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When Zoro’s phone lit up with a freshly received text so did his face. Now he could grimace all he wanted, rest assured Sanji was all alone, if one were to exclude the arachnid’s presence. Why, he could even laugh if he wanted to, such was the relief he felt in his chest. But why?

Zoro wiped the fine trail of sweat stretched across the skin just above his upper lip. How it had gotten there in the first place, he had no clue. Only now did he realise his face was moisty, but instead of taking the drops for nervous sweating and blaming it on the cook and his nerve-wrenching texts, Zoro figured it had to be the night’s natural moist, for he was under a tree in a green area, after all. If this didn’t even make the faintest sense, well, in his defence, Zoro’s neurons were not working full capacity.

Sanji’s texts had really messed with his spirit, and more than he cared to admit or could explain to boot. For the tiniest fraction of time possible, his heart had stopped beating before doubling its usual pace, but he had not noticed the changes. Had he, Zoro would have discovered this change of cardiac rhythm coincided with Sanji’s admitting to having someone over… In Zoro’s bed, as he would reckon. In the end, all Zoro knew was he felt relieved for some reason and wet due to the aforementioned factor.

He smiled and chuckled as he read the text, nerves that had to be tamed anyway masked with that sadistic predisposition he had about Sanji and his bug-related troubles. It was always fun to see the cook lose his shit over the tiny beasts when he was a big man with a potty mouth and a powerful set of legs to go with it. He had no reason to fear any animal big or small, yet the sight of a roach scared the living daylights out of the cook unlike a lion or a bear would - and a lost wild animal wandering about the campus was of course good reason for any student or faculty member to ‘lose it'. Not that Zoro could not see why this critter in specific, the roach, was the stuff nightmares were made of for a cook. Many restaurants got shut down after a single one being sighted, as Sanji had once commented.

Furthermore, Sanji’s SMS language made the giggles all the more guiltless. Calling Zoro ‘hippie’ and ‘Mr. Greenpeace’ sure were rare insults that could only be prompted by a bug-induced panic. In fact, they hardly resulted as insults, even if the words were original for a change. Sanji’s formula when it came to offending his flatmate normally consisted of two components, adjective and noun of course, with the range of choice being limited to “shitty”, “crappy”, the always user-friendly “fucking” and the less usual “bloody”, grouped together against “marimo”, “bastard”, “shithead” and the desperate “swordsman”. 

Others could argue these words were so banal they did not mean much in the speech of nowadays’ youth, which would result in something such as ‘hippie’ constituting an innovation. Zoro, being a man of custom, still preferred the familiar badmouthing. For the record, there was nothing wrong with adopting a lifestyle that was more in tune with nature and detached from complex societies or with caring for the natural world - how could he think otherwise when his academic choice reflected such a view - and Zoro knew better than to take Sanji seriously.

He eyed his smartphone with disdain. 

Of course the cook had loved the bloody things ever since the first one appeared, their entire advertising revolving around how sleek-looking and sophisticated they were, Sanji being quite a sleek and sophisticated man as well. As for the swordsman, he had of course not thought much of the new models, too complex for his taste, sticking to his old brick until the day it had had the audacity of committing suicide right before his eyes, much to Sanji’s approval, for now an updated phone was in order.

Zoro knew that, technically, he could have an eye-to-eye confrontation with his flatmate by making use of the camera, but he doubted he would have signal, reception, or whatever it was called for a smooth communication; and he was not sure he wanted to see that curly eyebrow peeping from under Sanji’s golden hair after getting so inexplicably angry at him. Hence, his cockiness had to remain carried in textual form.

[Text] “Scared of a bug. I thought you were more of a man than that. Guess you fooled me well...”

It would have been really amusing for Zoro to make fun of the situation further and threaten Sanji with keeping the spider, getting it a companion, and wish their ‘leggy’ offspring would find its way onto his wares and into his pots. Walk all over his precious kitchen! However, the threat would take far too many words for him to type with just one hand - he did not share Sanji’s social dexterity - and the supervising ‘adult’ told the ‘kids’ it was time to put their phones away and get back to bed.

A new text from Zoro arrived on Sanji’s phone.

[Text] “Listen,” he wrote even though Sanji could not listen to him at all, not unless he had the habit of hearing voices when reading. “Cook, I have to go now. You see if you survive until I return. Tell the spider he had better treat you right or death’ll come his way”

And send. Sent. And as he looked at the speech bubble ascend in the phone’s screen and the keyboard disappear back to that place it usually lingered at until summoned, Zoro realised his last words to Sanji were something terrifying... He was threatening a spider for Sanji? Telling it to behave around the cook or else...! Shit, that had to be the dumbest fucking thing he’d ever said in his life and Zoro reckoned he’d said some stupid stuff as a stupid kid before learning better.

Sanji ought to be laughing at that and Zoro did not condemn him, even if the thought made his blood boil and his cheeks go red. Who even sent death threats to animals as to defend adult men who were not only able to defend themselves, but also capable of crushing the critter with naught more than a shoe or a rolling pin? It was a pathetic ‘prince charming’ act - and it was a good thing the words ‘prince charming’ didn’t occur to Zoro, otherwise he would have barfed. 

Anyway... There was nothing he could do now. There was no ‘unsend’ button and no matter how many times he pressed a nervous thumb against the screen, the speech bubble remained there, with its provoking timestamp and ‘delivered’ notice.

Everyone was getting up and returning their phones to the teacher. So did Zoro, taking an extra moment to wipe his ass should Sanji’s usually quick fingers work their magic to type him a ‘goodbye’ and - and for this Zoro would judge him hard if he didn’t - words of mockery. If the damned cook wanted to have the final word, now was the time to do it.

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter  

Sanji was waiting impatiently, fidgeting around under the blanket unable to stay put. Zoro needed to learn to type faster, this was turning into psychological warfare. With nothing to do, Sanji threw his phone from one hand into the other, he spun it around on his leg, peeled it out of its protective cover, snapping it back inside just to peel it out again. Rinse and repeat.

When Zoro finally wrote back, the message was filled with threats. Sanji frowned at the Marimo’s warning not to touch his shit. Well, he had already claimed Zoro’s bed but seeing as that had turned into something of a grey zone, it probably didn’t count. Otherwise Sanji really wasn’t interested in sneaking around and looking through Zoro’s stuff.

What really caught his attention was that Zoro was considering not to kill the creepy spider, spouting some Zen bullshit as the reason. Even if he was probably only teasing him, just the thought that he’d somehow had to get rid of that thing himself made Sanji’s insides churn.

Sanji was in the middle of furiously typing his reply when a second message arrived. Keeping a spider as a pet?! What a sick thought. The scary thing was that Sanji could absolutely imagine Zoro being the type to actually do it. He shuddered, deleted his message and started anew.

[Text] “Oh no, don’t even start that hippie shit with me. I don’t care if you don’t want to kill bugs in the forest, do what you want there Mr. Greenpeace. That monster already is the damn size of a tarantula and no it won’t go well with any of these rooms, it’s a fucking intruder and you will kill it!”

Ah well, this wasn’t the most dignified text he had ever written, his desperation clearly shining through. Pouting, Sanji read over his reply again. When it came to these creepy crawlers he was at Zoro’s mercy and the damn Marimo knew it.

Sanji was considering throwing in a bribe like a good bottle of sake or something, but that would only make Zoro even more smug. Begrudgingly he sent off the message as it was. In his mind Sanji could already see that cocky grin of Zoro’s that he always had the urge to kick off, though his brain this time came up with an alternative action to wipe that grin off of Zoro’s lips, something including his own mouth…

Turning over, Sanji dove face first into the pillow, groaning into the fabric, though it sounded more like a whine. He really needed an off switch for his brain, this was hell.

[pxratehunter-blog]

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SHIMOMURA Kanzan（下村観山 Japanese, 1873-1930）

Autumn among trees   木の間の秋　1907   via

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happy birthday, @blackleg5932 ♥

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Zoro waited and waited for a reply, getting angrier by the second. He could not understand what kind of sick game that cook was playing. If Sanji was indeed getting sexually involved with another person, why then did he bother to answer that one 'hey' and proceed with the conversation? How bored did a person have to be?

Zoro might have laughed at the idea of an incredibly neutral Sanji merely allowing his partner to do their business while he checked his social media if the premise - Sanji, using Zoro's time out in order to bring someone over for casual sex - didn't upset him so much for some reason. Maybe because doing so would constitute a break in their trust?

At any rate, it just did not make sense. While Sanji was - he reckoned - free to take whoever he wanted to the flat unless it disturbed Zoro, the cook would not give himself the trouble of choosing a day when he was home alone as though he were a teenager and Zoro were the parent who was out of town.

No. If Sanji wanted to have someone over, he would sooner do it and tell the 'fucking shit for brains gorilla' to suck it. He owed nothing to no one. Zoro knew it. Just like he owed nothing to Sanji, even if encounters of the kind being debated were far from being his thing.

Plus, and to close the mental parentheses, using their phone while in bed with another person was something that just didn't sound right. It sounded rude and Sanji, annoying as he was and full of shit as he was, would not do it.

That being settled, there was still plenty for Zoro to be angry about. Maybe Sanji was not having intercourse yet and that was why he was replying to his angry friend. Maybe he felt hinting at the end of his night was a good way to get on Zoro's nerves if he couldn't use physical proximity or the domestic context as excuses.

Then, Zoro thought of his bed and decided Sanji would never put another person in it. That, too, did not make the cook's - and damn that cook! - style. He would either spend the evening accompanied in his own room or alone in his roommate's, which was the way things should be.

Out of everything he owned, Zoro's capacity to be rational might be his most prized possession. Even if he was a bit thick at times and had that penchant for getting lost, he was highly intelligent and needed to be rational so as to allow his mind to be in tune with his body. That was his philosophy.

Now, though, sticking to sense and logic was proving difficult and Sanji's next text did not make it any easier, every new piece of information a crescendo of rage in Zoro's heart until he reached the 'eight-legged' part.

Until then, Sanji's petulance in not learning a name like only his casual encounter mattered was annoying; him telling Zoro could meet the guy - no, the girl, damn it! Remember, Zoro, that Sanji likes women - on Sunday. So was Zoro supposed to come home to his friend and his lover bo- girl?!

Sanji could be a woman, he could be with a man but regardless of a person's sex they could only have two legs, not eight. Reading the rest of the text, Zoro recalled Sanji's sissy fear of bugs and understood everything even before Sanji expected it.

Back to simple man with a simple mind mode, Zoro accepted Sanji's explanation as true and did not think it was a pathetic excuse to mask his true company and whatever activities they were doing together - even if going from hinting at getting laid to talking of a spider trapped in a glass was a ridiculous route however you looked at it.

Zoro took his time writing all he wanted to say to Sanji. Well, not all.

[Text] "Enjoy it while you can. Soon I'll be home and my things had better be how I left them or you're fucked with me, cook. Maybe I won't get rid of the spider this time. Now that I am surrounded by nature, I see we shouldn't kill bugs" 

It was a lovely thought but the truth was Zoro never killed the bugs that grossed Sanji so much unless it could not be avoided - like with really small insects. He would talk of killing them but would secretly free them outside. But he couldn't tell that to Sanji, could he? That he, Roronoa Zoro, would rather walk outside and free whatever several-legged creature he had inside a cup or box than just squash it against a wall or table and have Sanji snap at him for being a pig.

