Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Rating: M(violence, language, and sexual themes)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. All of it's characters, plot and witty humour belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

Summary: AU Set in modern-day. ZoroXwinged!Sanji, For the past four years Sanji has been stuck in the bottom of Impel. He'd been tested on, experimented with, and tortured in every way he thought possible. But when he escapes and runs into a certain green-haired man he finds that the evil of Impel runs deeper than he could possibly imagine...

"The reason birds can fly and we can't

is simply that they have perfect faith,

for to have faith is to have wings."

-Sir James Matthew Barrie

Franky had left to get some mechanical supplies to fix up the broken water heater and had taken Usopp with him. Usopp was the only person in the base that understood what the hell Franky was talking about when it came to machinery and was also one of the only that looked normal enough that could go into the nearby city of Jaya to get supplies. When the boy wore long-sleeves and a pair of gloves his arms looked entirely normal, so walking down a city street was fairly easy for him to do.

With the main heavy-lifter gone besides Zoro, Sanji was now stuck in the large storage room with the green-haired asshole organizing a large number of crates with various foods that Franky and Usopp had gotten yesterday. Being stuck in a crowded storage room with the moss-headed bastard was definitely not on Sanji's to-do list, but Nami had asked personally for his help so he could hardly turn her down.

They had worked in silence for the past half-hour, shuttling crates into the room and then beginning to sort them into their proper places. Neither said a word, though there was the occasional accidental bump to the shoulder or a wing to the back of a head. The quiet got to Sanji first and he broke.

"Why won't you trust me?" Sanji finally blurted.

Zoro pushed a huge crated up on the top shelf and turned to Sanji, "Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Yeah." Sanji admitted as he picked up another box, "But your answer wasn't satisfactory."

Zoro snorted derisively, "Well, it won't change."

"You said you have trust issues; who betrayed you?"

"No one betrayed shit."

"Mmhm." Sanji hummed in disbelief, "Whatever you say, moss-head."

"Moss-head?" Zoro picked up a crate and turned to Sanji, "The fuck?"

"Oh." Sanji put an apologetic hand to his mouth, "Did no one tell you? Your hair is green." Sanji laughed, "Then again it wouldn't surprise me; you don't look like someone who would look in a mirror."

Zoro growled and slammed down the crate on a bottom shelf, if the surface hadn't been stone Zoro probably would've broken it, "I'm not an idiot, I know my hair is green."

"Oh, good." Sanji sighed in fake relief, "I would've felt like an ass if I had to break it to you."

"You're already an ass." Zoro informed.

"You wanna go?!" Sanji snarled.

"No." Zoro turned and picked up another box, "I don't need Chopper angry at me for hurting you when you've finally finished healing."

"Oh ho?" Sanji laughed in surprise, "So sure of yourself, are you?"

Zoro just rolled his eyes and continued to work, not bothering to reply. Sanji watched him for a moment before going back to his own task. If he were to take Zoro in a fight he definitely couldn't full on kick the man; he'd probably break his leg if he did. But just because he was strong didn't mean that he was unbeatable – Sanji was itching to just knock the man down a couple levels.

"Back to the whole trust thing..." Sanji broke the silence once more, "How about this; you trust me, and if it turns out that I am a spy you can personally kill me. Sound good?"

Zoro turned a level stare to Sanji, "It's not just that I don't trust you. And honestly, I can kill you whenever I feel like it."

"So what is it?" Sanji ignored the death threat.

"You piss me off." Zoro dead-panned.

"Oh?" Sanji raised and eyebrow and took a step forward, and grinned cheekily, "Why exactly?"

"I don't know." Zoro shrugged and picked up another crate and set it up on the shelf. "I just want to punch your face in."

Sanji watched Zoro's back for only a moment before glancing around the room. With the floor mostly cleared off they had more than enough room to have a small brawl, and what a more perfect opportunity than now to show the man that he wasn't number one.

