Appropriate Aggression

AN: -.- only one review so far, but at least it's getting hits and some ratings. Oh well... no one has said anything bad yet, so i guess there's that. enjoy!!



aaAAaaAAaaAAaa



Appropriate Aggression Chapter 4

Sanji could feel the intense stare boring into the back of his skull. It had been doing so for the last week, ever since they left the island, but for some reason when he turned around there wasn’t always someone there. At first he thought it was Zoro, but one of the times he felt the chills of the unhappy glare, the swordsman had been across the ship arguing with Chopper about whether or not he needed stitches for the gash in his arm thanks to the angry fish Luffy had caught. Then he thought it might be Nami, since she had been awake when he and Zoro returned, both of them reeking of sex, but she had been sunbathing or drawing the few times he had seen her when the feeling took over. So, the nervous cook became a little more reserved around everyone and his tobacco supply was rapidly decreasing.

The almost hurt look the swordsman gave him when he turned around at the bordello had also weighed heavily on his mind. Zoro’s shoulders had slumped a little, but he didn’t say a word as he walked out to the street and waited for the cook to catch up. Sanji led them back to the inn and they went to their own rooms without so much as a goodnight to each other.

The only good thing to happen was the lack of arousal that typically plagued the cook’s early morning hours. Dreams were either uneventful or long since concluded before he began to wake, therefore not remembered. However, Don’s words hung at the back of his mind, surfacing to mock him when he hurried to dote on the lovely ladies of the ship.

Tonight, Nami had asked him to join her on deck after he finished his chores in the galley. As Sanji replaced the dishes in the cabinets, he wondered what the lovely navigator could possibly need that would require them speaking alone. All sorts of lovely images ran through his mind as he fantasized the redhead begging him to take her to bed. The shuffle of feet drew him out of his daydream and he saw Usopp trying to sneak off with one of his good pots again. A well placed kick to the idiot’s shoulders sent Usopp sprawling across the floor and the pan dropped from his slack grip as he faded into unconsciousness. Sanji stepped over the marksman and left the galley in search of his lovely swan.

He found Nami talking with Franky at the stern, both of them wearing expressions of concern and disbelief. He was about to turn around when she called to him and beckoned the cook to come join them.

“Sanji, there’s something I need to ask you. Please, be as honest as you can with us.” Nami placed her hand on his arm and looked up expectantly into his eyes. He began to panic, a sheen of sweat forming across his brow and his mouth became dry as he numbly nodded to her. “Thank you, Sanji-kun.”

“Did something happen between you and Zoro?”

Sanji paled considerably at Franky’s question, his complexion almost white as a ghost. “W-what makes you think there’s something going on?”

Nami’s eyebrows rose as she looked at him skeptically. “Now I know something happened. Ok, spill it.”

Sanji swallowed hard and held his hands up in front of him in defense. “I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come on Cook-bro, whatever is going on, you two won’t be able to hide it forever.” Franky patted Sanji’s shoulder, probably to encourage him, but only further serving to add to his nervousness.

The cook swallowed hard and opened his mouth to speak, his words cut off by an unlikely savior.

“Cook-san and Bushido-san’s problems are their own. Maybe it would be best to let them handle things in their own way. If they need help, I’m sure they will ask.” Robin appeared out of the shadow, a small smile on her face as she approached them.

“No way! I’m going to find out what’s going on if it kills them. They’ve both been acting strange for the last few months and I’m tired of tiptoeing around that damn Zoro just to try and keep peace. If Sanji knows what is going on, he’d better start talking.” Nami’s eyes gleamed with determination as she looked pointedly at the blonde.

“We’re here to help, man. It ain’t super when nakama are having problems,” Franky continued to pry.

“It was supposed to be just once. We agreed only once, but it happened again and then we met at that place and he hasn’t said a word since,” Sanji blurted out. The shocked looks on everyone’s faces had him scrambling to explain. “He was trying to help me deal with some problems and I somehow pissed him off. I’ll go talk to the shithead and work it out. I promise.”

