#tatsumaki?? that's zoros move man.

[hauntingblue]

Sanji crucified and getting punished by a giant spider lady for his sins against women....

[camels-pen]

mmm read a hurt/comfort Zoro fic recently and like. I get it now. That guy DOES hurt so pretty. kinda wanna try my hand at it.

-

A voice disappeared.

Zoro stopped in his tracks, feet rooted to the spot.

Who was it? Where? How-?

Just barely, he managed to block a blade aiming for his neck.

Luffy was ahead of him, laughing his head off. The cook was a bright flaming beacon in the sky.

The rest? C'mon take a count, Zoro. Make sure.

Usopp. Nami. Chopper. Jinbei. Robin. Cook. Luffy.

What? Two? No, where were-

His breath hitched as he blocked another attack.

Calm down. Take a breath. Count again.

Usopp. Nami. Robin. Cook. Luffy.

Fuck. They couldn't-

No, they had to have left the battlefield. These guys were smallfry, even for the so called "weakling trio".

Zoro took a moment to focus on the enemy around him. He let off a tatsumaki before focusing again.

One at a time, Zoro. Come on.

Usopp.

Robin.

Sanji.

Zoro jerked, eyes wide and searching frantically.

"No, no no no no no. He can't have-" Luffy would never leave before the battle was done, not without making some kind of grand exit. He wouldn't leave without telling Zoro- telling anyone- about it.

He wouldn't up and disappear into thin air like that. Not unless-

Zoro shook his head roughly. They were fine, he just couldn't see them. It would be too much of a coincidence for them all to disappear like that. He just needed to count again, then regroup with Usopp, Robin, and the cook, and figure out what was going on.

Stay calm, Zoro. Losing your head won't find your friends.

So, again, Zoro breathed. And Zoro counted.

Usopp.

The only voice left, was Usopp.

Zoro wasted no time.

He sprinted as fast as he could, cutting down anyone in front of him almost as an after thought, as he bulldozed towards Usopp's voice.

He'd nearly made it too, when some dead man kicked his side hard enough to stop him in his tracks.

Zoro turned to him, a snarl on his face. "Get out of my way before I kill you."

"Huh?" The man sneered. "I should be saying the same thing, watch where you swing those swords, asshole."

Zoro was about to retort when he noticed Usopp's voice moving away from him. He didn't have time for this.

Without warning, Zoro moved to slice through his opponent and, to his surprise, the man blocked it with ease.

"You wanna go? Here and now?" the man growled. "I'll kick your fucking ass."

This man- Zoro has never met him before, but nonetheless felt he would need to pay him his full attention to have a chance at winning.

But Usopp was getting farther and farther-

Oh, Zoro could hit himself.

"USOPP!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, startling the man. "STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE, I'LL BE THERE SOON!"

Usopp didn't respond, but he stopped moving, and that was good enough for now.

"Hey!" The man yelled, pressing down on Zoro's swords. "Whatever you need him for can wait until after our battle's over. He's got his own problems to deal with."

Zoro didn't bother wasting his breath. He cut and slashed, throwing attack after attack without abandon. It didn't matter if he was wasting his energy, he needed to get to Usopp before- before-

The man, infuriatingly, blocked almost every blow, and got a few hits in on Zoro himself.

Zoro would get to Usopp, even if it killed-!

Suddenly, there was a crackle in the air and all at once, Zoro's nerves lit up with pure unfiltered pain.

He dropped to his knees, blurry vision wavering on black shoes. He couldn't feel his arms. Or his face. And his head was getting lighter and lighter.

Zoro's fading thoughts were prayers, to a god he didn't believe in, to keep his friend safe.

-

"GYAHHH, ZORO'S GONNA KILL ME!"

"Nami-swan, a little help please?" Sanji said, voice uncharacteristically strained.

"If you're asking, how can I say no?" Nami said, smirking. "Get out of the way... now!" The moment Sanji pushed off Zoro's swords to hop away, she brought down her Thunderbolt Tempo on top of Zoro. He fell to his knees before crumbling to the ground, twitching.

"You could've knocked him out on your own though, why ask for my help?" Nami asked.

"Ah well, it seemed he had a couple screws loose and I didn't want to kill what little braincells were remaining." Nami nodded in understanding.

The two of them turned to Usopp as he inched his way closer. He carefully prodded Zoro's thigh with his boot. "He's really unconscious, right? Not gonna get up anytime soon?"

