Feral

Roronoa Zoro jolted back to consciousness with a longing for alcohol and a desperate need to smell everyone’s scents. “Booze!” he exclaimed as he sat bolt upright, at the same time hearing Luffy shout, “Meat!”

They were both in an unfamiliar bedroom, with shoji walls, twin beds, and a table between them. Wood beams broke the whiteness of the ceiling. A fan whirred overhead. Lightweight curtains blew in the breeze coming through the open window. IV bags ran to their arms, sensors to their bandaged chests, and medical equipment beeped steadily from beside the beds. 

Chopper ran excitedly through the open door and into the room. “You’re awake! Both of you!” 

Zoro started sniffing the air, glancing at Luffy, who was doing the same, as Chopper checked them both over, babbling about their grievous wounds and what he’d done to save their lives. Zoro smelt the stronger scents of his alpha-heavy nakama first: Luffy, beside him; Nami and Robin, in the next room; Franky’s distinct modified scent, further away. He took another deep breath, searching for his betas, wanting to know that everyone was okay. He found Usopp’s scent, faint but there. But no matter how hard he sniffed, he couldn’t smell Sanji.

Zoro felt a ball of anxiety forming in his stomach. His eye met Luffy’s, and Luffy appeared equally distressed. Luffy hadn’t smelled Sanji, either. “Chopper, are Brook and the cook okay?” Zoro asked, including his no-scent skeletal nakama in the question. 

The raid on Onigashima had been brutal. Zoro’s fight with Kaidou and Big Mom had left him with numerous cuts and broken bones, and then he’d been given a special treatment to heal him quickly, but at a cost. After Zoro’s vicious fight with King, between his injuries and the Grim Reaper trying to enact repayment, he’d barely survived. 

“Brook is fine. Nothing a glass of milk couldn’t handle,” Chopper said, poking and prodding at Luffy. Luffy had bandages up to his neck and over his head. Zoro was bandaged similarly, his green hair sticking out the top of his bandages in tufts. “Sanji is… physically okay.”

Zoro didn’t like the way Chopper said that. Neither did Luffy. “Why can’t we smell him?” Luffy said.

“He’s not here.” Chopper sounded nervous. “You two need food and something to drink. Stay in bed! Do not move!”

The little reindeer doctor escaped before Zoro or Luffy could question him more. Sanji not being there would explain why Zoro couldn’t smell him, but the anxiety Zoro had became greater. He’d expected Sanji to be there, expected to attack him with intent to find out why Sanji had said what he’d said. “The cook called me during my fight with King,” Zoro told Luffy. “Said if he lost himself, I needed to promise to kill him.”

Luffy’s expression was serious. “Did you promise?”

Zoro nodded. 

“Good.” Luffy turned his head and looked out the open window as if searching for Sanji. “Keep it, only if you need to.”

Zoro closed his eye, pained by the thought that he would need to follow Luffy’s alpha command to do so. He and Sanji weren’t the best of friends, but they were still nakama. The beta gave him shit about being the crew’s only omega and Zoro gave Sanji shit about not being an alpha. The two of them physically fought, bickered, and otherwise annoyed each other, but Zoro trusted Sanji completely, which was very difficult for Zoro to do. As an omega, he’d learned early on that he’d be used and abused if he didn’t keep his distance. 

But Luffy had managed to convince him to join the Straw Hat crew and Zoro slowly became friends with his crewmates. Luckily, due to his overly excessive training, Zoro’s heats – the times of year where an omega’s body was naturally most fertile and became overwhelmed by feverish lust and the aching need to be bred – were few and far between. He wore powerful topical scent blockers anytime he was off the ship. The Straw Hat alphas weren’t interested in him, even during his heats and their alpha ruts. Luffy had iron control over himself and Nami was a lesbian. Robin and Franky had immediately bonded upon meeting. The betas and the non-humans in the Straw Hat family were not a threat. Zoro started giving his trust to them and he wasn’t hurt in return. It took time, but Zoro found that he could count on them and that they were truly nakama. The thought of losing any one of them clawed Zoro up inside, and now there was a possibility that he would have to be the one to kill Sanji.

Zoro rubbed his lower belly, where his faded c-section scar was. He didn’t know what was going on, but would do everything in his power to save Sanji. Sanji’s leaving last month, to deal with his previously unknown family, had caused Zoro to go into an angry, emotional snit while gutting him at the same time. Thankfully, Luffy ignored Zoro’s bitter words and went after his missing beta. Luffy’s alpha need to protect was the strongest out of all of the alphas on the ship and he refused to let any of his nakama go without a fight. Luffy had brought Sanji back and Zoro had been relieved, his omega hindbrain happy that his family was still together. But now he might lose Sanji again, permanently this time, and Zoro suddenly, desperately, wanted the safety of a nest.

Secondary genders were common in the world and all humans had one. Alphas, who were built to lead and protect, to take care of others, were the dominants of the secondary genders. Betas were closely related to their primary gender, with faint scents, no cycles or ruts, and low ability to detect smells. Omegas were hardwired to support alphas in any way, to tend to their needs, and to bring babies, known as pups, into the world. Though society wasn’t strictly hierarchical, and rigid structures weren’t adhered to in most of the Blues, instincts, scents, sounds, and cycles ruled alpha and omegas, turning emotions and actions into something primal, instinctive, chemical, visceral, and nearly impossible to ignore.

Zoro tried to fight it. He was stronger than his omega emotions and instincts, damn it. But the longer he sat there, the more his stress turned his insides into knots. He twisted the blanket over his waist in his hands, inadvertently tearing the material. His chest felt tight, and he had a shortness to his breath.

Luffy suddenly sniffed the air again and his dark eyes and his own scent warmed with reassurance. “Zoro, don’t be stressed and sad. We don’t know if anything is wrong, yet. Sanji could be fine.” 

Hearing Sanji’s name from Luffy’s mouth sent Zoro over the edge into full-blown anxiety. Zoro mewled quietly in his throat, hindbrain taking over, pulling the pads and IV from his body. He got out of the bed, unsteady on his feet from his wounds and being unconscious. He fought the wave of dizziness, steadied himself, then grabbed his blanket and sheets from his bed and threw it in the corner of the bedroom. Dressed only in a pair of loose-fitting trousers, Zoro tugged at the clothing Luffy was wearing with another mewl before yanking off the blanket on Luffy’s bed. 

“Okay, Zoro.” Luffy disentangled himself from the tubes and wires, pulled his clothes off, and gave them to Zoro. He helped Zoro take his sheets, as well, then sat cross-legged, unabashedly naked, in the stripped bed. He gave Zoro a small smile. “Make your nest. I’ll guard it for you.”

Zoro nodded and piled the Luffy-scented clothing, sheets and blankets in the corner with his own. He ventured outside the bedroom, into a great room, spotting his other nakama and Wano friends, Kin’enmon, a grown up Mononsuke, and Hiyori. They hurried over to greet him, ask after his injuries, but Zoro was too absorbed in his nesting to focus on them. 

“Bro, you smell sad,” Franky said, as Zoro tugged at his shirt. “What’s going on?”

“Nest,” Zoro told him, loud enough for everyone to hear. 

“Ah. We got you, Zoro.” Like Luffy, Franky immediately shed his shirt and speedos, handing them over. 

“Franky, can you get us some towels,” Robin told Franky, even as she stripped out of her kimono and underthings right there, in front of everyone. 

“Will do, babe,” Franky said, heading nakedly in a different direction in the residence.

Zoro vaguely understood they were in a big house of some sort, with a great room that other rooms branched off from. The great room had shoji walls, bamboo floors, low chairs, multiple kotatsu, and cushions spread out on the ground.

Nami removed her own kimono and underthings, passing them over without hesitation. “Good thing Sanji isn’t here. He doesn’t deserve a second show.”

Zoro made a sound of distress when he was reminded that Sanji was missing. Nami immediately pushed out reassuring pheromones. “Shh, Zoro. Go make your nest. You’ll be okay.” 

The alphas had no problems getting naked in front of each other or strangers. Brook quickly stripped down as well, adding to the pile of clothing in Zoro’s arms. “I know I do not have an alpha’s scent any longer, but you always have my support, Zoro-san.”

Kin’emon, a beta, disrobed. “You have greatly helped us, let us in turn help you.”

Hiyori, another beta, giggled softly as her things joined the pile. “I had not expected to be naked in your presence so soon!”

Usopp held his own clothes in his arms. “You want me to help you carry those?” he asked Zoro, eyeing the towering pile Zoro held.

“No.” Zoro turned back to the bedroom where he and Luffy had been recuperating. He carried his namakas and friends' clothing with him. Usopp trailed behind him and handed over his clothes when Zoro added what he carried to the pile in the corner. 

Momonosuke hurried in behind them, shedding his yukata. “Here, don’t forget mine.”

Zoro grunted in acknowledgment to the new alpha and began making a nest out of what he’d been given. He heard Usopp and Momonosuke leave, smelled Luffy’s steadying pheromones filling the bedroom. The pile of clothing and blankets wasn’t big enough. Zoro made another sound of distress. His omega instincts were screaming at him to find safety. 

Chopper came into the room, pushing a cart of food and drink. “Zoro! You shouldn’t be out of bed!”

“He’s nesting, Chopper,” Luffy told him. 

“Oh, no.” Chopper fretted. “He’s going to need more blankets!”

“I got ‘im, little dude,” Franky said, coming into the bedroom with a towel around his waist and a large, overflowing bundle of blankets and sheets in his arms. “Stripped all our beds. This should be enough. If not, I can raid the linen closet.”

Zoro fought not to launch himself at Franky, to grab the bedding away. His tether on rational thought was tenuous. Franky brought the bedding to him, passing it over. Zoro immediately heaped it on the rest of the pile and arranged it in a tower with a wide base. The familiar grounding scents of his alphas was strong in the nest, underscored by the faint, softer notes of the betas. Zoro felt briefly pleased by his nest before he burrowed inside of it from the bottom, curling up beneath its safety. 

He breathed in the scents surrounding him on all sides, voices in the bedroom muffled from the pile of bedding and clothes. Omega nests were private spaces. No one was allowed in without permission. It was a place of refuge or for coupling. Zoro let the nest try to soothe his stress, anxiety, and fear over potentially losing a nakama. He felt safe, hidden. He could let himself go. He hugged his arms around him, knees drawn up, and allowed emotion to escape hotly down his cheek as he fought his way through his omega-based anxiety attack.

“Do you know what brought it on?” he could hear Chopper’s muffled voice asking. 

“Sanji, I think,” Luffy said, though it came out more garbled, likely from his mouth being stuffed with food. “Why is he not here?”

“Something happened to his body while he was fighting Queen,” Chopper said. “Queen squished Sanji like a can of cola. I thought he was dead. There’s no way a human could survive having their internal organs crushed like that. But Sanji got up like nothing had happened. His neck was broken and his body was in an impossible zigzag shape. I immediately thought of zombies, like on Thriller Bark. It wasn’t that. Sanji was able to bang out his damage like Franky bangs out the metal damage to his cyborg body.”

“Sanji turned into a cyborg?! So cool!” Luffy exclaimed.

“No. I don’t think so. Queen tried to slice his head off with a sword when he wasn’t looking. The sword broke. A cyborg’s head would’ve come off,” Chopper said. “Sanji looked horrified, said he didn’t want to be a Vinsmoke, and ran off while Queen shot him in the back. The bullets bounced off Sanji.”

Zoro, listening to the muffled conversation in his nest, couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Sanji’s body had been crushed, he should have been dead, but got up and fixed himself like Franky? Bullets bounced off him? Swords broke when they hit his neck? Sanji ran away from a fight?

The last drew Zoro back from his anxiety-laced hindbrain. Sanji would never run away from a fight like that, except to save others. Sanji was strong, Zoro’s equal in a different way. And Queen had been defeated, hadn’t he? The raid had to have been successful if they were all here.

“Queen’s gone, though, right?” Luffy asked Zoro’s question. 

“Yes. Sanji defeated him,” Chopper replied.

“Then what’s the problem? He doesn’t like his cyborg-y body?” 

“He… went feral.”

“What?!” Luffy and Zoro exclaimed simultaneously. Zoro popped his head out of his nest, certain he hadn’t heard right. Luffy had the cart of food in front of his bed, most of it gone. The drinks – both alcohol and water – that Chopper had brought were piled within reach of Zoro’s nest, along with a lone plate of food.

“Sanji is a beta. He can’t go feral,” Zoro said. 

“He’s not a beta anymore,” Chopper said ominously. “Whatever happened to his body, it changed him into an alpha, too.”

“Fuck.” Zoro dug his way out of his nest, sitting on the floor, leaning against the comforting pile of bedding and clothing. He picked up an extra-large stein of booze and guzzled it down quickly. His mind spun. Sanji, an alpha? There was no way. Humans couldn’t just change their secondary gender out of nowhere. If that was the case, Zoro would have gone beta over a decade ago.

Chopper wrung his hoofs. “He was still lucid enough when we met up after the raid and we were able to get him locked away in the castle dungeon. The cells are made of seastone so he can’t escape.”

“How long has he been there?” Luffy asked.

“A week.” 

“Fuck,” Zoro said again. “And he’s definitely gone feral?”

Chopper nodded miserably. “He can’t even speak anymore. I check on him every day, and Brook helps me bring him food and water. He tries to attack us through the bars every time.”

Zoro closed his eye, pressing himself back further into the side of his nest. This must’ve been why Sanji had contacted him. He must’ve realized it was a possibility. “Do you know anything about his family, Luffy? The Vinsmokes?”

“Only the little I saw and what he told me,” Luffy said, eating the remainder of the food on the cart. “His dad’s one of those big, alpha jerks who thinks anyone who’s not an alpha is weak or a failure. He was calling Sanji all sorts of things when we were escaping Whole Cake Island, but they were Sanji’s good qualities, like the fact that he put others above himself and liked to cook, things like that. Sanji also has three brothers, who he called psychotic alpha dogs. They’re really strong and fast and mean. His sister seemed nice, though. She was an alpha, too, but she helped me even when she didn’t have to and wanted us to take Sanji away.”

“An entire alpha family?” Zoro frowned. That could be a toxic environment to grow up in, especially since Sanji was a beta. Until now, apparently. “What about his mom?”

“Sanji didn’t say anything about her or him,” Luffy said around the food in his mouth. “We didn’t see any other Vinsmoke at the wedding, either.”

“Sanji’s a beta. Or was,” Chopper said. “He’d likely have a beta mother, since his father is an alpha.”

Zoro picked up the plate of food that Chopper had placed near his nest, knowing he’d better eat it before Luffy snatched it away. His injuries were sore, but not unbearable. Knowing he’d been unconscious for a week explained that and he’d probably be fully healed within another week or two. 

Luffy looked over at Zoro. “Zoro, do you think you can handle Sanji? I can rescind the command.”

Zoro started to bristle, but Luffy hadn’t meant it as an insult to his ability. “He called me. I owe it to him to help.”

Luffy tilted his head thoughtfully. “You’re going to try to reach him, as an omega.”

Zoro felt a blush crawl across his cheeks. He felt the urge to hide in his nest again. “I was thinking about it.” He already vowed to himself to do everything he could to save Sanji. The fact that he’d gone feral alpha shouldn’t change that, even though it meant something completely completely different now. 

Chopper looked worriedly at Zoro, understanding what Zoro might want to do. “I know you spend your heats alone. Do you have experience with alphas outside of those?”

Zoro lowered his chin, picking at the food on his plate. “I can handle it.” 

“Zoro, when was the last time you had sex with an alpha?” Chopper pressed. “Specifically being penetrated, I mean?”

Zoro pushed himself further back into the nest. It started to collapse a bit around him. 

“Zoro, answer Chopper,” Luffy said.

Zoro felt compelled to comply. It was the hardest part of being an omega, to resist an alpha’s command. But he trusted Luffy and Luffy wouldn’t command him to do something without good reason. “When I was ten.”

Chopper gasped and Luffy suddenly looked furious. A tidal wave of alpha protective scent exploded in the room. Heads popped into the open doorway within seconds. “What’s wrong?” Nami said, hurrying into the bedroom, a towel wrapped around her body. She positioned herself in front of the only window in the room, her Clima-Tact assembled and held at the ready.

Robin came in, too, similarly clad in a towel. She strode quickly over to Zoro’s nest, positioning herself next to it, wearing a frown tight with concern. Franky loomed in the doorway, blocking it from the outside. Usopp’s nose poked between the doorframe and Franky’s hip. Brook called past Franky’s shoulder. “I’m here, too!”

Zoro was surrounded by his alpha nakamas and alpha scents, and his chest tightened at their protectiveness of him. Sometimes their alpha instincts sucked for Zoro, sometimes they made him feel like he mattered. 

Chopper came over to Zoro’s side and knelt down next to him. “When did you present?” he asked quietly. 

Zoro set his plate aside and started pulling nesting material around him. He refused to look at Chopper or the others. “When I was nine.” He could hear Nami’s soft gasp and Franky’s low whistle. 

“It’s rare, but not completely anomalous to present that young,” Chopper assured. “You said you were ten when you last had penetrative sex with an alpha?”

Zoro nodded, and the room became smothering as three other alphas abruptly released protective pheromones as well. This wasn’t like Luffy’s earlier gentle release of pheromones for Zoro’s nest. This was an instinctual bombing of highly emotional scent, alphas protecting what they considered theirs. 

“I’ve… seen your c-section scar,” Chopper said. “Were you that young when you had pups?”

Zoro nodded again, and his heart seized like it did whenever he thought of them. “They didn’t survive.” He’d had triplets, so tiny and heartbreakingly underdeveloped, their bodies caught between womb and world. His pups’ deaths had destroyed a part of himself that he’d never get back, as well as his ability to carry again. 

Chopper’s eyes welled with tears. “I’m sorry, Zoro.”

“It was a long time ago,” Zoro dismissed, his throat burning. Fuck, he was going to cry again. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

A low croon rose in the room, joined by another, and another, and another. The soft, continuous hum wrapped around Zoro soothingly. He rubbed his hand across his damp eye. His nakamas’ comfort made the ache easier to bear. He pulled a few more items of clothing around him, wanting the security of his nest without hiding in it. He felt himself becoming tired. Being an omega could be exhausting and it was why he avoided situations like these, if possible. It would be hard to become the greatest swordsman in the world if he was emotional all the time.

“Stop, I’m fine,” Zoro insisted, lifting his head, giving each of his nakama a glare in turn. “If I knew you were all going to get annoying, I would’ve stayed in my nest.”

Luffy stopped crooning, and Robin, Nami, and Franky followed suit. “Zoro–” Luffy began, but Zoro cut him off.

“I’m fine. And I’m doing it.” Zoro folded his arms across his chest. “If that idiot love cook can be saved, I’m going to be the one to save his stupid ass just so I can rub it in his face for the rest of his life. And if he can’t be saved… well, l’ll do what I promised and kill him.”

Luffy studied him for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, Zoro. But you have to wait until you’re healed up. We can stay here for as long as it takes.”

“The Sunny needs more repair, anyway,” Franky spoke up from the doorway. He’d relaxed his posture, allowing Usopp and Brook in. 

“Wait, Zoro’s going to try to help Sanji?” Nami said, her Clima-Tact now at her side. “As an omega?”

“Yes.” Zoro glowered some more. “It’s my body and my choice, damn it.”

“It most certainly is, Zoro.” Robin rested a hand on Zoro’s shoulder, briefly. “I will find you some books to read on feral alphas.”

“You’re going to need more nesting material if he triggers a heat,” Nami said. “I’ll go to the ship and start collecting things for you, have everyone scent them thoroughly.”

“I’ll help,” Usopp told her. “I’m assisting Franky with repairs anyway.”

“As a former alpha myself, I am aware that you are both going to need plenty of food and water,” Brook said. “With our cook out of commission, I will see if the castle chefs would be willing to create a portable feast.”

“And you and I are going to have a serious talk about sex,” Chopper declared. “I am well-versed in secondary gender biology. I’ve also had enough psychiatric studies that we are not going to brush your mental health under the rug.”

Zoro felt like his sex life was being turned into a production. “I can do all of this myself, you know.”

“Too bad,” Luffy said. “We’re your nakama. We’re going to help!”

Zoro grumbled and reached for another stein of beer. He was grateful and embarrassed by the attention and assistance. 

“And you also have to comply with Chopper,” Luffy told him. “As much as I want Sanji to be Sanji again, you are important, too. I want all my nakama safe, healthy, and happy.”

Zoro sighed with defeat. He was outnumbered, out of options, and outsmarted by Luffy. Luffy! If Sanji were here, he wouldn’t let Zoro live it down. The thought only served to resolve Zoro’s intention to get that dumbass back. “Fine. I’ll cooperate.”

