#someone panicked on icy road and swerved into their lane

[simplepotatofarmer]

my partner got into a car accident ;__;

[imagineproduce101]

Noh Taehyun Mafia AU

it was finally happening-- you were finally getting your very own car

you’d been working and saving up for years, and your parents had relented and let you ‘save’ your birthday presents to help cosign for the car of your dreams-- a toyota supra

while the model was a fairly old version, you couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the bright red model as it pulled into the driveway

once all the paperwork was signed and done, you slid into the front seat, carefully starting the car up

the first drive home was incredible, and you were super excited to finally be able to properly drive

your parents were just amused at your excitement, trusting that you’d remember to take care of it, since you’d saved up so long for it

across town, at the svt headquarters, s.coups narrowed his eyes as he observed the security tapes 

“that’s ha sungwoon’s car, is it not?” woozi said as he pointed to the red toyota supra travelling across the screen, “he’s the only one who drives it in town, that’s his car.”

s.coups looked over at dino, the latest svt recruit

“buddy, i think we’ve found your initiation mission,” s.coups said with a smirk

you were definitely excited to have the new car, especially since it meant you could visit your best friends in the next town over-- your parents’ car didn’t do very well with the steep hills that you had to travel over to get there

after texting your friends to let them know you were on the road, you pulled out of the driveway, making your way through the streets towards the other town

as you carefully turned, you noticed that the car behind you did the same

suspiciously, you watched it through your rearview mirror, noticing how the car stayed uncomfortably close to yours

you frowned,changing lanes-- the car behind you did the same

you sped up, heart racing; why was a car tailing you? especially in broad daylight

you jolted in shock, realizing that something had hit your car with a dull ‘thud’

looking back, you almost screamed in shock to see the driver of the car pointing a gun at your own car

the driver fired again, and you screamed as the bullet pierced the back window

the shock of the situation made you jolt, the car swerving to the side of the road

another shot sounded, this one much closer to you, and you leaned forward, resting your head against the steering wheel as you sobbed silently, knowing that you were about to die

however, dino, being fairly new to shooting things--let alone people-- saw that you were slumped over the wheel and figured he’d completed his job, taking your inactivity as a sign of you being dead

back at the 101 hq, taehyun jolted from his seat, reaching over to grab his gun and jacket

“hyeongseop, cover for me,” he shouted, dashing out into the hallway

“what-- hyung, were are you going?” hyeongseop got up, hurrying after him

“someone’s trying to take down sungwoon!”

taehyun threw himself into a spare car, revving up the engine and speeding to the location where he’d seen sungwoon’s car swerve onto the side of the road

when he arrived, he frowned, immediately noticing the bullet holes in the body of the car

he carefully glanced around to see if the assailant was still around, but it didn’t appear like he was, making taehyun’s blood run cold-- had sungwoon been fatally shot?

taking out his gun, taehyun approached the car carefully, and almost passed out when instead of sungwoon, he found a girl sitting in the front seat, bawling her eyes out

you looked up in shock to see another person, different from the driver

“a-are you okay?” he asked with a frown, going to unlock your car door

you shook your head, hands shaking, “s-someone was shooting at the car, we need to call the police or something!”

“let’s get you to a hospital,” the guy said instead, helping you stand on your feet, “i’ll have a friend come and drive your car to a shop, but I’m taking you to a hospital, you’re clearly in shock.”

you carefully got into the guy’s car-- he’d introduced himself as noh taehyun

“why are you being so kind to me?” you asked carefully, glancing over at taehyun, who sighed

“you got dragged into some nasty business unfairly,” he replied, “so i figured i would at least attempt to make up for it.”

taehyun dropped you off at the hospital before completely disappearing, not even giving you the chance to thank him

two days later, your car showed up parked in front of your house, completely brand new

there was a small slip of paper taped to the wheel-- a number, a note that read ‘if you get into a situation again’, and the initials nth

you’d put the number into your phone, disregarding it but still being cautious

you did end up needing the number

one night, you were walking home from work when you realized that someone was definitely following you

you’d taken random turns just to see what would happen, but the footsteps always followed you

you were on a small side street, and could hear the footsteps getting closer and closer

panicking, you dialed taehyun’s number before breaking out into a run, hoping that you could reach the main street before the footsteps caught up to you

you felt someone tackle you, shoving you to the ground, and you rolled over, trying to stand up and escape

“not so fast, bitch,” the person had growled, stepping on your hand to keep you in place

you screamed in pain as the person stomped down--hard-- hearing a grotesque snapping noise

“you’ve caused so many problems for us,” the person snapped, kicking you in the side as you curled up, clutching your injured hand, “thanks to you, the 101 knows of our plan to take ha sungwoon out, and they’ve doubled down on security.”