Nami shrugged. "It's always hard to tell with him. But don't worry," -she stood tall, holding out her Climatact- "I'll shock him as many times as necessary."

"That means I get to live another day, so you have the Usopp deal of approval." Usopp gave her a thumbs up.

"What'd you even do to get him so pissed at you, Usopp?" Nami asked.

"Nothing!" He paused and looked away. "Well, nothing recently."

"He wasn't just mad," Sanji said. "He looked..." Scared, Sanji wanted to say. But the word was so... simple. Too simple. And it didn't explain the desperation in his eye. The wet sheen. The way he hardly blinked.

The way he kept himself facing the direction Usopp was in, revealing his constant use of Haki.

This wasn't just Zoro scared. This was Zoro terrified.

And Sanji had never seen him terrified before.

"...off," Sanji settled on, furrowing his brow. "He looked off."

Nami and Usopp hummed in thought.

The three of them stared down at Zoro's prone body. An ominous dark puddle started growing under him.

The three of them sighed.

"I'll call Chopper-" Usopp felt a tug on his ankle. He looked down. Zoro's hand was holding his boot. "I thought you said he was unconscious!" he yelled, trying to break his grip unsuccessfully.

Sanji poked Zoro with his shoe. Zoro didn't move. "He's still unconscious, so you're gonna have to be his teddy bear."

"What?! No!" He gripped onto Sanji's shirt. "Sanji-kun pleaaaaase free me before my ankle's crushed in his sleep!"

Sanji rolled an eye. "You'll be fine."

"Then can you go get Chopper? Zoro's losing a lot of blood."

"The mosshead'll be fine too. Also," -Sanji pointed to Luffy and Chopper doing some kind of strange combo attack, with Chopper in Heavy Point using Luffy as a whip- "I don't wanna break up their fun."

"Sanji-kun," Nami piped up. "Go get Chopper, please."

"Of course, Nami-swan!" Sanji immediately ran off.

-

The two of them quietly watched him go.

"Did you see what caused this?" Usopp asked.

Nami shook her head. "I know about as much as you do: Zoro suddenly taking out a big group at once and then charging towards you." She bit her lip. "I don't think he recognized Sanji."

Usopp sighed, squatting down to pull the bandana from green hair. He stared at the slackened face of his friend, hands tightening in dark fabric.

"What happened to you, Zoro?"

[mystech-master]

Death Battle Heroes Team Up

I and my friend have been talking about this idea for a while.

Imagine all of the heroes/anti-heroes that have shown up in Death Battle

The candidates for this team are anyone who can be considered a full-on hero (fight bad guys and save the world), or even an anti-hero (same but maybe with darker/more brutal methods/motivations, Red Hood, Venom became bros with Spidey later on IIRC, etc.), and they must have appeared on Death Battle, but I am willing to extend it to characters who have appeared in the animation but aren't the advertised combatants (Trish and Jeanne) or are basically confirmed (Ruby Rose and Maka Albarn + Soul Eater), just to add some variety to their franchise reps b/c DB has a shit load of Marvel and DC and many franchises have like 1-2 reps with many of them not even having their main character yet.

I imagine this crossover taking place in some weird nexus outside of space-time so we don't have to deal with the complete consequences of their settings crossing over as well as to explain how canonically dead characters are here too.

All Pokemon who appear in DB will just be a part of Red's collection. Charizard has the Mega Stone and we've seen that Mewtwo can Mega Evolve under his own power.

Imagine the chaos of having Tatsumaki, the Reds and Blues (Xeno Trunks would have an aneurysm after hearing about their time travel BS), 3 My Little Ponies, A couple of Shonen Dumbass protagonists, and more all working together.

Ben has pretty good samples of badass new DNA to scan for cool new transformations: Goku, Superman, Optimus Prime, and Glacius for example. I wonder if he would get Chozo DNA from scanning Samus?

Imagine all of the technology/science-based heroes all bringing their heads together to make something badass (Give Genos a freaking Upgrade so he isn't reduced to scraps in most of his fights).

Goku and Zoro now have plenty of new martial artists/swordsmen to learn and grow from. Yes, Goku is like 50 billion times Universal now and could wipe out all of them in one move, but he can still hold back against a weaker opponent if he thinks he can learn something new from them. Or at the very least he'd be happy to help other martial artists grow, like Ryu (Street Fighter, not Hayabusa), Po, Guy, and Lee.

