15 Reasons to Fall in Love
Chapter 6
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
5. Zoro is disrespectful to the ladies
Regardless of who they are, women always need to be treated with the utmost respect. Especially lovely ladies like Nami and Robin.
"Nami-swaaan! Robin-chwaaan!" Sanji called happily, pushing through the galley door, his arms laden with dishes. He twirled happily to two beautiful angels that were enjoying a game of cards on the lawn. "I have snacks fit for the goddesses that you are!"
"Thank you Sanji-kun," Nami smiled, accepting one of the trays from him.
"How very sweet of you to bring them to us, Cook-san," Robin added, lifting the lid off the serving tray and revealing a colorful and varied array of snack time items.
"Anything for you beautiful ladies!" Sanji replied, basking in the warmth of their presence.
Of course, the word 'snack' tended to catch attention faster than the word 'marines' on this ship. "Sanji! Where's mine?!" Luffy cried, vaulting himself quickly to the lawn deck and practically drooling on Sanji's shoulder while he eyed the women's food greedily.
"Your food's in the galley!" Sanji said, pushing his gluttonous captain away. "Chopper is bringing it out."
As if on cue, the galley door opened again and Chopper appeared, carrying a tray of meats and cheeses for the men in the crew. Luffy wasted not a second, immediately disappearing from Sanji's side and reappearing at Chopper's, harassing the little reindeer as he tried to bring the food to the others.
Sanji sighed, glad to be rid of that hassle. He turned to return to devoting his attention to the ladies, and noticed there was a new addition to the group.
"These are good," The marimo commented, mouth full of food. "How come you never make these for us?"
Time seemed to freeze. There were rules about food; they had been in place ever since Sanji had first joined the crew. The first rule was of course, don't ever waste food. That was rarely an issue on this ship, with Luffy around to quickly snatch up any unwanted scraps, but it was Sanji's most important rule. The second rule was never skip a meal. If you were conscious and alive, you'd better be eating. Sanji didn't accept people rejecting food just because. Finally, the third rule, a rule that even Luffy abided by out of fear of death, was never touch any food specially made for the ladies. It was this third and final rule that Zoro was so blatantly breaking at this very moment.
"What the hell are you doing, shit-swordsman?!" Sanji shouted.
Zoro looked up at him from his seat between Nami and Robin. "Having a snack? What does it look like?"
Sanji grit his teeth. "Those snacks were for the ladies," He ground out in a dangerously quiet voice. He was shaking in rage and everyone on the ship could feel the hum of his compiling energy, storing up and ready for the chance to launch an attack.
The other men had wisely disappeared from sight.
"They don't mind, right?" Zoro asked, looking from Nami to Robin.
Robin giggled adorably and replied, "Of course not, Kenshi-san, help yourself."
"Yeah," Nami shrugged, looking at Sanji with some confusion. She clearly didn't understand the severity of the situation. "There's more here than we can eat."
"See, Cook-san?" Robin turned back to Sanji, hoping to placate his mood before something got broken. It would be a shame if it were something like the spice rack Zoro had just had made for the cook. She smiled warmly. "It's no bother to us to share with Kenshi-san."
"Thanks," Zoro said to the girls, standing and patting his stomach. "They were really good," And with that he turned to resume whatever it was he'd been doing before he'd decided to shorten his life by incurring Sanji's wrath.
"Hold it!" Sanji snapped, stopping the marimo in his tracks. Zoro turned and gave Sanji an inquisitive look. It was so innocent that it pissed Sanji off even more. "In the galley, now, Marimo," The cook gritted out. "We need to talk."
Zoro let out a heavy sigh but shrugged and turned to follow. What a shame, Robin thought, poor Zoro's efforts will have gone to waste on that spice rack. She sighed sadly once, before returning to her game with Nami.
When Zoro entered the galley, he expected a violent reaction from the cook. You would think after wasting all this precious booze money on that shitty spice rack, the idiot cook would treat him with at least a shred of decency. Well, okay, truthfully the cook had been…different lately. On the surface nothing between them had changed, but something was different. Instead of insults designed to piss Zoro off, Sanji's insults seemed to have a more playful quality...or maybe that was just the swordsman's wishful thinking.
Zoro had been pushing it a little bit, eating off the girls' tray. He knew Sanji hated that more than anything (except maybe wasting food altogether). He'd been so confused lately, unsure of where exactly he and cook stood. Surely the cook couldn't hate him anymore, he wouldn't let him near the galley if he did, and Sanji himself had invited Zoro to help him out with the dishes and even the occasional meal prep. So no, the cook couldn't hate him, but that didn't exactly clear up their relationship to the swordsman at all. So he might have been pushing the cook's buttons a little, just to see what boundaries were still between them.
