Title: So Good So Far
Author: AoiTsukikage
Rating: NC-17 overall
Characters/Pairing:Zoro/Sanji, Law/Sanji, eventual Law/Zoro/Sanji
Chapter: 8/?
Word Count: 4300
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

Chapter Eight

"…Fuck."

"What's the matter?" Law asked, sounding half-asleep, and Sanji patted at his shirt pocket and sighed when the search came up fruitless.

"My lighter. I must've left it in my suit jacket," he glanced over at the chair the offending article was draped over, but he couldn't be bothered to move.

And besides, Law was kind of curled up in his lap, so he didn't want to disturb him.

At least, that's what he'd tell himself.

"Give me a cigarette," Law waved a hand and Sanji pulled a spare one out, passing it over. Law raised his free arm and made a Room, and a second later he had the lighter in his hand. "Here."

"Seriously, is there anything that power of yours can't do?" Sanji lit up gratefully and sighed, leaning back against the headboard. "I mean, you can use it to warp, you can make people switch bodies, you can fucking cut diseases out of people…"

"Mm, it has its limitations," Law murmured, shifting so that he could mostly look up at Sanji. "For instance, it's entirely dependent on my stamina. Creating and maintaining a Room of a decent size uses up energy, and if I get too exhausted my power is useless. Plus, it doesn't impart medical knowledge, so most people wouldn't be able to harness its true potential unless they were a trained doctor beforehand," he explained, more talkative than normal in the relative privacy of their hotel room.

They hadn't done much more than make out, not really, but Sanji found that he really didn't mind because he was far too tired from shopping all day to do more than that anyway.

"Still, it seems like for you it's a pretty damn good fit," he noted, and Law nodded slowly.

"It is, I suppose," he conceded. "I probably wouldn't be alive if it weren't for the powers it afforded me, but on the other hand…well, if I were to use it to its full potential, I certainly wouldn't be alive," his voice changed, then, sounding far too foreboding, and it made Sanji shiver.

"What…"

"Its ultimate power is granting immortality," Law intoned, and Sanji was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open after that one because he hadn't even realized that was possible. "But to do so, the user must forfeit their own life."

"Holy shit," he breathed out, frowning. "Who would…"

"I'm sure it's been done," Law continued, "or else that particular power wouldn't be knowledge anybody would possess, but as to who reaped the benefits of it, I don't know. It's always seemed a little too meddlesome for me, however," he kept his tone light, seemingly unbothered by that piece of knowledge.

"Too much like playing God?" Sanji questioned, and Law nodded.

"I'm not sure I believe in God, but yes, in a way. We're not meant to live forever, and even though as a doctor I do my best to preserve life I realize that the power to grant eternal youth flies in the face of the natural order of the world, and I don't particularly feel that it's a power anybody should have," he looked far more serious now.

Sanji ran his hands through Law's hair, watching him half-close his eyes in obvious enjoyment, before he spoke. "Well, at least if you have it and you aren't gonna use it, that means nobody bad can get it."

"That's certainly one way to look at it," Law sat up, stretching his arms over his head. "Well, it's getting rather late, and if I know your crew they'll find some way to wake us up in the morning."

"Yeah, that's pretty much a given," Sanji finished off the cigarette, throwing the butt into a cup on the nightstand. "I'm gonna hit the washroom, unless you need it…"

"Go ahead," Law finally moved off of him, standing up and padding over to the window, so Sanji grabbed some clothes more suitable for sleeping in and headed into the small ensuite. He got changed quickly, splashing some water onto his face and deciding he'd shower in the morning before heading back into the bedroom.

Law was nowhere to be found, and Sanji got anxious for a moment before he spotted the balcony doors ajar and walked out onto the small terrace. The night was warm, the air humid yet pleasant after the extreme cold of Punk Hazard, and Law was staring out toward the sea with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Hey," Sanji whispered, feeling the need to speak quietly for some reason. "Come to bed," he urged, tugging at Law's hand, and to his surprise the other man came without so much as a word, closing the door behind him and crawling under the covers.

Sanji got in the other side, lying with his back to Law and curling up because everything had gotten awkward surprisingly quickly but sharing a bed was far different than just lying on a couch together.

He could tell pretty quickly that Law wasn't comfortable either, because he kept shifting, and finally he heaved a rather defeated sigh and Sanji felt him move closer.