If Sanji learnt that, he would acquire yet another reason to make fun of the marimo. The official version was that Zoro was a merciless bug killer. It fit the cook's idea of him much better anyway, or so the swordsman thought.

[Text] "I might keep the spider. Maybe it will grow the size of a tarantula. Wouldn't it go well in my room?"

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter  

He was sure that Zoro would not answer that stupid text, what was there to answer? Either the Marimo understood the implication and thought Sanji had a sexual partner over and would leave him be or he thought he had some friends for a visit and would probably take that as it was as well.

Sanji normally considered himself pretty smart but this was the dumbest thing he had done in a while. He snuggled up under the blanket, pouting that he had effectively killed the conversation. Not that they had much to talk about but the bed was really too spacious and lonely without the muscled idiot and he had felt a little closer to Zoro through their stupid texts.

The notification sound came in and his phone was still vibrating when Sanji grabbed it with lightning speed. His eyes widened in shock at the short question, especially the chosen pronoun. Did Zoro know he was bi? Had he been found out? Why did he default to a male pronoun? Before all of these questions could run through his mind a second text arrived, correcting ‘he’ with ‘she’ as a presumed typo.

Sanji blinked confused. Zoro was not asking which of their friends was over, that was for sure, he’d definitely phrased that differently. But it was highly unusual for the swordsman to inquire who it was that Sanji was allegedly bedding right now. Or has he seen through his ruse and this was his way to make the cook admit he was indeed alone?

Well no matter the intention behind the curious question, Sanji knew that he did not want to make up a random name, more importantly he just did not want to lie to Zoro, period. Chewing on his lower lip, Sanji considered what he could write. ‘Nobody is here, dumbass, I just wanted to see how you react’ would be honest, yes, but really not the best idea. It had the potential for some dangerous follow-up questions.

Remembering an unpleasant encounter he had had earlier that evening, Sanji decided to take that memory and use it has his cop-out for the situation.

[Text] “I don’t know his or her name, asking them that wasn’t really a priority of mine. If you are so curious you can ask them yourself tomorrow. I’m confident you will find that eight-legged monster still under the glass on the living room floor, where I have left it, whenever you return.”

Sanji shuddered just remembering that moment of horror of discovering the big-ass spider, running to the kitchen to grab the biggest glass he owned and the terrifying moment when he could not find it again, before he saw it slowly crawling over the wooden floor. He almost gagged when he managed to slam the glass over the creature without half crushing it. As much as he hated spiders and bugs, crushing them was even more disgusting especially when they were huge. He normally let Zoro take care of those things or if they were tiny and slow enough, he himself dared to trap them under a cup or something, shove a piece of paper under it and throw them out of the closest window. This spider though was definitely a Zoro category. Sanji had managed to trap it and that was already quite a feat, touching it, even with a piece of paper as a shielding layer inbetween, was out of question. That spider was big and looked heavy and just imagining to feel that weight on his palm gave him goosebumps.

[Text] “You gotta get rid of that thing as soon as you’re back. Just knowing that it is there in the living room gives me the creeps. And here I had been looking forward to a nice weekend on my own. That creature belongs in a forest with all its disgusting little bug friends and a moss monster, like you.”

He was babbling. Reading these big texts would probably piss off Zoro even more. But Sanji needed that exchange and he hoped he had managed to defuse his dumb and dangerous text from before. Normal interactions was what he was aiming for, well, as normal as things got for Zoro and him.

[pxratehunter-blog]

Zoro felt surprised at himself and how fast he had typed and, as quickly as it had come, that feeling left and was replaced  by censorship of the self: it was hardly a case for admiration or pride.

Sanji was probably all laughs now, giving himself a bellyache, and all because he knew he had managed to annoy his flatmate who was distant and had trouble typing on that small keyboard! Zoro could just see him, curled up on a bed which was not his, rolling himself left and right, hands clutching the phone.

Somehow Zoro knew it was in his bed that Sanji was spending the night. Had he not come to conquer the space already? It was as though the bastard had no room of his own! Of course this prospect made Zoro angry - it seemed he was experiencing many feelings and expressing the same amount of emotions for one single day - but not because Sanji was in his room.

It was the idea that Sanji was in his room, partying without him that drove the survival expert mad.

And so, and while he had just rolled his eyes at being asked about the efficiency of his old and only trick, Sanji’s latest message did not sit well with Zoro.

He wasn’t alone? What did he mean by that? Zoro’s best side - the calm one, the wise one, the superior one - told him that the cook probably meant he was having one of their friends as a guest, if not more than one - Sanji would never throw a party for the entire gang and leave Zoro out on purpose; he was not that petty or mean, for that matter, but maybe Luffy and/or Usopp were with him, playing video games and asking Sanji to provide them with homemade snacks.

For all it’s worth, in his core, Zoro considered Sanji to be the kindest man he had ever met. He may not be able to spot this beautiful trait of the cook’s on their own relationship for most of the time but he could see it in the way Sanji socialized with others.

 He was always read to offer a cup of tea whenever one of their friends had a problem, like it was the first step of action. He was always ready to give his lunch to a hungry woman or child. Even stray animals had their chance at tasting exquisite cuisine if Sanji had anything to say about it - it wasn’t much, it wasn’t the same as adopting an animal or give it a home, but it was still providing it with a good moment in its life and a good memory some might even cherish, for one day, a human had been so kind to them.

Zoro tried to pay attention to the voice in his head that said it was probably it - Luffy, Usopp or both. It made perfect sense for Sanji to ask them to want some company. Zoro didn’t even classify it as backstabbing, considering he was not home.

Yet, being wise was proving impossible. In his imagination, more than being laughing his ass off alone in his new bed, there was another man laughing with him, laughing at the cook’s stupid marimo!

Why a man, though? Wouldn’t it make more sense for Sanji to be with a woman? Zoro’s brain must be really fucked up for him to make such a mistake. Sanji liked women... There was no way he liked men.

Zoro messed his short hair as though doing so would whip the stupid thoughts away. For the time being, there was not enough clarity on his mind for him to understand that even in his angry imagination it was his desire he was projecting.

Whatever. Man or woman, he couldn’t go back to pictuing their friends. The person’s gender did not change the fact that all Zoro could think now was that Sanji was using his absence to get some action - and that felt like a  betrayal, even more so if Sanji and his lover were having sex on Zoro’s bed.

Sanji’s stupid face was not laughing anymore bur rather going through a myriad of faces very expressive of the pleasure he was feeling, muted moans escaping his mouth. That stupid face was all Zoro could see and thank whatever for that. He did not want to visualise the whole scene.

He wanted to get up and go for a walk, returning his phone to the staff and go find himself a place to sleep. He resisted the urge to get up, though, knowing fully well he would not retrieved his phone again the moment he gave it back.

Well then! If Zoro couldn’t shake his anger away, let him channel it to the device in his hand and let it reach that fucking impossible cook. Let his perfect night be ruined, pretty much like Zoro felt now.

In anger and with a sniff that sounded both scornful and sad, Zoro sent another text, only to correct himself a few seconds later, more or less like Sanji had done before.

[Text] “Who is he?”

[Text] “She*?”

Oh shit! Was he some fucking schoolgirl to type such things. This green-haired man could not be Zoro!

It wasn’t. Zoro was collected and while he had a bit of temper there was a lot he could endure without being truly emotional. He could not feel jealousy! But this side of him was also genuine, part of the real Zoro, awakening only now. He was still a man and could be jealous at the end of the day.

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter 

Sanji was now completely rolled up on Zoro’s bed. Forgotten was the task to just snatch his pillow and return to his own room. If it was such a breach of privacy, well, Zoro never had to know about it. And quite frankly, Sanji’s mind was still whirring with the discovery of some new and disturbing feelings for the Marimo to actually care about that. He was trying really hard not to freak out but it’s not exactly good news to fall for your definitely uninterested friend that you share your living situation with. Urgh!

Staring at the phone, it felt frustratingly long to wait for an answer. Maybe he was just impatient, ok not maybe, he definitely was the very definition of impatient right now. Zoro wasn’t a man of many words especially not in text form as his initial message so perfectly illustrated. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Marimo was already napping, he had probably just snorted at Sanji’s message and saw the conversation as done.

Sanji kept fiddling with his phone, randomly flicking through his photo gallery, deleting a few blurry ones, hoping for Zoro to answer. When his phone vibrated with the incoming message, he almost dropped it in surprise, his heart thudding hard against his ribcage. This was so ridiculous. Groaning, Sanji promised himself to get that stupid heart palpitation issue under control, or else he’d die within the first hours of Zoro’s return.

With luck, though, it would actually get better as soon as his flatmate was back at home. Maybe Sanji’s stupid romantic inclinations took to this physical separation thing and messed with his brain chemistry. Looking at the message, Sanji grinned to himself. Jerk. Yeah, as soon as the dumbass was around him again he’d get over this silly crush, it was Zoro after all.

Blissfully ignoring the fact that he was currently withdrawn in Zoro’s room, in his bed actually, typing fast to keep the conversation going, Sanji kept clinging to the notion that this was just some weird, unfortunate fad that he’d just have to work though. It was easier to stay more or less sane that way.

[Text] “Why should I learn a new trick when the old one still works so well to piss you off?”

Sanji hit send again, waited a second and then wrote another message on a whim.

[Text] “And who says I’m alone?”

As soon as that was sent off though, Sanji regretted it. What the fuck did he mean by that? That was such a stupid tease, as if Zoro cared if Sanji had someone over or not, even though it was fairly obvious that he was indeed alone, would he otherwise bother to hang on his phone and text with Zoro if he had company?!

Oh god, was this some weird shtick to get Zoro jealous?! Sanji pressed his face into the pillow, it would have been the perfect time to scream in embarrassment. He suddenly wasn’t so sure he wanted that conversation to keep going on.

[pxratehunter-blog]

Now there was nothing but to wait. Finding himself a place to sit with his back resting against a tree trunk, Zoro kept his phone in his hand, eyes travelling from the time on the upper right corner to the absence of notifications on the bottom. No one had called or texted him since that last flood of worried messages from his classmates. Good.

But should he really wait, though? There was no guarantee Sanji would reply or check his text at all! Well, now that he gave it some thought, Zoro figured it would be hard for his friend to miss the damn thing when he spent so much time on social media and all that - according to the swordsman, to whom thirty minutes of fingertips against screens and keyboards was far too much time for any person to waste on such things.

Sanji would see the text. As for replying, the odds of him doing so were low. Why would Sanji lose time in replying the ‘shitty’ roommate of his when he could direct his attention at Nami and Robin and their trouble at the digital profile of someone else he fancied? Why waste time on...him?

Zoro exhaled loudly as though he had just been insulted and took a look around, the phone’s screem now off. Everyone else's fingers were feverishly dancing the samba on their phone’s keyboards as though their lives depended on it. It was enough for him to think them all idiots but he didn’t - Zoro was cocky but it was not like he was a complete asshole.

A generic notifcation noise brought his attention back to his screen, now glowing. With the name ‘Cook’ on it. There was nothing wrong with using Sanji’s own name in the contacts list but Zoro preferred to identify him with his career for what if Sanji ever picked up his phone? It was not like Zoro would not let his friend borrow it in case there was an emergency or of his own phone died out of being used so often. Then, how would Zoro explain having the name ‘Sanji’ on his list?

