Title: So Good So Far
Author: AoiTsukikage (kikokus)
Rating: NC-17 overall
Characters/Pairing: Zoro/Sanji, Law/Sanji, eventual Law/Zoro/Sanji
Chapter: 20/?
Word Count: 4304
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 Twenty

"Why are we out here, again?"

"Because we haven't seen any of the island except the Inn," Sanji looked back over his shoulder, hands stuffed in his pockets and customary cigarette between his lips as they walked on the path. "The chef at that restaurant we went to said there's a lot of fresh herbs and other edible plants up on the ridge, so I thought we'd check it out instead of lying on the beach again."

"Herbs," Zoro muttered under his breath, shifting the rather large bag on his back higher.

"Several of the local ingredients for different poultices and medicines from the book Mr. Tony showed me can also be found up on the bluffs," Law put in, falling into step with Sanji and adjusting his sword over his shoulder. Zoro grumbled something about being a pack-mule and kept walking, although Sanji was still convinced the real reason he'd come was to stick close to both of them.

Still, Zoro was able to carry more than either of them, and although Sanji didn't think a few plants would be that heavy, it was good to be prepared.

They reached the high cliffs quickly, Sanji rushing to the edge to let the wind ruffle his hair. It was more pronounced up here, coming in fast off of the waves. The drop from the cliff-face was impressive, sharp rocks and swirling water littering the bottom. It was a far cry from the relatively calm waves off of the Inn's beach, but the wildness was exhilarating and Sanji spread his arms, feeling the wind catch his suit jacket.

"Get over here before you fall off, stupid Cook!" Zoro tried to make it sound as insulting as possible, of course, but Sanji could hear an undertone of worry in his voice.

"Not gonna," Sanji promised, but he did step away from the edge. There were small plants littering the cliffs that he could already see so he walked over, pulling out a sheet of paper from his jacket that detailed which ones were safe to eat.

Law was similarly scanning the ground, bending down now and again to investigate closer, and Zoro dropped the bag and decided to use it as a pillow so he could sleep. Sanji resisted the urge to go over and kick him because he'd also packed a picnic lunch for all of them inside, but since he normally packed the food in Luffy-proof containers it should be able to handle Zoro just lying on it.

Deciding he'd wake the swordsman up before they ate, Sanji moved away from the cliff's edge so he could walk through some of the taller grasses.

It was quiet out here, not even birdsong or the drone of insects to cut the howling of the wind or the crashing of the distant waves far below them. The sun was warm and the sky cloudless, a perfect day to do some exploring, and with any luck they'd be back at the Inn by mid-afternoon which meant he could still enjoy some lounging time on the beach.

He was humming idly to himself, lost in his work as he finally managed to find a few of the herbs, and he startled when Law spoke from right beside him.

"It's too quiet. I don't like it," Law's demeanor hadn't changed and he didn't look on high alert, but Sanji knew that if he so much as suspected anything was wrong his nonchalance would be revealed to completely be a front.

"Maybe it's too barren out here for songbirds," Sanji replied, shrugging his shoulders. Yes, sometimes his Haki was useful in predicting when something bad was going to happen, but it was far from perfect and honestly he didn't have a whole lot of control over it apart from knowing it was accurate where reading the motivations of others was concerned.

"Something doesn't feel right-" Law stopped, straightening up and looking back toward where Zoro was. "Come. I need to be sure."

Sanji shrugged but gathered up the few herbs he'd managed to collect, following Law out of the scrub-brush and back out to where they could see the cliff.

"Well. Fuck," Sanji swore under his breath, glancing over at Law, who narrowed his eyes and reached for Kikoku instinctively. The sword, however, wasn't there, since he'd left it beside where Zoro was before heading out, and Sanji immediately felt guilty.

It was his idea to come out here, after all, and Law trusted him enough to let his guard down, which was going to be a problem right away, if the ten or so men sneaking up to Zoro were any indication.

"He can take them," Sanji lit up a cigarette to cover his nerves, although it really wasn't an issue for Zoro. He always woke up at the first hint of danger, and it wouldn't surprise Sanji if he'd already realized he was surrounded and was just feigning sleep until they got closer.

