NOTES:
Merry Christmas everyone!
みなさんメリークリスマス！
메리 크리스마스 모두!
สุขสันต์คริสต์มาสนะทุกคน!
Maligayang pasko sa inyong lahat!
- thanks (google) for translating this message
P.S. If you see some grammar errors please let me know. I'm too lazy to check it again. Thanks.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"Zoro?" Chopper had been calling Zoro's attention for the fifth time now. He'd been sobbing and calling his name alternately but still, there was no sign of Zoro being actually there with him. The little doctor started to get worried, so he tried harder. He shook the other man's shoulder violently and called his name. Finally, Zoro's back with him.
Zoro looked dazed and about to cry, making Chopper want to let him rest for a bit. Then he remembered what he came here for. The marimo could rest later, but his news couldn't wait. Chopper bit his lower lip and forced himself not to cry.
"Zo-roooo." Chopper continued. "Sanji." He sniffed between each word he was uttering. "Sanji is AWAKE." He finally completed his sentence before he fell into another fit of hysterical crying.
Zoro sat there in front of Chopper, trying hard to remember how to breathe, unable to speak, totally stunned as the thought of Sanji bounced inside his skull.
"W-what was that? Did I hear it right or was that just a joke? No-no." Zoro unconsciously shook his head. "Chopper would not do that. He would certainly not gonna do that. Then, i-it's true. Sanji's awake. He's finally awake! After 2 days, Sanji was finally awake." He thought.
Zoro's patience was slipping with every tic and toc of the clock that was hanging on the white painted wall of his hospital room. Hours had passed and he hadn't been able to go out of his room, it was not because he couldn't, it was more like he shouldn't. Though the first one might be correct since his room had been heavily guarded, he had the scariest and most adorable pair of security guards.
Right after Chopper's breakdown, the children immediately went back to the hospital with their grandfather on their tail. The news about Sanji's state shook everyone. They even stopped whatever they were doing as soon as the news reached them and rushed to the hospital. Now Zoro's room was cramped with their closest friends.
Nami, Robin, and Kaya were on the sofa chatting with Ace. On the opposite side of the room, there were Luffy, Usopp, and Franky who were silently playing card games just to kill time.
If he was in his right mind, he might find this situation somehow amusing. It was rare for them to be in the same room after they all graduated from the university. But the rarest and most fascinating scene was seeing Luffy all quiet and behaved. Maybe it was the moment or perhaps Nami's strict house rules changed him. After all, the two of them had been living together for two years now.
With all these things going on, Zoro couldn't even participate or engage in any sort of way to catch up with the others. His mind was filled with the thoughts of Sanji, he would be able to see his smile, hear his infectious laughter, and stare at his tantalizing blue eyes again.
Zoro could not wait anymore, all he wanted was to burst out of his room and break in the ICU, but he should not. Chopper told him to wait here while the doctors made sure that everything's fine. And if he dared to go out of his room, his bodyguards a.k.a. Little Sun and Little Marimo, would surely scold him. Those two could be really scary at times. They wouldn't even let him move an inch away from his bed.
Hours of waiting in vain had passed when Chopper went back to him, informing him that Sanji was doing fine and that he could finally see him.
He jumped out of his bed and went straight to Sanji's new room with his friends and children on his tail. As he was about to open the door, he took a deep breath and filled his mind with positivity. Then he remembered those dramas Sanji loved to watch, where one of the major characters had amnesia after an accident.
Those things only happen in dramas, right? Was it really possible in real life? Probably not?
Zoro's monolog continued for ages until somebody yanked his hand away from the doorknob.
"Get out of the way, you damn coward." Zeff said as he appeared behind Zoro. The green haired man lost his usual poison as he stepped aside making way for the others to get in as Zeff opened the door quietly.
He wordlessly cursed himself for being a coward and an asshole as he waited for everyone to enter the room. He then put one of his feet ahead of him, as a shiver ran down his spine. He felt as though he was aAqqawpassing through an inconspicuous force, separating his soul from his body.
Everyone gathered around Sanji's bed, welcoming him back, giving the man the sweetest smile anyone could ever think of. They enthusiastically filled Sanji's head with the days he missed while he was sleeping.
