobility of his own tongue, met the other's, tongue brushing against tongue in an intense greeting, answering back, it send another electrifying jolt through him at the sound of the swordsman's rumbling moan, and, if possible, the kiss went deeper. He didn't care of anything else in the world, nothing else existed but the two of them and this intense wonderful feeling. As they pulled apart, both panting as if it had taken most of their energy to perform this, they looked into each other's eyes, deep blue meeting dark grey, the ocean meeting the warm mist, they could almost feel the damp in between them. A thumb brushed his cheekbone, Sanji only managed to breathe the beginning of a letter, before the man above him leaned back down and sealed their lips once again. The blond hummed and moaned by the feeling of completion.
After tasting his lips, the mouth worked down to his jaw, leaving a wet trail of saliva as the tongue licked its way all up to his ear, before dipping inside of it, sucked it, teeth brushing ever so slightly against it. Oh shit, this was just so wonderful! A moan crept out, it was almost impossible to lay still. From the ear, that wonderful mouth worked its way back down along his jawline, only not to retreat to his mouth, as he had hoped, but going further, he gasped as the whole of his Adams apple was taken inside of that warm cavern. Warm hands found their underneath his shirt, and at ever inch of skin they touched, felt as if they put his skin on fire. Hand on his body and a tongue test tasting his skin, Sanji couldn't make one coherent thought, nothing made sense anymore. He couldn't take this much longer… it was just… too wonderful.
He leaned his head back and moaned, his own hands came up to the green hair, he found it surprisingly soft, tucking the hair strands, it seemed it turned the marimo more on, the touches became more sensual, the kiss, as he pulled him up to his face, more needy, craving, lovingly.
He wanted more. He wanted more of this. He didn't want this to stop, he just wanted this to continue, never to stop.
Reality was unfortunately crashing down on them all too soon, as someone knocked on the door. They both froze and pulled away, staring horrified at each other. Oh no. Oh God no! By Roger, what had they done?
"Zoooroooo? You up yet~?" Luffy whined from the other side of the door. Zoro jumped out of the bed and threw the sheet over the stunned cook.
"What is it, Luffy?" He called back while searching around the infirmary for something to wear. That was close. That was way too close to have gone from 'bad idea' into 'really fucking bad idea'. What had he been thinking anyway? Nothing, he hadn't been thinking at all. Grabbing the dark-blue shirt that an unknown person had got him after his treatment, he pulled it over his head and just in time to pull it in place as he opened the door to a sulking captain. "What? Not barging in or anything?" Zoro said, as he prayed to whatever or whoever up there ran the universe, that his stupid heart would stop beating so fast and loud.
"Sanji told me that I would get no meat if I disturbed you." Luffy said, tipping back and forth on his feet, like the good pouting kid he was. Zoro snorted as he ran a hand through his hair, immediately remembering the cook's hands had been in it not even a minute ago. His throat went dry and he swore that the next heartbeat was audible even for a deaf man.
"That explains a lot." His answer came a bit too late. Luffy looked strangely at him.
"Zoro, are you okay?" Zoro snapped his full attention at him now.
"What?"
Luffy tilted his head, as if a different angle would give him whatever answer he was searching for. "You seem a bit out of it." He pointed. "Your hand's trembling." He looked at his hand. Huh, so it did. "Did something happen?" Zoro had never been scared of his captain, nor ever doubted his resolves, there had been times where he had been surprised by his actions, even a bit put back, but there had never been a time where he had to feel vigilant or even cautious towards this teen, this future pirate king, never, not before today. And he knew, no matter how hard he tried to hide something, Luffy knew that something was up. Breath catching in his throat, he knew the cook was as, yes, nervous as he was. "Zoro, are there something that you wanna tell me?" When Luffy sounded this serious, he meant business, no fooling around, no carefree smile, Zoro could almost feel his skin pale under the observing eyes of his captain. Luffy stepped a bit closer, Zoro kept his stoic unfazed expression, though keeping the upcoming panic attack at bay was becoming a hell of a lot harder for each second.
"Zoro," the captain said. "It's okay."
"What's okay?" he asked, carefully not to reveal anything, without sounding too suspicious as well.
"Chopper already told me." He licked his teeth in unease. Did the reindeer already know? How the fuck did he know? Shit, shit, he was out deep now.
"About what?"
"About you and Sanji." The springs in the bed creaked as the cook moved uneasily under the covers.
"Luffy, you're not making yourself clear."
Luffy looked quizzically at him. "Huh? Is there more about you two beside the incident today?"
Then it finally cleared for him what the heck the kid meant. "You mean that fight?" Luffy gave him a broad grin.
"Of course I mean the fight, what else should I mean?" he said, as if Zoro was the biggest idiot on the whole of Grand Line. Zoro was just happy that Luffy was one of them. Zoro chuckled nervously.
"I don't know, nothing." Luffy blinked at him, then laughed.
"You're weird, Zoro!"
"Oi oi! You only came to insult me?" The captain only laughed.