“Good.” Luffy’s grin indicated he’d known exactly what he’d done. A rubber hand shot in Zoro’s direction, ruffled his hair, and tried to steal Zoro’s food.

Zoro grabbed a chopstick from the plate and stabbed Luffy’s hand with it. “Mine.”

Luffy’s hand snapped back to his side. “Shishishi.”

By the time Chopper deemed him healed, Zoro had a mountain of heavily scented clothing, blankets, pillows, sheets, and towels; a moveable feast with enough food and drink to last a month; and a permanent redness to his skin from blushing after dealing with Chopper’s sex education. Chopper had given him a giant dildo that was a big as his arm and told him to practice with it, for fuck’s sake! And it was Chopper – Chopper! – who’d demonstrated with a watermelon on how to use it. Zoro thought he’d die from embarrassment.

Robin’s books on ferals weren’t easy reading, either. Alphas who’d gone feral were irrational, aggressive, violent, and sexually predatory. Most of them had to be put down. The few that had come back to sanity had done so because they’d made a strong omega bond. So not only did Zoro have to survive physically, he needed to find a way to bond with Sanji. At least they already were friends, even if it wasn’t the greatest relationship. Plus, Zoro could kick Sanji’s ass as long as Zoro could maintain some form of control over himself. Sanji not being able to talk would help with that regard, as Zoro wouldn’t have to fight the verbal compulsions to submit.

When the day finally came for Zoro to go to the dungeon in Orochi castle – which he’d mistaken for a house when he’d first regained consciousness after the raid – Zoro ate a big meal in the morning, drank copious amounts of booze, bathed within an inch of his life, and said a prayer for protection for stupid omega swordsmen and their dumb ideas. He’d dressed in sandals and a loose yukata with nothing underneath. He carried one katana – Wado Ichimonji – and enough lube in a duffel to coat the entire dungeon, just in case. 

None of his alphas visited him on that day, wanting to keep him scent-free except for his own omega pheromones. Usopp had stayed away, as well, just in case. Jinbe, a Fish-Man and the newest member of the Straw Hat crew, escorted Zoro to the doors leading down to the dungeon. “Chopper and Brook are waiting for you downstairs with your supplies. I wish you well on your endeavors and enjoyment on your coupling.”

Zoro grimaced at him. “Thanks.”

Jinbe smiled a shark-toothed grin. “Franky has also asked that I pass on the message to, and I quote, ‘Have a super banging, bro.’”

Zoro groaned softly. “Sometimes I hate my life.”

Jinbe clapped him on the back, nearly knocking him off his feet, and he opened the door to the dungeon. 

Zoro went through the heavy door and descended the stairs. Gas lights provided illumination as the stone stairs wound twice to a lower level of the castle. He was greeted with another door, this one thick steel, with Chopper standing in front of it. He could see Brook’s afro beyond the door through the heavy glass window slit.

Chopper wrung his hooves. “You’re sure you want to do this, Zoro? You can change your mind. No one would be upset about it.”

“I’m sure,” Zoro reassured him. He’d meditated on it this morning, after his meal and before his long nap. He knew, if things were reversed, Sanji would try to save him. Hell, Sanji’d done that once before, long ago on Thriller Bark. Everything had felt off without Sanji there to provoke him, challenge him, or stand by his side. No matter how they got along, Sanji was nakama and that meant something to Zoro. 

“Okay.” Chopper took a breath and settled himself. “Your nesting material and the food are on carts and we’ll shove them in when we open the cell door for you. We hosed Sanji and the cells down this morning. We do it every day, but it still smells fetid in there. He marks a lot. He’s already naked; he gave us his clothes when he went into the cell, so that’s one less thing you have to handle. Did you pre-slick and stretch yourself well before you came down?”

A blush of embarrassment spread over Zoro’s face. “Yes.”

“Good. It shouldn’t hurt as much the first time, then.” Chopper threw his arms around Zoro’s leg suddenly. “You’re a good friend, Zoro! Sanji is lucky to have you in his life!”

Zoro patted Chopper on the hat. “You’d do it, too, if you could.”

“Yes, I would.” Chopper sniffled, let go of Zoro, and squared his shoulders. “Let’s go and get our Sanji back.”

Zoro adjusted the grip on Wado’s sheath, squared his own shoulders, and prepared himself for what was beyond that door.

Chopper turned a large key that was sitting in the door lock and a heavy latch clunked open. Chopper spun the wheel on the door, retracting the additional locking pins, and pulled the door open.

The first thing that hit Zoro was the stench. It slammed into him in the vestibule, sending him to his knees. His body went ALPHA and slick started running down his thighs. The scent was primeval, dark, mixed with the fetid smell of piss and excrement. 

Zoro could see down the lighted corridor outside the cells. Brook stood near the one at the end with two carts parked against the wall, out of reach of the cell. A deep, steady growl rolled through the dungeon, out the door, to Zoro’s ears. Zoro shivered, every nerve ending on alert. Suddenly, there was a loud bang of a body hitting the cell bars. It repeated again and again. Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Uh, Chopper-san, he’s throwing himself at the bars,” Brook called.

Chopper looked nervously at Zoro. “You’re sure?” he asked again.

Zoro clawed at his control, the fight he had to resist alphas and their hold over him. He closed his eye, pictured himself slashing through strings trying to manipulate him. The slick dripped steadily from his hole. He clenched his ass, making it stop temporarily. He was Roronoa Zoro, Demon of the East Blue, Straw Hat pirate with a bounty of 320,000,000 beli. And he wasn’t going to let Sanji win.

Zoro opened his eye, haki swirling around him, and pushed to his feet. He stalked into the dungeon, ready to smack sense back into Sanji’s head. He saw the blonde throwing himself bodily at the seastone bars, causing them to shake. He was in the second to the last cell, with seastone bars on three sides and a stone wall behind him. A toilet and a sink were tucked into the back corner. The cell was otherwise devoid of any furniture or bedding. 

Zoro stopped in front of Sanji’s cell and hissed loudly. Sanji abruptly stopped, his gaze shooting up to stare at Zoro through the bars. His eyes were wild, the pupils blown, no iris showing. His jawline had a patchy, dark beard from not shaving. His hair was a tangled mess on his head, revealing both eyes and eyebrows. Zoro noticed they were curling in the same direction instead of opposite, giving them the look of horns. Sanji started sniffing the air, his head tilting slightly. He growled again, a low warning sound. 

Zoro hissed, short and succinct, in response. Sanji took a step back, then another, as he continued sniffing the air. When he’d retreated to the back of the cell, he began pacing back and forth like a caged animal, watchful and sniffing.

“Open the cell,” Zoro said, drawing Wado from her sheath. He tucked the sheath in the belt of his yukata. 

Chopper hurried forward with the key, inserted it into the lock, and twisted. The cell door opened inward and Zoro strode in as if this was his space. He let his energy take up the cell, looming physically. He dropped the duffel on the floor. He heard Brook and Chopper quickly wheel the carts into the cell and the door slam shut behind them. 

“Leave,” Zoro ordered. “Don’t come back until this time tomorrow.”

“Good luck, Zoro-san,” Brook said, before he hurried Chopper off. 

The outer dungeon door closed with a boom.

They were alone.

Sanji continued to pace in front of Zoro at the rear of the cell, his movement almost leoline. His nudity made him appear more powerful instead of vulnerable, sharp and well-defined muscles sliding beneath his pale skin. His cock was much larger than it had been before, hanging heavy between his thighs, filling and stiffening in front of Zoro’s gaze. 

Zoro waited for him to make a move, katana at the ready. Zoro kept his breathing slow and steady. His focus was completely on the feral alpha before him. The cell around him, the stench, the feel of slick on his thighs, faded away. 

Sanji struck, faster than Zoro could see. Zoro’s observation haki caused him to fling his blade up to block the kick that came out of nowhere, aimed at the center of his chest. Sanji disappeared again, and Zoro twisted, catching another kick before it connected with his side. Zoro closed his eye, as it was useless, and opened his observation haki fully. He could ‘see’ Sanji now as he struck and Zoro shifted and blocked again.

The fight was fast, Zoro on the defensive, twisting and pivoting, his blade ringing with block after block. He let his haki guide him, predict Sanji’s next strike, control the flow of his movements to stop Sanji’s every attack. Sanji leapt into the air, the cells having high ceilings, and attempted to bring his heel down on Zoro’s skull. Zoro flung his arm up and Wado reverberated upon impact.

Sanji dropped to the ground in a crouch, growling low in his chest again. Zoro kept his eye closed, his focus honed. Sanji hadn’t used armament haki or lit his leg aflame. The feral alpha couldn’t control those things. 

Sanji leapt at Zoro at blinding speed again, arms extended, and Zoro side-stepped the intended tackle. As he did, he brought Wado down sharply and smacked Sanji hard across the ass with the blunt side. The sound of surprise Sanji made nearly broke Zoro’s concentration. 

Sanji was on the door side of the cell now, where the carts were. All of a sudden he snarled and attacked the cart with the clothing and bedding in it. He began violently shredding everything, snarling and growling and spitting with ferocity. Torn material was shoved out of the cell between the bars. 

Zoro opened his eye with a deep frown. That was his nesting material. His. Not Sanji’s. He hissed again, drawing out the sound. Sanji’s head jerked up and his lips curled back in an aggressive warning. Zoro narrowed his eye. 

This time, Zoro attacked, slicing Wado through the air, creating a wave of energy that lashed through the cell and cracked into Sanji. Sanji flew back a few feet, crashing into the seastone bars. Zoro cut down again from the other direction, a second crack of energy speeding from his sword. It hit Sanji dead on, bouncing him against the bars, his head ringing loudly when it hit.

Sanji fell to the floor, but seemed unharmed. He clambered quickly to his feet and vanished. Zoro barely ducked in time, Sanji flying over his head with a double-kick that had been aimed at Zoro’s face. Zoro spun around as Sanji landed at the back of the cell. He held Wado in front of him, ready to strike again.

Sanji began to pace once more, from one side of the cell to the other, staring at Zoro intently. The cell began to fill with pheromones, musky, sexual, desirous. Sanji’s cock stood erect from his body, large and reddened. Slick gushed from Zoro’s hole almost instantly. His knees trembled. He smelled his own scent glands responding to the alpha’s, releasing a sweet aroma that signaled arousal. Shit. He had to decide quickly if he was going to let this happen or fight it. 

Sanji prowled a little closer, sniffing the air. Zoro could smell the alpha seeding his scent with pheromonal command to submit. Zoro grit his teeth, locked his knees. He couldn’t let Sanji win, not yet, not until Zoro reminded him that Zoro wasn’t a random omega, but Zoro.  

Zoro shut his eye again, drew on every ounce of willpower he had, and waited for Sanji to come closer. When he sensed Sanji was close enough, could almost feel the brush of Sanji’s cockhead against his yukata, Zoro struck. His hand shot up and he grabbed Sanji around the neck. He clamped Wado between his teeth to free his other hand and snared Sanji around the nape of his neck, scruffing him, lifting him off the ground.

Sanji released a wild noise of surprise and struggled in Zoro’s hold. He kicked his feet and clawed at Zoro’s arm and snarled. Zoro held fast, even as Sanji’s kicks landed harshly and bloody scrapes appeared on his forearm. He opened his eye again and glared at Sanji with all the pissed off rage he’d had for every alpha who’d tried to forcefully dominate him over the years, to use his body without care, and for the fucker who’d abused him as a kid, took away his innocence, twisted his omega need to touch and be touched into terror. 

Though scruffing didn’t work on alphas the way it did omegas, the point of it was clear. Zoro was showing Sanji that he was in control here, not Sanji. Zoro’s grip was firm on both the front and scruffed neck. Sanji dangled in front of him a good foot from the stone floor. Zoro wasn’t some dainty omega, he was a fucking powerhouse with the strength and ability to take on men thrice his size. 

“I should bitch you,” Zoro growled at Sanji around Wado. “Dominate you in the basest of ways. But I’m not about to take away your consent, so stop trying to take away mine!”

Sanji’s snarl tapered into a growl and tapered into nothing. He stopped struggling, his hands fastened onto Zoro’s wrist, blown-eyes focused on Zoro. The sexual pheromones from before had eased off, to be replaced by a note of inquisitiveness. Zoro had smelled this before, when he’d first met Luffy and then Nami. The alpha was interested in getting to know Zoro. 

Zoro knew he was still emitting arousal, but he purposely added a layer of non-sexual receptiveness. A sort of hello, nice to meet you scent. 

Sanji’s nostrils flared when he picked up on it. He continued to study Zoro’s face. It was nearly a full minute before Zoro felt Sanji relax in his grip. Shortly thereafter, Sanji made a questioning sound. 

Zoro let go of Sanji’s scruff and used that wrist to brush lightly across Sanji’s cheek, scenting him in a friendly way. He took Wado from his mouth and slid the katana into its sheath at his side. “Zoro,” Zoro said, speaking for the first time since the others had left. He pointed to himself. “Zoro.” 

Sanji cocked his head a tiny bit, as Zoro still had a hand clamped around the front of his neck. Zoro realized, then, that Sanji didn’t appear to be struggling to breathe at all. Weird, but not important at the moment. He pointed at himself again. “Zoro.”

Sanji made a sound that may or may not have been one of understanding, Zoro couldn’t tell. But Sanji let go of where he’d been lightly holding onto Zoro’s arm and brushed his wrist against Zoro’s cheek.

Zoro felt the tension in his gut unfurl. He was getting through to Sanji, at least a little bit. He decided to set Sanji back on his feet, still cautious in case Sanji decided to attack again or let out another blast of commanding pheromones. 

Sanji stood in front of Zoro, unmoving, watchful. Zoro didn’t want to step away until after Sanji did, wanting to keep his dominance in the situation. He waited. The time gave his arousal a chance to settle, the scent to dissipate. 

Sanji stepped back first, finally, and turned to walk to the back of the cell. Zoro noted that Sanji’s cock was no longer hard and intimidating. Zoro watched as Sanji pissed on the back wall, nowhere near the toilet in the corner. Zoro wondered if Sanji had forgotten how to use it.

Satisfied that Zoro wasn’t about to be jumped, he turned to the mess that was left of his nesting material. He scowled, but opted to leave it alone for now. He’d just gotten Sanji calm. He didn’t need to provoke the feral’s ire by moving things around that had other alpha’s scents. He knew somewhere in the overturned cart would be Usopp’s calming, faint beta scent and several unscented items. He’d find them later. Zoro went over to the other cart, which held shelves of bentos and drinks. He took out two bottles of water, opened one, and drank from it. 

He turned back to Sanji, who was watching him again from the other side of the cell. Zoro opened the second bottle of water, crossed the distance between them, and extended it in offering. He knew from Chopper that Sanji could drink from anything that had been opened. He’d retained his sense memory in that regard, and that he kicked when he fought. 

Sanji hesitated, then snatched the drink from Zoro’s hand. He brought it to his mouth and guzzled it. Water spilled over the edges of his mouth, down his chin, and his neck. Okay, it wasn’t perfect drinking, but he wasn’t lapping out of a bowl like a dog. 

“I have food, too, if you want,” Zoro said. He waited until Sanji was watching him again to take another drink of his own water from the bottle, demonstrating how not to spill. 

Sanji leaned forward slightly and sniffed at him before drawing away. Zoro released a comforting scent, one that all omegas instinctively knew how to produce to soothe alphas. Sanji rumbled slightly in response. It caused a corner of Zoro’s mouth to crook up. 

Zoro turned and went back to the refrigerated food cart. He’d been told that the fresh items that wouldn’t last more than a couple days were on the top row. The other rows were filled with items that could be eaten at any time. He took out two boxed bentos and shut the cart’s door. He opened one box, seeing fresh nigiri and sashimi. The other was identical. Zoro carried the bentos to the midpoint of the cell and took a seat on the floor. He leaned forward and set the open bento on the floor in Sanji’s direction. Then, Zoro set his own bento on his lap, broke apart a pair of chopsticks tucked inside the box, and began eating. 

Sanji paced a little, a few steps in each direction, eyeing Zoro and the food. Finally, he came forward and crouched in front of the second bento. He began eating rapidly with his fingers, stuffing the nigiri into his mouth and chewing loudly. Sanji was going to kill himself when Zoro told him about his poor table manners, once he was back in his right mind.

Zoro finished his meal without speaking, the only sounds being the light click of his chopsticks and Sanji’s chewing. When he was done, he finished off his bottle of water and wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist. Sanji had his bento box upside down in the air, smacking it to try to get the sticky rice out of the corners in the bottom. Zoro’s lips twitched. 

“Here,” he said, holding out his chopsticks to Sanji.

Sanji glanced at Zoro, then at the chopsticks. A furrow creased his brow. After a moment, his hand shot out and he grabbed them. He turned the bento rightside up and began stabbing at the corners with both chopsticks clenched in his fist. Zoro chuckled, because how could he not? Sanji berated him all the time for his inability to tell the difference between a fish fork and a salad fork. They were all forks and they got food into Zoro’s mouth the same way. Now, Sanji couldn’t even use chopsticks properly. 

Sanji made a disgruntled noise and punctured the bottom of the box with the chopsticks. The sticky rice fell onto the floor. He perked and snatched up the few pieces of rice with his fingers. He ate them quickly. 

“There’s more, you know, if you’re still hungry,” Zoro said. Chopper told him that Sanji was fed multiple times per day, boxed meals such as this so as not to give him plates he could break. Zoro climbed to his feet, causing Sanji to shoot to his own feet and let out a small growl. 

Zoro gave him an unimpressed look and went back to the food cart. He’d been told to leave the garbage outside the cell, so he slipped the empty bento box and water bottle through the bars. He opened the front of the cart again, selected another fresh bento from the shelf, and brought it over to Sanji. He extended it after opening the lid. “Here. If you’re still hungry.”

Sanji still held the chopsticks clenched in his fist. He looked between Zoro’s face and the bento, then sniffed the air. Zoro pushed out another dose of comforting pheromones. Sanji reached out slowly at first, then snatched the bento from Zoro’s hand aggressively at the last moment. He backed away from Zoro, holding the bento against his chest. He waited and watched Zoro for a few seconds before crouching and eating the food in the bento.

Zoro picked up Sanji’s empty box and water bottle from the floor, brought it to the front of the cell, and dropped them through the bars with the other items. He eyed the other cart again. He had no idea how long it was going to take to get Sanji back, if he could, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to keep sitting or sleep on a cold, stone floor. 

Zoro walked over to the nesting cart, tipped it upright, and reached into its interior. The cart was more similar to a laundry cart than one with shelves. He sniffed as he pulled items out, trying to find the unscented blankets or Usopp’s beta scent. There were a few unwashed items of beta Sanji’s as well. He finally located four blankets, two pillows, one sheet, and a pair of towels with no scents on them. 

Items piled in his arms, he walked over to the sink in the back corner of the cell, beside the lidded, flush toilet, and set one of the towels there. He carried the second towel with him to the center of the cell. It was inevitable that he and Sanji would have sex. Chopper had outright told Zoro that the more Sanji knotted, the less aggressive he’d be, and maybe he could be reached. Thankfully, Sanji wasn’t in a rut – a hormonally triggered state with a heightened sex drive and a compulsive need to breed – or everything that happened so far would’ve gone a lot differently.

Zoro set the bedding down, picked up one of the blankets, and flicked it to open it fully. He spread it onto the stone floor. He did the same with the other three blankets, laying one atop the other, creating a makeshift bed. He tidied the corners, making certain everything lay smoothly. He set the pillows on one end, closer to the cell door, and folded the sheet nicely at the foot of the bedding. He folded the towel into a square and set it near the pillows, but on the floor. He eyed it critically, then nodded to himself. Not a nest, a bed, but Zoro still felt an omega’s contentment with its creation.

For the past twelve years, Zoro dealt with the sometimes crazy emotions that came part and parcel with his secondary gender. He’d get extraordinarily angry at times, then dissolve into ridiculous tears with no meaning. Stupid things, like laying out a bed, could make him happy or throw him into a snit. There were days when all he wanted to do was rub against his nakama, sharing their scents. The worst was, of course, his heat, when his body was telling him that he wanted to bend over and supplicate to an alpha, when there was no way in hell Zoro was going to do that. 

Right now, beside the contentment for the bed, Zoro felt somewhat pleased that things were going okay with Sanji. He hadn’t been forcibly fucked, which, although he’d prepared for the possibility, still made him quake inside with fear. Sanji was reacting positively toward Zoro for the moment, rather than being full-on aggressive. It could change in an instant, but Zoro would take the win.