We recently talked about the possibility that The Seven from The Boys, specifically Homelander, would try to muscle in and lead this team, saying that they are totally awesome heroes, but with Op people like Goku and Superman or the 4 super wizards (Fate, Zatanna, Strange, and Scarlet Witch) they are gonna be put in their place eventually.

The main problem with some of the options for heroes is that they are a bit too dark/brutal. Like we have Guts as a possible hero, but the world of Berserk is super hardcore compared to a lot of these franchises. It feels like if you have the setting or something from Berserk, someone would basically need to have all sorts of horrible shit happen to them (Killed, Eaten, that third thing that Boomstick mentioned in Guts vs Nightmare, or all 3 at once). The tonal clash really messes with this.

This is just a fun idea my friend and I have been talking about that I thought I'd share. It'd be interesting to see if anyone else has any interesting possible interactions between the heroes.

I'll try to list who I have as options (see after read more)

Starwars: Luke, Obi-Wan, Yoda

Metroid: Samus Aran

Street Fighter/Final Fight: Mike Haggar, Zangief, Chun-Li, Blanka, Ryu, Dan Hibiki, Cammy, Ken Masters

Mortal Kombat: Raiden, Scorpion, Sonya Blade, Sub-Zero, Johnny Cage

Marvel: Rogue, Thor, Spider-Man, Captain America, Deadpool, Iron Man, Beast, Wolverine, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Hulk, Venom, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man 2099, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Namor, Black Widow, Ghost Rider, Miles Morales, War Machine, Cable, Winter Soldier, Spider-Gwen, Iron Fist, Storm, Scarlet Witch, Magneto

DC: Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Green Arrow, Barry Alan, Batman Beyond, Raven, Doctor Fate, Nightwing, Aquaman, Shazam, Green Lantern, Static, Black Canary, Booster Gold, Wally West, Red Hood, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Zatanna

Mario Bros: Yoshi, Mario, Peach, Luigi, Donkey Kong

TMNT (either the 2003 4Kids version or Rise): Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo

Battletoads: Zitz

Killer Instinct: Black Orchid, Fulgore (the version who is starting to gain Eagle's mind), Glacius, TJ Combo, Sabrewulf (if they can get him help w his Lycanthropy)

Darkstalkers: Felicia, Jon Talbain

Blazblue: Taokaka, Ragna the Bloodedge

God of War: Kratos

Spawn

Dragon Ball: Vegeta, Son Goku, Majin Buu, Hercule Satan, Android 18, Master Roshi, Beerus, Broly, Trunks (not Xeno version so he'll match and Xenoverse is its own complicated BS). Since Gogeta and Vegito are the same guys they'll just have a pair of Potara so other characters can fuse even though they lack DBZ powers

Sonic the Hedgehog: Shadow, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Silver (similar deal to Trunks)

Harry Potter

Fatal Fury: Mai Shiranui, Terry Bogard

Transformers: Optimus Prime

MLP: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle

Halo/Red vs Blue (It's implied that they share a universe right?): Master Chief, Carolina, Sarge, Simmons, Griff, Donut, Lopez, Church, Tucker, Caboose, Tex (this one is subject to change with how they reference a lot of other media but it would mostly involve ignoring a joke or 3)

DOOM: Doomguy

Mega Man: Mega Man, Zero, Megaman X, Mega Man Trigger/Volnutt, Lan Hikari & MegaMan.EXE, Geo Stellar and Omega-Xis

Final Fantasy VII: Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart

Pokemon: Red (all pokemon are in his arsenal): Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Pikachu, Mewtwo, Lucario, Machamp

He-Man and She-Ra

Thundercats: Lion-O

Ninja Gaiden: Ryu Hayabusa

Strider: Strider Hiryu

Fox MCloud, Bucky O'hare, Terminator, RoboCop, Godzilla (iteration where he is more of an ally), MechaGodzilla (with or without Akane), Gamera

Power Rangers: Tommy Oliver (Tigerzord and Dragonzord), Jason, Billy, Trini, Tack, Kimberly

Gundam: Zechs in the Epyon, Amuro in the RX-78-2

Kirby: Kirby, King Dedede

Guilty Gear: Sol Badguy

Naruto: Gaara, Naruto Uzumaki, Jiraiya, Sasuke Uchiha, Might Guy, Kakashi Hatake, Rock Lee

Avatar: Toph, Aang, Zuko, Korra

Guts, Goliath

Metal Gear, Solid Snake, Otacon (remember if they show up in the animation they count), Raiden

