New Life

Title: New Life: Chapter 10
Author: Genuinelie(s)
Rating: NC-17 (finally!)
Disclaimer: Not mine.

******************************
Chapter Ten
******************************

"Gaaaahch!" Luffy screeched, promptly gathering all the mugs on the galley table and inhaling their contents in one giant gulp. The surprised protests of his crew were all but drowned out as he gargled.

Sanji looked up from where he was eating by the sink, mildly surprised, but then figured out what had happened and smirked. "That'll teach you to touch food that isn't yours," he said.

Luffy had grabbed the plate of food Sanji had set out for the absent swordsman. Zoro hadn't showed up for dinner. Sanji had chewed three cigarettes down to the nub and had barely touched his dinner, irritation killing any appetite he may have had.

"Hot hot hot hot..." Luffy whined, face tinged purple. "Whose was that, Sanji?"

"Whose do you think?" Sanji asked without looking up.

"I didn't know Zoro liked his food so hot..." Luffy mused. Without missing a beat he grabbed the crew's mugs, newly refilled, out of their hands. Several of them, over their surprise, started to look murderous.

Sanji gritted his teeth. "Yeah, but he asked for it..." he muttered.

"Huh." Luffy said, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Well, if he wanted it that way why didn't he show up?"

Sanji slammed his plate down. "Your turn to do the dishes tonight, choreboy."

He stalked out of the galley.

The deck was empty, and so was the crow's nest. The men's bunk was deserted, and Sanji didn't even bother checking the girls'. Finally the clinking of a bottle being rolled across the wood floor could be heard through the sound of sloshing waves. It was coming from the upper deck, from behind the mikan trees Nami had let them keep.

Sanji glowered. So that's where the dead man was hiding.

He ascended as quietly as possibly, hoping to take Zoro by surprise. When he pushed through the branches, however, he paused.

Zoro was leaning against an empty mikan pot, knees pulled up to his chest. His forhead rested in his palms, and his mouth was stretched downward in an unhappy line, lips thin. One empty bottle of rum was rolling around beside him, and another, half-full bottle was resting by his hip.

Sanji narrowed his eyes angrily. That bastard. What did he think he was doing? That was enough rum to get even the baka in front of him inebriated, and the last thing any of them wanted was to find his drunken, inflated body floating face down in the water. Although at the moment the thought was tempting.

As Sanji watched, still unmoving, Zoro's fingers curled into his green hair, his shoulders hunching forward. Suddenly some of Sanji's anger dissipated. Whatever this was, it wasn't normal. And it wasn't good.

"Oi," he called softly.

Zoro made a half-hearted attempt to jump to his feet but only managed to scoot backwards a foot, nearly falling over. His surprised, wide-eyed expression quickly sank into a black glare. "What're you doing up here, cook?"

Cook. It shouldn't bother him, but the impersonal way he said it twisted something painful in Sanji. Sanji walked forward silently, and dropped to the deck beside his nakama. Not looking at him, he leaned against the pot and waited until Zoro's breathing slowed and he moved closer, returning to his former position.

The water was choppier than it had been in weeks, white lines capping some of the waves. The breeze was still warm, however, and the twilight sky was clear, grey tinged with pink.

"If this is about what happened," Sanji started, "It's ok. I started it. I thought I was better, but..." He wouldn't go so far to say it aloud, but he hoped his insinuation was enough. "My fault."

Zoro sucked in a ragged breath. "Shouldn't have fought you." He said.

Sanji glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Then you would have got your ass kicked, because I wasn't going to stop."

Zoro closed his eyes and tilted his head back. A thick silence blanketed the air between them before Zoro finally spoke.

"There was a girl. When I was young. Never beat her. Not once."

Sanji's ears perked up, but he kept silent. He sensed that this was important, possibly in the way that meant that Zoro was finally telling him about his past.

"Kuina. She died. She probably would have been the greatest swordsman in the world, not me, but she died because she fell down a flight of stairs."

