Title: So Good So Far
Author: AoiTsukikage
Rating: NC-17 overall
Characters/Pairing:Zoro/Sanji, Law/Sanji, eventual Law/Zoro/Sanji
Chapter: 14/?
Word Count: 3738
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 Fourteen

The storm was in full force by the time he made it back inside the lobby of the Inn, wind whipping the palm trees and driving the rain against his skin like stinging needles. He quickly entered the warmth of the Inn and pulled the door shut behind him, making his way across the lobby into the attached lounge.

He'd just slept for a day, after all, so he was nowhere near ready to go back to bed.

The cozy room was mostly empty, the citizens of the town obviously deciding to stay at home rather than venture out in the gale-force winds just to have a drink. He wasn't surprised to see most of the crew there, seated around a few tables that had been pushed together.

"Sanji!"

Chopper was the first to spot him, the tiny reindeer flinging himself across the room, and Sanji caught him in mid-air and grinned. He'd expected this, since none of them had seen him yet (Law had probably threatened dismemberment if they disturbed him or something. He wouldn't put that past the man), and despite his mind being in turmoil it always made him feel good that all of these amazing people cared about what happened to him.

"How are you feeling?" Chopper asked as Sanji walked back to the table, the doctor clambering onto his shoulders. "Any pain? Bleeding?"

"I'm fine, Chopper. A little shaken up, still, but I'll be fine," he promised, settling down in an empty seat. Nami latched onto his arm on one side and Usopp leaned on his other shoulder. He appreciated that they weren't making a huge deal about it, because he didn't think he could handle that right now.

The soft strains of a jazzy piano tune filled the room then, moody yet relaxed, and Sanji turned to see Brook seated at an old upright piano in the corner. The wood was faded, scrapes and chips a testament to the piano's age, but the sound that came from it was warm and full. It lulled him even farther, surrounded by his crewmates and soothing music, and he pressed his nose into Nami's sweet-smelling hair and wrapped his free arm more solidly around Usopp's waist.

"See? See?" Luffy was saying, his voice cutting through the haze of contentment Sanji was floating in. "I told you that an alliance with him was a good idea? Right, Sanji? Torao saved you, right?" he was excited, eyes shining, body bouncing in his seat as he clapped his hands together.

"Yeah, Luffy. He did," he replied softly, not really wanting to think about Law in that moment. Luffy decided to choose that exact second to become perceptive and zoomed his head over, neck stretched across the table while his body remained seated.

No matter how many times he'd seen it, that particular move still freaked Sanji out.

"What's wrong? Don't you like him? He's a good guy!" Luffy protested, as if that were the issue.

"I know," Sanji assured him. "He is, and he probably saved my life," he admitted, feeling Nami squeeze his arm harder and hearing Usopp's breath hitch.

"I knew he was all along," Luffy grinned at him before his head snapped back into place, the recoil nearly enough to tip his chair over backwards. He righted himself and laughed brightly, latching onto the piano and catapulting himself over there to try and put in a song request with Brook.

Sanji knew it was futile, because the skeleton played whatever he wanted to, and he stuck around for a few more songs before feigning tiredness when Brook predictably launched into a rousing version of Binks' Sake and excusing himself to his room.

He'd heard that song entirely too many times.

000

"So…is there something I need to know here? Because that is not normal," Sanji pointed to the bed and Zoro shrugged, glancing sideways at the man lying beside him.

"I don't think he knew I was awake," the swordsman replied. "He came in here to get his stuff, I guess, and sat down on the bed, and the next thing I know he's asleep. He looks like he needs it."

Sanji nodded, because even asleep Law looked exhausted. The dark shadows under his eyes were more prominent than ever, and he was sprawled on the bed carelessly, limbs thrown everywhere as if he'd passed out without even attempting to get comfortable first.

"What happened?" Zoro asked quietly and Sanji shrugged.

"He basically told me that since he saw us and we were…you know," he gestured to the bed and sat down on the edge, pulling his knees up. "That he and I were finished, and he was getting his own room," Sanji snorted, because he had beenangry at the time, but seeing Law now it was impossible to stay mad at him.

"He's not really that scary, is he?" Zoro was half-grinning in a way that told Sanji he'd never been afraid of Law, but Sanji knew what he meant. Law was a master at keeping up an aura that would intimidate everybody who came across him, and by now Sanji thought it must have been so ingrained that it was hard to let go of unless he was sleeping.

Sanji reached out a hand toward Law without thinking about it, stopping short of touching him because Law had made it pretty clear before that he didn't want Sanji doing that anymore. He pulled it back into his lap, sighing heavily.

"Tell me the truth," Zoro's voice was low, more serious than Sanji had heard it in a long time. "Do you love him?"

