Title: So Good So Far
Author: AoiTsukikage
Rating: NC-17 overall
Characters/Pairing:Zoro/Sanji, Law/Sanji, eventual Law/Zoro/Sanji
Chapter: 12/?
Word Count: 2751
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 Twelve

"I did warn you," Robin looked over the top of her menu at him, the corners of her eyes crinkled slightly as if she was finding this all very amusing. Sanji knew she wasn't laughing at him, but sometimes he still felt so out of his depth with Robin. He rarely doubted his own intelligence but she made him feel about as smart as a crab, and about as worldly as a newborn babe.

"I know, Robin-chan. I should have listened," he scrubbed a hand through his hair and tried to decide on what to order. Everything he'd tried on the island had been good so far, but it was a way to try and avoid putting the conversation off for a bit.

Even though he'd been the one to initiate it, he still was a little afraid of the outcome. "I never expected you to," she held a glass of wine in her hand, swirling it around casually. "If you're asking my advice, I think what you need to figure out is what relationship will make you the happiest moving forward."

"Meaning…?" he raised a curled eyebrow and Robin smiled, leaning forward.

"Well," she rested her chin on one hand, glancing around before another hand popped out of the table and folded the menu up neatly. It disappeared in a flash of flower petals just as the server came to take their order, and Robin gave him a knowing smile as he tried to hide a laugh.

He ended up just ordering the seafood chowder, his stomach not feeling up to handling more than soup. He had a feeling this conversation wouldn't be easy.

"What I mean, essentially, is that at this point you and Zoro have a very established relationship. It's evident to anybody that watches you for more than a few minutes that the perceived animosity between you is mostly a front, but if it only ever continued that your relationship never became more physical, would you be satisfied with that?" she asked, and he had to think about that one.

Yes, he wanted Zoro to reciprocate his feelings, and he wanted to have sex with Zoro, but he'd lived for years with the state of their current relationship and he knew he could continue with that if nothing ever worked out between them. It might not be easy to begin with, and his feelings might never go away completely, but it would be manageable.

"If it came to that, I think I could live with it," he said truthfully, and she nodded.

"And what if you pursued a deeper relationship and it ended up damaging the one you already have?"

And wow, that was straight to the point, but again, Sanji could see why she would bring that up. If he was being honest, he didn't think it would change all that much. They'd still do things to annoy each other, and they still probably wouldn't agree on a lot of topics, but the energy they normally spent fighting would be used for…other activities. Since most of their fights just ended up damaging the ship and pissing Nami and Franky off, that might be preferable for everybody. Zoro had said that he wasn't into romance, and Sanji didn't think that would ever change, but the way he had kissed Sanji that morning went far beyond just fulfilling some sort of physical need.

Sanji didn't want chocolates or flowers or any of that shit. He did want to feel loved and appreciated, and he wanted to see if there was any truth to the 'sex is better when you're in love with the person' thing he'd been told his whole life, but he didn't think that would be a problem where Zoro was concerned.

The man wasn't heartless, after all.

"I don't think that would be a problem, Robin-chan. Honestly, I don't think much would change between us except regular sex," he blushed, then, because talking about that with Robin was mortifying. She merely chuckled and nodded.

"Well, then. What about Law?"

"I...care about him," Sanji decided that was the safest way to put it. "He's opened up to me, a lot, and maybe nobody else can see it but he really needs somebody and he feels…safe with me, for some reason."

"But if the only reason you feel obligated to him is because you pity him, and because he needs you, that's hardly healthy," she pointed out.

"I mean, that's…part of it," he stopped talking as their food arrived. He tried the chowder, pleased that the broth was thick and creamy and the seafood was obviously fresh. "But we're a lot alike, and I enjoy talking to him and spending time with him, and the sex…" he coughed, staring at the tablecloth.

"Yes. I've heard," Robin replied dryly, but she laughed afterward and Sanji felt a little better about it. "Could you fall in love with him?"

"Maybe," Sanji had been thinking about it, and if Zoro was completely out of the picture he honestly thought he could. But that wasn't the case, so it was much more of a long-shot than a surety. "If we had more time together."

And there was the other sticking point: Law being there at all was temporary. He had his own crew, and his own mission in life, and after their alliance ended the chances of them seeing each other again were minimal. There was just no point in getting close to somebody he'd never meet up with again.

