Title:From Here On Out
Author:AoiTsukikage
Rating:R-ish
Characters/Pairing:ZoSan, other secondary pairings
Chapters:8/?
Word Count:2851
Summary:Sequel to 'This Is Your Life.' Sanji had thought that balancing real life and working to take down a new crime boss would be easier the second time around. He was wrong. Modern!AU, ZoSan primarily, other secondary pairings.

Chapter Eight

"Let me have it."

"What?" Zoro looked surprised, hanging up his coat and stretching his arms over his head. "You think I'm gonna yell at you?"

"I probably deserve it. I know I was…"

"Stupid, yeah, but what good is me telling you that when you already know it? Look," Zoro put his hands on Sanji's shoulders and held him steady, Sanji reaching up to grip the other man's arms. It was kind of a weird embrace but comforting, especially when Zoro leaned their foreheads together so they were even closer. "You have no idea how fucking worried I was when I got that call from you, and of course I'm glad that you're safe and that Ace is going to be okay, but…he's going to be okay. You're never going to make a mistake like that again. That's all that matters to me."

Of course it was. Zoro wasn't a complicated man, after all, and if things were that black-and-white in his head Sanji didn't know why he couldn't see it the same way. "Thank you," he whispered, and Zoro nudged him gently with his head like some sort of oversized dog and grinned.

"Besides, I know you've been beating yourself up enough for about ten people because you've got some sort of massive guilt complex, so me piling it on isn't gonna help," he pointed out, but something was still odd about how rational he was being through all of this.

"Who did you talk to?" Sanji asked without preamble, needing a direct answer, and Zoro had the grace to look sheepish before he laughed and muttered, "Robin and Usopp."

"Robin. I should have known," Sanji sighed happily and let himself hold Zoro a little tighter. "I am sorry, though. I know sometimes I don't think about what other people are feeling because I'm too damn busy rushing in on my own, but the last thing I want is for you to worry."

"I get it. I'd probably be the same way if I was ever in the middle of a situation," Zoro slid his hands down to Sanji's waist, bracing them on his hips. "I don't want this to be something that…that's an issue between us, okay?"

"It won't be. I mean, at this point I can't promise I'll stay out of danger or that nothing will happen to me, but I won't ask you to promise that, either, and we just…have to trust each other enough to believe that we're strong enough to get out of any trouble we get into," he knew Zoro was, at least, and while he might not have had as much direct combat experience, he could handle himself against nearly anybody.

Especially since people tended to take one look at him and dismiss him as not being a threat because he was blond and skinny and pretty, but well, that was their fault.

"Yeah. Okay," Zoro leaned in to kiss him, and Sanji didn't know if that was to seal the promise somehow or if it was just because he wanted to, but he slid a hand through Zoro's hair and returned it gladly. There wasn't really anything behind it other than relief and acceptance and yes, maybe some forgiveness on Zoro's part even if he'd insist he wasn't angry about the whole thing, but more than that it amazed Sanji that the two of them could have moments like this where lust didn't come into play at all.

A part of him had always been worried, especially since Zoro seemed to have little regard for romance or sentimentality, that a relationship between them would be purely physical (not that he would have complained to start with, of course, because Zoro was gorgeous) but the other man kept surprising him with the depth of emotions he possessed, even if most of the time the ones he was showing now were buried far under his normally composed exterior.

"You tired?" Zoro asked after he'd pulled back, and Sanji realized that the grip on his waist was less intimate now and more about holding him up because, truthfully, he'd slept kind of awful the night before.

"Yeah. You don't have to…"

"Of course I do," Zoro half-dragged him to the bedroom and Sanji barely had enough energy to shuck his clothing before crawling under the blankets, turning into Zoro's embrace when the other man joined him and holding him tightly. " 'm glad you're alright."

"I always will be," Sanji wasn't sure he believed that, and he knew that Zoro wouldn't, but somehow it made him feel better to say it.

000

The "later" that Kaku had given him ended up being "I'm going to be sitting at your kitchen table when you wake up tomorrow morning", and Sanji really should have gotten used to things like that by now but he still damn near had a heart-attack as he wandered into the kitchen and was thankful he'd at least bothered to get half-dressed before going out of the bedroom.

"I must admit, after speaking with Zoro last night I didn't exactly expect the two of you to reconcile things so quickly," Kaku was eyeing him critically but Sanji was too hungry to be embarrassed and busied himself getting things out of the cupboards.

"Yeah, well, he wasn't really angry, which kind of surprised me, but mostly because he knows that I know I majorly fucked up and he doesn't want to rub it in," he sniffed and decided he didn't have the energy to make a fancy breakfast, settling on just grabbing some pastries he could pop in the microwave. "You're not here to lecture me, are you?"

