Title: So Good So Far
Author: AoiTsukikage
Rating: NC-17 overall
Characters/Pairing:Zoro/Sanji, Law/Sanji, eventual Law/Zoro/Sanji
Chapter: 4/?
Word Count: 2737
Summary: Written for a prompt from curlybrow who requested "Sanji confesses his confused love for Zoro, but Zoro refuses him, then Sanji turns to Law for comfort, and when Zoro secretly learns that Sanji and Law are doing it, he becomes really jealous...".
Spoilers: For recent chapters, probably…

Chapter Four

As it turned out, he didn't sleep. Morning came with his internal clock telling him to get up and make breakfast, and he dragged himself out of bed and to the galley, impassively regarding Law still sleeping against the mast.

Lucky bastard, Sanji thought irritably as he lit a cigarette, being able to sleep after everything.

He yawned and dug through the cabinets, deciding he'd get started on some scones…they still had some frozen berries but their fresh food resources were severely depleted since the feast back at Punk Hazard and he hoped Nami had a stopover planned before they reached Dressrosa.

They needed to re-supply, at least, and he had a feeling that none of them would say 'no' to a few days of down-time to recharge before everything. His leg still twinged from the confrontation with Vergo, and while Chopper had assured him that it would be okay if he didn't over-exert himself, he didn't think rushing back into what was likely to be a fight was the best course of action.

Getting the ingredients prepared, he got started on the batter, figuring he'd let them cook and then start omelettes or something when it got closer to the time that everybody would be waking up. By the time he had the scones in the oven and the first pot of coffee brewing, he was exhausted and he wondered if he could nap for an hour or so because he was quite sure he was going to fall asleep on his feet otherwise.

He sat down at the table and slumped over it, barely getting to close his eyes when the door creaked open. He should look, really, because if it was Luffy there was a chance he'd eat the raw scone batter or something, but he could barely lift his eyelids. Luffy would make more noise anyway, he reasoned, and tried to get comfortable on the surface of the table.

A hand placed gently on his head startled him a little, if only because he wasn't expecting it, but he forced himself to stay relaxed and just…waited. He knew who it was now, and while he was surprised, he couldn't say it was unwelcome even after everything.

"Did you not sleep last night?"

"Not really," he sighed, arching his back a little when Law's hand slid down to his shoulders. "You didn't keep your promise, by the way. That stick is still firmly embedded in your ass," he grumbled, and Law's hand stopped for a moment.

"I'm aware. And I do apologize, but as I said yesterday, I have no experience with having a steady sexual partner," he clicked his tongue and Sanji grimaced, finally forcing his eyes open.

"And I told you I didn't, either, but even I know that it's kind of fucking rude to just ignore the other person and stare off into space like you just finished doing something you didn't even like," he knew his words were harsh but he was tired, dammit, and he had no patience for Law's vagueness right now. "It's not like I'm asking you to cuddle or anything, but don't treat me like a whore," he finished, dropping his head back down.

"That was never my intention," Law assured him, fingers sliding through Sanji's hair again. "And for the record, I did enjoy it."

Sanji didn't reply. The words were nice to hear, maybe, but it would have been far nicer to actually see some proof of it in the moment. Law moved away then and Sanji figured that meant the conversation was over, but a few seconds later he felt a hand slide under his knees and he squeaked as he was lifted into the air.

"You'll hurt your back sleeping like that. Here," Law laid him down gently on the bench behind the main table and a moment later Sanji felt warm fabric covering him. He cracked an eye open to see that it was Law's coat, and he buried his nose in the fabric and sighed.

"Wake me up when the oven timer goes off, okay?" he asked, the words trailing off into a yawn, but he was fast asleep before Law even had a chance to answer.

000

"We need to stop."

"No," Law said immediately, his gaze harsh as he glanced around the table. "We can't dally. Dressrosa is…"

"We're not going to be able to do much without supplies," Nami overrode him, matching his gaze evenly. "And I'm sure we're low. Right, Sanji-kun?"

"Yeah, that party back at Punk Hazard pretty much wiped out our stores," Sanji admitted with a shrug. "We've probably got enough to make it to Dressrosa but if we have to get away quick it's not going to last for long."

"I used a lot of my medical supplies on the kids, too," Chopper raised a hoof timidly.

"And I think we could all use a few days to recuperate," Robin put in smoothly. "It wouldn't do to take on a dangerous mission with any of us at less than full strength."

"Still, Doflamingo…"

"Do you think he'd try to find us?" Nami asked, brow furrowing a little, and Law eventually sighed and shook his head.

