Appropriate Aggression

AN: sry for the delay in posting. basically... i'm an idiot and forgot. ch 10 is written and with my beta. it will be posted as soon as it comes back.


Appropriate Aggression Chapter 9.4

Zoro prided himself on being able to outwardly remain oblivious to many things while taking notice of it all and reacting accordingly. Sanji’s nervousness on deck happened to be one of those things. The cook would be relaxing on deck one minute, then spinning around and searching everywhere with his eyes the next, as if he was afraid that someone was watching him. This meant more sleepless nights for the swordsman who had somehow continued to wake up every time the cook whimpered and shifted in his sleep. Zoro reminded himself again that he had thought this a bad idea from the beginning. Maybe it was time to cut ties with the cook and let him flounder around on his own.

Zoro caught Robin watching him from across the ship with a strange intensity in her eyes after one of his more intense workout sessions. She didn’t smile like she normally would, the corners of her mouth actually slightly turned down into a contemplative frown. Her eyes turned from him to stare at the cook for a moment before returning. Zoro knew somehow that the woman understood exactly what was going on between the two men. A shadow fell over him and he looked up from his seat on the grassy lawn to see Nami scowling down.

“You and Sanji both have been acting weird. If you two did anything to draw more attention to yourselves you’d better let me know now so we can be prepared for whoever might be following us and wanting to take revenge.” Nami’s angry face blocked out most of the sun, but the fiery ring around her head only served to make her look more demonic as she waggled a finger in front of Zoro’s nose. “Now tell me what is going on.”

“What makes you think that whatever trouble that shitty-cook got into has anything to do with me?” He returned the glare full force, pouring every ounce of aversion he felt for the blonde that he could muster.

“Because you both came dragging your sorry asses back to the inn at the same time with sour looks on each of your faces.”

Zoro narrowed his eyes even further, wondering how in the world she gathered her information. Maybe she had gotten to Chopper and frightened the poor guy into telling her what she wanted to know. “So… What, we’re supposed to be all smiles and shit?”

“I know there is something going on and I’m going to find out what it is. We’ve all noticed and it seems to center around you and Sanji.” Nami backed up when Zoro stood, her scowl softening to a gentle, caring concern that only made him worry more. “Zoro if the two of you are having troubles, just let us know and we’ll-“

“Mind your own business.” Zoro pushed past her and headed for the galley in search of something cold to drink. First chance he got he’d make sure to beat the holy living shit out of the cook. If the navigator truly knew the two of them were screwing each other, then the entire ship knew and the whole thing would be thrown out of proportion. He and the fucking dartboard brow were not having troubles. Sanji might be fucked up, but he was perfectly fine.

/-/-/-/-/

The swordsman began throwing everything out of his locker in an attempt to find the box containing his cleaning supplies for his swords. The last time he had used it, Zoro was sure that he placed it in his locker so Usopp wouldn’t try to experiment with his power again. He cussed the marksman and his missing equipment as he continued to empty his belongings across the floor. The door opened and he caught the whiff of smoke on the air identifying the person as his least favorite crewmember at the moment. He listened to the heavy footfalls and knew that the cook was making his presence known for a purpose, though Zoro was not in the mood to deal with him at the moment. One wrong word and he was liable to run the bastard through with at least one sword. Zoro forcefully shoved his belongings back into the small space and stood, sidestepping Sanji as he headed for the door.

“Oi, asshole, don’t ignore me.”

Zoro slid a single sword from his waist and blocked the leg coming towards his head with the black sheath, refusing to turn towards the man. “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 almost shouted, confused as to why the cook would think that he was the one that had upset the navigator. He gave a shove against the black clad leg and watched it fall as he turned slightly towards the blonde, refusing to look up. Zoro stared at the deadly shoe as he returned his sword to his side.

“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.” The swordsman’s back hit the wall, Sanji having grabbed him by the shirt and shoving him hard. “Now explain. You, told her to leave what be?”

