Motivation

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Chapter 3
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The next day was tense. Sanji hadn't managed to sleep much, instead rolling what Nami had said around in his head until it was time for him to start breakfast.

He didn't want to admit it. A nagging little voice, deep in his head, kept telling him it was the only thing that made sense. He /shouldn't/ care what Zoro thought. The truth was that he did.

It was all so stupid. The way Zoro was treating this was a gross overreaction. It was like if a certain dish called for a pinch of pepper, and he dumped three cups of jalapenos in it instead.

And that /dream/. He didn't even want to think about that, but it kept surfacing at odd moments, like when he was slicing carrots and his hand brushed against their soft green tip.

And with moments like that happening, he was actually glad that Zoro wasn't talking to him. The last thing he needed was to get flustered around that dumbass. Not because it meant anything, because it was just a stupid dream. But he couldn't help remember how /real/ it felt, or how every time he saw something green he wondered, despite himself, whether it would really feel that good to run his fingers up the back of the other man's head.

Sanji decided to stay in the galley for the rest of the day.

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Zoro was training when Nami came to stand in front of him, hands on her hips. He would have ignored her except her expression
was the one she used when someone owed her a LOT of money, and it was overdue.

"You have to make up with Sanji." She stated.

"What?" Zoro said, startled.

"He slept in the galley last night, and our food was cold because he must have made it at like five a.m. Your fight is affecting his
cooking. So make up with him."

Zoro made a noncommital noise at her. "He doesn't care what I do."

"Apparently he does." Nami said. "So knock it off, jackass. It was a stupid thing to fight about anyway."

Zoro paused. "He slept in the galley?" Why would the shitty cook do that? It's not like Zoro was going to attack him as he slept.

Hell, he wasn't even mad at him anymore. It was just hard to get things back to normal since Sanji was being so pissy.

Nami just pursed her lips.

Zoro sighed. "Fine."

Nami narrowed her eyes, suspicious, then nodded. "Good."

She left, and Zoro resumed training.

*****

"Oi. Kuso-cook."

Sanji jumped. He didn't look up from where he was washing the stack of dishes leftover from lunch. The last person he wanted to talk to was Zoro, possibly for the rest of his life.

Sanji sneered around his cigarette, knowing he'd have to answer anyway. "Whadda you want."

There was silence behind him. Sanji turned around, irritated. Zoro was standing by the doorway, looking uncomfortable.

"Just wanted - look, it's ok, ok?" He said finally, glaring at Sanji.

"What?" Sanji said. He actually wasn't being a smart-alec. He had no clue what Zoro was getting at.

Zoro waved a hand in frustration. "It's ok. It was a dumb argument. It wasn't you. I'd spent all morning cleaning my swords. I overreacted."

"Ah," Sanji said. "Whatever."

He turned back to his dishes.

The galley was silent for a moment as Zoro hovered by the doorway, then Sanji heard him pad out.

He let out a breath of relief.

*****

The crew noticed that dinner was an improvement over breakfast. Sanji was back to perfection, with everything beautifully prepared and seasoned just so.

Nami, for some inexplicable reason, was smirking throughout the meal. Luffy and Usopp were engaged in teasing Chopper, and even though the little reindeer was pouting everyone could tell he enjoyed the attention. Sanji ate by the sink, looking resolutely at his food. He hadn't checked to see what Zoro was up to.

"Oi, Cook." Zoro said.

The room fell silent. Sanji looked up, hiding his trepidation behind a scowl.

"It's good." Zoro said.

Sanji's eyebrows raised in surprise before he quickly forced them back into a blank expression.

"What else would it be?" He demanded.

Zoro shrugged one shoulder and went back to eating. Sanji ducked his head, his lips quirking up behind a curtain of blond hair. He was both pleased and embarassed by the praise, all the more so as he could feel the eyes of the rest of the crew boring into his head.

After a few minutes of silence in the galley Sanji glared at them all irritably. Usopp immediately started whistling and Chopper's eyes grew wide and he quickly looked down at his plate, shoveling food into his mouth. Nami looked away, putting on a faux-
innocent expression. Luffy just stared right back, confused.

"Something the matter, Sanji?" He asked.

Zoro looked up, raising an eyebrow.

Sanji was damned if he didn't feel himself blush. "No." He stated. "Eat your dinner."

"Ok!" Luffy chirped. Using both hands, he emptied his plate into his mouth.

"And chew," Sanji said as an afterthought.

Luffy nodded.

The tension in the room dispelled.

Zoro, however, was still looking at Sanji, an unusually thoughtful expression on his face.

Flustered, Sanji ignored him and went back to eating his dinner.
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