ZoSan: The Flower

Chapter 44 - Sanji

Sanji was in the middle of his shower when the post-orgasm euphoria dropped off and reality hit. He let his back slump against the tiled wall, a string of curses flying from his mouth. He'd said so many embarrassing things in the heat of afterglow. "When I'm ready to make it a reality"? "I'm gonna make you want to live forever"?! Where did that even come from?!

It hadn't helped that he'd been reading that stupid book's chapter on making sex between guys feel good before he'd left the study, and trying to picture it with Zoro. It'd turned him on more than he wanted, but he'd felt like he needed to know. And then he'd been walking past the bedroom and heard Zoro calling his name, and he'd been curious and concerned. Then he'd heard that breathy 'please' and he'd lost his damn mind in a heartbeat.

And now he'd have to face Zoro again soon, because he'd promised to help as he was recuperating. How on earth should he react? Should he go on like nothing's changed? Should he acknowledge it, say something more? The act itself wasn't something he was ashamed of, although Zoro had seemed to be. Add that to the list of things I ought to talk to him about. "I'm sorry" should not be the first thing said after consensual orgasms. For Sanji, though, it was only what he said that he'd found embarrassing. But the two went hand in hand. If he acted embarrassed about the things he said or acted like it didn't happen, Zoro would interpret it as embarrassment about that rather fantastic handjob. If Sanji acted like it happened, acknowledged it, he would have to also face the things he said.

The scariest thing about what he'd said was that he'd meant it, every word. He knew now that he would someday be ready to make Zoro's imaginings a reality if it lay within his power. And he'd meant it that he wanted to make Zoro so happy that he wanted to live forever in the moment, live forever with Sanji.

Because after reading the criteria in that book, Sanji was pretty sure what he felt for Zoro was love. It didn't, as he'd hoped, make him ready to dive headfirst into anything and everything Zoro ever wanted to do, which was why Sanji still hesitated to say it. Well, that and Zoro's state of recovery. He would say it at the two-week mark, he decided, when Zoro was expected to be back to normal. Ten days to mentally prepare himself for whatever may come.

Sanji turned off the water and got dressed, then grabbed his, ah, soiled, outfit and took it to the small laundry room to wash it. Room may not have been the right term. It was little more than a closet, carved out of a corner of Franky's workroom, with a small, old-fashioned, manual "washing machine". Franky had originally made it cola-powered, but Nami had decided that they purchased enough cola as it was, and convinced Franky to refit it with a hand pump mechanism. Nami, of course, had enough of a wardrobe so it was rare that she did any laundry, and she was more than happy to let everyone else pump away to save a few Beri.

Zoro was there, shirtless, with a few items of his own that he was about to load.

"Give 'em here. I'll do it all together," Sanji offered, letting his gaze fall down that shirtless chest far more casually than he felt. There was still a sizable bandage adhered to Zoro's ribs, but it was no longer half his torso that was bandaged, which meant those abs that had been mostly hidden were on full display now. He met Zoro's eye again with a contented little smirk.

As intended, Zoro blushed and looked away. "I can do a little bit of laundry, it won't kill me."

"Yeah, but no reason for both of us to do it, right?"

"Aside from both of us making the mess?" Zoro seemed distracted, like his heart wasn't in it.

Sanji smiled, knowing how to end the argument. "Well, I guess that's a valid reason. But I think Chopper would count this as light exercise, which you're not supposed to do for three more days. Should I go ask him?"