Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of the characters.

Warning: Rushness; Grammar; OOCness; Yaoi; Lemon; swearing; repetitiveness (I'm a repetitive person) and anything you notice that isn't on this list but is on this list. I will also not take responsibility for any problems the readers have experienced. Eg. Puking rainbows.

IMPORTANT! Reply to Reviews
SkarletSindorai: Full Moon wo Sagashite? It doesn't ring a bell, so no, I don't think I've seen it.

Review to master: Zoro's slow. and haha! and the more Sanji remembers, the more old stuff will blend in with his...self...(confused herself...)

07 night: Awesome! and (SMILE) :)

Krito1389: Glad you like it. And, here's the you and me though, I have no idea where I'm going with this anymore. XD

I wrote something...and scrapped it, then I took it back out, messed around and scrapped it, then I took it back again and re edited it and this came out and so i kept it as this cause ya know...
Fu de shi. (-cookie for the person who can translate my weird sentence ;))

Also I want to thank everyone who has favourited and is following this story, you guys are absolutely amazing and those who have stuck with this story so far. Thank you!
Not promising perfectness, if you expect it. You know where the back button is. Sorry.

Edited 3/4/2014
Word count: 1,801

Chapter 8: Irritating taps

"Let's fight."

Blue eyes stared up at green eyes for a moment, searching for a reason why those words had been uttered by the other.
Sanji looked away, continuing in his movement to place a tray of drinks and food down beside Robin and Nami who watched in curiousity, having had their own conversation interrupted by the swordsman.

He looked back up at Zoro once he finished his movement, allowing his entire attention to be on Zoro, confusion evident on his face.
"What?"
Nami and Robin slowly moved their hands, picking up their cold drinks from the tray, they held it to their lips and taking a sip in unison, their eyes were still fixated on the pair.

Zoro sighed, not comprehending why the blonde was so confused on what he had said, it was rather obvious and simple, so, he guessed that he just had to make it even more simpler for the blonde.
"Me." He pointed to himself.
"You." He pointed at Sanji.
Then he poked him with the finger that was pointing at Sanji. "Fight."

Sanji looked down at the finger and raised an eyebrow at the gesture - it was rather rude.
It then dawned on Sanji why Zoro wanted to fight him, it was an odd way of doing it, but, Sanji guessed, that it had been because of yesterday - the fight with those assholes, did Zoro want to help him practice fighting so he could be prepared if it happened again?
"Yesterday was okay. I achieved- "
"Because falling was such a big achievement." Zoro mocked Sanji, scoffing slightly as he did.

"You fell Sanji-Kun?" Nami joined in the conversation.
Sanji turned towards the ladies with a forced smile on his face. "I didn't fall, I was flying."
"Head first to the ground." Zoro quickly added.
"You…" Sanji lightly glared at Zoro as if telling him to stop it, but Zoro wasn't going to stop, he was going to get what he wanted and that was to fight with the blonde. He had to get Sanji to fight because then Sanji's body would remember and then Sanji's mind would learn it. It all made sense to Zoro.

"Let's fight."
"You've got to be-" Sanji didn't get to finish his sentence as he narrowly ducked Zoro's swords, watching as a few slices of his blonde strands fell.
"You cut my hair!" Sanji growled at the swordsman in anger that began to slowly boil.
"It needs a trim anyway."

Robin and Nami finished packing up their chairs and carried their drinks to the edge of the ship and down to the sandy ground below, setting it there for them to relax away from the fight that the duo had begun.

Sanji dodged once more at another slice to his head and continued to stay on the defensive, at the moment that was probably best for him, Zoro really wasn't letting up and it took all of Sanji's might to keep up with the other.

Whilst Zoro looked like he wasn't even breaking a sweat, Sanji was, he was sweating so much that he could probably fill up a lake if he was given half the chance. He slowly felt the sweat beads slide down his face and drip on the deck beneath his feet. Shit, this was difficult.

He could hear his on heavy breathing as he moved, occasionally he would fall and lose his balance but he would be quick to flip and get himself away from an attack.
He lifted his leg and aimed to kick Zoro but was stopped by two of Zoro's three swords. Zoro used this opportunity to push Sanji backwards hoping he would trip and fall again but surprisingly Sanji flipped backwards and continued to flip until he was away from him.

'I need to calm down…' Sanji thought, 'I need to focus…'
He jumped as far back as he could from Zoro and breathed deeply. 'Alright, if I watch his movements carefully, I should be able to see it clearly.'

'Come on! Just watch him!'

He was watching intently, dodging at the last minute as Zoro came closer to him but he would repeat his tac-tic and flip as far away as possible so he could watch Zoro once more.

He kept repeating this until slowly, Zoro's fast movement's became slow in his eyes, he could see it, each step the Swordsman took and he could see what the swordsman's next step would be ahead of time. He easily dodged another attack, ducking down and swiping at Zoro's feet with his foot.

Zoro jumped up into the air and smirked. Sanji was finally attacking rather than staying on the defence.
Sanji lifted his hands and kicked his foot upwards at Zoro but Zoro guarded himself with his swords.

