The galley smelled like butter and sugar. Sanji stood at the counter with his sleeves rolled to the elbow, tie loosened and hanging askew, the top button of his shirt undone. Mid-morning sunlight streamed through the portholes. The Sunny rocked beneath his feet. He had a little while until he needed to think about prepping lunch.
He heard the door open behind him, followed by the familiar clomp of boots. He was surprised. Zoro normally didn’t come in for another hour, seeking a drink post-workout. He didn’t bother turning, cutting out a few more cookies and transferring them to the cookie sheet. “What do you want, marimo?”
Arms slid around his waist, and a forehead rested against the back of his neck. “Sanji. I need to be punished.”
Sanji stilled. That wasn’t the tone of a frisky Zoro, wanting attention. Zoro’s voice was small, serious, a hint of brokenness in it. Concern flared in Sanji’s chest. What could Zoro think he had done to deserve a true punishment? “What do you mean, pet?”
Zoro’s arms tightened around Sanji. “I- Something happened.”
“Tell me,” Sanji said, trying not to think the worst. Things had been great between them for a while now. They’d been having fun in their open Dominant/submissive relationship, content in their love for each other. Satisfied – or so Sanji thought.
“I ran into someone. Last night,” Zoro began. “Someone I was with, before you.”
The Sunny docked at Moonwater Isle early in the evening the day prior. The crew had split up, running errands and enjoying the town. The tri-log pose would take two nights to set, giving them time to explore.
Sanji had spent the previous evening restocking the ship, shooing Zoro off to a tavern instead of letting him play packmule. He’d gone shopping with Chopper and Usopp, organized the supplies with quiet satisfaction, then joined Zoro and Jinbe at an upscale restaurant. It had been a pleasing night, and he’d gone to bed early, planning what naughty things he wanted to do with Zoro today.
But now Zoro was here, requesting punishment for a transgression. Skipping training. Throwing Sanji off course.
“Go on,” Sanji said, already certain he wasn’t going to like it.
He heard Zoro swallow before continuing. “My feelings came back for him. I- I really liked him. I was heartbroken when we ended it.”
Sanji’s stomach dropped.
“I love you,” Zoro went on in a cracked rush. “I’m yours. Only yours.”
Sanji ached. For himself. For Zoro. For what they have. For what might be lost. “I know you’re mine. I own you.” His mark nestled behind Zoro’s left ear – his name burned permanently into skin.
When Zoro spoke again, his voice was barely a whisper. “I don’t understand why I feel like this.”
And Sanji knew this wasn’t something that could be brushed off. Punished away. The one thing that mattered to Sanji, above everything, was Zoro’s happiness. Taking care of and tending to him. Giving him what he wanted. What he desired. And if that was no longer something Sanji could do for him, he had to let Zoro go.
“Zoro,” Sanji said, keeping his tone as steady as possible, even as the words scraped at him on the way out. “You need to go to him. Find out why.”
“But–”
Sanji cut him off. “No buts. Consider this a command from your Dom. Go to him. Do anything and everything with him. Don’t hold back.” He squeezed Zoro’s wrist. “If you still have feelings for him, you need to figure out what that means for yourself.”
Zoro’s arms trembled slightly. His breath came quickly, gusting against Sanji’s collar.
“What do you say?” Sanji asked pointedly.
“Yes, Dom.”
“Good pet.” Sanji extracted himself from Zoro’s hold, picking up the cookie cutter, going back to work. Holding himself together by a thread. “Go.”
He heard a low sound of pain in the back of Zoro’s throat, then bootsteps as he left. The galley door shut behind him with a final click.
Sanji dropped the cutter and pressed the heels of his hands to his stinging eyes. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he swore brokenly. It felt like his chest was being carved in two.
He loved Zoro. He loved Zoro so fucking much. To lose him might end him. Zoro wouldn’t leave the ship, wouldn’t join another crew, but if he wanted a relationship with whomever this other man was, Sanji would end things. He could share – loved sharing – his beloved pet with anyone and everyone, but not emotionally. Not his heart.