“i don’t know anything,” you sobbed, shaking your head, “I swear, I’m not involved in this, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t lie,” you felt your veins turn icy cold as the person lifted a gun, your eyes staring down the barrel

before anything else could happen, a loud bang sounded, and you closed your eyes, waiting to die just as had happened a week ago

you heard something thud-- the guy who had been attacking you had collapsed to the floor, blood pooling from behind him

“oh my god, your hand,” someone gasped, coming up to you

it was taehyun, clearly looking distraught as he called someone

“an ambulance is on its way, okay?” he carefully straightened your legs before covering you in his suit jacket

through the haze of everything that had happened, your head spinning, you noticed that his cologne smelled nice

“taehyun,” you slurred, blinking slowly as you looked up at him, “thanks for helping me.”

taehyun sighed, looking down at you worridly from his crouched postion, gently stroking your hair to calm you

as your eyes fluttered shut, you vaguely heard the sound of an ambulance wailing, taehyun continuing to stroke your hair

when you woke up again, you were in the pristine white of a hospital room, hand in an extremely bulky cast

taehyun was sitting in one of the visitor’s chairs, head tipped back as he slept

next to him sat someone you didn’t recognize, who was flipping through a magazine

you blinked a couple of times to clear your eyes, taking in the guy’s honey blond hair, plump lips and slightly short stature

“oh, you’re awake,” he said, startled as his eyes met yours

he went to nudge taehyun, elbowing the other in the stomach-- hard

“ow, fuck,” taehyun groaned, hand traveling down to where he’d been elbowed

“don’t swear, she’s awake,” the guy gestured towards you with a magazine

“oh!” taehyun stood, hurrying over towards you, “are you okay? is your hand in pain? do you need anything?”

you shook your head, “i think I’m okay,” you replied, looking over to the stranger in your room

“oh!” taehyun gestured towards him, “this is sungwoon.”

the name sounded oddly familiar, and you frowned, trying to remember where you’d heard it before

“(y/n), we actually have some explaining to do,” taehyun informed you, pacing back and forth at the foot of your bed, “the car that you bought, no one in this city owns except for ha sungwoon.”

you nodded, unsure where this was going

“and svt, our rival, had a new member and decided that the best way to initiate him was by taking out sungwoon.”

you frowned, looking up at taehyun

“um, hyung?” sungwoon and taehyun traded looks, “you didn’t tell her about 101.”

“yes i did,” taehyun retorted, crossing his arms

“no, you didn’t.”

“yes, i did.”

“no, you didn’t. idiot.”

“punk.”

“bitch.”

“dumbass.”

“GUYS!” you shouted, getting frustrated with taehyun and sungwoon’s bickering, “how is the 101 related.”

sungwoon sent taehyun a look, as though to say ‘see?’

“(y/n),” taehyun said cautiously, “we’re members of the 101.”

you stared at the two men for a moment, weighing your next decision

on the one hand, they were members of the 101, a dangerous crime syndicate

on the other hand, taehyun had saved you--twice-- and the second time was for no apparent motive

“right, continue,” you said, deciding that maybe while the entirety of the 101 was bad, noh taehyun was the exception

“right,” taehyun nodded, resuming his pacing, “so svt decides to take out sungwoon, only your car is the same model as his signature car. their new recruit thought you were sungwoon, and went for you instead.”

“and the dumbass thought three shots to a moving car would take you out,” sungwoon wheezed, making taehyun glare at him

“can you shut up?” taehyun snapped, kicking sungwoon, “i’m telling a story here.”

sungwoon rolled his eyes but complied, going back to his magazine

““so anyways, I saw this all happen on a security camera, since I was filling in for euiwoong--”

“can you not name-drop?” you asked with a sigh, leaning your head on your fist to prop it up, “please remember that i’m new to this whole 101 thing.”

“right,” taehyun nodded, “i was filling in for our surveillance guy. anyways, i thought that you were sungwoon as well, because of the car, and when i saw that you’d crashed, I panicked.”

“aw, you care,” sungwoon simpered, sending taehyun a finger heart

taehyun flicked it away

“somehow, svt figured out that it was you in the car, not sungwoon,” taehyun explained, “and they didn’t want the 101 knowing that they were after sungwoon, so i’m guessing they had one of their more experienced guys try and take you out.”

“so let me get this straight,” you said, burying your head in your hands, “i’m now involved in the 101, because some idiot doesn’t know the difference between a mafia member and a fucking college girl?”

sungwoon snickered at that, and taehyun glared at him before nodding

“essentially.”

you groaned, tipping your head back to look up at the ceiling

“and since svt is still out there,” taehyun continued, “the 101 decided that you’d need someone to stay with you at all times, to make sure that you’re protected. I uh,” here, taehyun’s ears turned a bit pink, “i volunteered, cuz I feel bad about the whole situation.”

“and you think (y/n)’s cute,” sungwoon snickered behind his magazine, and this time, taehyun full on punched him in the chest

“shut up, brat,” he snapped, blushing completely

you soon realized that taehyun staying with you at all times really meant that

somehow, he tagged along with you to your college classes, he’d go to the library to study with you, he’d hang out at where you worked-- he even introduced himself to your parents, occasionally eating dinner with you

obviously, there’s no like ‘rulebook’ on how to be a bodyguard-type-person, but taehyun acted more like your boyfriend than your bodyguard, and you definitely weren’t complaining

he always seemed to know when you had a rough night, and would bring you coffee the next morning

or if you were chilly, he’d just pass you his coat without even saying anything

sometimes he’d buy you food just because

and every time, you felt your heart beat a little bit more

people definitely thought you two were dating because of how much time you spent around each other, and all the questions made you genuinely think about it

it was almost as though you two were dating, but you just hadn’t put a name to it

one night, you two were walking home from your work when you stopped

“taehyun, what are we?” you asked quietly, looking over at him

taehyun looked a bit startled by the question, but just smiled, “whaddya mean?”