"No. Not if he doesn't know our exact location. He'll want to have the advantage, which means we need to come to him," he admitted, causing the girl to grin triumphantly.

"Then it's settled. I'll try to dig up a chart of the general area and we can find the nearest island with a town on it," she stood up, passing her empty plate to Sanji as she made her way out of the galley. Law was still frowning, glaring down at his own plate, and Luffy clapped him on the back nearly hard enough to make him pitch forward.

"Shishishishi, don't worry, Torao! That bird-guy isn't going anywhere," he promised, causing Law to sigh.

"I'm not worried about that, but we do have a hostage and…"

"He'll behave himself," Franky shrugged. "Not much he can do shackled up the way he is, and it's not like we're treating him bad otherwise."

"He doesn't deserve better treatment," Chopper crossed his little arms, glaring. "Not after what he did to those kids."

"It's a shame, isn't it," Robin mused, idly circling the rim of her teacup with a slender finger, "that so many talented people choose to use their gifts to hurt others instead of to help."

Nobody really answered her, everybody preoccupied with their own thoughts on the matter, but when Sanji turned back from the sink he noted that Robin was staring at him rather pointedly. He knew that she hadn't been referring to him, of course, but the knowing smile on her lips said that she knew something he probably didn't want her to.

And, for as much as he loved Robin, that look still scared him a little.

000

"Did you enjoy yourselves last night?"

"Whatever could you be referring to, Robin-chan?" he asked, his voice getting markedly higher and giving him away immediately. She knew, and he wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. He wasn't embarrassed, not particularly, and he knew she wouldn't tell anybody else, but there was so much more to their situation than first glance would show and the idea of explaining it to somebody as worldly as Robin was intimidating.

"I came into the kitchen to get a glass of water before I turned in for the night," she started, resting her chin on her hand as she regarded him coolly. "And I heard…strange noises coming from the elevator shaft. So it was only natural I investigated," a hand popped out of the table beside her with an eye in the center of it, and Sanji swallowed heavily.

Fuck. He'd forgotten that sound would travel up the food service elevator to the galley above, and if anybody was in there they would have been able to hear everything. And he knew he hadn't been quiet.

"It's not what you think, Robin-chan…" he started, but that sounded like some sort of weak excuse, and Robin tilted her head to the side.

"Don't be ashamed. He is…very attractive," she started slowly, and Sanji waited for the hammer to fall because it was coming. "However, I had assumed you only had eyes for Zoro."

"You…" he started, before clapping his mouth shut. Of course. Hiding anything from Robin was damn near impossible and it didn't surprise him at all that she'd noticed. "I do. Mostly. But he's made it clear that he…doesn't see me that way," he sighed, because that particular bit of knowledge still stung.

"And Law?"

"He knows," Sanji nodded. "But we both know that anything between us will never be more than physical and we decided there was nothing wrong with…releasing some tension now that we have the opportunity," he decided that was enough of the truth to appease her, and indeed she smiled softly.

"Well, as long as there are no secrets between you, I can't see any harm in it. I do trust him, for what it's worth," she added, and he looked up curiously. "I feel a sort of…kinship with him, I suppose, and I have an odd feeling that our pasts aren't that different," she looked thoughtful for a moment before her eyes focused on Sanji again. "Has he said anything to you?"

"About himself? Not really," Sanji went over the fridge, trying to figure out what to make for dinner and how long their supplies would last if Nami didn't find a nearby island to re-stock at.

"Well, no matter," she stood up, starting to walk toward the door. "Just…be careful, Sanji."

"Hmm?" Sanji looked back from the fridge. "I thought…"

"Not of him. Of yourself," she glanced over her shoulder. "You see the good in people, even if nobody else can. It's something I admire greatly about you, but I think you may be deluding yourself if you feel you can continue with this…arrangement and not begin to care about him on some level. I do not know if he would ever feel the same, however," she tapped her long fingers against the doorframe.

"Yeah, not much chance of that," Sanji closed the fridge and leaned back against the counter, wiping his hands off on his dark slacks. "He's pretty closed off."

"I'm sure he has good reason to be," Robin returned, and Sanji couldn't argue that. "As did I. But if I could come around, it stands to reason he might, too."

"Maybe," Sanji wasn't sure where Robin was going with all of this, othe than a roundabout way of warning him that things could get really messy if emotions started getting involved, but he was almost completely sure that wasn't going to happen.

"I'll see you at the evening meal, Sanji," Robin nodded to him and left, and one of her hands remained to shift a pile of fabric on the bench seat before disappearing in a wave of flower petals.