"No," Sanji didn't hesitate to answer that. "I don't know what I feel toward him, honestly. I…you know that I love making people happy, but I can't remember the last time I wanted to do it so fucking badly. I just feel like shit because it's my fault any of it happened, because I wanted to make you jealous," he groaned and flopped back between Zoro and Law, who stirred in his sleep before settling down again.

"It worked, though," Zoro reached over and started running his fingers rather hypnotically through Sanji's hair. "So what's the problem?"

"Because it's not fair to you," Sanji looked up at him, blinking slowly. "That's not how it works, Zoro. He's completely right by saying that he and I need to end things entirely, but that doesn't make me feel any better," he knew he was whining, but to his surprise Zoro kept smiling at him and it was kind of irritating. "What's so funny?"

"Instead of beating yourself up about whether or not it's fair to me, why don't you just ask me how I feel about it?" he suggested. Sanji reached up and brushed his fingers through Zoro's earrings, causing them to tinkle softly in the quiet of the room.

"I kinda figured 'you can't sleep with him and you can't make out with him' made it pretty clear how you felt," he grumbled, letting his hand drop to the bed. "You're not comfortable with it, and I need to respect that."

"Yeah. That was two days ago," Zoro said it as if it wasn't a big deal but Sanji glared at him, trying to figure out what he meant. "And honestly, I did that half because I was jealous and half just to see if you would."

Sanji kicked him off the bed for that one.

Zoro hit the floor with a thump and Sanji glanced over at Law fearfully. The older man was still fast asleep, his breathing steady and his forehead furrowed slightly.

"The fuck was that for, Cook?!" Zoro hissed, luckily keeping quiet, but he looked grumpy as he clambered back onto the bed.

"Did you honestly use sex as a way to see if my feelings for you were real?" Sanji growled, although honestly he couldn't even blame Zoro. He had kind of played up the fact that he and Law were fooling around, and even Zoro would have seen that.

"Okay, so we've both done some shitty things," Zoro rubbed at his tailbone before settling back down, flopping his arm to the side. Sanji decided to take it as an invitation and curled up against his chest. "Anyway, the point is, I know you're serious about me. And I know that…whatever's going on with him doesn't change what we could be, so…" he shrugged, as if that should be obvious, and Sanji thought that it must be nice to just…come to a decision and never question it.

Lately it felt like all he'd been doing was over-analyzing every thought and action. It was exhausting.

"It's still not right," Sanji felt compelled to point out. "You deserve better than for me to be involved with two people."

"I thought about that," Zoro replied, and Sanji tried and failed to hide his surprise at Zoro thinking about something deeply again. The other man nudged his shoulder gently in retaliation, being careful of his injuries. "And the truth is, I could never give you all of me, either. You've told me that you won't come between me and my dream, and my first priority will always be honoring my promise to Kuina by becoming the world's greatest swordsman. So how could I ask you to give me something I can't return?" he asked, his voice a little tight.

"Zoro…" Sanji pushed himself upright and leaned over the swordsman, staring down at him. "What are you…"

"He's not gonna be around forever either," Zoro pointed out, which was something Sanji knew well enough but tried not to think about too often. "You and I have a long time to work this out, and honestly, we need him now since he's the one that's got all the plans. If he's too busy moping around, that's not gonna help any of us."

It made sense, Sanji supposed, and if that was how Zoro wanted to rationalize it he probably shouldn't say anything against it. "So, you're saying…"

"Until we get to Dressrosa, forget all the rules. Whatever you want, okay?" he reached up, cupping Sanji's face and running his thumb over the blond's cheekbone gently. "I know it's fucked up, but hell, it's not like we've ever been normal," he grinned that demonic grin of his and Sanji couldn't argue that, so he leaned down to kiss him instead.

"Are the others down in the bar?" Zoro asked once he'd pulled away.

"They were when I left, but…"

"I'm gonna get a drink. Give you some time to tell him," Zoro jerked his thumb toward Law, who was still dead to the world.

Truth be told, Sanji was a little nervous about waking Law up for this, especially considering that on the beach Law hadn't left him on the greatest of terms. He didn't think the other man would cut him up and leave him in pieces or anything, but there was always a chance…

"I'll be back in a little while. Unless you and he want to…" Zoro made a vague motion that mostly seemed to include wiggling his fingers and Sanji snorted.

"No, Marimo. I'm still injured, remember?" he raised an eyebrow and Zoro rolled his eye, moving to the edge of the bed.

"Just…tell me one thing, Cook. You're a good judge of people, and you know enough about him now, so…does he deserve it? Is he really a good guy?" the swordsman was staring intently at Sanji and the blond was a little flattered that Zoro seemed to trust his judgement so implicitly.