“like,” you sighed, ruffling your hair a bit, “it feels like we’re dating, to be honest, but we’re not, and it’s confusing.”

taehyun grinned fully at that, reaching over to grab your hand and swing it back and forth, “let’s change that, then. let’s date.”

“actually?” you raised your eyebrow, surprised at how casually he was suggesting it

“yeah, actually,” he replied, “it’s like you said-- we’re practically dating, we just never put a name to it. yes, i spend time with you because of the situation with the 101, but i also spend time with you because I like you, a lot.”

you grinned, and the two of you started walking again, hands still intertwined

“sungwoon’s gonna have a heart attack when he finds out you finally asked me out,” you commented in amusement

“eh, let the punk have his moment,” taehyun replied, smiling that gummy smile that you’d grown to love, “we have the rest of time to enjoy this.”

special thank you to @seungkwanslowqualityenglish for the amazing and incredible help with the storyline for this imagine!! ilysm, thank you <3 <3 

[your-iron-lung]

Mixed Up 23 | Around the Dial |

Chapter Word Count: 6485

Pairings: Zoro/Sanji

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Chapter Warnings: Strong Language

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 , 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 

Next Chapter: 24

‘You! Make! Me! Feel like I’m living a- teen! Age! Dream!’

It was Sanji’s ringtone that ended up interrupting his sleep, and for one panicked moment upon awaking, Zoro was afraid he was in the back of another ambulance, being transported to the very hospital he’d just escaped from. He lurched forward with a sudden, sharp intake of breath and almost hit his head on the dashboard. If he’d been wearing a seatbelt, it would have locked.

Sanji seemed surprised by both the call and Zoro’s extreme reaction to it, swerving slightly as Zoro’s body jerked abruptly upright from the sleeping position it had been in moments prior.

“Jesus,” Sanji muttered as he quickly righted the car into the lane he’d been riding in, but not before noticing the way Zoro’s shoulders slumped as he allowed himself to relax when he realized where he was, easing back into his seat with a sigh and grimace of pain.

“You gonna answer that or what?” Zoro grumbled, reaching his hand up to pull the beanie he’d been wearing off his head. He dropped it into his lap, holding it so he could run the fabric between his fingers as he stared forlornly out the window.

“Don’t tell me how to live my life,” Sanji replied half-heartedly, ignoring the way Zoro snorted to pick up his phone out of the cup-holder. He kept one eye trained on the road as he glanced down briefly to see whose name it was on the screen, and felt his stomach sink when he saw who it was. “Oh, shit.”

Nami’s name and (beautiful) picture were displayed under his thumb, which hovered indecisively over the green button on the screen. Knowing Zoro was beside him, he figured he already knew what she was calling him about.

“You’re drifting,” Zoro remarked casually, unaware and uncaring of whoever was calling. He had other concerns, as his nausea was trying to flare up again in the form of motion sickness. While he fiddled with the hat, he went to rest his head against the cool windowpane again, stifling a groan and closing his eyes in an attempt to prevent himself from being sick again.

Cursing softly under his breath, Sanji righted his steering once again and took a long, deep breath. The phone kept ringing in his hand, but instead of answering it he set it down and fumbled his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He’d definitely need a smoke for this.

“Get one out for me,” he said to Zoro, prompting him to take the pack from him. Zoro said nothing, and moved just enough to be able to take it and pull a cigarette out.

Just as the call was about to roll over to voice mail, Sanji took another deep, centering breath and answered the phone, doing his best to greet her as happily and obliviously as he could.

“Hello my darling! What a pleasure it is that you’ve-”

“Zoro is missing!” She blurted out, interrupting him at once. He winced at her outburst, his heart paining him when he heard the amount of concern she held in her voice.

“Well, actually-” he tried to say, but became distracted by Zoro trying to pass the cigarette to him. Squishing his phone between his ear and shoulder, he took it thankfully and then tried to shimmy his lighter out of his front pocket. “Don’t be upset-”

“’Don’t be upset’?! How can I not be upset when the hospital fucking lost him! I don’t know what to do; how does a hospital lose a patient?!”

Now she sounded angry, and he could tell that she was directing it at someone other than himself. Nervously, he realized she was actually at the hospital, probably yelling at the poor nurse who “lost” Zoro. Confirming his thought, he could hear the woman who’d been on call when he was there reply, saying, “He snuck out on his own, we didn’t lose him.”

“Well if you had done your fucking job then he wouldn’t have had the chance! You were supposed to be monitoring him!”

She was far angrier than Sanji had anticipated her being, thought it made sense when he thought about it. If someone he’d cared about had suddenly vanished from a place he’d trusted to take care of them, he’d be just as angry. He began to feel slightly remorseful of his actions, but yet, strangely, he was beginning to feel annoyed with Nami as well. He shoved that feeling aside and instead focused on lighting his cigarette. He got it lit on the second try and cracked the window quickly, tossing his lighter into his trusted cup holder as the icy December wind whisked in through the opening, tussling his bangs with the gust.

He inhaled deeply on his cigarette and listened to her rage at the nurse for a moment before he tried to intervene again.