It was a rather obvious signal, and Sanji moved across the room to see what she'd been directing him to. Law's coat was still on the bench, a reminded of the rather out of character way he'd acted that morning, and Sanji picked it up and curled his fingers into the heavy fabric, frowning.

It didn't mean anything. Law had simply felt guilty for his behavior the night before. There was nothing deeper to it.

None of that explained why, after Sanji had gotten dinner into the oven and was letting it bake, he decided to wrap the coat around himself once more while trying to nap for a bit.

The coat was warm, he told himself as he burrowed down into it.

That's all there was to it.

000

He woke up to the sound of somebody shuffling along the floor. It was almost like they were trying to be quiet and failing miserably, and the thought that somebody might be stealing food snapped him into awareness immediately.

"Oi, dinner's in an hour," he muttered, blinking away the sleep from his eyes, and Zoro turned to him with his hand reaching for the door to the pantry. "Get out of here, Marimo. I gave you a bottle of the best sake I had last night."

" 'm hungry," Zoro grunted, staring at the door, and Sanji snorted before getting to his feet.

"Yeah, well, I know you're not stupid enough to believe you're gonna find any food where I keep the booze, so try again," he crossed his arms, stepping forward and nearly tripping.

Right. Law's coat.

It fit him well enough through the shoulders and body, but Law was a few inches taller than him and it touched his feet so Sanji was damn near walking on it. It was warm, though, and he didn't' feel like taking it off at the moment, so he let the sleeves fall over his hands and decided standing in one spot was the best plan.

"Fine," Zoro sighed, leaning against the counter. "But I could use a snack."

"Whatever fruit's left in the bowl is all you're getting. We've gotta conserve our supplies," Sanji replied bluntly, aware that he probably looked a little childish standing there in a coat that didn't fit him, but it seemed Zoro had just clued into that as he blinked at him slowly.

"Is that Law's coat?"

"Yeah. So what?" Sanji shuffled across the floor, careful not to trip over the fabric and face-plant into the planks, and he grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl before throwing it rather carelessly in Zoro's general direction.

"Didn't realize you and he were that close," Zoro caught the banana, narrowing his eyes, and Sanji tried to hide the smirk that grew on his lips then, although with the high collar of the coat it was pretty easy to duck his chin behind it.

"Unlike some people I know, he knows the meaning of the word 'considerate,'" Sanji replied bluntly, although whether that was true or not really remained to be seen. The way Law had treated him last night was anything but, after all.

"Whatever," Zoro decided, shrugging and turning away from Sanji, but the blond could tell that it bothered him and he stored that information away for another time.

The galley door opened then and Law walked in, looking between them and clearing his throat. "Your navigator has just informed me that she's discovered an island that seems to have a port town. She estimates two days to travel there, which will no doubt put us a good week behind schedule by the time we reach Dressrosa, but I suppose it can't be helped," he still looked surly about it, but then his normal expression was a scowl so it was hard to tell if he was that annoyed.

"Okay. I think we've got enough to last us until then, as long as somebody," he looked pointedly at Zoro here, "stops trying to sneak food all the time."

Zoro didn't say anything, although he did start peeling his banana rather intently, and Sanji looked back toward Law.

"Do you want your coat back? I shouldn't have assumed…"

"I'm the one who left it here," Law pointed out. "And I have no need of it at the moment, so feel free to wear it if you wish," his eyes drifted to Zoro then, a rather unpleasant smirk on his lips, and Zoro stopped eating with the banana halfway in his mouth and blinked in confusion.

Sanji coughed to hide the laughter that was bubbling up because now he definitely knew what Law was doing and the older man was too damn good at this little game, but Zoro still looked blissfully unaware of its true purpose and for the moment that suited Sanji just fine.

Law left the room then, looking back once over his shoulder before jamming his hands in his jean pockets and gliding out the door.

Truthfully, Sanji had no idea how blatant they would have to be before Zoro caught on, but he much preferred this version of Law to the one that he'd seen last night.

In a way, he was glad that the island they were headed for would add a few days to their travel timeline.

They might actually have enough time for Zoro to figure it out now.

Notes:

1. I don't have a whole lot to say this time around other than that I wish I had some semblance of artistic talent because I rather like the mental image I'm getting of Sanji wearing Law's coat that's too big for him, but I have a hard time drawing stick-figures so I don't see that working out too well…

2. Thanks again for all of the lovely feedback I've gotten on this fic! I'm very glad people are still enjoying it :)