Apparently interfering with the girls was still one of those boundaries. The love-cook didn't kick him back through the doorway, the moment he pushed the door open, which was a good sign. That was about the end of Zoro's lucky streak though, as he watched the cook take a deep drag of his cigarette before stubbing it out in a nearby ashtray. He exhaled, obscuring himself from view for a moment in a haze of smoke. To the untrained eye Sanji was calm, cool, and collected; the poster boy of those traits, really. But to anyone who knew him he was a ticking time bomb, just waiting for the right moment to burst.
The wisest thing to do in this situation would be to keep your mouth shut, but Zoro would never just sit back and let Sanji run the show like that. "Did you want something, Shit-cook?"
"What the hell were you thinking, you shitty-swordsman?" Sanji grit out. The tension radiating from the cook increased, and Zoro had to stop himself from laughing. The idiot could get worked up over nothing so easily it was amusing.
"I was thinking I was hungry and you called for snacks, what's the problem?" Zoro shrugged, feigning complete ignorance. That was the surest way to piss the cook off. It was inevitable anyway; Zoro figured he may as well have his fun with it.
"The problem," Sanji snapped and Zoro knew he had won his little game. "Is that you're a disrespectful, idiotic, shit-brained, moss-headed asshole!"
Zoro really couldn't keep from smirking now. The cook was an expert insult creator; each one was even more ridiculous than the last. If one could get him going long enough it was one of the funniest things Zoro had ever heard. "I don't know what you're talking about, Love-cook," Zoro said. "But it's clear you're upset about something."
Sanji's face reddened in absolute rage and Zoro braced himself for the attack that was to come. Sure enough, the cook didn't hold back; spinning gracefully and with lightening fast speed, a deadly foot made contact with the flat of the blade of one of Zoro's swords. The swordsman hardly needed to worry though, an angry Sanji was predictable and sloppy in a fight, no challenge at all for Zoro. It was when the cook came at him calmly that Zoro needed to worry.
For now though Zoro could easily keep the cook at bay. The kicks were powerful, but Zoro easily blocked or dodged them. It wasn't long before Sanji realized this and let up on his attack. He stood before the swordsman, winded and panting slightly as a result. Zoro had hardly moved and looked completely unaffected by the exchange of blows. Sanji wiped at the droplets of sweat that had made their way down his face and smirked. "That's it, you bastard," He said before spinning quickly and lashing out again.
This time though, he caught the swordsman by surprise, hitting him with enough force to send him flying through the galley door where there was more space for a proper fight. Less chance of property damage too. He quickly followed, hoping to land another attack before the swordsman could right himself.
The rest of the crew had gathered on the lawn deck to enjoy their snacks together and join in on cards. Nami was taking bets, and earning herself a nice little profit off the simpler members of the crew (Luffy especially was a gold mine at the moment). Their attention was caught by a loud crash and a blur of green as their swordsman went flying from the galley.
"Was that Zoro?" Usopp asked when the figure disappeared from their view. It landed with a loud bang somewhere beyond their field of view.
"I think so," Nami commented, drawing another card from the deck. "And here comes Sanji."
Sure enough the cook quickly darted from the galley, following the body that had just flown by and also disappearing from view. There were several bangs and crashes resonating from his destination and the others watched in interest for a moment to see if they would reemerge.
"They're fighting again, yohohoho!" Brook remarked with a laugh.
"It's a good thing they left the galley," Franky smiled. "I think their finally respecting the ship a little, ow!" He cheered happily.
"As long as they don't hurt each other," Chopper added with some concern.
Luffy laughed. "Of course they won't! They're just playing."
"Uh, their 'play' is a scary to normal people, Luffy," Usopp frowned.
"As long as they don't break anything, who cares?" Nami shrugged.
"And the spice rack will be safe," Robin added. The others stared at her in confusion for a moment, but she simply laughed it off and revealed her hand, prompting the others to do the same. They followed her lead and the game recommenced, the fighting duo forgotten.
"Had enough shit-swordsman?" Sanji panted out, a victorious smirk on his face. He'd successfully pinned the swordsman in a leg lock he couldn't force his way out of. He struggled against it, but his brute force was no match for Sanji's technique.
Zoro never replied, but Sanji took that as answer enough. "While I've got you here, I'm going to talk and you're going to listen," Zoro made to speak but Sanji put more pressure down on the swordsman's thigh, and all that came out of the idiot's mouth was a gasp of pain. "You're going to listen, because if you don't I'll break your leg, Marimo," Sanji added lightly, a self satisfied smile making his way onto his face. It was a great feeling to have bested the swordsman, though the bastard had it coming. He'd set his swords aside and smugly declared that he could defeat the cook with his bare hands. That, Sanji supposed, hadn't really worked out the way the bastard had thought it would.
