Hurricanes, Yardarms, and Stupid Sea Monsters

Zoro shifted with a wolfish smile. It was a good day for a fight.

The hurricane howled around them, battering both ships with gale force winds. Heavy rain lashed against Zoro’s face, each pelt feeling like the sting of a cat o’nine tails. Zoro’s green hair was plastered to his head, his drenched clothing clinging coldly to his body. The blood from the lucky shot that creased his upper arm washed away with the downpour. He had several bruises and other scrapes and cuts from the fierce fighting and flying debris, but nothing serious. The storm made the fighting more perilous - and exhilarating. Zoro loved it. Visibility was almost nothing between the flashes of lightning. The lightning itself was a rarity in the inner bands of a hurricane. It indicated the storm was intensifying. Considering pieces of broken ship, torn sails, and other wreckage already flew through the air it didn’t bode well.

Lightning flashed as Zoro sent another Yellow Jacket pirate falling to his death from the rail of the dying ship. The Thousand Sunny had met the Yellow Jacket’s brigantine, the Nest, when both ships appeared in the eye of the hurricane. Painted in a black and yellow striped pattern, the brigantine was smaller than the Sunny, but more maneuverable. Their Jolly Roger was a wasp with its stinger aimed to strike. Meeting them had been a surprise, and Nami had voiced hope they’d ride out the eye peacefully when the Yellow Jacket’s opened fire. The first cannon shot had knocked down one of Nami’s mikan trees. Nami had seen red. “Destroy them!”

The Yellow Jackets were no pushovers, however, and the battle between the ships went from cannon fire to boarding and hand-to-hand combat. The Straw Hat pirates boasted a party of nine. The Yellow Jackets numbered eighty. But Zoro had confidence in his nakama. Franky’s expertise at the Thousand Sunny’s defense systems and Usopp’s sharpshooting had cut that number in half by the time the two ships had been lashed together. 

Now, the Nest was barely afloat, its outer keel full of holes and masts broken. The inner wall of the hurricane had hit both ships with deadly force, tearing apart the Nest and sweeping pirates off their feet. Adam wood had saved the Sunny from suffering the same fate. Luffy’s quick reflexes and rubber arms had prevented Brook from joining Davy Jones’ locker. Robin’s many hands had helped Nami and Chopper back behind the safety of the Sunny’s doors. Zoro had kept his footing from sheer will alone. 

There weren’t many Yellow Jacket’s left. When the lightning flashed again, Zoro saw about eight remaining. Both ships rode the large, roiling waves, almost tipping vertical with each swell. Water crashed over the bows and flooded the decks. He spotted Luffy holding Robin with Luffy’s arm outstretched, his hand latched to the Sunny's main mast. Sanji was nimbly fighting one of the pirates on the flooded, upper aft deck, as if the hurricane was as smooth as a dead sea. 

Visibility became nil again, and Zoro knew it was time to leave. He started cutting the anchor ropes between the ships with his katana, finding them by feel. One of the Yellow Jackets not defeated yet attempted to attack him while his back was turned. It didn’t end well for the other guy. 

Lightning. Zoro took quick stock. Luffy and Robin were back on the Sunny, fighting against the fierce wind as they headed for the galley. Franky shot a grappling hook from his wrist and kicked two Yellow Jackets overboard as he zipped past, back to his ship. He knew Nami, Chopper, and Brook were already inside. The sight of a bullet striking one of the remaining Yellow Jacket’s heads meant that Usopp was still in the crow’s nest. That left himself and Sanji on the Nest. Nothing to worry about. 

Zoro turned when he reached the last anchor rope, waiting for the lightning to flash again. When it did, he saw Sanji heading for the rail of the ship, his opponent defeated. Zoro also saw a piece of broken yardarm with a metal end cap spearing through the gale right behind Sanji.

“Look out!” Zoro’s shout was swallowed by the howling wind, and as the world around him began to dim again, he saw the yardarm smack into Sanji.

Zoro was moving instantly. He tore blindly across the slick deck to the aft of the ship, tripped over a body, and caught himself before face-planting. The Nest tilted wildly and a wave washed over him, trying to suck him into the roiling sea. Lightning flashed again as he scrambled to his feet. He couldn’t see Sanji any longer. 

A cold finger of fear slithered along Zoro’s spine. He didn’t feel it often, but he did now. Why hadn’t the idiot ducked? Or dodged out of the way? He knew Sanji was better than to get hit from behind. 

Zoro made it up the damaged steps to the upper aft deck. He was unable to see more than a foot in front of him. The hurricane did its best to rip him from the ship. He sheathed the katana still in his hand, shuffling his feet as he moved around the deck, hoping he’d run into Sanji.

Lightning finally flashed. Zoro didn’t see Sanji anywhere on what remained of the upper deck. He leapt the distance between the two ships as they began drifting apart, only one anchor line securing them at the forward end. His heel slipped on the slick deck of the Sunny and he landed on his ass. He didn’t care. “Oi, cook!” he shouted, trying to see if Sanji had made it across. But he only found rain, wind, and the taste of alarm coating his tongue. 

Zoro scrambled to his feet and fought the wind to get to the rail. The two ships had drifted far apart as the hurricane began carrying the dead Yellow Jacket ship away. His fingers dug into the wood as he tried in vain to see the water below. “C’mon, c’mon,” he told the storm.

Waiting for the lighting felt like an eternity. When it flashed, Zoro spotted Sanji lying across the yardarm that’d hit him, floating away from the Sunny. Zoro didn’t think, didn’t stop to get help from his nakama, who would have sent out the Mini Merry or Shark Submerge from the Soldier Dock. He was on the rail and diving over the side of the Sunny into the unforgiving sea. 