“Nami, darling, I know you’re upset, but listen-”

But as he was about to tell her that Zoro was not missing, and was, in fact, with him, he lost his nerve. To hear her yelling so unfavorably at the nurse had him wondering how she would react if she knew he’d played such a pivotal part in Zoro’s disappearance. He was stuck between wanting to tell her so she’d stop worrying, and not telling her in order to stay in her good graces. As he tried to decide which was the right decision to make, he chanced a glance at Zoro and saw that he was staring at him, obviously having heard Nami yelling over the line.

He was beginning to take on a pallor hue again, but Sanji broke eye contact before he could think too much about it. Nami was arguing vehemently with Monet as he sighed, flicking the ash off his cigarette out the window. Surely she’d understand if he just explained to her why he’d done it, but as he was still mentally debating on what the best way to do that was, he heard Zoro say something low under his breath. Before Sanji could register what was happening, Zoro reached out and grabbed hold of his hand, pulling the phone away from his face and closer to his own so he could speak into it clearly.

“Nami I’m fine. Leave the nurse alone, she didn’t know,” he said, sounding miserable and annoyed. Sanji’s face looked horrified as Zoro let go, looking at him with a resigned look in his eye that told him they were both in deep shit now.

It was a moment in time when Sanji became acutely aware of what it was he feared the most. A saying as old as time itself, how did it go? Hell hath no fury…?

Sanji, terrified of what her reaction was going to be, put the phone back to his ear and merged into a slower lane of traffic so he’d have an easier time focusing on both the road and Nami’s distress.

With how angry she’d been only moments ago, Sanji expected to hear her shrieking like a banshee at him now, but instead heard nothing. The line was dead silent, and as he pulled his phone away for a second to check if the call had ended, he heard Monet’s bitter laughter in the background.

“Was that Zoro?” Nami asked, venom dripping from her voice.

Sanji swallowed hard, knowing he had to own up to his part in Zoro’s escape and hoped that she’d forgive him if he begged her to enough.

“Yes, he’s with me, we-”

Before he could explain further, she hung up on him.

“Fuck me,” Sanji said, sighing deeply as he dropped his phone back into the cup holder with his lighter. “Because of you, she’s pissed at me.”

“She’ll get over it,” Zoro grunted, shifting in his seat uncomfortably to lean his head back against the window.

“I knew this was going to end in tragedy,” he moaned, toggling his blinker on as he drove his car onto the highway exit. “I’ll be lucky if she ever speaks to me again! I-”

In the cup holder, his phone had begun to ring again and was vibrating loudly against his lighter in tune with the ringtone. He turned to look at it with a mild level of apprehension, his woes temporarily forgotten.

“Christ, would you just answer it?” Zoro groaned, turning to glare at Sanji as he let it ring. “Can’t be any worse than the one you just got. The shitty pop music is giving me a headache.”

He returned the mean look before reaching out to pick his phone up, holding it as though it were a bomb that would detonate with too much movement. On his phone’s display he saw that it was Nami calling him back. Unsure of what her motivation for dialing him again was, he answered with some trepidation.

“…Hello?”

Nami sighed deeply before she spoke.

“Thank you for telling me he’s with you, the hospital was about to call the police.”

“Oh, shit,” he murmured, feeling a chill go through him briefly. The thought that he’d possibly committed a crime by assisting in Zoro’s escape had never occurred to him. Did it count as kidnapping if the person being ‘kidnapped’ wanted to be taken away?

“Yeah,” she replied. Over the phone, he could hear her walking quickly down a hallway. “I’m going to talk to his doctor and see what he says about Zoro’s early ‘release’. Guess I’ll get his prescription filled on the way back.”

“Are you coming to the apartment?” Sanji asked as he continued navigating their way to said destination.

“After all this is settled, yeah.” She sounded more tired than angry now, and Sanji could understand why. He felt bad for having caused her so much grief. “Even if the doctor says Zoro has to come back, I don’t think he will, so I have to get my stuff out of his apartment and make sure he understands what he has to do to keep his eye clean.”

“That’s very kind of you; I wish I were the one who’d been injured so I could have you take care of me,” he said in an effort to cheer her up. He got a weak chuckle in response, followed by a shallow sigh as he turned off the secondary road and onto the main road that would lead them back to their apartment complex.

“I wouldn’t want you to get hurt that way,” she said quietly, and for a moment she was silent. He didn’t know what to say to that, and wished he hadn’t suggested it in the first place. It was in bad taste, he realized now, but couldn’t take it back. “Well, I’ll call you after I meet with the doctor and let you know what he says. Don’t let Zoro run away again before I get there, okay?”

“I’ll keep my eye- I’ll do my best,” he said, mentally criticizing himself for his poor word choice. He lowered his phone and slipped it back into the cup holder after she hung up.

Turning to Zoro, he wanted to tell him about what she’d just said, but found that he was curled up and asleep in his seat again. Sweat had begun to bead up across his face, dripping down along his cheek bone and forehead, leaving behind shiny streaks as they dripped across his dark skin. Going off of the experiences of the day, Sanji knew that wasn’t a particularly good sign.

Even though they were less than ten minutes away from their complex, the speed limit had dropped considerably from when they were on the highway. It wouldn’t take much longer to get there, but he wasn’t sure how much longer Zoro had before the nausea forced him to eventually react.