"Sanji! Will you cook for me again?! I really miss your cooking!" Luffy said as he jumped excitedly around Sanji's bed.
The blond chuckled and said, "S-ure thing." His answer only made the rubber boy more active as he and Usopp danced merrily.
All throughout the exchange, Zoro did not say anything. He just leaned on the wall in front Sanji's bed and stared at him while he was happily chatting, well in his case, he was nodding and smiling at the right time while Luffy and the others talk non-stop.
His husband once looked at him and smiled a bit. His heart thumped in his chest like a lion that had been running furiously around his cage asking for release.
"Wow. I really missed that smile." He thought. It was really a mystery how a simple smile from his husband could erase every bit of fear and frustration in his system.
The stories ceased as their friends left one after another, leaving Sanji with goodbyes and promises. As for Zoro, he kept quiet, afraid of making any unnecessary noise. He just stood there, staring at his husband.
After a little while, they were left alone in the room as Zeff and the kids went home to rest.
All this time, Zoro did not utter a word or even open his mouth. The silence was deafening. Even, Sanji did not move an inch from his bed. All this made Zoro's hair stand on its end. He wanted to break the silence so badly, yet he did not want to. His stomach was churning and it's clearly not from hunger. More like, the words he swallowed were having their own little revolution asking for freedom or something close to that.
He eventually got angry at himself for being an asshole this whole time. What was he so afraid of? He gathered all the courage he could muster and made his way to Sanji's bed.
"Hey." He said, as he pulled the chair under the bed and sat on it.
Sanji smiled at him and took his shaking hands before saying "Hey" back at him. Earlier, Zoro noticed that Sanji was having trouble with speaking. Chopper mentioned that this might happen since his been under coma for quite some time. Still, Sanji's fine now and there's nothing else to worry about. He put his hand over Sanji's and caressed it.
He looked at Sanji's eyes. As usual, they were as blue as the sea, as clear as the sky, as pure as a gem. It amazed Zoro how much those eyes could steer the deepest emotions he had in him.
"I got scared," Zoro whispered. "I thought I would lose you. When I saw your lifeless body lying on that cold fucking road, I honestly did not know what to do. I was so scared. Fuck! I just-" He stopped mid-sentence and covered his face with his palms. Tears started flowing and little sobs escaped his mouth.
Hearing him cry was too painful. It made Sanji's heart break as if an ice-cold metal hand was tearing his heart into pieces until it turned into dust.
Sanji put his hands over Zoro's and cupped the other man's face, wiping off his tears in the process. Sanji also wanted to cry, not because of pain or sadness, but more of overwhelming happiness. Never in his life he once thought that there would be someone who would love him this way.
With closed eyes, he pressed his forehead against Zoro's and smiled to himself.
"Gods! What did I do to deserve this man?" He wondered.
After a moment of content silence, he pulled away from his husband and planted a light kiss on his forehead.
"I am fine. We are fine. There's nothing to be worried about."
Zoro did not open his eyes. He sighed lightly and leaned his weight on his husband. As if to convey that he agreed, and was somehow contented with the quietness that was filling the room.
Weeks had passed since Sanji woke up. From that day, he had been busy with his therapy and lying on bed all day. On the other hand, Zoro had been busy talking to people Sanji had never seen before in a hushed tone. Zoro once told him that they were the investigators in charge of their case and nothing more. He thought that it was odd for him not to say anything other than that but Sanji just let it go. Maybe Zoro was just worried about him that's why.
"How's our case?" Sanji asked out of the blue while he nearly folded his dress shirts and put them inside the bag.
"No progress at all." Zoro murmured without looking at the other man. Sanji noticed the hint of uneasiness in his voice but exert no effort to point it out. Instead, he casually sighed and brought his focus back on packing his stuff. That bastard Don Quixote must have been hiding somewhere after the accident.
"He better hide himself well enough before I hunt him down the depths of hell." He thought.
As soon as the blond zipped his bag, Zoro stood up and headed for the door. A Sanji followed him and was about to finally step out of the room that had been his temporary house when he showed up again pushing a wheelchair.
Sanji did not know how to respond to that. He did not know whether he should laugh or get angry at the other. Well, he decided that it should be both.
"What the hell is that?" He asked Zoro in a threatening tone as he casually leaned on the doorframe and crossed his arms.