Zoro turned to go fetch another crate and Sanji launched forward; the green-haired idiot seemed confused for a moment. Sanji took this to his advantage and feigned a kick to Zoro's head. Zoro seemed to clue in an he raised an arm with a smirk. Sanji returned it with one of his own; he wasn't stupid. Kicking Zoro full on would be like kicking a brick wall; with his strength Sanji couldn't fight offensively. He had to fight defensively, and smart.

Sanji quickly dropped to a crouch and hooked his leg behind Zoro's, dropping the man in a quick sweeping motion. Zoro landed on his ass and sat for a moment watching Sanji with wide eyes and a shocked expression. Sanji smirked and straightened his stance feeling entirely too satisfied with just the simple action.

"You can fight?" Zoro asked, he seemed to be trying to hide his shock but was failing royally.

"What? Never been knocked over before shithead?" Sanji mocked, "Bring it. I'll roundhouse your ass."

Zoro stared up shocked for a moment before baring his teeth in an unnaturally menacing way, "You asked for it."

Zoro hardly got up on one knee before pouncing at Sanji; arm already raised. Sanji barely moved his head to the side in time, the fist passed so close he felt the wind on his face. The fist landed in the rock wall behind the blond and he glanced back to see Zoro's hand embedded in the stone.

Got to be fucking kidding me...

Zoro's other hand came up in a haymaker and Sanji realized he was cornered by Zoro's other arm, ducking almost too late when he felt the fist connect with the crown of his wing. He rolled away and landed in a crouch. Sanji had completely forgotten about his wings, he'd now have to change his entire fighting strategy to make sure not to get them in any danger. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Zoro had some very good form, Sanji would give him that. His footwork was impressive as was his balance, but if it was one thing Sanji prided himself on it was his speed. Though his wings did slow him down a little, the added muscle he had gained from carrying around the extra weight had evened everything out.

"What's wrong, dumbass?" Sanji mocked as he once more side-stepped another punch, "Having trouble?"

"I will beat the shit out of you." Zoro growled as he lunged at Sanji, a feigned kick and a wing caught on the edge of a shelf had Zoro's hand gripped tightly around his throat. The green-haired man pinned him to the wall by his neck, hold tight but not painful. One hand gripped Zoro's tightly as the other grasped the man's wrist. He struggled but it was useless, there was no way to break such a strong grip.

"You're too weak to win this." Zoro mocked, "Get it?"

"The only thing I get is that all those steroids they pumped you full of shrunk your intelligence and your dick, you overcompensating ass!" Sanji's leg lashed out, foot implanting on the moron's face.

It didn't seem to faze the man, though he did growl in annoyance and regretfully seem to let Sanji go. Sanji dropped to his feet and his hand immediately came to his neck as he gasped in fresh air. He could still feel the press of Zoro's fingers on his neck and knew it was probably already bruising.

"Choking?" Sanji managed, his voice scratchy, "Coward."

Zoro roared and slammed his fist into the wall right beside Sanji's head. Sanji's eyes flicked up to stare at Zoro's hand that was fisted in the wall, the rock squished from his hand as though it were mud. He turned back and met Zoro with a heated glare; he wasn't going to let this bastard intimidate him.

"Like I said," Sanji mocked, "Compensating."

Zoro slammed his other hand into the wall in the same fashion as the first; caging Sanji against the wall. The man leaned in, his breathing heavy from most likely withheld anger. Sanji revelled in it; why it felt good to rile this man up was beyond him, but it made him feel oddly superior than the super-human.

"You have no idea how much I want to smash your skull in." Zoro stated darkly.

"Oh, I have some idea." Sanji sneered.

Zoro's only reply was a gust of air from between his clenched teeth.

It became an all out brawl. Zoro was aiming to punch Sanji somewhere vital, and Sanji was watching for any opportunity to knock the man off balance. A few punches clipped his wings – which stung unpleasantly – some coming to land on a box or the wall, breaking either in his path. Mostly Sanji was able to dance out of the green-haired idiot's way, and get in a couple kicks. A couple of Sanji's kicks were also at fault for some broken wood and jars, but all of it was ignored.