A tingly feeling took control of Zoro and, had the received message been different, he would have understood it to be joy. Instead, Zoro couldn’t help but snapping at Sanji’s text but because of the insulting joke - that fucking shit was too long! It would take him forever to type his reply!

Didn’t the fucking annoying, useless, bitchy and handsome cook know he was smartphone-challenged? 

Wait a minute... Handsome?

Anger at admitting Sanji’s beauty even if only to himself helped Zoro type faster than he ever would on a neutral mood.

[Text] “Not lost, sorry to disappoint. Why don’t you use your time alone to learn something new? That shit is getting old”

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter  

Sanji kept standing in front of the door for a while after it hat already clunked shut. He felt oddly lost and very confused. Snapping himself out of it, ‘cause staring at a door was not very productive, Sanji decided to return to bed for a little longer, it was still pretty early in the morning.

It turned out that that wasn’t such a great plan. Sanji had already slept longer than usual and wasn’t able to fall back asleep anymore. While before the bed had felt nicely warm and comfortable for him to spread out on as soon as Zoro had his ass off the mattress, it was now somehow too big and cold.

With a huff, Sanji rolled out of it again, straightened the sheets and went to the bathroom to freshen up for the day. Afterwards he made a plentiful breakfast all for himself. Deciding to get rid of the extra calories through some exercise, Sanji skipped the shower he had wanted to take and postponed it to later in the day, preferably right after his work-out.

Doing some sport was a fantastic idea for the day. The weather was nice and getting out of the apartment would probably make time fly by faster than staying indoors. Not that there was a particular reason he wanted the day to be over, after all it was finally the weekend and time to relax from last week’s stress, right? Right…

So Sanji changed into his jogging outfit, grabbed his smartphone and earphones, keys and a bottle of water and left the house. Putting some music on his phone, he started with a short jog to the park close to campus as a warm-up. It was a really modern fitness park with all kinds of outdoor equipment that could be used by people of any age. Sanji started out by stretching thoroughly, then went onto the balance beams.

He did some flips, forwards and backwards and took his time to work a bit on his balance and flexibility. It wasn’t the first time that he was thinking about taking up his morning yoga routine again. He had let that slide a bit thanks to his current schedule, but maybe he could just do the exercises in the evening instead. Sanji really liked to stay fit and would also really love to go swimming again. Maybe he could work something out with a friend from uni who had wanted to recruit him to the university’s swimming team at the beginning of the semester. Sanji wasn’t too keen on spending more money that he didn’t have on such activities but he couldn’t deny that he was itching to do some laps in the pool.

When the park was filling up with more people, Sanji decided to start on his run. After a couple of laps around campus, his feet carried him to a more secluded route along a forest path. On a park bench, he took a break at one point, drinking water and stretching his muscles to stay warm. With his hands on his hips, looking up into the foliage of the tree crowns around him, Sanji tried to focus on his breathing. The air was nice, the sun mild and flashing through the treetops and the earthy smell reminded him of Zoro.

Zoro, who right now probably was wandering through a much bigger, thicker and wilder forest. At the thought of the damn Marimo, Sanji’s heartrate picked up again. Great, he had just calmed down. Their goodbye from this morning sprang into his mind and a sick feeling twisted his stomach when he remembered what his subconsciousness had almost made him do. Oh yeah, he had figured it out that very moment but was too stunned to process it. Shit, Sanji had almost leaned in to kiss his friend goodbye.

This was not good, he really didn’t want to think about it. Feeling his face heating up and hearing the sound of his heartbeat hammering in his head, Sanji plopped the earphones back in and put on some music again, turning the volume up to drown out any stupid thoughts. He continued his run at a faster pace than he normally would have just to give his heart a better reason to pound so fast.

When he returned home, Sanji was really beat, drenched in his sweat and super hungry. He definitely had worked off the extra calories from his opulent breakfast and then some. After some cooling down it was high time for that shower. The warm water flowed over his body and relaxed his strained muscles a bit. Having overexerted himself quite some in the second half of that workout, Sanji was now paying for his stupidity with his whole body aching.

When he was finished, all clean and back into comfortable clothing, it was already way past lunch time. His stomach was growling now and it soured Sanji’s mood quite a bit. He normally eat regularly in order to not get too hungry at one point. An empty stomach was still something he hated a lot and it lowkey stressed him out, despite the knowledge that he was indeed not starving and could quickly get something to eat.

Despite his hunger, Sanji did not rush himself and took his time to throw together a fulfilling meal. He could do something light for dinner later to compensate for the hearty meal now. Every now and then, his mind wandered to Zoro, wondering what he was doing right now and then forcing himself not to think about his flatmate any further. The dishes were done quickly and with the apartment clean and the fridge still filled with enough food there wasn’t much left to do concerning housework.

Leaving his smartphone aside to charge, Sanji plopped down on his bed with his laptop, noticing too late that his big fluffy pillow was still in Zoro’s bed. Too lazy to get his weary bones to move and pick it up, he found other ways to make himself comfortable, Sanji’s blanket made for a great substitute pillow when piled up.

In the evening, a little later than normally thanks to his super late ‘lunch’, Sanji made himself a salad and decided to go through some yoga figures to loosen up a bit again as he could feel his muscles straining still. He was not able to focus very well, though, his mind wandering off to Zoro more and more and that pissed himself off. He stopped after three figures.

Shit, there was no way to escape that Zoro issue no matter how much he wanted to. Sanji threw a wary glance towards his flatmate’s room door. He had yet to retrieve his pillow, but weirdly enough it now felt wrong to just walk into his friend’s room without him being around. The past couple of nights it had come to feel so natural…too natural, Sanji now realized and buried his face in his hands with a groan. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Shit, shit, shit!

A message notification sound from his phone pinged through the empty apartment and Sanji returned to his room to unplug his phone from the charger, it had long since fully charged. A message from Zoro was displayed on the screen. Perfect timing for his mental crisis to be disturbed by the very reason for that mental crisis.

Sanji rolled his eyes at the message, so very typically Zoro. One syllable and non-informative, a simple ‘hey’. And yet the fact that he had deemed to message Sanji at all made something in his chest flutter. Oh god, he was already behaving like a teenaged girl with a crush. And that was the whole issue here, really, that it was indeed a crush the cook had developed for his friend. So much for appreciating Zoro’s body for pure aesthetics. Bullshit.

Sanji stared down at his mobile phone, his mind blank or rather filled with chaos. He should answer. No witty reply came to his fingertips though. Geez, if he was this awkward with typing messages already it would be a real field-trip to be in Zoro’s company again after this stupid realization of his stupid crush on his stupid friend.

Sanji paced his room, once, twice, then walked over to Zoro’s room. Fuck it, he’d get his pillow and be out there in 3 seconds. Yet when he reached the other bed, Sanji just sat down on it, not reaching for his pillow, but typing a reply instead.

[Text] “Hey yourself, moss-man. Did you actually make it to your meeting point or are you lost somewhere in a strange city? If it’s the latter I’m not coming to pick you up.”

Not super witty but an easy joke to always fall back on, Zoro’s sense of direction - or lack thereof rather - was a staple joke of their banter. Sanji hit send and pulled his legs onto the bed, staring at his screen and waiting for a reply nervously. Interactions with Zoro both riled him up and calmed him down at once, it was the same now yet on a completely different level. Fuck, why did it have to be Zoro? This could not end well. Just his luck.

But Sanji had one more day to compose himself and it was just a silly crush, surely he could work through it. He had gotten over plenty of other crushes before.

[pxratehunter-blog]

There was not much for Zoro to busy himself with before leaving for the meeting point on campus where his fellow classmates, as well as other students from the course who had not yet been given the grade they needed to pass the practical subject while they had advanced on to furher subjects on the curriculum, would meet and await the bus which had been specially hired to take them to the woods. 

Getting there was not part of the class, a benefit Zoro was blissfully and unconsciously thankful for... otherwise the weekend might very well come to pass with him never getting to the woods in the first place.

Hygiene was the most important thing, yet, it was quickly dealt with. If Zoro always managed to get ready in less than half an hour for a class or some social event, what sense would it make to waste more time getting clean for an activity of which getting dirty was a big part?

Similarly, the young man did not see the point of eating breakfast. He had to be the only one - surely his classmates would be stuffing themselves before the trial, whether as a necessity or whimsy, already missing their breakfast cereal and industrial pancakes - ready for consumption, just add syrup or the jam of your choice!

Zoro saw things differently. In his way of understanding things, the survival weekend had started the moment that alarm clock had beeped him out of sleep, the bus ride being a mere formality. It was not like there would be a warning shot to let the students know things would be real from that moment on and until the designated time on Sunday.

So it was that, instead of wasting his time with long showers and fine breakfast - creature comforts - Zoro took as much time as he could spare practicing meditation in the middle of the living room. It was as important an exercise as any workout routine and an activity he appreciated simply by itself.

As anyone would guess, Zoro did not known Latin. Yet, they would be surprised to know it wasn't like he did not know any Latin, as he knew his mens sana in corpore sano very well.

The cook was still asleep when he returned to the room, now hogging the bed and its warmth of all things! What a clown... The faintest shadow of a smile played on Zoro's lips for a second or two before he got dressed in a palette of earthly tones which, ought to be said, complemented his hair colour very well, and sat on the bed so as to clad his feet in hiking boots.

It would seem the swordsman would leave without bidding his friend goodbye. Zoro did not want to do that. Even if it was a matter of... education, or whatever it was, it did not feel decent to leave the guy he shared his life with without a short, simple and effective 'bye' in the least.

Leaning a bit over Sanji and stretching his index finger, Zoro was about to poke the cook and bark his goodbye when he thought otherwise. There was something odd about waking up Sanji after sleeping with him - oops, next to him - and Zoro figured life would either wake the cook for him or leave him be and thus decide things. Maybe he should leave a handwritten note on the fridge, secured with a magnet? Yes, it may be a nice solution if Sanji insisted on spending some more time in dream land.

But he didn't. Sanji woke up the moment Zoro was grabbing his duffle bag, the very final task before walking through the main door, and there was some joy about this, about not having to leave a note behind. Zoro all but grunted a 'get back to sleep' as though leaving for two days was no big deal, as if it happened all the time or - and it was no lie - he had no satisfaction to give Sanji other than a goodbye, even one in guise of telling him to sleep some more.

Stubborn as always, as though he felt he had to get up on the mere principle Zoro had told him not to, Sanji followed his friend to the door, his fast mouth already spitting provocations even though his brain had just turned itself on for the day. Could Sanji really have no filter between his brain and his mouth and nag that easily?

Zoro listened to the words and grimaced at the cook. It didn't look dark or threatening this time, but rather playful a grimace, if such was even possible. "Worried about me, Cook? Don't be. I'm not dying and letting you inherit my shit" Not that there was much to inherit when the accommodation was the university's and not their own. 

This was it. Despite his resolution that there was no need for further goodbyes, Zoro felt there was something he should do, but what? Sanji was in front of him, looking either eager or anxious to see his marimo out of his face for a while, yet seeing him in that state did not press Zoro's nerves. Maybe a touch on the shoulder would do?