Splinter Cell: Sam Fisher, Grimm

RWBY: Yang, Weiss, Blake, you could possibly count Ruby since Ben Singer did say that that matchup WILL happen as it was Monty's Request

Astro Boy

Tai and Agumon, Renamon

Devil May Cry: Dante, Trish, Vergil

Bayonetta, Jeanne

Ratchet & Clank

Jak and Daxter

Tracer

One Piece: Zoro, Ace, Sanji

Fairy Tail: Erza, Natsu, Gray

Lara Croft, Nathan Drake, Scrooge McDuck (reboot version), Shovel Knight

Voltron: Keith, Lance, Hunk, Alura, Pidge

Ichigo Kurosaki

JJBA: Jotaro Kujo, Jonathan Joestar

Kenshiro, Crash Bandicoot + Aku Aku, Spyro the Dragon + Sparx

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey

Pit, Leon Kennedy, Frank West (the last 2 were almost ignored but Marvel vs Capcom made me rethink it), Jin Kazama, Samurai Jack, Afro Samurai

MAYBE Lucy from Elfen Lied if some of the more paragon heroes manage to help get through to her, but she'd be a challenge

Ben Tennyson, Mitsuru Kirijo, Captain Falcon, Edward Elric, Hiei, Mob

One-Punch Man: Tatsumaki, Genos, Saitama

My Hero Academia: All Might, Shoto Todoroki, Deku

Danny Phantom, Jake Long

Like I said the Seven would try to join and take over but the super powerful characters can put them in their place: Homelander, Black Noir, Queen Maeve, A-Train, The Deep, and Starlight. Butcher might be brought in as well.

Soul Eater: Crona, and Maka + Soul Eater (similar logic to Ruby Rose up in the RWBy section)

Kill la Kill: Ryuko and Senketsu

Mikasa Ackerman, Po, Steven Universe, Star Butterfly, Alucard (the 4 super wizards putting a leash on him, some of the heroes' honorable nature, and DIO + Dracula being evil vampires might allow him to play nice for a time), Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado, Omni-Man, Excalibur

Bond and Wick are a bit too down to Earth to fit among all this fiction so either they'd be cut or they'd have to be handled very carefully

Spongebob and Asta

That is the total list of heroes that we've considered for this crossover.

[misc-headcanons]

Masterlist (NS.FW Edition!)

One Piece

Alphabet

Ace: B D R V W (sfw)  and F M

Bartolomeo: A-Z

Killer: A-Z

Law: A-Z

Lucci: EIJRX (sfw) and BEMFY

Headcanons

With a male s/o: Baby 5, Bonney, Hancock, Perona, Robin, Viola, Vivi

SFW and NSFW:  Kin’emon, Nami , Rayleigh and Shanks, the Vinsmoke brothers, 

Boobjob HC: Shanks, Zoro, Law, Ace, Kid, and Zoro

Ace having a child with his s/o (angsty)

Ace, Sabo, and Law with an inexperienced-yet-talented s/o

Baby 5 being drunk and a bit naughty with her s/o

Bartolomeo eating out his female s/o while she’s on her period

Bartolomeo’s girlfriend surprising him by cosplaying as Robin

Cracker’s female s/o discovering he has a breeding kink

(General NS.FW) Daifuku

Doflamingo w/ a former CD slave s/o

Doffy’s female s/o saying that she wants to be choked during sex

(General/fluffy NS.FW) Izo HC

Kaido with an s/o who can change their size

Physical features Katakuri and Mihawk find attractive in a female s/o

(Random) Katakuri HC

Killer and X-Drake with a female s/o that has a breeding/pregnancy kink

Kyros sleeping with an s/o for the first time after the events of Dressrosa

Law, Sanji, and Ace discovering their female s/o has an impregnation kink

Law, Zoro, and Sanji hearing their girlfriend touching themselves and saying their name

Law masturbating to his crush and feeling guilty afterwards

Law and Zoro being woken up with a morning blowjob

Law dirty talk

Mihawk, Lucci, and Law watching their wife breastfeed their newborn baby

Mihawk with a shy female s/o

Nami giving her boyfriend the best succ of his life

Pudding, Violet, and Perona getting dommed by their male s/o 

Sabo, Killer, and Zoro with a gf that wants to try pegging

Sanji and Zoro confessing to a chubby female s/o, but she doesn’t believe they’re serious

