ZoSan: The Flower

Chapter 15 - Chopper

"THEY'RE BACK~!" Usopp whooped, practically swinging down from the crow's nest. "Luffy, everyone! Sanji's back, with Zoro in tow!"

Zoro's still alive? The last examination showed the flower curling around his lungs and tucking itself into the gaps in his ribcage. Chopper had only estimated he'd had a few days left at best. But this wasn't a lie even Usopp would tell, not unless he craved death himself, so the little doctor left the herbs he'd been crushing on the tray and ran out to the grassy deck.

"SANJI!" "ZORO!" came cries in various voices. The blond on the small boat waved a small greeting, while the emerset looked rather sheepish.

The rest of the crew had the same idea at the announcement, and they gathered at the railing, watching the mini-Merry's distinct figurehead get closer. As soon as it was close enough, Franky opened the dock with a cry of "SUPER!" and the boats were navigated in. A moment later, they both made their appearance on the deck.

Chopper flung himself at the swordsman before anyone else, even Luffy, could so much as say hello, tears in his eyes. "Zoro! You're alive? You're really alive! But how?!"

Zoro caught his tackle-hug easily and patted him on the back. "Well..."

There was a pause, and Chopper pulled back to see his face as he felt his 'big brother' getting warm again. Zoro was definitely flushed, and Chopper decided that he was going to demand an exam no matter what reason Zoro gave. But he wasn't prepared for what came next.

"The person that I love came after me and decided to ...well, to give me a chance. And I guess that was enough for this stupid flower to give it a chance, too." Zoro glanced at Sanji, as if to confirm that the blond was still there.

The Thousand Sunny had never fallen as silent as it did then, not with everyone on board.

But the silence only lasted three, maybe four heartbeats.

Then came a flurry of responses.

"EH?!" Shouted Brook, Luffy, and Chopper together, Chopper letting go of Zoro suddenly and crashing to the floor in shock.

"SANJI?!" Usopp had turned to the cook, eyes popping nearly out of his skull.

"You loved Sanji? That's... unexpected." Robin's voice was as calm as ever.

"CALLED IT! Pay up, Robin!" Nami shouted exuberantly, holding out her hand to the other lady, who obediently pulled a few bills from her bra and put them in the navigator's hand.

"That's great! I'm glad you're both back! But Sanji, can I have food now?" Luffy had somehow already recovered from his shock and wrapped himself around the cook. "No one else cooks like you do! I want meat!"

Sanji had been silently red until now, but Luffy's request brought a smile out of him. "Aye, captain. I'll get dinner started." He seemed glad to get away, practically peeling Luffy off of him as he moved quickly out of sight of the crowd of shocked nakama. Chopper's medical training pushed past his shock just a bit, enough to remind him that he should probably do a check-up on Sanji, too. The flower in Zoro didn't seem to produce the spores while in its growth phase, but it would be best to find out sooner, rather than later.

Chopper caught Zoro nodding to the captain, some unspoken understanding passing between them. Chopper could tell there was going to be a conversation later. He'd be glad to miss it.

"Zoro, I'll need to do a full evaluation. It can wait until after dinner, but not much longer," Chopper told him, drying his tears. Zoro nodded his understanding, a slight smile on his face.

Nami walked up to the swordsman before Chopper could walk away, and punched him in the head, hard. "DON'T YOU EVER WORRY US LIKE THAT AGAIN, OR I'LL ADD THE EMOTIONAL DAMAGE TO YOUR DEBT, YOU HEAR ME?!"

"NAMI, DON'T ATTACK HIM BEFORE I KNOW HIS CONDITION! He's still my patient!" Chopper shouted, stopping another punch to his friend. "Don't give me more work to do, dammit!"

Even with a series of bumps on his head, Zoro chuckled. "Sorry, Nami," he said obediently as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Glad you're back. We need you here," she spoke quietly before letting him go as though he'd burned her. He hadn't even had time to return the rare hug.

"While Sanji's in the kitchen, I want to ask a favor of you all," Zoro began, his smile dropping. "Sanji's agreed to try, but... well, we're taking it slow, for a lot of reasons. Don't push him or pressure him or give him too much grief, ok? And.. if it doesn't work, if he and I don't work... you can't blame him or push him away. If this thing grows back and kills me, blame the flower. Not Sanji."

"Why would we blame Sanji? No one can force feelings. Which is good, or else I'd be married to Hancock!" Luffy grinned. "And then how would I become the Pirate King?!"

"It won't happen, Zoro," Nami said too confidently. "But I'll make sure they're nice. Although, I do need to go talk to him about using precious fuel without letting me know. It's hard enough to make sure we have it when we need it."

"Ah, blame me for that," Franky spoke up. "I told him to go. You would've too if you'd seen him. But I think she's right, Zoro-bro. As desperate as he was to get to you, I think you'll be solid in no time."

Brook laughed his strange YOHOHOHO laugh. "I thought it was tension that I saw between you two! Not that I -"

"-have eyes to see, of course!" Chopper finished with him, rolling his own eyes.

The skeleton managed to look scandalized and depressed at the same time. "Chopper~!"

"You... and Sanji... what?" Usopp was still frozen in shock several feet away.

Chopper walked over to him. "Are you gonna be okay, Usopp?"

"I'm not sure. I think I might have 'never-saw-that-coming-itis' and it's going to make my brain explode."

"Good thing that's not a real disease, then. Drink some water, you'll be fine," Chopper advised with a laugh. "Besides, you know you're glad to have them back!"

That seemed to kick Usopp back to his usual self, and he charged the swordsman and latched onto him, crying again. "I'm so glad you didn't diiiiiiee! It's weird that you and Sanji are a thing, but you're alive so who cares!"

Zoro gently attempted to extricate himself from the sobbing sniper. "Yeah, Usopp, it's fine... Let go please?"

When Usopp still didn't, extra hands sprouted from his own shoulders, pulling his hands away from the taller male. Zoro shot a grateful look to Robin as she uncrossed her arms with a smile, then he managed to back away from the crowd. Before Chopper could blink, the man was halfway up to the crow's nest. Chopper laughed, knowing his friend had missed his exercise. He wouldn't be too hard on him today, though he probably should rest.

Then Luffy got Chopper's attention with a game and Chopper ran off to join him. Checkups and herbs could wait a little longer. The crew had their swordsman back, and good spirits abounded.

A/N: A little POV change, just to shake things up. Any other POVs you wanna see? Any particular scenes? Ask and I'll do my best!