Sanji was acting strange now, his body moving forward just a few centimetres and back again in the same spot. Hadn't Zoro known better, he might have thought the cook was tipsy. 

With a final glance, Zoro was gone.

What happened then was both boring and exciting. Zoro met his classmates and found out they were too nervous and trying to play cool to bother him with last minute questions and doubts, which he, of course, appreciated. Why, he was still able to feel the tension in that bus as it roared and went about its route and that did get on his nerves a bit, but it was better than turning the vehicle into a mobile hen house.

A single teacher had gone with them. He reminded the class once again of why they were there, what they should and shouldn't do and what they were expected to do, as there was a task cheatsheet for him to know how well the students had done in this original class. After all, who was to say a student couldn't just sit their butt near a tree and get a more or less easy grade after doing some starving while waiting for the bus with nothing more to it?

The woods had been prepared to receive the students - not that any trees had been cut down or anything like it - but some crucial points had been signalled in accordance with their instructions. It was a game. It was a challenge.

Zoro was a natural at everything. When he started to feel thirsty, he found a natural stream that run somewhere through the woods rather than search after one of the spots where 'emergency' water had been left for the students, as water was so vital and no teacher wanted to take the 'survival' part of the weekend to its full meaning. 

His canteen full of water, Zoro checked the list. The students had been given disposable cameras so they could photograph certain items - any phone had a camera but phones were, of course, not allowed - and there were other elements of flora they had to collect. At night, they would gather at a meeting point where they would be given their phones back for a while and be allowed to call home if they wished to do so and leave their parents well rested. Other than that, it was up to each student to find their meal and their own sleeping arrangements, points based on creativity.

Zoro's biggest challenge was finding a certain tree species which, according to the folio he'd been given during the briefing, grew in the northern part of the woods. Of course... the marimo had to have trouble finding North! Zoro recalled the moss trick he could use to find his direction but, when he did, he got so mad at imagining Sanji making fun of him and the great tome of jokes that could be made about how he should not trust his brethren or how he had travelled far just to visit his lost cousins. 

Well, at least the moss trick was not that accurate anyway...

Students could hunt, as long as they did so responsibly, but it was not food Zoro missed and yes booze, so he just recalled Chopper's talks on fungi and browsed edible ones he could fashion a soup with, now Sanji's voice being the one filling his head with instructions, as Zoro would pay attention to his friend describe his kitchen work more often and with more attention than he would ever admit. 

Thanks to both, and to his own knowledge on how to make a small fire, Zoro dined mushroom soup and left the clearing as he'd found it, the fire responsibly put out and the small pan and spoon he'd taken quickly rinsed in canteen water - he'd need to fetch some more later.

A significant part of the students had already gathered when Zoro met them. This was one of the few spots where they had network coverage and already excited thumbs caressed glass screen protectors as though staying away from their smartphones was the true survival test for these kids.

Zoro withdrew his phone and stared at the screen. He had no one to talk to. Sure, he had all his friends but it wasn't like he couldn't talk to them about the weekend back on Monday. So what could he do with his phone? Tweet?

More or less... Feeling inspired, Zoro sent a text to his flatmate, imagining Sanji shouldn't be too happy to hear he had not gotten lost or been eaten by night predators.

[Text] "Hey"

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter 

The movie night ended calmly, Sanji had managed to collect himself at one point and actually managed to follow the plot again until the credits. Afterwards, though, when the adrenaline from the action decreased, he found himself pretty tired. Sanji shut off the laptop and put it aside.

When Zoro left the bed for a quick trip to the bathroom, Sanji slipped under the blanket, fluffing up his pillow and making himself comfortable. By now this weirdly new routine felt pretty natural, more natural than their previous, separated sleeping arrangements actually. If Sanji had been a bit more awake, this thought would’ve definitely been something to scrutinize and maybe then he would have realized why exactly this felt so good.

But his thought process had already been shut off for the day, Sanji only managed to wish Zoro a good night before he snuggled deeper into the bedding, comforted by the dip of the mattress on the Marimo’s side.

Sleep claimed him fast and carried him into the morning of the next day.

Friday was the usual pain in the ass as the last day before the weekend that every student longed for, well, every student that did not have one of those long-ass weekend classes or people like Zoro who actually looked forward to those extra curricula activities. Granted, some nature time sounded more alluring than 8 hours indoor class time on Saturday and Sunday each. Sanji was actually glad that he did not have that, though some special cooking courses next semester might change that up for him soon.

So far still, the weekends were a time to look forward to for Sanji. Surprisingly he had a pretty good day with all of his courses being exceptionally interesting today in a weird coincidence, maybe his good mood helped a lot too, as he felt pretty energized and relaxed. Apart from the beginning of the week, he did have some pretty relaxing nights in a row. Oh what wonders being well-rested could do to the body and mind!

Sanji spent the afternoon doing some homework, using his high energy level of the day to be super productive and when evening came around he withdrew to the kitchen to work on dinner, the special last-filling-high-calorie-survival-weekend-farewell meal for Zoro!

He had a lot of fun cooking it and made plenty so that the Marimo could eat a lot and stay full for a long time. When he was finished with the dinner preparations, Sanji kept the food heated until Zoro would arrive and busied himself with cleaning his workspace.

When Zoro finally returned home he looked like he had gone through hell, probably didn’t have quite as good a day as Sanji had. The cook remembered that Zoro once told him his classmates would tend to panic and annoy him before each of those practical sessions they did. For once, Sanji bit back any cheeky remark and refrained from riling up his friend even more, instead leading him to the table to serve the freshly made food.

It was a quiet dinner, Zoro was obviously tired from the day and put all of his rest energy into eating. And a good eater he was, Sanji had expected there to be more leftovers afterwards but he felt oddly satisfied that Zoro had such a big appetite for his last proper meal of the foreseeable future.

The rest of the evening went by uneventful. By nighttime, Sanji found that his feet automatically carried him towards Zoro’s room as soon as he was leaving the bathroom. His pillow was still on the bed from the previous night and he slid right back into what was now ‘his side’ of Zoro’s bed.

Saturday morning came early. Sanji noticed when Zoro got up and left the room but refused to wake up already so he kept dozing for a while. There was nothing to do for him anyways, the bathroom was occupied and there was no breakfast to prepare. At least not for the Marimo, who would leave for his bus in a while. Sanji blinked his eyes open, cursing the early hour when he spied the time on the clock on the nighttable. It was the weekend, he could and should sleep in for once. He grumbled and turned around, facing the empty side of the bed. Scooting more towards the middle of the mattress, he snuggled right into the still warm space that Zoro had left. Ah, to have the whole bed to himself!

Somehow that relaxed Sanji so much that the blond fell back asleep, only waking when Zoro made some noise by picking up his duffle bag. Sanji sat up. He hadn’t even heard him enter the room again.

“Leaving already?” Had he slept that long?! It felt like he had only closed his eyes for five minutes. Damn. Zoro told him to just keep sleeping but Sanji swung his legs out of the bed. It would feel wrong to not at least say goodbye to his flatmate. That wasn’t a sentiment he openly admitted to though.

“Nawww, I slept long enough and I gotta take a piss anyways…”

Tiredly rubbing his eyes, not able to suppress a yawn, Sanji lumbered after Zoro on his bare feet. He followed him towards the door. “You got everything? Ready to survive?” Sanji drew his fingers through his bed hair to tame it a little. “Are you sure you’ll find the bus…..?” Grinning, he pre-emptively dodged out of the way in case a punch was coming towards him.

“Well then, mountain man, have fun surviving and don’t forget to send me a sign of life inbetween, just so that I’ll know if I have to look for a new flatmate or not….” Besides all the jesting it started to feel a little lonely already, which was bullshit as their separation was only until the next evening or night rather with Zoro’s orientation skills. Seriously, how he always found his way out of those forests was a real mystery.

It was time for Zoro’s departure and Sanji suddenly felt the urge to lean forward but caught himself before he could do it, he might have twitched into his friend’s direction a little. But this simple action immediately blew any lingering sleepiness right out of Sanji, who was now wide awake and a bit confused at his sped up heart rate and a spreading heat on his face. Had he been that tired that he had lost his balance? Not likely. Zoro and Sanji also were not known to hug each other frequently so that wasn’t what he had intended to do either, it was more like….almost like he had wanted to-….

Zoro opened the door and stepped outside and the threshold suddenly felt like a big chasm between them.

[pxratehunter-blog]

Fortunately for Sanji, safeguarding his best interests and, truth be told, luckily for Zoro and his own interests as well, the mosshead hardly paid attention to his friend's shenanigans for the rest of the movie. 

Looking at Zoro, it made perfect sense that a man like him would be enthralled by a movie of the kind, brutish and not that smart - but those who knew him people such as Sanji, might ask themselves how that worked when Zoro was an incredibly smart person under his primitive looks. How could someone who moved forward in life through challenges, either decided by himself or by fate, get his kicks out of so non-challenging a story?

Yet, there was something in the simple, logical things that was of interest to Zoro. There was a simple logic to challenges and obstacles as well: you win or your lose, you'll still have to work your ass off and reach next level either way.

The end credits finally appearing - and that was the part Zoro didn’t care for, as he did not follow the names in the movie industry and thus had no interest in knowing the names of actors, producers or the caffeination guy - the room’s owner left it without a word, leaving Sanji the task of shutting down the laptop and putting it away. It was his laptop, after all.

Sanji was still in his room when Zoro came back from his trip to the bathroom and there he stayed for the night, for the swordsman did not quick him out once their shared activity was done, and the cook did not show any initiative of returning to his room and his music and social media session anyway. 

There was no exchanged of words, only Sanji wishing that mosshead of his a goodnight and him replying a pathetic ‘hm’, and again they shared the same bed, not ignoring the gap between the two. With closed eyes and seemingly falling asleep, Zoro finally realized why he had invaded his friend’s room and boss him to come to his - this. 

It had been for this, to have Sanji’s company in his bed with nothing being said, no noise other than that of their breathing. This proximity that was not too close, yet closer than they ever seemed to get at any other given time, regardless of being alone with each other or in their friends’ company, whether they were at peace or not.

Zoro was still annoyed at himself and knew that, for once, he could not put the blame on the cook. What truly annoyed him, though, was not what he had done but what he felt like doing... Sanji was there, so close yet so far, so warm and available... Maybe he would not object to putting an end to that gap and reaching a new level of proximity. 

Maybe he would not mind it if the shitty marimo took a liking to breathing on his neck, as his roommate took gentle whiffs of that golden hair scented with expensive fragrances he always questioned the point of...

Friday.

The last 24 hours before the survival weekend. The day ended before Zoro knew it, for even if he was completely ready, bag packed and spirit resolved, his course colleagues were not, and they made sure to let him know of their troubles and doubts through a storm of texts - most of which he ignored after his rage against technology filled its quota and he shoved his phone inside the sock drawer, rather than turn it off - and then, at their class hall, with a chase akin to groupies around their favourite rockstar.

Chopper and now Usopp also had more to share with Zoro, as Usopp’s interest in flora proved helpful to an outdoor education student, and they kept their friend outside for a while longer, so it was dinnertime already when Zoro opened the door to the apartment, feeling more tired from this single day than he guessed he would after a weekend where no creature comforts meant being more than tired.