Finished with his cigarette, Sanji popped it out the window and rolled it back up, sealing the wind away with a quiet suctioning noise.  He switched the car stereo from the CD player to the radio and then hit the scan button, letting it shift aimlessly through stations until it landed on something he liked.

Adjusting the volume dial to something low enough that probably wouldn’t bother Zoro’s ‘nap’, Sanji listened inattentively as it flicked through songs of pop, rap, static, commercials, and-

“I cut my teeth on the stone of a teenage romance-“

Before Sanji could even register that it was Zoro’s voice that he’d heard for that brief second on the radio, the scanner had switched to a different station.

“Shit, go back,” he hissed, hitting the scan button again so it would stop its aimless progression. His fingers fumbled over the button to backtrack through the stations until he heard Zoro’s unique voice singing again. He sat back in his seat, gripping the wheel with both hands and staring out the windshield, eyes wide with awe, listening to the song that was playing softly over the radio.

Hardly audible, he turned the volume up.

“And in the breath from my chest I was blowing kerosene, my lips and fingertips were stone I wore my heart on my jeans. I sang the blues like the dogs left too long in the street; I still sing the blues with the dogs.”

He’d known Zoro’s band had been popular, but popular enough to see radio play? Shit, that was impressive, and he suddenly wished he had friends of any sort that he could brag to about it.

It was a song of theirs he hadn’t heard before, despite all the snooping he’d done during the previous days. He was sure he would have recognized the deep, distinctive bass lines that were being paired with the grit of Zoro’s voice and the enforcing rhythm of the drums. The tones themselves were thick and low, resonating deeply within the speakers of his car until the song reached the chorus. Then it lightened up and grew louder, stirring Zoro from his sleep.

Confused by the sound of his own voice being projected loudly back at him, it took a minute for him to comprehend what was going on and why he was hearing himself.

“That’s you,” Sanji said dumbly as Zoro winced and sat up. “You’re on the radio.”

Zoro blinked slowly and then turned his direction towards the radio display. There was no way of knowing what he was thinking as they listened, as his face remained impassive. This obviously wasn’t something new to him, but still seemed to have caught him by surprise.

“An old one,” was all he said.

Old or not, it was good; Sanji had to admit that much. The depth of the lyrics went well beyond what he thought a Neanderthal like Zoro was capable of producing. There was an emotion that toed the line between sad and angry that was being conveyed in the music, accompanying the gruff nature of his voice that he somehow managed to make work. There was a good balance of both as the song progressed, which Sanji found he liked. Was it a love song? A breakup song? It definitely revolved around a romance as the opening line had said, but the rest of the lyrics left it open to interpretation.

As focused as he was on the song, Sanji almost missed the turn into their apartment complex and had to swing abruptly into it, causing the car behind him to honk loudly at his carelessness.

He waved an apology as the car drove past and then continued on towards their building, unaware that the sudden motion had worsened the way Zoro was feeling. As the song began to wind down, Sanji cast him a grin that was lost immediately when he saw how sick his passenger had begun to look.

“Almost there,” he said anxiously, hoping that he would be able to hold it in for just a little bit longer.

Zoro sat with his hand on the door handle, ready to pop it open and bail as soon as they came to a stop should his stomach demand he do so.

“And that, folks, was a song by the late, great Mugiwara Menace; straight out of the ‘where are they now?’ vault for your listening pleasure.”

“Asshole,” Zoro spat as the DJ tied off their song with his commentary.

Sanji turned the radio off as he pulled into a parking spot that was, thankfully, directly in front of their building. He cut the engine and got out, grabbing his phone and quickly rounding his car as Zoro stumbled out of the passenger side door. Catching him, Sanji led them up the curb and to the bottom of the stairwell, where they stood looking at the ascending wooden steps doubtfully.

“I can’t make it up,” Zoro said, angry with himself and his current state of incompetence.

Wordlessly, Sanji turned them towards his apartment door and unlocked it, leading him inside and to his couch, where he sat Zoro down with a low grunt.

“Do you need the bathroom?” Sanji asked uncertainly, standing before him with little idea as to what he was supposed to do in order to help him. “Or a… bucket?”

“No, just-” Zoro shuddered. “Just give me a minute.”

“Better not puke on my couch,” Sanji said, eyeing the sick man warily.

“I will if you keep talking about it.”

Before Sanji could retort, his phone began to ring. He shot Zoro one final warning look before he saw that it was Nami’s promised return phone call.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, knowing that there was nothing else he could do for Zoro now except hope he didn’t hurl on the rented furniture. Zoro waved his hand in recognition, allowing him to step outside to answer Nami. “Hello, my darling! What have you got for me?”

“Hey, Sanji.” She returned his greeting with far less enthusiasm than he had given her, but he’d grown used to her lack of enthusiasm. “I have good news, bad news, and weird news.”

Sanji sighed, trying not to worry too hard about how each of them applied to him. It was hard not to, though; in the back of his mind, he was already planning out how he’d try to appeal his case should he be charged with criminal action. He knew Zeff had a good lawyer, but whether or not the old geezer would let him take advantage of that was something he couldn’t be sure of.

