The truth be told, the truth be told
I'm worried what the future holds, the future holds
I'm starting to worry about Ray

-"Worried About Ray" The Hoosiers

XxxX

After the day's work was done Zoro had three shadows following him to the bar, four if you counter his actual shadow, and seven if you counted the real people and their shadows. He walked though the door to see Sanji standing at the bar, like he'd never left, although he looked pretty bored. He smiled when he saw Zoro walk in with his three companions.

"And who are these nice people?" Sanji asked, pouring Zoro the usual. "And what can I get them?"

"Whatever Zoro-Aniki is having," said Johnny.

"Me too," said Yosaku enthusiastically.

Sanji raised an eyebow but did not comment on their odd behavior, he just poured more drinks.

"Sanij," Luffy said seriously, "you need to pack lunch for Zoro everyday- no, better idea- pack lunch for me everyday."

"Oh, did you like the meat I packed for you?" Sanji asked.

"Yes! But it wasn't enough," Luffy said sadly. Sanji knew he wouldn't be able to put enough in for Luffy, if he did that then that lunchbox would have been a hell of a lot heavier, also it would have to be bigger on the inside like some kind of paradox or piece of galafreyan architecture.

"And did the marimo like his lunch?" Sanji asked with an evil grin.

"Yep!" Luffy said automatically.

"No- shut up!" Zoro tried to say, but he had been ignoring everyone so the answer came too late.

"Why would you not like your lunch, aniki? It looked like you enjoyed it," inserted Yosaku in confusion.

"Aw, looks like you've been caught liking my food, asshole. I'm an amazing cook, not even you can deny that," Sanji taunted, poking Zoro's face as he turned away in embarrassment.

"Agh, just shut up!" Zoro slapped away his hand.

Sanji chuckled, "Well, if you ever want me to cook you something again you can turn up out of the blue at my house and crash on my couch because apparently my door is always open," he joked.

"Can I come too?" Luffy asked.

"No, I don't think I my kitchen has the infrastructure to feed you everyday," Sanji said sadly.

XxxX

That next Monday Zoro walked in to find Sanji talking to another bar patron with a trained expression on his face. The woman he was talking to was heavy set and spoke very loudly with a voice that just sounded rude. She was going on about something that seemed to be annoying and he could see that Sanji was trying his hardiest to get out of the conversation. When he moved to serve Zoro the woman snapped at him and demanded his attention.

"I'm sorry, madam, but I have to help this man here," Sanji said politely but his voice was thin and his expression was slightly strained.

She mumbled something threatening that Zoro could not hear from where he sat across the bar but Sanji's expression fluctuated in irritation.

"Madam, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said firmly.

"Oh yeah, why's that?" she asked loudly.

"Because you just threatened me, and because you are inhibiting the pleasures of the other customers," he said smoothly.

The woman stood abruptly, "I will be having words with your boss," she spat.

"I'm sorry, but she's not here right not," Sanji sighed, raising a hand to his head.

"Then I will come back later and I will tell her of this great injustice!" shouted, then she stormed out angrily.

Sanji folded slightly onto the counter, "Thank god, I thought I was going to have to forcibly kick here out," he sighed.

"What was that all about?" Zoro asked as Sanji poured him his sake.

"She's been here since I started today. She's been here before, usually later and she talks and talks about things I don't care about and she's rude and it's just not fun to deal with her."

"I think this is the first time I've ever heard you bad mouth a woman," Zoro smirked.

"Well, I've had a really shitty day so I'm not at the top of my charm," Sanji sighed glumly. It was a strange expression to see on the cook's face and it made Zoro feel uncomfortable.

"What's wrong with today?" he asked.

"Well, I woke up and I was hanging halfway off my bed, which gave me a bad crick in my neck and that just set me in a bad mood. Then I tripped and smashed my shin into my coffee table, which sucked. I accidentally burnt my fucking breakfast because I was trying to clean up the glass jar of brown sugar that I shattered all over my floor and that made me want to cry but so did that glass that got lodged in my leg. But it was the burnt breakfast that really made me want to hurt something. Then I had to talk on the phone with Zeff so he could yell at me for something stupid. And when I got here that lady kept talking to me. Plus I have a pounding migraine. And it is my birthday so, yeah, that's just the icing on the cake," he droned on miserably.