"You're going to apologize to the ladies," Sanji said, easing up just slightly on the hold so Zoro could hear him out clearly. "And you're going to start showing them some respect, got it bastard?"
Zoro, despite his situation, laughed. "I show them plenty of respect, Shit-cook. You're the one that doesn't respect them," He winced again as Sanji put pressure down on his leg.
"Excuse me?" The cook asked incredulously.
"You heard me," Zoro ground out. "You prance around and harass them all day, force yourself on them, treat them like they're incompetent and weak. Who's the one disrespecting them, Love-cook?"
Sanji glared down at the bastard. He had half a mind to break the idiot's leg just to inflict some pain, but then he'd have to bring the shitty-marimo's meals to him, and he wasn't going to do that. Bearing down on the swordsman's leg one last time, earning a pained groan from said bastard, Sanji released the hold and let the swordsman go.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Shitty-marimo," Sanji spoke while Zoro rubbed at his sore leg. "I treat the ladies like the princesses they should be treated as, and you should too."
Zoro let out a sarcastic grunt. Of course there was no reasoning with the love-cook when it came to ladies, how stupid of him to try. "Whatever you say, Cook."
Sanji wanted to kick the bastard's ass all over again, but he was going to have to be satisfied with that for now. It was almost time to start on dinner for the crew. "Well it's been fun kicking your ass, Lousy-marimo, but I have dinner to work on. Next time you want your ass handed to you though, give me a call," He waved with a smirk, making his way back to the galley.
Once he was sure the swordsman could no longer see him however, the smile fell from his face. He won the fight, but the swordsman planted a seed of doubt in his mind that was going to spend the next couple of days eating at Sanji's insides.
"Nami-swan! I have the hot cocoa you asked for!" Sanji announced, brandishing a small tray.
The weather on the Grand Line was, as usual, unpredictable. They had woken to find the Sunny frosted over that morning. The frost had melted when the sun had risen, but the temperature stayed cool the rest of the day, and the sharp scent of winter seemed to hang in the air. They knew the warm days were over for now.
Sanji never minded the cold weather; in fact he enjoyed it more than the oppressive heat of summer. Wintry weather meant warmer meals, and there was something almost nostalgic about spending the day in the galley, warmed by the heat of the stove. Something about winter always made Sanji feel more at home.
"Thank you, Sanji-kun," Nami looked up from the map she was working on to smile warmly at him. "If you could just set it over there," She pointed to a shelf a safe distance away from her maps.
"You're working hard as ever, my diligent angel," Sanji cooed, setting the mug of hot chocolate where she asked.
"Hmm," Was all the reply he got. After a few more moments of silence she looked up at him again. "Was there something you needed, Sanji-kun?"
"Of course not dearest Nami-san, I was merely gazing upon your beauty!" Sanji replied warmly, practically raining hearts down on the navigator.
"Ah," Nami frowned. "Well if you don't mind, Sanji-kun, I have a lot of work to do, so..." She trailed off, looking pointedly at the door.
Sanji's smile faltered slightly for a moment. "Oh! Of course Nami-san, keep up the good work!" He called before excusing himself from her office.
With the door closed safely behind him, he allowed the frown he'd been fighting off to make its way onto his face. It had been a perfectly normal exchange with their navigator; Sanji had had many like it in his time on the crew. Thanks to the swordsman's words however, Sanji was confused and slightly hurt.
Was he really a nuisance to the ladies? In his efforts to shower them with the praise and respect he believed they deserved, was he really doing the opposite? No, surely not. He loved them, after all. He'd be the first to know if something was making them unhappy. Of course he would, he made it his responsibility to see to their happiness, didn't he?
The nagging doubt from the swordsman's words tugged at his gut again.
With a heavy sigh he headed back to the galley. The coffee he'd prepared for Robin had probably finished brewing now, and he could bring it to her. Surely the lovely Robin-chan would erase all his doubts.
Humming happily to himself he poured a mug of the coffee he'd brewed to Robin's exact specifications. Arranging it on a tray with a few biscuits for her to enjoy with her coffee, Sanji happily carried the tray down to the aquarium.
"Robin-chwan! Your coffee is ready!" He called as he entered.
With a sigh, the archaeologist lowered the book she'd been reading and set it in her lap. She accepted the tray from the cook with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Cook-san," She replied. "The biscuits are a nice touch as well."