“Bad news first,” he said, pulling out his pack of cigarettes in anticipation. A small ball of anxiety had made itself home in the pit of his stomach.

“The bad news is that the hospital decided they were going to charge Zoro an extra day for his room, and, so I don’t keep you in suspense, the good news is that they decided not to press charges. They also said he didn’t have to come back, especially since he seemed well enough to leave on his own anyway.”

A great sense of relief flooded through him as she told him he wasn’t going to be prosecuted. The last thing he wanted- or needed- was to end his month off by insulting Zeff with a brand new criminal record.

“That’s marvelous! I’m so thankful to know you and so sorry I had to put you into this situation on my behalf!” He relaxed against his apartment door, unable to keep himself from smiling. He shoved his cigarettes back into his pocket, deciding he didn’t need one after all. “What’s the weird news then, love?”

“The weird new is that someone decided to foot his hospital bill,” she replied. In the background, he heard a car door squeaking open and shut as she got into her truck.

Sanji blinked, the smile falling away uneasily. The ball of anxiety in his stomach rolled.

“What?”

“Yeah. The doctor said whoever it was requested to remain anonymous, but they wanted to pay for all of his expenses; I have no idea who it could be, do you?”

“No,” he lied, mouth going dry.

“I mean, who the hell likes him enough to do that? I thought maybe some of his fans found out, but the bill was pretty big; I doubt even if they pooled money together they’d be able to afford it. So whoever it was must have a ton of money to just throw away like that,” she rambled, starting her truck. He heard it groan into life with a splutter and cough. “Anyway, that’s all I have for you now. I’m going to run by the drugstore to get his meds and then I’ll head over. How is he?”

“Nauseous, mostly,” Sanji remarked, his need to pour as many words of affection as he could upon her mysteriously absent. “He was sick earlier.”

“I figured he would be, he struggled with that a lot the last time he was hospitalized. Take care of him, I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay. Bye,” he said, unable to channel any of his usual flirty demeanor to send her away with.

With the call ended, Sanji stood still for a moment, trying to comprehend what she’d told him and how he’d best be able to relay it all back to Zoro before re-entering his apartment. He pocketed his phone and took a seat beside Zoro on the couch, who was beginning to look a bit better.

“Was that Nami?” he asked, to which Sanji merely nodded. “Tell her to bring me some weed.”

“Did anything weird happen while you were in the hospital?” Sanji asked, ignoring Zoro’s request. He met Zoro’s gaze with a serious look, which in turn made him frown. There was something about the refrained look Zoro held in his eye that told him something had happened. “What was it?”

For a moment, Sanji thought he wasn’t going to tell him. Biting the inside of his cheek, Zoro averted his eye to look solemnly at the floor.

“Robin,” he said eventually, looking up to stare into the dark screen of Sanji’s TV. He crossed his arms across his chest and slouched deeply into the cushions. “Robin came to visit me when I was in the hospital. Third day.”

A cold shiver shot down his spine, which he tried to suppress but was unable to do so completely. Robin again. How much had she told him? Would she have said anything to him about his involvement?

“Robin? That gorgeous woman who saved us at the art show?” It pained him to play dumb, but not knowing what she had said to him made him nervous.

“Yeah.”

“What did she want? Come to ask you for my number?” he joked, hoping that he wasn’t making too big of an ass out of himself.

Zoro’s face was stern and unreadable; a neutral expression that did little to ease Sanji’s nerves. As he was about to re-state his question, Zoro broke the queer way he was staring dead ahead and shrugged casually.

“Dunno. I was pretending to be asleep when she walked in because the damned doctor wouldn’t leave me alone that day. Duval said she didn’t do anything but read some of my cards and leave a bouquet I let Monet have. She didn’t stay very long.”

Sanji released the deep breath he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding. Another overwhelming sense of relief coursed through him, dissipating his anxiety even though he knew he’d have to tell Zoro the truth about Robin’s involvement at some point, but that time didn’t have to be now.

“That’s weird,” he said, relaxing back into his seat.

“What made you ask?” Zoro prompted then, mimicking Sanji’s action and shutting his eye.

“Oh, that’s right, Nami called. She said they were going to charge you an extra day for your room, but that you didn’t have to go back.” With all his anxieties lifted, he began chatting easily, some of his standard charm returning to him. “The reason I ask is that she said the staff said someone already paid your hospital bill for you.”

“The fuck?” Opening his eye, Zoro fixed Sanji with a look of utter surprise. “Who the hell-?”

Sanji shrugged and tried to play it cool.

“We couldn’t figure it out.”

Baffled, Zoro sat in a state of disbelief until he shook himself out of it.

“Fucking bizarre. I wonder if I can make them refund that; I don’t like the idea of being in debt to some anonymous asshole.”

If Sanji were in his position, he would’ve felt the same way. It would have driven him insane to know someone had done that for him without even telling him who they were.

“Could’ve been your teammates,” he theorized, trying to take Zoro’s train of thought away from possibly linking the act of generosity back to Robin. “Or even the fucker who hospitalized you to begin with.”

“Doubt it was the team,” Zoro muttered, though he seemed to have picked up on the idea that it could have been his aggressor trying to make amends. “Why would he have done it anonymously though?”

“No idea.”

“Fucking bizarre,” Zoro repeated quietly, and then closed his eye again. “I’ll settle it later.”

