After a few tense and uneventful days, they arrived at a bustling port town, and after docking the ship, they decided to hit up a nearby pub to unwind after a long journey.
As they entered, the noise of rowdy patrons and clanging mugs filled their ears. Zulu being rather tall and wearing a flamboyant pink romper immediately caught the attention of some unsavory characters at a nearby table.
Whispers started to fill the air, and glances were exchanged between Zulu and themselves. Derogatory terms and slurs about his appearance could be made out among the hushed tones. Zulu's face fell as he tried to quickly make his way to the bar with the crew and ignore them. He could feel as the gazes followed him, but he tried his best to pay them no mind and focus on the drink that had been set down in front of him by an apologetic looking bartender.
After only a few minutes, with no interventions to their poor behavior, the drunken patrons at the table grew more confident. They started to mock Zulu amongst themselves, growing louder and harsher as they went. Zulu remained calm and composed however, refusing to let their words rile him into a conflict. However, the men only started to grow more persistent. One of them stumbled up from his chair and wobbled over to the group at the bar, a sneer on his face.
"It ain't right, "He hiccupped, swaying where he stood. "What the fuck even are ya huh? I, * burp* I can't even tell what you have in yer fancy panties." His face was inches now from Zulu, the smell of the booze making his eyes water. "Pull em down and show the town you freak, you crossdressing pervert." A fat finger started jabbing into Zulus forehead.
Sanji, who had been keeping a keen eye Zulu quickly chose to step forward, ready to defend his crews honor.
"What did you just say?" He growled, eyes flashing with anger. Leg preparing to kick, he was stopped by a large hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright," Zulu stated flatly "I've delt with these kind of people before, don't even bother yourself with them. He's obviously drunk, there's no honor in that fight."
The man glared drunkenly over at Sanji, irate at being confronted, and sneered at him.
"What's it to you, Pretty Boy? You some kind of Okama lover or something?"
Sanji's fist clenched and he stepped forward, before being pulled back by Zulu's hand still on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Sanji. But please don't. This treatment isn't new to me. It's best to just ignore it and move on, really. It doesn't affect me anymore." His expression was serious, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. Sanji couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that started gnawing at him.
The rest of the Straw Hats sat beside them, watching with varying degrees of anger and concern. Zulu gracefully stood from his stool and turned to the man, now towering over his drunken form. With the raise of an elegant eyebrow he gave a tight smile.
"I am who I am," He said. "And I won't apologize for that." With that he picked up his drink, turned on his heels and purposefully marched away to a table and new seat. Pulling out a chair and lowering himself down Zulu sat tall. He held his head high despite the insults and jeers being thrown at him. The drunkard wobbled back to his chair and his entire company was sending glares at the crew.
Taking the hint, the rest of the Straw Hats relocated to the same table as Zulu and settled back into their drinks. However the tension still lingered in the air, and the mood had noticeably been dampened. Staring down into his beer it was obvious Zulu was upset by the encounter, even if he acted otherwise.
"Hey, Zulu," Franky said, putting down his drink. "Are you sure you're okay, brother?"
Sighing, Zulu looked down at the table. "I'm fine. It's … this kind of thing happens a lot. People see me and assume the worst because of what I am. It's not easy to be … different, sometimes."
Again, Sanji felt an uncomfortable twist of guilt at his words. He tried to turn his attention elsewhere but locked eyes with Zoro, a stern and pointed expression on his face.
Zoro's eyes darked. "You DON'T deserve to be treated like that. Nobody does." Pausing he took a sip of his drink, "but you're right. We shouldn't waste our time on scum like that."
The rest of the crew nodded in agreement. Nami spoke up. "We can't control how other people act, but we can control how we react to it. How they treated you, Zulu, wasn't okay. But we can let it go if that's what you really want."
With a small smile and nod of the head from Zulu, the crew settled down to enjoy their drinks and each other's company.