Zoro picked up the duffel bag where he’d dropped it upon entering the cell and carried it over to the sink. Besides copious amounts of lube, the bag contained both Zoro and Sanji’s toiletries, Sanji’s shaving kit, soap, numerous douches, pain medication, Zoro’s sword polishing kit, a book, and an inflatable anal plug. Zoro had included the last when he was packing because he’d worried he wouldn’t be stretched enough to take Sanji. Now having seen Sanji’s erection, he was glad that he’d packed it.

Zoro glanced over at Sanji. Sanji was prowling around the bed, sniffing it, but not touching it. He circled around all four sides, then reversed direction. He finally went over to the seastone bars to the side of the cell, closest the bed, and pissed on them. Marking his territory. Zoro rolled his eye. Dumbass alpha behavior. He remembered Luffy, Nami, Robin, and Franky pissing everywhere on the decks of the Thousand Sunny when they first set sail on her. Thankfully, Chopper, Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp’s incessant complaining about the stench allowed them to hose the ship down.

Sanji went to explore the food cart and Zoro turned his attention back to his bag. Since he hadn’t gotten fucked right away, the stretching he’d done before coming to the dungeon would be ineffectual now. Sanji wasn’t as big as the giant dildo Chopper had made Zoro practice with, but Sanji was still beastial. It would hurt like hell if Zoro didn’t adequately prepare and he doubted Sanji was in his right mind to do it.

Zoro took out the anal plug, coated it with lubricant, and faced Sanji again. Sanji was opening and closing the doors on the front of the cart with rapt fascination. While he was distracted, Zoro lifted the back of his yukata and slid the toy into his ass. His lips pursed with discomfort, even though his slick was still thick enough, along with the lube, to have made it slide in easily. Zoro wrapped his fingers around the pump and inflated the plug as wide as he could. He could feel his hole stretching open uncomfortably and obscenely. 

He closed the air hole knob with his fingers and detached the pump. He stuck the pump back into the bag. He took a quick piss, flushed the toilet, and washed his hands. He was going to ask Chopper tomorrow to bring a stool, bucket, and washcloths so he and Sanji could bathe. He might have to put up with the stench of marking piss, but he didn’t have to put up with a stinking feral or himself.

Zoro set the duffel beneath the sink, out of the way, and turned his attention back to Sanji. Sanji was by the laundry cart now and Zoro’s nesting material. Zoro took a quick step toward him with a harsh hiss. Sanji bared his teeth at Zoro with a low growl. Zoro hissed again, sharply, with warning, taking another step forward aggressively.

Sanji’s eyes narrowed, and Zoro put his hand on the hilt of his katana, ready to draw. Sanji was testing him. Zoro shouldn’t have expected otherwise, because it was Sanji and they always challenged each other. 

Sanji tilted his body toward the nesting material strewn on the floor, head still turned toward Zoro. He started to piss on it.

Zoro roared in rage, launching himself across the cell, Wado in his hand. He slashed hard at Sanji, aiming for his dick. He twisted the blade at the last second so as not to cut Sanji’s dick off, though Zoro was furious enough to do it. The flat of the blade smacked against Sanji’s dick, causing him to howl in anger. 

Sanji vanished from sight, and Zoro spun around, chest heaving with fury. His teeth were bared, eye spitting fire. How dare that filthy, disgusting alpha despoil Zoro’s nesting material. 

Sanji reappeared in front of Zoro with a kick already aimed at Zoro’s face. Zoro threw his arm up, knocking Sanji’s foot away. Zoro hissed and snarled at him, furious. Sanji growled back intimidatingly, teeth still bared with aggression. 

Zoro swung Wado in a sharp slice, coating it with armament and conqueror’s haki. The blade sang, slashing across Sanji’s chest. The sound of steel scraping across steel screeched in Zoro’s ear, startling him. 

The distraction gave Sanji an advantage. Sanji pivoted and back-kicked Zoro right in the chest. Zoro flew backwards, slamming into the front of the cell with concussive impact. Zoro shook his ringing head hard after landing on his feet. His hand clenched around Wado’s hilt, cursing himself for allowing Sanji to connect. 

Sanji didn’t have a mark on him, despite the fact that Zoro knew he’d slashed Sanji’s torso. Fuck. Zoro hadn’t remembered what Chopper had told them, that Sanji’s body could break swords now. Wado could have been shattered if he’d tried to cleave Sanji instead of slice at his skin. 

Sanji tried attacking again, blurring and reappearing mid-kick in front of Zoro. Zoro blocked with the blunt of his katana, feeling the impact reverberate along his arm. Zoro’s other hand shot out to slam into Sanji’s chest, forcing him away. Sanji staggered back a few steps, snarling, and vanished again.

Zoro kept his back to the cell bars, giving Sanji less angles of attack. He recalled Luffy mentioning the Vinsmoke brothers had speed and strength, and Sanji had both. Sanji had always been strong, but his attacks now had an alpha’s power behind them. Zoro knew he was stronger, had trained to become so, and this shitty feral wasn’t going to beat him.

Zoro let his observation haki flow again, seeing Sanji as he moved too fast to be visible to the naked eye. Zoro raised Wado at an angle above his left shoulder and at the last moment swung with shattering force. The dark energy from the blade cutting through the air struck Sanji and sent him flying to the other end of the cells. Sanji smashed into the wall, embedded into it, rubble tumbling to the stone floor around him. 

Zoro stalked across the cell, haki rising around him in lashing waves, teeth bared, jaw set in steel. He got right into Sanji’s face and pressed the tip of his blade against Sanji’s balls. He dominated Sanji with a furious omega scent, spitting and snarling angrily at him. Zoro didn’t need words to convey his rage, omega to alpha. 

Sanji’s scent of challenge and aggression changed. It became a cross between soothing and coercion. He was trying to get Zoro to back down and submit. Zoro jabbed the tip of Wado into Sanji’s balls, even as the scent began to weaken Zoro’s knees. Sanji didn’t react with pain and Zoro was clawing against his control. Submitting was the worst thing he could do right now, more than before. He had to switch tactics since Sanji’s balls were apparently impervious to pain. 

Zoro searched his brain for something he could do, something different, something that would hit an alpha hard. Shit. He needed to fight with manipulation, not brute strength and anger. He hated the idea of it, but unless he was going to go through with bitching Sanji, he needed to turn the alpha’s instincts against him. 

Zoro tamped down on his anger, tamped down on that rageful scent, boxing it away. He smelled a surge of coercive pheromones and his body trembled. He fought against the desire to drop to his knees, bow his head, and submit. Instead, he concentrated on the one memory that affected him to the core.

His pups, dead. 

Waves of sorrow and grief washed over him immediately and his scent changed to reflect his emotions. Tears stung his eye, his throat began burning, his chest tightening. It hurt. It hurt so much, even after a decade. He’d been just a child, unequipped to deal with the sadness, the guilt, the unrelenting pain. He’d had no one to help him, no one to comfort him. The doctors helped him heal physically, but mentally, emotionally, he’d been alone.

He’d thrown himself into kendo, channeling all his rage and grief into swordsmanship. He would make it so no one could ever touch him again. He’d already been practicing before his life went to hell. He’d met Kuina, who met that rage head on, beating him again and again. Then, she’d made some excuse about being weaker in the future because she was a woman and Zoro had called bullshit. The doctors had told him that he would be weaker than other men because he was an omega and Zoro refused to allow that to become reality after what he’d been through. They’d promised each other that they would strive to be the greatest swordpersons in the world, no matter their genders.

Then, she died in a freak accident and Zoro was lost to grief again. But he swore on her memory to fulfill their promise. He swore to be the best, to never be seen as weak or be hurt because of his secondary gender again. And every day, he fought to continue living in a world where his pups were dead.

Sanji began to croon, his scent sliding from coerciveness to protectiveness, projecting safety and comfort. A sob escaped from Zoro’s lips, unbidden. Sanji peeled himself from the wall, rubbing his wrists against Zoro’s neck, scenting him, soothing him. Zoro felt like an asshole, using his tragedy to elicit this instinctive response from Sanji. It made him feel worse, deepening his omega scents of sadness.

Zoro lowered his katana, and Sanji pressed against him, rubbing their cheeks together, pushing under Zoro’s neck to rub his soothing, shielding scent against Zoro’s glands. Sanji’s patchy beard scratched him lightly. Sanji’s low crooning wrapped around Zoro like a hug. Zoro buried his face against Sanji’s neck, inhaling deeply, trying not to fall apart completely. 

Sanji went from aggressive to comforting, just like Zoro had wanted. Too bad it made Zoro feel like shit. Zoro forcibly pulled himself together, pinching his inner wrist until the physical pain pierced through the emotional one. Sanji’s steady crooning, his continual scenting, helped bring Zoro back to himself.

Zoro took a shaky breath, rubbed his fist across his wet eye, and stepped back from Sanji. He sheathed Wado and went to splash cold water on his face. The cell smelled deeply of alpha protective pheromones, making Zoro feel safe. Sanji hovered behind Zoro at the sink, still crooning softly. What Zoro wouldn’t give to talk to Sanji, to hear that idiot’s voice saying something stupid and annoying right now.

Zoro dried his face, put the towel on the sink, and faced Sanji again. Sanji’s expression was creased with concern. Zoro lifted his wrist and rubbed it against Sanji’s neck, both in thanks and with positive affirmation that he’d liked the alpha’s attentiveness. Sanji nuzzled his wrist briefly, his crooning tapering off. 

Zoro smiled briefly at Sanji before walking past him, heading for the front of the cell. There, Zoro used a clean t-shirt to push the soiled nesting material out of the cell for Chopper and Brook to collect and wash. Once done, Zoro began folding the alpha-scented garments still on the floor, sniffing them each before folding, allowing his nakamas scents to soothe him further. He then proceeded to take everything out of the laundry cart, folding and sorting it. The repetitive, mindless task was meditative, allowing Zoro to regroup. His deep sorrow retreated to the back of his mind, where it always lingered, a constant dull ache.

Zoro placed the alpha-scented items at the bottom of the laundry cart, followed by Usopp’s contributions and Sanji’s unwashed clothes, and placed the non-scented items at the top. It should prevent Sanji from defiling the rest of Zoro’s nesting material, with the other alpha-scents not in his face. Sanji hadn’t bothered him while doing this task, instead hovering nearby but not on top of him. Sanji still wore concern on his face, his vigilant scent hovering in the air. 

Done and feeling better, Zoro fetched two new bottles of water, offering an open one to Sanji. Sanji took it without snatching it this time, though he still drank messily. Zoro went over to the bed he’d created, kicked off his sandals, and sunk down upon the blankets. He placed Wado beside him on the floor. Luffy was protecting Kitetsu and Enma for him. 

Zoro drank the water, shifting uncomfortably as he was reminded that he had a plug stretching his ass. Sanji walked over to the bed but didn’t touch it. He paced briefly along one side, then stopped and made a questioning sound. Zoro smiled. Even though it was a bed, Sanji still respected the sanctity of an omega’s nest. It gave Zoro hope for a positive outcome.

Zoro patted the bed beside him in invitation. “You can come in,” he said. 

Sanji hesitated, then stepped onto the blankets. He sank down to his knees beside Zoro, discarding the empty water bottle outside of the bed. He reached out, stroking his fingers against Zoro’s wrist. Alphas had scent glands in their fingertips and Zoro could feel the comfort Sanji was still giving him. Zoro was tempted to think that Sanji was a regular alpha, like his other nakama, soothing Zoro when Zoro needed it. But Sanji, his Sanji, would be calling Zoro shitty swordsman and stupid marimo and insulting him even while offering care. 

Fuck, he missed Sanji. It felt like forever since he’d heard Sanji's voice, arguing with him. The last time they spoke had been leading up to the raid, a few contentious words at meals. Zoro had been concentrating on learning how to use and control Enma. He’d still been a little mad at Sanji for leaving, even though he knew, logically, that Sanji felt he hadn’t a choice. Sanji cared deeply about the people in his life and Zoro couldn’t fault him for that. 

Zoro finished off his water, setting the empty bottle aside. He knew, if he wanted to get his asshole cook back, he needed to progress to the next level. Now was the time, when Zoro could initiate it, give the invitation freely to take Sanji to his metaphorical bed. 

Zoro tugged at the knot in his belt, allowing it to unravel. He shrugged his yukata off his shoulders to pool around his waist. Sanji tilted his head slightly, curiously. Zoro shifted to his knees, pushed the yukata out of the bed, and reached behind him to deflate the plug. The air hissed from it lewdly, causing a blush to steal across Zoro’s cheeks. Sanji made another questioning noise, leaning forward, trying to peer around Zoro for the source of the sound. Zoro pulled the plug from himself once it was deflated and discarded it. Lubricant coated his anal passage, but he wasn’t slick with his own juices. Not yet.

Zoro looked at Sanji, really looked at him. The patchy beard, the symmetrically curved brows, the messy hair – none of it was his Sanji. Sanji was meticulous about his appearance, self-conscious about the way his brows curled in different directions. There was a slight difference in Sanji’s musculature as well. He looked a little bigger, stronger, than he used to be. An alpha’s physique, rather than a beta who trained. 

Zoro allowed his gaze to drift to the dark blond trail of hair that led to Sanji’s groin. That part of Sanji had definitely changed. Zoro lived in tight quarters on a ship; they saw each other naked all the time. Sanji’s dick had been average-sized for a beta, but still decent enough that he could rub it in Zoro’s face that he had the bigger cock. Zoro’s dick was like other male omegas, small but functional. Since he’d planned to never have sex again, it hadn’t bothered Zoro. 

Now, Sanji had a meaty dick, fit for an alpha. Large and thick. Meant to impress a potential mate with his virility. Zoro could feel the tingle of lust crawl up his spine. Part of him was intimidated, knowing where it would be going. The other part of him was becoming enthralled. 

Sanji suddenly started sniffing and then his gaze focused intently at Zoro. Zoro could smell his own arousal building, wafting from his scent glands. He saw Sanji’s cock twitch and begin to firm. Smelled the thick, musky scent of alpha desire. Zoro swallowed the saliva building in his mouth. He couldn’t take his eye off Sanji’s cock, watching it get harder, rising from between Sanji’s thighs like a spear. 

The rush of slick added a sweet scent to the mixture of alpha and omega arousal permeating the air. Zoro wanted this. He wanted Sanji’s cock inside of him. He wanted to feel Sanji filling him, touching him in the most intimate of ways. But it wasn’t romantic, this feeling. It was friendship and trust and a desire to get back everything that he’d lost. He wanted his Sanji back. He wanted to be touched sexually without feeling fear. 

Sanji bent at the waist and pressed his face into Zoro’s crotch. He inhaled deeply and rumbled in his throat. Zoro’s cock had hardened, and it brushed against Sanji’s head as Sanji scented the glands on Zoro’s upper thighs. Zoro spread his legs apart, still sitting on his knees, granting Sanji better access. Sanji’s deep sound of approval caused Zoro’s chest to swell with pride. 

Sanji nuzzled Zoro’s scent glands before laving his tongue over first one side, then the other. A shiver coursed through Zoro, arousal spiking. His inner thighs were extremely sensitive. He felt more slick sliding from his hole, getting him ready for Sanji. 

Sanji nipped at Zoro’s thigh glands, biting softly at first, then harder. Zoro sucked in a sharp breath, fire licking through him. His hands shot to Sanji’s head, digging his fingers into Sanji’s scalp, pressing him harder against Zoro’s thighs. Sanji chuffed once and then sank his teeth into Zoro’s upper left thigh.

Zoro threw his head back and cried out in pleasure. His body trembled with want. The sweet scent of slick became overpowering. Sanji rumbled again against Zoro’s thigh. The scent of his sexual arousal grew stronger, deeper, more compelling. Zoro felt his mind growing fuzzy, his body aching to be filled. 

Fuck, no, shit. This was supposed to be on his terms, not because Sanji was hormonally commanding it. Zoro grit his teeth, fought himself for control, then yanked Sanji’s head away from his crotch. Zoro used his excessive strength to bend Sanji backwards, rising onto his knees to loom over Sanji, using his bulk to show his own dominance.

Sanji’s lips were slicked with blood, parted and panting. His face was flushed with desire. His blown-pupils stared hungrily at Zoro. His scent was intoxicating, powerful, potent. 

Zoro kept pulling Sanji backward by the hair until Sanji was pinned to the bed, his lower legs tucked under him. Sanji’s turgid shaft stood upright from his body, deep red and drooling from the wide slit. Zoro moved, straddling Sanji’s thighs. He released one hand from Sanji’s hair to grasp Sanji’s erection and position it against Zoro’s slicked hole. 

Zoro sank down, his breath catching sharply from him as Sanji’s wide cockhead opened him. Fuck, Sanji felt huge, bigger than the plug, bigger than the practice dildo even though it wasn’t true. It fucking hurt, but Zoro also wanted more. Zoro sank a little lower, the mushroomed head popping into his body. Zoro whimpered as pain radiated from his hole and licked his lower back. 

Sanji rumbled again, his rich, earthy scent intensifying. His hands settled on Zoro’s thighs, rubbing his thumbs in circles on Zoro’s sensitive glands. Zoro’s body reacted, producing more slick, causing Zoro to slide a little further down. Zoro’s thighs shook and sweat beaded his brow. His hand clenched Sanji’s hair with tearing force as he kept Sanji pinned down. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Zoro wheezed, making himself sink more onto Sanji’s thick shaft. If it weren’t for the slick, he’d be in agony. He was so fucking glad that he’d prevented Sanji from assaulting him earlier. He would’ve found a way to chop off Sanji’s dick otherwise.

It seemed to take forever, but Zoro finally bottomed out, sitting fully on Sanji’s erection, ass against Sanji’s pelvis. Sanji rumbled some more, with approval and a hint of demand. Zoro breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth, taking the pain, making it his, and releasing it again. It felt like Sanji was splitting Zoro in half, that his cock was punching through his lower belly. Zoro felt wide open and stuffed full at the same time.

Eye closed, Zoro sat there for a long time, adjusting to Sanji’s length and girth. He couldn’t remember this feeling, even though he knew he’d been fucked by that alpha in the past. All he remembered was the fear and the want to never be touched sexually again. Chopper told Zoro to think about this like it was his first time. Not ideal, but he was an adult making a choice. He’d chosen to come into a feral alpha’s cell, chosen to have sex, chosen to put Sanji above his own trauma.

And it was the right decision. As much as it hurt, as much as it felt like he was being rearranged on the inside, he wanted this, wanted his nakama to be the one to free him from his past. And if it brought Sanji back to him, where he belonged, Zoro would never regret it.

Sanji shifted under him, pushing upward with his hips. The way he was positioned made it difficult for him to move much. Zoro opened his eye and looked down at Sanji. Sanji stared at him with a heat that burned Zoro to the core. 

The compulsion to move overtook Zoro. It wasn’t coming from Sanji’s scent, it was his own basic instincts. He used his thigh muscles to rise up slightly and sink down again. His slick made a lewd, squelching sound. It was hypersexual and real. He was having sex. He was having sex with Sanji. 

Sanji grunt-rumbled, an encouraging sound laced with need. Zoro rose up again, this time a little farther, before sinking back down. The pain was still there, in the background, but an intense pleasure swept through Zoro, too. Zoro rose up again, and again, higher each time, sinking back down on the thick shaft penetrating him. Waves of bliss began radiating through Zoro’s body, stemming out from his ass. 

“Ohhh,” he moaned deep in his chest. He started riding Sanji now, falling into a rhythm. His eye rolled back, his eyelid falling shut again. He let go of Sanji’s hair to balance both hands on Sanji’s stomach. The thick muscles of his thighs corded and released with each pump over Sanji’s lap. Fuck, it felt amazing. It felt like his body was made for this, made to ride an alpha’s cock. The slick, sloppy sounds blended with his grunts and groans of ecstasy. Below him, Sanji had started making his own pleasured noises, approval thick in the sexually charged pheromones radiating from him. The approval spurred Zoro on, his omega instincts wanting to please his alpha. His mind was lost in a wash of pheromones and passion, bouncing on Sanji’s massive cock. Zoro never wanted this feeling to end.

The knot, when it came, was at first a distraction. Zoro couldn’t fuck himself fully down anymore. There was a blockage in the way. Sanji’s hands, which had continued to stroke the glands in Zoro’s thighs, shifted to Zoro’s hips. He pulled Zoro down, hard, and Zoro felt the thick blockage pop past the already wide-stretched rim of his hole. Zoro sucked in a sharp breath as the short burst of pain, his eye opening wide, and suddenly he couldn’t move anymore. Sanji was locked inside him. Sanji had knotted. 