His visible eye was dark ringed and sunken, illustrating just how exhausted he was after struggling to get himself out of the hospital. In about half a minute he was asleep, his chest rising and falling slowly. Sanji had wanted to ask him about the song they’d listened to together earlier but knew it was important to let him rest, especially given the circumstances. There was still a thin sheen of sweat coating his skin, attracting Sanji’s gaze to Zoro’s resting face.

The couch wasn’t large enough for the two of them suddenly; they were far too close to each other and their proximity was beginning to make his heart start pounding. Sanji stood up hurriedly and stepped around into his kitchen. His face was warm and he knew he was blushing, causing him to scowl with embarrassment.

This was so unbecoming of him. It pained him to feel the emotions he did towards Zoro sometimes. With a forlorn sigh, he stared angrily at the little tufts of Zoro’s hair that he could see peeking out over the edge of the couch.

Green wasn’t so bad of a color.

Angrily he turned away and looked about his kitchen, itching for something to do that would distract him from thinking too much about it until Nami arrived.

The memory of her being so enthusiastic about eating his food before struck a node of inspiration within him. Perhaps he could work on making the three of them lunch for when she showed up. Zoro probably wouldn’t eat much considering the state he was in, but he could still make something nice and light for the three of them to theoretically enjoy together.

Nothing extravagant, he realized, as he opened his fridge to check his supplies. A simple soup and sandwich combo would likely have to do.

He stood there looking at what his fridge contained, thinking about what he could make for a moment before he began pulling out ingredients to make a chicken noodle soup and an avocado, tomato, and chicken sandwich.

Bringing out a saucepan and pot, he began to prep his kitchen for the task at hand. In mere moments, his anger and bad mood were lifted as he settled back into an old routine he had begun to miss.

The sounds of him bustling around the kitchen and making sure he had everything he needed filled his apartment, bringing a smile to his face. There was nothing he enjoyed doing more than cooking, and hoped that the next two weeks of his paid leave off would pass by quickly so he could return to work. A slight pang of sadness struck him as he thought about it, but he knew his position as head chef at the Baratie would still be there for him when he finally did return.

As he became progressively more ensnared with what he was doing, he didn’t realize that the prepping process had woken Zoro, who rose up sluggishly from his micro-nap. He turned his head to look over the couch and into the kitchen to see what Sanji was doing. From his position, though, there wasn’t much he could see.

Standing up with a slight grunt, he meandered to the tall bar island that divided the space between Sanji’s living room and kitchen. His host acknowledged his presence as he took a seat on one of the short bar stools that lined the divider and crossed his arms across the countertop, slouching down to rest his chin in the groove they created and watched as Sanji rolled out noodles from the homemade pasta dough he’d made.

“Feeling better?” Sanji asked, mindful of the way Zoro was casually staring at him. A noncommittal grunt and a lazy shrug of the shoulders told all. “Well at least you didn’t puke this time.”

“Maybe I should have.”

“I would’ve kicked your ass,” Sanji growled, carefully laying out the strands he had just rolled onto a baking sheet to rest.

Zoro cracked a cheeky grin, staring up at the cook with a playful look in his eye.

“You’ll never be able to kick my ass,” he said.

“I can kick your ass any day of the week,” Sanji muttered, turning his back on him so Zoro wouldn’t see how his face had begun to turn pink. That stupid look on his face had gotten to him.

“Big talk,” Zoro continued to drawl, his voice taking on a more mirthful tone. “You couldn’t fight your way out of a paper bag.”

“It’s like you’re just begging me to try and put your other eye out,” Sanji snapped as he moved to take two packets of chicken out of his freezer. He placed them in his sink and turned the hot water on, letting it pour over the chicken to quicken the thawing process. As he waited, he grabbed one of his knives and turned back to face Zoro and pointed at him with it. “And the only reason I’m not going to is because Nami would kill me if I did.”

Zoro scowled, and for a moment Sanji was afraid he may have gone too far with his jest.

“Can’t you do anything on your own without worrying about how it’s going to affect your ranking with her?”

Instead of rising to the taunt, Sanji held his tongue. The last thing he wanted to do was get into another fight with Zoro, especially with Nami on the way. Never mind the fact that Zoro had recently been badly injured, Sanji was supposed to be trying to get on better terms with him anyway, and arguing like that wasn’t the right way to go about it.

“Do you like avocado?” he asked instead, keeping his eyes focused as guided his knife through the pasta, expertly making the noodles smaller and evenly sized.

“No,” Zoro said, pulling a disgusted face at the thought and moving to sit up straight enough to take off the hoodie he’d been wearing. Sanji kept his apartment warm, and the extra insulation from the hoodie was beginning to make him uncomfortable.

“What?” Honestly surprised by the answer, Sanji stopped with what he was doing to shoot Zoro a wide-eyed look of disbelief. “Really? But it’s green?”

“What, just because something’s green that means I have to like it?” Zoro quirked his brow before beginning to laugh outright; a deep, booming sound that instantly filled the entirety of Sanji’s apartment.

Rather than let himself be embarrassed by the admittedly stupid thought, Sanji allowed himself to laugh along with him.

“What good is dying your hair the color of an avocado if you don’t like them, idiot?” he said around his laughter, setting his knife aside for the moment as his humors overtook him.

