ZoSan: The Flower

Chapter 3 - Sanji

Sanji wasn't really sure whether there was any sort of god out there or not, but when a wave splashed a familiar small white flower onto the mini-Merry, he said a prayer of thanks anyways, taking it as a sign that he was headed in the right direction. The sun was beginning to set, but Sanji had no intention of stopping. The stupid swordsman had a three-day headstart on him. If he dropped the anchor now to sleep, he might never catch up. Fortunately, even the Grand Line seemed eager to help him find Zoro. A current had swept up under him, carrying him along quickly, and the sky was clear and calm. When he saw another flower float past on the outer edge of the current, he took it as confirmation and turned off the paddle to let the current do most of the work. Once he relaxed, though, his mind went into overdrive.

He worried about what he would find if he found Zoro. No, he told himself, WHEN I find him. He would find the swordsman. He could only hope it wasn't too late when he did. Sanji pictured the last time he'd seen the other, walking away from them in town with a casual wave, fakes of his swords at his waist, pretending like everything was fine. He'd been a little tired and seemed smaller, somehow. He must have been planning his departure for a while even before then. That thought made Sanji's anger flare up. The asshole wouldn't even give his friends the honor of a proper goodbye.

If he was alive, Sanji was going to make sure that he got a good kick in for that injustice.

If he was alive... Santi couldn't dwell on that thought, on the other side of that coin. The mosshead would be alive when he found him, and alive when he dragged his ass back to the Sunny, and alive when he beat some good manners and common sense into him. Then they'd find a cure so that the asshole would still be alive when the Straw Hats conquered the Grand Line, found the One Piece, and named their captain the King of the Pirates.

Sanji sent a spike of carefully controlled haki out, just enough so that if the other male were near enough and paying attention, he'd know who was coming. He puffed at his cigarette as he made a conscious effort to push the thought aside for less violent ones. I never would have guessed that the shitty swordsman was in love. Sanji had never seen the swordsman pay prolonged serious attention to anyone on any of the islands they visited. Not to mention, Zoro didn't seem like the type to fall hard and fast for someone he barely knew, like Sanji did. So it was probably someone they'd spent at least a little more time with.

There were lots of people that Sanji was pretty sure it wasn't. It wasn't a Marine, that was for damn sure. And there were a lot of fellow pirates that wouldn't have made sense, either, not unless Zoro liked really unattractive people. But he probably loved people like he loved his swords - beautiful and powerful. The ones who wouldn't break too easily.

It could be Vivi. She'd certainly been on the ship long enough and was beautiful. Zoro had been as quick as the rest of them to help her save her kingdom. It's been a long time since he saw her, though. Would he still be pining after years? But he probably could've told Luffy it was her, right? Luffy would understand. Or he'd mentioned that Perona girl a time or two. He'd sounded annoyed by her, though. Or the woman who was always at Smoker's side and was as sword-obsessed as Zoro himself? Sanji couldn't remember her name.

Sanji supposed it didn't have to be a woman - plenty of pirates weren't picky about the, um, booty they got, and it's not like they'd ever had a conversation about the kind of people Zoro might be interested in. Maybe Law, or even Mihawk - respect could certainly become love, regardless of an age difference, right? The thought still made Sanji shudder in distaste.

Maybe it was someone on the ship. Like Luffy. Zoro was somehow almost always the first one to notice when their clumsy captain went overboard, and almost as often the first to dive in after him. Was that why he couldn't tell Luffy? Because it's Luffy that he loves, and he couldn't put that pressure on him? A male first mate in love with his male captain. That would be a hard confession to make, but stranger things have happened at sea. Especially when the captain in question would do anything to help a friend. Luffy would've tried to fall in love with him if it was true, regardless of his own feelings... and would've been devastated if it hadn't been enough to stop the spread of the flower.

It didn't seem like the right answer, though. Zoro paid attention to Luffy, sure, but it always seemed more... brotherly. Exasperated affection more than longing or pining. And while Zoro may have been an expert at hiding things about himself, he was more open with Luffy than with the rest of the crew. But who else could it be? Why else would Zoro be so sure that his crush would not love him back?

It wasn't Nami or Robin, Sanji was pretty sure. Zoro treated them as friends, but there was a sort of wall of near-indifference there. He clearly respected them — liked them even, and would definitely help to protect them when needed — but there didn't seem to be any spark between them.

It couldn't be Usopp - even if the swordsman was into guys, he was likely attracted to strength, right?

Which also ruled out Chopper. Chopper had strong forms, but his main form was still small and, y'know, reindeer-y.

Brook was probably out too. He was a nice guy, a decent swordsman himself and a great musician, but surely Zoro didn't want to kiss a skeleton. At least, so Sanji hoped, for his own sanity.

Franky? Sanji found himself shuddering at that thought. If the swordsman wanted to kiss the speedo-wearing cyborg, Sanji was going to make sure he was NEVER around to see it.

Wait. Did he want to be around Zoro kissing anyone? He tried to picture Zoro making out with some random attractive woman, and found that the image was kind of hot in a strange way that made his heart do something funny in his chest. How would he kiss her? Slow and gentle? Or hard and rough? Or some combination of them?

Sanji felt his cheeks heating as his chest tightened. He shoved the image away. Geez. What am I doing?! Why am I imagining that bastard's love life? It had to just be curiosity. If the flower hadn't infected the swordsman, he would probably never have told anyone that he was in love with someone, so Sanji was mostly just curious who could've caught Zoro's eye. That was all.

'Curiosity doesn't make your chest tighten like that. Curiosity doesn't make you jealous,' some part of his brain whispered mockingly - and the voice sounded a little like Zoro's, only breathier, like when they'd been fighting hard enough to be panting for air. It had been weeks since they fought like that. At least now Sanji knew why - the mosshead's strength had been compromised by the flower.

The word he'd thought finally registered in Sanji's brain and he sank against the bench seat of the mini-Merry, pulling in a deep breath. Jealous? Was he jealous of the person Zoro loved? That couldn't be possible. They were friends, sure, and he could admit the swordsman was attractive for a guy, with those well-toned muscles. They tolerated each other, fought both for and against each other, but...

Sanji's heartbeat escalated as if trying to confirm his suspicions. Do I... want to be the one he loves? Do I want to kiss Zoro? Unbidden, the image he'd tried to shove away came back, and then changed perspective so that he was the one held in those strong arms. So that Zoro's face was getting closer to his own, those steely eyes closing right as those lips that spewed so many profanities crashed onto his.

Shaky hands pulled out a fresh cigarette and lit it, desperate for something to distract his feverish mind as another flower went by, but the hit of nicotine once again did nothing to help.