Still silently seething with anger and frustration over what had transpired, Sanji kept stealing glances at Zulu. He didn't know exactly what it was about the man that made him suddenly so defensive of him. All he knew was that the rising sound of whispered insults were really starting to get on his nerves. After shooting the offending table a glare he caught Zulu's eye. A delicate smile graced his slender face and Sanji felt shame blossom in his chest; he was no kinder to Zulu than these men, and yet it was Zulu who was trying to console him.
Suddenly a half-eaten plate of food barreled in between them and smashed across the side of Zulu's face. The shame turned to cold furry.
The table fell silent in shock. The crew's face quickly turned to anger as their eyes darted to glare at the offending table. Loud raucous laughter filled the air the drunken patrons sent rude hand gestures and insults their way. A few more discarded pieces of food and drink stared to get thrown in the direction of their table.
Standing the crew began to intervene. Luffy jumped over the table and sprang into action, throwing a powerful punch that sent the ringleader flying out of his seat and into the wall behind him. The civilians in the bar quickly scattered, and the Straw Hats were left alone with the very drunk and angry ruffians.
The rest of the crew soon rushed into the scuffle to defend their friend. As the battled raged on, Zulu watched in aw as each of the Straw Hats displayed their skills, taking down their opponents with ease. He had never seen such a powerful and determined group of people before, least of all fighting for him and his pride.
Feeling a mix of embarrassment and gratitude toward is crewmates, Zulu wiped the food off of his face. Another plate came spiraling towards his head, before he could duck a black leg swept high and knocked it out of its path. Lighting a cigarette and calmly placing his foot back down Sanji turned to Zulu, rage in his eyes.
"Those bastards," he growled thru clenched teeth. "It's bad enough to waste the food, but to actually assault someone!?" Taking a long drag Sanji blew out a large cloud of smoke and flicked the butt to the ground. Turning to address a shocked Zulu he motioned his thumb over his shoulder. "Get behind me, I won't let them touch you."
Zulu nodded hesitantly, feeling his heart swell with gratitude for the cook. He had never expected to find such ferocious protectiveness from someone like Sanji. Always swooning over women and avoiding him, Zulu had long ago concluded that he and the cook would probably never be friends. But as he watched Sanji blocked every plate sent his way, he realized there was probably more to the cook than he had assumed.
Soon more thugs were unconscious than still standing and the remaining fighters scattered, realizing they were no match for the Straw Hat crew. Zulu sighed in relief as the last of them ran out of the bar, grateful for the crew's protection.
"Hey," Ussop uttered, handing him a rag to help wipe the excess food and booze from his clothing. "Are you okay?
Attempting to brush off the incident, Zulu nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He chortled, but there was pain behind his eyes. "Thank you, … for standing up for me,… you really didn't have to."
Ussop stared up at him with a mix of confusion and concern. "Um, what's that's supposed to mean? Of course, we did, your our Friend."
"Yeah," Luffy interjected with crossed arms. "It was no problem, nobody messes with my friends!"
"Besides," Zoro chimed in, removing his sword from his mouth. "They messed with the wrong crew, we don't take kindly to bullies, those idiots deserved what they got."
"We're not going to let anyone bully our crew members." Nami added shaking her head a frown on her face.
An arm emerged from his chest and gently plucked a broken shard of ceramic from his shoulder. It then moved over to brush some loose hair behind his ear and gently cupped his chin. Looking up he made contact Robins understanding gaze.
"This crew is a family Zulu, we take care of our own, … No matter what." She offered him a comforting smile, and her arm disappeared into a flurry of pink pedals.
Thou victorious, the night continued in a somber mood. They left the pub with a renewed sense of loyalty to each other but felt bitterness at having the evening ruined.
As they walked back to the Sunny in silence, Zulu spoke up.
"Thank you all for standing by me tonight," he said. "I know it wasn't easy to watch, but I appreciate your support."
