ZoSan: The Flower

Chapter 11 - Sanji

Of course he would catch it and ask! Why did that almost come out of my mouth anyways?! Trusting Zoro with his life was easy. Sanji'd been doing that for a long time now. Trusting Zoro — or anyone, for that matter, but especially Zoro — with emotions and vulnerabilities? That was a whole new game and Sanji wasn't sure he was ready for it. But if this whatever-it-was between them had even a chance of working, the communication would have to go both ways.

Which was going to suck, because it meant Sanji was going to have to open up, which didn't have a very high success rate.

But maybe not right now. "Any chance you could ignore that part of it?" Sanji pleaded, hoping to get away with not answering.

Zoro smirked, more confident than he'd seemed even a moment ago. A flicker of teasing, of normalcy, shone in his gray eyes "Not now that you've said that."

Sanji swore, ready to reach for another cigarette before he remembered that he'd emptied the last pack he had on him. Further smoking would have to wait until he got back to the Sunny. "... Scared. I was scared, okay?" He finally answered the other, bracing himself for the mockery to follow.

Zoro's smirk dropped abruptly, like that wasn't what he'd thought he would hear. "Why was that so hard to tell me?"

"Because you and I don't get scared for each other! That's not what we do!" The words burst out of Sanji's mouth desperately. "You've repeatedly dropped fucking building chunks practically onto me for me to kick, I've kicked you up into the air or launched you towards a damned target. We've fought through every conceivable type of dangerous situation! Scared isn't in our dynamic!"

"Sure it is." Zoro's voice was too calm again, but this time instead of making Sanji nervous, it actually soothed the emotions that were beginning to frazzle. "You were scared for me in Thriller Bark, right? And I was scared for you, too. And again in Sabaody, with the Pacifistas and the real Kuma and the Admiral. And for two years, wondering where you were - where everyone was - if my family was safe, if we'd all make it back to the Sunny. There was plenty of fear there. Half of what drives our fights is fear, I think."

Sanji stilled at that."What do you mean?"

"How many fights between you and I have been because I got lost? Or one of us got separated from the group? Or you got a nosebleed from going crazy over girls or one of us did something stupid that could've ended up worse?" Zoro gave a chuckle as if recounting those fights.

Sanji found himself joining in the laughter. "I see what you mean. Most of 'em start with... a tinge of worry." It was hard to admit, but Zoro was right. There was always the underlying worry. That was why it was so easy to fight — Sanji wasn't used to people openly showing fear or worry for him. That hadn't been Zeff's style, so the other cooks at the Baratie hadn't done so either. And before then... Well, Sanji always hated thinking about before Zeff.

"Exactly. We worry about each other. We get scared, Sanji. We just... always covered it up before," Zoro spoke softly into the night.

Sanji was quiet for a minute. "Feels weird to have you use my name."

It was Zoro's turn to get quiet, and it took so long for him to speak that Sanji almost worried he'd said something wrong. "Well, since I made you tell me something you found embarrassing, I guess I'll return the favor.... I don't - didn't, use your name because I liked it. It suits you, somehow. But I didn't like that I liked it. Didn't like my reaction to you. And since you always started with insults, I did, too."

"But you said Thriller Bark...?"

"I said I first noticed at Thriller Bark," Zoro corrected. "But I think maybe I always thought you were attractive. You annoyed me, though, and I didn't want to find you attractive, so then I got mad at myself, too."

"And what, took it out on me?" Sanji raised a curled eyebrow, but a smile showed on his face.

"... Probably..."

"Not even gonna apologize for that?" When Zoro was silent again, Sanji dropped the teasing tone he'd taken. "Well, I guess it's fine. I got mad sometimes at how attractive you were, too. Not necessarily for my own sake," he rushed to explain. "But because girls in every town we went to seemed to be drawn to you, calling you mysterious and dangerous and such. I guess you give off the bad-boy vibe. Not that you ever seemed to care. All these girls swooning over you from afar, but you could barely be bothered to brush your grass, much less take care of your skin or hands."

"'s not grass, curly-que."

Sanji almost missed the response because it was spoken so quietly, but when he looked over, he saw Zoro blushing furiously.

When he noticed Sanji looking, Zoro hid his face in his hands, an uncharacteristically shy gesture for him. "Damn it, why'd you have to go and say that?"

"Whaddya mean? Here I thought we were being honest with each other?" Sanji was confused as much by Zoro's words as he was by the twinge in his own chest at said words.

"Don't compliment me like that and make it sound so easy, damn it! This is weird enough as it is..."

"Shouldn't you be happy to be complimented by the person you say you're in love with?" Sanji raised a curled eyebrow at him again, a smirk of realization growing on his face. "Unless.... Are you weak to compliments, marimo?" He said teasingly. "For example, if I were to say that I've always liked your hands...?" He left the sentence hanging, glad to finally get even a hint of the upper hand here.

Zoro, still red, muttered something just under his breath and stood suddenly, rocking the mini-Merry. "Think I'm gonna stretch out in the back seat and try to take a nap after all."

"So I was right?"

The boat continued to sway as Zoro tried to make himself comfortable on the narrow bench."Shut up, San-, um, stupid Ero-cook."

"Oh, so you really do like my name, then? So much you almost can't stop yourself from saying it?" Teasing Zoro may have been new, but Sanji was plenty familiar with teasing in general, and he found he was enjoying the other's reactions. But now the swordsman was behind him, just barely out of view. Anybody else looking at Sanji's face now might've described it as 'pouting'...

... until, that is, Zoro reached up behind him and brushed his fingers through the blond hair at the nape of his neck. Then the cook's face went back to a blushing mess.

A/N: Two chapters for you today as a special thanks for reading and voting! I hope you're all enjoying it!