Smoker, Tashigi, and Luffy with a female s/o in a casual/hookup relationship

Tashigi and her male s/o on their first night after moving in together

Tashigi and her boyfriend sharing a romantic bubble bath after moving in together

Zoro and a male s/o almost getting caught during sex

Zoro and his female s/o trying aphrodisiacs together

Scenarios

Crocodile/M!Reader: Vulnerable (2/2)

Enel/F!Reader: A God’s Darling

Katakuri/F!Reader: Out of the Rain

Katakuri/F!Reader: Wedding Night (ficlet)

Katakuri!F!Reader: Appreciation

Kid/Minerva (OC): The Old-Fashioned Way

Kid/Minerva prompt: “You may be attractive, but I’m not sleeping with you”

Law/F!OC: The Soul Reaper

Law/F!Reader: Private Party (leaving a party w/ the Straw Hats to be “intimate”)

Law/F!Reader: Vulnerable

Law/F!Reader: Alone Together

Lucci/Mihawk/Law/F!OC: The Soul Reaper

Robin/F!Reader: Confession

Smoker/Reader: Office Interruption (ficlet)

Yonji/F!Reader: Slap (ficlet)

Zoro/Chubby!F!Reader: Show Me

BNHA

Headcanons

General NS.FW:  Jirou,  Setsuna and Kinoko, Tomura, Mina

Valentine’s Day HC: Setsuna and Momo

Kirishima and Izuku getting woken up to a morning blowjob

Mandalay and Burnin’ trying to pounce on their s/o after getting super turned on

Miruko/Ryukyu relationship headcanons (SFW and NSFW)

Miruko with a dom s/o

Nejire, Ryukyu, and Mt. Lady with a male s/o that gives them a lingerie version of their Hero costume

Setsuna, Pixie Bob, and Midnight approaching their innocent/shy male s/o about sex

Setsuna and her male s/o cooking together, leading to...shenanigans

Scenarios

Mr. Compress/Reader: Most Magicians (ficlet)

Twice/F!Reader: Breaking Point 

Kinoko/M!Reader: Missed You

Bleach

Alphabet

A-Z: Rukia, Soi Fon, Yoruichi

Headcanons

With a male s/o: Rangiku, Yoruichi

Flirting, relationship, and NS.FW: Chad, Izuru, Kyoraku

Kukaku w/ an adoring male s/o

Orihime/Ichigo in a BDSM relationship

Orihime/Ichigo/Uryu/Chad in a poly BDSM relationship

Tatsuki, Soi Fon, and Kukaku getting dommed by a male s/o

One Punch Man

(SFW and NSFW) Tatsumaki with a male s/o

Multiple Fandoms

Aizawa and Zoro sleeping with their female s/o for the first time

Nnoitra and Kid SFW and NS.FW HC

Rukia and Baby 5 being tipsy and extra affectionate with their virgin s/o at a Christmas party

Setsuna and Baby 5 relationship HC

[the-bucket-lover]