Zoro expected to feel himself being filled with Sanji’s cum, but he didn’t feel anything beyond a faint pulsing at the edge of his hole. Sanji’s face was twisted as he orgasmed, eyes scrunched shut, teeth bared, blood-stained lips curled back. His hands clenched reflexively on Zoro’s hips. A guttural sound rolled in his throat. 

Zoro wrapped two fingers and his thumb around his own hard shaft, stroking himself firmly. He watched as Sanji’s orgasm went on and on, and an omega pride filled Zoro’s chest. He’d done this. He’d caused Sanji to reach climax and knot him. Zoro’s fingers worked fast, jerking off to the satisfaction of his alpha. He couldn’t wait to do it again, and again, taking Sanji’s knots, pleasing his alpha, giving his body over to his alpha’s every desire.

Zoro’s small sac tightened as his balls lifted and climax rushed through him. His ass spasmed around the knot, earning a long, low rumble from Sanji. Zoro shot his small load on Sanji’s belly. His body shook with aftershocks of pleasure. 

He slumped, spent, hand falling away from his sensitive cock. His brain buzzed happily, relaxation coursing through him. He felt tired, thirsty, and self-satisfied. He smeared the mess of his cum over his hands and then rubbed it against Sanji’s neck and the sensitive scent glands there. He hummed contentedly in the back of his throat. 

Sanji’s face relaxed as his drawn-out orgasm ended and he opened his eyes to look at Zoro. A sated scent and deep approval radiated from Sanji. Zoro’s omega senses lapped it up. Sanji rubbed his hands up Zoro’s sides and then tugged. Zoro got the hint and lay forward on Sanji’s chest. Zoro was broader than Sanji, but Sanji could still wrap his arms fully around Zoro’s back. Zoro nuzzled into the approving scent at Sanji’s neck. Sanji’s knot kept them locked together, trapping his semen inside. 

About ten minutes later, Zoro’s brain returned from omega-land with a disgruntled need for booze. Zoro felt stupid, and ridiculous, for being all prideful and omega-y. He was Roronoa Zoro, not an omega-twit. Fuck. He hated his secondary gender sometimes. He hated the almost mindlessness that accompanied it, with nesting or the need to scent his nakama. His terror at being touched kept his mind clear during his heats, but if it weren’t for his past, he’d bet he’d be acting like he had just now with Sanji. 

Zoro sighed against Sanji’s neck. He had no idea how long knots lasted, outside of what Chopper told him. It could be anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour. Apparently, it varied from alpha to alpha, and Sanji was feral, so who knew how that affected it. Next time, Zoro was going to put bottles of alcohol within easy reach of the bed.

He lifted up, bracing his hands on either side of Sanji’s shoulders. Sanji opened his eyes, a lazy, satisfied look in them. He started rumbling again, contentment evident in the sound. He petted Zoro’s back, his sides, his hips and thighs. Zoro’s lips twitched. “You are going to be so mad that it’s me you’re fucking, instead of Nami or Robin.” 

Female and male alphas got together often, such as with Franky and Robin. Either one of them could have helped Sanji. But Sanji had reached out to Zoro, not them, knowing that becoming a feral alpha was a possibility. Even if Sanji had only expected Zoro to hold true to his promise to kill him, Sanji had to know, deep down, that Zoro would try everything he could to save Sanji before resorting to death.

Sanji content rumble rolled around them and Zoro sighed again. “Dumbass love cook.”

Sanji’s knot lasted upwards of forty-five minutes, during which time Zoro opted to take a nap using Sanji’s body as a bed. Zoro’s knees were stiff and his mouth was parched by the time he felt the knot deflating. Next time, they were going to be in a more comfortable position. 

Zoro rose off Sanji with a groan as Sanji’s softened dick flopped out of him. Zoro felt wide open and empty and gross. He pushed to his feet, holding a hand to his pained lower back, and hobbled to the toilet. He opened the lid, sat down, and reached for the duffel beneath the sink. He grabbed one of the douches, twisted off the cap, and shoved it up his hole. He squeezed the bottle and felt the warm wetness squirt into him to wash him out. Once the bottle was empty, he set it aside, braced his elbows against his knees, and sat with his head in his hands to wait for loads of cum and slick and lube to fully empty out of him. His ass hurt like hell. He was going to need a pain reliever. Chopper had been wise to insist that he take some. 

He heard Sanji moving around the cell, then the distinct sound of urinating nearby. He was going to have to figure out how to get Sanji to use the toilet again. Oh hell, Zoro realized the reason he’d smelled excrement when he’d first come into the dungeon. Great. If Sanji decided to shit on any of his nesting material, Zoro was going to shove Wado so far up his ass the katana would come out of his mouth.

Sanji came closer to Zoro, sniffed at him, then wrinkled his nose and walked away. “Yeah, fuck you, too, smelly-assed cook,” Zoro grumbled. “Remember to ask for that stool and bucket tomorrow.”

Zoro used the sink to finish cleaning himself after flushing the toilet. He used the towel he’d left over there to dry himself off. He took some pain reliever, then padded nakedly over to the food cart, grabbing a beer. He didn’t bother to put his yukata back on. Who was going to care? The naked feral alpha currently batting at the cell bars irritably?

“You can’t leave,” Zoro told him, when Sanji began running his shoulder into the bars. “They’re seastone. They won’t break.”

Sanji growled and grumbled and continued bashing against them. 

Zoro let it go on while he finished his beer. He set the empty bottle, as well as the empty water bottles, outside of the cell with the rest of the trash. He nabbed a second beer, drank some of it, then wandered over to the bed. He sprawled out on the bedding, spread his thighs with one knee up, and slid a finger into his ass. He pumped his finger in and out, the digit feeling ineffectual now that he’d had a large cock inside of him. Still, he managed to start producing slick, scenting the air with it.

Sanji stopped trying to break through the bars as the scent hit his nose. He turned toward Zoro, and Zoro saw his cock start to harden again. Zoro lifted his head to take a sip of his beer, still fingering himself with his other hand. The pain reliever had had time to work, and Sanji was no longer futilely bashing himself against the cell bars. Plus, the more knots the better, right?

Sanji sniffed the air again. Zoro wasn’t really aroused, so his scent glands weren’t emitting any scents of that type. Still, he could smell his sweet slick as his body reacted to his fingering. Sanji began releasing aroused pheromones, though, his length stiffening. Sanji prowled closer to the bed but didn’t move onto it. He crouched and watched Zoro’s hand as Zoro finger-fucked himself. 

Zoro took another sip of beer. Having Sanji watch was actually kind of exciting. He wondered if Sanji was like this when he was himself, a watcher. Zoro’s brow furrowed. Huh, he realized he didn’t know if Sanji’d had sex before. Sanji was such a horndog over the ladies, Zoro would presume so, but he couldn’t recall any kind of confirmation. Ah hell, what if Sanji was a virgin? Zoro had pretended to be one, but he was conscious of its meaningfulness. Sanji currently wasn’t in his right mind. Hopefully, he’d be okay with Zoro being one who he’d lost his virginity to, if that was the case.

Zoro was definitely not a woman, though. His omeganess didn’t change his primary gender. He had a cock and balls, even though they were small. He didn’t possess breasts or a pussy. Did Sanji even like guys? Zoro had never seen him flirt with one like he did the girls. Would he be pissed off that he was fucking a guy instead of a woman? Shit. Maybe Zoro should’ve suggested that Nami be the one to help Sanji, after all.

Sanji crooned slightly, and Zoro realized he must be scenting the room with worry. Zoro made a sound of reassurance that he was fine. He hadn’t communicated non-verbally this much, ever. He was glad he instinctively knew how to do it. His nakama did use sounds from time-to-time with each other, usually when Zoro unconsciously initiated it. He’d catch growling on occasion, but it wasn’t often.

Sanji leaned forward on his toes, still not getting on the blanket. He was acknowledging that this was still Zoro’s nest, even though he’d been invited in once. Zoro eyed Sanji’s cock, which was flush and spearing from his body. Zoro felt himself grow warm, the stirring of desire tickling him again. He drank another sip of his beer, pushing another finger into himself. His raised knee allowed him easier access, his other thigh resting wide open, revealing everything to Sanji’s gaze.

Sanji wrapped his hand around himself and started stroking in sync with Zoro’s fingers. Shit, that was hot. Zoro ran his tongue over his lower lip. He wondered what Sanji would taste like. Would his semen be salty, like Zoro’s, or would it be different? Zoro had never thought about tasting another guy’s jizz before, or putting another guy’s cock in his mouth. He was sexually adverse. But seeing Sanji stroking himself was making Zoro want to see what it was like. 

Shit, was he becoming an omega slut or was he, Zoro, actually interested in it? Fuck, he hated his secondary gender making him question these things. He was definitely getting aroused watching Sanji masturbate. He didn’t feel influenced by Sanji’s pheromones. His mind felt clear. His brain wasn’t going ooh, alpha. Sanji was Sanji, a guy currently jerking off in front of him. And it was hot. And Zoro wanted to try it.

Zoro set his beer aside, pulled his fingers free, and sat up. Sanji made a disgruntled sound, frowning at Zoro. Zoro rolled onto his knees and moved to the end of the bedding where Sanji was crouched. He eyed Sanji’s cock again, which Sanji was still stroking. It was wide, with a fat mushroomed head and a big slit. 

Zoro reached out his hand, pausing before touching Sanji, glancing up at him. Sanji looked at Zoro’s hand for a moment before leaning slightly forward and rubbing the tip of his cock against Zoro’s fingers. Zoro took that as permission and enclosed his hand around Sanji’s erection, just below the head. Sanji grunted and deeper arousal scented the air.

Zoro went down on an elbow, bringing his face level with Sanji’s cock. He licked his lips again. He glanced up at Sanji. Sanji was watching him with a combination of curiosity and lust. His hand worked his shaft behind where Zoro held him. Zoro leaned forward, opened his mouth wide, and sucked on the cockhead, running his tongue over the slit. 

Sanji woofed a breath, hips jerking forward. Zoro ended up with more cock in his mouth than he’d anticipated, but his fist stopped Sanji from going too far. The precum leaking from Sanji’s slit tasted bitter, almost sour. Definitely different from Zoro’s heavily salty taste. The skin of Sanji’s cock tasted sweet. Zoro was probably tasting himself on Sanji. It felt kind of weird to have his mouth stretched open so wide and he was drooling a little. But when he ran his tongue around and along the slit again, Sanji made a wild sound that shot straight to Zoro’s cock. 

Zoro sucked on the head a bit, keeping his hand tight around Sanji so Sanji couldn’t shove his cock down Zoro’s throat. It was fun, causing Sanji to make those sounds. He wondered what it would be like to have someone suck his cock, to have Sanji suck it. The thought excited Zoro. His erection throbbed and his hole slicked. He glanced up at Sanji again, whose eyes were wide and wild and he looked ready to pounce. 

Fuck, Zoro wanted that again. Wanted Sanji to fuck him. And it was still on his terms, still with his permission, still his choice. Sexual arousal spiraled from his scent glands, mixing with Sanji’s, wrapping around them both.

Zoro licked Sanji’s slit one more time before pulling away. He knelt up and Sanji leaned in as far as he could without touching the nest. His expression was satyric and Zoro was seized by lust. He pivoted on his knees, putting his ass practically in Sanji’s face. Zoro could feel the slick dripping from his hole, running down his perineum, collecting behind his balls. 

A fierce jolt of sexual heat exploded in the air. Zoro whined in his throat. He was so horny now, he ached. He wanted Sanji to fuck him. Fuck him until he couldn’t see straight.

But instead of mounting Zoro, Sanji buried his face against Zoro’s ass and began licking him hungrily. Zoro yelped in surprise, then gurgled in pleasure. He clawed at the bedding beneath his hands, shoving back into Sanji’s mouth, as Sanji ate him out. Thousands of tiny bolts of electricity shot through him with every swipe of Sanji’s tongue. Zoro couldn’t get enough. He grabbed his erection with his fingers and jerked himself furiously. Orgasm built, fast and strong, tightening his body, winding him higher and higher as Sanji’s tongue drove him to the cliff. 

Zoro crashed off the edge into a climax so hard his entire body jerked as he shot his small load into the bedding. His ears rang and his vision blacked. He couldn’t find his breath. 

Sanji’s plaintive whine was the first sound Zoro heard when he came back to himself. Zoro’s ass felt sopping wet between the cheeks, between his slick and Sanji’s saliva. Zoro needed to be filled. He needed to be filled now. He reached back, tugging at Sanji’s hair, inviting him in urgently. Sanji got the message. He surged up and over Zoro, mounting him with a single, hard thrust.

Zoro howled, pleasure and pain combining as he was ferociously penetrated. Sanji blanketed over Zoro’s back, wrapping his arms around Zoro’s chest, and began furiously humping. Zoro’s body surged back and forth with the strong, fast thrusts, Sanji’s beastial cock railing him hard. Zoro fell over into paradise centered on his ass. Being fucked felt so fucking good.

Sanji fucked him and fucked him and fucked him until Zoro was a mindless mess of moans and mutters. “Fuck me, Sanji, fuck me fuck me, don’t stop, don’t ever stop, fuck me, fuck me…”

Sanji’s thrusts became uncoordinated jerks and punches. He reared up, off Zoro’s back, and suddenly struck. Zoro felt teeth clamp onto the nape of his neck. The sharp, intense pain was followed by a rush of pleasure so strong, he orgasmed again, untouched, spilling onto the bedding.

Sanji kept Zoro clamped between his teeth and slammed into him repeatedly until his full knot popped into Zoro’s hole. Then, he fell still as he orgasmed, pumping Zoro full of cum. Zoro quivered beneath him, unable and unwilling to move. He felt like he was floating on endorphins. It was bliss.

They stayed like that, knotted and clamped, for the entirety of Sanji’s knot. When it finally went down, he released Zoro’s neck. Zoro collapsed, boneless, onto the bedding. Every part of him felt wrung out and spent. He didn’t even notice Sanji snuffling and scenting his neck as he dropped instantly into sleep.

“–ro… Zoro… Zoro!”

Zoro roused from sleep to the intense scent of protective alpha and a steady growl rumbling through the cell. “Mrf?” His face was plastered against the bedding, drool coating his cheek. 

“Zoro, are you awake yet?” He heard Chopper call. 

“Huh?” Zoro moved on the makeshift bed. “Ow, fuck!” Wow, he hurt. “Shit.”

Sanji growled louder.

“Zoro!” Chopper sounded fretful now. “What’s wrong?”

Zoro lifted his head and stared bleary-eyed in the direction of the cell door. He could see Chopper and Brook standing in the corridor outside the cell. Brook had a cart, which he’d piled with the shredded, pissed on nesting material and their trash. Sanji stood between Zoro and the door, pacing back and forth, growling at Chopper and Brook. The protective scent coming from him was strong enough Zoro was surprised Chopper couldn’t smell it. It also smelled like excrement in the room.

“I’m fine, Chopper.” Lie, but what was he going to say? He got really well fucked? “Just give me a minute.”

“Okay…” Chopper said warily. 

Zoro groaned into the bedding as he moved his arms and grunted as he pushed up to his knees. “Ow.” He hurt from his head to his toes, but mostly his ass. A hundred fiery spikes were driving into his ass and lower back. He hurt.  

Zoro did his best to sublimate the pain, like he did whenever he got stabbed or sliced up. He forced himself to his feet and hobbled gingerly over to the toilet and sink. He didn’t give a shit that he was naked in front of his friends. He grabbed the duffel from beneath the sink – which hurt like hell to bend over – and dug out the pain medication. He took double the amount and stuck his head under the sink tap to wash it down. “Ugh.”

Leaving the bag balanced on the edge of the sink, Zoro turned to face Chopper and Brook. The thought of walking back over to them, knowing he would show how badly he was hurting, was a no-go, so he stayed put. “Morning,” he said, though it was hard to hear over Sanji’s growling.

Zoro trilled once, catching Sanji’s attention. Sanji jerked a glance over his shoulder. Zoro beckoned Sanji with his hand. Sanji looked at him a moment, turned back to Chopper and Brook and let out a final growl before loping back to where Zoro was. He made some soft, attentive noises, touching Zoro’s arm, his chest, his neck. Then, he planted himself between Zoro and the front of the cell, his protective scent wafting in Zoro’s face.

Zoro sighed and peered around Sanji. At least Sanji had stopped growling. “I thought I told you not to come back until the afternoon.”

“It is the afternoon,” Chopper said. 

“Oh.” Zoro must’ve slept for twelve to fifteen hours straight. He didn’t know the exact time he’d crashed. 

Brook yo-ho-ho’d. “Someone must’ve been well tended to last night.”

Zoro scowled. “Unless you want me to remove your legs and give them to a dog, you’d better shut your mouth.”

“Very well tended to, yo-ho-ho!”

Zoro hated his friends. “What do you want?”

“We’re checking on you, like we’d arranged,” Chopper pointed out. “Did you need anything? Do you think I should examine you for any, ah, tears or injuries?”

If Zoro had tears or injuries in his ass, doctor or not, he wasn’t about to show them to Chopper. Still, he’d better stock up on more pain meds. “I don’t need an exam. You can bring me more pain relievers, though.”

Chopper nodded. “I thought you might need them. I’ll bring a larger supply for you, plus some topical pain relief.”

“Thanks,” Zoro grunted, embarrassed. Sanji growled softly but Zoro hushed him. “Bring a stool, bucket, and some washcloths, too, so we can bathe. And Sanji destroyed half my nesting material, as you can see. Replace it with either unscented or Usopp-scented items, will you?”

“Okay,” Chopper said. “Anything else? More food or water?”

“More booze,” Zoro said. “A keg would be nice.”

“You shouldn’t drink so much! Especially when you’re exerting so much energy having sex,” Chopper chided. “You should be drinking water.”

Zoro huffed. “I’ll drink both. Promise.”

Chopper seemed leery, but agreed. “Okay. I’ll see if we can bring down a keg.”

Brook spoke up. “We’re going to bring the hose in, in about half an hour, if that works for you, Zoro-san? It is rather pungent here, again.”

“Thanks,” Zoro said, agreeing. He’d already seen that Sanji had gone on the floor near the back wall. 

“Okay, Zoro. We’ll be back soon,” Chopper said. He and Brook departed, pushing the cart in front of them.

Zoro waited until he heard the dungeon door shut before dragging a hand over his face. “I feel like shit,” he mumbled. 

Sanji turned around, now that the others were gone, and he chuffed, rumbled, and made more attentive noises. Zoro found it bemusing. “We’ve gone from attacking me to fawning. I guess that’s progress.” 

Zoro nudged Sanji out of the way to take a piss. Sanji watched him like a hawk. Zoro pointed to his penis and then at the toilet as he urinated. “Piss goes in there, not on the walls or bars. Got it?”

Sanji wrinkled his nose. Zoro pretended he didn’t find it cute.

Relieved after however many hours of sleeping, Zoro washed up, brushed his teeth, and eyed the douche in the duffel. He should probably use another one. There was dried slick and cum on his thighs. Probably in the bed, too. He’ll have to trade out the top blanket for another one and give the soiled bedding to Brook or Chopper when they returned. Zoro decided to wait until he got the bathing supplies. Then, he’d take a dump and wash up properly. 

Zoro rolled his shoulders, groaning at their tightness. His ass and lower back still pulsed with pain. He needed food and water and for the pain meds to kick in. The first two, he had control over, so he hobbled awkwardly to the food cart, stopping to grab the top blanket along the way. Sanji followed behind him like a puppy. Zoro stuffed the blanket between the bars and out into the corridor. Then, he opened the food cart and took out two bentos from the top shelf and two bottles of water.

He handed Sanji his water first, then guzzled his own bottle until it was empty. He chucked the empty out onto the blanket. He cursed when he bent to pick up another bottle. “How come something so good can make me feel like shit afterward?” Zoro asked Sanji. 

Sanji tilted his head curiously, his chin and neck coated with water. The bottle in his hand was empty. Zoro traded it for the bento, after opening the bento’s lid. “Eat up.”

Sanji didn’t move, instead standing near Zoro and stuffing his face with food. “If you grow hearts in your eyes, I will throttle you,” Zoro warned him, tossing Sanji’s empty bottle outside.

Zoro opened his own bento and leaned against the cart to eat. The coolness of the metal felt good against his sore ass. The thought of having sex again when he hurt like this made him want to cry. Manly tears, though. None of that omega weepy bullshit that attacked him sometimes. 

He wondered how omegas in heat did it with a partner. Were they always hurting and fucked anyway? That couldn’t be much fun. Zoro ate his meal while thinking about it, and thinking about the fact that he and Sanji did it twice yesterday. And the second time, Zoro had been completely himself. Not a single stray thought about Sanji being an alpha had crossed his mind. Did that make him gay? Zoro tried to imagine some other guy fucking him and his entire body tensed. Okay, not gay then. Sanji-sexual, perhaps.