"So it seems to me you certainly have genuine feelings for both of them, albeit for very different reasons. It is possible to love more than one person, Sanji," she glanced furtively around again before a hand manifested out of his shoulder to stroke his hair back.

"That doesn't really matter, Robin-chan," he laughed bitterly. "They hate each other, so it's not like they're gonna reach some compromise."

"It seems that way," she admitted. "Well, it was just a thought," the hand winked out of existence and she turned back to her salad, seemingly done with the conversation.

"Even if it worked…it's not right, is it?" he asked carefully. She merely smiled at him in that way she had where she seemed so much older than she was.

"You're a pirate, Sanji. I think, if you're worried about staying on some sort of moral high ground, you've already burned that bridge by merely deciding to travel with Luffy," she reached to pat his hand with her own and he wiggled a little bit in his seat at the touch.

She didn't speak of it again until after their empty plates had been taken away, but her parting words to him were: "Just remember, the most important thing is that you're all happy. Our lives are far too unpredictable to forego happiness because of some perceived moral dilemma," she gave him a softer smile this time, the kind that told him she believed in him to make the best choice.

He appreciated it, but part of him wished he had as much faith in himself as she seemed to have in him.

000

He wandered around town for a while afterward, trying to sort through everything that the conversation with Robin had brought to light.

It wasn't exactly making things clearer so much as more confusing than ever. As he stood at a fruit stand and turned an apple over in his hands, mind racing, he didn't hear the hurried footsteps behind him until it was too late.

The impact to the back of his head dropped him instantly, and he was only aware of several men surrounding his prone body before he blacked out.

000

They were bounty hunters, from what he could figure, and surprisingly well-organized. The wealth of posters on the wall showed that they'd done their research. He supposed he was thankful that it was him they'd snagged instead of anybody else on the crew. That didn't mean he was going to go down without a fight, though, and since all he could move at the moment was his mouth, he was going to put it to good use.

"You picked the worst person to try and collect a bounty off of, dipshit, because my wanted posted is the back of my head," Sanji knew he was pushing his luck. Still, if he could convince them that he was a bad choice to bring the Marines as a bounty head, it might be worth it. "Any Marine grunt you meet won't believe that it's me, so you're wasting your ti-" he was cut off by one of the men gagging him with a foul-smelling piece of fabric, the ends of it tied tightly behind his head. He growled through it anyway, the scent and taste of it making his stomach turn, and struggled against his bonds.

"Need I remind you that the poster says dead or alive?" the leader of the hunters grabbed his chin, forcing his head up. "I wouldn't push your luck if I were you, pirate."

Sanji stopped trying to struggle, eyeing the man who had a pistol turned on him. He was well and truly fucked, since there were far too many of them for him to take out in his current state. And they at least knew who he was, since they'd made sure to immobilize his legs first.

In fact, the device they had him in made him think somebody in their little group of bounty hunters was into some seriously kinky sex, because there was no other reason somebody would own something like that. There was a heavy collar around his neck, an iron bar attached to the back that ended in wrist cuffs, so he was forced into keeping his upper body perfectly straight with his hands trapped behind him. The collar was bolted to the wall with only a short chain connecting the two so he couldn't even lean forward enough to alleviate the strain on his back. He was on his knees, legs spread and ankles snapped into restraints built into the stone floor of the…he thought it was a fortress of some sort, but all he really knew was that they were still on the island.

Regardless, he couldn't move, his body was aching, and he had no idea how the fuck he was going to get out of this one. He tried to get his panic under control, but normally he was the one saving people and not the one in need of rescuing.

It wasn't a feeling he wanted to repeat anytime soon…if indeed he even got out of it alive.

He'd come to realize that his biggest fear was being trapped, something that could probably be attributed to being stuck on a spit of rock for two months. It was making his pulse quicken and his breath come short and fast, leaving him light-headed and nauseous.

"Good. You're much prettier when you're quiet," the man held his chin again and forced his head up. Sanji leveled a glare at him, about the only thing he could do, but that only caused him to laugh. "We set sail in the morning with the tide," he told the rest of the men, straightening up. "We'll break his legs before we leave so he can't try anything funny, but leave him here overnight," he spoke with no emotion but Sanji couldn't stop from flinching, shoulders hunching up before the bar stopped them and he gasped in pain.