"That is a shitty day," Zoro agreed, "Are you planning to do anything to celebrate your birthday? How old are you now anyway? You could be a very youthful looking old man for all I know."

"I am now twenty-five, and I plan on going home and curling up into a ball."

"Hah, that makes you like four months younger than me."

"So your birthdays is in, what? November?" Ugh, counting months backwards is hard.

"Yep, November eleventh."

"You seem the a November person," Sanji said thoughtfully.

"What the fuck does that me?"

"I don't know, but it makes sense to me," Sanji shrugged.

"So, why haven't you told anyone that it's your birthday?"

"Because I never really celebrated birthdays growing up and they just feel weird and uncomfortable now. I don't really like it so usually I just go home and eat I've cream to celebrate."

"Oh god, that sounds so depressing."

"Yeah, but I like doing it. I even got my favorite raspberry ice cream," Sanji smiled at the thought of the frozen dairy product. Frozen yogurt would never compare. Never ever.

"Well, I just hope you know that when Luffy finds out that you didn't celebrate your birthday he will be unhappy with you."

"He won't find out because no one will tell him."

"Fine, fine but it's bound to catch up on you at some point."

"You make it sound like I've dome something really terrible."

"You have in Luffy's book."

"Great, another thing I have to feel bad about."

He poured drinks for a few more people and returned to Zoro resting his hand on his chin and making an unhappy expression.

"What?" Zoro asked over the rim of his glass.

"My chin feels weird."

"Weird how?"

"I don't know, the bone just doesn't feel flat and it weirds me out. I fell on my chin once while I was little and it always felt weird after that but I thought it was just in my head."

"I think it probably is."

"I agree, my head should go kill itself for being stupid," Sanji muttered darkly.

"I wouldn't go that far."

"I wish that I could see my brain. Then I could see what I truly look like inside, except I wouldn't because my eyes wouldn't be attached to my brain anymore and I would be dead."

"Yes, you would. I wish that I could turn into a ghost sometimes like Danny Phantom," he paused, "I didn't mean to say that. I wasn't actually listening to you and my mouth just went off without me, but with any luck you weren't listening to me either?" He looked up to see Sanji grinning at him.

"I was listening and I think that would be totally amazing. I would fly around and fight crime like a super hero. I would also fly around, which would be amazing."

"You would defiantly peek in on girls while they couldn't see you."

"No! I have more class than that and you have offended me, sir," Sanji proclaimed, aghast at the suggestion, "I would, however, haunt your place of residence."

"You don't know where I live. Do you?"

"No, but I would find out and... Melt your toaster with my ghost powers or something. It would be awesome."

"No, not my toaster. Anything but that," Zoro said with a straight face and a flat tone. That night he stayed later than he usually did keeping Sanji entertained.

XxxX

It was just another lovely day in the bar, a lovely day in general really. It was the first day of spring actually. Okay, so it wasn't the perfect spring day, it was sort of mushy and gray out, lovely probably the word most people would use to describe it, but it was nice because there was a warm breeze that swirled the smell of spring through the air. Zoro obviously wasn't outside to experience this because he was doing his usual thing and talking to Sanji.

"Just think about when we're old," Sanji was saying, "We'll be stuck in some retirement home-"

"The same retirement home?" Zoro interrupted.

"Yes. And they'll be playing things like dub step and Harry Potter to entertain us. The kids will be all like 'man, fuck those old people and their shitty old dub step music, they still use iPod touches.'"

"Well, the first thing I want to know is, why we are in the same retirement home? Second, they'll probably play popular stuff and populars stuff sucks so I suggest we break out."

"We are in the same retirement home because after my beautiful wife died tragically in a nuclear explosion you saw her obituary in the future news and stalked me down to try and comfort me before I die of radiation poisoning. I put up with it only because I feel bad for you, seeing as you never married. Also, I would defiantly break out of an old people's home and run away with you because those places are depressing."