"Sorry sorry." Not sorry at all, that was clear. "But I just wanted to check up on you. Chopper said it was pretty bad, but she made a good work of healing it. Is it really all gone?"
"Yup! Not even a scratch is left." He said, pulling up his shirt to show it. Luffy looked fascinated at the no-longer-existing-wound.
"That's so cool!" He grinned. "I'm glad that you're okay, Zoro. It would be shit if I lost another nakama." Zoro pullet his shirt back down.
"Actually I was already dead."
"And that's why it's good to have nakama!" That trademark smile again, there told everyone not to worry, even though Luffy was the one to worry the most. Zoro snorted a short chuckle.
"Yeah." He said, ruffling his captain's hair. "It is."
"So, ready to go fishing?"
"Why the heck would I do that? I've just woken! Can't even sleep through all the noise you make."
"Booh booh! Liar! You've been awake for a long time now!"
"Eh? And what make you so sure about that?"
"Hey, why's Sanji lying in your bed?" It was sometimes annoyingly how fast the kid could jump from one subject to another one. It jolted involuntarily in him. Shit, he'd almost forgot all about the cook.
"Shit-cook was tired and I helped him up." He said, throwing a thumb towards said person, what was partly true, especially the "helping up"-part.
"So you could have a good excuse to train and not rest?"
Zoro spluttered "Where the fuck did you get that from?" Luffy laughed.
"I told you; you haven't been sleeping for a while! Seriously, Zoro, you'll take any chance to train some extra! Even if you have to hide from Chopper!"
"Oi! S'not true!" Luffy kept on laughing and pointed at him.
"Shishishi! Zoro's afraid to be hauled over the coals by Chopper!"
"LUFFY!"
"So, fishing?"
"No way in hell! It's freaking night!"
The raven pouted. "You're no fun!"
"I cry my eyes out for you." Zoro said sarcastically, Luffy on the other hand looked at him with gleaming eyes.
"You can do that?!"
"Luffy? At three." The swordsman warned. "One." He swung an arm out towards him, of course the kid dodged it "Two." The next attack was a bit closer, though still too slow to catch the rubber-stomach there swung backwards out of reach "Three!" as he jumped towards him, the captain jumped over the railing, hand on his precious straw hat and that ludicrous trademark grin on his face.
"Yosh! Zoro's all better!" The captain exclaimed as he ran off to bother Usopp up in the crow's nest instead, from what could be heard of the string of curses there followed after the loud crash of… something.
Shaking his head, he closed the door, though the small smile there had crept its way on his lips, soon faltered with a heavy sigh. Luffy was a great man, a fantastic friend, a good captain. The flame of the oil lamp flickered for a moment before the last wind died down. He stood for a moment to watch it, before sliding to the floor, knees pulled close up to his face. Luffy had faith in him, Luffy trusted him, and here he went, behind his back, with forbidden feelings and violated his cook. The heck had he been thinking? The fucking hell had he been thinking suddenly go kissing the cook and freaking violate that damn hot mouth of his! Damn it! He had actually went and kissed Sanji! A friend, a man! The captain's cook. He grabbed tight in his hair strands and pulled hard. The cook had responded, sure, but was that a spark of a moment in the heat? Was there something to it, or was it because he forced himself onto the blond?
Even so, this was unacceptable.
Not alone could he get himself thrown off this ship, if he was lucky, but also the cook. If he had sparked something in the other man, just the tiniest of curiosity, it could cost the cook dearly as well.
Friendship could withstand a lot of things, but Luffy was also their captain, and if just one of their other friends, one of their shipmates didn't accept whatever this is, Luffy, as a captain, have to make consequences.
Sanji would never forgive him! That was for sure!
What to do now?
What to do now?!
To be continued
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Nille: Comments?
Nami: -SQUEAL- They were finally KISSING! –noodle dance-
Nille: You know, you're just acting like Sanji now…
Nami: So sweet…!
Nille: -sweat drops- She's not listening…
Sanji: Oh lovely flowers of the beautiful garden in the heaven I am so grateful that you've been using some of your precious time to read this wonderful story written by our lovely ange-
Nille: -sweat drops even more- Sanji, how about breathing a little? Just a suggestion though…
Zoro: No, just let him keep speaking, then we'll at least get some peace very soon.
Sanji: MOSS-HEAD! –pointing angrily at him- I HEARD THAT, YOU DAMN GORILLA!
Zoro: The hell, Shit-cook?!
Usopp: -sweat drops- And heeere they go again… typical… oh, anyway. Mighty readers from FF, I would be grateful if you would Review & Review so I, the Great Captain Usopp, will be able to write the next fantastic chapter that's about the Fantastic Adventures of the Great Captain Usopp-sama!
Nille: -kicks Usopp in the head- STOP TAKING ALL THE CREDITS, IDIOT!
Usopp: Fworry~! Auoth! I fhink I dust loth a tooth!
Luffy: Shishishi! SEE YEAH LATER GUUUUYYS! –big flapping with arms there should be something like a wave-
Nille: Till next Sunday! –waves (normally)-
Chopper: Bye bye! -Waves as well-