Annoyed, Zoro pushed hard against Sanji’s chest, his shirt ripping as the blonde refused to let go of the white fabric. They glared at each other for a moment before Zoro finally gave up. It dawned on him in that moment that every time he looked deep into Sanji’s eyes, his own reasoning took a back seat and he would give in to whatever emotion the cook was feeling at the time. The stress of dealing with the cook had taken its toll on him and he was about at the limits of his patience. Chopper, Luffy, Nami, even Robin had all expressed concern and interest in whatever this thing was between he and the cook. If one more thing happened, he’d never be able to convince them that there was nothing there. This whole thing had gotten out of control like he had feared and now he needed to end it. Zoro sighed heavily and finished tearing the shirt so he could slip out of it, tossing the pieces Sanji wasn’t holding into the rag bin. All he had to do was walk away.

Zoro moved to sidestep the cook, but a warm, pale hand on his chest caused him to freeze and he lifted his head to stare into a narrowed blue eye. Anger shone back, full force, laced with something that looked too close to concern for Zoro’s taste. They were fucking pirates in the middle of the Grand Line who had a collective bounty higher than any of them could ever dream possible. When the hell did all of this emotional bullshit start coming in to play? Sanji was too fucking old to be coddled like some spoiled brat who cried every time one of the other children didn’t play by the rules. He needed to grow up, and fast.

“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 laced his voice with venom as he darkened his own glare.

“You know good and well how I feel about it.” Sanji’s hand shifted on Zoro’s chest and the swordsman felt his heartbeat pick up at the slight movement; unsure if he should be preparing for a fight or another attempt from the cook to fuck him. “It was supposed to be just once. Besides, it’s not like it’s going to happen again.”

Zoro snorted half in amusement and half in disgust as he turned his head to keep from falling into the blonde’s trap. Of course he knew it was only supposed to be once; he was the one who fucking stated the condition before he agreed to help the idiot the first time. His shoulders were grabbed roughly and Zoro was thrown into the wall again. His head snapped back around and out of habit he met the cook’s challenging glare with one of defiance. Sanji’s breath washed over him and Zoro could taste the nicotine on his tongue as their noses almost brushed against each other.

“It won’t asshole! This is just a phase. 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.”

Zoro couldn’t help it and began laughing hard at the stupidity of Sanji’s declaration. How dumb could the cook be, he wondered. Was he really that oblivious to what was going on with his partner during sex? Zoro knew that the blonde was lacking in knowledge when it came to understanding his sexual partner, but this was beyond ridiculous. No wonder the women found him to be so pitiful; he didn’t have a clue.

“You stupid fuck. You don’t get it, do you?” The grin that spread across Zoro’s face was filled with anything but humor as he opened his mouth before thinking. “Yours is the only one to ever have the honor.”

As much as he wanted to relish in the dumbfounded look on Sanji’s face, Zoro had to fight to keep the shocked one off his own. Too many strange things were flying out of his mouth around the cook lately and the whole thing was bothering Zoro to no end. He shrugged out of Sanji’s loosened hold and headed out of the bunkroom.

“What? But I thought… You mean you never… Why?” Sanji’s voice was tight and forced.

Zoro paused in the doorway, wondering if he should even answer. “Because you’re nakama.” Well, that wasn’t exactly true, but Zoro was pretty sure if he told the cook that he did it because he pitied him that the resulting fight would take out most of or all of the upper deck of the ship. He could see the intense emotions flickering across the blonde’s face and thought back to his promise to Luffy that he would help as long as he could. “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.”

It looked like this was the end, and defeat tasted bitter on Zoro’s tongue as he closed the door softly behind him. This should have never happened.

-/-/-/-/-

Though his watch had been uneventful, sleep evaded Zoro most of the night. Sanji had come stumbling back to bed shortly after Zoro had climbed into his own bunk and the swordsman found himself listening for any little noise the cook made, signaling that the blonde was having trouble sleeping as well. Long before dawn, Zoro watched him trudge from the room, looking worn out and stressed. He caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye and leaned forward enough to see Usopp’s concerned face watching the cook’s departure as well. The marksman turned and jumped, almost falling out of his bunk with surprise when he met eyes with the swordsman.

“Um, hey Zoro.” The long-nosed nakama scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “So, do you know what’s up with Sanji?”