This is my @onepiecesecretsanta2018 for @pingo1387. I wish you only the best and I hope you enjoy this. This is the first time I'm writing for this ship, or any OP ship for that matter. I hope it is good and that you will like it! Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! :D

~~~

Sanji started cutting the potatoes for tonight's dinner, only to have something to with his hands. He finished the soup he made for Zoro already and even though it was way too early to get started on the food, just waiting around was killing him.

The door to the sick bay opened and the small reindeer walked out.

“How is he?” Sanji asked attempting to be as nonchalant as possible and failing since Chopper gave him a weird, worried look. It wasn't every day that Sanji expressed his concern for the marimo.

“He got a couple of broken ribs. He just needs to rest. Nothing to be worried about,” Chopper replied with an encouraging smile.

“Who says I'm worried?!” Sanji exclaimed determined to make the doctor change his opinion.

Chopper's smile widened before he slipped out the door leaving Sanji alone in the kitchen. He glanced at the chopped potatoes before he sighed and moved to sit down at the table. He wasn't really in the mood to do it anymore, which was highly unusual for him.

He lit a cigarette, brought it to his mouth and took a long drag. He leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes remembering the battle from before.

It wasn't anything they couldn't handle. Just some noname pirates who had more numbers than any real combat skill. The problem was that they showed up during a storm. And they liked to play dirty.

Who would have thought that they would fire freaking canons at the Straw Hats? Certainly not Sanji who was too busy making sure that those bastards would keep their filthy hands away from his kitchen. That’s why he wasn't on the lookout for cannonballs.

If asked he would never admit to letting his guard down. But he did. He thought that these small fry would not be worth the effort. In the end it wasn't him who paid the price.

He didn't hear the first shot, or he assumed it was thunder, so Sanji never really checked behind him. He only looked when he heard the sound of a cannonball hitting something and then a deep groan. His breath hitched when he recognized who it belonged to.

He kicked the heads of the three pirates in front of him and dropped down on his knees besides Zoro. He let out a breath of relief when he saw that the swordsman was still breathing.

“What are you doing? Are you an idiot?” Zoro groaned as he attempted to stand up. He stabbed the floor with Ichimonji and leaning on it, he stood up clutching his side. Sanji briefly wondered how many canons it would take to put this guy down for good.

“Wait, what are you doing? You just got hit by a canon!” Sanji shouted, being met with only silence.

“Hey!” Sanji insisted and he heard Zoro click his tongue.

“Shut up. You’re annoying!” Zoro put Wado in his mouth and unsheathed his other katana. “Tatsumaki,” he barely whispered before about a dozen enemy crewmembers flew up into the air.

Sanji spent longer than necessary watching Zoro's back before he sensed two enemies trying to sneak up on him. He turned towards them and kicked their skulls with ease.

It wasn't long until all of the enemy pirates were down. The only thing they had to worry about now, was the storm. It took about an hour or two for the skies and waters to finally calm down and it was only then they had time to breath.

Just as everyone debated celebrating their victory Zoro began coughing loud and violent and Chopper was near him in an instant. A few second later, they disappearing in the infirmary.

Sanji opened his eyes again when the door opened, watching as the Straw Hats walked inside chatting merily. He looked through the small window noticing the darkened sky and the rain falling.

“Is everything going to be alright, Nami-san?” Sanji asked nodding towards the rain.

“Yeah, it should be fine,” she replied as everyone moved to take a seat at the table.

“More importantly are you going to be alright?” Usopp asked with a sly smirk.

Sanji raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn't I be?”

“Your knight just took a hit for you, Mr. Prince,” Robin replied with the same weird smile.

Sanji narrowed his brows and looked around the table. Everyone except Luffy and Chopper had weird look on their face. As if they were all let on on something and he wasn't.

“What are you talking about? What's going on?”

“Oh, please, Sanji-kun. As if you could ever fool us,” Nami said her tone indicating that she had just solved a mystery.

“I really don't know what you guys are talking about,” Sanji replied dumbfounded.

“Nami-san is talking about how much closer you and Zoro-san have gotten lately,” Brook said followed by a small “Yoho.”

“Yeah, so much closer,” Usopp said with a suggestive wink and Sanji finally understood what they were implying.

“What?” Sanji sputtered and he felt his cheeks heat up like he was fifteen. “That's ridiculous! No way!”

“Is that so?” Robin asked before she laughed at his bewildered expression.

“I love women! Women! Not men and most certainly not that marimo in there!” Sanji exclaimed feeling more unsure with every spoken word.

“Wait? Sanji loves Zoro?” Luffy asked suddenly joining the conversation probably getting bored by the game he was playing with Chopper.

“I do not!” Sanji yelled feeling that it most certainly won't change anyone's opinion.

Everyone around the table laughed at his reaction before Usopp began singing. “Sanji and Zoro sitting in a tree,”

Sanji clicked his tongue in annoyance even though he still felt the blush on his cheeks. “What are you, five?”

“K-I-S-S--”

Usopp stopped abruptly when Sanji glared at him. He could see him gulp before he pressed his lips into a firm line and not say anything anymore.