"Hmm," Law was obviously formulating some sort of plan in his head, eyes narrowed, but true to Sanji's thoughts Zoro sprang up into a crouch just as the first man reached him, swords drawn at lightning-fast speed. He dispatched the three closest to him with a slash and a spray of blood that made Sanji grimace, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"He's quite proficient," Law murmured, one hand settled on his hip now as they watched Zoro take out another two men seemingly without any effort.

For him, it was probably just extra training, after all.

One of the men was backing off, which seemed like a strange move, at least until Sanji realized he was behind Zoro's back and saw a flash of sunlight off of metal.

He was holding some sort of knife, and great swordsman or not, Zoro couldn't do anything if his back was unprotected.

"Room!"

Sanji had barely even formed a plan (which, admittedly, was bad, because they were so far away there was no possible way he'd be able to make it over there before the man threw it) before Law moved, swapping himself with a rock and warping to a spot between himself and Zoro. He stopped the dagger in mid-air, using his power to fling it carelessly aside, and spun to grab his sword.

The man, however, was craftier than any of them gave him credit for, and Sanji started running as soon as he saw him reach inside of his jacket. The fucker would have been stupid to only bring one weapon, after all, and Sanji mentally kicked himself for not thinking of that sooner. He sprung off the ground, knowing that even Sky-Walk wasn't going to get him over there in time but needing to try something because damn it, this was supposed to be a quiet day.

Law caught hold of his sword and turned around, and Sanji saw his eyes widen as the man barrelled into him at a full run. He was shorter than Law, but much stockier, and if there was one thing that set Law at a disadvantage in close combat it was just how damn lanky he was.

Sanji forced himself to move as fast as he could, pushing off the air with enough force that he felt it jarring up his legs, but he had no chance of getting there.

Law stumbled backwards, caught off-balance by the body slamming into his, and there was absolutely nothing to prevent the resulting momentum from sending them both sailing over the edge of the cliff.

Sanji touched the ground long enough to kick off his shoes and shrug off his suit jacket, sparing a glance at Zoro. The swordsman, however, seemed completely oblivious to anything else happening as he took out the rest of the men, so Sanji decided to let him be and dove off the edge of the cliff with a fervent prayer that he wouldn't end up impaled on the way down.

Hitting the water hurt, the impact making his body shudder and erupt with pain, but he tried to ignore it and scanned around for Law.

It was impossible to see, the swirling water creating a suction that pulled anybody unlucky enough to land in it toward the deadly rocks. He broke free of the water with a gasp, bile rising in his throat at the sight of the man who'd attacked them. He was dead, eyes wide from shock and mouth forever open in an anguished scream. There was a pillar of sharp rock through his chest and another near his groin, the tips glistening with blood and other things Sanji really didn't want to think about.

He'd tried to kill them, Sanji reminded himself angrily. He couldn't feel any sympathy for him.

Taking a deep breath, he dove beneath the waves again, clearing his mind and trying desperately to control his panic enough to let his Haki guide him. He'd had enough practice in fishing Luffy and Chopper out of the water to know that hammers sank fast, and Law was significantly bigger than either of them.

Eventually he felt a tiny presence in his mind, barely enough to register, but he used Blue Walk to fly toward it, his chest tightening up the lower he got.

It was hard to see in the depths, the spires of rock blocking his vision, and if Law was on the far side of one of them he had no chance.

Something rippling in the water caught his attention, a piece of ripped fabric, and he nearly sobbed in relief. Law's coat had probably saved his life, snagging on the edge of a rock pillar, but Law's body was limp and when Sanji scooped him up he was complete dead-weight in his arms.

He kicked toward the surface, breaking free of the water and gulping air into his lungs. There was no possible way he'd make it up the cliff, not with Law, but the water was pulling him in between the rocks and he cradled Law to his chest, keeping his body still and hoping it would carry him somewhere safer.

For once, his luck held out, and as he felt the rushing water slow down he opened his eyes, seeing a reachable ledge in front of him and climbing out. They were still in the open, mostly, under a cliff overhang that was just underneath where they'd fallen in. He hauled Law up onto the rock, arms shaking and legs nearly numb from exerting himself so much. Law looked awful, skin an ashy-grey color and cold to the touch, and Sanji felt his heart stop when he lifted one hand from the other man's chest to brush his own wet bangs back and saw that it was stained with blood.