Sanji's head whipped around to stare at Zoro, wide-eyed. Kuina. So it hadn't been him Zoro had been dreaming about the other night. That was the name that was on his lips as he had thrashed and muttered in his sleep.

"It was a stupid way to go." Zoro finally opened his eyes and looked at him. The swordsman's eyes were sad, and tired. None of their usual intensity was there. "I don't want it to be a stupid way for you, Sanji."

Sanji turned and grabbed Zoro's shoulder, hard, nails digging into his flesh. He glared at him hard, deadly serious. "Look here, you dumb marimo. Hitting me once with a damned sheath isn't going to kill me, even in a day-old wound. And some stupid navyman's spear isn't either. So stop with your damned guilt trip and stop looking at me like I'm going to break." He shook his shoulder for good measure.

Zoro's eyes widened, but after a moment he shrugged off Sanji's hand. Instead of answering he reached for the bottle of rum. Sanji kicked it out of his hand, and it toppled overboard.

"Hey!" Zoro shouted angrily. "There was still good rum in that!"

"And there's enough rum in you." Sanji said calmly.

Zoro threw a punch at him, but the swordsman's aim was off. Sanji ducked it easily and lay a light kick into Zoro's stomach. It was enough to send the swordsman to his ass but not enough to hurt him.

Zoro lay propped of his elbows, breathing heavily. He looked like he had given up on everything. He watched Sanji silently through half-open eyes, waiting for his next move.

Sanji crawled over the deck and threaded himself through Zoro's open thighs until he hovered over the swordsman, face to face. Zoro fell back onto the deck. His face looked like it was on the verge of crumpling. Sanji wrinkled his nose at the swordsman.

"Too much thinking, marimo," he said. "And you stink." He lowered his head and gently took Zoro's lip between his teeth.

Zoro exhaled, hot breath bathed in alcohol washing across his face. Sanji didn't mind. He ran a tongue over Zoro's mouth and then pushed inside, finding the other man's tongue.

Zoro lay there, limp and taking it, despite the response Sanji could feel growing in other areas. Sanji ran a hand up his chest to cup his face, brushing his cheek and temple tenderly. He laced his fingers through Zoro's hair, bringing his head up to deepen their kiss.

Finally Zoro responded, in a sudden burst of movement, pushing Sanji's tongue back into his mouth and gripping his back, hands clutching at the fabric of Sanji's suit frantically. A moment later found Sanji flipped on his back, Zoro propped on his hands over him, face shadowed. "I don't want to lose you." The swordsman stated.

"Keep me happy and you won't," Sanji replied. "Baka."

He grabbed the fabric under Zoro's chin and pulled him down into another kiss, Zoro exploring his mouth more assertively than he would any woman's. He tasted like sweet rum and salt, and something that was Zoro's own musk. It was the last that Sanji found himself addicted to.

He tugged on Zoro's haramaki, flipping off his own shoes and toeing at Zoro's boots at the same time. Sanji shrugged off his jacket with Zoro's help, and as he rained kisses across Zoro's throat the swordsman fumbled with Sanji's buttons. For once not caring, Sanji grasped Zoro's hands and helped him tear the fabric open.

Zoro immediately left off ravishing Sanji's mouth to lick a hot trail down to the waistband of his pants. Nervous they would receive the same treatment, Sanji unbuckled his belt and pushed them down for the swordsman. A good pair of pants was harder to replace than a shirt.

Zoro had shrugged out of his black tee, his chest bathed in the glow of the rising moon, hip-to-shoulder scar outlined starkly against the skin. A few others surrounded it now, ones that Sanji assumed had been earned in the latest fight with Mihawk. He traced a few shorter ones, outlined below Zoro's left nipple.

Zoro watched his face. "Mihawk." he explained gently.

Sanji nodded, fingers trailing to another. It was thicker, less artful.

"Stupid mistake in a tourney." Zoro said. "Damned kids think they can fight."