Suddenly, a groan was heard from the sick bay and Sanji was on his feet even before Chopper. The reindeer rushed into the infirmary and Sanji glared at everyone in the room. Except for Nami and Robin. He would never hold anything against them.

“Not a word,” he warned.

“Ou, no need to be ashamed! Love works in strange ways!” Franky said loud as ever and Sanji wondered how it took him so long to say anything about the subject.

Chopper stepped out of the infirmary and he turned to Sanji. “Is the soup ready? He should eat to gain strength again.”

Sanji nodded and walked up the stove, grateful for the distraction. He got a bowl and poured the soup in it. He grabbed a spoon and walked right past the expectant reindeer.

He looked down at Chopper who seemed confused. “I was hoping to-” Sanji pointed to the door.

“Sure, go ahead. I think he wanted to see you as well,” Chopper said moving to sit down at the table.

Sanji ignored the suggestive looks thrown his way and entered the infirmary. Zoro was on the bed his entire torso bandaged. Sanji already felt guilty enough about Zoro’s condition without seeing him all beat up like that.

“Hi,” Sanji breathed out after he realized that he didn’t say anything for a good minute.

Zoro only nodded in acknowledgement and Sanji walked up to the bed. He handed him the soup and spoon and sat down on a chair.

“Thanks,” Zoro barely muttered before he dug in. It didn't take him long to finish it and handed the bowl back to Sanji. “I don't suppose you go some booze, do you?”

While eating, the silence was heavy and almost awkward and Sanji found it hard to believe all that heaviness would evaporate with only one sentence.

“You're not serious right now, are you?” Sanji asked in disbelief. “You don't seriously think I would sneak booze in Chopper's infirmary?”

Zoro shrugged and Sanji felt irritation build up inside him. He gazed at Zoro’s chest and decided to confront him. “What were you thinking?”

The swordsman raised an eyebrow. “What was I thinking? What were you thinking? You let your guard down!”

That made the comeback on Sanji's tongue die down. Silence followed, the cook not knowing what to say anymore. He decided on the question that had been nagging him since he first saw Zoro lying on the ground from the cannonball. “Why did you take the hit for me?”

Zoro didn't answer and for the first time since Sabji had known him, he averted his gaze. It seemed to take him a great deal of effort to say what he said next. “I just didn't want to see you lying here on this bed.”

If Sanji didn't know what to say before, now he was completely speechless. He studied Zoro's face for any sign of deceit or something to prove it was a joke, but he couldn't find anything. Not for the first time, the cook noticed how handsome he looked and he felt he had to look away in order to stop his thoughts from straying too far. But he didn’t look away.

Zoro must have felt his gaze on him, but he still looked at Sogeking's wanted poster on Chopper's wall. Sanji wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a blush on Zoro's cheeks.

He suddenly felt like it was too much. How could he feel this way about Zoro, Sanji didn't understand so he averted his gaze again, deciding that his lap would be a much better alternative.

He looked at Zoro's hand, who was close to Sanji’s knee and he suddenly the urge to hold it. So he did. His fingers barely brushed Zoro, but in that moment the swordsman abandoned the King of Snipers to look at Sanji again. He seemed surprised and confused.

Since he didn't pull away, Sanji took it as a good sign so he took Zoro's entire hand in his own. It was calloused and rough and nothing like a lady's. But Sanji didn't mind.

“Don't do it again,” Sanji finally said.

“Do what?” Zoro seemed even more confused than before.

“Take a hit for me,” Sanji replied quietly. “I was worried.”

Zoro smirked. “Were you now?”

“I'm serious, you dumb marimo!” That made Zoro shut up.

The swordsman sighed before he put his fingers under Sanji's chin to make him look at him again.

He didn't think he could ever get used to this. To Zoro being so gentle; to wanting to be close to a man so much and that man being Zoro. It was weird and new and Sanji didn't really know what he was supposed to do.

“I don't think I could ever get used to this,” Sanji whispered saying his thoughts against Zoro's lips only then realizing how close they got. He didn't really know why he told Zoro this, but maybe being honest was best.

“There’s plenty of time,” Zoro answered and Sanji couldn't stand it any longer. He closed the distance between them with a kiss.

It wasn't the best kiss he’d had, far from it but it was so different than the rest and it felt good and he wondered why it took so long for this to happen.

Brook and Usopp were right: They became closer lately. Not only during battles when they had each other's back, but even their fights were different and they lacked the fire from before. Sanji could understand how those fights could be mistaken for flirting.

The door opened and Chopper entered. They pulled back the moment they heard the creak of the door but it wasn't quick enough. Chopper had seen and Sanji idn't really know what to think of that.

The doctor's eyes widened and he stepped back. “Luffy was right. Sanji does love Zoro!”

That was one way to put it, but the triumphant smirk on the swordsman face made everything that happened absolutely not worth it.

“Does he now?”

Sanji sighed and shook his head. “You'd sure like to hear that. Well then, you won't. Sleep well.”

With that Sanji was out the door trying his best to ignore the Straw Hats who were cheering at him. He stepped out onto the deck, lit a cigarette and took a long drag. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen from now on, but whatever it was, Sanji knew he would not regret it.