He could tell that Nami didn’t completely believe him, but hoped that she would at least accept his excuse for now. Franky seemed satisfied and had already left to search out the others. Robin was gone, apparently having disappeared at some point during his ramblings. Needing to fix things as soon as possible, Sanji turned around and went in search of the first mate, intent on tearing him a new orifice when found.

/-/-/-/-/

The swordsman was down in the men’s quarters when Sanji finally caught up to him. Clothes and random items littered the floor around his locker as Zoro continued his search, muttering to himself quietly. Sanji made sure to let his shoes echo on the floorboards as he crossed the room, having no desire to end up with a sword through his gut for catching the man unaware. Zoro stopped talking to himself, but refused to acknowledge the cook’s presence, instead choosing to shove everything back into the small space. When he stood, the swordsman sidestepped around the blonde and headed for the door.

“Oi, asshole, don’t ignore me,” Sanji called out as he aimed a heel at the side of Zoro’s head.

A single sword, still in its sheath, blocked the attack, though the green-haired man still refused to turn around. “I don’t have time for your shit tonight. I’m due up in the crow’s nest for watch in a few minutes.”

“Then hurry the fuck up and tell me what you’ve done to Nami to get her so worried about you.”

“Me?” Zoro sounded genuinely confused. He half turned as he returned his sword to his side, but still refused to look up at the cook.

“Yah, I know, it surprised me too. She and Franky cornered me after dinner, demanding to know what was going on between us.”

Zoro’s head snapped up and a mixture of surprise and anger shone on his face. “What the hell? I told that bitch to leave it be.”

“Watch what you say about Nami-swan, fucker.” Sanji charged forward as he spoke and fisted his hand in Zoro’s shirt, slamming the larger man against the wall. “Now explain. You, told her to leave what be?”

Zoro shoved him away, the white shirt ripping under the force since Sanji refused to let go. Still holding onto the torn fabric, Sanji glared at him and refused to give him any more room. With a heavy sigh, Zoro finished tearing the shirt and slipped out of it, tossing the ruined cloth into the pile of rags. He tried to step around Sanji, but a pale hand to his chest gave him pause and he lifted his head. Sanji glared at him, and narrowed his eyes as his patience grew thin.

“She asked me the same thing; wanted to know if we’d gotten into some trouble at the last island. I told her to mind her own fucking business and get out of my face. Now, do you have a problem with that shit-cook, or was I wrong to assume you didn’t want her knowing the truth?” Zoro’s voice was dark and filled with venom as he returned Sanji’s glare tenfold.

“You know good and well how I feel about it.” Sanji could feel the strong heart beneath his hand pick up but made no move to withdraw. “It was supposed to be just once. Besides, it’s not like it’s going to happen again.”

Zoro snorted derisively and looked away. Angry all over again, Sanji grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall, forcing the swordsman to meet his eyes and leaning in so close they breathed in each other’s air.

“It won’t asshole! This is just a faze. Soon I’ll be back to wooing all the lovely ladies and enjoying all the amenities of a woman’s body. You’ll just have to find someone else to shove their dick up your ass.”

Sanji was caught off guard by Zoro’s laughter.

“You stupid fuck. You don’t get it, do you?” There was that strange look again in Zoro’s eyes as he grinned mockingly. “Yours is the only one to ever have the honor.”

Zoro shrugged out of Sanji’s now limp hold and pushed past the cook.

“What?” Sanji managed to choke out, his mind still reeling with the information. “But I thought… You mean you never… Why?”

Zoro paused with his hand on the handle, half in/half out of the bunkroom. “Because you’re nakama.” The silence that followed was heavy with tension. Sanji jumped slightly when Zoro continued. “We all make sacrifices for the good of the crew. Luffy needs you, so… Maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea, but it was all I could think of at the time.”

Sanji nodded numbly and walked over to his bunk, toeing off his shoes before climbing in still fully dressed in his suit. Zoro quietly left, the soft click of the latch barely able to be heard over his heavy footsteps.