Beneath the surface, darkness engulfed Zoro. The hurricane churned the water and debris from the damaged Nest into roiling chaos. Zoro surfaced and tried to tread in place while waiting for the lightning. A barrel slammed into his back, causing him to pitch forward and swallow salt water. Lightning flashed as he righted himself, allowing him to focus briefly on Sanji’s location. He swam hard, ignoring the battering he was taking from the wreckage in the water. 

For once, he stayed on course and he reached Sanji as lightning lit up the area again. Sanji lay face up on the yardarm, floating on the dense surface of the sea. His eyes were closed, his body limp, his blond hair plastered to his face. Zoro swallowed his distress along with a gallon of salt water as the barrel that had smacked into him before hit him from behind again. He grabbed the barrel this time instead of battering it away, using it as a flotation device, enabling him to get closer to Sanji without treading water. 

With a shaking hand, Zoro attempted to detect Sanji’s breath. Relief left him in a whoosh of air when he felt a warm exhale against the side of his finger. His heart left his throat. Now that he knew that Sanji was not dead, only unconscious, Zoro let his worry turn into annoyance. 

“Oi, dumbass!” Zoro shook Sanji’s shoulder. “Wake up! You gonna let a piece of ship take you out? Wimp.”

Most of Zoro’s words were swept away by the storm. Sanji also did not stir. Frowning, Zoro glanced back toward the Sunny. The lights from the portholes were barely visible as they drifted farther away. “Oh, shit.”  

Zoro latched onto Sanji’s leg and began swimming against the tide. The hurricane fought against them with more force than the entire Yellow Jacket crew. Zoro knew he was stronger. He wouldn’t let a stupid storm defeat him. 

What he hadn’t counted on was the sea monster that rose behind him and performed a plunging attack into the remains of the Yellow Jacket’s ship. The ship shattered. The power behind the sea monster’s blow sent wreckage flying, to be caught by the hurricane’s gale and whipped with destructive force through the air. Wood and metal missiles beat down on Zoro and Sanji. Something cut Zoro’s ear. Something heavier smashed into his lower back causing him to oof in pain. Zoro pulled himself partway from the barrel over Sanji, trying to protect him. Mini-tidal waves rushed in all directions from the impact site. One caught Zoro and Sanji and shot them past the Sunny and out to open sea.

By the time the torrent of deadly debris projectiles ended and Zoro felt it was safe to move, the Sunny’s lights were no longer visible. When lightning finally flashed, he found they had been swept far from the Sunny and were moving even farther with the direction of the strong wind and tide. If he were alone, he would have no problem making it back to the ship. But towing Sanji? 

Zoro was close enough that he could see Sanji despite the lack of light. Sanji sported a new gash in his forehead and wood debris pincushioning him in a few places. Zoro felt equally pincushioned on his back and legs. He made the decision not to try for the ship but instead wait for his nakama. He knew they would notice that he and Sanji were gone, especially after the sea monster had destroyed the Nest. It would only be a matter of time before a rescue party would pick them up in the Mini Merry. They just had to wait.

Naturally, the sea monster decided to make waiting more interesting. Zoro sensed a disturbance beneath the barrel a moment before a giant mouth swallowed the barrel, the yardarm, and both Zoro and Sanji in whole. 

Zoro could not deny that he’d been in this predicament before, but not while floating on a barrel and trying to protect another person. Darkness and stench closed around him and he knew, any second, teeth would descend from the serpentine creature’s inner jaws to grind them into palatable pieces. Sandai Kitetsu was drawn in an instant. Aiming the katana’s point at the sea monster’s upper palate, Zoro muttered an apology as he used all his might to push from the barrel onto his feet on Sanji’s stomach, and to leap from Sanji upward.

Sandai Kitetsu pierced through tissue and bone and sunk deeply into the sea monster’s brain. The massive jaws opened as its body went immediately into death throes. Zoro yanked his katana free, sheathed it, and dropped into the water flooding the open mouth. He grabbed Sanji by the arm and swam fast for the opening as the sea monster began to sink.

Zoro took a deep breath and prayed they weren’t too far from the surface as the sea closed over his head. He kicked past the sharp teeth and swam hard, dragging Sanji behind him along with the yardarm somehow attached to Sanji. The buoyancy of the salt water helped tell Zoro which direction was up and he broke the surface within twenty seconds. The barrel bobbed up beside him a moment later.

Rain still lashed his face and the wind howled as they returned to the hurricane. Zoro quickly maneuvered the barrel back into place, with him leaning across it, and checked that Sanji was still breathing after their dunking. He was. Zoro chuckled wearily and rested his forehead against Sanji’s soaked chest. The fight against the Yellow Jackets, the hurricane, swimming against the tide, and the sea monster was taking its toll on Zoro. “Any time you want to wake up would be good, aho cook.” 

Sanji didn’t listen, but that was normal. Zoro decided to rest for a minute. It couldn’t be too much longer before help arrived.

Something was yanking at Zoro’s hair. Zoro grunted, flapped his hand, and felt the ground beneath him roll, startling him awake. He shoved himself up and promptly fell face first into the warm water as the barrel he was on went one way while the yardarm went the other.

Sputtering, Zoro recovered and looked around. He and Sanji were still at sea with no Sunny or Mini Merry in sight. Flotsam dotted the surface of the water, indicating the direction they’d come from, but who knew how far they’d gone. Sunlight beamed hotly from clear skies, causing the sea’s surface to shimmer like diamonds. The gull that had been pecking at his hair circled overhead. A school of flying fish jumped nearby. Sanji floated beside Zoro draped on the yardarm, still unconscious and looking worse than Zoro had thought. The fierce hail of ship debris the night before had punctured Sanji’s shoulder, both thighs, and one calf. The worst was the large wood splinter spearing through his left hand. Dried blood caked his forehead above his left eye. Peering closer, it appeared he sported a new earring of a thin, metal nail in his earlobe. 