Sanji managed to completely disorient Zoro by hitting him full on with his wing, he twisted expertly and hooked a leg around the man's throat and brought his other one up to sharply knee the man in the back. Surprisingly the move brought him down and they remained sprawled on the floor; Sanji's legs keeping Zoro's throat in a tight leg lock.

Sanji was panting heavily by this point, but Zoro was just as much out of breath.

"Ha." Sanji laughed triumphantly, "Not so tough now-"

Zoro broke the lock and threw himself at Sanji. He was able to dodge the punch, but not the full tackle and he was bodily thrown into a crate behind him. Zoro's fist connected with it and there was a large crack as the wood splintered and a poof as the contents exploded over them both. A cloud of white engulfed them and they were both left to sit there coughing up the debris.

When Sanji was finally able to see fairly well, he realized that the box they had destroyed had contained flour. The grounded grain was splatter everywhere, they were both covered from head to toe in it, and the air was still thick with the falling dust. Zoro coughed mutely, and flurry of flour puffed out of his mouth which caused him to choke even more. Sanji had to bite down a chuckle.

Dumb bastard.

There were footfalls and the door to the storage room opened and all the men had time to do was glance at the entryway before an orange head poked in.

"I heard shouting; what on earth is – WHAT THE FUCK?"

Nami glanced around at the several broken crates and spilled goods, as well as the two men sitting on the floor covered in flour.

"My dearest Nami." Sanji smiled humbly before making to stand, "I can explain."

"No." Nami mumbled in defeat and dropped her head into a single hand, "I'm used to this ridiculousness."

They sat with guilty expressions as Nami cast a glance around the room inspecting the damage before looking back at them with an exhale, "I didn't think you two were so bad with the other."

Zoro and Sanji shared a glance at the other, both looking just as annoyed and pissed off.

"Clean this up." Nami ordered sharply and turned to leave but pointed a sharp finger in their direction, "Make another mess and I'll forget my pole."

Both men nodded silently, Zoro seemed a bit more wide-eyed and Sanji assumed the man had been victim to the woman's wrath more than once. Sanji desperately hoped that was the case. She left, the door slamming with finality and a muttered word of, "Boys..."

Once more neither said a word as they set to work putting away the last of the crates and sweeping up all spilled, smashing, squished or bruised goods.

But Sanji couldn't stop the small smile that stayed plastered on his face for the rest of the time they cleaned up. For some reason that fight had gotten a huge weight off his chest and he felt a lot less annoyed by the brawny shithead. Though he still wasn't going to forgive him, yet.

~X~

Sanji and Zoro exited the storage room and re-entered the rec-room, Zoro promptly flopped down on a couch and Sanji made his way to the kitchen to wash his hands of the flour, pear juice, and olive oil that had stained his hands from the earlier fight.

Sanji reemerged in the rec-room and glanced at Zoro who was lounging on the couch, eyes closed and not even seeming to have noticed Sanji's presence. Sanji was fine with that, and sat down at the large table with a book he had started a few days ago; Treasure Island. He managed to get a few pages in to the fifth chapter before his attention was diverted by a door opening and Nami popping her head into the room.

"Zoro." Nami called, "A word?"

Zoro looked as though the last thing he wanted was to go talk to Nami, but from the look that the red-head sent him it was clear that it wasn't an option. A reluctant sigh and a groan had Zoro on his feet and he followed the lovely woman into a doorway that led of into a labyrinth of tunnels.

Sanji cast a quick glance around before running over to the door and pressing his ear against it; overjoyed when the wood turned out not to be sound-proof. Their voices travelled perfectly through the wood and he could hear every word and scuffle of a shoe.

"-do you want?" Zoro's gruff voice floated through the door.

"What do you think?" Nami muttered, and if it wasn't for the annoyance in her voice Sanji would've been concerned that maybe he had read her wrong when he had thought she liked Luffy. "I want to know why the storage room was completely destroyed."

"It was not destroyed." Zoro corrected in annoyance.

"Yeah, see," Nami muttered, "I have this sinking suspicion that your brawl wasn't simply a little practice session."