Reaching back, he grabbed Law's wrist and slung it over his waist, shifting back so their bodies were flush.

Law didn't say anything, but he did stop moving around and relaxed against Sanji, breathing evening out almost instantly. Sanji smiled to himself, knowing that it wouldn't take him long to fall asleep either now that both of them were comfortable.

He was right.

000

He found Zoro outside the next morning, leaning against a palm tree on the nearby beach and snoring quietly. Sanji absently kicked at the other man's boot, cradling a cup of coffee in his hands and wearing a baggy sweatshirt that, yes, belonged to Law, but he wanted to make a statement.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked once Zoro had yawned himself awake, and the other man blinked at him.

"Not with them. I think they were trying to compose the world's first song using only farts and burps," he grunted. Sanji chuckled and sat down beside him drawing his knees up to his chest and passing the coffee over after a moment.

"It doesn't have rum in it, but I figure it'll do," he murmured, and Zoro took a sip without complaining. "I'd offer to have you sleep in our room, but there's only one bed."

"You're fucking him, aren't you?"

Sanji took the cup back and tried to gather his thoughts, because yes, they were being obvious as all hell, but he didn't think Zoro would be that blunt about it.

"What gave you that idea?"

"Don't play dumb, Cook," Zoro grunted. "You're sleeping in the same bed and wearing his clothes, and the other night you were sneaking around with blankets and I know damn well he was the only person out on deck."

Zoro didn't sound angry or anything, just kind of insulted, and Sanji wasn't sure what to say.

"I'm not," he decided on eventually. "I mean yes, we've…fooled around, but it hasn't gone as far as…"

"Anal penetration?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow, and Sanji snorted.

"Oh, God. Is that what he called it?"

Zoro's grin was answer enough and Sanji had to roll his eyes because yeah, he should have guessed Law would phrase it like that.

"Why?" Zoro asked then, and Sanji shrugged.

"Why not? You said it yourself, he's fucking hot, and we both wanted it. That's it, though," he promised.

"So you're not in love with him," Zoro frowned and Sanji burst out laughing at that, because the idea was absurd and he didn't even know how Zoro had come to that conclusion.

"No, idiot. I'm afraid you've cast some sort of Marimo-spell over me and you're the only one I feel that way about," he said it as teasingly as he could, even though he was becoming more and more convinced that what he felt for Zoro wasn't as far off as he'd originally thought. "But you obviously don't reciprocate my feelings, and I'm not gonna turn down a hot guy, especially when there's no chance of emotions getting involved."

"Didn't you tell me that sex with feelings is better?" Zoro asked suspiciously, and Sanji shrugged.

"That's what I hear. But it still feels good," he wrapped his arms around his knees and looked out at the waves, seeing that it was probably going to be a warm, clear day and looking forward to not doing much for once.

"You don't feel anything for him?" Zoro pressed and Sanji frowned, wondering why he was pushing so hard.

"Does it matter?" he finally asked, realizing he was avoiding the question. "You don't like me that way, so even if I did, it's none of your business."

"But you don't," Zoro repeated, clenching his fists at his sides before he turned, hand coming to rest heavily on Sanji's shoulder. "Tell me the truth, Cook."

"Why should I?" Sanji let himself smile rather cockily, because he could feel the air nearly crackling with tension between them and whatever came of it, it was progress.

"Because…" Zoro growled, seemingly unable to find the words he wanted to say, and grabbed Sanji's chin, moving closer. "Because he doesn't deserve you."

"And you do, hmm?" Sanji asked, keeping his tone light even though his heart was hammering wildly in his chest. Fuck, he'd thought Zoro would get possessive, but he didn't think Law would ever be in any danger from it, and Zoro right now seemed liable to march up to the hotel room and draw his swords on the other man.

"I…" Zoro leaned closer, something in his eye that was strangely hesitant, and Sanji pressed his hands against the swordsman's chest, holding him in place.

"Don't. Not unless you mean it," Sanji said firmly, because he wasn't going to be some sort of…prize to be won.

"I wouldn't," Zoro pulled back, swallowing. "That's not fair to you," he sat against the tree, glaring at the surf, and Sanji sighed and took another sip of his coffee. "So all of this…you did it to make me jealous."