Zoro shook his head and laid back down, wondering why everyone thought that he was the one who should know the answer to that question. He had just gotten into a good sleep when Luffy’s shouts echoed across the ship, calling everyone to breakfast. Zoro drug himself out of bed and searched for a clean shirt, never having bothered after losing the one he wore last night. He was the last one to sit at the table and was about to lash out at Sanji for shoving his plate in his face when he noticed that there was something a little different about his food. The slices of meat were thicker and even a little rare, just the way he liked them. He arched a brow in question and glanced over to Luffy who grinned around his mouthful of food and winked as he was privy to some secret.

The alarmed look on Sanji’s face was amusing though, so Zoro kept quiet and enjoyed the good fortune that was probably not supposed to go to him in the first place. Even through Sanji’s worn out features, Zoro could tell that something important had happened last night and the cook was considerably more at peace with himself than he had been in a very long time. In fact, everyone seemed to be in better spirits, just an affirmation to his earlier assessment of the cook’s importance on the ship. Pleased with himself, though he knew that whatever had finally happened wasn’t his doing directly, Zoro willingly helped clear the table when everyone had left. Just as they had before all of this chaos started, Zoro stood at Sanji’s side to wash dishes. When they were done, Zoro studied him closely for a moment, trying to decide if this change would stick or not. He shook his head, telling himself that this was no longer his problem and he had washed his hands of it.

/-/-/-/-/

Zoro caught on to Luffy’s game about the third time the rubber man tried to slingshot his first mate into the blonde cook. Apparently the reaction he got the first time had been so funny that the captain wanted to see it happen again. Zoro had to admit that he’d never seen anyone turn that shade of red before and it was highly entertaining, however he really had no clue as to why the cook had reacted that way in the first place. They just ended up in a pile with Sanji atop Zoro, not unlike the millions of times in the past that Luffy had knocked them together. Zoro shook his head and tried to avoid the incoming fist that stretched from across the ship. Luffy had gone from being the IT that everyone was supposed to catch to the IT that attacked everyone; a game that seemed to be played a lot more often lately. Soon they would be pulling into port and the game would be over anyway.

Things between them seemed to fall back into the normal range and everyone laughed and joked more than Zoro could remember in a long time. The shitty cook had sent him flying across the deck more than a few times for his insults to the girls and Zoro had taken every opportunity to poke fun at Sanji’s femininity. Daily battles had resumed and it seemed that even the Marines that attacked were in higher spirits. The docks came into sight and Nami shouted for Luffy to stop chasing the reindeer and come help secure the mainsail. Zoro allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he looked out over the crew. It wasn’t perfect, but it was closer than he ever dreamed possible.

Zoro had gone off looking for a blacksmith the moment they weighed anchor as his swords in desperate need of a smithy’s sharpening stone. By nightfall he had found the smithy, but was now hopelessly lost somewhere on the island. Cursing the ground he walked on, Zoro trampled through the underbrush, searching for any type of path that might lead him back to the village. He stumbled and quickly grabbed a hold of a tree to steady himself from falling off the cliff that he had just happened upon. Deciding that it was time for a break anyway, Zoro sat down and leaned against the trunk, letting his eyes close while keeping his other senses on alert for danger. Chopper stumbled into the area about an hour later, worried and shouting.

“Zoro… Zoro…” The sound of his name tugged at the back of his consciousness. “Zoro… Zoro? Where are you?”

Zoro stretched his arms above his head and groaned as the muscles in his back and shoulders relaxed. A shadowy figure began to appear through the edge of the woods and soon a frightened Chopper stood next to him.

“Zoro! I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Nami’s really angry at you for taking off like that. She said that you’re never to go anywhere alone again.” Chopper’s still high voice began to settle as he scolded the swordsman.

The moonlight did little to help guide them on their way through the woods with Zoro’s resting spot seemingly on the opposite side of the island. He dutifully followed the small doctor along the unseen path, regretting that he didn’t currently have his swords with him to help clear the way. The silence began to pull at the edge of his thoughts, making Zoro realize how unusual it was for his furry nakama to be this quiet when they were alone. Usually, Chopper would be talking a mile a minute, the chatter filling the void of the swordsman’s lack of participation. But, tonight the little guy seemed to have something that weighed heavily on his mind, and it made Zoro curious.