Zoro bit his lower lip and repositioned so he straddled the barrel. He got a poke in the ass that made him yelp and fall into the water again. Running his hands over his backside and legs reminded him that he was decorated with splinters of wood and metal, too. He probably looked like a porcupine. It hadn’t hurt until he thought about it, so he stopped thinking about it and plucked them all out while holding onto the barrel with one arm. That was more of a pain than the holes in his body caused. The salt water bathing his now open wounds didn’t feel too great, but whatever. He’d deal. 

Zoro hoisted himself back onto the barrel, straddling it again. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but it allowed him to work on getting the debris out of Sanji. He only fell back into the water twice as he worked. He used his bandana to bandage Sanji’s damaged left hand after washing the blood from Sanji’s forehead. The starburst pattern of the wound next to the curlique eyebrow meant Sanji had been clocked by something hard, but it wasn’t bleeding anymore. 

Zoro still felt a bit bruised and battered, but he’d been worse so he ignored it. A frown creased his brow as he searched for the Sunny again. The path of debris would likely lead him back to the ship if he started swimming in that direction. Things had a tendency to move on him, though, causing him to get lost and he’d rather not do that with Sanji. 

Zoro glanced at Sanji again. “You gonna wake up or what?” He didn’t like that Sanji was out this long. Concern gnawed at his belly. They both had strong constitutions. A smack or two on the head shouldn’t keep Sanji down for the count. “Wuss,” Zoro told him, but there was no bite to it.

Shading his eyes with his hand, Zoro searched around them again. One way had a trail of debris. The other way had shapes in the distance. Hazy blobs. Far enough he couldn’t see whatever it was clearly yet near enough he could see them. He debated for a moment and decided visible blobs were better than idly waiting. He draped himself over the barrel again, with Sanji in front of him on the yardarm, and used his feet to kick, swimming that direction.

The sun climbed higher in the sky, beating down on Zoro’s head. The gull followed them, occasionally coming down to pluck at Zoro’s hair. Zoro grew parched and he had to stop from time to time as his legs cramped. The blobs were getting closer, though, so he kept on. 

Zoro estimated they were about halfway to their destination when Sanji finally stirred with a moan. Sanji lifted his right hand to his face and held it there a long moment before his eyelids cracked open. He immediately shut them again against the harsh glare of the sun.

“‘Bout time you woke up,” Zoro said. He received a middle finger salute in response and barked a laugh. 

“Why’m I on the deck?” Sanji asked in a pained whisper, hand covering his face again. 

“Not on the deck,” Zoro told him, still kicking his legs. “Not on the Sunny, either.”

“What?” Sanji rolled his head, opened his eyes, and peered through his fingers at Zoro. Zoro watched as those bluish eyes widened when he saw past Zoro to the open sea behind him. He sat up abruptly, which led to his face turning ashen with a sharp inhale of agony. Zoro managed to snag his suit coat before he tumbled into the sea. 

“Hey, careful,” Zoro scolded. “Don’t need you passing out again.”

“I don’t pass out,” Sanji told him through gritted teeth, his face contorted in pain. His body hunched forward, both arms wrapped around his chest.

Zoro snorted. “Right. You were sleeping, in a hurricane, and while a sea monster ate us.”

Sanji’s eyelids cracked open and he cut a sidelong look at Zoro. “A sea monster ate us,” he stated with disbelief.

“I saved us, of course.”

“Hn.” Sanji seemed to find his balance and lowered his arms, but Zoro didn’t let go yet. He didn’t like the tightness around Sanji’s mouth and eyes. It meant Sanji was seriously hurting. “Where are we?”

“You didn’t notice while you were fainting?”

Sanji’s right hand shot out and backhanded Zoro in the forehead. It had no strength behind it, but at least Sanji’s attitude remained intact. “I don’t faint, either.”

“Fine. But next time you swoon, I’ll let you fall into the water.” Zoro ducked the second swat and grinned rottenly. 

Sanji seemed to take stock, then, of their predicament. Zoro watched as his slit gaze slowly traveled the horizon, turning his head from one direction to the other. A small whimper emanated from his lips, one that Zoro wouldn’t have caught if the sea wasn’t calm and quiet. Zoro saw Sanji’s fists curl, followed by a startled yelp of pain. Sanji dropped his gaze to his bandaged left hand and the string of curses that flew from his lips caused the bothersome gull to finally fly off.

“It’ll heal,” Zoro reassured. He didn’t lie and say it wasn’t that bad, because it was. It had been a large piece of wood that he’d taken out. Plus, this was Sanji’s hand. But it would heal, that was the truth.

“Shut up.” Sanji used his right hand to pull the cigarette pack from his inner jacket pocket. The hot sun had somewhat dried the front of his clothes while he’d been unconscious. The cigarette he pulled from the pack, though, looked limp and soggy still. “Damn it.”

Zoro wisely kept his mouth shut and continued propelling them toward the blobs.

Sanji sighed loudly, put the cigarettes away, and looked around again. The nail that had been in his earlobe had left a small hole. Zoro wondered when Sanji would notice it. Then again, Sanji’s body was littered with holes and this small one would likely be the least of his concern. “We’re heading to those atolls?”

“Atolls?” Zoro squinted at the blobs. “Is that what those are?”

“Yeah. We passed them yesterday. A couple of them had flora and fauna. One of them will be a good place to wait.”

Zoro had no clue what flora and fauna were, but figured he’d learn when they got there. “Don’t know what’s taking them so long to get us.”

“Hurricane. And a sea monster, apparently.” Sanji eased himself back on the yardarm, closing his eyes again. He rested his hands on his stomach. “We probably got pushed far. You can let go now.”

Zoro waited a few moments longer, ensuring Sanji was fully settled before acquiescing. His hand was starting to cramp from holding onto Sanji’s suit coat, anyway.