He wouldn’t deny that he’d enjoyed sex, with Sanji. He’d eagerly do it again, once he stopped feeling like someone was shoving hot pokers up his ass. It was unexpected, but not necessarily unwanted. He only wished that Sanji was in his right mind to intellectually consent, not just instinctively do so. When Sanji came back from his feral walkabout, Zoro hoped Sanji wouldn’t hate him for this.

Zoro finished eating, collected Sanji’s empty bento from where he’d dropped it, and put the trash outside the cell. He offered Sanji another water, leaning against the cool cart to drink his own second one. 

Knowing that Brook would at least be back shortly to hose down the cell, after putting the empties outside, Zoro hobbled back to the sink, shouldered the duffel and the towel, and gathered the blankets, sheet, pillows and other towel from the floor. He brought everything to the front of the cell, heaping it on top of the food cart. He retrieved Wado, his sandals, and yukata, throwing his yukata and sandals on as they waited.

Sanji mostly watched Zoro, hovering nearby, occasionally making questioning or attentive noises. Zoro couldn’t decide if he liked it or not. Really, he just wanted Sanji to be verbally arguing with him again about anything. And not hate him. And maybe have sex with him with them both agreeable to it.

Brook returned with a length of hose with a bubble sprayer attached to it. “I have come to yo-ho-hose down the cell.”

Zoro groaned. “How long have you been waiting to say that?”

“Since two days after we locked Sanji in here,” Brook admitted with a chattering grin. He went into the cell next to Sanji’s and attached the hose to the sink. “I’ll spray across until halfway, then if you’d move the carts to the other end, I’ll get the rest of the cell. Would you like me to spray Sanji down while I am at it?”

Zoro shook his head. “Chopper’s bringing the shower stuff. I’ll take care of him.”

“Very well,” Brook said. “Swabbing the deck!” 

He turned on the tap and water shot out of the bubble sprayer. Soapy suds sprayed into the cell from between the bars. Brook hosed down the back wall, the floor, and the seastone bars with the soapy water. Zoro’s lip curled in distaste when he saw the Poop Ship float out of the cell. He’d spotted a sewer grate in the last cell, which would wash everything out to sea. 

Sanji had growled the moment the spray came into the cell. He put himself between Zoro and the spray, like it might attack Zoro. The protectiveness was amusing.

Chopper returned, with Jinbe, as Brook was finishing. Zoro, Sanji, and the carts were in the back of the cell. Jinbe carried a keg on his shoulder and Chopper was pushing a smaller cart. Sanji’s attention shifted to them and his growl became louder. He stayed near Zoro, however, instead of charging forward.

“Brook, leave the hose,” Zoro said when Brook turned off the tap in the next cell. “I’ll take care of this as necessary.”

Brook nodded, detached the hose from the sink, and began winding it. He pushed it through the bars when he was done, leaving it on the floor in Zoro and Sanji’s cell.

“Zoro, we’re going to open the cell door while you’re over there,” Chopper told him. “You can keep the smaller cart and use it as a stand near the sink, so your duffel and towels have a place.”

“Thanks,” Zoro said. He made a soft noise, catching Sanji’s attention, as Chopper turned the key in the lock. Sanji looked back and forth between Zoro and Chopper and Jinbe, still growling, but distracted enough that the cart and the keg could be brought in.

Once the door was secure again, Jinbe and Brook left with farewells, the soiled blanket, and the new trash. Chopper lingered. “He seems a lot calmer,” he said.

“Yeah. Knotting seems to be working,” Zoro said. 

Chopper nodded. “I thought it might. I know it might be difficult, but make sure you’re keeping stretched before you have sex. It’ll help with the size of the knots.”

Zoro felt his face heat. “I will.”

“Do you have any questions? Anything I can help with before I go?” Chopper asked.

“No, I think we’re good,” Zoro told him. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Chopper wagged his hoof at Zoro. “And remember to drink water!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll drink the damned water,” Zoro grumbled. 

“You’d better!” Chopper waved. “See you tomorrow!”

Chopper left, and Zoro and Sanji were once again alone in the dungeon. The lights in the corridor outside the cells were somewhat dim, as this was a dungeon not a hotel. The lack of windows meant Zoro didn’t know what time it was, aside from it being in the afternoon. 

Sanji stopped growling now that the others had left. He crossed to the new cart and keg, examining them, his protective scent still strong. Zoro didn’t want the new items to go by way of his nesting material and he pushed the food cart as he hobbled across the wet stone floor in his sandals. The keg was large, tapped at the bottom, and a decent-sized stein was hooked over the tap. Though he had alcohol in the food cart, it wasn’t the same. He crouched with a groan of pain and filled the stein to the top. The amber liquid and foamy head made him thirsty.

The beer tasted like peppery hops, and Zoro greedily guzzled it down. He belched loudly and swiped his arm against his lips. Just what the doctor didn’t order. Happy, Zoro straightened with a grunt and set the stein on top of the keg. Jinbe had put the keg to the right of the door, and Zoro maneuvered the food cart beside it.

Sanji knocked the stool off the other cart, followed by the bucket. Zoro hissed shortly at him in displeasure. Sanji growled but stalked away from the cart. He spotted the hose with the bubble sprayer at the back of the cell and went to examine it. 

Zoro transferred the new Usopp-scented and unscented nesting material to the laundry cart, taking the time to keep to his organization of his nesting material. He had to wait for the floor to completely dry before rebuilding the bed. 

Picking up the bucket and stool, Zoro put them on the smaller cart and wheeled it to the back by the sink. Sanji was kicking at the hose, as if determining its threat level. Zoro ignored him and set up the cart how he wanted it. He was able to unpack the duffel bag, organizing the items neatly on the selves. Toiletries, pain meds, douches and towels. Zoro left his sword polishing kit and the lube in the bag, as well as the anal plug he’d washed. He’d put his book within reach of the toilet. 

Zoro eyed the plug as he hung the duffel from the cart handle. He was going to have to put it in. There was no way he’d be able to take Sanji otherwise, not with his ass hurting the way it did. And he knew he’d be having sex again, likely soon. Sanji wasn’t in a rut, thankfully, but the change in Sanji between the first knot and the second had been positive. If Zoro kept going, he might be able to get Sanji back sooner rather than later. His ass might not handle later.

But for now, he was going to take a dump, then douche, then bathe. “Oi, dumbass,” Zoro called to Sanji, as he lifted his yukata and took a seat on the toilet. Sanji glanced over at him. “Poop in the toilet, not on the floor.”

Sanji eyed Zoro speculatively. He ventured closer, sniffed the air, then curled his lip in distaste. “Now you know how I feel,” Zoro told him. He grabbed his book and settled in to read. 

Sanji tried to snatch the book from him, but Zoro saw it coming. He held the book against his chest. “Don’t take a man’s reading material when he’s on the shitter.”

Sanji growled softly. Zoro glared. Sanji growled a little louder. “If you make me get up to beat your ass, you’re going to regret it,” Zoro warned him, no-nonsense in his tone. He purposefully let one rip.

Sanji backed off quickly, batting at his nose and shaking his head hard. Zoro laughed. “Serves you right.”

Sanji hurried to the other end of the cell, giving Zoro a dirty look. Zoro grinned, opened his page again, and took care of business.

Repetitive banging against the cell door accompanied Zoro’s shit. He ignored it. If Sanji wanted to continue with his futility, he was more than welcome. He didn’t appear to be getting injured doing it, which must be because of that Vinsmoke body change thing Chopper had talked about. He hadn’t felt Zoro choking him, or the blade against his balls. His body stopped bullets and broke blades. Zoro remembered hearing steel against steel when they’d fought yesterday. Was Sanji’s body now metal? Did he go, as Luffy put it, cyborg-y?

Zoro would have to wait until Sanji could talk again to find out, but he made a mental note that if they fought, he’d have to use energy whips, scruffing, and potentially manipulation again to beat Sanji. 

After douching and washing up, Zoro set up the stool, filled the bucket with water, and grabbed a washcloth for a scrubdown. He stank like Sanji. He washed the dried cum and slick from his body and the dried blood from the bite marks on his inner thighs. He was lucky Chopper hadn’t noticed. Score one for Sanji being protective and putting himself between Chopper and Zoro, blocking Chopper’s view. 

Zoro scrubbed the rest of his body, wincing when he ran the washcloth over the back of his neck. Sanji had bit him there, hard. Zoro probed the tender wound with his fingertips. He remembered how the bite had made him climax and his cock stirred. Fuck, that had felt good. He apparently had some sort of biting kink. 

Zoro didn’t want to arouse Sanji’s interest right now, so he’d better stop touching the bite. He finished washing up, shampooed his hair with the shampoo Chopper had provided, rinsed off, and dried himself with one of the fresh towels. He lubed up the anal plug and used it on himself. The pain reliever had kicked in and he no longer felt like Mihawk’s sword was being shoved through his ass. It still hurt, but Zoro could tolerate it now. And if he didn’t start stretching, it would be worse later.

Sipping back on his yukata and sandals after putting the pump portion of the plug away, Zoro trilled for Sanji, calling for Sanji’s attention. Sanji immediately stopped banging against the door, loping across the cell to Zoro’s side. He sniffed the air, furrowed his brow, and invaded Zoro’s space. “Oi, watch it, curlybrow,” Zoro said as Sanji took a deep breath against Zoro’s neck.

Sanji made a series of sounds too quick for Zoro to interpret, though he caught the growl of displeasure. Sanji began rubbing his scent glands against Zoro’s intensively. “Great, now I stink like you again,” Zoro said, though he felt warmed by the act. Using scent neutralizing soap had erased both their scents on Zoro’s skin and apparently Sanji didn’t like that. 

Sanji sniffed Zoro again and chuffed in satisfaction. Zoro felt an omega tingle in his belly that his alpha was pleased and it made him pleased in return. Zoro rolled his eye at himself. Stupid omega hormones. Zoro pointed at the stool. “Sit.”

Sanji glanced to where Zoro pointed, then returned his gaze to Zoro. Zoro put his hands on Sanji’s shoulders, which caused Sanji to rumble approvingly, and maneuvered Sanji closer to the stool. He pushed downward. “Sit.”

There was brief resistance, but then Sanji sat on the stool. When Zoro released his shoulders, he shot back up to his feet. Zoro scowled. “Sit, I said.” He put his hands back on Sanji’s shoulders and pushed him back down. 

Sanji popped right back up again.

Zoro growled under his breath, a poor mimic of an alpha sound. “Fine. I’ll bathe you standing up.” Zoro refilled the bucket with fresh water, wet the washrag, and lathered soap onto it. He pressed the rag against Sanji’s bare chest.

Sanji stared down at it with curiosity. Zoro began to wash Sanji’s torso, from neck to lower belly, keeping well away from Sanji’s currently soft cock. Sanji rubbed his fingertips over his soapy pec and then looked at his fingers in confusion. He sniffed the soapy digits. Since it was a scent neutralizer, Zoro knew that it didn’t have a smell. 

Zoro tackled Sanji’s pits and arms. Sanji rumbled again when Zoro cleaned his neck. Zoro felt himself responding omega-ly again, pleased about tending to his alpha, and he tamped it down forcefully. He moved behind Sanji, washing his back, being more aggressive than called for. Sanji jumped away from him with a short, sharp growl when Zoro slid the rag between Sanji’s asscheeks. 

“My ass is the one that got fucked. You can survive a rag touching you,” Zoro said. Sanji narrowed his eyes. Zoro thought it wasn’t worth it. “Fine. You win this one.” 

Zoro shoved the rag into the water, added more soap, and crouched in front of Sanji. He began working from the feet upward. He pretended that Sanji’s cock wasn’t at mouth level. Especially when said cock started to twitch and fill. Zoro quickly finished, skipping the groin area altogether, and stood. He grabbed the bucket of water and dumped it over Sanji’s head.

Sanji yiped, startled, and then stared at Zoro with wide eyes, soapy water running down his face and head. Zoro traded the washrag for shampoo, squirted a lot in his hand, and attacked Sanji’s hair before he could get away. After a few seconds, Sanji’s eyelids fell shut and he swayed toward Zoro with a steady, content rumble of enjoyment. Zoro massaged Sanji’s scalp as he washed Sanji’s very dirty hair. Sanji was going to have a fit when he came back and found out how long he’d gone without washing it before Zoro came down.

Zoro couldn’t deny that he was enjoying washing Sanji’s hair, hearing that Sanji liked it. He couldn’t go on forever, though. Sanji made a sound of dismay when Zoro stopped. Zoro smirked, filled the bucket with water again, and dumped it over Sanji’s head.

Sanji sputtered, growled, and batted at his face as the shampoo suds ran down it. Zoro grabbed a towel, dropped it over Sanji’s head, and began vigorously rubbing his hair and face before Sanji could fight him off. Sanji kicked him in the shin. It made Zoro laugh. “That’s my cook.”

Sanji started growling, with an angry note to it, and Zoro pulled the towel away. The neutralizing soap would prevent Zoro from smelling Sanji for a short while, but Zoro was coated in enough Sanji scenting that Zoro wouldn’t notice anyway.

Zoro tried to dry off the rest of Sanji, but Sanji wasn’t having it. He ducked away from Zoro with a forceful growl of warning. Zoro gave up and tidied the area instead. He set the bucket on the stool beside the small cart, rinsed out the washrag, and hung it over the rim of the bucket. He walked to the front of the cell to drop the used towel outside the bars.

Beer beckoned, and Zoro filled the stein. He leaned against the keg, drank his beer, and watched Sanji pace around the back of the cell, grumbling and growling. It sounded just like Sanji’s bitching, only without words. “Knew you were in there somewhere,” Zoro said. “You wouldn’t give in that easily.”

Zoro thought about starting a fight with Sanji, tempting Sanji out a little more that way, but that would lead to Sanji getting horny, hormone dumping on Zoro, and trying to get Zoro to submit. Zoro’s loins tingled with interest at the thought of submitting that way to Sanji’s influence, but his ass wasn’t ready and the floor was still damp. He wasn’t going to have sex on a hard, wet stone floor. 

So Zoro drank his beer instead, ignored Sanji, and pondered what his nakama were up to today. They’d been in post-Kaidou Wano for a few weeks. The rest of the now-ended alliance had sailed off. The Straw Hats insisted on not being known as part of the take down, so everyone had been able to move relatively freely through the Flower Capital. Zoro had partaken in a few celebrations with the townsfolk while he’d been recovering from his wounds. The recovery effort had gotten underway, as well. While Zoro had spent way too much time being sex-educated by Chopper, he’d been able to assist a little with food distribution. He’d felt kind of bad that Sanji wasn’t a part of it. Sanji’s need to feed the world would have been satisfied by helping. 

Zoro finished his beer, poured a third, and drank it slowly. Sanji had stopped pacing around and was once again trying to break through the cell bars, this time at the side. Zoro wondered what compelled Sanji to do that. Was it an alpha-driven instinct? Where would Sanji even go if he were free, in this state? The feral books hadn’t touched on it much, aside from mentioning rampages through populated areas and fucking every omega in sight. Zoro thought some of the stories had to be exaggerated. Unless an alpha was in a rut, that’d be a lot of sex. Sanji hadn’t been perpetually horny while Zoro was in the cell. 

Zoro was nearly done with his third beer when Sanji stopped banging, went over to the toilet, and pissed all over the seat and bowl. Zoro laughed. “At least you’re close,” he said. He was glad he’d had Brook leave the cleaning hose. Zoro would spray the toilet down. 

Sanji wandered up to Zoro, sniffed him, and rubbed his scent against Zoro’s neck with his fingers and wrists. Zoro let him. He liked Sanji’s scent a lot. It was an earthy oakmoss with a primitive edge to it. Usually alpha scents had a spiciness to them, but Sanji’s didn’t. His was inky, bitter, like a forest floor. Zoro didn’t know if that was because he was feral or because he’d gone from being a beta to an alpha.

Zoro still found that to be almost impossible to believe. If he wasn’t standing in front of Sanji, he probably wouldn’t. How could Sanji’s body have changed so much? And his speed – Sanji had been quick before, but now he moved fast enough to become invisible. It was insane. Zoro really wanted to talk to Sanji about it, find out the hows and the whys. He wanted to talk to Sanji about anything, really, hear him bitch and moan, or spout romantic claptrap at the girls. He never thought he’d actually miss the cook’s annoying voice. But he did. Desperately. 

Zoro finished his beer, set the stein on the keg, and slid his wrists over Sanji’s neck glands. Sanji rumbled in approval and contentment. Zoro leaned in, resting his forehead against Sanji’s. “I miss you, asshole.”

Sanji moved closer and Zoro could feel Sanji’s hardening cock poking against Zoro’s yukata. Zoro felt an answering stir of arousal. The neutralizing soap dulled the musky pheromonal scent he could now smell wafting from Sanji’s glands. Mostly, he smelled Sanji on himself and lingering in the air. 

Zoro decided the floor was dry enough to lay out the bedding again. He needed to be close to Sanji again in a way that only sexual intimacy could bring. He rubbed his cheek against Sanji’s before stepping back. Sanji went to grab him, but Zoro hissed shortly, just to put him off. Zoro grabbed the pile of blankets he’d left on the food cart and Sanji backed down. The blankets were associated with nesting, and Zoro knew that Sanji respected it. At least, the blankets that weren’t scented by the rest of the Straw Hat alphas. 

The blankets Zoro and Sanji used as bedding smelled heavily of sex and them both. Zoro inhaled deeply, letting the scent fill his lungs. It made him feel warm and happy. He could get addicted to the scent. 

Zoro draped three of the blankets over his neck before spreading the fourth one on the mostly dry stone floor. He layered on the next three blankets, with the unscented replacement blanket at the base. He neatened the corners, then went to fetch the pillows and the sheet. His katana was the only thing remaining on the food cart, and Zoro left it there.

Zoro set the two pillows at the top of the bedding and folded the sheet neatly at the bottom. He didn’t know why he bothered with the sheet. It wasn’t as if they’d used it. But Zoro’s instincts told him that he wanted the sheet there, so there it went. The makeshift bed looked aesthetically pleasing to Zoro and he felt the pride he’d get when he built a nest.

Zoro did not neglect to bring over the bottles of water and beer, putting them within reach of the bed. He brought the towel over, too, though they hadn’t used it previously, either. But the towel had been there yesterday and it was there today.

Zoro glanced at Sanji, who stared hungrily at him with his feral-blown pupils, cock hard and spearing from his groin. Zoro’s ass clenched around the anal plug in sudden excitement. Lust swirled through him at the sight. He shed the yukata, his sandals, and deflated the plug. He pulled it out and dropped it on the towel beside the bed – and now Zoro knew why he’d instinctively brought the towel back. 

Zoro could feel the slick building, mixing with the lube. Heat curled in his loins and his cock grew hard. He craved Sanji in him again, knotting him, holding him close. This wasn’t his Sanji, but his Sanji was in there somewhere and Zoro wanted him back.

Zoro stepped onto the blankets and sank down on his hands and knees. “Sanji,” he beckoned with neediness in his voice. Sanji’s scent was around him, under him, on his body and blankets, but it wasn’t enough. Sanji vanished and reappeared next to the bedding in less than a blink with an eager noise. Zoro shifted his weight, lifting a hand, reaching for Sanji, inviting him in.

Sanji was on him, over him, in him, in an instant. Zoro shouted with both pleasure and pain. Sanji’s large shaft split him open, drove in, and sank deep. He wrapped his arms around Zoro’s chest, licking and nipping at the bite mark on the nape of Zoro’s neck, hips pistoning already, pelvis slapping hard against Zoro’s ass. Sanji’s scent grew more intense, arousal cutting through the neutralizing soap, curling through Zoro’s senses, surrounding him, making him dizzy. Sanji made animalistic noises as he fucked Zoro and Zoro could only moan helplessly in return.

Passion clouded his vision, clouded his mind. Sanji’s thick, hard cock pounded into Zoro’s slick-heavy hole. The heady scent of sex and lust and them filled the air. Zoro started rocking back against Sanji, meeting his beastial thrusts, caught in carnal lust. He felt Sanji slowly sink his teeth into the nape of Zoro’s neck again, right over the original bite mark, clamping down. Heat and pain and overwhelming pleasure exploded in Zoro. He lost the strength in his arms, crashed into his elbows, changing the way Sanji draped around him. Between the bite and Sanji’s muscular body and his strong arms clamped around Zoro, Zoro felt wholly claimed. 

Sanji railed Zoro until Zoro couldn’t tell up from down. His cock ached for release but he couldn’t think to touch himself. He could only hold onto the bedding and pant and moan. He was so far gone, he didn’t notice Sanji’s fucking becoming jagged, arythmic, or the swell of Sanji’s knot until Sanji slammed into him one final time, bottoming out, securing them together. 