"Have all the suspicions you want. I'm not talking to you about this."

"Right, I forgot." Nami snorted and imitated a baby's voice, "Mr. Emotionless over here doesn't like talking about his feelings."

"Fuck you."

"No thanks." Nami made a disgusted sound, "Pretty sure you'd die before you could get my pants off anyway."

"I wouldn't touch you with a sword." Zoro gritted.

"Thank you." Nami simpered, "But we really aren't here to talk about that. I want to know why you're treating Sanji like shit."

"Don't know what you're talking about."

There was a long pregnant pause and Sanji wondered what possible expressions they had on their faces. From the tension emanating from behind the door Sanji assumed a glaring match must've been taking place.

"I know what you're doing." Nami finally uttered.

"What am I doing?" Zoro sounded unimpressed by Nami's seeming introspection.

"You did this before. You still do it to Robin. You don't trust people and frankly I'm not surprised that Sanji got annoyed and tried to hit you. I want to hit you-"

"It's not that I don't trust him." Zoro cut her off.

That had Sanji's eyebrows jumping up and he was a little worried that they might get lost in his hairline.

"Oh?" Nami seemed as shocked as Sanji, "Cause Chopper said you got him pretty riled up a few days ago; and I assume it was your usual trusting self that set him off."

Sanji blushed, he hadn't expected Chopper to tell anybody that. Then again it wasn't something that pertained to his health so he assumed Chopper was at liberty to share that information with anyone he wanted. But the last person he wanted to find out was Zoro.

"Why do you stick your nose into everything that's not your business?"

"Cause he's my friend. And maybe he'd be yours if you'd stop being an ass."

"He pisses me off."

"Can you just try to get along with him?" Nami pleaded, and Sanji felt more than a little annoyed that Zoro had the woman begging him, "What harm could it do?"

"A lot."

Nami made a sound of annoyance, "Have you ever considered that the reason he's annoying you is cause you started it?"

"Have you ever considered that I don't care?" Zoro countered.

"Just try and get to know him. You may find a friend."

"I'll try." Zoro stressed, "But I'm not making any promises."

"You'd be surprised how alike you two are." Nami added and Sanji could hear the smile in her words.

"That's not selling it." Zoro grumbled and his footsteps could be heard receding, heading away from Nami and the conversation.

Sanji faintly heard Nami sigh before her footsteps also began retreating and soon there was not a sound emitting from the door. Sanji didn't move, just remained with his ear pressed to the door for a long moment as he tried to understand the conversation he had just heard.

So Zoro did trust him? That was good, right? But it seemed that his behaviour toward Sanji was because of another reason, not because he was untrustworthy. Maybe Sanji would just have to work out what that was?

"Who're we spying on?"

Sanji turned to see the glowing skeletal face of Brooke hovering over his shoulder and screamed. "AAAAAHHHHH!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Brooke turned and looked behind him, "What are we screaming at?"

Sanji brought his fist down on the man's head, "You! You fucker!"

Brooke rubbed the top of his head and grinned, "Oh. Well you needn't have hit me."

"Yeah. I did. You scared the shit out of me."

Brooke fell back to he was sitting and laughed, "If you were a skeleton you wouldn't have to worry about shitting yourself."

"You're not a skeleton!"

~X~

Zoro stalked away from Nami and felt a surge of relief when he didn't hear the clack of her heels following him. The last thing he needed was for her to decide to try her electroshock therapy out on him. It didn't kill him like it would a weaker man, but it did leave his hair on end, slightly singed and his muscles tense for a few days.

And damn it!

Nami could be such a nosey bitch sometimes. It was bad enough that she had tried to pry out of him the reason why he didn't trust people – to no avail mind you – but it was even worse that she was trying to force him to act a certain way when he really didn't want to.

Did he trust Robin?

Yes.

Did he trust Sanji?

Maybe.

...Yes.

