15 Reasons to Fall in Love

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

6. All they do is fight
There is supposed to be attraction, chemistry, and love in a happy relationship. How can they have that if they can't even get along for ten minutes?

Sanji hummed happily as he danced around his kitchen, preparing a lavish breakfast for his crew. He was in a fantastic mood for so early in the morning. Sometimes there were just days like that, when he would wake up knowing it was going to be a great day. If Luffy were to break in to the kitchen this afternoon and eat half of their food stores, Sanji doubted his good mood could be ruined. He'd happily strangle his gluttonous captain with a cheerful smile on his face.

It had been two days since his conversation with Nami, but he supposed the fact that his precious mellorine didn't hate him was enough of a reason to still be smiling about it. Perhaps the fact that a certain moss-headed swordsman had been absent the past couple of days helped too. Sanji hadn't realized the whole situation with Zoro had been stressing him out so much until he'd stopped speaking to him.

The galley door opened behind him. Sanji was elbow deep in bread dough and couldn't turn to see who was entering his sanctuary so early in the morning. It could only be one person though; Robin-chan was the only one who woke this early.

"Good morning Robin-chwan!" Sanji cooed. "I've prepared your morning coffee already, please help yourself!"

"I'm not big on coffee," A voice replied. It was much too low and unsophisticated to be Robin's. "And I'm not Robin either," It added thoughtfully.

Despite the bread he was supposed to be kneading, Sanji spun quickly with a glare. "Oh. It's just a marimo," He spat, with a tone that suggested Zoro should piss off elsewhere before turning his back on the other man and working the dough some more.

"Morning to you too," Zoro replied with an eye roll. There was a heavy silence in the kitchen, while Sanji pounded the bread with a little more force than necessary.

"I was wondering if you needed any help," Zoro finally spoke. Not that he was expecting an answer; Sanji hadn't spoken to him properly in almost two days. Sure enough, silence and a cold shoulder were his only replies. "So you're still not speaking to me?" Zoro added, though he felt at this point that was just blatantly stating the obvious.

Nothing. With a heavy sigh, Zoro turned and left again, passing by Robin on his way out.

"Good morning, Kenshi-san," She greeted warmly. "It's unusual to see you up so early in the morning, were you helping Cook-san with breakfast?"

Zoro snorted. "Yeah, right," He muttered before leaving.

Robin looked after him curiously. It was hard to tell with the swordsman, as he kept his emotions under lock and key almost all of the time, but she could have sworn he looked a little...down. Of course if she had to hazard a guess, she'd say it was most likely because of their cook. It was far too early in the morning for these sorts of puzzles though, she concluded. She'd figure it out over her coffee.

Zoro stood on the deck, uncertain of what to do next. He'd really been hoping today would be the day Sanji would get over himself and they could go back to their usual routine. They'd seemed to be closer lately, as close as the two could be while still maintaining their healthy rivalry anyway. Zoro couldn't have been happier; the cook was finally opening up a little bit and letting him in. Was, until Zoro opened his big mouth and pissed the cook off.

Not that it made any sense to Zoro. As far as he could tell, every time he opened his mouth he pissed the cook off to some degree. But Sanji was not the kind of person that held grudges, so Zoro could usually say whatever he wanted and their relationship would remain the same...until this moment. Apparently there was a line drawn on insults made about the cook and his relationship with the girls, and Zoro had crossed over it.

If the cook would just kick his ass (or try to anyway) they could get past this. That was their thing. Get mad at someone or something or each other, start a fight, come out feeling much better. Zoro didn't even know if they knew they were doing it until the fight was over and they were both feeling immensely better from it. It was fun to fight the cook.

No matter what he tried though, he couldn't bait the cook into a fight. Sanji rarely acknowledged his existence. The only proof the swordsman had that the cook knew he was there at all was the plate of food he had handed to him every meal. Even then, he was little more than a house pet as far as the curly-brow's concern for him went.

With another heavy sigh, Zoro rubbed his head in aggravation and made for the crow's nest. He'd just relieve Usopp from watch early and train away his frustration with the cook. The sharpshooter probably wouldn't complain, it'd give him a chance to get to breakfast first before Luffy stole half their food.

Sanji grit his teeth around his cigarette. Robin had been staring at him for the past ten minutes, and as flattering as that should have been, it was a little disturbing. He could practically feel her curious gaze crawling over his shoulders while he tried to whisk eggs that would be perfectly fluffy. He'd already given her the usual cup of coffee, and had offered her a start on breakfast just to divert her attention. She'd politely declined though and had spent the rest of the time in silence, watching him closely.

