In Dreams
Chapter 13
The kitchen had been a hectic affair as the people in it were busy with preparations for lunch.
“Why don’t you eat with the rest of the nobles like a normal rich man!?” Roared Georges, the Royal Butcher. He stomped into the pots and pans room, giving Sanji a dirty look. Zoro just chuckled. Sanji rolled his eyes and dug into food.
“For the last time Alphonse get those dogs OUT of here!” Came that same loud, angry voice of Georges. Through the doors came three of the king’s royal hounds and a grumbling Alphonse, the kitchen boy.
But the boy’s expression went from sour to bright in an instant at seeing the two noblemen.
“H’lo Alph.” Zoro said still chewing.
“You know Alphonse?” Sanji asked, surprised.
Zoro looked like he was going to say something when Alphonse broke in. “Oh yeah. I used to sneak Monsieur Zoro food all the time in exchange for sword lessons! But then I got promoted to the pots and pans, so I don’t have much time for swords anymore.” He looked slightly sheepish.
“Ah.” Sanji said, smiling. “Georges still giving you a hard time about those dogs, eh?”
Alphonse looked despondant. “I can’t help it! They just follow me around everywhere! You’d think I bathed in meat or something!”
Sanji looked at the three hounds that were looking up at Alphonse with pitiful stares.
“Maybe you should ask to be transferred to the dog’s stable. You could work your way up to Royal Groomer.” The blond chef said, trying to sound encouraging.
“After all the time it took just to get to lousy pots and pans in the kitchen?! I’ve worked here for three years!”
They chatted amiably until Georges came roaring from the pots and pans room again and scared poor Alphonse out, finally forcing Sanji and Zoro to abandon their food.
They made their way up to Zoro’s room.
Just come back to me.
Please just come back to me.
Sanji’s world went strangely fuzzy. “What do you mean? I’m already here.”
Zoro turned around and look at him. His vision cleared.
“What are you talking about?”
“Why did you say that? I’m standing right here.” Sanji said, confused.
“Say what?” Zoro looked at him strangely.
“You just said, “Come back to me.”
“I didn’t say a word Sanji. You must be hearing things.”
/I could have sworn…/
“…Maybe.”
The corner of Zoro’s mouth quirked in a way that was reminiscent of a smile. Something in that sort-of smile made Sanji blush and his stomach flip flop and forget all about hearing things.
As they reached Zoro’s bedroom they found Marie had already drawn a bath. “Do you have some psychic link with your maid that you have a bath ready for you upon each return?”
Zoro began stripping, obviously unconcerned. “I saw her quickly before I came to find you and told her to draw a bath.
It took a moment for Sanji to realize what he was seeing, and couldn’t stop the embarrassing outcry when he did.
“W-why what why w-what are you doing?!” He said, backing up and knocking against a desk as he went.
Zoro paused in the middle of shedding his trousers. He successfully stifled any sign of amusement, though it wasn’t easy.
That’s right. I doubt he’s even known a woman, let alone a man.
Slowly and calmly he said, “I am removing my clothes so that I may take a bath. I haven’t bathed at all today and I probably need one after all my exertions.” He slipped off his trousers, now completely nude.
“A-ah… right. Of course.” Sanji blushed (yes, again) then for many reasons, probably more reasons he had ever had to blush at one time, and definitely the most interesting reasons he’d ever had as well.
Zoro nodded. Sanji could tell he was being gracious and patient. It calmed him a little. He looked around quickly and spotted a book on the desk he’d bumped into.
“Well, then, I’ll just… read. While you’re in there.” He picked up the book, which happened to be The Holy Bible, and flipped it open randomly. “I uh… I’ve been meaning to read this one. I hear it’s… good.” He finished lamely.
Had Sanji been looking at Zoro’s face he would have noticed that same quirk at the side of his mouth that could have been a grin.