"Fuck you. That sounds like the plot of some weird gay movie that would be somehow very endearing."

"Now that you mention it it kind of does but I don't care. As an old man I plan on not giving a single fuck about anything."

"That sounds good to meeee- your nose is bleeding," Zoro said making a smooth transition as he watched blood drip from the bartender's nose.

Sanji blinked and looked down at the blood drops that had fallen onto the back of his hand. "Oh. Fuck." He grabbed some napkins and placed them onto his face.

"I can stand behind the counter while you wait for the bleeding to stop," Zoro suggested. He doubted that people wanted to be served by someone with blood pouring from their nose. He knew how the bar worked anyway, it wasn't that hard.

Fifteen minutes later he was looking over at Sanji in concern. His nose was still bleeding with no signs of stopping in sight and he had started to sway on his feet.

"Hey, cook, I think you should go to the hospital," Zoro said although he thoroughly expected a firm denial. And he was not disappointed in that respect.

Sanji shook his head sharply with a muffled, "No, no that's not necessary."

"Yeah, but you look like you're about to fall over and there is a lot of your blood outside your body." He nodded to the trash can filling with bloody napkins.

"I'll be fine. I've never had to go to the hospital and I'm not going to go now," Sanji proclaimed even as he teetered to the side.

"I think you are, actually. I'm going to drive you. You don't want Nami to have to deal with you dying in here, right? There's probably a lot of paperwork for that."

"No, but I won't because I am totally fine!"

Zoro ignored him and walked back into Nami's office where she was sitting there writing something.

"Hey," Zoro greeted, "Sanji's nose has been pouring blood for the past fifteen minutes, so I'm just going to drive him to the hospital. You should probably go run your bar. Also, there will probably be some screaming when I drag him out."

Nami looked bewildered, "Fine, just make sure he okay. I'll be out in a second, just go."

Zoro nodded and went back out to Sanji, who was leaning against the wall trying to will the bleeding to stop. Zoro placed a hand on his shoulder, making him jump.

"I'm not going," he insisted, clenching the counter like he was trying to keep himself there with the power of his vice like grip.

"Yes, you are, even if I have to carry you out of here," Zoro muttered, removing Sanji's hands easily.

"Zoro, I swear, if you make me go-"

At that moment Nami walked out. "You are going," she said meaningfully, "And you are going to go with as little resistance as possible."

"Nami..." Sanji let out a strangled plea.

"Go," she ordered.

Zoro's gave him a slight nudge in the direction if the door and when it became apparent that he wasn't going to move for himself he started to pull him toward the exit.

As they entered the car Sanji felt the dread begin to pool in his stomach. Logically, he knew that he really should go to the hospital because he felt like he was about to pass out but he stubbornly wanted to avoid the hospital because it scared the shit out of him.

The car ride was an absolute blur and Zoro had to open his door to hall him out because he had gone limp like a child in protest.

"Don't make me drag you inside," Zoro threatened, giving Sanji the strength he needed to walk in for himself and not be humiliated.

As they walked toward the doors Zoro had a tight grip in his wrist so he couldn't run off. He could already feel his heart rate pick up, which probably wasn't good for his nose bleed. He pulled slightly at his arm.

"I think it's stopping," he lied, "Take me home."

"Shut up, you are going in and you are going to see a doctor. There is something wrong with you," Zoro argued.

"No, I'm fine." He pulled harder as the doors slid open to the waiting room. The sickly hospital smell washed over them and Sanji felt his already queazy stomach lurch. Regardless, Zoro pulled him forward to the front desk where a woman in scrubs sat at a computer. She looked up at their approach.

"I'm guessing you're here for that," she nodded to Sanji. "How long has it been bleeding?" She asked.

"About twenty minutes or more," Zoro responded, eyeing Sanji with a sideways glance.

The woman looked worried, "I'll call a doctor for you right away, follow me." She hopped up and walked in the direction if a hallway, leaving a man in charge at the desk.

Sanji did not immediately move, he seemed to be frozen in his spot. Zoro tried to tug him forward but he wouldn't move.