"Tsk. I know that you are an idiot but I do not know that you can't even recognize a wheelchair." Zoro retorted, obviously provoking the other man and Sanji was not one to back down.
"Ow now I get it! Perhaps you want me to push that one for you so that you will not get lost."
"Shut the fuck up and sit here." The green-haired man retorted as he pushed the wheelchair.
"I thought that you were just an idiot but I did not know that you were also blind. Can't you tell that I can walk just fine?" Sanji said, rephrasing Zoro's words. Sanji walked passed his husband and kicked him on the shin just to prove his point. Then he rushed towards the exit while checking his breast pocket for his cigs. He was about to light one of his death sticks when he realized that Zoro DID not follow him.
Assuming that Zoro would soon show up, he lit up his first cigar after what felt like years. As soon as he took his first drag, he felt instantly relaxed; like what one would feel when they finally lied down on their bed after a day of work, eating food after long and excruciating months, or even what one would feel while walking barefoot at the bay while waves washed the shore.
He took another drag and smiled to himself while thinking about seeing his children. He had not seen his children for a while now, probably because of their studies and Zoro also told him that they were trying their best to top this upcoming examination to surprise him.
As his excitement grew, he quickly finished his smoke and set off to find the lost moss head.
Passing several rooms while anxiously looking for the other man, Sanji's patience was startig to get thin. He knew how bad Zoro's sense of direction was but who would get lost by following someone as flashy as his own husband? I mean how could someone probably not notice Sanji's blond hair and tall physique? That's quite unimaginable.
"Damn marimo. You just wait till I catch you and I swear I'll bring hell to you!" He said through gritted teeth.
After an awfully too long sixty seconds, He decided to head down to the nearest nurses' station. Behind the computer, there sat one of the most beautiful flowers Sanji had ever seen since the start of his second life. With hearts for eyes, the blond skipped his way to the nurse and swooned before her.
"Madame moiselle." Sanji said as he took the nurses right hand from the mouse she was holding and planted a kiss on the back of her palm. "Did a flower like you happen to see a walking grasshead around here?" He added.
The woman snatched her hand back and glared at him. As always, Sanji's ability to woo women always fail. Women like her was a challenge, but how could he be rude to a beautiful flower like her and forced her to like him back? That's not the right way to treat a lady, even if he sometimes forget that that was how it was supposed to be. On the other hand, Zoro was on a different level of challenge. At first, it was just platonic but as his irritation at the other man arose, his platonic love turned into something romantic. Making his head confused and more irritable, one moment he would intentionally pick a fight with the other man, the next moment he would want to caress him. It's so fucked up but maybe that's one of the reasons why he fell head over heels over a man instead of a woman. And even though he was stuck with the marimo, even if he had to haul his ass every time he got lost, or even when he had to endure all his foolish acts; he had no regrets at all. He was more than happy to correct his mistakes, to laugh at his idiocy, or even to anger him every single minute of every fucking day. All of those things felt right. He knew this was where he should be. Beside the man, he wholeheartedly loved even if the said moss head was not EXACTLY beside him and was wandering off somewhere.
"Yeah. He headed that way." The nurse responded impatiently as she pointed further down the hall. Sanji then beamed at her and slightly bowed his head to thank her before running off to the said direction.
Sanji quickened his steps as he mentally scolded Zoro for getting lost in every opportunity. He was nearing the end of the hallway when he heard someone talked in a hushed but dead serious tone.
"We are doing the best we could Mr. Roronoa but we could not still see any trace of Don Quixote and his underlings."
"Fuck that! How could you tell me that you are doing your best when you are here acting as a doctor!" Zoro growled at the man he was talking to.
Sanji stopped dead in his tracks as the discussion continued. He could not grasp what the men were talking about, but Zoro's alarmed tone was enough for him to know that something was amiss. All he needed was to turn into the corner where Zoro was and asked him about it but somehow his mouth stopped working. His gut was telling him that this was bad news and interfering with the conversion would not do him any good. He gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw as the man Zoro was talking to uttered his next words.
"Mr. Roronoa, calm down." The other man replied with a seriously composed tone. "I assure you, my men and I are doing our best to look for him and your children."