“My hair color has nothing to do with what foods I like, idiot,” Zoro retorted, sounding snarky as his laughter subsided. He was grinning still, but had begun to wince. The fit of laughter seemed to have brought the pain back into his eye.

Wiping his eyes clear with the back of his hand, Sanji poked the chicken under the water to test if it had thawed out enough.

“Favorite color, then?” he asked in an attempt to keep their surprisingly friendly chat alive while he waited, the chicken needing another minute or so to be ready for him to slice. He set the pot he’d filled with chicken stock earlier onto a burner and set it to high.

“More like it was the first color I saw on the shelf when I was younger.” A look of reflection crossed over Zoro’s face as he reminisced. He became somber for a moment, a distant look in his eye taking his thoughts to a memory Sanji couldn’t know.

The sound of the hot tap water splashing across the packaged chicken was the only thing that existed between them for a moment before Sanji remembered he had other things to prepare for their meal. Going to the fridge, he pulled out the tomato and avocado he was going to use for their sandwiches and placed them on his cutting board. When Zoro returned from his internal musings, he watched as Sanji began to demonstrate his expertise in the kitchen.

Sanji first washed the avocado under the water for a few seconds before replacing it on the board. With the tip of his knife, he held the avocado securely with one hand and then sliced through the center lengthwise and around the seed. After he had completed the full rotation, he twisted the two halves apart, cleanly separating half of the avocado from the large pit.

He then opened one of his silverware drawers and grabbed a spoon he could use to gingerly pluck the seed from the bulk of the fruit. Setting it aside, he then sliced the avocado into wedges before peeling the skin off. He tossed a piece of the peel at Zoro, which made him scowl and toss the peeling back at him.

“Can you tell me what the name of that song was we heard in the car?” Sanji asked then as he turned the hot water off and took the packages of chicken out of the sink. They seemed to have reached a point of amiability where he felt comfortable enough to ask about it.

“It’s not that great a song,” Zoro said with a lazy shrug. “Don’t know why you’d want to know.”

“I liked it,” Sanji replied, looking away from what he was doing to make strong eye contact with him. With his point made, he picked out a clean knife from his wood block and used it to cut open the thin plastic that kept the chicken wrapped. “I thought it was good.”

This time it was Zoro’s turn to go red in the face. He cast his eye away and stood up awkwardly fast.

“I don’t even remember what we called it,” he mumbled as he went back into the living room to lay out on the couch.

“Liar,” Sanji said, though it was more to himself than to Zoro. He raised his voice a bit so he knew he wouldn’t be ignored as he said, “Tell me a song of yours that is good, then.”

He half expected Zoro to say something along the lines of ‘none of them’ or something as he cut up the raw chicken into strands that would be small enough to put in the soup. With Zoro out of the kitchen, he could better focus on what he was doing; he’d almost let himself get distracted by his presence there.

From the other room he could hear Zoro inhale deeply as he pondered over the question.

“You’d probably like ‘Keepsake’, maybe,” he finally answered, though he didn’t sound too sure of his response.

Setting his knife down and turning on the sink with his elbow, Sanji quickly washed his hands so he could pull out his phone. He opened the Youtube app and then searched for the song Zoro had mentioned. Again, it was another song that wasn’t off of the album he had already listened to before. Turning the volume up, he was prepared to listen to the song as it began when Zoro suddenly shouted.

“What, what’s wrong?” Sanji asked as Zoro practically rolled off of the couch to run into the kitchen, almost sliding and falling onto the floor with his intense sense of urgency.

“Don’t listen to it now,” he said, trying to grab Sanji’s phone away from him so he could turn the song off.

“You said I could!” Sanji exclaimed, holding his phone closer to him so Zoro couldn’t get to it. That didn’t stop him from trying though, and Sanji realized that Zoro had no personal boundaries and was backing him into a corner towards the pot he was heating. “You’re going to knock us into the stove you fuck!”

Zoro backed off, but looked incredibly flustered. Sanji had seen his face in all sorts of shades today, but this was the first time he’d seen it so red.

“I’m not saying you can’t listen to it, but don’t do it now,” he said. Struggling for words, Zoro couldn’t quite figure out how to say what he wanted to say. When it came to writing songs, he could explain himself to the world with great ease, but trying to get his thoughts across to people face to face sometimes proved too great a feat for him to handle. “I don’t want you to listen to it right now. Listen to it later; it’ll be better if I’m not around."

“The hell is that supposed to mean?”

Even though he didn’t quite understand what it was that Zoro meant, Sanji exited out of the Youtube app all the same. Zoro grimaced, but seemed satisfied regardless. He didn’t answer Sanji’s question as he drifted out of the kitchen and left Sanji to finish preparing their meal in peace.

He didn’t understand what the big deal was as Zoro returned to his seat on the couch, sighing as he sank into the cushions. Maybe the drugs he’d been on at the hospital were messing with him now and influencing him to act as bizarrely as he was.

Sanji was ready to give him the benefit of the doubt on that one, but his behavior still ended up pissing him off. And to think they’d just had what possibly could have been considered the first civil conversation they’d had since they’d met.

The thought that the song may have had something to do with how Zoro felt towards Sanji never occurred to him.