The sea was quiet. The sun continued to beat relentlessly on Zoro’s head. Thirst parched his throat. He alternated swimming and floating on the barrel when his legs cramped. Sanji lay on the yardarm like he was unconscious again. The pinched expression and labored breaths indicated he was still awake and suffering. Zoro didn’t like it, but since he couldn’t slay the pain, he kept swimming.

“What happened after the fight?” Sanji asked eventually, breaking the silence between them. 

“You were about to jump to the Sunny when that yardarm you’re on bashed into you. You fell into the water.” The frisson of fear Zoro had felt when it had initially happened returned and he shoved it away. Sanji was fine. Hurt, but fine. “I rescued your ass.”

“Some rescue,” Sanji muttered.

“Wasn’t my fault. That damned sea monster showed up and crushed the Yellow Jackets’ ship. That’s where you got those holes in you.”

“Hn.”

“The ship being destroyed swept us away from the Sunny. I could barely see it in the rain,” Zoro continued. “Then that stupid thing went and tried to eat us, and after it was dead I couldn’t see the Sunny at all.”

“I was wondering what the smell was. Thought you just hadn’t bathed again.”

“I don’t smell!”

Sanji’s lips twitched upward in the corners. Zoro reminded himself that Sanji was hurt. Now was not the time to kick his curly-eyebrowed ass. 

The gurgle of Sanji’s stomach caused an echo of Zoro’s own. They hadn’t eaten since lunch yesterday before the hurricane had reached them. Sanji’s faint smile pressed into a thin line and his closed eyelids scrunched. Zoro reached out and rested his calloused palm on Sanji’s folded hands. “Hey, we’re almost there. Flora and fauna, remember?”

Sanji didn’t respond, though his expression smoothed. Zoro might not be able to slay pain but he could help fight bad memories.

The sun started to descend when the blobs became clearly visible atolls. By the time night fully fell, Zoro had managed to get them to the one that looked like it had the most trees. His legs were wobbly when he finally felt ground beneath his feet. He slid off the barrel, shoved it aside, and pushed Sanji on the yardarm the final, short distance to shore. 

Twisted and entwined mangrove roots made for a limited pathway onto the crushed coral of a beach. Zoro helped Sanji to his feet, gritting his own teeth at Sanji’s grunt of pain. The snick of Sanji’s lighter produced a flame that aided visibility, though not by much. It allowed them to navigate farther onto the atoll until they came upon a spongy patch of moss big enough for the both of them. 

Zoro aided Sanji in sitting and then joined him. The moss was soft and springy beneath Zoro’s hand. Sanji lay down beside him, and Zoro leaned his back against a mangrove root. He inhaled slowly and let out a deep sigh. His body ached and he was thirsty as hell, but they’d made it. They were safe. 

Sanji reached out in the darkness and rested his damaged hand on Zoro’s knee. Zoro laid his hand on Sanji’s wrist. The knot that had been in Zoro’s chest since last night finally unraveled and he drifted off to sleep.

Morning brought a cacophony of sea birds and a gecko trying to blend in with Sanji’s hair. Zoro’s jaw cracked as he yawned and he dashed a sleep-tear from his eye. Around him, all he could see were mangrove trees, crushed rock, and more moss. Sanji was breathing shallowly beside him, his face twisted in a grimace. The ashen color had waned, though, thankfully. Zoro would check out Sanji’s wounds more thoroughly after he’d taken a piss.

Carefully, trying not to disturb Sanji, Zoro rose and tread a short distance away. He watered a tree with a grateful sigh, though usually there would be a lot more piss happening. He hadn’t had a drink since lunch, going on a day and a half ago. While he could withstand dehydration longer than most, he knew they needed to find water, soon.

His stomach rumbled, reminding him to find food, too.

Zoro checked the bullet wound on his arm as he walked back to where Sanji was sleeping. There was a crease in his arm but not one that would require stitches. It’d heal over with a scar. The cut on his ear felt like nothing but a scratch. He couldn’t check the storm damage to his back and back of his legs, but since he was upright and walking without too many aches and pains he figured he was fine enough. He was more concerned about Sanji.

Zoro briefly debated on trying to find water while Sanji slept and decided against it. The moss might move while he was gone and then Sanji’d be lost. Better to stick together. He could deal with the hunger situation immediately, though, as he spotted fruit hanging in the mangrove trees. 

Five minutes later, Zoro sat beside Sanji with a pile of mangrove fruit. The mushy fruit tasted weirdly like sour cheese. He spit out seeds as he ate. His stomach was happy and his thirst somewhat quenched. He offered some of the fruit to the gecko, who scurried off instead. With a shrug, Zoro finished the pile and belched. 

“Pig,” Sanji muttered without stirring.

Zoro snorted. “Who’s around to care?”

“I’m around.”

“Tch.” Zoro pushed to his feet. “Don’t move. I’ll get you some.”

Sanji, naturally, didn’t listen, and he was leaning heavily against a mangrove across from where they’d been sleeping, taking a piss. Zoro dropped the mangrove fruit on the moss and went to help him. “Told you not to move, dumbass.”

“Not the boss of me.” The half-hearted, childish reply accompanied the zip of Sanji’s trousers. Zoro slipped his arm around Sanji’s waist and guided him back to the soft mossy ground. Sanji didn’t protest. Zoro’s brow creased in concern. 

“Let’s get your shirt off,” Zoro said, carefully peeling Sanji’s suit jacket down his arms. Their clothes had dried while they’d slept. Sanji’s lips quirked but Zoro shushed him before he could talk. “I want to check your injuries.”

“Why bother? S’not like you can do anything about ‘em.” Sanji picked up a piece of fruit and bit into it while Zoro unknotted Sanji’s black tie. “Mm, good.”

“Of course you’d like it.” Zoro shook his head, discarding the tie to the side. He started undoing the buttons on Sanji’s cuffs. 

“You have the taste buds of a rat.”