"Fuck. Fuck!" he hissed, pulling at Law's heavy overcoat. He hadn't noticed the hilt of the dagger before because it was the same dark color as the coat itself, but now it was easy to see it, embedded in Law's stomach through the fabric. "You fucking bastard, don't you dare die on me!" Sanji felt useless. He couldn't pull the knife out without knowing how injured Law was, and he couldn't open his coat to do proper chest compressions without pulling the knife out.

In fact, trying to get him breathing again at all would probably only drive the knife deeper. Sanji groaned and rubbed his sleeve across his eyes in frustration.

There was nothing for it. The knife had to come out, or else Law was certainly going to die. He gently tipped Law's head back, hoping that opening his airway would be enough to start him breathing again. There was no change, though; Law's body was utterly still, skin so pallid he might have been a corpse already.

"Breathe, you bastard," he squeezed his eyes shut, gripping the hilt and preparing to pull. "Fucking breathe, don't make me do this…" he tightened his shaking hand around the dagger, barely able to get a grip with his fingers, wet and cold and nearly numb as they were. They slid off the first time he tried to yank it out, his hand smacking against Law's chest as he lost his grip, and the other man gave a tiny little groan at the impact that was barely loud enough to hear.

Law coughed then, eyes shooting open, and Sanji pressed down on his shoulder to keep him from moving around. He turned Law's head to the side, keeping his torso still and wincing in sympathy when the other man kept coughing, retching up seawater. His entire body was shaking, hands curled into fists against the stone floor, and when he'd gotten everything out of his system Sanji helped him lie flat, hands fluttering uselessly because the damn knife was still in Law's gut.

"Sanji?" Law asked, voice hoarse. "Wh-…"

"You're got a knife in your stomach," Sanji realized how stupid a sentence that probably was, but Law looked down and groaned.

"Shit. That's why it…hurts…" he swallowed. "It needs to…come out. I need…" he sighed heavily. "I'll…make a Room, if you pull it out…use something to staunch the blood for now…that should be enough for…the time being," he looked so damn weak that Sanji didn't even think he'd have the energy to make a Room, but all he could do was nod.

"Okay. Do it."

Law grit his teeth, the Room materializing slowly and barely spreading enough to cover his torso, but Sanji pulled back on the knife, Law's power allowing it to slide free easily without any blood gushing from the open wound. He yanked open Law's coat, grimacing at the bloody mess underneath. He'd have to sacrifice his shirt, he realized, so he stripped it off, wrapping it tightly around Law's body to try and put as much pressure on the wound as possible.

He nodded when he was done, the Room dissipating, and Law groaned in pain as the effects of his ability faded away. "Ow. Fuck," he whispered, eyes half-closed.

"I need to get Chopper," Sanji went to stand up, but Law feebly tugged at his hand, stopping him. "Law, you could still die…"

" 's not that," Law whispered. "You saved my life."

"Yeah."

"You could have died."

"Nobody on my crew's as good in the water as I am," Sanji knew that was a non-answer but it was also the truth.

"Why?" Law looked so, so confused as to why anybody would risk themselves for him, and Sanji leaned down to kiss his forehead, gripping his hand tightly.

"Because. Like you said, it's more than a little," he said, not feeling any remorse or uncertainty with the words. He was in love with Law…well, at least, as much as he could be, but there was really no denying what he felt any longer.

Law half-smiled at him, eyes narrowed in pain, and Sanji looked down to see blood seeping through his makeshift bandage. The shirt had been one of his best, perfectly fitted to his broad shoulders and trim waist, but he couldn't even feel any regret that it was completely ruined now.

That much blood wasn't going to come out, but compared to Law's life, it was a small price to pay.

"Don't die," he said again, knowing that it probably sounded pathetic.

"I'm not planning on it. Not yet, at any rate," Law assured him, but he still had an unhealthy, waxy pallor to his skin and Sanji was sure the blood loss wasn't helping.