It was in moments like this one that he could tell how good a friend Sanji was. The cook did not comment on the swordsman’s crappy face or the dark cloud over his head and instead pointed at the dinner he had made, once again some fancy thing with a name that was hard to say. His final meal before the weekend. 

Sanji had really given it his best.

Oddly, though not awkwardly, Zoro felt, maybe for the first time, he was not coming home to fights and trouble, but to peace. Feeling more relaxed while sharing the same space as Sanji rather than away from the man he acted like he couldn’t deal with even if his life depended on it, was a new experience. So why did it feel so old, like Zoro had always known it? Like their life had always been like this, with a good dinner and a good talk accompanied by a post-dinner cigarette or beer to purify the palate, and with sharing the same sheets for the night?

It had never been like this... but fuck, should it be!

Sanji was still asleep when Zoro woke up around 6AM. The cook would not stay asleep much longer, nor was he expected to stay in bed until the hour gained another digit. Sanji was used to waking up early too.

This was it. Two more hours and the two men would be apart for almost two days, before Zoro returned late Sunday night. He would not have classes next Monday morning as a compensation, but not for a moment did he think Sanji would stay up, even if it would no doubt give him great pleasure see the marimo come home all dirty and miserable after getting lost in the woods.

Maybe Zoro would even miss the bus that had been arranged and have to come home by other means.

Leaving Sanji asleep in his bed, Zoro proceeded to take care of his hygiene.

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter

Fortunately, Zoro only had a short, dry comment for his friend before turning his attention back to the screen. He probably didn’t care much if Sanji was choking to death on his beer - or indecent thoughts - right beside him and the blond wasn’t sure if he should be glad for it or pissed off. Well, in this case at least it was for the better, so he just shrugged and turned his own focus back to the movie currently running. Luckily with those kind of movies you didn’t miss much if you weren’t paying attention for a minute, it was thus easy to return right to the action.

But Lady Luck was never favouring Sanji for long, if at all, and so he was soon ripped out of his film watching enjoyment again by Zoro deciding it was time for a little strip-tease. Oh fucking great! He had just gotten his mind out of the gutter a couple of minutes ago, having his half naked Adonis room-mate sitting right next to him shoulder to shoulder really wasn’t helping now.

Sanji took a large swig out of his bottle and then another one for the heck of it right after gulping down the first one. Yeah ok, it was stuffy in this room with two people using up the air in the relatively small chamber, a laptop running hot because designers thought it was clever to put the ventilation system at the bottom of it, and a guy who was a living furnace because he was 90% muscle mass. Normally Sanji had no problem with Zoro waltzing around with his shirt off, he was in fact used to it and had acknowledged that the eye-candy was even welcome sometimes - just for pure aesthetic reasons of course.

But this week Sanji’s brain was a mess and even after the whole stupid nightmare stuff it decided to form weird thoughts every now and then. It also did not help that Sanji was a healthy young man with an even healthier, active libido. His last relationship had been quite a while ago and though he had been sexually active since then it was more of the casual type and also not that frequently. Now that he was thinking about it, it also had been a while since his last jack-off session….Maybe that was why his brain kept latching onto Zoro of all people.

Hell, that sounded pretty logical and if that was the case Sanji definitely needed to get out more. He really needed to get back to socializing other than on campus. Getting hot and bothered by the Marimo was all kinds of weird. First of all, it was Zoro, yes he had a very nice body but he was also his idiot best friend, they’d known each other for such a long time it was a wonder they hadn’t killed each other yet, though not for a lack of trying, if he remembered their high school years especially. Despite knowing him for that long, Sanji wasn’t even sure about Zoro’s sexuality, if he had any at all, not that it was any of his business and seriously he didn’t care if the living kelp was still a virgin…

Mortified, Sanji leaned back and slid down, pressing himself into the pillow as if he was hoping to dissolve into it. From this angle he couldn’t really see much on the laptop screen anymore but fuck the dumb movie, seriously. Despite his better judgement, Sanji stole a quick glance at Zoro, not that it took much effort, in the cook’s new position his bulging biceps was already in his field of vision. He had robbed himself of the view of Zoro’s pecs but his eyes could still easily follow the ridges of his friend’s abs right down to the hem of-….Wow! What?! Instantly Sanji glued his eyes back onto the screen, despite the non-existent view, he practically glared at it, angry at himself, and just barely kept himself from growling in frustration.

Sanji usually was pretty proud of his brain capacities especially in the realm of conjuring up lewd fantasies. That was really useful if you were a horny, needy, single guy but right now was absolutely not appropriate at all, time-wise, location-wise and most importantly person-wise.

Sanji had never considered that watching a movie with Zoro in his room would technically constitute as him landing in bed with an objectively hot guy while remaining sexually frustrated. Whelp, the things you learn at the weirdest of times. What a perfect time to realize you need to get laid.

To end this horrible, terrible brain-fuckery, Sanji actively forced himself to think of anything else. He tried to listen to the action sounds and dialogue from the movie that he had no visuals for anymore, then he made a plan to return to researching and checking out any and all upcoming events scheduled for their favourite club. He’d definitely scratch together the money needed for it somehow, so that he wouldn’t have to go completely bonkers with university work and staying home so much.

It was really good that the day after tomorrow Zoro would be on his survival trip and the cook would have the apartment to himself until Sunday night.

He emptied his bottle of beer and aggressively snacked on one of the muesli bars he had grabbed. The movie could not end soon enough, too bad ‘cause he had really enjoyed the bit that he was able to follow before.

[pxratehunter-blog]

Beer and muesli were an unlikely and awkward combination. Then again, so were Zoro and Sanji. 

The idea that the pair of them could sit through a movie in peace with each other, no insults, no hits, seemed unimaginable to any of their friends. Usopp would probably give himself a sore belly from laughing too hard at the world's best joke. 

Now sitting next to each other, still within the movie's first ten seconds, the world's craziest idea seemed possible.

That was... until Sanji leaned over Zoro in order to get his snacks, some 13 seconds into the movie. What a record!

No words came out of Zoro's mouth but a very angry vein pulsed on his forehead, threatening to burst in case the cook repeated the feat. 

Really, things were different between them distance-wise and Zoro reckoned he was the first one to blame for it - he had not shooed Sanji away the first time he'd come knocking on his friend's door. He hadn't had the courage - or maybe he had, for it taken him some balls to let the cook in and hold his tongue in the face of his mysery. In a way, Zoro had been 'all man' about the situation, handling it with maturity and a sense of something bigger than his eternal quarreling with Sanji manifesting itself.

...yet there was no reason why the damn cook had to act so casual and comfortable all the time now! Couldn't he see it had been a one-time kind of thing? No more than 50 hours max and Sanji was already pushing it, putting his toe dangerously close to the line, acting all entitled to this proximity. Why, it was enough for more than a vein to burst. 

Fortunately for Sanji and his peace of mind, the sounds of running and shots in the movie's introduction were sufficient to get Zoro's attention in a most pavlovian fashion and the green-haired man on edge becane a little less edgy as he gave the action sequence his complete attention.

Those were the kind Zoro liked - movies with big-ass events and simple dialogue. That did not equal little speech, but rather clear and frontal quotes that didn't require the viewer to pay attention to subtlety or look for clues or remember what had happened on the minute 56 before the revelation in the grand finale. He was a man of simple tastes and as such plots that were easy to follow and speech that was easy to understand were best.

No matter how hard Sanji was trying to hide his dirty thoughts with a covered mouth, he still disturbed Zoro, who cocked his head in the cook's direction and lifted a questioning brow. Was Sanji coughing on his cigarette or something? Oh, but he wasn't even smoking. Zoro was so used to seeing the bloody thing protruding out Sanji's lips it was weird to find the artefact amiss.

He was indeed making an effort to control himself a bit. And without a cigarette casting a fine shadow over the lower lip, Zoro could pay attention to Sanji's mouth and learn its true shape and how the upper lip fell on the lower, how they parted and came close together. 

It was fucking weird but there was something alluring about it.

Turned out Sanji had choked on his beer or something... What an idiot. What kind of man did such a stupid thing?

In fact, Zoro was about to ask him just that, if he was stupid or how stupid he was on a scale from 1 to yes, but instead he declared “You’re weird” He almost sounded like Luffy. Maybe this slip-up in character would pass. 

The movie went on with some basic plot that pleased Zoro but a good production that might please Sanji. It was not a sleazy action movie - it was a good action film, as far as the genre was concerned.

Zoro was silent and quiet alike, only moving his face’s muscles to react to this or that event or moving his hand so as to scratch his head or some other body part. The laptop was radiating that unbearable form of heat that must still be endured by its user and, never minding the company - which he would never do when considering his next action, the result would be the same whether he were in familiar company or not - Zoro removed his shirt and opened another beer, cold thanks to his small built-in refrigerator inside a cabinet.

He was not paying attention to Sanji, which maybe in their case was the best shot they had at that blessed domestic harmony, and so he would continue unless the cook got on his nerves again.

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter

Sanji wiggled around a bit to get into a comfy position, with the video file prepared he set the laptop between himself and Zoro, so that they could both see well enough. “Are you ready?” He clicked ‘play’ and put the setting on full-screen and the volume on max.

As soon as the opening credits were running, Sanji leaned over Zoro to grab a bottle of beer and two of the muesli bars. He could have just asked for those but sometimes the cook liked to be an obnoxious little shit, annoying the Marimo with small things like these.

He had to do some more wiggling to find the comfortable position once more and had to move the laptop again, which had tilted over thanks to his budging. Zoro and Sanji were sitting close to each other so that they had the best shared view on the screen. The Marimo was a living radiator so Sanji did not bother with the blanket at all, the laptop would also give off some heat as well.

He hadn’t planned on a movie night but now that they were spontaneously doing this, Sanji was actually looking forward to the film. The title wasn’t anything he was familiar with, Usopp had only said that it was supposed to be an action movie along the lines of John Wick, and Sanji had enjoyed those movies quite a bit, even if most action flicks tended to bore him. But he trusted his friend’s movie recommendations especially as Usopp always tried to cater to everyone’s preferences.

And the movie started off strong with some great cinematography and action scenes that immediately drew you in. Sanji forgot to open his bottle until the protagonist got introduced, the muscular brooding type, of course. He side-eyed Zoro while taking a swig of beer, maybe the mosshead should consider a movie career with that build and frown edged between his brows.

Sanji almost choked when his brain helpfully and out of nowhere added that there was another movie niche where acting was secondary to the physical build and people were paid for naked skin and performing certain activities in front of cameras rather than actual acting skills. Holy shit. Jesus Christ! What the actual fuck, brain?!

Sanji turned to the side, hand clamped over his mouth in an attempt to choke silently as to not disturb Zoro’s enjoyment of the movie. He wouldn’t mind dying right now as he was mortified at his own train of thought. That really wasn’t something he was willing to think about for even another second, lest his brain decided to provide some pictures as well.

Managing not to die and actually calming down enough to be able to breathe normally again, Sanji glared accusingly at the label of the beer bottle, maybe there was more alcohol content in his than normal. The label told him that wasn’t the case but the blond still blamed the beer for his thought derailment. The beer that hadn’t even made it down his throat before the invasive thought had made him choke on it…

When he turned around to Zoro he just shook his bottle explaining with a raspy voice “accidentally inhaled this shit…” and instantly glued his eyes back onto the screen, letting the sound of shootings and explosions fill his mind again.