Zoro figured it was an insult. He ignored it in favor of pulling Sanji’s shirttails from his trousers once the front buttons were unfastened. He stripped off the blue and white striped shirt. It had two prominent holes, one on the shoulder and one in the lower corner of the back. Blood stained the areas pink. 

Zoro examined the wound on Sanji’s shoulder, the one he’d pulled the splintered wood from yesterday morning. It was nestled between his clavicle and arm socket. The almost-round injury had a shiny scab over it. Like Zoro’s arm, it wasn’t big enough to require stitches. The muscle was likely injured and it would hurt to lift that arm, but it wasn’t life threatening.

Sanji ate quietly while Zoro moved behind him. Zoro hadn’t known Sanji had been injured in the back, but the shirt provided evidence. He hissed softly when he saw the jagged hole in Sanji’s lower back. It looked as though some kind of metal had pierced him. Maybe something on the yardarm, like a broken sail ring. It was deep, too, and oozing blood. He didn’t know enough about anatomy to know if an important organ or something had been stabbed. He bit his lower lip. This one needed stitches, and possibly Chopper. 

“Well?” Sanji asked, picking up another fruit. 

Zoro cleared his throat. “Not the best. Gonna have to figure out how to stitch you up.”

“Hn.” 

Zoro thought between Sanji’s belt and necktie he could fashion a makeshift bandage that would remain in place. He still needed to check the wounds in Sanji’s thighs and calf, and the left hand again as well. He hoped none of them were as bad.

“What about you?” Sanji said, interrupting Zoro’s thoughts. “Got any injuries that you’re hiding that I should make fun of you for?”

Zoro scoffed. “Like you can talk, Mr. Holes.”

Sanji arched his eyebrow derisively, causing the starburst on his forehead to wink. “‘Mr. Holes’?”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Let’s take off your pants.” 

This earned Zoro another lip twitch. “Horny bastard.”

Zoro huffed in slight annoyance. It was good that Sanji was joking, but Zoro wasn’t in the mood. He was concerned about that back injury. “C’mon. Lift up, so I can get these down.”

“Spoilsport,” Sanji grumbled. He used his right hand to prop himself. His sharp intake of breath as he raised his hips indicated the fun was likely over for him, too.

Zoro pulled Sanji’s trousers down to his ankles. Sanji’s pale, hairy legs stuck out from beneath navy blue boxers with fish on them. A birthday gift from Chopper, if Zoro remembered correctly. To match Sanji’s dream of finding All Blue. 

The wounds on Sanji’s thighs were similar to the one on his shoulder. Not that deep and scabbing over. No stitches. The one on his calf looked like it had hit his shin bone and stopped. A surface wound. Nothing serious. Zoro checked Sanji over for anything he might have missed, perhaps from the fight with the Yellow Jackets, but Sanji didn’t seem to have any more injuries aside from his hand, his ear, and the bump on his head. 

Zoro remembered that Sanji had taken a second blow - or what was actually the first – to the back of the head and gently slipped his hands into Sanji’s hair to feel his skull. Sanji winced when Zoro encountered a knot the size of his fist. “Sorry,” Zoro murmured. 

“S’okay.”

Zoro brushed Sanji’s hair away from his face, exposing his mismatched eyebrows. Sanji’s skin was still paler than usual, and tightness from pain continued to bracket his lips and eyes. Sanji gave him a weak smile. “My turn.” 

Zoro nodded and fixed Sanji’s trousers before dropping his own. He showed Sanji his bare backside and backs of his legs. He craned to try and see behind him. “How’s it look?”

“Like you’ve been attacked by a drawer full of shishkabob skewers. Double-sized.” Sanji’s fingers brushed against the back of his knee. “The one above this knee is kind of deep. It could use a stitch or two. The rest are scabbing. How’s your back? I can see holes in your shirt, and bloodstains.”

“Doesn’t really hurt,” Zoro replied. He fixed his trousers and pulled his shirt off over his head. He crouched in front of Sanji so he could see better. “Anything?”

“Nothing fatal. You’re going to have some interesting scars, though.”

Zoro shrugged. Scars didn’t bother him. He drew his shirt back on, then reached for Sanji’s belt and tie. “This will have to do with that wound on your back until we find something better.” He shifted behind Sanji again and began securing the makeshift bandage. “What kind of idiot gets hurt in the back anyway?”

“Excuse me, ‘Mr. Holes’?”

“I was hurt protecting your unconscious ass. You’re the one who got pummeled by a hunk of wood.”

“You’re lucky I’m still hungry, or I’d pummel you.”

Zoro chuffed a breath against Sanji’s ear. “Promises, promises.”

“Tch.” The tip of Sanji’s ear pinked, causing Zoro to grin. 

Zoro checked the hole in Sanji’s ear while he was close. “Hm. Wonder what you’d look like with an earring.”

“What?” Sanji’s hand flew to his ear and he felt the injury. He squawked in distress. “There’s a hole in my ear!”

“There are holes in you in a lot of places.” Zoro took a seat beside Sanji and picked up his left hand. Zoro carefully unbandaged that wound. “Your ear is nothing.”

“But there’s a hole in my ear.” Sanji flapped his other hand. “What will the ladies think?!”

Sometimes, Zoro didn’t understand Sanji. “That there’s a hole in your ear?” 

“Yes! A hole. In my ear. They’re going to think…” Sanji’s diatribe trailed off when Zoro finished unbandaging him and he saw the state of his left hand. His voice dropped to an anguished whisper. “My hand.”

Zoro caressed Sanji’s fingers with care as he examined the injury. It was worse than it had looked the morning before. The splinter he’d taken out appeared to have missed the bones, but there was clearly a ragged hole straight through Sanji’s palm. Blood seeped from the open wound. The edges looked raw and pussed. They needed clean water, fast.