Yes, he did trust that insufferable, winged idiot. Regardless of what he had said, the man had indeed proven himself. He had survived inside Impel for longer than Zoro had, he had escaped all on his own – something Zoro hadn't even really technically done – and had managed to be lucky enough to almost fall on Zoro's head.

Sanji did owe Zoro a little for bringing him to the base, but really? Sanji had done everything else.

And Zoro had honestly planned on being respectful to the man, but as soon as the blond had woken up and opened that damned mouth it was all for not. With an insufferable attitude, cocky nature and a foul-mouth to boot Zoro couldn't find it in him to be nice to him. It was almost upon reflex that Zoro immediately set about ignoring him.

What was worse was that Sanji seemed insulted that Zoro hadn't welcomed him with open arms like everybody else; and seemed determined to find out why. That was what bugged Zoro more than anything. He was glad that Sanji had finally lost it this morning and attacked him; Zoro had his own frustrations to take out on the dumb blond bastard.

Their fight had definitely blown off a lot of steam and he did find himself a little less pissed off at the blond. Though he had found himself severely impressed; the blond was quick. And judging from his skill set he had some sort of back ground in martial arts. When Sanji had gotten the drop on him and managed to knock him over he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do other than sit there and look surprised.

Regardless, the fight was needed and even though Nami's nagging on him was annoying he was now less angry at the mouthy blond. Maybe even calm enough to tolerate having a conversation with him. Maybe even calm enough to take Nami's advice and try and be nice to him. Maybe.

His feet had carried him back to the dorm hallway, he was about to enter his room when he looked at a blank spot on the wall a few doors down. Franky had been nagging at him to get that room started and he figured what better time than now? He needed to work off some energy anyway.

Zoro began scooping large chunks of rock away from the wall as he set about making a doorway. The rock crumbled away and was as easy to mold as wet sand. Sometimes Zoro was even impressed with himself when he was molding rock or metal and still couldn't quite believe that six years ago he had been a scrawny little punk.

Scrounging up a bunch of debris on the ground he molded the rock into some semblance of a ball and tossed it aside. He kept up hollowing out the door and keeping the extra rock organized by making it into manageable boulders. When the door was done he wiped a hand across his brow to clear some of the sweat.

The work wasn't too difficult, but it definitely built up a sweat. He glanced at his watch noting it was a good bit passed dinner and tried not feel a bit disappointed that he missed a hot meal. Not that he'd bloat the blond's ego any more by telling him his food was actually the best meal he'd had in years. Nami had cooked for a while, but charged them for her time so everyone decided that feeding themselves was easiest.

He made his way to the kitchen to quickly wash his hands of the dirt now caking them before opening the fridge to look for leftovers; he was disappointed to find none. Grabbing a water bottle he opened it and quickly downed half the contents, releasing the top with a content sigh. He glanced around the kitchen and noticed nothing had been touched – there weren't even dishes drying in the rack – had Sanji not made dinner? He made his way back out into the rec-room and stumbled into Chopper.

"Hey, Chopper. Where's birdbrain?"

Chopper looked confused for a moment, "You mean Sanji?"

"Right." Zoro nodded, "There's no dinner."

"Yeah." Chopper smiled, "He went out flying and hasn't come back. I checked on him regularly but he just doesn't want to come down."

"That so." Zoro muttered quietly as he stared off toward the tunnel that eventually led out of the mountain. He had actually been wondering exactly how Sanji had flown. Maybe he could just take a look...

"You're not mad, are you?" Chopper mumbled quietly.

Zoro looked down at the small deer scrapping his hoof guiltily on the floor and immediately felt bad. He dropped to a knee and scooped the deer up in a small hug that had the boy blushing and cursing.

"No, Chopper." Zoro grinned, "I'm not mad."

"So you don't hate Sanji anymore?" Chopper looked up hopefully.

Zoro couldn't stop the sigh that escaped him. Why did everyone think he hated Sanji? Was anyone asking Sanji why he hated Zoro? No. Zoro was always labelled the fucking problem. Okay, maybe it was a little bit his fault, but it wasn't like Sanji was fucking innocent.