Zoro’s thighs trembled, spread wide to accommodate Sanji between them. His rigid cock leaked steadily from the tip. Sanji kept him in place with the clamp of his teeth in the nape of Zoro’s neck. Zoro floated on a sea of thick scents and hormonal bliss. He wanted to stay like this, submissive, with his alpha knotting and holding him pinned. 

Sanji eventually released Zoro as his knot went down, cock slipping out of Zoro, licking over the bite. The scents and sounds of approval made Zoro’s omega hindbrain preen. Slick and cum slid from his hole, and he was still hard, desperate for touch. He whined softly, needily, in the back of his throat. He wanted his alpha’s hands on him, his alpha to take him again.  

Sanji made more approving noises, rubbing his fingers over the scent glands on Zoro’s neck. He knelt back and rubbed his fingers and wrists on Zoro’s inner thighs, scenting him heavily, hitting the bite marks there. The sensitivity of the area made Zoro cry out, his body to produce more slick, the scent of it changing, growing thicker, even sweeter, more enticing. He felt hot at his core, and sweat broke out on his brow and under his arms. 

His body seized when he felt Sanji’s tongue lapping at his hole, orgasm crashing through him almost instantly. His cock unloaded on the bedding beneath him. But he was still hard, still wanting, still needy. He felt feverish. Empty. He needed to be filled. He needed more. Fire dragged its claws through his hindbrain, shouting ALPHA, ALPHA, ALPHA.

The sound that erupted from Zoro’s throat was a mating cry, calling for his alpha to breed him. Every molecule of his being screamed to be knotted. He could not think of anything other than the driving desire to be pumped full of cum again and again and again. He needed his alpha’s cum. He needed his alpha’s knot. He needed it, he needed it, he needed it…

Zoro’s heat lasted for four days and it triggered Sanji’s rut. He could remember nothing but knotting, biting, and having so much semen pumped into him that his belly felt big. He thought someone yelled “Drink water!” but he couldn’t be sure. When his heat ended, he slept for two days and woke up lying in a mess of sweat, piss, slick, and cum.

Everything hurt. Toenails to hair follicles. And his mouth was so dry it felt shriveled. Zoro pried open his eyelid and stared blankly at a stone ceiling, not knowing where he was. His brain finally returned from omega heat-land and he rasped a curse.

They knew it was a possibility and had prepared for it, which was why Zoro had the nesting material. But he’d expected it to be more like his other heats, which came on like an itch that he couldn’t scratch until he started to drip. Usually, that’s when the terror would set in and he’d build his nest in the deep recesses of the hold, behind piles of Adam’s wood he’d shifted to barricade the door. He’d hide in his nest, trembling and afraid that the alphas on the ship would attack him, even though he knew, logically, that they wouldn’t. Zoro would suffer for two to three days like that, too afraid to be horny, even as the slick steadily flowed down his thighs.

Zoro had thought, hoped really, that any heat triggered by Sanji wouldn’t be traumatizing and he could get through it and be able to copulate. He hadn’t expected, at all, to be fully taken over by his hindbrain, to want Sanji so desperately that he’d begged, to not feel a single iota of fear. Chopper had told Zoro to treat sex like it was his first time again. To Zoro, this felt like he’d had his first heat, what it was meant to be like, with someone he cared for and trusted. 

Zoro turned his head and saw Sanji curled beside him in the makeshift bed. No, a nest, Zoro realized. He’d made a nest for them, a nest of their own, with no other scents but theirs on it. And it was open and exposed, but Zoro felt safe. He knew that Sanji would protect him. He knew there was nothing left to fear.

He heard the dungeon door open and forced himself to sit up. He winced in pain. He presumed marathon sex was the cause. He looked down at his thighs, which were a blood-stained, bitten wreck. The bite on the back of his neck throbbed and felt inflamed. He hoped it wasn’t infected. He stank to Skypiea, too, of sex and piss and Sanji. Not leaving the bed for days would cause that.

Zoro cast a look over his shoulder, to see Usopp coming down the corridor outside the cells. A smile pulled at his lips. He hadn’t seen Usopp in what felt like forever. “Usopp!”

“Zoro!” Usopp quickened his steps. “You’re finally awake.”

“Yeah.” Zoro saw that many of the water bottles by the bed were empty – apparently he’d listened to the phantom voice – but there were still a pair of unopened beer bottles left. He grabbed one, pulled the cork, and drank it down thirstily.

Usopp stopped outside the cell door, the dim gas light hanging on the wall behind him. Zoro reached for the sheet bunched at the bottom of the bed and pulled it around him as he slowly got to his feet. The sheet provided some modesty for him. He walked with a hobble over to the door, carrying his beer. He could smell Usopp’s subtle beta scent through the bars.

Dressed in his usual overalls and a long-sleeved shirt, Usopp smirked at Zoro. “You look like you’ve gone ten rounds against Oars and lost them all.”

Zoro snorted, recalling the giant zombie-Luffy from Thriller Bark. “I feel like it, too.”

“Sanji keeping you well… omega’d?” Usopp waggled his brows.

“Let me get my katana and you can ask me that again.” 

Usopp held up his hands. “No need to get stabby.”

“Why are you here, anyway? I thought Chopper, Brook, and Jinbe were the only ones allowed down here,” Zoro said, taking a drink of beer. 

“It’s been a week. I, uh, kinda missed your scent,” Usopp admitted. “Though this current scent of yours is making my eyes water.” He pinched his nose and crossed his eyes teasingly. “Chopper thought it would be okay if I came down, since I’m a beta.”

Zoro glanced over his shoulder. Sanji was still asleep in the nest. Usopp’s scent must be mild enough not to disturb him. 

“I’ve been checking off and on for the past two days, after Chopper gave the clear that your heat  was over, to see if you were ready for a visitor.” Usopp leaned closer to warn, “I think Chopper is going to insist on a full examination, so if you don’t want to be poked and prodded, pretend you’re asleep.”

“Duly noted,” Zoro said. He’d rather not have Chopper commenting on the bite marks. What Zoro did in his nest was his business. “So, what’s everyone been up to?”

Zoro leaned his shoulder against the cell door, sipping his beer, listening to Usopp regale him with outrageous tales about what the Straw Hats had been doing for the past week. Apparently, Luffy started a fish-worshiping cult, Nami had a statue erected of her at the bath house, Robin and Franky joined Brook on a whirlwind Soul King tour as backup dancers, Chopper had eaten so much cotton candy that he’d turned pink, and Jinbe meditated himself into an alternate dimension. “And I, Captain Usopp, with my army of six thousand men, repelled a marine invasion single-six-thousand-handedly.”

Zoro huffed a short laugh. “Sounds like you’ve all been busy.”

“Yeah. Though I can tell Luffy’s starting to get itchy feet.” Usopp peered past Zoro into the cell. “How’s Sanji? Is he still…?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Zoro glanced back at Sanji. The cook’s eyebrows had still been curled in the same direction instead of opposite when Zoro had looked at him. “I’ll know when he wakes up.”

Usopp gave Zoro a sad smile. “Hang in there. If anyone can reach Sanji, it’s you. If only to cuss you out and kick your ass.”

Zoro laughed. “Yeah. I was kind of hoping he’d get pissed off enough at me that it brought him back, just to do that.”

Usopp slid his hand through the bar, offering his wrist. “Need anything? I’m going to have to tell Chopper that you’re up.”

“Nah, I’m good for now.” Zoro rubbed his wrist against Usopp, sharing their scent in friendship. “You can let Chopper know that if he tries to examine me, I’ll let Sanji eat him.”

Usopp grinned. “You’re so mean.”

With a wave, Usopp left and Zoro set his empty bottle outside the cell bars. He hobbled to the food cart, wincing with every step. He’d have to get rid of the top shelf items, since Usopp indicated how long he’d been in heat and then asleep. He was starving and still exceedingly thirsty. The beer hadn’t cut it.

Zoro drank an entire bottle of water, set it aside, and opened another. He drank it while he ate three second shelf bentos in a row. Once done, he moved the trash out of the cell, including the spoiled food, and opened a third bottle of water. He dragged himself across the cell to the sink. He needed pain meds, a douche, and a scrub down, in that order. Preferably before Chopper appeared so he could redress in the yukata to prevent prying eyes from seeing his sex-wounds.

Zoro drank more water, set the bottle aside, and draped the sheet over the small cart beside the sink. After the first two items on his to-do list were checked off, he set up the stool, filled the bucket, grabbed a rag, and thoroughly cleaned himself. He paid extra attention to the bites on his thighs and the back of his neck. He didn’t want an infection, because Chopper would really need to examine him, then.

Sanji woke up as Zoro was finishing his bath. Zoro caught sight of him sleepily patting the nest, then sitting up swiftly and looking around, wild-eyed, sniffing nose in the air. He spotted Zoro, vanished, and reappeared next to him. Sanji started growling and rumbling and sniffing Zoro, then he rubbed his stink all over Zoro’s clean body. 

Zoro caught his lower lip between his teeth upon seeing that Sanji’s eyes hadn’t changed, hearing his non-verbal communication. Sanji was still feral. The heat and the rut and all the knotting hadn’t brought him back. “Now I gotta wash myself again, stupid cook,” Zoro grumbled, but his heart wasn’t in it. 

Sanji rubbed his scratchy beard against Zoro's neck, and Zoro tilted his head to give Sanji better access to his scent gland. He shivered at the sensitivity, though he could barely smell Sanji’s contentment beneath the stench of six days of not washing. “I need to shave you. What kind of scraggly, patchwork nonsense is growing on your face? You look like a fool. None of the ladies will look at you like this. Not that they look at you otherwise. Loser.”

Sanji rumbled contentedly instead of kicking Zoro’s ass for calling him a loser. Zoro sighed disappointedly, then set about relieving Sanji of his stench. He ended up not shaving Sanji. For one thing, Sanji wouldn’t sit down or stay still. For another, it reminded Zoro that this wasn’t really Sanji, no matter how attached Zoro was getting to him. 

Once they were both clean and they’d re-scented each other, Zoro put on his yukata and sandals, took care of the trash and set the soiled bedding outside the bars, washed and put away the anal plug that had been sitting out for six days, and started hosing down the cell. Sanji growled at the soapy spray, but seemed content to hover beside Zoro rather than get overprotective. Zoro had just finished when Chopper appeared with an empty laundry cart and a trash bag hanging from it.

“Zoro! It’s not very nice to threaten me with Sanji,” Chopper chided. “I’m your doctor. I need to make sure that you’re alright. It’s my duty!”

Sanji growled at Chopper and planted himself between Zoro and the cell door. Alpha protective scent wafted into the air and curled around Zoro like a safe hug. Zoro refused to admit how much he liked it. 

“I’m fine, Chopper,” Zoro dismissed, looking over Sanji’s shoulder. “Sore, but nothing you need to worry about.”

“You say things like that even when you’ve nearly been sliced in two.”

“Heh.” That was true. “But really, I’m okay. Got through my heat, I’ve been drinking water, nothing’s bleeding, so I’m good.”

Chopper narrowed his eyes. “You’re not hiding something, are you?”

“No,” Zoro lied. There was no need for Chopper to know about the bites unless they got infected. Besides, he liked them and didn’t want to have them cast in a negative light. “Told you, I’m sex sore, but otherwise fine.

“Hm. Okay,” Chopper said with a hint of disbelief. “I’ll let it go. For now. How are you feeling mentally? You seemed to be enjoying your heat, but with your past–” 

Zoro cut him off. “I’m fine there, too. No need to pry into my brain.” 

“Zoro…”

“Chopper, I’m really fine,” Zoro reassured. “The heat was good. I liked it. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.”

“I’m just worried about you, Zoro,” Chopper said. “But if you think you’re alright mentally, I’ll trust you. But please don’t hesitate to talk to me if something troubles you, about anything. I’m here for you.”

Zoro felt warmth at Chopper’s words. “I won’t hesitate, promise.” 

Chopper smiled at him. “Then, Doctor Chopper’s consultation with you is over. Tell me about my other patient. Any changes I should note?”

Zoro sighed. “No. He’s about the same as last time you saw me, before the heat. Not as aggressive, but not Sanji.”

“I’m sorry, Zoro,” Chopper said with sincerity. “We knew this was a long shot.”

“I’m not giving up yet,” Zoro said. “We just need more time. Tell Luffy I want to keep trying.”

“Luffy said we’d stay as long as you wanted, Zoro,” Chopper said. “He wants Sanji back as much as you.”

Zoro doubted that. He felt like he really couldn’t breathe without Sanji bitching at him. “I’m going to get him back.”

Chopper smiled. “I have no doubt in you.” Zoro noticed he didn’t say that Zoro would succeed.

Chopper collected the trash and the dirty laundry. “I’ll get these things washed for you. Do you need anything else?”

“You can get me a new yukata to change into, but otherwise we’re good.” 

Chopper nodded. “I’ll be back in a bit, then.”

Sanji didn’t stop growling until the dungeon door banged closed behind Chopper. Then, he spun around and began scenting Zoro with possessive, protective pheromones. Zoro’s chest tightened. Part of him liked the scenting, but the part that missed his friend wanted to cry. He took a deep breath, allowing the scents to seep into him, and told himself it would take time. He just had to keep trying.

Day turned into night turned into days with no change. Zoro had sex with Sanji, ran katas, did calisthenics, bathed, and had more sex. Sanji rubbed against Zoro, kicked or banged his shoulder against the cell bars, and paced around like a caged animal. Sanji progressed in that he used the toilet now, but that was more like training than self-motivation. He didn’t flush. Chopper visited daily, checking on them, picking up trash, exchanging dirty items for clean. His expression seemed a bit sadder every time he came down. 

With every day that passed, Zoro grew more despondent. Maybe it was futile. Maybe the Sanji he knew was truly gone. Maybe this Sanji was the only one he’d ever have.

Zoro smelled like Sanji now, nearly all the time. He couldn’t tell where his scent ended and Sanji’s began. He couldn’t get enough of Sanji’s touch and initiated sex more often than not. The few times Sanji attempted to scent-compel him into sex, Zoro chose not to fight it, allowing himself to succumb to his alpha’s desires. He liked the way Sanji got protective whenever someone came down or Zoro used the hose. He craved hearing Sanji’s content rumble and nuzzling beside him in bed before sleep. Sometimes, Sani would rub his hand on Zoro’s lower belly and make soft sounds, and Zoro knew that Sanji was hoping Zoro had been bred. It pained Zoro deeply that it would never happen.

Zoro toyed with the idea that they could take Sanji with them anyway, even though he was feral. But what could they do? Sanji would have to stay locked up and that was no way for a man to live. Sanji would hate that. Sanji had called Zoro to prevent something like that from happening. Was Zoro only prolonging the inevitable?

The thought of having to kill Sanji gutted Zoro completely. He wanted to run off with Sanji instead, find an uninhabited island for just the two of them. Zoro knew that was his omega brain talking nonsense, but it didn’t stop him from considering it. He didn’t know how he was going to survive losing Sanji now.

Zoro was on top, riding Sanji slowly, savoring the feel of having Sanji inside him. He’d trapped Sanji’s legs beneath him again, allowing Zoro control. Zoro rested his hands on Sanji’s torso, feeling the muscle ripple beneath Sanji’s skin. Sanji’s scent surrounded Zoro, raw and earthy. Sanji’s inky eyes watched Zoro with a deep hunger. Zoro could feel the raw power coiled inside Sanji and it made Zoro shiver with desire. Zoro had never thought he’d find an equal, never thought he’d want to let that equality go and submit to an alpha. To be cared for, protected, made to feel safe. 

“Sanji,” he whispered, riding Sanji to dizzying heights. “Sanji.”

Sanji rumbled softly at him, and Zoro tumbled into bliss.

Zoro startled awake when Sanji sat bolt upright beside him in bed with an unearthly howl. Sanji pawed at his head, shoving at his bearded jawline, unseeing eyes wide with horror. Sanji’s scent was sour, making Zoro’s stomach churn with immediate concern. Zoro sat up and reached out a hand to touch Sanji’s thigh. “Sanji?”

Zoro’s observation haki alerted him to the danger, but he was too slow to react. Sanji lashed out wildly, jumping on Zoro, and slammed a fist into Zoro’s face. Zoro’s head flung back with the impact, nose breaking. Another punch cracked across his jaw, the next slammed into his bad eye. Snarling, growling, spitting, Sanji attacked Zoro with a mindless ferocity that tore a hole in Zoro’s heart. Zoro put his hands on Sanji’s chest and shoved with all his might.

Sanji went flying and landed at the back of the cell. With another wild, unhinged howl, he shot to his feet and disappeared. Zoro’s katana was on the food cart and he scrambled to get it. But Sanji didn’t attack him again. Instead, Zoro could hear a seemingly invisible Sanji flinging himself violently at the bars to the cell, against one side and then the other. 

A mewl erupted from Zoro’s throat when he realized what was happening. His world crashed down upon him. His breath started coming in short gasps from his mouth. His hindbrain took over. He hurried over to the laundry cart and tipped it over, spilling nesting material onto the floor. He dug out his nakama’s alpha-covered items, heaped them into the corner, and threw beta-scented and unscented material on top. He dragged the cart in front of the nest protectively before crawling beneath the mound of clothing and blankets. 

Zoro curled himself into a ball beneath his nest, clutching Wado. His bad eye and jaw were swelling. His broken nose made it hard to breathe. Outside the nest, he could hear the unending bangs against the bars, the howls of blood-chilling rage. Surrounded by his nakama scents, yet still bathed in the scent of Sanji, a sob escaped from between Zoro’s lips. Sanji had gone into a frenzy. There was no coming back. 

Zoro was going to have to kill him. 

Zoro’s heart felt like it was being torn out of him. He’d failed. Sanji was lost. Mewls of mental pain spilled from Zoro’s throat between his ragged sobs. His alpha. He had to kill his alpha. He didn’t even try to stop the tears, allowing them to flow harshly, his body shaking with emotion. He cried for Sanji, cried for himself, cried for everything he had to give up. 

And when the tears finally stopped, Zoro rose from his nest, leaving his katana behind. He used his observation haki to step in Sanji’s path, and Sanji bowled into him, taking them both down, sliding violently across the stone floor. Zoro didn’t hesitate, flipping them over, pinning Sanji to the ground. Straddling Sanji’s stomach, Zoro pressed one hand over Sanji’s mouth, used the other to pinch Sanji’s nose shut, and held firm. Sanji struggled beneath him, trying to buck him off, clawing at Zoro’s arms and hands. 

As the light faded from Sanji’s wild, pupil-blown eyes, Zoro whispered brokenly, “I love you.”

Zoro was numb. He sat beside Sanji’s body on the stone floor, unseeing. He didn’t feel his battered face and bloody arms. He didn’t know how long he sat there until the dungeon door opened and he heard Chopper’s call of greeting. 

He turned his head to look at Chopper through the bars and said in a toneless voice, “I killed him.”

Chopper gasped. He hurriedly shoved the cell key in the lock, opened the door, and rushed over to Zoro and Sanji. “Oh no! Oh no!” he wailed. 

Zoro moved before Chopper could hug him. He got up, went over to the bed, and gathered the blankets. He retreated to the back corner of the cell, away from any other scents, and folded himself back to the floor. He wrapped the blankets over and around him, surrounding himself solely with the smell of Sanji and him. A low, mournful keen rose from his chest, quiet at first, then becoming louder and louder until it blocked out any other sound. His mind shut down with grief. He rocked back and forth beneath the blankets, unable to cope, completely shattered. 

He didn’t notice at first when strong arms wrapped around him, strong thighs bracketed his body. He was pulled against a solid chest and together they rocked. His keen echoed in the dungeon and he didn’t hear the crooning or the words spoken until he took a shuddering breath. 

“...here, baby. I’m here. I have you. You’re okay, marimo. I’m here. Shh. I’m here. Your mate is here…”

The heavy scent of oakmoss layered with possessive and protective pheromones wrapped around Zoro, making him feel safe. His brain recognized the crooning, recognized the voice speaking, trying to pull him back from his grief. His breath hitched repeatedly in his throat as he tried to speak. “S-S-S-S-San-Sanji?”

“That’s right, I’m here. It’s okay, my mate. I’m right here. I’ve got you.” 

Zoro struggled to pull the blankets from over his head. When he could finally see, Sanji’s face was right there, blue eyes warm and concerned, his left eyebrow curled asymmetrically over his nose. Zoro stared in shock as his body still heaved from emotion. “You- you- you’re dead!”