“C’mon. We gotta move.” Zoro swiftly wrapped Sanji’s hand in the bandana again and helped him with his shirt. Zoro used Sanji’s suit jacket to make a sling and piled the mangrove fruit inside it. He draped it over his shoulder before helping Sanji stand. He could hear Sanji try to swallow his pain. Zoro’s jaw tightened, and together they ventured farther into the atoll. 

Mangroves gave way to a mixed broadleaf forest of fruits, nuts, and other trees. A closed canopy shaded them from the hot sun overhead. Zoro spotted sea birds, lizards, and two snakes as they made their way farther inland. The ground underfoot was primarily crushed coral and rock. The recent hurricane had left the ground wet. Zoro hoped they’d find a depression where the rainwater had collected, so they could clean Sanji’s wound.

Zoro got his wish. Within an hour, they stumbled upon a pit in the rocky ground where a tree once grew. The tree had toppled and had been claimed by the land, with moss, lianas and morning glory vines covering it like a shroud. Water filled the pit to the brim. Zoro settled Sanji on the ground, leaning against a tree while he tasted the water. It was fresh.

Zoro wasn’t completely stupid, though, contrary to some folks’ belief. Even though the water was fresh, it wasn’t clean. He’d have to boil it. Luckily, there were plenty of coconuts around. He helped Sanji settle more comfortably on the ground before tackling creating a coconut bowl. He let Sanji drink the young coconut water while he worked on digging the flesh out of the other half. He tried to make the bowl as thin as he could, to help speed the boiling process along.

“When’d you learn to do that?” Sanji asked. 

“Not my first time stranded.” 

Sanji snorted. “Figures.”

Once the bowl was finished to his satisfaction, Zoro created a quick fire pit before holding out his hand. “Lighter.”

Sanji tossed the lighter to him. Zoro used it to start a fire and tucked it into his pocket. He nursed the fire with leaves and moss that were mostly dry, which he’d found from a nest in a hollow of a tree. Before long, Zoro had a nice fire going. He filled the coconut bowl with fresh water and balanced it on the crossed blades of his katanas over the fire. It could take anywhere from five minutes to an hour to boil water this way, depending on the thickness of the bowl and the heat of the fire.

“Surprised you’re using your katanas for this.” Sanji leaned his head against the bark of a breadfruit tree. “Thought that’d be sacrilege.”

“Oh, I’ll be exacting my pound of flesh later.” Zoro grinned wickedly. Sanji flicked a piece of bark at him. The walk seemed to have exhausted Sanji.

As if hearing Zoro’s thoughts, Sanji closed his eyes. “When we get back to the ship, I’m taking a long bath with a cup of chamomile tea. And I don’t want you bothering me.”

“What about the others?”

“Them, too. Unless it’s Nami-san or Robin-chan. They can join me if they’d like.” Heart bubbles floated above Sanji’s head before being popped by the rough texture of the breadfruit hanging in the tree. “Hmm, Nami-san, Robin-chan…”

Zoro rolled his eyes. Sanji would likely explode if either Nami or Robin ever accepted Sanji’s ridiculous affections. Sanji’s adoration of women extended only so far, mostly to chivalry. Sure, he salivated over hot women like any other typical guy, but it didn’t bother Zoro. Zoro knew where he stood. Besides, Sanji wouldn’t know what to do with a woman if one ever reciprocated. 

Zoro amused himself imagining Sanji’s failing with the ladies while he crafted another coconut bowl. Eventually, the water came to a boil and Zoro set it aside to cool. He put a fresh bowl of water on the fire. Sanji had drifted to sleep, which he needed to heal. 

In another day or two and they’d be rescued, Zoro figured. Maybe even later today. He didn’t want to move them back to the coast, though. Staying by the fresh water was the safest bet. They needed a signal, however. Smoke from the fire would help, but as he needed to sleep, too, it might go out.

Zoro eyed the trees around them. The coconut palms were the tallest. He searched around until he found a fallen branch about as tall as him, stripped off his dirty white shirt, and knotted it to the branch. He scaled the best tree option and planted the branch in the palms so that the shirt would be visible from a ship. 

That done, Zoro dropped back to the ground, checked the temperature of the clean water, and set about creating a more comfortable temporary abode. Layers of moss draped on carefully laid out sticks and leaves created a wide cot. Zoro collected more mangrove fruit and added it to a pile of coconuts and breadfruit for lunch and dinner. He traded the boiling water on the fire for a bowl of date nuts, to roast them. He also dug a latrine far enough from their makeshift camp to protect them from illness. 

The first batch of fresh water was finally cool enough to use. Zoro loathed to bother Sanji, but that hand wound needed to be cleaned before infection fully set in. He’d also clean the one on Sanji’s back.

“Oi, love cook,” Zoro said quietly. He rested his hand on Sanji’s shoulder and gently shook him. “I need to clean your injuries.”

Pain swept back onto Sanj’s face, and Zoro cursed Yellow Jackets, hurricanes, yardarms and stupid sea monsters for causing it. 

“You forgot yourself on that list,” Sanji joked wearily. 

Zoro gently cupped Sanji’s cheek. “C’mon, let’s get this over with so you can go back to sleep.”

They decided to tackle the back injury first. Sanji leaned forward, resting his chest against his thighs with easy flexibility. Zoro rucked up his shirt and unfastened the belt-bandage. The hole in Sanji’s back no longer oozed blood. Maybe whatever he’d nicked or poked finally clotted.

Zoro didn’t warn that it was going to hurt. Sanji already knew it. Zoro poured cool water from the coconut bowl directly into and over the wound. Sanji flinched and hissed. Satisfied it was as clean as it could get, Zoro refastened the tie and belt bandage and fixed Sanji’s shirt.

Sanji sat upright as Zoro moved around to the front of him again. He wordlessly held out his left hand. Zoro undid the bandana bandage and draped it over his bare shoulder. The injury was still ugly, bleeding, and showing signs of infection. Zoro picked up the bowl and looked at Sanji. He could see Sanji steel himself. At his nod, Zoro poured the water through and over the wound.