A scraping sound from further within the cave made him start, whipping around and preparing himself for…whatever was going to come out. He didn't have his shoes, but if it was some sort of animal he'd hopefully still have enough power to kick it into submission. He saw a figure materialize out of the darkness, the familiar shape causing a surge of relief to flood through his bones. Flopping back on the ground, his body too spent to stay upright any longer, he watched as Zoro skidded to a half in front of him, Law's sword slung over his shoulder.

"Thank fuck," Sanji felt his body starting to shake, adrenaline wearing off and the chill of the cave settling on his bare, wet skin. He reached out his arms and Zoro moved closer enough that he could them around his strong body, burying his face into the swordsman's shoulder.

"Shit, Cook, what happened…"

"No time," Sanji wanted nothing more than to collapse in Zoro's arms for a while, but Law needed help, and fast. "I need to get Chopper."

"I'll go," Zoro said, his expression set. "You're exhausted…"

"You won't find the town," Sanji shook his head. "I can't believe you found us," he added, laughing a little incredulously and a little hysterically, because of all the times they needed Zoro to find his sense of direction, he finally did

"I was looking for a way down the cliff and I saw this cave opening, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to see where it lead," he scratched the back of his head, a rather sheepish grin on his face.

"It certainly didn't. I'll be back as soon as I find Chopper," Sanji leaned into kiss Zoro quickly, running his hands down the other man's arms. "Take care of him."

"I will," Zoro looked deadly serious as he nodded. Sanji looked back at Law one last time, willing him to hold on, before he started running through the cave.

He just hoped Chopper would be easy to find.

000

"How is he?"

"Asleep," Zoro looked up from where he was seated on the bed, his eyes traveling down Sanji's body before they snapped up to focus on his face. "How are you?"

"Fine," Sanji tossed the towel he'd been using to dry his hair aside, leaving just one around his waist. He was sore, and the soles of his feet were scratched and blistered from running to town and back without his shoes. He knew his muscles would be screaming at him in the morning, especially with how hard he'd hit the water after his dive, but at least he didn't have a knife through his stomach. "I hope you killed those bastards," he added, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering.

It had been so close, and he knew that. Once again, if Law hadn't possessed the ability that he did, somebody would have died. More than one somebody, Sanji amended, because Zoro wouldn't have seen the knife coming until it was too late.

"Yeah," Zoro nodded, sinking back onto the bed. Sometimes it scared Sanji, just how easily Zoro could kill other people. Sanji didn't think he ever could unless it was truly a matter of life and death, and he knew that despite Law's reputation he was more about leaving enemies alive in pieces as opposed to doling out death, but Zoro used to kill pirates for a living. Not that he was scared of Zoro, exactly, but he really didn't seem to think twice about ending another life. Most of them the people they were fighting were just trying to make their own lives better, the same thing all of them were doing, after all.

Still, he couldn't blame Zoro, given the circumstances. If it was between leaving them knocked out so they'd come back to harass them later, or even worse, go after some of the other people on the crew, and killing them outright…well, it was probably the safer choice in the end.

"Any idea who they were?" he asked softly, getting a shrug.

"Yeah, I made the last guy talk first. I guess they were part of the same bounty-hunting guys that captured you, but hopefully there's none of them left," he grunted, narrowing his eye and looking back at Law. "He saved my life, didn't he?" he asked softly, something unreadable in his gaze. "Before…"

"There was a guy with a knife…he was aiming at your back, but Law warped himself in front of him before he could throw it," Sanji curled his fingers into the blankets. "I couldn't get there in time, I…"

"Hey. 's not your fault," Zoro reached over, placing his hand on top of Sanji's and squeezing gently. "I should have known better than the fall asleep out in the middle of nowhere while you guys weren't close."

"What did he…I mean, did he say anything when I was gone?" Sanji wasn't sure why he was asking, or why he even needed to know, but Law still looked like death warmed over and it was a way to take his mind off of how badly everything could have gone.

"Not really," Zoro shrugged. "He was in a lot of pain and trying not to show it. He held my hand, though," he chuckled, although Sanji got the feeling that he wasn't really making fun of the action. "Didn't say anything, just kind of whacked my leg until I got the hint."