He almost wanted to cry in relief when the galley door swung open. Even if it had been the swordsman he would have welcomed the idiot with open arms, no matter what it would have cost his pride to do so. Fortunately his pride was safe when Usopp walked in.

"Zoro said he'd take over the rest of my watch," He said immediately, afraid the others would accuse him of slipping off watch early. "He seemed kind down," He added thoughtfully.

"I agree, Long Nose-kun," Robin said, and Sanji could feel her gaze shift back to him.

"Sit down, Usopp," Sanji instructed. "I just finished baking some muffins. I'll let you have one."

This served as enough of a distraction from Zoro's mood for the sharpshooter. "Thanks, Sanji!" He replied with some surprise, but he was quick to obey the cook's instructions.

With food in front of him, Usopp was well behaved and quiet. Of course the lovely Robin-chan couldn't let it go.

"Did Kenshi-san say what was bothering him, Long Nose-kun?" She asked conversationally. Sanji continued a steady pace in his chopping of an onion and pretended not to hear them.

"No, but you know Zoro," Usopp shrugged.

"Indeed," Robin agreed.

"Anyway," Usopp swallowed the last of his muffin before continuing. "What did you do to him, Sanji?"

Robin giggled and Sanji froze, mid slice. "What the hell does the shitty swordsman's bad mood have to do with me?" He grumbled irritably.

Robin and Usopp shared a knowing look. Robin took over the explanation. "I think what Long Nose-kun means, Cook-san, is that the two of you were getting along so well, and then suddenly you weren't."

"Yeah," Usopp agreed. "And Zoro only acts weird about things when you're involved."

Sanji didn't reply, just resumed his chopping. He wondered if Usopp even knew what he'd just said. He was certain Robin had everything figured out, her stare held just a hint of accusation. Like any of this was his fault! Of course that idiot swordsman would pout and gain sympathy and everyone would blame Sanji!

"It's his own fault," Sanji replied calmly. He hated to talk about this at all, but he hated even more to seem like the bad guy. "He shot his mouth off like he always does, and it's about time someone teach the bastard to apologize."

Robin raised a brow. "So all you want is an apology?"

"Why don't you tell him that?" Usopp frowned.

"Because it's a lesson Usopp," Sanji looked at the sharpshooter. "You've had your fair share of those, mostly from Zoro," He pointed out.

Usopp didn't reply but Sanji knew from the look he was receiving that Zoro's lessons in humility were not Usopp's fondest memories.

"While I can understand your frustration, Cook-san, I think you're asking for a miracle," Robin sighed. "It's not in Kenshi-san's nature to apologize for his behavior."

Sanji shrugged. "I think so too, Robin-chan, but I didn't think it would be an easy lesson."

Robin didn't reply, but let the subject of Zoro rest for now. She and Usopp moved on to discussing the sharpshooter's latest invention and watched Sanji cook their breakfast.

It had almost been a week and Sanji still wasn't talking to Zoro. Zoro had tried everything; he'd tried casual conversation, offering help on extra chores to impress Sanji into speaking, poking fun at the cook, and outright asking why is was the cook wouldn't acknowledge him. And after a week of all of this, all he had to show for it was a grumpy cook and a new sword technique he'd developed out of boredom.

He wasn't sure what else to do to convince the cook to speak to him, and was on the verge of giving up. The only problem was, Zoro wasn't accustomed to giving up. When things were bad, he just had to try harder; that was how he'd always gotten by. It wasn't working on the cook though. He could hardly get Sanji to look at him, and the few times he had he'd been awarded with such a frigid glare he was almost afraid. Almost.

The worst part about the cook not speaking to him was that he was starting to get a little lonely. It was strange to feel that way on a ship full of people, but no one else on the ship matched him quite as well as the cook. He respected Luffy as his captain and as a friend, but the younger man's wild antics didn't mesh well with Zoro's laid back nature. Brook, as a fellow swordsman, was good for a brief conversation, but his silly antics wore on Zoro's nerves. Usopp was more fun to pick on than spend time with, and Franky was far too loud for Zoro's taste. He loved spending time with Chopper, but the little reindeer's youth and naiveté left him wanting for more in a conversation. Nami was a money hungry wench that Zoro sometimes couldn't believe he managed to share a ship with, and Robin, while her presence was calming, had taken to studying him in a manner that made his skin crawl. She could be terrifying when she wanted to be.