Sanji tried and failed to squelch the cry of agony. Zoro didn’t stop, though, until the bowl was empty. He quickly rewrapped the wound with the bandana, and then swooped Sanji up into his arms. This earned him a startled squawk and protest. “What are you doing, asshole?! Put me down.”

“Shut up. Enjoy the short ride.” Zoro walked over to the mossy cot and gently set Sanji on it. The cot was near a thick tree trunk, to provide a natural backrest. The fruit he’d gathered was within easy reach, along with the other bowl of clean water.

Sanji muttered about stupid cavemen and their manhandling. “And why aren’t you wearing a shirt?”

Zoro took the roasted date nuts from the fire and added more sticks to keep it going. He pointed upward before taking a seat beside Sanji on the cot. “Signal flag.”

Sanji cut him a questioning look. “When did you get to be so smart?”

“Told you, I’ve done this before.” Leaning back against the tree trunk with his legs outstretched in front of him, Zoro popped a roasted date into his mouth. It tasted good. He offered one to Sanji.

Sanji took the date. “How many times?”

“Eh. Four or five.” Zoro began counting on his fingers. “No - seven.”

“Never mind about that smart comment.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault the boat I’m on gets caught in a storm, or capsizes, or is destroyed,” Zoro said. He remembered the fourth time he’d been stranded, after he’d cleaved the small junk in two when the person he’d been hitching a ride from thought he was an easy mark. “Well, maybe once it was my fault.”

Sanji chuckled softly. He leaned against Zoro’s shoulder and ate another date. “Tell me about these seven times,” he prompted.

So Zoro did. He didn’t embellish and laid the blame squarely where it belonged, on other things (except for that fourth time). Sanji made mocking comments at appropriate intervals. It was nice, having quiet time with Sanji again. They didn’t get it very often. Sometimes it was when Zoro was on dish duty and Sanji wasn’t busy elsewhere, or sometimes it was when they both lingered in the bath after the others had gone, feeling lazy and relaxed, talking about nothing and everything, their feet touching beneath the water. While most of their relationship centered around fighting and fucking, it was during moments like these that Zoro knew they had something special. And though he would’ve preferred being stranded with Sani not being hurt, he felt content.

“SANJI! ZORO! WHERE ARE YOUUUU?”

Luffy’s shouting drew Zoro from slumber. It was late evening. The sun rode low in the sky. The fire still burned from the last time Zoro had stoked it, before he’d drifted off. Sanji was curled against him, using his bare chest as a pillow. The bowl with the roasted date nuts was empty, and half the fruit he’d picked had been eaten. 

They’d talked comfortably into the afternoon. Sanji had regaled him with a ridiculous tale about Zeff, the Baratie, and an octopus. Zoro told him about how he’d met Luffy. They’d exchanged verbal spars about their crewmates, clothes, and food until Sanji eventually fell asleep again. Zoro could tell it had been a good distraction for Sanji from his pain.

Now, they could return to the ship, and Sanji could get proper treatment from Chopper. Zoro rubbed a sleepy hand over his face before shouting back. “LOOK FOR THE SMOKE AND SHIRT!”

He pictured Luffy stretching his neck to peer above the canopy. “I SEE IT! WE’RE COMING!”

Zoro nuzzled Sanji’s hair before nudging him awake. “Wake up, cook. They’re here.”

“Hm?” Sanji stirred, hissed in pain, and opened bleary eyes. “Who’s what now?”

“They’re here. We can go home.” Home. Zoro never would’ve imagined home would be on a ship sailing the Grand Line, with seven crazy nakama and the love of his life. 

“Thank goodness. I was getting tired of your stench.”

Zoro smiled into Sanji’s hair and kissed the top of his head. “Liar. You like my stench.”

“Like I like spiders.”

Zoro chuckled and helped Sanji to sit up. He handed Sanji his suit jacket before scaling the tree to retrieve his own shirt. He could hear Luffy, Chopper, and Robin coming through the broadleaf forest.

Feet on the ground and shirt on, Zoro stamped the fire, ensuring it was well and truly out. He left the bowls near the water hole. Someone in the future might end up on this atoll and appreciate them. He’d leave the cot assembled, too.

Luffy was first to spring into view, propelling himself with his rubber arms from tree to tree. “Zoro! Sanji! We found you!” Robin and Chopper followed, with Chopper carrying his medical bag. Luffy spotted the remaining pile of fruit. “Oh look, food!”

While Luffy dug in, Robin graced Zoro with a smile. “I am pleased to see that you are both all right.”

“I am. He’s not.” Zoro jerked a thumb at Sanji.

“Nothing I can’t handle, Robin-chan!”

Zoro rolled his eyes at Sanji’s fawning. Even when hurt, he was a besotted idiot.

“Oh no, Sanji, are you injured?” Chopper hustled over to the cot, where Sanji still sat. “I brought my medical bag, in case.”

While Chopper clucked over Sanji, Robin glanced at the cot. “It appears you made the best out of being stranded.”

Zoro shrugged, and repeated what he’d told Sanji. “Not my first time.” 

Robin smiled coyly. “I am certain Sanji appreciated it.”

Zoro scowled when he realized what she’d meant, and felt his cheeks heat. “He’s hurt. I wouldn’t… shut up.”

Robin laughed lightly and touched Zoro’s shoulder with a friendly hand. “He is lucky to have someone who cares for him so much.”

Zoro’s face heated even more as he looked away. “Yeah, whatever.” 

“This fruit is good! I’m going to get more to take with us,” Luffy declared before springing off into the forest again. 

“We’d better get you to the ship,” Chopper said, after examining Sanji’s injuries. He glanced at Zoro. “You did a good job, Zoro, but he needs care immediately.”

“Figured as much.” Zoro strode over to Sanji and helped him to stand. Sanji would never forgive him if he carried the cook, not in front of Robin. 