"I never hated him." Zoro admitted as he released the boy and stood, he headed to his room to grab a jacket, "But I don't like him either."

~X~

Sanji crouched low, fingertips brushing the ground lightly, his wings twitching happily behind him in anticipation as he looked out at the glorious expanse before him. At the very precipice of the cliff, almost as though he were hovering while looking out at the valley far below.

Trees of every shade of green were swept up in the wind and caused the valley floor to look like the waves on the ocean, cresting and falling. A few deciduous countered the green with bright reds, oranges and yellows of autumn; some leaves let loose to be carried off on the breeze.

The mountains on the far side seemed to continue on forever, peak after peak, disappearing off into the horizon. Snow capped and sparkling in the afternoon sun. Some of them – off to the far left – were swallowed by the low lying clouds, that hugged the earth like a comforting blanket.

Chopper had finally given him permission to test his wings. The doctor had looked over every inch of his wings and seemed to grudgingly admit that Sanji was in perfect health. Sanji felt bad that the little deer was now out of work, but he had been looking forward to this moment for days.

Sanji took a deep breath and jumped.

Easily launching far into the sky, he let the force of his jump carry him, before allowing his wings to completely unfold for the first time in days. Feathers stretching out as far as possible – the wind ruffling them happily – his wings caught an up draft and he just let the current pull him along, eyes closing as he welcomed the feeling of freedom.

There was no other word he could use to describe it; it was liberation. Not only was this the way he had gotten free of Impel, but it was the ability to never be caught every again. As long as the winds would carry his body then he would never again put himself in harms way again.

Sanji flew for hours. Stopping and resting on a branch of a high tree every so often – glancing around and taking in the sights – before launching back into the air. The longer he was up, the more he learned and the more confidence he gained. Every so often giving in and trying something potentially hazardous.

A few times he would mess up; his wings catching a gust of wind at an odd angle, or an attempted trick would cause him to spiral out of control, but he always recovered in the end. He'd laugh nervously and have to calm the insane thumping of his adrenaline pumped heart.

When the sun was beginning to kiss the horizon Sanji regrettably admitted that it was time to return to the ground. He made his way to the base entrance; taking his time and weaving through a few air currents on the way. As he neared the precipice a green head came into view and Sanji frowned.

Zoro?

As Sanji neared his suspicions were confirmed as the man came into view. A long green trench-coat was wrapped around himself, though it was haphazardly done up and his trademark white shirt was visible underneath. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he didn't seem aggressive in any way.

What was he playing at?

Sanji landed a little unsteadily – a bit too top heavy – stumbled but managed to catch himself. He straightened himself and made his way over to his shoes, slipping them on before finally turning his attention to the man. The last person on the fucking planet he wanted to see was that shitty asshole. He'd rather come face-to-face with a Blugory; at least then he would have something to take his anger out on.

Spy my ass.

Sanji scowled, "What?"

"You done?" Zoro asked calmly.

Sanji felt the beast of anger rear its ugly head. He turned to look at the man, snarky look plastered across his already annoyed features, "What?! Can't I take my time? Or let me guess," Sanji placed a mocking finger to his lips in thought, "I might be run off to tell Impel about your little hide out?"

Zoro didn't say anything, he almost seemed akin to child who had gotten caught doing something bad, he pulled one hand out of a pocket and proffered a water bottle, looking anywhere but at Sanji. Sanji watched the bottle for a moment before realizing that this must've been the effect of Nami's talk.

"So this is your idea of a peace offering?" Sanji snorted, taking the water nonetheless.

"Look, dick." Zoro snapped, "I'm trying to apologize here."

"And you're doing a shit job of it." Sanji smirked as he opened the lid and took a large gulp. The water was cool and refreshing and spread throughout his heated body, cooling every vein. It tasted rich with minerals and Sanji assumed it must have been from the mountain's creek.

"This is why I don't like you," Zoro growled, "You're such a fucking prick about everything."

"Well, maybe I wouldn't be a dick if you'd just trust me." Sanji countered quickly.

"Trust is earned." Zoro bit back.