"I wouldn't," Kaku shook his head. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm really glad that Ace is okay. I know last night I was…"

"Yeah, well, I've just kinda accepted that it's your job by now," Sanji set up the coffeemaker to brew and went to sit down, deciding to wait on Zoro before he started with the food. "You don't have to apologize for it."

"Good, because I certainly can't promise it won't happen again. And I'm glad that Zoro's taking the mature approach to this, because I know all too well how deep your guilt complex goes," he noted and Sanji shrugged his shoulders.

"You almost got killed because of me. I know it was your own choice, but that doesn't change the fact that if I hadn't been in that situation it wouldn't have happened, and you're going to be paying for it your whole life," Sanji hated thinking about it but it seemed to come up more often than not lately.

"It's not a big deal," Kaku waved a hand dismissively. "Even the way I am now, I can take on twenty regular men without breaking a sweat. And besides, I didn't get injured at all in the whole Doflamingo case…"

"Yeah, because you probably already knew all about his weaknesses before rushing in there," Sanji muttered, unable to hide a smile because Kaku really did try hard to act tougher than he was.

"Law told you?" Kaku looked surprised and Sanji shook his head.

"Marco point-blank asked him last night why he sold Doflamingo out, so I kind of guessed the rest," he admitted and Kaku inclined his head.

"Well, you may have won this round, but rest assured I never go into a fight without advance preparation if I can help it," he tapped his fingers against his chin thoughtfully, arm braced on the back of his chair, and Sanji had to concede that this would have to be enough to reassure him for the moment.

"You look impatient," Sanji noted and Kaku chuckled.

"I hate waiting. Which sounds odd because I've had missions that have lasted months or years, but it always felt like even if it was slow at least we were moving toward some eventual goal. This…sitting here and doing nothing until the Admirals leave, I'm not used to that," he admitted and Sanji leaned over to pat his arm.

"You can't say it's been boring," he pointed out, and Kaku sighed.

"No, explosions certainly aren't everyday occurrences, but luckily because for once we had nothing to do with it, we don't need to be involved in the cover-up. I don't know much about Akainu but Rob seems to have a rather low opinion of him. He might be a harbinger of justice, but there are certain things he would never do if it meant endangering innocent people. I'm…beginning to suspect Akainu is a lot more single-minded when it comes to catching his prey, as it were," Kaku grimaced and Sanji could see where he was coming from with that one.

"You know for sure he was the one behind it, then?" Sanji asked, because the last he'd heard it wasn't clear who exactly was trying to trap who, but Kaku nodded.

"Up until last night chances are Blackbeard had no idea people were tailing him here yet, and that was deliberately set," Kaku explained. "I'm…really hoping Garp speaks with him, not just because he cares for Ace like his own grandson, but also because innocent people could have easily been hurt or worse and that's obviously a problem."

"Yeah. I'm sure he will," Sanji didn't know Garp all that well, but despite the fact that the older man could be gruff at times he knew he did care a lot for both Ace and Luffy. "I can't say I'll be sad to see them leave, that's for sure."

"None of us will be," Kaku leaned his head on Sanji's shoulder, body tensing a little when the bedroom door opened but he didn't bother to move.

"Oh. Hey. Guess it's good I put pants on, huh?" was Zoro's greeting before the coffeemaker beeped and he went over to turn it off.

"I'm sure you don't have anything I haven't seen," Kaku noted and Zoro rolled his eyes.

"So since you two aren't moving anytime soon do you want me to throw these in the microwave?" he pointed to the plate that Sanji had set out and the blond nodded.

"If you don't mind. I know you know how to handle a microwave," he teased gently and Zoro muttered something under his breath before complying.

"You've got him so well-trained," Kaku commented and Sanji started to laugh, ignoring the glare Zoro shot in his direction because, well, maybe it was true.

Although he knew well enough by now that Zoro never did anything unless he wanted to, so that meant at heart he didn't mind helping out at all.

And that was really comforting.

000

"We've got to tell him," Nami looked like she was at the end of her rope, and Sanji really couldn't say he blamed her considering what she was likely going through. "I know it's only been a day but he's going to drive me mad if he keeps this up any longer, and I'm running out of excuses."

And Sanji was greatly resisting the urge to kick Luffy at the moment, because his constant litany of 'where's-Ace'what's-he-doing-why-won't-you-tell-me-hey-Nami-hey-Sanji-where's-Ace-hey' in the background was getting grating after five minutes, so he had to give Nami serious credit for putting up with it as long as she had.