"Yeah. Partly," Sanji admitted with a grimace. "That probably sounds awful, but you know, sometimes you can be a little oblivious."

Zoro grunted but didn't reply, still looking deep in thought.

"Well?" Sanji pressed, nudging his arm against Zoro's, "Did it work?"

"You're an asshole," Zoro replied, but there was no malice in his words. "And honestly, I'm still trying to figure things out. You've known who you are for years, and until a few days ago I hadn't even thought about being with somebody like that," he ran his fingers idly along the saya of his white sword. "I guess I still don't trust him."

"Law?" Sanji snorted. "Look, I appreciate the concern, but I don't need you acting like some sort of parent-figure telling me who I can and can't sleep with. He's a good guy, and you're just gonna have to trust me when I say I know that," he'd never blab about Law's past to anybody, so he hoped that was enough to appease Zoro for the moment.

"Look, just…be careful with him. I'll cut him in half if he lays so much as a finger on you that you don't want, and when I'm done with him he won't be able to put himself back together," Zoro scowled, poking Sanji in the chest with his finger, and Sanji smiled to himself because now that Zoro had calmed down a little bit it was almost…cute how protective he was.

But being protective over him didn't mean Zoro was close to having genuine feelings for him that went beyond being crewmates, especially since Zoro right now seemed to have a bigger issue with who he was fooling around with as opposed to that he was fooling around with anybody at all.

It was progress, of a sort, but until Zoro himself sorted out everything he was going through, there wasn't much else Sanji could do to help him along.

"Well, don't think too hard about it or you'll hurt yourself," he stood up and kicked Zoro's knee gently, taking the coffee cup and turning around.

"Bastard," Zoro muttered, although their insults hardly held any real heat anymore, and by the time Sanji had reached the back door of the inn the swordsman still hadn't moved.

000

"Fuck," Sanji threw his head back, mouth open in a soundless gasp. "I'm good. I'm good, I need…" he groaned as Law scraped his teeth along the line of Sanji's neck, three fingers deep in Sanji's ass.

Sanji had told him that Zoro knew about them, or that he'd guessed, and Law had looked almost worried until learning that, so far at least, Zoro was no closer to realizing some deep-seated love for Sanji so there was no reason to stop their arrangement yet.

"Besides," Sanji had noted, pulling the sweatshirt he had borrowed from Law off and smirking at him, "you haven't even gotten to fuck me yet."

And that was all it had taken, but Law was being a fucking tease now and Sanji was nearly coming apart under his hands before Law was even close to being inside of him, which wasn't going to fly with him.

"It's been a long time. Are you quite sure I've prepared you enough?" Law, damn him, didn't sound affected at all, and Sanji let out a garbled whine that he really hoped translated to 'I'm going to kick you in the head if you don't fuck me right now', but luckily the message apparently went through because Law kissed his neck and slid his fingers out.

Sanji's chest was heaving, his body soaked with sweat, and he brushed his damp hair irritably out of his eyes while Law slicked his own cock and moved closer.

"How do you want to do this?"

Sanji didn't trust his voice, as out of breath as he was, so he hooked his legs around Law's waist and pulled him in, hoping that would be answer enough. Law slid a hand under his back, lifting his hips up.

"Relax for me," he murmured, and Sanji did, letting his body go limp in Law's hold and only wincing a little when Law entered him. It was a feeling he had to get used to again, but Law had been remarkably thorough in preparing him and there was no pain to speak of. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Sanji wrapped his arms around Law's neck, his body damn near folded in half. "Move."

Law obliged, snapping his hips with an intensity that Sanji wasn't expecting and he yelped in surprise, clapping a hand over his mouth and glaring at the other man.

"Too much?" Law asked innocently and Sanji jabbed him in the side with his heel.

"Warn me next time," he muttered, tangling his fingers in Law's hair and pulling him into a kiss. It wasn't much more than breathing into each other's mouths, especially not once Law started moving again, but it gave him a way to muffle some of his moans and he really didn't want to wake up everybody in the hotel.

Law's brow was furrowed and he was obviously concentrating hard on what he was doing, driving his hips in an even rhythm that Sanji found easy to match. He hooked his heels around Law's back and moved with him, Law's cock brushing his prostate as he drove in even deeper.