Sanji smirked, and it was so familiar, so Sanji that Zoro knew he wasn’t imagining seeing him. “Next time, do a better job, shithead. Or at least check if you’ve succeeded. You only knocked me out.”

Another keen exploded from Zoro’s throat and he threw his arms around Sanji’s waist. He tucked his face against Sanji’s neck, trembling, not caring if his omega hindbrain was turning him into an emotional wreck. Sitting sideways in Sanji’s embrace, he clung to Sanji as Sanji crooned softly again, murmuring comforting words in his ear.

Eventually, Zoro heard Chopper speaking with Sanji. Sanji’s hand soothed up and down Zoro’s back, rocking them both still. Sanji’s scent rose from the scent gland near Zoro’s nose, wrapping him in comfort. Sanji’s low voice addressed Chopper, even as he continued his quiet croon in between. He heard the clop of hooves against stone retreat.

Zoro pulled away from Sanji’s neck and swiped a hand over his damp face. He could see that Chopper had gone. He sat up and met Sanji’s – the real Sanji’s – gaze. “Dumbass love cook.”

Sanji’s eyes crinkled in the corners. “Idiot marimo.”

“Fucking curlybrow.”

“Shitty swordsman.”

“Ugly-bearded loser.”

“Hideous brute. You look like someone beat you up. Wimp.”

“Yeah, well, I killed you.” 

“Failed to kill me, because you suck.” Sanji shook his head with a sigh. “I can’t believe I mated with you.”

“I can’t believe you– wait, what?” Zoro blinked a few times. “Mated with me?”

Sanji looked at Zoro like he was infinitely stupid. Zoro had missed that look so much. “I’ve been an alpha for less than two seconds and I can tell that you’re my mate by the way you smell. Has your nose been broken this entire time?”

“No. Some shit-faced feral frenzied on me.” Zoro glared at Sanji, even as his mind reeled. Mated? He and Sanji were mated? 

“You really suck at being an omega,” Sanji said. “Too much time spent making your body huge because you have a tiny pee-pee.”

“Fuck you. It’s not like you’ve gotten any women with your dick.”

Sanji glanced downward, where his big alpha cock was exposed between Zoro’s blanketed hip and Sanji’s bare thighs. “Don’t think I’ll have that problem now.”

A snarl erupted from Zoro’s mouth. “No.”

Sanji snorted. “And yet, you still don’t know that we’re mated.” 

Zoro glowered, feeling embarrassed. “I never wanted a mate. Why would I know anything about it?”

“I thought all omegas wanted mates,” Sanji said. “To have babies and shit.”

The mention of babies made Zoro’s chest seize, and he hissed. “I don’t want an alpha anywhere near me.”

Sanji reared back. “Oh.” A distressed note crept into his scent. “Shit. I don’t know what I did, but maybe I can undo it? I was a beta. I don’t really know anything about alpha mating or any of this shit.”

“I thought your brothers were alphas,” Zoro said, feeling both defensive and stressed. 

Sanji appeared surprised that Zoro knew that information. “Yes, but I was already gone by the time they would’ve presented and learned about it. I only knew they were alphas before that because my shitty ex-father made it a daily thing to point out that I wasn’t one.” The mention of his family caused a sourness to bleed into Sanji’s already distressed scent. 

Zoro felt himself reacting to the scent, wanting to soothe, his hindbrain telling him that his alpha needed him. Fuck. His omega instincts fought against his defensive anxiety. Zoro warred with himself until an unhappy mewl spilled from his throat unbidden. 

Sanji’s reaction was instant. He scooted closer to Zoro, pulling Zoro into his arms again. He tucked Zoro’s head in the crook of his neck. His scent went from distressed and sour to protective and reassuring. “Shit, no, don’t be unhappy, my heart. We’ll figure this out.”

Zoro both hated and liked that he felt comforted almost immediately. Stupid omega brain. “You just called me my heart,” he muttered against Sanji’s skin. 

Sanji winced. “Uh, yeah. Sorry. You said you didn’t want this. Won’t happen again.”

Zoro went still as Sanji’s wording sunk in. “You… do want it?”

Sanji blew out a breath. “I’m not opposed to it, shit-for-brains.”

It both was and wasn’t an answer. It was also very Sanji. “That’s the alpha pheromones talking, reacting to my scent. You like women. And I’m me.”

Sanji shifted slightly, rubbing his scratchy beard against Zoro’s head. “First point, possibly true. Other two, not so much. Besides, isn’t a relationship just two friends who happen to be wildly into each other?”

Zoro snorted. “Like I’d believe that you suddenly like cock.”

“You’re the one who’s been wagging yourself in my face for however long it’s been. Apparently, I’m quite gay for your ass.”

Zoro’s eye widened and he straightened to look at Sanji. Sanji’s hands continued to rest on Zoro’s back and stomach over the blankets. “You remember?”

“Why wouldn’t I? It’s my brain.” Sanji grimaced. “I wish some of it I didn’t remember.”

Zoro felt a small stirring of hope. “And you don’t hate me?”

Sanji gave him a confused look. “Why the hell would I hate you?” 

“For taking away your choice,” Zoro said. “You couldn’t consent, and I’m a guy. For all I know, you were also a virgin.”

Sanji huffed a small laugh. “Marimo, you’re the only one that I can guarantee that I’d trust enough to make that choice for me.”

A wash of relief went through Zoro. “Not even Luffy?”

“Fuck no. I think Luffy spends his ruts fucking meat. I’m not a roast pig.”

“If he bitched you, you’d probably squeal like one.”

Sanji gave Zoro a pointed look. “You were the one squealing when I fucked you through your heat.”

Zoro blushed so hard his face felt like it was on fire. “Shut up.”

“‘Oh, alpha, fuck me, knot me, breed me!’” Sanji teased with a breathy voice and a smug grin. 

Zoro tried to punch him in his cocky face and Sanji ducked his head out of the way. “I did not sound like that.”

Sanji’s grin remained. “I may not have understood you, but you were definitely vocal.”

Zoro moved the blankets around him for something to do to hide his embarrassment. “You didn’t understand what I was saying?”

“No. It was like I was running on all instincts. The tone of your voice I got, and I instinctively knew what the non-verbal sounds meant. I never really understood the deeper meaning behind them, even though I’ve heard them on the ship between you and the others. And the scents have layers upon layers of communication that I’ve never smelled as a beta.”

Which meant that Sanji hadn’t heard Zoro’s confession of love. Zoro didn’t know whether to be sad or relieved. Considering the mate-thing had thrown him into turmoil, he decided not to think about it. “I still can’t believe that you changed from a beta to an alpha.”

Sanji’s brow creased in anger and his scent began reflecting it. “Fucking Vinsmoke science. Judge’s genetic experiment finally worked on me.”

Zoro’s confusion must’ve been evident, because Sanji went on. “Vinsmoke Judge is a scientist. He worked with Vegapunk. He developed a way to manipulate genetics to create supersoldiers. My brothers and I are the result. Extra strong, superfast, emotionless alphas with superior healing, illness-resistance, and possessing a steel-like protective exoskeleton. Only, my mother did something while she was pregnant with us and it halted the changes to me. I was born a beta, without all the extras my darling father had wanted for his boys. But apparently the genetic changes were simply dormant.”

“Until now,” Zoro said. 

Sanji nodded. “It must have been the raid suit that activated them.” Sanji closed his eyes and pushed a hand into his hair, fisting the bangs. “Fuck. I hate that the bastard won and undid what my mother sacrificed herself for, to have one normal, beta, human child.”

“You’ve never been normal, weirdo cook,” Zoro said, earning him a smack on the belly. 

“Shut up.” Sanji sighed heavily and lowered his hand to rest on Zoro’s back again. He began idly stroking up and down. Zoro unconsciously curved into the touch. “I’m just glad I seem to be feeling way too many feelings to think I’ve gone by way of my brothers, who are emotionless psychopaths. I thought that was what was happening at first, which was why I called you. But after I ended the fight with Queen, I could feel myself going feral, instead. I started losing my ability to speak and comprehend, and I wanted to attack everyone, even women. It was terrifying.”

For Sanji to admit his fear, it must’ve been really bad. Neither of them wanted to be perceived as weak. “But you’re okay now.”

Sanji smiled at Zoro with affection. “Thanks to your ineptitude.”

“Fuck off,” Zoro said, but without any heat. 

“Really, though,” Sanji began with sincerity. “Thank you. Thank you for trying to save me and thank you for following through on your promise when you couldn’t. You’re everything I could have hoped for in a friend and mate.” Sanji winced slightly. “Shit. Sorry. Forget the mate part. It slipped out.”

Even as Sanji tried to negate what he’d said, Zoro was filled with warmth and happiness. He hadn’t failed. He’d gotten his nakama back.

Sanji’s nose twitched and a rumble rose from his chest when Zoro’s change in scent hit him. He coughed to cut it off, his cheeks dusting pink. “This is going to take getting used to,” he muttered, embarrassed. 

“Now you know how I feel all the time,” Zoro said with a grin. “Betas have it easy. No unconscious sounds, no reacting to scents. For the rest of us, your brain feels like it’s been hijacked by someone intent on embarrassing the shit out of you. We call that the hindbrain. Welcome to the world of alphas and omegas, shit cook.”

Sanji’s lips twisted as if he’d tasted something foul. “Lovely.”

They fell into silence. Sanji’s hand kept stroking up and down Zoro’s back. Zoro felt himself leaning closer to Sanji, the desire to snuggle against his chest strong. But this was Sanji, not the feral version of himself, and Zoro wasn’t going to make a fool of himself like that.

Zoro wondered where Chopper went, when he would return. Probably to tell the others. The cell door had been left open, as had the dungeon door. Zoro’s nest stood in the front corner of the cell, his haven against the pain he’d felt. His nest had always been built for that purpose, to shelter his emotions and protect him from the fear of alphas during heats. With Sanji, he hadn’t been afraid. With Sanji, he’d felt alive and safe and free. He hadn’t needed his other nest, until the end.

“Why don’t you want a mate?” Sanji asked quietly, breaking the silence, seemingly in tune with Zoro’s thoughts.

Zoro took a deep breath, closed his eye for a moment, and centered himself. Everyone else knew. It would be unfair to keep it from Sanji. “I presented when I was nine and had my first heat a few months later. It… caught the attention of an alpha who took me home with him and he– and he–” Zoro swallowed against the bile and fought the horror those memories brought to the foreground.

Sanji’s protective pheromones filled the air again and he crooned softly. “You don’t have to say anything else,” he said.

But Zoro needed to tell him the rest. “He bred me, and kept using me until I had my pups. I was ten by then. The pups died and the scarring in my womb is so bad that I can’t have any more.”

“Fuck,” Sanji breathed, and a small whine emitted from his throat. His hands spasmed where they rested on Zoro. “I, uh, really need to scent you. Is that okay?”

Zoro both hated that Sanji felt like he needed to ask and was grateful that he did. “Yeah, cook, it’s okay.”

Sanji shifted, pushing between Zoro and the wall behind him. He pressed his face into the crook of Zoro’s neck, rubbing his scratchy beard against the scent glands. He wrapped his arms around Zoro from behind and the strong scents of protection, of comfort, of sadness, and solace rose from Sanji’s scenting. A soft, soothing rumble rolled through Sanji’s chest. 

Sanji brushed his lips over the bite mark on the back of Zoro’s neck and a feeling of peace washed over Zoro. His alpha was here. His alpha would keep him safe. His alpha wanted him still. He leaned back against Sanji and Sanji made slight sounds of approval and it was reflected in his scent. Zoro could feel himself reacting with contentment, acknowledged it, accepted it. A quiet purr hummed in his chest and Sanji’s rumble layered in contentment of his own. 

Zoro sank into the warmth of the sounds and strong embrace. One sound blended into another, and he could no longer tell where Sanji’s rumble ended and Zoro’s purr began. A calmness and serenity enveloped Zoro in a way hadn’t experienced before. Even on the Thousand Sunny, in the middle of the ocean with only his nakama around, Zoro still felt alert, always a little on edge, ready to act or react even while asleep. But now, it felt like the world had finally gone quiet and he could let go of everything and simply be. And it was all because of Sanji.

“Hey, Sanji?” Zoro said softly. 

“Hn?” Sanji rubbed his bearded cheek against the bite mark, rumbling still.

“Maybe I’m not that opposed to it, either.”

“Huh?” Sanji stilled in confusion and obviously his alpha hindbrain was trying to catch up. Then, a bright burst of joy bombed Zoro’s senses and Sanji’s rumble of happiness grew very loud. He coughed and cursed. “Fuck. You can’t hide anything as an alpha, can you?”

“Nope.” A grin crossed Zoro’s lips, the weightlessness still lingering. “All the other alphas and omegas will be in your shit all the time. The polite ones ignore it, but our nakama won’t. I have a dissatisfying training session and I have four alphas in my space wanting to know what’s got me down. It’s annoying as hell.” Yet, Zoro knew he wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

“Great,” Sanji said sarcastically. He rested his forehead against the nape of Zoro’s neck. “On top of having to have all my trousers re-tailored, everyone's going to know my feelings about things.”

For a second, Zoro didn’t know why Sanji would need his trousers fixed, but then he realized Sanji was talking about needing room for his newly enlarged cock. The same cock that was currently pressed against Zoro’s lower back through the blankets. The cock that had given Zoro back his first time and made it feel good. The cock that was attached to Sanji, who’d liberated him from his terror of being touched intimately by an alpha. Sanji, who made him feel safe and free to submit to passion.

Sanji sniffed suddenly and Zoro could feel Sanji’s cock stir against his lower back. “Oh fuck, are you getting aroused? That’s what I’m smelling, right?”

Zoro didn’t deny it. It wasn’t as if he could hide his scent. “Yes.”

Sanji made a deep noise in his throat, part alpha, part man. “Shit, you smell good.” He hardened more, his own aroused pheromones starting to circle in the air. “Are you doing this to me on purpose? Some sort of crazy alpha hazing or shit swordsman behavior?”

“Do you want me to stop?” Zoro said, even as he felt dampness start to build. 

“Do you want to stop?” Sanji turned around on him. “We’ve established that I’m into you, but are you even gay? Did you want this at all? I know we’re nakama and you were trying to help me, but I’m in my own head now. I would never want to do anything that you weren’t interested in. We don’t have to have a physical relationship. My hand works fine. Or, I guess, two hands now.”

Zoro’s heart squeezed in his chest. He’d picked the right alpha to love. “Shut up and fuck me, curlybrow.”

Sanji exhaled sharply, his breath washing hotly over the back of Zoro’s neck. A musky spike of desire penetrated Zoro’s nose, making him tremble with want. He felt himself slicken more. His need to touch and be touched grew. Sanji’s arms tightened around him, erection pressing against Zoro’s lower back. “I don’t– just– fuck,” Sanji stammered. “I don’t know what to do.” 

Zoro’s lips curved. “Are you telling me that you’re a virgin?”

“No, shithead,” Sanji said quickly, firmly. “I’ve had sex, along with the nosebleeds that nearly killed me. But I haven’t had sex with a guy before, omega or otherwise.”

“You’ve been fucking me for the past couple weeks, moron,” Zoro said. “Multiple times a day.”

“Yeah, but that was instinct,” Sanji said, his forehead still resting against Zoro’s nape. “This is me and you, and I… don’t want to mess this up.”

Save him from kind, caring, stupid-assed love cooks. Zoro pretended it didn’t make him feel warm inside. “When’s Chopper coming back?” he asked, suddenly remembering they might not have the time alone.

“He’s not,” Sanji replied. “He said to grab some clothes from your nest and come up when we were ready.” 

“In that case…” Zoro drew away from Sanji and climbed to his feet, taking the blankets with him. He moved out of the corner, away from his place of temporary grief, back to the center where he’d always rebuilt their bed. He spread the bedding out on the floor, snagged the pillows where they’d dropped, and placed them at the head. He spread the discarded sheet across the bottom. 

He turned back to Sanji, who was sitting awkwardly in the corner, knees pressed together. Arousal and worry scented around Sanji. Zoro crawled onto the makeshift bed and extended his hand in invitation. 

Sanji climbed to his feet, his erection prominent, though he tried to cover it with his hands. Zoro huffed a laugh. “Dumbass,” he said, as Sanji walked over. “You’re too big to hide.”

Sanji shot him a rueful grin, pausing at the edge of the bedding. “It’s a bit unwieldy.”

“Idiot.” Zoro snagged Sanji’s hand and yanked him boldly into the bed. Sanji caught his footing before he fell and glared at Zoro. Zoro only grinned. He turned onto his stomach, raised his ass in the air, and was satisfied to hear a strangled sound from Sanji. Slick was pooling at Zoro’s entrance, the sweet scent noticeable. “Think you can figure it out from here?”

“Yeah,” Sanji squeaked, then cleared his throat. “I think I got it, marimo.”

Zoro pulled a pillow beneath his head, pushing his forearms beneath it, resting his cheek in their combined scent. His own cock was hard at his groin, stubbed length reddened with arousal. He was anticipating how this would feel with Sanji in control of himself, with Sanji knowing he was fucking Zoro. 

Sanji dropped to his knees behind Zoro and warm, roughened hands touched his lower back, smoothed along his hips, to his outer thighs. The pheromones pouring from Sanji wrapped Zoro in desire. He shivered slightly. “Fuck, I remember this. How you feel. What you taste like. The sounds you make when I’m inside you.”

“Shit,” Zoro cursed as a bolt of lust coursed through him. Feral Sanji hadn’t spoken. Feral Sanji just took him, made Zoro his. Hearing Sanji actually speaking to him made him crave more. “Don’t stop.”

“Don’t stop what?” Sanji’s hands slid around to Zoro’s inner thighs, stroking upward against the sensitive, bite-marked skin. Zoro whimpered and trembled with pleasure at the touch to his overly sensitive upper thighs. “Don’t stop this?”

Zoro nodded helplessly against the pillow. “That, and talking.”

“You want to hear my voice?” Sanji cupped Zoro’s small sac, caressing his balls. “You want me to tell you how horny you’re making me, the smell, the way you look offering yourself? You want me to tell you that I’ve never touched another man’s balls before and I’m enjoying it?”

“Fuck,” Zoro panted softly, body quivering, more slick building. Sanji’s oakmoss scent had darkened further, becoming more rich and untamed.

“I’m going to touch your cock,” Sanji said, before doing just that. Strong fingers wrapped around Zoro’s erection, causing him to gasp. Sanji’s voice became a bit ragged. “Fuck, you’re warm. And hard. You fit in my palm. So tiny, so perfect. Shit, you’re perfect for me.”

Zoro’s body clenched in lust, even as he growled, “Not tiny.”

“Yes. Yes, you are.” Sanji sounded breathy, excited. He began to pump Zoro’s cock. His other hand stroked Zoro’s inner thigh, making Zoro quake and moan. “I love it. I love how it feels in my hand. Shit, Zoro, I’m jerking you off. Did feral me jerk you off? I don’t remember jerking you off.”

Slick was beginning to drip from Zoro’s hole. Sanji’s words were stoking the fire in his belly. Sanji’s hands were driving him insane. “No, you didn’t. Don’t stop.”

“I won’t, my heart,” Sanji said, tugging more firmly, fingernails lightly scratching at Zoro’s sensitive thigh, causing Zoro to cry out with wantonness. “I want you to come. I want to feel you coming in my hand. I want to know what it’s like. Will you come for me, marimo?”

Sanji’s voice became laced with an alpha’s compelling tone, coerciveness sliding into his scent. Zoro’s hindbrain reacted with the desire to surrender and Zoro didn’t fight it. His loins tightened, his need to come growing more desperate. “Come for me, my shitty swordsman,” Sanji said. “Let me feel you. Be good for your alpha, and come.”

Orgasm spasmed through Zoro, brought on by Sanji’s compulsion and his jacking hand. Zoro gasped, eye rolling back, white-out in his brain. His cock pulsed beneath Sanji’s palm and he spilled onto the bedding beneath him as climax wracked through his body. 

“Oh. Oh, that was wild. You came. You came in my hand. You came for me.” Sanji’s arousal made his voice thick, his scent thicker. “That was so fucking hot. I am so gay now. Gay for you and your perfect little cock. Fuck. I want to fuck you. I need to fuck you. Can I fuck you?”

“Please,” Zoro begged, riding his orgasmic high. But he wanted more. He needed more. “Fuck me. Do it. Do it now.”

Sanji made a choked sound and he stopped touching Zoro’s spent cock and thigh to spread Zoro’s asscheeks apart. “Shit. Fuck. You’re slick. I can see you dripping. You’re dripping for me. Do all omegas do this? Fuck, and the smell. The smell is driving me crazy. Sweet with a warm, spiced undertone, like honey touched with cinnamon. Do I just stick my dick in you? You look so small. Am I even going to fit? Of course I’m going to fit, I’ve been fucking you for days. Maybe even weeks. You are making my brain stupid, mosshead. Stupid over you.”