[pxratehunter-blog]

Zoro had stormed his friend's room without a plan or even the slightest idea of what to do or say and he realized it the moment Sanji looked at him, politely confused about this invasion.

Zoro had stormed his friend’s room without a plan or even the slightest idea of what to do or say and he realized it the moment Sanji looked at him, politely confused about what this invasion was all about. And rightly so.

Why had Zoro invaded Sanji's room? It wasn't like he was worried about the cook, was it? No, that wasn't it - he was just bored, without being able to take a physical challenge this time of evening. Maybe he should have remembered to use the silence about the house and Sanji's peace to do some meditation before walking out of his room.

"Sure" He answered as shyly as Sanji. Figures the shitty guy would be doing some online shit, as his pieces of technology seemed to be his fourth set of fingers, after his kitchen utensils, his cigarettes and his real ones.

Not satisfied with their meager chitchat, but unawares of what was missing to call it a closure, Zoro stood there by the threshold almost like a prop, pathetically watching the cook with part interest, part anger at... whatever it was he was actually mad about. In the case, himself.

If Sanji was a good reader, it wouldn't take him long to figure out that Zoro was angry, as the tight fists siding his body showed, and embarrass, as a faint red hue grew more and more tinted on his cheeks. Zoro might easily blame it on booze if the cook decided to point it out to him.

"Yeah, why the hell do you think I'm still here?" Was Zoro's way of saying yes, I'd very much like to watch the movie with you, thanks for suggesting it. Maybe Sanji would think he had known about the movie beforehand and that was why he'd entered the room in the first place...

Leaving the cook to his preparations, Zoro returned to his own and moved the heavy duffle bag aside and took care of his own movie time preparations, which meant he had beer and muesli bars for a healthy snack both men could enjoy

Sanji would appreciate it over the industrial fried shits.

Sanji’s pillow was caught with no effort and thrown on top of Zoro’s, making space for both of them to sit and watch the movie. The poor marimo, who could be rather algae-brained indeed in these matters, though perceptive and cunning in pretty much everything else save for finding his way out anything, didn’t even realize what it meant to have Sanji’s pillow next to his.

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter

As soon as Nami went offline, the internet grew a lot more boring again. With his legs drawn up on his chair and his head resting on his knees – Zeff always used to question the level of comfort of that pose – Sanji kept pointlessly clicking through some websites.

Man, he missed going out to party with his friends but everyone was really busy and broke this semester. He was yearning to move his body to some nice beats, Nami always challenged him to go full out and they usually drew quite some attention, tearing it up on the dancefloor. Sanji took his headphones and threw on a playlist of some nice dance music, checking out their favourite club’s website to see if there would be any special events coming up with some nice happy hours for students to take advantage of.

The knock on his door was loud enough to reach his ears through his headphones, Sanji slid them off when he turned his chair around to face the intruder, the music now sounding against his throat.

Zoro was casually standing in the doorframe but he seemed to be annoyed and his brusque question threw Sanji for a loop as he didn’t understand what he was talking about. He looked at the laptop screen and clicked on the playlist to stop the music, maybe he hadn’t quite grasped the question correctly?

“Er, I’m just doing stuff online…?!” Apparently that wasn’t the right answer, going by Zoro’s reaction. After all these years Sanji had learnt to interpret Zoro’s weird grunts and shrugs quite well but sometimes, like now, he was left with a big question mark. He only knew that the Marimo was expecting something from him and the cook apparently wasn’t delivering, well tough luck. Words would make things a lot easier, communication-wise. For someone as straight forward as Zoro, he could be frustratingly evasive at times.

Sanji frowned, what was he still doing here, he had been asked. Where else was he supposed to be? Oh. Something suddenly dawned on him, but wait, could it really be that Zoro had been expecting his nightly visit again? Sure, he had been a pretty constant and persistent guest the last few nights but that was out of the norm and he thought they’d just go back to how things were before. Sanji’s heart thumped in his chest, probably out of surprise, so he just ignored it.

No, no, no, he was probably overthinking things. Maybe Zoro was just bored and this was him asking for some entertainment, after all he had been indulging the blond a lot so now he should repay his friend. Yeah, that sounded more like the Marimo.

Sanji remembered something. “Uh, so….Usopp has sent me this new action movie, wanna watch it on my laptop?” Their friend was a great source for high-quality movies, for free and entirely illegal. Nobody knew how he got those movies in such great quality so fast after their release but they were gladly shared amongst the friends and other broke-ass students for some cheap entertainment.

And apparently this proposal was more to Zoro’s liking, who agreed to it and then turned to move back to his room. Alright, so this was going to take place in his friend’s room afterall. Cool.

Sanji unplugged his laptop, the battery was full and would last more than the length of the movie so he left the charging cable where it was. Walking to the door he turned around once more to grab his big pillow from his bed and went over to Zoro’s room. The door stood ajar and Sanji threw the pillow at Zoro as soon as he entered his line of sight. “I learnt my lesson. Don’t wanna hear you whine about your pillow again.”

Zoro’s room was tidier than last time and Sanji spotted the big outdoor bag already packed for the weekend trip. The cook approved, he would have done the same to keep the last evening before the trip as stress-free as possible. He tore his eyes from the bag, suppressing a weird surge of something akin to loneliness. Which was weird, ‘cause Sanji was definitely looking forward to a whole weekend to himself.

Sanji crawled onto the huge bed, taking his place beside Zoro, the action by now almost normalized, as he opened his laptop to put on the movie. “Ah, wait, should I make us some snacks or…?” Zoro seemed to have the provisions covered and Sanji grinned at that foresight.

[pxratehunter-blog]

Zoro's eyes glared at Sanji, piercing as they could get, and accompanied his stepping out the room. He didn't skip a heartbeat in closing the door right behind him.

"DO AS YOU WANT!" he shouted at the closed door and, just as quickly as he'd closed it, Zoro started regretting his words, for the cook took as much time in the bathroom as a bride would in her room before leaving to church and aleady his bladder complained of needing relief.

Fortunately for the gentle Marimo, there was a lot to keep his mind entertained for the day. 

First, the domestic things. 

Though with less minutiae than when he tended to his swords - both artefacts and the art they were built for usually went unnoticed under Zoro's scholastic occupation and gym workouts, yet they were the truest part of him - his room was cleaned and tidied for the weekend. 

At least the cook wouldn't be able to annoy him over the phone when Zoro got his break for calling home on Saturday night because of the untidy state of his room! Even if it was Zoro's room, the flat was still theirs. As long as they paid the hall's fees, of course.

Then, there were a couple of classes to attend to and this time they came with a surprise: Zoro wasn't napping during them. 

He would never admit it but truth was - and only now did he realize it - that between the discomfort of having Sanji so close to him before he closed his eyes and waking up to find the male too comfortable on his body, he had actually had a good night's sleep.

Maybe it had been the cook's very presence. After all, men were gregarious animals and company could go a long way in keeping the night terrors at bay. Just ask Sanji!

Maybe there was an ulterior reason to Zoro’s blissful sleep but right now he didn’t want to think about - and the buzz in the classroom about how miraculous it was that Zoro wasn’t sleeping wasn’t helping him focus his thoughts either. It was nerve-wrecking, and that was to say the least!

Things couldn’t be more normal when Zoro returned home and, honestly?, it was wonderful.

Sanji had made a nice dinner for the two of them and while there wasn’t much talking  at the dinner table, small and casual insults were still thrown back and forth. Just the bare minimum to make things look normal after the most recent episodes between the two friends; and then again, they always put up a bigger show when their other friends were present.

Sanji didn’t impose himself on anyway and went to his room once the kitchen was clean and the news anchor had long since said his farewell to the viewers.

...but things weren’t normal, were they? They had changed, for better or worse, and they would never be normal again - not until a completely new paradigm became the standard again.

In his room, Zoro prepared his bag for the next day. It was a simple task he was quickly over with and it was still early in the night.

He looked at the time on his phone and then to the door and so he stayed for a while, eyeing the door as though he expected something or someone to appear.

Before he realized what he was doing and what exactly was pissing him off, Zoro marched to Sanji’s room, knocked on the door with a mighty fist to announce his intentions and twisted the knob.

“What are you still going here, Cook?!”

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter

Zoro’s slip of the tongue was pretty amusing but Sanji did not have time to laugh about it as he was thrown out of his friend’s room at last. After two nights of keeping him from studying and outright invading not only his room but also his bed, this was were Zoro drew the line. Sanji was thrown out over the issue of hogging his pillow apparently.

The blond hopped off the bed and obediently walked over to the door grinning to himself. Zoro seemed angry about his surprisingly cute slip-up and Sanji enjoyed his flustered expression a bit too much. Still, after the Marimo had been so indulging the last two days and nights, Sanji decided to follow that growled command and respect his wish for privacy.

“I’ll be occupying the bathroom!” He declared before slipping out of the room. At this early hour it was almost illegal to be in such a good mood but Sanji found himself quite relaxed. He should’ve felt at least a little guilty about stealing Zoro’s pillow but every time he thought about it, ‘next time’ echoed in his mind and he kept cracking up instead. Zoro was way gentler than he’d let on most of the time.

Sanji’s good mood held up for the rest of the day and a busy day it was compared to yesterday’s lazing around. Half of it was spent at uni of course, Thursday being one of those days his schedule was stuffed with courses from the early morning to afternoon. But with his energy renewed the cook powered through his classes with ease.

Afterward he did some grocery shopping to refill the fridge. He’d have to cook a nice meal on Friday evening to send Zoro off into the Survival Weekend strongly. Zoro had said that the bus was scheduled to leave on Saturday at around 7am, knowing his friend he wouldn’t eat any breakfast beforehand, making sure that this truly was 48 hours of survival, Sanji had already planned for a meaty dinner that would keep Zoro sated for a while.

Working on assignments ate up a couple of hours, too, the cook was adamant to stay ahead and not let too many writing projects pile up. He liked to get things done as soon as possible to have that stuff out of his mind.

After a long study session, Sanji went for a run and returned on time to prepare a light dinner. Finally free of any obligations the blond withdrew to his room and played around on social media for a bit, happy to see that Nami seemed to be online as well. They sent each other some vlogs and gossiped about the people in it.

[pxratehunter-blog]

Sanji, being on the side of the bed that was next to the wall, was pretty safe. Zoro, however, was not that lucky and, in a moment of trying to get away from Sanji, fell down from the bed.

At least it was a short fall, hardly enough to make him hurt. Hell, Zoro would be damned if even a long fall from a cliff made him hurt!

Almost like a turtle on its back, struggling to get up, Zoro took more time than he should getting upright and, contrary to what anyone might predict from this chain of actions, didn't put any more distance between him and the bed, but rather climbed onto it. 

This was his bed and his room after all - if anyone had to leave, it sure as hell was not him!

“You...! YOU...!” He was at a loss for words. What could he posibly say to Sanji in a situation like this? Oh, Zoro definitely hated everything!

How had he gotten himself in this predicament again? By being nice. Fine then: there was a mistake he’d never commit again!

No. That was just bullshit and he knew it. Truth was, despite his menacing appearance and somewhat brutish ways, Zoro was a nice guy - his heart was kind and that counted more than honeyed words and smooth gestures.

