The Flower/Can I Steal Your Heart Deleted scenes

Withdrawal - Sanji

A/N: Very vague timing-wise. Probably sometime between their wedding and Luffy's to Law? Idk.

He itched.

He itched every-fucking-where and it sucked. All the more so because Sanji knew exactly what was causing it and exactly what would provide some relief, but he'd told himself he'd get through one more half-day without the damn cigarettes!

But he itched so badly that it was requiring a lot of willpower not to pull one out. In fact, his hand was twitching towards his pocket when Zoro came into the freshly-cleaned galley.

He could feel his husband's eyes roaming over him, assessing the situation: the bad mood, the twitchy fingers, all of it. And then in seconds, Zoro's hands grabbed his gently, pulling them up to kiss his fingers. "How long are you at right now?"

"Two days, ten hours... and eight minutes."

"You're doing so damn well. I'm proud of you. Trying to make it to a full two and a half?"

Sanji nodded quietly. Zoro had been nothing but supportive during his quitting journey, handling every blast of withdrawal-induced bad temper with sweetness like this. He'd really married a wonderful man.

"How can I help? Need something to work it out? Or just something to keep your hands busy for a little longer?"

"I wanna fight. But do I wanna fight because I'm jittery, or because my brain has associated fighting with lighting up for so long that it's trying to trick me into giving it what it wants? I don't know. And I don't know if I can fight without lighting up."

"You can. Come on, let's go out there and spar. You can take those jitters out on me for as long as you need to. Just leave the lighter and cigs in here."

"But you don't dese-"

Zoro cut him off. "I can take it, and I can do so without letting you injure me or yourself or the ship too badly. Or do you need me to piss you off to let me help get it out of your system?"

"Okay," Sanji said after another minute. They hadn't fought, not with any seriousness (even the seriousness of a light spar), since before Zoro had left the crew with plans to die, and Sanji would still prefer to fight an actual enemy instead of his husband, but Zoro was right. He needed to get the twitchiness out before it resulted in injuring himself in the kitchen or snapping at the crew. So he put his cigarettes and lighter on the galley counter and followed his mosshead out to the deck.

Zoro kept his sword sheathed as he pulled it from that stupid haramaki he wore.

Sanji tried for some of his old bravado. "Oh, taking me lightly, are you?" He aimed a kick for Zoro's midsection, and it bounced lightly off the sheathed sword.

"Who's taking who lightly, swirly-brow? I know you have more in you than that weak-ass kick," Zoro taunted, gray eye flashing.

Sanji felt that old competitive spirit flaring up in him, as well, and let a smirk cross his face. "It's 'whom', idiot. 'Who's taking whom'. Did no one teach you proper grammar? Or did it just get lost in your moss?" He spun into a triple-kick as the adrenaline spiked through him. Zoro had to pull out a second sword to stop the last kick, but kept them sheathed.

He'd missed this, having someone to compete with. Sparring with someone who was his equal in every way that mattered. Dodging a sword thrust, he launched into the air to drop down on Zoro's arm.

"Nah, they were busy teaching me to fight better than you," Zoro retorted cheerfully, knocking Sanji easily off his arm.

Sanji cartwheeled into another series of kicks, forcing Zoro onto the defensive. He had him almost pinned against the mast, until Zoro ducked into a spin, ending up behind Sanji — with a sheathed blade touching his neck.

"Yield?"

Sanji let out his most devious grin, "Never." He spun away from the sword and dropped his torso to make the high kick easier. It connected with Zoro's chin, sending him flying back a few feet. When Zoro stood back up and they faced each other, Sanji saw a look that he recognized from their fights before they were together, but hadn't understood then. He understood it now. Admiration... and lust. Zoro was turned on from fighting Sanji like this, and maybe always had been.

And FUCK, if that wasn't hot. To know that he'd always had this power over Zoro, had always been Zoro's weakness. Some part of his mind absently noted that the itchiness and the bad attitude had faded, to be replaced with a much more familiar pounding in his blood.

"Zoro. This isn't what I need anymore," he announced, just loudly enough so Zoro could hear it, but not so loud that their vaguely amused nakama, standing by watching, could. Except maybe Chopper, damn him and his animal hearing.

"Good, because... me neither."

Sanji charged, one more time, pinning Zoro to the mast with a knee to his stomach that was gentler than it must have looked and letting their breath mingle. "Is the room free?"

And when Zoro spoke, there was a breathlessness in his voice that was not from the fight. "It damn well better be."

—--

A couple of very fun hours later, Sanji finally felt able to relax again, to breathe again. And able to ask something he'd been working up the courage to ask for a while. "Would you consider joining me in, um, quitting our vices?"

"You gonna start nagging me about the booze, too?" Zoro opened his good eye warily, and Sanji almost retracted the question.

"I won't nag anymore than I have been, if you really don't want to. Just... well, I know you hear from Chopper about how much damage it must be doing to your liver, and just like you want me around for as long as you can get me, I want the same for you."

Zoro's eye closed again. "I've thought about it... When we had that big fight and I was helping on the Tang, Law cornered me and gave me a similar lecture. He said he'd cleaned up some of the damage during my surgery, but if I kept it up I wouldn't live to see forty. And at the time, that sounded like enough time, especially considering where you and I were."

"And now? Does eighteen more years sound like enough time with me, mon chou?"

"I could live a thousand years with you and I don't think it'd be enough."

"Then will you quit? Or at least cut back?"

"Yes, but not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because you're trying to quit your cigarettes. I need to be my best self for you and the crew right now. Once you've gotten past the last cigarette and the last withdrawal symptom, then I'll take my turn. And I'll need your support when I do, okay?"

"Of course, lover."