"Anything for you, my lovely Robin-chan! I am your faithful servant, ever at your beck and call. Whenever you should have need of me, I'll always be by your side!" He proclaimed.
Robin smiled at him, but the smile wasn't out of love, more like patience. "I'll keep that in mind Cook-san, thank you again for the coffee," And with that she picked up her book once again and was lost in the world of history.
Sanji dithered for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. He'd love to continue spending time with Robin, but she'd made it pretty clear he was dismissed. With a final sigh he turned to leave; head hung and heart heavy, he made his way back to the galley.
Perhaps Zoro was partially right. Maybe his lovely ladies didn't appreciate his affections. Maybe they were all one sided. Maybe...maybe he wasn't actually making the ladies happy. How was his relationship with them any better than the swordsman's? Zoro didn't rain affection down on the ladies like Sanji did, but that didn't seem to make a difference to them. In fact, the bickering fights Zoro had with Nami had an almost sibling-like quality to them; like watching a sister and brother argue just to annoy each other. Sanji knew for a fact Zoro would lay his life on the line for Nami if he needed too, but he seemed to trust their navigator to get herself out of a tough spot; much like she got them out of many tough spots.
Zoro was different with Robin; in fact, Sanji had rarely seen the swordsman and the archaeologist speak to each other. There was never any bad air between them though. They seemed content to spend any of their time together in peaceful silence, but the few times Sanji had interrupted these moments, he felt like he was interrupting something very private and special. It was like the two could speak without ever speaking.
Sanji was not the swordsman though. He grew up believing women needed to be cared for and protected by men. He doted on them constantly, making their happiness and safety his top priority, but...perhaps Zoro was right? Maybe he was wrong, had always been wrong. Or, more likely, that was true for some women, but not for all? Especially not ladies like Nami and Robin.
Sanji sighed heavily and sank to the floor. There was a little time before he needed to start dinner, maybe if he thought about it carefully until then he'd come up with the right answer. Yes, that was all he needed was a little time to think.
Nami hummed a sea shanty that Brook had taught them to herself. She'd been able to finish the map she'd been working on, making her one step closer to achieving her dream. Of course, it was a small step, and there were many to go until she actually accomplished her goal, but she was that much closer.
She was planning to find Sanji in the galley, both to return the now empty mug and thank him again for bringing her the cocoa. It was a satisfying treat to get her through her work. She happily pushed opened the galley door, expecting to see the cook happily working on their dinner in the kitchen.
The shadowy figure slumped by the door caught her off guard. Enough so that she let out a surprised shriek and raised the mug, ready to bring it down on the invaders head.
"Was there something you needed, Nami-san?"
The voice was familiar, but it sounded off without its usual intonation. Still, the way it spoke her name was unmistakable. "Sanji-kun?!" She cried out. "What are you doing sitting here in the dark?"
Sanji looked up at her and then around his galley. "When did it get dark?" He asked with genuine confusion.
Nami watched him with some concern as she reached over and flicked on the light. He flinched slightly as his eyes tried to make sense of the sudden brightness. The poor guy certainly looked haggard. His usually neat clothing was crumpled and wrinkled. His jacket had been carelessly tossed aside and his tie loosened to the point where it hung uselessly around his neck. His shirt was only half tucked in, and his hair had clearly been ruffled more than a couple of times. The cigarette in his mouth remained unlit, but had been chewed on to the point that Nami wondered if it could even be smoked anymore.
"What's the matter with you?" Nami asked, concern and confusion coloring her voice.
"Ah," Sanji slumped again. "I was thinking."
Nami took in his appearance again. "What on earth were you thinking about?"
Sanji rubbed his head aggressively, as if doing so would force the thoughts from his mind. That explained his hair then. "Something the stupid swordsman said," He muttered.
Nami raised an eyebrow at his reply. It wasn't uncommon for Sanji and Zoro to fight, but it was unheard of for Sanji to take anything the swordsman said to heart, especially to this degree. Sanji was clearly agonizing over whatever it was Zoro had said. Nami almost had to admire the swordsman, she had no idea he could inflict such damage with words alone. He seemed more muscle than brain most of the time.
With a sigh, Nami bent and took Sanji's hand. "Stand up," She ordered. He obeyed and once he was standing she tugged him lightly over to the table. "Sit," She commanded. He did as he was told again and she released his hand. She stepped away for a moment to put her mug in the sink before sitting across from the cook. "Talk," She said.
Sanji gave her a weak half smile. "I'm honored by your concern, Nami-san, but I'm sure you have more pressing things to attend to at the moment. I'll start dinner right now so everything will be fine here and-"
"I don't care about dinner," Nami replied flatly. "Tell me what Zoro said that's got you beating yourself up."