"I can't go," Sanji said weakly, his expression that of terror.

"You'll be fine, come on. Doctors aren't that bad."

"Yes, they are. I can't do it. I'd rather just bleed to death here."

"Fine, have it your way," Zoro sighed, he'd rather he didn't have to do this but... He quickly scooped Sanji up bridal style and carried him after the woman, who looked slightly confused.

"Afraid of doctors," Zoro explained over Sanji's indignant screams. People were staring at them as Sanji thrashed weakly, blood still gushing from his nose.

She nodded in understanding and put them in an empty room. She told them to wait a few minutes while she got a doctor, from one of the drawers she retrieved a towel for Sanji's nose, and then she left. When she was gone Zoro set Sanji down on the examination table. He looked extremely pale, frightened, and Zoro noticed that he was actually shaking although he was clenching his hands very hard to try hiding it.

"Hey," Zoro said gently, setting his hands on Sanji's trembling shoulders. "It's fine, okay. Calm down it'll be fine." He hated to be comforting toward him because it made his insides hurt but he looked like he was about to puke out of fear and he didn't want to be puked on if he could avoid it.

Sanji clenched his jaw and shook his head. He wasn't about to say anything, he was just trying his hardest to suppress the panic attack he felt swelling inside him. He could feel the weight of the world pressing down on him as black specks began to speckle his vision. He tried to calm himself but it was becoming harder and harder to breathe.

With the hand he wasn't using to hold the towel to his face, he clenched his chest, trying to dispel the tight feeling there. He could hear shoes walking down the hallway toward their door. The doctor would soon be in to examine him. There wasn't enough air in the room.

Zoro removed Sanji's hand from his chest and looked him in the face. "Calm down," he said evenly, "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Unfortunately, irrational fear was nearly the definition of the word phobia. Although it's help was marginal, Sanji greatly appreciated the effort anyway. At least on some level, mostly he was just mortified that Zoro was even witnessing this.

When the doctor walked in Sanji started clenching Zoro's hand hard enough to cause him a generous amount of pain. That's what he deserved to bringing him here.

The doctor greeted them briefly as she ruffled through drawers and brought out a light.

"Tilt back your head and remove the towl," she ordered calmly. Sanji did his best to follow this command as she shone a light up his nose.

"Do you feel most of your blood funning down the front or back of your nose when you lean forward?"

"Front," he croaked.

"Very good, now I am going to numb your nose." She brought out a little cotton ball, covering it in a clear liquid. Sanji nodded weakly as she pressed the ball into his nose. He felt himself away slightly.

"How long have you been bleeding?"

"Almost twenty-five minutes," Zoro answered for him.

The doctor nodded, after a minutes Sanji's nose was sufficiently numb and the doctor brought out a little heater needle, moving toward Sanji's face.

"This won't hurt at all," the doctor said soothingly although it wasn't helping. With one final wave of panic Sanji lost conciseness. It was probably for the best, really.

The doctor ordered Zoro to hold him up while she cauterized the tissues in his nose.

"Does he have a history if nose bleeds?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's been having them a lot lately."

She nodded, "I think we should do some tests after he has a blood transfusion, just to make sure it's nothing serious. Tell your boyfriend when he wakes up that he should just sit back and relax, I don't want him to tear out his IV."

At the word 'boyfriend' Zoro jolted, "Uh, no, I'm not- I'm just a friend who happened to be there when he started gushing blood. We're not-" He made an ambiguous gesture between himself and Sanji. He couldn't seem to formulate the right words to explain, damn he hated misunderstandings. Zoro imagined that she had come to this very wrong conclusion because Sanji had practically been holding his hand when he was still conscious. Couldn't two dudes comfort each other without it being weird?

The woman looked mortified. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled, "I just assumed-"

"Don't worry about it," Zoro grumbled, wishing she would just go. It was her fault for making this awkward, it was pretty unprofessional to make an assumption like that. Stammering a final apology the doctor emerged herself in working on the unconscious blond. Zoro turned away from the door to glare at the unconscious body of Sanji and resolved to not tell him about this ever. Better to just not think about it over again. That wasn't an overreaction was it? Nope, it was fine.