Zoro’s body ached with the want to be filled and he couldn’t take it anymore. “If you don’t shove your cock in me right now, I’m going to cut it off and use it on myself.”

Sanji barked a surprised laugh. “Fuck, I’ve missed understanding you. I’ll fuck you now, you demanding omega brat. I’ll ream you so good you’ll never want to get off my cock.”

Zoro bit his tongue before he said yes, please. His orgasm had only made him hungry for more. Sanji’s sex talk made it worse. If Zoro didn’t get fucked right now, he was going to follow through on his threat. 

Sanji removed a hand from Zoro’s ass and Zoro finally felt Sanji’s cockhead kiss his slicked hole. “Zoro, just so you know, I'll still respect you in the morning.”

“Oh, you asshoo- ooooohhhh, fuck, fuck, fuck.” Zoro clutched the bedding beneath the pillow as Sanji pierced him. His body accepted Sanji readily, with a lot of pleasure and only a hint of pain. “Shit. Fuck. More.”

Sanji moaned as he bore steadily into Zoro until he bottomed out. “Fuck, I love your ass. You’re always so hot, so wet, so tight. I remember that clearly. I wanted to take you over and over, make sure you knew that you were mine.

Zoro pressed his face into the pillow, lifting his ass higher. “Sanji,” he pleaded roughly.

“I got you, my heart. I’ll make you feel so good.” Sanji drew his hips back slowly, then slammed forward into Zoro again with a pleased grunt. “Remind you that you’re still mine. That this hasn’t ended. That I want you and only you.”

Zoro responded with an omega whimper of want and need. Sanji rumbled with approval and lust. “That’s right, marimo.” He dragged his hips back again and drove in quickly. “You’re only for me.” He pulled back and thrust hard again. “Your tight ass and your tiny little cock belong to your alpha. I’m never going to let you go. Never.”

With that promise, Sanji began to fuck Zoro like Zoro had come to crave. Hard, fast, driving deep, pounding into him with animalistic power. Sanji’s hands gripped his hips rather than wrapping around his chest, yanking Zoro back into his thick cock with every ram forward. The pleasure was intense, as always, and Zoro didn’t hold back on the impassioned, rapturous noises he was making. 

Sanji’s voice became guttural, the words broken by his railing thrusts. “My omega… perfect for me… keep you like this… always ready… to please me… fuck you often… hear you… smell you… fucking mine…”

The musky scent of sex was heavy in the air, warm and raw, laced with salt and sweat, thickened with their combined scents of oakmoss underscored by honey. Zoro was lost in a haze of passion, never wanting the fervent fuck to end. His cock hardened again and throbbed with every thrust. Sanji’s sex talk grew possessive and it reflected in the scents pouring from his body. “No one can… look at you… touch you… belong to me… my mate… keep you safe… kill anyone… dares to hurt you…”

Zoro sank under a flood of want for all of it, babbling hoarsely, “Yes, please. I need you, my alpha.”

“Good omega. My good omega.” Sanji thrusts grew unsteady, shorter, sharper. “Submit to me… my love.”

“Yes,” Zoro breathed with a choked whine of need. “Yes.” 

Sanji suddenly snarled, yanking Zoro firmly against him, pumping his hips with quick jabs as his knot inflated. With a final ram home, Sanji fully knotted Zoro, stretching Zoro so wide that his body trapped Sanji inside of him. Zoro shuddered beneath Sanji, feeling the pulse of Sanji orgasming against his rim. Sweat coated Zoro’s back and forehead, and he panted harshly, face smashed into the pillow beneath his head. 

Sanji’s staggering breaths were loud in the now silent dungeon. He instructed with a post-orgasmic rasp, “Raise up, sit back on me.” 

It took Zoro’s euphoric brain a few moments to understand before he pushed onto his hands. Sanji tugged at Zoro’s hips as he sank onto his heels. Zoro sat upright, knees spread wide, accommodating Sanji’s legs between his. He sat on Sanji’s lap, knotted cock embedded inside of him. Zoro’s stubbed, flushed erection stood from his groin. Sanji wrapped his arms around Zoro’s waist and pressed kisses against the bite mark on the nape of Zoro’s neck. 

“That’s my good mate. Making me happy,” Sanji said, the scent and rumble of approval curling around Zoro like Sanji’s arms. Sanji’s hand drifted lower, fingers wrapping around Zoro’s hard cock, fondling him, stroking him with quick, firm tugs. “Let me make my mate happy, too.”

Zoro leaned back against Sanji’s chest, moaning unrestrainedly, as Sanji got him off. He barely lasted a minute, his body coiled and ready from the fantastic fuck. Climax hit hard, overwhelming his senses, shaking him to the core. He shot over Sanji’s hand with a rapturous cry, ass clenching around Sanji’s seated cock. 

“That’s right, come for me, my heart,” Sanji murmured against Zoro’s neck, approval strong. “You deserve to, for pleasing me so well.”

Sanji milked him until he became too sensitive, causing him to whine softly in his throat. Sanji released him, only to cup him again, Sanji’s hand fitting snugly over Zoro’s spent cock and balls. “I love that you fit fully under my hand. I can keep you protected and just for me.”

Zoro’s brain buzzed pleasantly from the second orgasm. Relaxation and lethargy weighed his limbs. His chin rested on his chest, eye closed, Sanji’s knot keeping him tethered. “Idiot love cook,” he mumbled. 

Sanji grinned against the bite mark. “Sweet, tiny marimo.”

Zoro grunted. “Fuck off.”

Sanji chuckled quietly. He kissed Zoro’s bite mark again. “Not sure how I’m going to get anything done with your honeyed ass around. I think I’m already addicted to fucking you.”

Zoro wouldn’t admit that he was addicted, either. “Pervert.”

“Hn.” Sanji rubbed his scratchy jaw against Zoro’s neck. “I need a shave. I probably look as ugly as you with this beard.”

“I thought about shaving you,” Zoro said, feeling mellow and well-laid. They were going to be connected for a while. “Head-to-toe. Make you look like a hairless, naked mole rat.”

“Bet you’d still beg for me, mosshead.” Sanji’s hand continued to cradle Zoro intimately. His other hand was warm against Zoro’s lower belly, resting against his c-section scar. Zoro liked the shielding feel of both. “I remember you washing me down but not really understanding what you were doing. It’s strange. It’s like it happened to me, but also kind of not.”

“You shit on the floor.” A grin creased Zoro’s lips. “I’m not going to let you live that down.”

“Ugh, please don’t.” Sanji rested his forehead against the nape of Zoro’s neck. “Bad enough that I went feral to begin with.”

“Yeah, that part kinda sucked,” Zoro agreed. “You’ve been locked up down here for, like, five weeks, maybe six, now.” 

“Shorter than the last time I got locked in a cell.” Sanji sighed quietly. “I remember beating on the bars a lot, trying to break free.”

“You seemed to hate being in here,” Zoro said, his curiosity piqued. He didn’t recall Sanji being imprisoned anywhere for long. “When was the last time you were locked up?”

“When I was seven,” Sanji told him with a flatness to his tone. “Judge was tired of having a worthless failure for a son and tossed me in Germa’s dungeon. Was there for about six months or so, ‘til after I turned eight. Escaped while we were in East Blue.”

Zoro was stunned. Then, he became incensed. “That fucker better be six feet underground,” he hissed.

Sanji huffed a laugh. “My little omega, getting all fierce for me,” he teased, though Zoro could smell the approval and fondness that emitted from him. “No. Not worth it. I’m not vindictive like that. Can’t even say I hate him for the genetic modifications, since now I got this huge cock and you’re still stuck with your widdle wee-wee.”

“Keep it up, and I will find a way to slice it off you, shit cook,” Zoro warned. 

“Your penis envy is as green as your hair.” Sanji rubbed Zoro’s cock and balls affectionately beneath his cupped palm. “Are all omega men this sized, or did I just get lucky?”

“It’s normal,” Zoro grumbled. He’d figure out a way to get back at the cook later. Likely by telling Nami and Robin that Sanji had shit on the floor, while Sanji was present. 

“Hn.” Sanji pressed another kiss to the nape of Zoro’s neck. He seemed to be obsessed with the bite mark. “Probably would’ve freaked out if it was any bigger, to be fair. Your millions of muscles make it hard not to see you as anything but a man, but it makes this whole gay-thing less intimidating.”

Zoro liked Sanji’s honesty. He took a deep breath and told him, “I’m not gay. Don’t like women, either, actually. You’re the only one I’ve been willing to try doing anything with. Because you’re nakama. And I wanted you back.”

Sanji’s thumb brushed back and forth against Zoro’s lower belly. “And now that I’m back, you want me because…?”

“Because it feels good,” Zoro admitted. “And even feral, you made me feel safe and free to be an omega without fear. That’s not something I thought I’d ever have. This mate-thing might have knocked me for a loop, but the you part of it? I’d want that even as friends.”

A rumble of satisfaction, of pride, and of soft delight rolled in Sanji’s throat. “Shitty swordsman saying shitty sweet things.”

“Why did I want you back again?”

Sanji chuckled. “You’re stuck with me now. Almost literally. How long is this knot supposed to last? Time didn’t really exist for me while feral.”

“For you, about thirty to forty-five minutes.”

“Uh, wow. Okay.” Sanji sounded surprised. “Um… not complaining, because you feel really good around me and part of me wants to possess you like this for, say, ever, but that’s a lot of time.”

Zoro was amused. “You liked it before.”

“I also liked peeing on everything.”

Zoro laughed. “True.”

Sanji chuffed lightly against Zoro’s neck. “I don’t know if I actually want a cigarette or if I need something to do.”

Zoro elbowed Sanji none-too-gently, because it was Sanji and Zoro could. “Maneuver us onto our sides, dumbass. We can take a nap.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea, marimo.”

With a bit of effort, some bickering, and a little laughter, they lay spooned together on their sides, heads on pillows, the sheet up over their waists. Sanji wrapped his arm over Zoro, cupping his genitals again. Zoro grumbled. “If you think you’re going to hold onto my junk every time we do this, you’ve got another think coming.”

“We’ll see,” Sanji said, everything in his tone indicating that he was going to do what he wanted anyway. Zoro harrumphed. Sanji chuckled and nuzzled his neck. “Sleep, my heart. I’ll keep you safe.”

“Don’t need your protection, shithead,” Zoro muttered, even though he really liked the sound of it. 

“I know.” Sanji pressed a soft kiss against the bite mark. “But you have it, anyway.”

The desire for a nap was already tugging at Zoro. He inhaled the strong scents of sex, of Sanji, of possession and protection, and exhaled feeling satisfied, secure, and sleepy. He pushed back into the spoon of Sanji’s chest, and Sanji started to rumble softly with contentment. 

Zoro drifted off to the steady vibration against his back and his own answering purr. 

Sanji stuffed his dick in his trousers down the side of his right leg. His newly broadened shoulders and arms strained the white shirt he’d put on and he’d left it unbuttoned. Zoro had thrown on his yukata and sandals. Wado was tucked into the belt and the duffel bag was over his shoulder, with their toiletries and things Zoro didn’t want anyone else to see. Empty bottles of water and bento boxes were piled neatly on the food cart. They’d washed up before they’d dressed, though Sanji had opted not to shave without a mirror. 

Sanji looked down at himself, trousers button undone, dark golden pubic hair furring above the open zipper. “I look like I’m smuggling a sausage in my pants.”

Zoro chuckled. “Just don’t let Luffy try to bite it.”

Sanji tried to get his trousers buttoned and failed. “How does Luffy wear his shorts? Or Franky stuff himself in those speedos?”

“Luffy wraps his rubber dick around his waist,” Zoro told him. “Franky’s is retractable.”

Sanji looked horrified. “I did not want to know either of those things. Why do you know either of those things?”

“Bathroom talk, stupid curlybrow,” Zoro said. “Not my fault you weren’t there for it.”

A flash of fiery possessiveness sparked in Sanji’s scent. “You are not taking a bath with anyone else but me again!” he commanded with a fierce growl underscoring it.

Zoro’s hindbrain instantly submitted to Sanji’s compulsion, but Zoro forced himself to snort with derision. “Pathetic cook. Acting like a jealous shrew.”

Sanji stomped over to Zoro and started heavily scenting him with possessive, stay away smells, while muttering, “Gonna rip those other alphas eyeballs out for looking at my mate.” Zoro had a hard time pretending that he disliked it. 

Sanji sniffed him thoroughly before deciding he was satisfied. Zoro arched a mocking brow at him when he was done. Sanji’s cheeks flushed pink. “Shut up, asshole. This alpha hindbrain thing you were talking about is intense.”

Zoro shook his head with amusement. “Now that even Usopp is going to avoid me, are you ready to head up?”

“Yeah.” Sanji glanced around the cell and shuddered. “As enjoyable as my memories are with you in this place, if I am ever in a cell again it’ll be too soon.”

Zoro felt the strong need to hug Sanji at his words, so he did, embracing Sanji tightly before shoving him away again. “Let’s go.”

A bemused smile curved Sanji’s lips. “Whatever you say, my heart.”

They ascended from the dungeon into the castle proper. Zoro would help clean up the mess later. Right now, he was certain their nakama were anxious to see Sanji again. Zoro had no idea where to go once they were upstairs, but Sanji took care of that by using his observation haki to find the others. They walked down tastefully decorated corridors, passing by windows that showed them it was after dark. 

Zoro smelled the familiar scents of his alpha nakama at the same time he heard their voices drifting down the hall. Sanji began to growl low in his throat. Zoro chuckled and scruffed Sanji lightly. “Get your hindbrain under control, cook.”

Zoro could see Sanji forcibly shake off his territorial instincts and Sanji shot him a rueful look. “I give you permission to kick my ass if I do that again toward Luffy and the others.”

“I’m going to kick your ass anyway, cook, but it’ll be nice of you to bend over for me.”

Sanji scowled. Zoro grinned. Sanji huffed a short laugh. “You’re the one who bends over for me, marimo.”

Zoro let go of Sanji’s neck. “Tch. Like that’ll happen again.”

“Oh, I’m quite confident that it will.” Sanji gave him a smug look. “You want to please your alpha, don’t you?”

Zoro flicked the seal on Wado. “Want me to kick your ass right now?”

“As if you could.” Sanji lifted his right leg, spotted his cock visibly standing out against his inner thigh, and snorted. “Let’s table this until I stop looking like I stepped out of a dirty magazine, eh?”

Zoro chuckled and seated Wado fully in her sheath again. “Nami and Robin are going to see you like this.”

“Oh hell.” Sanji dragged his hand through his hair, causing it to be mussed. With his open shirt, unbuttoned trousers, muscles and big cock, Zoro thought he really did look like an alpha porn model despite the patchy beard. Zoro wasn’t attracted to how he appeared, but he understood that others might. Zoro’s attraction to Sanji came from his feelings of trust and safety, which was more important than surface trappings anyway.

“C’mon, love cook.” Zoro hooked his hand around Sanji’s elbow and dragged him in the direction that he heard and smelled their friends.

A doorway opened up onto the hall, and Zoro spotted the Straw Hat crew in the same great room he’d departed from weeks ago on his mission to save Sanji. Cushions and kotatsu tables filled the open bamboo floor space. Empty dinner plates and drink glasses were scattered on the table surfaces. Laughter was light in the air. Colorful paper lantern lights hung from the beamed ceiling and intricate murals decorated the shoji walls. The Straw Hat crew, dressed in kimonos and yukatas, sat around, chatting and enjoying each other’s company. 

Luffy jumped to his feet when Zoro pulled Sanji into the room. “SANJI!” He launched at Sanji, tackling him to the floor with an oof from Sanji. He wrapped his rubber arms and legs around Sanji several times. “I smelled you coming! And now you’re here! I missed you!”

Sanji growled but Luffy ignored him. “Now that you’re back, you can cook me meat again!”

Zoro kicked Sanji in the shoulder. “Stop growling at your captain, asshat.”

Sanji flicked a glance at Zoro, lip curled back, showing his teeth. Luffy pinned his arms and legs with his crushing hug. Zoro crouched down and rubbed his wrist against Sanji’s neck gland, pushing out a soothing scent. He could tell when it affected Sanji, calming him, and smirked. “Stupid alpha.”

“Didn’t need your help,” Sanji grumbled, but Zoro could see that he was grateful.

Zoro thumped Luffy on the back of the head. “Let him up, Luffy.”

“Shishishi.” Luffy unwound his arms with a snap and got to his feet. He offered a hand up to Sanji.

Sanji’s lip curled briefly, but he got himself under control. He accepted the help to his feet. “Sorry, Luffy,” he had the grace to apologize. “Not used to all the scents of everyone.”

Chopper hustled over to Zoro as the others greeted Sanji with either hugs or respected distance, not wanting to overwhelm him. “Is everything okay, Zoro?” Chopper asked. “Your face looks bad.”

“Doesn’t even hurt.” Zoro glanced over at Sanji, who was trying to close his shirt in embarrassment at Franky’s catcall. “And things are pretty great, actually.”

“I’m glad.” Chopper’s eyes welled with tears and he gave Zoro a tight hug around the leg. “Thank you for saving Sanji for us.”

“I only did what any one of us would’ve done,” Zoro dismissed, feeling self-conscious. 

Chopper sniffed loudly. “You’re still a hero to me!” He released Zoro’s leg and ran, crying, over toward Sanji. “Sanji! I missed you so much!”

Luffy came over and beamed at Zoro. “Well done, Zoro. I would hug you, but that would make Sanji try to kill me, shishishi.”

“Pft. Dumbass cook better get himself under control,” Zoro said, even as pride swelled from Luffy’s praise. 

“I didn’t tell you to mate with him, though.” Luffy cocked his head. “Are you okay with it?”

Zoro shifted on his feet at the direct question, felt himself blushing. “Yeah, I’m good. How did you know?”

“You smell like Sanji does, underneath all the warnings to keep away from you,” Luffy said. “Your warm scent is still there, telling me you’re an omega, but you’ve been claimed and you’re off-limits now. Plus, there’s a mating bite mark on the back of your neck.”

That explained why Sanji had been instinctually obsessing over the bite mark and how they became mated. Zoro had also known he’d smelled like Sanji for a while but hadn’t understood the significance. Sanji had mentioned being able to smell that Zoro was his mate. “Will it keep other alphas away?”

Luffy knew what Zoro was really asking. “Yes. Unless they’re knothead bastards, no alpha will sniff around you anymore. You can stop wearing the topical scent suppressant if you want.”

“Really?” 

“Yes, Zoro. You’re safe from almost everyone now,” Luffy said with caring and understanding. “And Sanji will protect you. He’s strong. He won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”

Zoro had felt that, with Sanji, but to hear Luffy confirm it made the tight knot in his lower belly that he’d carried with him since he was ten finally unravel. He rubbed his hand against his c-section scar, over his yukata. He looked over at Sanji again, who was watching him like a hawk due to Luffy’s nearness, even as he spoke to the others. Warmth bloomed in his chest. “Does it make me weak that I’m glad that asshole will protect me like an omega?”

“No, Zoro,” Luffy reassured. “It’s never a weakness to rely on those who love you.”

And Zoro loved Sanji. He really did. He’d made a connection to the feral version and now he had his friend back where he belonged, at Zoro’s side, his equal in every way. With Sanji, Zoro could allow himself to be fully omega without fear. With Sanji, Zoro had been given his life back. With Sanji, Zoro had found his mate.

Zoro turned his hand over, extending it slightly in Sanji’s direction. Sanji immediately stopped talking, crossed the room, and took Zoro’s hand. “What is it, my heart?” Sanji curled his lip slightly at Luffy. “Is he bothering you?”

“Shishishi,” Luffy laughed softly. “Sanji is a good mate.”

“Yeah, he is.” Zoro tugged Sanji closer and rubbed his cheek against Sanji’s. “And he’s mine.”

Sanji rumbled with approval and delight, which made him blush. “Asshole. Provoking stupid sounds from me in front of everyone.”

Zoro nosed Sanji’s ear. “Just wait until I make you roar,” he whispered.

Sanji’s breath whooshed out of him and arousal spiked the air. “Oh, you bastard.”

Zoro grinned rottenly, as the other alphas in the room began tittering. “Let’s go and get you shaved, love cook. And find you some less revealing clothes.”

“The bath is at the end of the great room, to your left, Sanji-kun,” Nami pointed out with a snicker.

“I’m going to get you for this, asshole,” Sanji vowed in a low voice.

Zoro’s eye crinkled with his smile. His Sanji was back and everything felt right again. “I can’t wait.”

End