Robin seemed to intuitively understand. “I will go ahead and return to the ship. Chopper-san, why don’t you come with me and prepare the infirmary?”

Chopper nodded. “That’s a good idea. I’m going to need to set up my surgical equipment.”

Zoro waited until Robin and Chopper headed off before telling Sanji, “I’m going to carry you again. Deal with it.”

Sanji huffed. “Fine. But I‘m going kick your ass for it, later.”

Zoro grinned. “It’s a date.”

He carefully swept a sputtering Sanji into his arms and set off for home.

Chopper spent more than an hour in surgery, working on Sanji’s back and hand. “He’s lucky he also has a superior constitution, like you and Luffy. One of his lateral arteries was nicked. He could have bled out. Luckily, it was a small nick and it clotted,” Chopper told Zoro when he’d emerged from the infirmary. Zoro had been waiting outside the door after a quick bath and change of clothes. He wore a clean white shirt, black trousers, and a new green bandana was tied around his bicep. 

“What about his hand?” Zoro was more worried about that than anything else.

“It’ll be okay,” Chopper said. “I removed a few splinters and then cleansed the wound before stitching him up. I put him on antibiotics to stop the infection. He won’t be able to use it for a month, but then with some physical therapy he’ll have full use.”

Zoro nodded, looking through the portal in the closed door, over Chopper’s head. He could see Sanji resting with his eyes closed on the infirmary bed. “All right if I see him?”

“Yes, but not for long. He needs his rest! Doctor’s orders.”

Chopper toddled off, and Zoro entered the infirmary. Chopper’s desk, cabinets, and supplies flanked one wall of the cabin. The other held the infirmary bed, with Sanji lying upon it. A passthrough door led to the galley. 

Zoro grabbed Chopper’s swivel chair and dragged it next to the bed. Sanji was lying on his side, with pillows propping him in place so as not to put pressure on his back. His left hand was neatly bandaged and elevated. A drip line ran from the bag of antibiotic solution to his inner elbow. “Hey, you alive?”

“M’not gonna let a hurricane and your failed rescue attempt kill me.”

“I didn’t fail!”

“Hn. Got swept out to sea, didn’t we?” Sanji peered at Zoro from beneath his lashes, a smirk on his lips.

“Tch.” 

Sanji shifted slightly on the bed, with a wince. “Have you let Chopper stitch your knee yet?”

“It can wait.”

“Zoro…”

“Just until he has a rest from patching up your ass,” Zoro reassured, responding to the threat in Sanji’s tone. 

“You’d better.” Sanji shifted again, winced, and exhaled in irritation. “I hate this.”

“I know.” Zoro brushed his fingers through Sanji’s hair, pushing it away from his face, trying to tuck it behind his ear. It immediately fell back down, covering his left eye. “I’ll be back later with some dinner.”

“Dinner!” Sanji started to sit up, but Zoro held him in place with one hand on his shoulder. “I have to make dinner. Everyone is probably starving from days without me.”

“Forget it. You need to rest. Doctor’s orders,” Zoro said, repeating Chopper’s words. “We’ll make do. Robin and Nami both know how to cook. You stay put and imagine them touching all your pots and pans.”

Sanji’s eyes turned to hearts and he sighed with infatuation. Zoro shook his head. “Perverted love-brow.”

“Go away. You’re ruining my fantasy.”

Zoro snorted, kissed Sanji on the forehead, and rose. “Rest. Moron.”

He had just opened the door between the infirmary and galley when Sanji spoke up behind him. “Ne, bring chamomile tea with you later.”

“Okay. I don’t think Chopper’s gonna let you leave the infirmary, though, but I can always give you a sponge bath.”

“Get out.”

Zoro laughed as he left. He hadn’t heard Sanji say no…

Zoro was napping on the forward deck when a shadow loomed over him. He cracked open an eye to see Sanji standing there, wearing a black suit, a pink shirt, and a cream-colored tie. His hand had fully healed, leaving only scars on the top and palm where it had been stitched. Zoro knew he’d been counting the days until Chopper declared him fit and no longer in need of physical therapy. 

“Ready for our ‘date’?” Sanji asked.

A smile spread slowly across Zoro’s lips. Today must be the day. “Always.”

He pushed to his feet, preparing to kick Sanji’s ass from one end of the Sunny to the other. It had been a long month and a half. 

A glint from the sun catching on something sparked in Zoro’s eye. He squinted at Sanji, then suddenly felt a catch in his chest and a rush of heat directly to his groin. “You’re wearing the earring.”

Sanji touched his earlobe self-consciously. “What about it?”

Zoro had given Sanji the earring as a joke, a tiny chef’s knife he’d picked up at the last port they’d been at, three weeks ago. Sanji had thrown a real chef’s knife at him as he’d run laughing from the galley. He never expected Sanji to actually wear it.

Sanji’s kick to the chest caught Zoro completely off guard, and Zoro went sailing over the rail of the Sunny. He landed in the sea with a loud splash. He surfaced, sputtering, and shouted up at Sanji. “I wasn’t ready!”

Sanji peered down at him from the deck. “Now who needs rescuing?”

“I’m gonna rescue your ass until you can’t sit down!” It made no sense, but Sanji laughed and Zoro’s lower belly tingled. He swam to the ship and climbed the wooden ladder hammered into the side. Sanji didn’t move out of the way, bluish eyes dancing with mirth. The earring glinted again in the sun.

Zoro snagged a hand around the nape of Sanji’s neck and kissed him hard. Sanji melted into him for a moment, then shoved him away. “No. I’ve been waiting too long to beat your shitty ass, marimo. Fight first, fuck later.”

“I can live with that.”

“Good,” Sanji said, and spin-kicked Zoro off the side of the ship again. His laugh followed Zoro all the way down to the sea.

Zoro surfaced with a wolfish smile. It was a good day for a fight. 

End