Sanji tried again. "I assure you Nami-san, I'm just fine. I haven't been beating myself up," He smiled more sincerely this time to assure her.
Nami reached out and tugged lightly at his loosened tie. "You look pretty beat up to me," She commented, retying the cook's tie as she spoke. Once it was neatly tied again and folded neatly under his collar like it was supposed to, she spoke again. "There. Now, talk."
Sanji sighed. "Ah, well, remember when the idiot-marimo so rudely stole the snacks I had brought out for you ladies?"
Nami thought back. "Oh! A couple days ago, right? You guys had that big fight," She nodded. "I don't think I've ever seen Zoro fly so far."
Sanji smiled, grateful for the compliment. "Yes, that day. Well, we were arguing because that idiot is so rude, he never shows you or Robin-chan any respect. I was trying to tell him that lovely ladies sent from the heaven li—" Sanji cut himself short and cleared his throat. "I mean, I was trying to tell him that he needed to start showing more respect to you and Robin-chan. But then he said I was wrong, that I was the one that didn't show the two of you any respect."
Sanji paused, but Nami didn't speak so he continued. "Of course I thought that he was just being his usual stupid marimo self, but then I started to wonder if he was right. Maybe I was just annoying you, forcing my affections on you, and as a result maybe I was the one not showing you any respect," He finished quietly. He was embarrassed, and felt like an idiot for having to talk to Nami-san about all this.
Nami sat back in her chair and sighed. "Damn, I was hoping for something better than that. I was giving Zoro way too much credit," She grumbled, folding her arms over her chest.
"What?" Sanji asked in confusion.
"Listen up Sanji," Nami said, her tone matter-of-fact. "I'm pretty used to your whole chivalry game. I can pretty safely assume Robin is too. Sure, you annoy the hell out of us sometimes, but everyone on this crew annoys me at some point...Luffy on a daily basis," She added thoughtfully.
"But," She paused and patted his shoulder. "I've never felt the least like anyone on this crew, including you, doesn't respect me," She gave him a smile and wink before standing.
Ah, Sanji thought, it was that simple. Zoro was wrong, but so was Sanji. Of course he respected Nami, she was a great navigator. He respected Robin too, for her intelligence and insightfulness. Zoro saw these things too, of course. The way they expressed their admiration of these traits were vastly different, but that didn't make either of them wrong.
"Now," She said, placing a hand on her hip. "Are you going to start dinner or are we going to have to listen to Luffy whine all night?"
"I'll start right now, Nami-san!" Sanji cried out happily, regaining his usual energy.
"Good," She smiled warmly. "And thanks again for the hot chocolate, Sanji-kun. It really helped me out."
"Anything for you, my beautiful Nami-swan!" Sanji called after her as she left the galley.
Sanji sighed contentedly, the doubts and worries that had plagued his mind the past couple of days erased entirely. He couldn't wait till the next time he saw the swordsman, so he could brag about how wrong the idiot was.
A sudden thought occurred to him and he froze mid slice on the carrot he was chopping up. Since Sanji had admitted to himself that he might be falling for the swordsman, the list he'd made had become that much more important. Even if Sanji did, maybe, have feelings for the swordsman, there were still many reasons why he couldn't actually be with the swordsman. There was no way he was going to get into a relationship with anyone, especially with Zoro, just to have it fall apart because of all the things between them. This list was a perfect example of exactly why he'd never admit his feelings to Zoro. He had fifteen perfectly valid reasons written down and tucked safely in his pocket.
Well...actually there were only ten reasons now.
A/N:
First and foremost: Wow! Thank you all so much for your reviews! They were so awesome! Especially those of you who have been reviewing on most every chapter, thank you so much! I'm trying to work on getting back to everyone, but if I missed anyone I'm sorry. I still really appreciate it though!
Phew. I finished. I procrastinated and put it off and before I new it a whole week had gone by, and then I wondered if I would ever write this chapter. But here it is!
I spent a whole night writing this, really. I started it at about 11 and finished it at 8:30 the next morning. (There may have been a fair amount of goofing off involved.) So it will probably be riddled with errors. I went over it several times, but I am sure to have missed something.
After all the fluff in the last chapter, I hope no one is too shell shocked at the lack of gooey ZoSan moments in this chapter. It was almost a little Sanji-centric, but I had a lot of fun writing it, so hopefully you enjoyed reading it!
Additional note: A huge thank you to reader713 for pointing out my humongous math error, and I apologize to any of you who had to see it before it was edited.