He knew it was selfish to even think like this. Zoro had made it clear that if Sanji found someone else, he’d never leave. He’d be the owned pet in the background, forever loyal and subservient. Sanji didn’t think he could do that; watch Zoro love someone else even while being owned by him.
Sanji stifled a sob, not wanting anyone to hear. He didn’t want anyone to witness his shattering heart.
Zoro didn’t return until the next morning, twenty-four hours later.
Sanji saw rope burns on his neck, across his cheeks, decorating his chest beneath his open coat. He walked gingerly, with a hitch. He stank of sex, of sweat, of submissive pain. His gaze was clear, though, when he met Sanji on the aft deck. A content smile played across his lips.
Sanji’s chest seized, the cigarette trembling between his fingers. He forced himself not to let on how scared he felt. “Well?”
Zoro sank to his knees, curving his arms around Sanji’s waist, nuzzling against his crotch. “I’m yours.”
Relief nearly knocked Sanji’s knees from under him. His pet still belonged to him and him alone. He threaded his fingers into Zoro’s hair, tugging harshly. “Show me.”
Zoro let go, rose, and began shedding his clothing, katanas resting against the rail. Once nude, Sanji could see the damage to his skin – an intricate webbing of rope burns from bondage, bruises and lashes, scrapes and abrasions. A series of delicate cuts desecrated his shaft and sac, blood crusted over. The slit in the head appeared swollen around the gold hoop.
Zoro turned around, his back barely touched, a rope burn here and there. He knelt down, bending until his head rested on the deck, reaching back to properly present himself to Sanji. Dark, purpled bruises colored his ass. His hole had a few tears, bruised and swollen, a deep, scabbed cut bisecting the rim. Dried cum streaked his asscheeks and thighs. With his spread knees, a scored mark stood out – Sanji’s name emblazoned on the underside of Zoro’s balls.
A dark smirk curved Sanji’s lips. “He marked you with my name?”
“Asked him to, after,” Zoro said, voice muffled by his position. “Wanted another reminder that I’m yours.”
Sanji crouched down, caressed Zoro’s bruised asscheek, dug his thumb into Zoro’s abused hole over the cut. It began to bleed. “What happened here?”
“Got fucked by a sword. Blade end.”
Sadistic pleasure washed through Sanji. “Bet you looked so pretty.”
Zoro’s voice caught when he responded. “I had fun.”
“But…”
“Those feelings that I had just… went away.” Zoro turned his cheek on the deck, peering back toward Sanji. “It was good. I liked it, liked being around him, what we did. But it could’ve been anyone and I would’ve enjoyed it the same.”
Sanji rubbed his thumb back and forth over the cut, pressing in and out of Zoro’s well-used hole, earning a quiet hiss. “Because you’re mine.”
“Yes, Sanji.”
Satisfaction curled in Sanji’s gut at the use of his name, in that submissive tone. “I’m going to open you up. See what he did to my baby.”
He left Zoro on the deck, uncaring if anyone stumbled upon him. The crew were used to their play, though they tried to keep it contained to private spaces. No one usually came to the aft deck behind the galley, except for them.
Sanji ducked into Chopper’s infirmary, taking the metal speculum and gel. He grabbed a clean towel as well, from the pile Chopper kept, and returned to the deck.
Morning sunlight painted Zoro’s bare skin a soft gold, highlighting the marks and bruises. His supplicant position pulled at something hungry within Sanji. He loved Zoro on his knees, being at his mercy, at his whims, at his dark desires. He relished at the visible evidence of being used, but savored the fact that his pet belonged solely to him.
Sanji extinguished his cigarette, knelt on the deck behind Zoro, and rolled up his shirtsleeves. He coated the speculum with gel, then eased it sideways into Zoro’s hole. He pressed deep, then opened it as far as the setting allowed. Zoro’s hole gaped wide, exposing him internally, showing Sanji what the blade-fucking had done.