"Fuck," Sanji gasped, unable to even think of any other words, and Law chuckled against his lips before moving even faster, eyes narrowed and hips stuttering a little as his pace started to become erratic. Sanji gritted his teeth, one hand still fisted in Law's hair and the other cupped around the back of his neck so that he could lift himself up a little farther, letting Law fuck him as fast as he could.

He knew when Law was close, because the other man let out a sound that might have been a whine from any normal person but that Law cut off before it could fully form, his entire body taut. His face was still stubbornly neutral, but his body was giving him away and Sanji was going to take advantage of that.

"Do it," Sanji ordered, trying to sound as confident as possible. "Come. I want to feel you inside me," he murmured, and Law made a sound like a wounded animal before shuddering and reaching his climax. Sanji kissed him through it, hearing Law's breath hitch shakily as he rode it out.

Sanji reached down to jerk himself off, needing release because his body was screaming for it by now, but Law swatted his hand away and took over. It only took a few strokes before Sanji felt his own orgasm wash over him, head thrown back and back arched impossibly far.

His strength gave out as soon as he was finished, flopping to the bed and pulling Law down with him, and they were both sweaty and sticky and Sanji's cock was trapped between them, ejaculate smeared on both of their stomachs and down Law's hand and wrist.

It was amazingly filthy and Law looked completely wrecked, beautiful and unguarded in the lamplight, and they just stared at each other for a while until their breathing and heartbeats had slowed.

"That…was worth the wait," Sanji decided, laughing, and he grimaced when Law pulled out but the other man seemed content to lay half on top of him for the time being.

"I'm glad," Law finally whispered, kissing the tip of Sanji's nose in a rather playful gesture before he shakily stood up and staggered to the bathroom, all traces of his normal grace gone. He came back with a wet cloth and cleaned Sanji off with surprising tenderness before wiping his own body clean, throwing the cloth aside and pulling back the covers so they could both crawl under.

Sanji reached for his cigarettes, pushing himself up to lean back against the headboard and lighting up, and vowed that he was never going to go two years without having sex again.

Not when it felt that good.

000

"I've never seen you smile."

"Hmm?" Law looked over at him, half-turning onto his side. Sanji pulled the blanket up to his chin, cigarette safely discarded now, and hoped that Law was as complacent in the afterglow tonight as he'd been after Sanji's watch back on the ship.

"When we're…I mean, I believe that you're enjoying it, but watching your face anybody would think you secretly hate it," he mentioned, hoping that Law wouldn't take offense.

"It's not that," Law brushed aside his words rather brusquely. "Quite the opposite, in fact. But I'm afraid that I haven't been able to truly smile since I was a child," his tone was dismissive, and Sanji wondered if Law would finally offer up some deeper insight into that part of his past or if he was just going to close off again.

"Okay. As long you're still okay with it," he decided that it was a lost cause to press for information and started to turn on his side, preparing to go to sleep. He should really get up and go sleep on the sofa or something, because while they'd slept together the night before there was a big difference between sleeping fully-clothed compared to post-coital and completely naked, but he couldn't be bothered to move in that moment.

He was close to being asleep when he heard Law speak again, his voice nearly a whisper in the stillness. "You're from the North Blue. What do you know of the White City?"

Sanji frowned, because what that had to do with anything he wasn't sure, but… "I was only five when it…was destroyed," he started slowly. "I know that…the rumor was that the people there were infected and they had to be…exterminated to prevent whatever they had from spreading, but…"

"Government propaganda," Law grunted. "It was poison…lead poisoning, and not contagious in the least, but the government decided finding a cure was too much trouble and just…killing everybody with the excuse that they were threats to public health was a better course of action," his voice was cold, and Sanji turned back around so he could look at him. "I was born there. It was my home. The day they…I saw my parents get shot in front of me. My friends all died even as they tried to get on a boat that would take them to safety. The hospital my father worked at, where my sister was being treated, burned in front of my eyes. That was the last day I was happy," he snarled, teeth bared in a rictus, and Sanji felt like somebody had just punched him in the stomach because it was hard to breathe.

"Holy shit, Law, I…"

"I escaped by pretending to play dead and letting them collect me with the…the bodies. Even though I knew I was going to die, I didn't want it to be there, and I wanted…" he breathed out slowly, closing his eyes. "It's not important. But it's also not something I talk about much, as I'm sure you've guessed. At least maybe I've given you more of a reason for being a cold-hearted bastard, and I feel I owe you that much," he looked at Sanji but his expression was still blank, and Sanji didn't know what to do.