He didn’t - couldn’t - regret what he’d done for Sanji’s sake, knowing very well doing so would make him a very lousy friend and, while it might not exactly bring dishonour upon him, it would most definitely stain his righteous core.

Still, Sanji’s too good-humoured greeting didn’t help. Two nights sharing his room and the cook was already too comfortable. This was not the way things were supposed to progress.

Pillow! The shitty cook had the nerve to compliment the ability for Zoro’s chest to become a pillow after stealing his very real and very appropriate pillow! In his anger, Zoro held on to the word and the intimacy it represented, glad he had something to direct his anger at.

“So you had a good night then! I had an awful night because you stole my pillow. Just bring your own the next time!”

Oops. The next time?!

Divided between wishing he could suck the words back into his mouth or at least keep it tightly shut with both his hands, Zoro clenched his fists and voiced a sound akin to a young lion cub trying to roar like an adult.

“Get out” he stammered in anger, a merciless index finger pointing at the door. It was morning now and Sanji had had a nightmare-free sleep - as far as he was concerned, Zoro’s mission was done.

The cook had better get out and take his fancy pyjamas with him.

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter

A yell and a shove rudely awoke Sanji by ripping him out of a comfortable, dreamless slumber. One second he was snuggled up against something warm, the next he found himself on the cold side of the bed. Disoriented at first and rapidly blinking, Sanji raised his head from the stiff pillow it had landed on.

“Whua?” Unable to form words, his voice still rough with sleep, the blond cleared his throat and tried once more. “What’s wrong?” He moved to sit up, his hair wild and the pajama shirt dishevelled. When he was finally able to get some clear visuals and his brain caught up with him as well, Sanji just had to look at Zoro to get his answer.

Zoro’s expression was a mixture of….hell if he knew, was that surprise and horror? Maybe a dash of incredulity and definitely sprinkled with some accusatory anger. Well, good fucking morning.

The little, wet stain on his friend’s shirt didn’t go unnoticed by the cook and he could easily count two and two together with his faint memory of something, or someone, warm in his grasp and the leftover wetness at the corner of his mouth.

Yeah ok, so he seemed to have gotten uncomfortably close to his friend during the night, for Zoro, that is, as Sanji remembered being pretty comfy. Nonetheless it wasn’t as if it had been a conscious decision but he also couldn’t blame Zoro for waking up surprised.

Yet Sanji just wasn’t willing to let this evolve into a big deal, despite the awkwardness. He just shrugged and went for some snarky humour, hoping this wouldn’t go the homophobic route. At least there was no morning wood involved, as far as he could tell, so that made things a lot easier.

“Who would’ve thunk, you have a pretty nice bed and make a decent pillow yourself. Looks like you aren’t as useless as I always think you are, after all!”

His cheeky grin split into a big yawn and Sanji raised his arms to the ceiling to stretch them over his head with a crack running down his spine. The action made his shirt run up a bit, exposing his belly button and the milky skin with a path of dark hair running down towards his crotch, quickly swallowed by the rubber band of his boxer briefs peeking out from the hem of his low-riding pajama pants.

[pxratehunter-blog]

Zoro hated everything. Truly and deeply, at least for a while.

Normally a relaxed guy and one to keep a cool head when the heat was turned up, he was not used to feeling nervous or anxious, and right now, sharing the sheets with the cook, his mind was as hectic as could be.

How could he sleep so close to Sanji? How could the blond bastard sleep with such ease, as though he’d been doing this for ages, sharing beds and exchanging body heat?

Why, it was unnerving! No one should be so at easy in a bed that was not theirs!

Shit. It was all Zoro’s own fault too. Why hadn’t he pushed Sanji away when he had the chance? How come he’d allowed himself to go soft for a moment, just a moment... a single moment he was now paying for.

So, while Sanji was cooking with the angels up in dreamland, Zoro wondered how he could possibly sleep on this bed of nails, for he felt pain would come if he moved by one inch. The trick to a bed of nails was balance; dividing one’s body weight in what was a smart management of it - sleeping with Sanji was worse than a bed of nails; there was much more to lose with a dumb management practice.

Almost falling off the bed, and still bitter about the cook confiscating his pillow, Zoro watched Sanji sleep. 

He cursed him at first, of course, calling him all two-word combo insults he could think of, never mind if they made sense. Was he doomed to sacrifice his sleep for Sanji’s own?

But having if being a lion in human flesh meant being brave and dubbed lionheart, that, too, meant having a heart - and Zoro had a big heart to match his other big muscles on the outside.

Sanji looked so peaceful in his bed. He didn’t look like the poor little boy who had knocked into the lion’s den the night before; and he also didn’t look like the shitty cook whose legs were as quick when it came to fighting as his hands were with the culinary tasks,

Sanji looked like a third version of himself; a man Zoro didn’t know. But whom he felt like knowing.

In another moment of weakness, Zoro felt like getting close to Sanji. Really close. He felt that, if his eyes got close enough to Sanji’s, he might see what dreams took shape beyond the golden hair.

As a reflex, Zoro bit his own wrist, seeing as he had no pillow to bite on - again, it was all Sanji’s fault! Fucking bastard!

With a restless heart fueled by anger - or so Zoro told himself that was the reason his heart felt like jumping out of him, goodbye motherfucker - Zoro closed his eyes and thought of the things he would need to take with him to the Survival Weekend. Water canteen, boots, a torch...

It was morning when the swordsman woke up and saw how cozy his friend had made himself. 

What?

Sanji’s arm was stretched around him, oddly firm despite his sleeping state, and on Zoro’s t-shirt, over the bicep, there was the infamous nighttime drool,

What?!

Zoro shouted in weak-ass panic and shoved Sanji away.

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter

Zoro’s eyes stayed sharp and observant but he just shrugged off Sanji’s unwillingness to get piss-drunk again. This didn’t keep Zoro from drinking, though, expectedly, but the blond didn’t care about that at all on this occasion. He had learnt not to meddle too much in his friend’s drinking habits anymore.

During their lazy chatting Sanji grew more comfortable on Zoro’s bed again, sinking down on it and lying with his head propped up on his arm. The soft mattress accepted his weight, it was different from his own mattress that was a bit harder and wouldn’t yield like this but at the same time it felt nice.

In his relaxation Sanji soon found his eyelids growing heavy, they drooped down for longer periods of time and more frequently until his eyes stayed closed and sleep crawled up on him. His brain vaguely noticed Zoro leaving the room and it triggered a feeling akin to disappointment as Sanji’s last active grey cells told him his friend was probably leaving for the couch again.

Snuggling into the pillow, beyond able to bother getting under the blanket, the blond was finally overtaken by the oblivion of sleep.

Zoro’s room was always somehow the warmest of the apartment, so wearing his pajamas to bed was enough to keep Sanji from being cold. But when Zoro’s bulk caved the mattress on the other half of the bed, it didn’t take long until the cook unconsciously scooted closer to the body radiating heat, drawn to the warmth instinctively.

Sanji’s upper body automatically lined up with Zoro’s, his head found a new pillow in his friend’s pronounced biceps and the blond’s fingers of one hand curled lightly into the fabric of Zoro’s shirt on his chest.

[pxratehunter-blog]

Brushed my teeth his ass! The thing about brushed teeth as an excuse for not enjoying a treat or, say, a beer, Zoro considered, was that teeth could always be brushed one more time. It wasn’t like there was a limit to the number of times one could brush their teeth per day.

What Sanji was really saying was he couldn’t take one more single drop of alcohol and this made Zoro grin at his friend. That bastard cook was uncapable of admitting his flaws and honestly his swordsman friend couldn’t help but admire his wit, even if he found this habit of Sanji’s to be annoying.

He was torn. He couldn’t blame a man who was not used to alcohol for being careful after a night of getting hammered and a day of being hungover - just like he couldn’t stop finding it ridiculous. A man should bear his alcohol - he ought to.

“Suit yourself” Fine. Why would he complain about it? It meant an extra bottle for him anyway.

Just as proudly and stubbornly as Sanji, Zoro took a single can from his stash and returned to his seat on the bed. He was not feeling particularly parched for the stuff but it would go down his throat just as nicely as if he craved it. He was always in the mood for it and now he could not give the shitty cook a reason to think the beer was not more than a pretext for a nice moment between friends.

Rather die.

Manly pride and bickering aside, it was good to see Sanji was at least trying to stay afloat the sea of depressive shit an be his quirky self unlike it happened the previous night, where he hadn’t even tried at all.

That also meant the babysitting was done. Another day of babying Sanji and Zoro might as well change his name and dye his hair a different colour to go along with his new personality.

They talked of trivial stuff and before Zoro knew it he was on his second can of beer as he drank it as though it were water, more in order to keep his throat nice and wet rather than to quench his thirst.

In spite of his lazy day, or maybe powered by it, Sanji was the first one of the two to close his pupils and it took Zoro only a moment to go to the kitchen and get rid of the empty cans - a good-faith gesture he was now doing after the bad habits’ war he’d had with his roomie - instead of leaving them lurking about for Sanji to fall asleep.

On Zoro’s bed. Again.

Zoro sighed and muttered a couple of insults about how pathetic his friend was. Was not he master of his room anymore?

The same options he had faced the previous night presented themselves before Zoro: he could sleep on the sofa or commandeer Sanji’s bed as a just switch. The cook would have to understand that sleeping in the living room two nights in a row when he had a perfectly good bed of his own was crap.

But what if... What if he stayed? And shared the bed with Sanji? 

The first thought was a big-ass ‘no’. There was no way that would be happening? But why not - this was his bed and he had every right to sleep in it. What’s more, the two of them had shared bedrooms and small spaces before, along with their other male friends whenever they went on some activity like camping or car trips.

Muttering some more, as though he were following someone else’s shitty orders, Zoro removed his socks and got in bed with Sanji, luckily stopping himself from removing any other piece of clothing for comfort - getting in bed with Sanji while wearing almost nothing was where he firmly drew the line.

The cook was fast asleep and therefore should cause no more trouble for the day. Fine - as long as he kept quiet and wasn’t one of those people who enjoyed the practice of wrestling in their sleep.

Using his hands for a pillow, since his son of a bitch of a friend had conveniently fallen head against the only pillow available - even when unconscious he didn’t cease being a prima donna - Zoro got as far from Sanji as the bed allowed him. 

It wasn’t even that big a gap.

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter

Zoro could be as stubborn as Sanji himself and he also knew when to turn it all back on the blond.

Sanji scrambled backwards, higher up on the bed, his legs now up on it, too, so that he could easily throw out a kick as he watched Zoro approach threateningly. Sanji pretended to think really hard about an answer to Zoro’s question.

“Hmmmmm~, no, I quite like it here,” he finally answered provocatively while bouncing a bit on the mattress. Zoro was definitely about to grab him and drag his cute ass off that bed and possibly also out of the room, so Sanji prepared himself for the inevitable, unwilling to go without a fight at least. When Zoro just sat down on the bed close to him, Sanji was more than surprised, this wasn’t the violent action he was bracing himself for.

He blinked rapidly in confusion. Did his friend just offer him a drink? It did sound more like a challenge though and made the blond grin at the handsome swordsman, a natural reaction to that tone.