Luffy grinned, "Of course, Plus," he added sticking a figure up his nose, "That was nothing compared to what Zoro did to the bar back at Whiskey Peak!"
"You Dumbass, that was completely different!" Nami snapped as she punched Luffy over the head with her fist.
Chopper nodded in agreement, smiling at Luffy's antics. "We don't let anyone mess with our friends" then he added, "Who care what they think anyways, WE'RE proud to call you our friend."
Zulu returned the smile. "Likewise," he replied.
As they reached the Sunny, Luffy raised his arms high and bellowed, "I'm hungry! Sanji! FEAST!"
"Eh, Luffy, don't you think we've had enough excitement for one night?" Zoro yawned as he walked past them and settled with his back against the decks railing.
With a baneful look at his first mate Luffy quickly snapped his head back over the Sanji. "MEAT! Sanji I want meat!"
Sighing in exasperation Sanji headed to the kitchen, "As you wish Captain."
Feeling suddenly awkward and in the crews dept, Zulu smiled and quickly followed him. "That actually sounds great. I'll help you out in the kitchen."
Sanji nodded; the man had been trying to impose himself into kitchen activities for a bit now. And after the uncomfortable reflection of his own attitude towards the Newkama that evening; he was reluctant to reject the help and leave the man with more hurt feelings.
"Awesome!" he said, "Let's get started then."
As Sanji and Zulu bustled about in the kitchen they worked in uncomfortable silence, unwilling to break the peace. But as Sanji looked up to hand Zulu a pot of diced vegetables, he was shocked to notice a bruise forming on his face, a thin bead of blood was slowly making its way down his cheek from a small cut under his eye.
He was surprised to find himself reaching up to touch it gently. "Let me take care of that for you." He said.
Zulu blushed slightly Sanji's concern and faint touch. "Thank you, Sanji."
Sanji nodded as he applied a small bandage to Zulu's cheek. "You didn't deserve what happened tonight." Looking up he was met with grateful eyes.
"Really, thank you," Zulu whispered, his voice soft and sincere. "I honestly don't know what I would have done without you guys there."
Feeling his heart skip a beat at the sight of Zulu's grateful expression, Sanji Smiled. He had never felt much of a connection with the man before, and he couldn't help but wonder if this is what it would feel like to be his friend. Eyes still locked he thought to himself about how beautiful Zulu truly was, even as a man. He then had to shake his head, pushing THOSE implications deep down to focus on his task.
"Anytime, Zulu", he said, his voice filled with warmth.
Zulu smiled back, feeling a sense of comfort and safety wash over him. He knew with his friends by his side he could face anything that came his way.
They continued to work in silence preparing a simple meal to keep the crew filled until morning. With panic Sanji realized that he had forgotten to prepare any desserts when Zulu handed him a plate of simple chocolate chip cookies and grinned.
"You were so busy with all that meat I figured could help out with dessert, its nothing gorme but my … my family seemed to like them well enough back in the day."
Blinking, Sanji looked at Zulu, a newfound respect for him swelling inside of him. He then took a bite to test the quality "These are amazing!" he said eyes glimmering, a note of admiration in his voice.
The two men shared a moment, their eye locked in understanding. It was clear that their bond had grown stronger, forged through adversity and mutual respect. They both coughed and quickly turned away from each other when Zoro came wondering in asking when the food would be ready, Luffy was causing havoc.
After dinner they all went off to bed, tired and drained from the evening's events. Sanji laid in his hammock, staring up at the ceiling, his thoughts consumed with Zulu. He thought of the rage that had consumed him on the Newkama's behalf and the awkwardness of afterwards, with Zulu next to him in the kitchen, busying about. How their hands had touched, the softness of his skin and the glimmering of his pink eyes. Then he sighed in despair, what was wrong with him! This was his crew's guest, this was a MAN.
Conflicted, he didn't know how exactly to reconcile these feelings for the man, but for now, he pushed them aside and focused on getting some sleep and dealing with his emotional issues in the morning.