Still, as much as Law tried his patience at times, that was a question Sanji could easily answer. "Yeah. He really is," he promised, meeting Zoro's gaze, and it must have satisfied the other man because he nodded once.

"Okay. I'll be back in a little while," he said as a farewell, stopping to grab his swords before walking out of the room.

Sanji turned over so that he was facing Law, wondering if this was the right thing to do.

Of course, thinking too hard had gotten him into his mess in the first place so maybe doing something impulsive would work out for the best, and whatever the outcome, it wouldn't be any worse than it was now.

"Hey," he reached out, barely brushing the tips of Law's hair with his fingers. That didn't earn him much more than Law wrinkling his nose and murmuring something that sounded displeased, so he knew he'd have to do more. "Law, hey," he poked the man's shoulder and Law swatted irritably at him before his eyes opened into thin slits.

His face relaxed when he saw who it was and for the briefest of moments the look he fixed on Sanji was completely tender and warm, but a second later he seemed to remember himself and Sanji could damn near see him slamming his walls back up.

"Did I fall asleep in your room? I apologize," Law started to sit up.

"Wait," Sanji reached out again without meaning to, hand hovering in the air between them. Law nodded, slowly, like he couldn't quite believe he was allowing it, and Sanji settled his hand on the older man's shoulder, rubbing his arm softly. "Zoro and I had a discussion. The details aren't important, but he's told me that his…rules were more of a test for me to see if I was serious about him. And I passed," he was still a little unsure if he should go through with this, because this was the second time he had an out with Law and it would probably be a lot better for him to take it.

Even though he wasn't going to.

"And?" Law asked, barely a whisper.

"And he said that…since the alliance won't be indefinite, that until we get to Dressrosa we can do…whatever we want," he finished, feeling kind of foolish when Law's expression didn't change at all.

"I see. And you think I'm going to be happy with him, what, loaning you to me? Am I to grovel at his feet because he deems me worthy of a fraction of your time?" he sounded offended. "As I told you on the beach, our arrangement has run its course. If you truly want to be kind to me right now, let me go. Delaying the inevitable won't be helpful to either of us in the long run."

Sanji wasn't even sure how to respond to that, but he could feel the annoyance he'd had with Law's attitude from nearly the beginning starting to boil over. He pushed himself upright, taking his hand off of the other man's shoulder and pointing at him instead. "No, you know what, fuck you. What was that shit about me making you happy and you caring about me?"

Law didn't reply right away. He stared at Sanji, unblinking, his fingers curling into the sheets like he needed something to anchor himself. "Nothing I told you was a lie," he finally said. "But trying to salvage something that by its very nature has to be temporary is fighting a losing battle…"

"That's a big difference from your little 'denying yourself pleasure just because it might end badly isn't worth it' speech from the other night," Sanji kept glaring at him because Law could be so damn obtuse at times. Sanji knew he was doing it because he felt like he was somehow protecting…either himself or Sanji, the cook wasn't sure exactly where his mind was, but it was stupid.

"My life is a series of stories with tragic endings, Mr. Blackleg," Law sighed. "I don't want you to be another one of them."

And Sanji nearly burst out laughing, because he couldn't believe Law was trying to pull this shit again. "Get off of your fucking pity pot, Trafalgar," he snapped. "You've been through shit. I know that, and I know that you're one of the fucking strongest people I've ever seen because you haven't let it beat you, and instead of turning cynical and trying to hurt others you do everything you fucking can to help them," he knew he had Law's attention then, the other man barely seeming to breathe as he looked at him. "Tell me the truth: if you let go of your past for half a second, if you don't assume I'm gonna meet some gory end just by being close to you, what would you tell me?"

"That I want it," Law said immediately, looking a little taken aback that the words had come out so easily.

"Then trust me to take care of myself. Maybe I'll need help sometimes," he touched the bandages on his chest idly, "but I'm not incompetent, and I'm not gonna die. You need to learn how to be happy without worrying that it's always going to end badly, because it's not, and if you never take that chance you'll never get over the fear," he wanted to kick himself for getting so damn philosophical but Law was actually listening to him and he couldn't let that slip.

The surgeon was still looking a little shell-shocked, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. His face relaxed into a semblance of a smile then, something gently chastising about it that Sanji didn't like but part of him wondered if Law even had it in him anymore to not look a little smug all the time.

"I do trust you," he finally stated. "You're quite remarkable," he continued, "because normally when somebody takes that tone with me they'd soon find themselves in pieces."

"Try it," Sanji smirked down at him, knowing that he was getting somewhere.

"I have no desire to," Law said, utterly honest. "And you do make a rather convincing argument."