It was beautiful. Precise. A long, deep cut sliced as far as Sanji could make out, but it didn’t seem to require medical attention. The thought aligned slowly, inexorably – care had been given already. This had been left behind on purpose, for Sanji to see.
He chuckled softly. “Smug bastard.”
“Hm?”
“Nothing, love.” Sanji withdrew the speculum, watched with delight as Zoro’s hole gaped for a moment before closing again. He set it on deck, then used the gel to liberally coat his own hands and partway up his forearms.
With a happy hum, Sanji touched his fingers together, thumbs tucked between his palms, creating an arrow with his fingertips. Zoro still held his cheeks open in proper presentation. The mottled bruising on his backside looked pretty under the sun.
Sanji pressed his fingers against Zoro’s hole, then pushed steadily in. The puckered furl bloomed open around him as he sunk both hands into Zoro’s body. A high-pitched whine tore from Zoro’s throat, and he rolled his forehead on the deck, hands spasming against his skin. Sanji didn’t pause, driving forward until he penetrated up to his forearms.
Zoro felt warm, soft, and gave easily. Sanji fisted him with both hands, splitting him wide. The cut bled, smearing across his wrists. Zoro babbled incoherently with staggered gasps and stuttered keens.
Sanji’s sadistic, satyric heart reveled in every sight, every sound of his pet being speared relentlessly. He fucked Zoro until his beautiful boy’s entire body trembled, sobs hitching in his throat. Then he pushed in a final time, going deep, and asked in a low, demanding tone, “Who do you belong to?”
“You!” Zoro sobbed. “Just you. Only you.”
Sanji’s lips curled. “That’s right, my pretty bitch. Forever mine.”
He withdrew his hands, wiped himself clean on the towel, then manhandled Zoro between his thighs, purposely setting him on his abused ass. Zoro’s cry of pain sounded delicious in Sanji’s ears, and he licked the tears from Zoro’s cheeks. He tucked Zoro against him, wet face against his neck, and stroked Zoro’s arm while he shook and sobbed.
Sanji waited, watching the harbor between the rails, allowing Zoro to settle in his arms. He pressed a kiss to Zoro’s hair when he finally fell quiet, save for the occasional soft sniffle. “Better, baby?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Zoro’s voice was hoarse, his fingers gripping the front of Sanji’s shirt.
Sanji drew back, used a finger to tip Zoro’s chin. Zoro’s face was mottled, streaked with drying tears. His reddened eye met Sanji’s, green lashes still damp. “I would have let you go.”
Zoro sniffed and nodded slightly. “I know.”
“I’m glad that I don’t need to,” Sanji said, and his own voice cracked. “I love you. So very much.”
Zoro’s lips wobbled into a smile. “I love you, too.”
Sanji kissed him softly on the mouth. “Let’s get you cleaned up and tended to. Do you want anything special to eat?”
“Do you have any of those cookies you made?”
Sanji tiled his head. “You don’t really like cookies.”
Zoro’s lashes swept down. “Yeah, but you made them.”
A quiet laugh fell from Sanji’s lips. “Okay, love. You can have cookies and milk like a good little boy, and then I’ll tuck you in for a nice, long nap.”
Smiling broadly now, Sanji stood, hefting Zoro onto his feet. He smacked Zoro on the bare ass. “Up to the bath with you. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Okay,” Zoro agreed with a flash of a smile, then he was gone.
Sanji collected Zoro’s clothing and katanas, leaving them on the galley couch. He washed himself and the speculum in the sink. He put it in the infirmary bin to be sterilized, dropped the used towel in the laundry basket, and returned the gel to its place.
He paused, staring out the porthole at the sky beyond. White clouds drifted along the horizon, a flock of birds cutting black against the blue. His heart settled in his chest, warmth and contentment returning. Zoro was still his.
Everything was as it should be again.
End