For the good of the crew… The phrase kept repeating over and over in his head. Sanji lay wide awake, staring at the wood planks above him long after the other boys came dragging their feet to bed. He began to go over every detail he could remember of his encounters with Zoro and then the male prostitute, Don. The biggest difference he could find was that Don climaxed with Sanji still inside him and Zoro had to finish himself off.

Sanji wanted to smack himself in the head for how stupid he’d been to not see it earlier. Zoro, while technically gay, didn’t enjoy getting fucked by a guy. He only liked to be the one to do the fucking. Yet the man had allowed Sanji, who had zero knowledge of how things worked between two males, to defile him without question. The whole thing must have been painful, considering the first time Zoro had to see Chopper afterwards. That and even Don had asked to be prepped first, and he was used to having things stuck there. Zoro had given him the ultimate show of trust and Sanji basically threw the selfless gesture back in the swordsman’s face. Sanji threw his feet over the side and rose from his bunk as quietly as possible. Second watch fell to Franky tonight, so he had plenty of time before change in shifts to satisfy his curiosity.

/-/-/-/-/

Sanji locked the door to the washroom and began undressing. He had a feeling that the tub might be the best place to try this, but running a bath at this hour was likely to draw too much attention, so he opted to stand under the shower spray and let the hot water ease a little of the tension from his shoulders. He let his hands travel down his stomach, lightly teasing his flaccid member, knowing that as nervous as he was it would be difficult to get it erect. Bracing himself on the tiled wall, Sanji brought his hand down further to tease at the round sacks, decorated with coarse blonde curls, tugging lightly a few times and almost forgetting to coat his hand with oil before continuing.

Sanji spread his legs further apart and put his forehead on his arm as his fingers danced over the small expanse of skin between his balls and his sphincter. Breathing slowly to calm his nerves, Sanji circled the puckered opening slowly, adjusting to the strange, yet not entirely unpleasant feeling. Relaxing as much as he could force himself to, a slender finger breached the outer ring of muscle and began sliding in.

Sanji scrunched his eyes tight and hissed against the pain. Holy shit! This was supposed to be enjoyable? Allowing his body to adjust, Sanji stilled his hand and reminded himself that he was just as much of a man as the green-haired idiot and if the moron could handle this, so could he. With this in mind, Sanji began pumping the finger in and out, easing a little deeper with each pass. He swallowed hard and added a second finger, biting his lip at the initial burn and wondering how he was supposed to manage any more. Shifting his legs a little, Sanji’s eyes flew open as he felt a strange jolt shoot straight up his spine. There at his fingertips was a soft bundle of nerves that he never knew existed before his time with Zoro.

Shifting more so he could get a better angle, Sanji continued to rub and tease the soft gland. He realized his hips were now moving in time with the rhythm of his hand and that his cock was standing proud and hard, a vast contrast to what it had been when he started this experiment a short time ago. Wrapping his free hand around his cock, Sanji began stroking furiously, eager to finish and leave before he was found. The added stimulus had him coming sooner than expected. He stood there on shaky legs as he withdrew his fingers slowly and wondered how different a cock would feel and if he would ever be willing to try. Snorting at the ridiculous thought, Sanji assured himself that this had only been an experiment and nothing more. Not even the shitty-swordsman seemed to completely enjoy the act.

/-/-/-/-/

The next morning, the navigator found a disheveled cook at the stove, looking like he had little or no sleep the night before. Nami approached him, voicing her concern and he danced before her with hearts in his eyes.

“Ah, Nami-swan, your concern for me fills my heart with joy. If I could lay in your arms, my life would no longer be plagued with sleepless nights.”

“Hai, Sanji-kun, instead they would be filled with endless hours in the infirmary due to blood loss,” Nami giggled, her face softening into a gentle smile as she placed a kiss on the swooning cook’s cheek.