Another friendly drinking session sounded great, in theory. His throat had gone surprisingly dry when Zoro joined him on the bed. But Sanji had just overcome his hangover of the day, he really didn’t need another one so soon, especially as he would have an early start into a long day tomorrow. Hmm this was conflicting, as a man he couldn’t just back off a challenge, but maybe it was just a genuine question (like hell it was).

Shrugging, Sanji cocked his head to the side and made a grimace. “Eww, I just brushed my teeth and I don’t even want to imagine how shitty that would taste.” He made a gagging sound to get his point across. “But have a go at it, if you want. Seems like you can only handle me drunk.”

Sanji stuck out his tongue at Zoro, the banter coming effortlessly. This was it, this was what he had needed. The interaction with the Marimo was familiar and comfortable.

[pxratehunter-blog]

Figured. Sanji had to be out of his wits if he was willingly taking an interest in Zoro's affairs, whether it was genuine or a shallow attempt to get himself distracted.

He didn't even bother asking Sanji the infamous question 'Since when do you care?'

The cook's argument made some sense - a resting day would either result in sheer inertia or have the desired effect of leaving a person full of energy and ready to take on the world. It was a good story... The thing was, Zoro wasn't buying it.

The two friends were now playing the serious game, the first one to laugh loses. Staring at Sanji, Zoro lifted an eyebrow and quite insulting that eyebrow was, too! It seemed to invite the cook to get his uptight ass off the bed and go to his own damn room.

“Fine” Zoro replied, decided that engaging in Sanji’s idiocy was the best way to bicker with him when he was in so foreign a state. “I’m done checking you out now”

Zoro got up and as he did a sequence of funny things happened. First, he asked Sanji “How about you? You done stalling my bed?” and then he advanced to his friend, his every footstep strong as his knuckles going out, as though he were ready to grab Sanji’s lame ass and kick out the door.

Instead, Zoro sat on the bed and added yet another thing that sounded like a dare. “I take it you wouldn’t want another beer now, would you?”

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter

At first Zoro seemed a little distracted by his phone. Sanji noticed the lack of study material on the desk, or at least it didn’t look like he was smack in the middle of a study session like last night.

“Huh, when did you move to poisonous plants instead?” He shrugged, not that he cared too much.

“So you already got your fungi knowledge down?” Sanji didn’t know what else to talk about so he desperately stuck with the topic of edible and non-edible stuff you can find in the forest.

Unfortunately Zoro preferred to scrutinize him, his smartphone now discarded on the desk, and fixed the cook with his dark eyes.

It felt as if he could see right down into his soul and that made Sanji a bit uncomfortable. A shiver ran along his spine and he almost missed the short question he was asked. The Marimo had even noticed that Sanji had trouble sleeping again, perceptive bastard, although the cook had probably given himself away by showing up here again.

“Y-yeah, kind of, all that lazing around today has put my body into ‘awake’ mode and now I’m bored.” Zoro’s expression stayed openly questioning and it started to be a bit unsettling and annoying.

Ok, so he had had one bad night and wasn’t too willing to play psychoanalysis with his roommate over some stupid dream, it didn’t mean he was made out of glass and had to be handled with utmost care. Sanji bristled at the thought that Zoro would think him weak and glared right back.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stubbornly held his friend’s gaze in quiet defiance for a few seconds. All the while silencing his own mind that kept telling him that he admittedly was quite pathetic right now, not being able to return to his own room and sneakily leeching off of Zoro’s calming aura.

Pissed at himself and at Zoro, this was not the mood he was aiming for, he should have brought that peace offering after all. Sanji clicked his tongue in annoyance and broke the silence.

“What? Will you let me know when you’re finished checking me out?” Well, that came out way sassier and gayer than intended, but Zoro was used to his sharp tongue and would hopefully not pick up on the unfortunate double entendre.

[pxratehunter-blog]

Having left his phone in his bedroom, it was with surprise that Zoro found both his text and email imboxes filled with messages when he returned to it after leaving the cook to his own entertainment. A sound of exasperation escaped his lips.

Chopper was telling him that, after the fungi, it would be useful to know which plants were poisonous and the reindeer had attached a file with the information he found relevant. Didn't Chopper know there was no way Zoro would read a long file on something as tiny as a phone screen and didn't know any better? Zoro didn't open the file and thus did not learn that the "lengthy" document came down to only two pages.

Then there were his classmates, sharing all kinds of questions and answers.

Normally, Zoro quite liked his Outdoor Education buddies, as they kept it to themselves most of the time and didn't bother him. Not pressing Zoro's nerves was already halfway done on the path to friendliness. But every now and then, especially when it was examination season, they would flood him with doubts on all matters save for finding one's way - which, in all truth, was what bothered Zoro the most! Why couldn't they ask him shit about that? It wasn't like he ever got lost! Ever.

Here, one of them was asking about ways of crossing water. There, another had questions about shelter. And there, will you loom at that?, someone was clearly panicking as they had doubts fit for desert environments when they were going to the forest!

With pursed lips and creased brows, a ridiculous look of annoyance on his handsome face, Zoro proceeded to reply to everyone, seeing as he had no reason to be rude to those who were asking for his help. Any other person would simply ignore the messages and perhaps provide an excuse should they be question about not texting back but Zoro was no liar and he would frankly think himself less of a man if he deliberately ignored people reaching out to him.

That being said, he only manage to write short replies such as ‘not relevant’, ‘don’t worry’ or, his personal favourite, ‘man up’.

Even lacking words, the swordsman’s texting took him a good deal of time, so much that, when Sanji entered his room and heis eyes glanced upwards to the digital clock on the phone screen, he muttered a curse word.

“We’ve moved to poisonous plants” he spoke back to Sanji without letting go of his phone, not when he was so close to being done answering everyone.

The cook looked alright, at least on a first survey. At least his spirits were up and the fact he was sitting on Zoro’s bed while it’s owner was sitting by the desk seemed to say he was up for casual chattering.

Zoro made a half-sigh half-groan noise and placed his phone on the table, finally looking at Sanji.

He was... alright enough. But not quite so.

Sanji looked tired. How could that be after a blessed, booze-sponsored sleep and half a day of lazying it up on the couch? Sanji was rather active, too, always all over the kitchen or going out for groceries or for a jog. For him to look tired after not doing much (by the accounts of his regular self) was suspicious.

Indeed, Zoro eyed his friend with suspicious, not even trying to conceal his thoughts - was he ok?

“Can’t sleep?”

of night terrors and wonders, contd. ✕ @pxratehunter

When Zoro returned home, Sanji fought the impulse to switch channels but that would have been a bit suspicious and it wasn’t as if there was suddenly better stuff on other programs. He just had to focus more on the swimming than the toned bodies now, no big deal, the swimming part was also pretty interesting, though the Marimo definitely preferred the football broadcast that followed soon after.

In general it was a really pleasant afternoon and evening. Zoro was still pretty lenient, letting Sanji rest his legs on his lap while sharing the couch, providing friendly chatter, ordering good food when it was time for dinner and the resident chef didn’t move a muscle for once, and watching more sports together.

It was a completely lazy day and Sanji was so comfortable in his roommate’s company that his hangover was soon forgotten, the headache gone from inside his skull, but his body started to ache due to the excessive lying around on the sofa. By the time night broke, there was no position that felt comfortable anymore on the couch.

After the last bit of the Thai food had been eaten, Zoro cleaned up and threw the food cartons and plastic cutlery into the bin, then he retreated to his room. Sanji stood up as well, stretching his body and cracking his neck. He switched off the TV and also returned to his room.

After all this lazing around and with Zoro’s presence now lacking, everything felt boring and he wasn’t in the mood to do anything at all. He briefly considered checking social media on his laptop but he had been doing that on his phone on the couch occasionally and after that extensive TV session, Sanji really had enough of screens for the time being.

So he just started to prepare his bag for the classes the next day but that was also quickly dealt with. In the end, Sanji’s body was itching for some exercise, after not having much movement the whole day, and he did some half-assed shadow-kicking for 20 minutes before occupying the bathroom to get ready for bed. He figured he might as well just go to sleep now with nothing else on his agenda for the last couple hours of the day.

But sleep eluded him as he was turning and tossing about in his bed to find the perfect sleeping position. Maybe it was because he had already done so much lying around and his body was now protesting him, or maybe it was still too early and he just wasn’t tired enough yet.

Sanji sat up and grabbed his phone from the nightstand, where it was connected to the charging station, idling through his social media messages again, then wasting some time with a mobile game that quickly bored him. In his desperation that boredom brought with it, Sanji scrolled through his contact list, looking for a name that would inspire him to a conversation or something but every name he scrolled past was probably either busy or asleep at this time or the cook just plainly didn’t feel like writing them.

At Zeff’s name at the end of the list Sanji was overcome with a feeling of guilt for not having given any sign of life recently. University had kept him so busy that he had just plain forgotten to call the old man to update him on his life, not that anything particularly interesting was happening but he should at least give some feedback on the progress of his culinary education to the shitty geezer, who had made this possible in the first place.

The memory of that crappy nightmare flashed back into his mind and Sanji groaned in annoyance. Hell no, he could not deal with both his guilty feelings and whatever the shit those memories made him feel at the same time. Why did this crap always assault his brain like that?

Sanji stood up to get a smoke, he had just freshly brushed his teeth but didn’t care as he really craved that cigarette right now. With the smoke hitting his lungs at the first inhale, he left that cursed room of his and walked to his kitchen on naked feet. He switched on the light and checked the inventory of every closet just to busy his mind with something else.

When he was done, he sighed and threw away the long since burnt up butt of his cigarette. There was no way to escape his own thoughts but being as stubborn as Zoro always said he was Sanji refused to return to his room and proceeded to procrastinate in the bathroom, where he gurgled some mouthwash to get that minty fresh taste back onto his tongue all the while avoiding to look at his own reflection in the mirror, or rather his trademark eyebrows in particular, that in their mirrored version looked just like his sibl-…. no! He didn’t want to think about it, why did he keep thinking about this shit?

Sanji splashed some cold water into his face. Not good, he was overthinking things again, that would only make it worse but he also couldn’t stop thinking about it. There was no way to get out of this, to make himself feel better again. Yet, last night he had felt better after that stupid nightmare. Zoro had made him feel a lot better.

Sanji was nervously chewing on his bottom lip, his mouth already lonely in its anxious habit. He couldn’t possibly annoy his roommate two nights in a row. Zoro would get pissed at him, wouldn’t he? He had been so surprisingly tame since last night, maybe Sanji would still be in luck?

There was no other option now, despite feeling bad for disturbing his friend yet again, Sanji felt the need to enter Zoro’s room as strongly as he felt the need to avoid his own at all cost. So he left the bathroom and walked straight up to that closed door, knocking his usual pattern and then slowly entering. This time he had no peace offering in the form of food, it was just him. Sanji tried to be casual about it.

“So, how is the learning coming along? I thought I’d test your new-found knowledge on fungi, wouldn’t wanna let Chopper’s efforts be in vain.” He grinned, glad that he could make use of the information he had received when Zoro was telling him about his day. It’s always good to pay attention. And he had some kind of excuse now, no matter how unusual.

Sanji closed the door behind him and plopped down on Zoro’s bed, daring to invade that space again after having slept there the last night just so he wouldn’t keep awkwardly standing in the doorframe.