"How did you…I mean, you're alive…your fruit?" he guessed, and Law nodded.

"Yes. That wasn't until after I'd met Corazon, but as you know, that chapter ended much the same way. My life has been a series of losing everybody I care about, and it's the main reason I try to keep to myself. I don't know if I'm…" he stopped again, voice breaking a little.

"Hey, my fucking name means tragedy; at least you don't have that hanging over you," Sanji muttered, trying to lighten the mood. "Shit, being shipwrecked and stuck on a rock for two months with no food doesn't seem so bad now."

Law looked over at him in surprise, blinking slowly, golden eyes almost luminous in the low light of the room, and Sanji realized that for all he'd pushed to learn about Law's past he'd never offered up many details about his own. "It seems you were correct when you noted that we both have demons in our past."

"Yeah. Guess so," Sanji stared into the darkness, just thinking. In all honestly, he should feel better because Law had offered up the information he'd wanted to know for a long time, but now he wasn't so sure, because while it did go a long way in explaining why Law was the way he was, Sanji had no idea if there was any hope of him ever changing. Some scars just went too deep, he supposed, and Law's were some of the deepest he'd ever seen. Still, the older man didn't have to say anything, and that he did said a lot. He decided it wouldn't be right not to acknowledge that, at least, so he cleared his throat and sat up. "I'm…glad you trust me enough to tell me that now."

"I know it's not information you'll abuse, if indeed anybody would even believe you that there were survivors from Flevance."

His tone sounded final and Sanji was perfectly okay to see the subject changed since he was still not sure how to react to all of it. He felt like he should give Law a real hug this time…or something…but he didn't expect that would go over all that well. Still…

Law was staring at the ceiling, unblinking, the sheets balled in one clenched fist held against his chest, and Sanji decided that he'd accept whatever consequences his actions had and shifted closer, throwing his arm around Law's waist and nuzzling his shoulder.

Law sighed, loosening his hold on the blankets, and while he didn't make any move to return the embrace, he wasn't trying to run away, either.

"Somebody told me once, a long time ago, that true despair doesn't exist because a helping hand will always find you," he finally whispered, and Sanji pressed a kiss to his shoulder and held him a little tighter.

"Well, I dunno if that's true, but as long as you're with us I think you don't have to worry. You saved our Captain's life, and we all owe you for that, plus…Luffy likes you. Somehow," he added, and Law smirked at that. It wasn't a real smile, but it was better than the blank look his face had held since their conversation started.

"I extend the same courtesy to all of you," he finally admitted, and Sanji rubbed his thumb over Law's hipbone, smiling to himself.

"Good. Then, whatever happens, none of us have to worry," he decided, closing his eyes and hoping that Law wouldn't have a change of heart and decide to push him off or something.

He didn't, as it turned out, and he let his hand rest on Sanji's back in a way that still felt awkward but Sanji guessed that was to be expected.

A slight stab of fear went through him in the moment before he fell asleep, because for as intimate as this was, it was comfortable and the last thing their arrangement was supposed to produce was genuine feelings of any kind.

It wasn't what he felt for Zoro, of course, but it was something and right now, he wasn't sure what it meant.

All he knew was that, since after today Zoro seemed closer than ever to maybe reciprocating his feelings, it probably wasn't a good thing.

Notes:

1. Yeah, inevitably things were going to get a little messy as far as emotions were concerned, so that's what's starting to happen right now…but for those of you who are concerned, no, there won't be any direct Law/Zoro in this fic (at least, not without Sanji involved), and maybe it was the naïve asexual in me talking but Zoro acknowledging that Law is attractive wasn't supposed to be taken as him being sexually interested in Law, but more that even somebody like Zoro, who doesn't typically look at outer beauty, can acknowledge that Law is good looking.

2. Sanji's name actually does mean tragedy, or at least, that's one of the meanings of it. It also means 3:00 and thirty-two and advisor/counselor (which actually does kind of suit him). But considering that Sanji's original name was supposed to be 'Naruto', I think I prefer Sanji in whatever translation of the word Oda intended!

3. As always, thank you so much for the amazing feedback I've gotten and please feel free to continue reviewing/commenting because it does give me a lot of motivation to write!