"Well, I thought I'd have earned it after breaking out of Impel."

"I respect that you were smart enough to get out." Zoro commented, "Why can't you respect that fact that I don't quite trust you yet?"

"Quite?"

"Of course that'd be the only thing you'd take away from what I'd say." Zoro placed a hand on his forehead, "You're so annoying."

"Are you going to be any less of a dick when Rayliegh clears me?" Sanji enquired curiously.

"Maybe." Zoro monotoned, "Though I have a feeling you're not gonna change."

"Don't count on it." Sanji replied smugly.

Zoro didn't reply for a moment before he pulled something else from his pocket and shoved it into Sanji's hands. Sanji set down his water bottle and unfolded the fabric finding a shirt. Sanji was about to point out that he couldn't wear it when Zoro cut him off.

"Chopper made it for you." Zoro muttered, "He said something about feeling bad that you're probably cold."

Sanji turned it and found that it had a large hole in the back for his wings joints, and there was a zipper that did up the bottom of the back and a button on the neck. He shucked on the shirt, doing up the button at around his neck and then zipping it up. The shirt hung normally and Sanji really couldn't tell it apart from a normal T.

"Feel uncomfortable by my naked form?" Sanji smirked, "Is that the real reason you gave me this shirt?"

Zoro glowered, "Do you ever not have a snappy comeback?"

"Nope." Sanji beamed, "Like you said; I'm a prick."

Zoro rolled his eyes and huffed before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Of course..."

Sanji took one last glance at the valley – ingraining the sight into his memory to keep him company for his dreams that night. While he stared out at the land he frowned as he began to realize something that had bothered him since he had first set foot outside.

"By the way." Sanji asked cautiously, picking up the water bottle, "Where is Impel? I've never seen it when I've been out."

"It's on the other side of the mountain." Zoro admitted, "We don't usually go over there; don't want to get spotted."

"Can we go see?"

"Why would you want to?" Zoro asked shrewdly.

"I don't know." Sanji shrugged, "Closure?"

"Fine." Zoro muttered, "But if you try to make a run for it I'll break your wings off."

"You can try." Sanji countered.

Instead of heading inside like Sanji had expected, Zoro began to hike up the mountain. The summit wasn't too far off, and the slope was gradual. Out of the tree line all that decorated the rock was sparse soil and small bushes and shrubs. Lichen and moss covered almost everything else.

Sanji choose to walk. Flying would've been faster but he doubted Zoro's dignity would've been able to survive the fly to the top if Sanji carried him. Not that he was complaining, a walk to stretch his legs was greatly appreciated.

They finally crested the mountain and were at the summit and Sanji could see far into the distance over the other side. A valley similar to the one they had just walked up from was laid out before the two; although it was a bit smaller, and the opposing mountains were a bit closer.

There was a small building – grey and completely devoid of windows – in the far off distance almost hidden completely by the surrounding trees. It was one floor high and was surrounded by the familiar walls that Sanji had flown over weeks ago. There were several layers of fencing outside the large brick walls, and a dirt road that led away from the building.

A cold shiver ran down Sanji's spine as he stared at the small structure.

"That's Impel?!" Sanji blurted.

"Mm." Zoro nodded, "Everything else is underground."

"That-" Sanji put a hand to his forehead, "Wha-"

"Don't hurt yourself." Zoro muttered behind the lapel of his jacket that had flipped due to the wind and hidden half of his face.

"There was like 200 floors! How is that even possible?!" Sanji screeched and gestured at Impel, "That makes no sense!"

Zoro watched Sanji steadily, almost as though he was assessing whether or not to respond to Sanji. Zoro turned back to look at Impel and said on a sigh, "I really should've just let Rayliegh explain everything."

"Oh come on!" Sanji let his head fall back in exasperation, "I'm gonna have an aneurism if you mention him one more time."