In the end, the cook was the closest to him in age, maturity, mannerisms, and the one person on the crew he could either converse with or sit in complete silence with comfortably. Not to mention he could fight with the cook. Fighting with the cook was the best part. Sanji matched Zoro's raw power with quick thinking and even quicker reflexes that left the swordsman on his toes at all time. Fighting with the cook was never boring.

During the first few days, Zoro had assumed Sanji's anger would blow over in time and hadn't worried about the cook's silence. By the fourth day he'd worried a little; Sanji's anger never held on this long without exploding. Now it was the sixth day, and the late evening sun was casting long shadows on the deck. Dinner had come and gone without a word from the cook, and Zoro had the feeling if he didn't change something, the cook would never speak to him again. He had a plan, though it was a little radical; it was the only thing he could think to try. That in mind, he set off to find the cook.

Sanji was listening to another of Usopp's long winded and entirely fabricated stories. True he'd never known the sharpshooter in his home town, but he was fairly certain Usopp had never fought off an entire band of thieves with his legs tied together. Luffy and Chopper seemed to be enjoying the story though, so Sanji decided just to treat the story like a work of fiction and enjoy it that way. Usopp wasn't a half bad storyteller, if you left out the part where he was the main hero.

Truthfully, Sanji was a little bored. Nami and Robin had gone to their room for the evening, as they so often did early in order to escape the men on the ship. Dinner had been a stew, and clean up had been quick and easy. Now Sanji wasn't quite sure what to do with himself for the rest of the night.

Truly he'd like to be spending time with Zoro, but this was the sixth day without an apology, and Sanji was starting to doubt that he'd ever get to speak to the swordsman again...

"Oi, Dart-brow," As if on cue, Zoro appeared before their group and interrupted Usopp's story. "I need to talk to you."

Sanji gave the swordsman an accessing look. Surely this was too good to be true. Could Zoro be thinking of apologizing? Sanji banished the thought from his mind and replied. "What do you want, Marimo?"

"To talk," Zoro repeated.

"So talk," Sanji shrugged nonchalantly.

Zoro looked at Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper. He really didn't want an audience for this. "Alone," Zoro clarified. "Meet me in the crow's nest?"

Sanji looked the swordsman over again. There was a certain...uncertainty in his behavior. As if he was stepping outside of his comfort zone and trying something new. It was enough to pique Sanji's interest. "Sure," He replied, watching as Zoro turned on heel and headed up the ladder.

Luffy laughed. "Zoro's weird," He commented.

"He did seem strange," Chopper agreed. "I hope he's okay. He hasn't been himself lately. If I thought he could catch a cold I'd be worried that he did."

Usopp exchanged a look with Sanji that told the cook the sharpshooter thought the same thing he did. Maybe this was Zoro's apology.

"I'm going to go see what he wants," Sanji told the others, standing and making for the ladder after the swordsman.

Sanji pushed through the hatch of the crow's nest and was greeted with the sight of the swordsman's back a few feet away. He was stiff, a tension knotting his spine into a rigid line. Not a normal stance for the usually lazy Zoro. Sanji curiously climbed the rest of the way up and turned to shut the hatch.

"So," He began. "What's up?"

The hatch had barely snapped shut when the swordsman spun and launched himself at the cook. He came lightning fast, but Sanji was faster and brought a foot up to block just before a sword made contact with the flesh of his stomach.

"What the hell, Zoro!" Sanji cried, recovering quickly from his surprise and using the foot he'd blocked with to launch the swordsman away. "You say you want to talk, and then you just attack me?"

Zoro didn't reply though, instead he recovered his balance and attacked again. This time Sanji was ready for it though, swiftly blocking the attack and launching one of his own. Zoro defended the hit easily with one sword as he unsheathed another. Sanji didn't waste a moment in continuing his attack though, vaulting quickly after the swordsman, hoping to make use of the time it took Zoro to unsheathe a sword to land a hit. He was unsuccessful however, and the swordsman nearly clipped his face with the swing of a blade.

Sanji pulled back at the last minute though. The swing had been wide and loose on purpose, a warning to the cook not to get too cocky. Zoro didn't leave himself open when he was taking up his swords after all. Sanji had to resist the smirk that came to his face when he read the message loud and clear. He was supposed to be especially angry at the swordsman for his spontaneous and uncalled for attacking, not enjoying himself.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" He asked instead, flipping back quickly out of range of the swords. "I don't talk to you for a few days and you decide to try and kill me?"

"It's been six days," Zoro said, rushing Sanji again. The cook had a slight advantage at a distance, so it was best to keep the fight up close. "That you've barely said a single word to me," Zoro added on.