Hours passed but as they fought, it had became easier for Sanji and soon he was able to dodge with ease and attack with ease. The fight had travelled across the deck and now it was on the other side, away from the view of the crew. Sanji flipped backwards to dodge one last attack from Zoro who now sheathed his swords away, signalling that it was the end.

Sanji had noticed this and relaxed himself, leaning against the side of the ship, his fingers tapped against the railing. The tapping didn't go unnoticed by the swordsman, in fact he had noticed it the past few days since he had seen Sanji instinctively reach to his mouth and the tapping was becoming more frequent and irritating.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

Zoro looked at Sanji's fingers.
"What would you do if you run into those shits again?"

Tap.

"Hmm, well…"

Tap.

"Fight obviously, my dodging skills are excellent."

Tap.

"I noticed shit cook, that's all you pretty much did."

Tap.

"I fought back."

Tap.
That's it.

"Shitty cook! Your tapping is irritating!" He had tried to ignore the tapping, but the more he tried the louder it seemed and it had finally gotten to him, so, he had voiced his opinion without hesitation.
"Tapping?" Sanji looked at his fingers, "Ah." He stopped. He didn't notice that he had been tapping.

Zoro walked over to Sanji, handing him a packet of cigarettes.
"You should have one."
Sanji eyed it.
"No"
He pulled a face of disgust at the thought of smoking those things, he just couldn't imagine himself smoking them, it just seemed wrong.
"Just try one at least." Zoro knew that Sanji's new found habit of tapping his fingers was as if his body was going through withdrawal symptoms, which it probably was. It was an urge his body wanted but his mind didn't know it.

Zoro sighed. Sanji seemed dead set on smoking this shit.
Zoro took one out himself and lit it, knowing Sanji was watching him, he put it to his lips and breathed in…and stayed like that. He held it to Sanji and forced him to take it.

Sanji felt obliged to take it since Zoro had just smoked it and offered it to him. Did Zoro smoke then? He seemed fine.

He put the cigarette in between his lips and breath in then out, letting the smoke pass between his lips. He felt his body relax and lose all tension he didn't even know he had, the nagging, itching feeling disappearing.

Zoro let out the smoke he held in his mouth, coughing his lungs out as he gasped for air.
An image flashed in Sanji's mind as he watched Zoro cough violently, it was of him, when he was younger reacting the same way as Zoro was right now.

He chuckled to himself, "If you don't smoke…why did you do it?"
Zoro didn't answer, he didn't think he needed to. To him the answer was already there, he knew it and he knew Sanji had a rough idea.

"Do you think smoking makes me a man?"
Zoro looked at Sanji, seeing that the blonde's question was serious.
"Not really…" Zoro answered, turning his head to look out to the sea. "But, I guess it depends on your opinion. To me, what makes a man 'a man' is keeping promises, being honourable and being protective."

Sanji nodded, looking out to the sea as well, listening as Zoro groaned.

"Chopper will kill me if he finds out I got you smoking again."
Sanji didn't say anything, so Zoro continue to speak.
"Do you know why you started smoking?"
He thought about it, remembering that flickering image.
Sanji mumbled. "It was after I met Zeff and I wanted to be an adult."
He chuckled. "I thought it made me a man."
"That's why you asked me, if I thought it made you a man…"

They fell into silence once more, it was comfortable, but Zoro interrupted it again, the topic back on their sparring just now.

"By the way, I held back. Alot."
Sanji opened his mouth to retort but was stopped by another smaller voice.
"Sanji! You're smoking!?"
They both looked to their side to see Chopper looking up at them, his big brown eyes watering They could tell exactly what the reindeer was staring at and why the little guy was wanting to cry.
"I thought you stopped!" Chopper cried in sadness, for so long he had wished for the blonde to stop smoking and he finally did, but here he was, smoking again! Sanji had been dead set on not smoking the he hadn't been carrying any packets and he hadn't brought any. There shouldn't have been any on the ship and yet here he was smoking one!

Sanji laughed sheepishly, "Sorry Chopper" he mumbled, crouching down to pat the reindeer on his head in a soothing manner to comfort him. He had told Chopper he wouldn't smoke and yet here he was and he couldn't imagine himself stopping, it seemed too right.

Chopper turned to glare at Zoro knowing who the culprit was.
"You gave him some didn't you!? How could you Zoro!?" Chopper jumped at Zoro and hit him with his tiny hooves. "He finally stopped smoking as well!"
Zoro sighed, he ignored Choppers attempts to tell him off, deciding that he couldn't be bothered and would rather sleep. He walked away, waving behind him and at Sanji.
"Zoro!" Chopper ran after him so he could continue telling him off. No way was he letting him off the hook.

Sanji laughed to himself as he too walked away and to the kitchen, it was just about time that he should start making dinner, and soon, because any minute now, Luffy would probably be knocking down that door for meat.

He looked out of the kitchen window, where he could see Zoro and Chopper talking, probably about him.

Sanji smiled, reaching up to his pounding heart.

Word to the wise. Don't start smoking, smoking has no effect to put you into a blissful state.
I've tried it and it doesn't do much to you, the only reason you feel calm though is cause you stand there smoking, breathing in and not thinking about anything.
That's why you feel calm.

If you're stressed and feel like smoking would help, just go out side and breath, meditate.