Zoro looked out at the valley and seemed lost for a moment in his own thoughts – probably reliving memories of the place. Sanji watched him quietly for a moment and had to admit the man didn't look nearly as mad and annoyed when he didn't have his eyebrows drawn together. He had a hard jaw which made him look a little intimidating, a slender nose that looked like it may have been broken once – or twice – and sharp violet eyes that were no doubt a side effect of some sort of experiment within Impel.

"They don't want to be discovered." Zoro began carefully, "A large building like that would draw too much attention. So it's all entirely underground. As for why there's so many floors; why do you think?"

"Is there really that many people being kept in there?"

"More than you're probably imagining." Zoro muttered.

Sanji didn't respond as the words sunk in. From what he had seen Impel had an unusually large surplus of people; which was not only horrifying but led to the question of how they managed to capture so many people without it becoming a national crisis.

Zoro sighed and turned away from the valley, "Why you wanted to come here is beyond me."

Sanji watched the grey building not sure if the cold he felt was winter's chill finally rushing autumn away or if it was something else. The shirt was an appreciated layer, and along with his wings he was sure he should be more than warm but he couldn't shake the odd shiver that coursed through him.

"So you done now?" Zoro snarked, "Enough closure for you?"

"I still feel something's missing." Sanji admitted quietly.

Sanji hadn't been able to explain it but it had haunted him from the first day he had escaped. A feeling deep in his gut that said that something still wasn't right; that something was missing. He'd exhausted every idea and still couldn't understand it. It was like a hunger that no food could fill, a thirst that no water pacified. But he couldn't figure out what it was that would get rid of the pain.

Zoro watched Sanji for a long moment before extending his hand, "Give me your hand."

"Why?!" Sanji scowled and purposefully hid his hands behind his back, "You gonna break my wrist or something?"

Zoro rolled his eyes, "This is me trying to be nice. Just give me your hand."

Sanji paused and watched Zoro carefully, noting how Zoro had stressed the word 'try'. Was he actually following Nami's advice? Was he honestly trying to be nice? Nothing in his attitude seemed forced or aggressive, so Sanji assumed he might as well give it a shot.

Sanji slowly reached out and put his hand within Zoro's reach. The green-haired haired man scooped it up, and his fingers wrapped around Sanji's. His hand was warm and took away the chill of the late afternoon, and his skin was rough – covered in calluses – which was oddly comforting.

"What is the purpose of this?" Sanji asked snarkily.

"Do you have to ruin everything by talking?" Zoro looked at him in annoyance.

"Only when a shithead is holding my hand for no reason."

Zoro sighed in exasperation, "How do you feel now?"

"What does that have to do with this?"

"Compared to earlier when you said you felt something was missing." Zoro scowled and looked out at the valley, "How do you feel now?"

Sanji's eyes went out of focused as he turned his thoughts inward. He definitely was still cold, but the warmth from Zoro's hand was helping a little. But when he tried to find that lonely feeling from before it was gone – or at least almost gone – his chest feeling light for some reason.

"...better." Sanji mumbled, "But I don't get-"

"Human contact." Zoro interrupted, "When was the last time you held someone's hand? Received a hug? Your subconscious is craving security in the form of another human."

"Since when were you so smart?"

"Maslow's Hierarchy. Children know that shit." Zoro snorted, but his tone immediately softened, "But I had the same problem."

They stood in silence. Sanji revelled in the feeling the warm hold on his hand and vaguely remembered the small warmth of Apis' shoulder against him through the cold bars of his cell. His hand tightened ever-so-slightly on Zoro's as he tried to ignore the wave of sadness that was trying to overcome the warmth that had come from Zoro's hand.

"I still don't like you." Sanji grumbled, though he couldn't stop the tiny smile at the corner of his mouth. He tilted his head to hide it behind his hair.

"Feeling's mutual." Zoro muttered.

But Zoro's hand didn't let go, nor did it tighten in punishment. It just remained comfortably around Sanji's giving him the reassurance that he had needed.

TBC...

A/N: I was heavily debating whether or not to have a Zoro POV, but felt the relationship would have more depth if you knew what was gong on in both idiots' heads. Enjoy the light nakamaship; now things get interesting.