A night at sea can bring out feelings of nostalgia and sometimes hunger.
(A/N: this is my first ever ZoSan fanfiction, so I hope it isn't too terrible.)
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Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars...
Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon...
***
It was Zoro's turn to be on watch that night. He was sitting in the crow's nest, his swords at his side. Everyone else was asleep on the Going Merry, so the only noises he could hear were those of the gentle, tremulous waves brushing against the ship. He stared at the stars. The stars, whose twinkling lights would fade before reappearing in an unsynchronized harmony with the universe, seemed to call to him. The sky seemed to darken as he watched it before the entire world faded into black.
A dream, Zoro realized. He was in a dream. The landscape was of familiar sakura trees, pink petals drifting on the wind. He took a step forward and a figure came into view. A girl with short black hair and a determined expression.
"Did you fall asleep again, Zoro?" the girl scolded, frowning in disapproval at him.
It was Kuina.
"Kuina..." he looked up at her in surprise.
"Honestly, you say you want to be the strongest swordsman, but here you are, slacking off," she tisked. "If you're going to surpass me, you're going to have to train harder, Zoro."
He squinted at her. "I am going to be the strongest! And I'm definitely going to defeat you, just you watch!" he exclaimed, standing and pointing at her.
Kuina smirked. "That's the spirit," she said before holding her hand out to him. "Let's head back to the dojo, okay?"
Zoro blinked and reached for her. She smiled. The dream then changed, and it was raining. Zoro's hand was still stretched out towards Kuina, whose body was now six feet under the earth. He stared at the tombstone before him, his arm shaking. His open palm clenched into a fist and he lowered his limb back to his side. The rain created a curtain for the tears that slipped down his cheeks. He could still hear her voice echoing in his head.
"Zoro...."
"Wake up...."
"Wake..."
"...up, you damn marimo!"
Zoro awoke, eyes flying open. He yawned, stretching as he peered over the side of the crow's nest, spotting a familiar blonde head below him. Sanji was glaring up at him in annoyance.
"Took you long enough to wake up," he grumbled, hands on his hips. "I've been calling you for at least five minutes."
"What is it, shitty cook?" Zoro sighed, squinting at him.
Sanji held up a tray of food and a bottle of sake. "I brought your dinner, asshole," he stated. "Eat it before it gets cold."
The cook set the objects down before grumbling something about deaf marimos and he stalked back to the kitchen. Zoro watched as he left, waiting for him to disappear completely before he would go down and collect his meal. He picked up the plate of onigiri left for him and paused. There were cute little smiley faces on the rice balls made from seaweed and other decorative ingredients.
He was both amused and pissed off.
***
He was on watch again three days later. This time, he was sitting outside of the galley. He was drinking from a bottle of sake and watching a single cloud dance through the night sky. Aside from the sea, he could also hear the clamorous symphony of Sanji cooking inside the kitchen. It was an oddly calming ruckus, almost like a raspy lullaby. Zoro set down his sake and closed his eyes again, allowing his subconscious to take over his mind.
The sound of cicadas filled his ears and the illusion of heat waves clouded his vision. It was summertime at the dojo and Kuina was training out in the heat. He was sitting on the porch with a few other students, watching and trying to keep cool in the shade. Normally, he would be training rather hard himself, but this was an opportunity to learn the enemy's techniques. The wooden practice sword whipped through the air noisily and Kuina's shouting made her movements seem even more powerful. Eventually, she stopped swinging her sword through the air and lowered her weapon, wiping the sweat from her brow. Zoro was entranced.
But once again the scene changed and Zoro was standing behind a crowd of people clad in black. The rain was a constant reminder of how sad this truly was. A coffin was being carried through the crowd. Zoro tried to get closer to it, but before he could get through, he felt a shove at his side...
Zoro flew across the ship. The blow caused him to wake up immediately and he barely managed to land on his feet before crashing. He looked up to see Sanji glaring at him with his bottle of sake in his hand.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, shitty swordsman? You're supposed to be on watch, not stealing the wine and dozing off!" he scolded before turning on his heel and storming back into the galley.
Zoro sniffed and stood up. What a pain in the ass...
***
A week later, it was Sanji's turn to be on watch. He was climbing down from the crow's nest to make sure no one was up stealing any food when he tripped over something. He yelped in surprise and landed on his face. He angrily stood up and turned to face whatever he tripped over. Of course it was a sleeping Zoro. Sanji clenched his teeth so hard his cigarette snapped in two. He stomped towards the slumbering swordsman and was about to kick him like he had done previously when he noticed something odd. Zoro's expression didn't seem like his usual peaceful sleeping face. His brows were furrowed and there was a frown on his face. Sanji knelt down to take a closer inspection when Zoro's eyes slowly opened.
"Ah..."
The two stared at each other in surprise before jumping away from each other with a shout.
"What the hell were you doing, staring at me so closely?!" Zoro exclaimed.
"It's you're fault for falling asleep in the middle of the deck, dumbass!" Sanji countered.
Zoro blinked and looked around in confusion. "Oh, did I fall asleep again?" he realized. "My bad..."
Sanji sighed, obviously annoyed. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag. "Anyway, what were you dreaming about?"
"Huh?"
"Your face... it looked like you weren't having a good dream."
Silence.
A moment passed before Sanji turned to look at the green haired man. Zoro was staring at the cook long and hard, a concentrated expression on his face.
"Wh-what is it?" he asked, feeling his cheeks burn at being looked at so intensely.
"Nothing," Zoro looked away.
Sanji blinked, obviously surprised. "Autumn," said the swordsman, and Sanji jumped, not expecting the random answer. "I was dreaming of autumn."
***
The cook and the swordsman walked into the galley that night. Zoro took a seat at the table and Sanji went for the stove.
"Oi, dumbass marimo," the latter called. "What do you want to eat?"
Zoro thought for a moment before replying. "Sukiyaki."
Sanji stared at him before turning around and grabbing some ingredients. "You'd better not complain about how I make it," he muttered, putting the pot on the stove.
"I don't dislike your cooking," the swordsman said honestly. "I actually.... really like it."
The cook paused, his face turning red. He then resumed with a conflicted expression. "Shut up... shitty swordsman..."