Sanji ran his palm down Zoro's stomach, tugging down his pants and using his feet to push them the rest of the way off. He ran his hands over Zoro's exposed hipbones, avoiding the hard warmth that was dripping wetness onto his belly.

Finally Zoro pulled off Sanji's boxers, a pair of plain green shorts that almost matched Zoro's hair. Suddenly the air seemed thick and important, and neither man seemed to want to move.

"What is this?" Zoro finally said. He watched Sanji's face carefully.

But the words that Sanji felt comfortable saying to him in his sleep suddenly felt too trite to say aloud here. Not when he said them over and over to every girl he met, not when Zoro knew that he did just that.

So instead he said simply, "This is us."

And it was true.

It seemed to be enough for the swordsman as well because he ducked, taking Sanji's hard length between his lips, sliding his tongue from underneath to tease his head into weeping. Sanji trembled despite himself under Zoro's administrations, fisting his hands into the other man's short hair but being careful not to restrain him. Brought to the cusp, Sanji let out an involuntary groan as Zoro abruptly pulled away with one last suck. He leaned forward to whisper in Sanji's ear, "We don't have anything up here."

Sanji smirked at him, reaching into the pocket of his discarded pants. He pulled out a small bottle of cooking oil.

Zoro snorted, breaking the moment for a second. "The hell?"

Sanji shrugged. "You never know." The truth was he'd just shoved it in his pocket while he was preparing dinner. Preoccupied as he had been, he had forgotted to take it out.

Zoro smirked and took the bottle from Sanji, bending over to kiss the cook's lips as he coated himself and prepared Sanji's entrance. Slowly, he entered Sanji, first with one digit, then with another, working them until Sanji was brought back to the edge.

"Zoro." Sanji hissed. "Soon."

Zoro smiled at him and pulled his fingers out, for once obliging the cook. He angled his hips and pressed his tip again Sanji's tight entrance.

With one smooth movement, he thrust in.

Sanji pushed his hips up to meet each thrust, burying Zoro to his hilt even as the other man's hardness dragged against his nub. It was no longer just sensual. Their movements were frantic, and basic, and filled with need.

Zoro wrapped a tongue around Sanji's nipple, dragging with his teeth. The added sensation pushed an already over-stimulated Sanji to the edge, and he came with a throaty cry.

A moment later Zoro came, shooting hot liquid deep within the chef. Zoro collapsed gently onto Sanji, slick skin molding together, chests falling against each other in ragged breaths.

Zoro pulled out gently, causing aftershocks of sensation. Suddenly he dropped his forhead to Sanji's. "Love you." He mumbled. His shoulders were tense despite the afterglow, waiting for Sanji's reaction.

"Marimo." Sanji stated. He couldn't say anything else.

Zoro let out a long breath and claimed Sanji's mouth, kissing him deeply. Sighing contentedly into it, he wrapped his arms around Zoro's back, gripping his shoulders and writhing underneath him. Zoro hummed, then pulled back.

He looked happy.

Sanji supposed he did too.

He wanted to stay up there and sleep, but he knew sooner or later Luffy or one of the others would come looking for them. He reached for his clothes, Zoro did the same. They both climbed to their feet, pulling on their shoes. Sanji's shirt was beyond repair, but if he buttoned up his jacket it didn't look much different.

It wasn't exactly an uncomfortable silence, but it was silence nonetheless. Sanji supposed that really, there was nothing left to say.

They were met with cheers and catcalls when they finally descended, which predictably prompted Zoro to try and kill the nearest several of their nakama. Luffy was sitting in the rigging, grinning down at them. Sanji hoped the view wasn't as clear as it looked to be from up there. "You made a lot of noise," he explained cheerfully.

Momentarily, Sanji decided Zoro had it right. He stalked forward. Luffy let out a happy yelp and took off, Sanji close behind.

Soon after, the deck erupted in mayhem as the rest of the crew decided to join in, choosing sides.

Life as usual on the Going Merry.

*****