When that was done the doctor took a blood sample and had some nurses rush them into a patient's room so Sanji could get a transfusion. He was hooked up to an IV as they started to fill him back up with blood. Zoro sat playing with his phone while Sanji was out. Nami called once to make sure everything was okay, to which Zoro assured that Sanji was fine. He woke up about an hour later and tried to rip out the IV but Zoro grabbed his arm once he relived what was happening and held it back.

"Welcome back," he said smoothly.

Sanji blinked at him, then he seemed to realize what what going on. "Aw, fuck. This is incredibly embarrassing and I will never live it down."

"What? It's not that embarrassing. It's not that bad."

"Yes, it is and so I should just sneeze or whatever and bleed to death." He paused, "Ugh, why does my nose feel so weird?" He lifted his hand to itch his nose but Zoro stopped him.

"They like burned the skin of your nose to stop the bleeding, so I don't think you should touch it. You seen much calmer now," he observed.

"Trust me, I still want to jump out of the window but now I feel really tired and weird. What time is it anyway?"

"Like, almost nine."

"It's still too late to be stuck in a hospital."

"It's always too late to be stuck in the hospital. Last time I was in a hospital it was after I nearly got cut in half."

"How the fuck did you almost get cut in half? Also, in which direction?" He moved a finger horizontally than vertically, trying to imagine it.

"This way," he moved his hand from his left shoulder to his right hip. "I would take my shirt off and show you but I'm afraid a nurse might come in and misinterpret."

"Good, I didn't want to see you with your shirt off anyway." Maybe a tiny bit did, but not a part he was proud of. Shame on on him. "So, how the fuck did that happen?"

"I was at a tournament and the current greatest swordsman Dracule Mihawk was there so I challenged him in a back alley. He said he'd fight me and then I nearly got sliced in half. Not my most shining moment but he didn't kill me because he thought I had potential so I'm not going to waste that potential and I will one day slice him in half." That was the short version of what happened, there was a lot more emotion struggle in reality that he'd rather just let stay in the past.

"Okay, first off what fucking kind if name is Dracule? It's like one letter short of Dracula, does he look like he wants to suck people's blood?"

"Kind of."

"Great, you were nearly hacked in half by a vampire. Second, is he in jail for nearly murdering you? Because it sounds like he should be."

"I should had mentioned that he's wanted by various governments for being a thug and a murder."

"And you challenged him to a fight. I never realized how intelligent you are but now I see it."

"Shut up, I was following my dream and I'm way better than that now. I'll beat him the next we cross paths!" Zoro defended himself.

Sanji rolled his eyes, "Of course you will, you're Zoro fucking Roronoa and no vampire will ever again cause you any harm. Because vampires suck." He smacked himself in the head. "Fuck that was a pun. I hate myself."

"As you should, that was awful. But honestly he really makes me think of that guy from The Princess Bride."

"The main guy or the guy with the long name who's a sword fighter."

"Well, the sword fighter would make the most sense and they look similar but he reminds me of the main guy for some reason."

"That's weird. I loved that movie though, I've watched it like a million times."

"That figures, you seem like the kind of person who would like that movie."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sanji asked in offense.

"It means it has action, romance, and an interesting story line so it figures that you would like it."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that's not what you originally meant so shut it."

"As you wish."

Sanji shoved him slightly, "No, you make me want to watch it again," he whined.

"Whatever, I'm more of a science fiction guy, myself."

"Really? You don't seem the type. You seem like the really awful action move type."

"I do enjoy action movies but I like scifi even more. I hid my inner nerd well, unlike you."

"As I said before, shut it."

"As you wish."

"God dammit, fuck you."

"As you wish."

"Stop it!"

The doctor came back in to check on them about half an hour later after a nurse had come by to check his vitals.

"Mister Black," she said calmly, "Your transfusion should be done in another hour and a half. After that is done I would like you to get a head x-ray so we can just be sure that everything is okay, yes?"

"What would you be checking for?" asked Zoro because Sanji seemed incapable of speech right now.