"Yeah, sounds about right," Sanji smiled, rather sadly, but all of them weren't people that would ever admit to being in pain if they could help it, and for Law to need any reassurance at all meant that it had to have been pretty bad. He hadn't seen what exactly Chopper had done, the reindeer ushering both him and Zoro out and asking them to let him work in peace, but there were stark-white bandages wrapped tightly around Law's torso that so far didn't seem to have any blood on them.

Of course, Chopper hadn't exactly been nice to him after he'd patched Law up, berating him both for running to town without shoes and for diving head-first into a mess of swirling currents and rock spires, but Sanji knew he'd grown fond of Law and was probably more worried than anything else.

Chopper had been pretty certain that Law would be okay, provided he got a lot of rest and didn't push himself too hard. Luckily, the knife had missed any vital organs and using Law's power to remove it had probably saved him from greater internal damage.

"Get some sleep," Zoro patted his hand. "You're probably exhausted."

"Dunno if I'll be able to," Sanji admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. He hadn't done much since getting back to the Inn other than showering in a haze and forcing some soup down his throat, unable to stomach the thought of eating anything else.

"What's bugging you so much?" Zoro seemed to pick up on his behavior and shifted closer, fingers trailing down Sanji's back and up to his shoulder in a soothing, repetitive pattern. Sanji realized belatedly that Zoro had been worried about him, although he supposed it only made sense considering the last he'd seen of Sanji was him swan-diving off of the cliff. He had a blunt way of showing it, of course, and he might never admit it out loud, but he was being far too careful and courteous, like he was afraid of revealing too much about his own feelings. "Sanji?"

Zoro using his name, still a rarity despite their growing closeness, snapped him back to awareness…although the reminder of what he was supposed to answer was far from a pleasant one.

"Just…the guy that pushed Law over the cliff, he was…he got caught on the rocks," he whispered, the sight of the man's horrified face and the blood and viscera glistening on the rocks in the sunlight etched in his memory. It had been a particularly gory way to die, and probably immensely painful. "He was hanging onto Law when they fell, and that…that could have been him, Zoro," he choked out, not wanting to even consider it.

Fuck, he knew how little regard Law had for his own life, but that didn't stop Sanji from hoping he'd make it through whatever was going to happen with Doflamingo alive and unscathed.

It was probably a foolish thought, but it was one that made Sanji even more determined to enjoy what little time they had left until the inevitable end.

"Yeah, but it wasn't," Zoro, ever the practical one, said bluntly. "It wasn't, and he's alive, and he's gonna be fine. We're all gonna be fine," he added fiercely, yanking Sanji nearly into his lap and reaching to frame his face with his hands. He slid his rough, callused fingers down the side of Sanji's face, pressing against his neck and seeking out his pulse. "We're alive," he repeated.

"We are," Sanji leaned in to kiss him, wrapping his arms around Zoro's shoulders and letting his body nearly collapse against him the way he'd wanted to back in the cave. Zoro held him tightly, nose pressed against his neck.

"We should…bed?" Zoro asked, and Sanji nodded, reluctantly leaving the warmth of Zoro's body to flip back the covers and crawl under them beside Law, careful not to jostle him or wake him up. He was breathing evenly now, although the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced than Sanji had ever seen them. It was hard to imagine, seeing him so vulnerable, that anybody could truly fear him.

Zoro watched him impassively before he stripped off his shirt and moved to lie on Law's other side. Sanji smiled at him, sliding his hand to rest on Law's chest above his heart, and after a second of hesitation Zoro placed his own hand on top of the cook's, lacing their fingers together.

They fell asleep like that, exhaustion taking Sanji faster than he would have thought possible, and between the warmth and weight of Zoro's hand on top of his and the steady thump of Law's heart under his palm, he knew that letting go of his fears until the morning would finally be possible.

Notes:

1. This was a fast update because I finally got my writing inspiration back (although I'm awful at writing action sequences so I hope everything still makes sense with what's going on…). I feel bad for doing mean things to Law, though, considering what Oda's putting him through in the actual story at the moment…

2. As always, thank you all so much for continuing to read and comment on this fic, because it does mean a lot :) And if you're interested in finding me on tumblr or twitter (I tend to post updates on twitter about when I'm writing or how far along in the chapters I am) you can find me both places at kikokus (my twitter is private but I add pretty much anybody!).