"I wonder why that is?" Sanji asked sarcastically. Zoro drew another sword but Sanji didn't bother making use of the time it took him to do that. He'd just end up getting sliced. Instead he dropped low and attempted to take out the swordsman's knees.

Unfortunately Zoro knew him too well for that kind of trick to work. "Because you're pissed at me?" Zoro asked, quickly spinning out of the way and bringing the two swords in his hands down in an arc designed to kill.

Sanji dove out of the way and spun a kick in Zoro's direction as he recovered. He wasn't going to bother replying to the idiot. He knew that Zoro knew exactly why the cook wasn't speaking to him; he just needed to figure out how to fix it. That was the point of the lesson.

"I came up with a new move," Zoro said, pausing to duck and avoid a spinning kick Sanji had aimed at his head. "While you weren't speaking to me," He continued.

Sanji paused in his attacks when the swordsman's words sunk in. "So?" Sanji asked. "That's what you called me up here and attacked me for? Are you an idiot?! You shitty marimo! I'm not putting up with this. I'm going to bed," Sanji turned and grabbed the handle of the hatch, hating Zoro a little more now than he did twenty minutes ago.

Zoro took up a stance. "You're not gonna make it down that later before this hits you, Shit-cook."

Sanji stopped and watched the swordsman sheath a sword, Sandai Kitetsu he noted with some relief (that one tended to leave cuts more often than the other two) and take up Shuusui with both hands. Surely one sword in two hands gave him more power behind the attack. Sanji watched and took notes, as he so often did when Zoro came up with a new technique. All the better to find the weakness of it.

Zoro swung and Sanji stepped quickly to the side. He could feel the wind the swing left in its wake, and he was glad he'd not been on the receiving end of the blow. Without a second thought he aimed low and struck the back of Zoro's knee. The swordsman went down hard and Sanji truly couldn't resist a smile this time.

"Listen up shit-swordsman I'm going to give you a word of advice," He said, kicking Zoro lightly on the leg. "I realize you're a powerhouse in your upper body, but that move would work far better if you kept the balance in your legs and not your waist. You'll get more force behind it that way, and you won't be so easy to take down."

Zoro recovered and turned to look at Sanji. After his remark, Sanji expected a glare, followed by another reckless attack. The swordsman surprised him though with a broad smile. "I knew you could help. I couldn't figure out what was missing."

Sanji pushed down the sense of flattery he felt and shrugged. "Well this is a one time thing, Shitty-marimo. Try this shit again and I'll kill you next time."

Sanji made to leave again but Zoro stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, I really did have something to say."

Sanji turned. "I swear to God, Zoro, if you don't make an actual conversation this time, I'll kick you through the window."

Zoro scratched his head uncertainly, and the change in his demeanor startled Sanji enough to grant him some patience while the swordsman found his words.

"I'm..." The marimo paused, wrinkling his face like he smelled something bad before shaking it off and continuing. "I'm...sorry...for what I said about you and the girls," He finished, face flushing a little in embarrassment.

Sanji couldn't believe his ears. "You're what?" He asked, a smile forming on his face.

"Shut up," Zoro scowled. "You heard me."

"I did," Sanji beamed. "I just can't believe I actually did," He shrugged, turning again to finally make his way out of the crow's nest, certain the swordsman wouldn't stop him again. "All's forgiven, Marimo. Keep practicing that technique, I'd like to see it in action one day."

"That's it?" Zoro called before Sanji could disappear down the hatch.

"That's it," Sanji smirked. "See what an apology can do?"

With that he left the flustered marimo in the crow's nest and made his way down, planning on a nice bath before bed. He felt lighter and happier than he had in days, and he was already planning on having Zoro get up with him to help with breakfast. He was beyond happy to have his friend back, and their fight had been a relief for all the pent up energy he'd had stored up.

Fighting with Zoro would never get old.

A/N:

First of all, let me just say if anyone notices any HUGE inconsistencies or mistakes, please do tell me. I make mistakes like everyone, so let me know and I will fix them. Pardon any minor spelling and grammar errors. I know they're frequent despite my best efforts.

Secondly, thank you all for the reviews! They mean so much to me! A positive review really gives me a lot of confidence in my story. And if you don't like it, say so! I can take a little criticism, and it may be able to help me improve my writing. Either way, reviews have a huge impact on me as a writer in an extremely positive way, so those who have reviewed, thank you so much!

Updates really have become a weekly thing. I didn't realize working overnights would make me so lazy. I never want to do anything but watch anime or maybe play video games in my spare time. Never fear though, even if it's getting written slightly slower now, I will still see it to the end.

That's all! I hope you enjoyed!