"Just making sure that there isn't a growth in the sinus cavity."

"Aren't there other ways to test that?"

"Yes, but given his medical history I think it's best that we get an x-ray done and if there's something there I will order a CT scan. We are also running the blood for any anomalies but that will take about twenty four hours and we will call you." She nodded to Sanji.

"I don't want to be here any longer than necessary," Sanji said finding his voice.

"Are you serious?" Zoro asked, "I know that you want to be out of this place but it could be something serious."

Sanji made a whining sound, "Don't make me do this."

"I can't make you do this, I have no power here," Zoro clarified, "But I think that you should to it."

Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, but I am positive that you won't find anything." That was oddly easier than expected.

Satisfied with that answer, the doctor disappeared back into the busy hallway.

"So, what's with your medical history?" Zoro asked when she was gone.

"What?" Sanji razed an eyebrow.

"She said 'given his medical history', so what's with your medical history?"

"Nose bleeds, headaches, and the occasional minor seizure," he responded, "Not terribly interesting but it makes it sound like I have some sort of brain problem. I've had all the tests done. There's absolutely nothing there."

"Why do I get the feeling that you had to spend a lot of your childhood running from doctors?"

"Because I did. Running and crying like a baby." He shook his head in disgust with himself.

After Sanji was taken off the IV he was taken to the x-ray machine. He did so with a good deal of loud complaining and panicky glances at the exits but they managed to get him in for the test. After a few shaky seconds of sitting still they were told it would take a few minutes to be analyzed. And a few minutes later a nurse walked in saying that everything was clear and he was good to go. He would be called about the blood test results as soon as they were available and to call if he experienced anything weird.

When they left it was about eleven thirty. On the drive back Sanji was half asleep as rain spattered the windshield. As Zoro parked in front of his apartment he finally said something.

"I told you they wouldn't find anything," Sanji bragged weakly.

"You did," Zoro inclined his head, "and it's a good thing you were right because saying I told you so over having a tumor in your face was not something I was looking forward to."

"Good, I would have cried so that you would feel guilty about it."

"No you wouldn't."

"No, I would not. But I think you would still feel bad because you are secretly a good person sometimes."

"Whatever, I'm glad you don't have cancer or something," the swordsman grumbled.

"Me too, but my results aren't all back yet so there's that to look forward to," he laughed.

There was a heavy pause as the rain picked up for a moment. Sanji was not looking forward to running though that, he didn't want to even stand up.

"Hey, Zoro," Sanji began, turning toward him in the darkness, the street lights dimly illuminating the smile on his face. "Thank you for making me go to the hospital. I couldn't have done it if you didn't make me. If it were just me, I would have let myself bleed to death or whatever. So, thanks for wasting like four hours in a sick people's repair station."

Zoro scoffed, "Don't thank me for things, it's weird. Just don't let it happen again and if you ever start bleeding copiously again call me and I will take you back."

There was another heavy pause as Sanji gathered the courage to brave the rain. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, uh, goodnight."

"Night," Sanji waved slightly as he got out, stumbling slightly as he ran though the rain. Zoro watched to make sure he was inside before driving off. God dammit, when did he start to care?

The next day Sanji was back to his job like nothing had happened.

"The tests were negative for everything except awesome." were Sanji's first words to him as smirked over the counter, handing Zoro a drink.

Zoro rolled his eyes, "You are such a loser." Be he was glad that he wasn't dying or something. That would suck.

XxxX

A/N: Believe it or not I actually used a calendar to set dates for every major event. Because I'm neurotic and weird.

Having your nose numbed is weird, especially if they stick a camera tube down the back of your throat. Blah. And I'm sorry if I get hospital stuff wrong, I've never had massive blood loss.

Note, this story was written in the winter time and it feels so long since I've felt the warmth I've forgotten what spring feels like. Also, I cannot predicted future weather patterns, even meteorologists have trouble with that.

Hopefully school is winding down for you guys. Almost done, hang in there.

Also, I believe this finishes off phase one of this story. Now the exciting stuff starts, prepare your butts.

Thanks.