Robin took a seat at the table and was immediately served her first cup of coffee that morning, the usual all-knowing smile adorned her lips as she thanked the blonde. Sanji continued to fawn over both women as breakfast continued cooking, the aroma floating out the door and catching on the breeze to be carried to the sleeping Captain below. It didn’t take long for everyone to gather, and Sanji happily, though obviously tired, served the ladies their intricately decorated fruit bowls before setting the rest for the men to fight over. Zoro stumbled in, looking slightly better than the cook, but not much. A slender eyebrow rose though at the slightly larger portions he had been given, though the amount wasn’t enough to gain the attention of anyone other than Luffy. Said captain just grinned around his overstuffed mouth and winked at his first mate much to Sanji’s horror.

After the food was devoured, Sanji issued his normal threats, sending everyone scampering to different areas of the ship least they be deprived of any sweet treats later. Nami and Robin left with their heads close together, the redhead looking back over her shoulder a few times and giggling before they disappeared out the door. Without a word, Zoro appeared at Sanji’s side, towel in hand and ready to help with dishes. They worked together in relative silence, a quiet “Zoro” heard every so often when the swordsman took too long to accept the dish handed to him. When they were done, Zoro cocked his head to the side and studied him for a moment before shaking his head and walking out, leaving the blonde alone with his conflicting thoughts.

/-/-/-/-/

Sanji walked down the main street of the village amidst the members of the Straw Hat Crew, calling out to several of the young ladies, either buying or selling goods at various stores. The tension between he and Zoro was all but gone now, only showing itself if they happened to actually touch each other outside a fight. The time that Luffy had flown across the deck and sent the blonde crashing into Zoro had been the worst. The three of them were a tangle of limbs with Sanji pressed fully against the swordsman’s front, head buried in the crook of a very tanned neck. Luffy had thought it was hilarious how red Sanji had turned and kept asking him to do it again.

Through it all, Nami seemed to be satisfied that things were returning to normal for the crew and her daily questioning finally came to an end. Brooke wrote a song dedicated to the strong bonds of friendship and laughed joyously when Franky added in an interpretive dance. Watching how genuinely concerned everyone had been for he and Zoro’s welfare had helped him to repair the rival relationship he and the swordsman shared. Sanji would kick Zoro across the room for insulting the ladies, Zoro would verbally berate and stir-up the cook about his feminine appearance, and daily battles would resume. It seemed that the intimate encounters between them had been forgotten.

At the town square, they went in separate directions to secure supplies and discover how long it would take for the log to set. Sanji and Chopper took their time speaking with different vendors and bargaining for better deals. Seeing that most of the butchers were located next to the fish market by the docks, they took a shortcut through the backstreets to save time. Sanji never noticed the quality of the area change until he heard Chopper’s shy voice shake as he spoke.

“Um, Sanji, what is this place?”

The cook almost dropped his packages as he ran to greet the scantily dressed women on the porch of the local brothel.

“My wish is your every command, beautiful angels, for your radiance has captured me as its slave.”

It took the little doctor setting down his own burden and changing into his human form to gain the cook’s attention and lead him away. Hearts still floated in Sanji’s eyes as he waved goodbye, promising that he would return that night. They were inspecting the local wares at the docks when Chopper finally spoke again.

“Sanji, are you really going to go see those ladies again?”

“Hm? Oh, well, of course. A man has needs that have to be satisfied and he can’t very well do that while at sea.” Sanji smiled down at Chopper and patted the reindeer on his neck, careful of the purchases strapped across his back. “When you get a little older, you’ll begin to understand the natural force that draws a man to a woman.”

Chopper huffed and stuck his nose in the air as he turned his head away, obviously annoyed at something. “Doctorine taught me all about sex, I understand it completely.”

“There’s more to it than just sex.” Sanji looked down at him and smiled at the innocent curiosity that shone back at him. “A man feels complete when he’s wrapped in the arms of a beautiful goddess. He feels like he can complete anything in the world, and if everything ended in that moment, he could die happy.”

“What about Zoro?”

Sanji tripped and barely caught himself before tumbling into a cart filled with clam like shellfish. “It was only… I mean he just… that is he…”

“Zoro likes to be with guys. I really don’t think that he likes being cuddled with, and if he died doing anything other than fighting he’d probably come back and haunt everyone. A man can’t have babies so he couldn’t be trying to have a kid, so why do you think he does it?”