The way he was leering at Sanji now was making the blond nervous, because he was utterly powerless to anything the other man should decide to do to him. Just then, there was a loud bang from outside the room and the hunter let him go, turning toward the door. Sanji could hear yelling and rushed footsteps before the door flew open.

"Sir, we're under attack-" the man giving the report stopped with a gurgle, blood dripping from his mouth as a very familiar blade pierced him through the chest.

"Kill the pirate," the lead hunter turned to the man with the pistol. "Now! We can collect a bounty from his corpse but they won't want him back if he's not breathing!"

Sanji felt like everything was happening in slow motion, Zoro pulling the blade of his cursed katana free of the man's body and turning just as the pistol fired. Sanji knew he wouldn't make it in time, that nobody would make it in time, and he couldn't even twist his body to try and shield himself from the bullets.

The gunman only had time to fire two shots before Zoro got to him, dispatching him in a spray of blood and show of brutality that Sanji had never seen from the swordsman. His aim was true, though, and the force of their impact slammed Sanji back against the wall, hitting him in the left side of his chest.

The pain was overwhelming, but he wouldn't have to deal with it for long because a glance through pain-hazed eyes saw the leader swinging a rather wicked cutlass at his neck. He thought about what a shitty way to die this was, resigning himself to it, but the strike never fell.

Instead, the man's head and arm were severed from his body, the blade falling uselessly to the ground. Sanji coughed, blood staining the dirty cloth in his mouth, his vision going dark.

He felt the restraints being cut from his body, but instead of falling to the ground like he expected, he was caught gently in a pair of strong arms.

"Lay him down but don't touch his chest. I need to see how bad it is."

"It's useless!" the leader of the bounty hunters was still speaking, somehow, and Sanji realized that meant that Law was behind his current dismembered state. "Those bullets went straight through his heart!"

"Let me be the judge of that," Law's voice was dripping venom, silky and dangerous, and Sanji coughed weakly as he was laid back, head in Zoro's lap. Zoro tore the gag from his mouth and he sucked in a breath, regretting it instantly because it only made his chest hurt more.

"Don't you dare die on me, Cook," Zoro murmured, his eye full of visible panic, and Sanji whimpered.

"Fuck. Fuck," Law cursed under his breath, hands hovering over Sanji's chest. "It's too close. I need to…" he sighed heavily, leaning closer so that Sanji could see him. "I need to take your heart out. It appears our friend here has overestimated the ability of his ex-sniper, but if I try to remove the bullets with my power there's a chance I could hit your heart in the process," he explained, voice low and calming, and Sanji nodded jerkily. "Good. Hold on for me," he brushed his fingers down Sanji's cheek in a rare moment of unguarded tenderness before moving away.

"Room!"

Sanji felt his body jerk when Law reached into his chest, but there wasn't pain, exactly. He felt hysterical laughter bubbling up at the sight of his heart in Law's hand. Law passed it to Zoro, who took it with a good deal of hesitance. Sanji wanted to make some ill-timed quip about them both holding his heart in their hands but it wasn't the time, and he had to have been nearly delirious with blood loss to even think of something like that.

"This might hurt a little," Law warned, pulling up a Room again, and Sanji could feel the bullets leave his body. It didn't hurt, but it felt strange, and he watched in a stupor as Law inserted his heart back into his chest. The pain came back with a vengeance once the Room dissipated, Sanji unable to keep from groaning. "You did well," Law murmured, leaning in close again and stroking a hand through his hair. "You'll be okay," he bent down and kissed Sanji's forehead, and Sanji felt Zoro tense underneath him.

Fuck, now was not the time for those two to start getting into it.

Luckily Zoro let it go, his fingers clamped tight around Sanji's arm, and Law nudged his nose against Sanji's and breathed against his lips, "You can pass out now if you want. I'll take care of you."

At that point, Sanji didn't think he could have stayed conscious even if Law had ordered him to, so he closed his eyes and let the darkness claim him.

Notes:

1. Why yes, yes I did actually use inspiration from real bondage gear for this chapter *runs away* (it's called a posture bar, if anybody was wondering…). That's about the only note I have for this one, so I hope you all are still enjoying despite the inevitable angst and drama that's still to come!