“Did something happen in the village?” Zoro’s voice seemed to startle Chopper, the reindeer jumping at the sound.

“Oh. Um, no. Not really.” Chopper lapsed back into his thoughts and Zoro studied the concentrated look on his face for a moment.

“So what didn’t happen?” Zoro wasn’t one to pry, fishing for answers not his style, but the lack of conversation was bugging him. He needed as many things to be back to normal as possible, considering the hell he had just gone through with the cook.

There was a long stretch of silence, making Zoro think he would have to try a different approach, before Chopper turned and looked up at him with intense sincerity. “Do you really not love Sanji?”

Zoro froze, caught between mortification and irony. On one hand it was hilarious that the furry little reindeer thought he could love the cook in the first place. They constantly fought with each other, dishing out insults as equally as hits. Sanji still fawned over women and Zoro would still rather train than develop any social skills. Besides, they were pirates. Love wasn’t a luxury they could allow themselves to dream of.

On the other hand, it worried Zoro what had prompted this discussion in the first place. True, Chopper knew that he and the cook had engaged in sex, but he was sure that he had told the doctor that it wasn’t a relationship. People had sex all the time. It was just another basic function of life. Love wasn’t necessary.

“Chopper it was just sex. He had a problem with sex and shit, but he’s fine now, even went to visit the whore house and came out with his pride still intact. It was never about love.”

“But I thought…” Chopper’s brow furrowed in frustration as he looked up at Zoro. “You don’t just give yourself to anyone, Zoro.”

“He’s nakama, nothing more. What happened was for the good of the crew.” Zoro repeated the phrase over and over in his mind like a mantra, hoping that someone would finally believe him. He began walking again, not caring if he was headed in the right direction or not. Feelings weren’t his area of experience and he wanted to end the discussion immediately.

“Then why were you so upset when he was with someone else?” Chopper called out after him, having climbed atop a small stump to seem taller.

Zoro again stopped, this time though he spun around and stomped back to Chopper and leaned down, getting right in the reindeer’s face. “I don’t give a shit what the fuck that damn cook does. He’s no longer my problem. I swear all of you have lost your damn minds. First Luffy wants me to fix the shitty-cook, then Nami acts like were a couple with marital problems, and now you’re here suggesting that I love the bastard! He was fucked up and about to break. I made a shitty decision and believe me, if I could, I’d go back and change it in an instant. He needs a fucking miracle, not me.”

“Maybe, but you’re all he has.” Chopper’s eyes were filled with sadness as he looked up at Zoro. Not able to take the tidal wave of guilt any longer, Zoro stepped back and stood straight. He looked around the wooded area, feeling as lost inside as he actually was on land. Chopper’s small hoof in his hand brought little comfort, though he knew the doctor was trying his best. “Come on, Zoro. I’ll take you back now.”

They stepped out of the wood a few minutes later, the fields of crops that lay on the outskirts of town now within sight. Zoro’s heavy footfalls on the worn dirt path were peppered with the muffled clack of little hooves as they continued towards the inn. Zoro’s mind kept drifting to Chopper’s words. ‘You’re all he has.’ Sanji had been almost normal since that night, thought Zoro did have to admit that something about seeing the blonde there had brought forth an uneasy feeling in his chest. As far as Zoro was concerned, the cook was as fixed as he was going to get. Apparently the idiot had discovered that he enjoyed having sex with men, and now all that was left was for him to figure out how to keep it under wraps the way Zoro did. Or had, as the case was.

Too many people on the ship knew now, and Zoro wondered if it really mattered anymore. Was it really that bad for people to know that he enjoyed fucking a man rather than a woman? Did it make him less of a man? Zoro swore heatedly at the accusation and assured himself that there was no way he could be considered less than he actually was. His strength had not diminished; his skill was just as sharp and his technique as accurate as always. Being a man had nothing to do with who he slept with. Idly he wondered if Sanji held the same reservations.

He and Chopper entered the inn and headed for their shared room with Luffy. The single bed in the room was plenty large enough for the three of them, but somehow Zoro found himself in a tangle of limbs by morning anyway. The idea of waking up with the cook instead flashed in his mind and Zoro hastily threw off the covers, getting dressed in record time.