"I told him that Luffy's an adult and he can handle it, but he really doesn't want him to find out," Sanji sighed, stirring his tea bag around a little before pulling it out and setting it on a napkin, taking a sip of the hot liquid and savoring it for a moment or two. "But if he's offending your delicate sensibilities, my dear Nami-san, I think I'll have to disobey his wishes and just tell Luffy what happened."

"He can't hide it forever," Nami looked a little guilty, biting her bottom lip and staring at her coffee cup. "We don't need to tell Luffy anything, and chances are he won't understand it completely anyway so…"

"True enough," Sanji admitted, because Luffy had a strange way of processing information sometimes, but they all should have known better than to think he'd be able to go for days or weeks without knowing where Ace was. "But if we tell him, he'll want to go see him right away."

"So, we go," Nami shrugged as if it were that simple. "I wouldn't mind seeing him anyway, and I know you're always up for it. Or are you worried he's going to yell at you for spilling the beans?" she smirked knowingly but Sanji had to admit, even if Ace was mad about it there wasn't much he could do in his current position.

"Okay," he lit a fresh cigarette for courage and looked to where Luffy was still bouncing around, hoping this was the right thing to do. "Let's tell him."

000

Sanji didn't think he'd ever seen Luffy so serious for such a long period of time, but the younger man hadn't smiled once since hearing the news and now that they were standing in the bedroom Ace was in he was almost frighteningly silent, eyes shadowed by his ever-present straw-hat and arms crossed over his chest.

"Who did this to you?" his voice was damn near intimidating and Ace sighed and shook his head, reaching his hand out until Luffy uncrossed his arms to clasp it lightly.

"It wasn't meant for me, Luffy," Ace was seemingly having a silent conversation with Luffy using only his eyes, and Luffy eventually nodded and squeezed Ace's hand tighter. "I was an idiot and rushed in when I shouldn't have; nobody was trying to hurt me."

They stared at each other for a little longer before Luffy dropped his eyes and jammed his hat tighter onto his head. "Okay. I believe you. Just…why didn't you want to tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry," Ace smiled softly. "After what happened to Sabo…"

"Yeah," Luffy sighed heavily. "But I'm a lot older now, Ace, and of course I'm going to worry, but you'll be fine," he grinned for the first time in far too long and ruffled Ace's hair as the older man swatted his hand irritably.

"He will be, as long as he listens to me and stops trying to push himself too quickly," Law spoke up from the door where he was standing with Marco, and Luffy launched himself over, yelling out his thanks to both of them for saving Ace much too loudly but it was such a welcome return to normalcy that Sanji couldn't even berate him for it.

"I'll make sure he does," Marco laughed and fended Luffy off without any difficulty at all, holding him at arm's length. "And you can come visit whenever you want, okay?"

"Awesome!" Luffy seemed placated and bounced back over to the bed, kneeling down and having a whispered conversation with Ace that Sanji tried not to listen in on.

"Is there any word on whether the Admirals are leaving soon?" Nami asked, ever practical, and Marco shrugged.

"Not that I've heard. But Blackbeard couldn't have been far away from the explosion site that night and he's not an idiot. We have to assume he'll know somebody's after him and will move on, which means the Admirals should be following him out of here. And I'm not so Hell-bent on revenge that I'll try to follow; Pops didn't even want me following him out here but there's a big part of me that wants to see him get his just desserts, even if I'm not the one that gives them to him," Marco perched on the edge of the bed, looking ready to spring up at a moment's notice.

"Maybe we should pay Shanks a visit again," Nami turned to Sanji. "I mean, it sounds like Akainu wanted to talk to anybody that knew Roger, right? So if he's come through there that might give us some more information if he's set on pursuing Blackbeard or if he's…" she nodded toward the bed.

"Yeah," Sanji refrained from saying anything else because even though everybody in the room knew, he wasn't going to say anything to let it slip that Marco already knew of Ace's lineage. It just wasn't his place. "Tomorrow?"

"Works for me," she replied, as Luffy sprang up and bounced a little.

"Are we going to see Shanks? Can I come?" he latched onto Nami's hand and she sighed in exasperation.

"Only if you behave yourself," she linked her arm through his, and Luffy blinked at her before shrugging in what was apparently agreement.

"Mah, Shanks likes me, it's not a big deal!" He grinned like this should appease Nami, and she kind of pursed her lips and ended up shrugging because they all knew that was as good as it was going to get where Luffy was concerned. "Great!" he bounced back to the bed and Nami sighed and rubbed her temples.

And Sanji could sympathize, because really, while nothing Luffy did or said should surprise them anymore, somehow he always ended up doing just that.

Notes:

1. I don't have a lot to say this time around, but thank you to those that have reviewed! And I've now created a tumblr exclusively for One Piece, so if you want to check that out, it's at kikokus (dot tumblr dot com) :)