"Yeah?" Sanji huffed a laugh, trying not to let go of his annoyance just yet.

"Indeed. I still can't help feeling that I'm going to come to regret this, but…" he sighed in resignation and covered his eyes with one hand, nodding.

"I'm gonna need more than that," Sanji told him bluntly.

"Yes," Law said shortly, but it was enough.

"Good," Sanji flopped beside him. "You're exhausting. I need a fucking cigarette," he snapped his fingers and heard Law grumble, but a second later he had both his cigarettes and his lighter in his hand. "You're such a good errand-boy."

"I hold a power that can grant immortality and cure any disease in the world, and you're using it to fetch you cigarettes," Law sounded amused, of all things, and when Sanji looked at him he was almost smiling.

He smoked in silence for a while, letting himself relax before he spoke again. "Hey, Law?"

"Yes?"

"I really do care about you," he cursed himself for sounding sappy, but it needed to be said.

"I know," Law shifted closer, still leaving some space between them, but he was near enough that Sanji could feel his body heat.

"Did you give that…thing to Franky yet?" Sanji asked then, needing a lighter topic to escape to because he knew neither of them wanted to dwell on feelings for long.

"Mm, I wasn't sure if that was still on the table."

"Hey, you promised me that you'd wear it and that I could fuck you. You're not getting out of this one," he looked sideways and Law rolled his eyes.

"I have no intention of trying to go back on my word. I'll speak to him tomorrow," he promised, looking out the window.

It was still raining, the wind slamming the drops against the balcony doors, but the brunt of the storm seemed to have passed them by and the thunder was only a bass rumble in the distance.

Sanji reached over to butt out the cigarette, tugging on Law's shirt to get him to move closer. He did, after a moment of hesitation, curling against Sanji's side and laying his head on the blond's shoulder, one arm slung across his hips.

"So much for your extra room, huh?" Sanji asked, fingers tugging lightly at Law's hair.

"Well, it is at the very end of the hall, and there's a supply closet next to it instead of another room, so if you want a place where people are less likely to hear us…" he trailed off, but his meaning was clear and Sanji swallowed heavily.

"I'll go check it out tomorrow," he decided, yawning. Arguing with Law had really tired him out.

"I'll need to check your bandages once we wake up," Law mumbled against his neck, lips brushing against the skin there with too much purpose not to be deliberate. "I don't expect there to be any issues so long as you've been following my orders, but if you re-open the bullet wounds themselves I can't fix that," he warned and Sanji groaned, because that probably meant they'd have to wait a couple of days before they could do more than cuddle. He knew he was a fast healer, but he hoped his body would recover quicker than normal this time around because Law had done a lot to help him along already.

"I'm being careful," Sanji mumbled, pressing his nose into Law's hair. Law hummed but didn't say anything, and when Sanji looked down at him his eyes were half-closed and he seemed completely at peace. It made Sanji's chest do that weird clenching thing again, and this time he didn't even try to write it off as just sympathy for Law's past. He didn't need to lie to himself anymore, and while there was still some guilt there because he felt that somehow he was being unfair to both Law and Zoro, he'd realized by now that it wasn't his decision to make for them.

"Should we get more comfortable?" Law tugged at the blankets. Sanji nodded, shifting so that he was underneath them, and Law didn't even need any prompting this time to curl up beside him. "You do make me happy," he murmured then, so soft that Sanji wasn't even sure he was meant to hear it.

"Good," Sanji whispered, pressing a kiss into Law's hair. The other man's arm tightened around his waist.

Sanji fell asleep with the sound of rain in his ears, the feeling of Law's warmth at his side, and a fervent hope that tomorrow might bring better things for all of them.

Notes:

1. I've received my first hate-review for this fic! Mostly it succeeded in making me laugh because in it they ended up accusing me of reviewing my own fics with no actual proof, but their biggest issue seemed to be that there is, in fact, Law/Sanji in this fic. You know, just like the summary states. I will admit that Law/Sanji has played a bigger part in the fic than I'd actually intended upon starting it, but for the most part I'm getting the impression that people are more or less okay with it, so I do hope that's the case!

2. Second, I've had people ask me if there will actually be top!Sanji in this fic. The answer is yes. I know some people don't like that, so I'll try to put a note on the chapter when it happens. It obviously won't be a big part of the fic and will probably only happen once, but it's going to happen...

3. That being said, this chapter kind of wraps up the angst…at least, the major part of the angst, although I can't promise everything will be pure fluff from here on out. This chapter was also tough to write because I wanted to make sure everything made sense in the way it was articulated, so I hope it reads well and that it's somewhat in-character considering the situation. Thanks again for all the feedback :)