Chopper’s sincerity in his question threw the cook off, having assumed that the conversation would take a different direction. Relieved that his secret was still safe, Sanji kicked his mind back into gear and tried to think of a viable answer. He vaguely remembered asking the swordsman the same thing, but couldn’t remember what the reply had been. Something about speaking and mouths. Not wanting to think anymore on the subject, Sanji decided to put an end to it. “Who knows why Marimo does anything, and that’s kinda his business, don’t you think?”

“Oh! I didn’t mean to pry. I just thought that since you and he… It’s just that I could smell, not that you smell bad, I mean you do have a distinct smell it’s just individual to you, and when he came to see me I could tell…” Chopper backpedaled quickly.

“Wait, what are you saying?” Sanji tried to unravel the jumbled rush of words but they weren’t making any sense. Of course Zoro would smell like him if he was injured. Most of the idiots wounds were inflicted by the cook, and Sanji was very happy about that fact. Any time he could make the swordsman bleed was a bonus in his book. “Marimo and I have fought since the day we met. Besides, I’m sure my scent is on just about every person on the ship.”

“You’re having sex with everybody!?” the doctor blurted out.

This time Sanji did fall flat on his face. “What! No!” he screamed as he jumped up.

“You just said that your smell is on everyone. I only smelled it on Zoro though.” Chopper rambled on, but his words were lost on the cook as Sanji sank to the ground in despair. “Sanji! Sanji! Wake up! Someone call a doctor!”

“Oi, you are a doctor,” Sanji pointed out as he swatted the little guy away. He slowly began to gather the spilled goods.

“I’m sorry, I thought he told you I knew,” Chopper said in apology.

Sanji nodded and waited for him to change back into deer form so he could load their purchases. “I was drunk. I’d overheard one of the ladies I’d spent the evening with making some rather harsh comments and I asked him to tell me if they were true. He told me that we all make sacrifices for each other. I guess you knowing is mine.”

“Sanji it’s ok if you like men, really. I promise I won’t tell. I made the same promise to Zoro when I found out about him, too.” Chopper nudged Sanji’s forehead with his snout to get the still kneeling man to look at him. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“If Nami ever found out…”

“She would probably be the happiest person on the ship.” Chopper cocked his head to the side as he watched the blonde stand and dust off his clothes.

“If she’s really that unhappy with my attention, I’ll stop.” Sanji’s whole body slumped in dejection.

“No, silly, she’s got a bet going on how long it would take for you two to sleep with each other, but I don’t think she expected you to be the dominant one.” Chopper laughed at the look of horror on Sanji’s face. “Brook thought it had already happened when he joined, but Usopp swears that if it did happen you guys would have destroyed some or all of the ship in the process. Robin won, but then again… no one knows yet, except me.”

Chopper looked away, then back, then to the ground and opened his mouth a few times before snapping it shut again. Sanji sighed heavily and shook his head. “Go ahead and say it, I don’t think you can shock me anymore.”

“Do you love him?”

Apparently he was wrong, because of all the things he though Chopper would ask, that was nowhere in the vicinity of any of them. “Hell no! I fucking hate the bastard. He’s just a poor excuse of a man who happens to be decent with a sword. I tolerate him because he’s Luffy’s first mate.”

“Oh.” Chopper sounded hurt at the rejection Sanji showed towards the green-haired man.

“We’re nakama. That’s all. I can’t change what happened between us, but he’ll never take the place of a beautiful woman,” Sanji tried to reason with him. “I’m sure he feels the same way.”

The subject was dropped and Sanji immersed himself in shopping, bartering with several of the fishermen; trading recipes and stories for smaller prices. That night, he shelled out the extra coin to spend the night with a cute set of twins. The two women were just as flexible as he was and almost as impatient. Sanji climbed into his bed at the inn well after midnight and kept his back to the snoring shipwright, not wanting to show anyone his tears.