“Make yourself comfortable.” He mumbled. Zoro debated his next comment, but decided to risk it, saying over his shoulder, “You’re also welcome to join me.” He disappeared behind the door which gave Sanji the opportunity to drop the book and fumble with it then accidentally hit his head on the corner of the blasted desk.
/I’ll chop you up for firewood you blasted thing!/
Gathering himself, Sanji stood there for a moment before he looked down at the text. It had opened to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. He closed it with a snap and put it in one of the offending desk’s drawer.
Now he shifted on his feet, looking around nervously.
/This is not the time for an inner monologue man, it’s time for action!/
After that it was as if one switch had been turned off and another turned on. He stopped thinking and found, with some odd fascination, that his hands were quickly and efficiently removing each article of clothing he had put on earlier.
Zoro eased himself into the hot water. He sunk all the way until the water was up to his chin. He sighed, creating ripples in the water.
/This might be harder than I thought./
Or perhaps he would just have to take it slow. He stood up begrudgingly, preferring to relax but knowing how badly he needed to soap up. He grabbed said soap and lathered it with the fresh cloth Marie had brought in.
Sanji felt like he could do this.
Right up until he stepped into the bathroom, divested of his own clothes, and saw him.
Nothing but a vast desert of skin made bronze by the sun, water running in rivulets down the beautiful desert made slick by soap. Or something outrageously immodest like that, he thought.
Zoro stood in the tub facing away from Sanji, lathering soap on his arms.
Sanji shook his head to clear it, but he found he couldn’t command his body as well he as he could a moment ago. He would be happy just to take this particular image, burn it into his mind forever, and be satisfied with embarrassing moments alone in the dark with himself for the rest of his life.
Zoro heard him walk in, but didn’t outwardly acknowledge it. Right now Sanji was still very capable of running. Or having a heart attack. So he continued to wash.
Sanji swallowed. This was the first sign he’d calmed down somewhat. He had remembered to breath- surprisingly- and was happy to find he could at least control the muscles in his throat. Then, though it was a completely unplanned move, he stepped forward. And took another step. And another, until he was in front of Zoro.
So now Zoro had to acknowledge Sanji’s presence and oh, he thought, what a presence. Of course he’d seen the other man nude before, but at that time he had been more worried about his state of health than anything else.
He thought briefly of the ivory chest figures in the library. The unblemished lines of the creamy white figures were nothing to how Sanji glowed. His fair skin betrayed his golden hair, his lips, the same color of the blush on his face, and lower, his dusky rose nipples.
Warmth that didn’t come from the water spread throughout Zoro’s body and concentrated in his groin. He just had to touch him. He had to or he would lose it and this moment would be stolen from him.
He did the least aggressive thing he could do at that point, and simply held out his hand.
Sanji took it, but hesitated at first contact. Sparks he could only describe as cold fire had just run through his finger tips. But he took the hand anyway and let himself be led over the edge of the tub and he stepped into it.
They stood that way for a moment until Zoro drew close and Sanji drew close and somewhere in the middle it happened. That first, real one, the one that if they ever told this story again, would be the one that sealed their fate.
Sanji always thought a kiss was something that could steal your breath away, but in fact, this one was just the opposite. It was like life was being breathed into him. He’d never felt more alive, and he found it hard to actually focus on the mere physical act, because compared to what going on in his head, his heart, his soul, it didn’t really mean much. The world was spinning, his heart was full to bursting and he felt… he felt… like he was home.
It was hard to put in words exactly what Zoro felt, since this kiss was something he had been working so hard for a long time. It had become more than a goal, and something he never thought he would achieve, even though he would never truly live without it.
They ended up both soaped and relaxed lying in the tub, Sanji resting on top of Zoro’s body. That kiss had brought them to this place and they reveled in it. And when the moment was right (and how they knew was a mystery, but they did) Sanji felt a quickening in his blood and he looked at Zoro, who was looking at him.
Sanji’s chest tightened and he felt slightly woozy, as all the blood in his upper extremities had rushed to his lower ones. Or one. Of course, had he anymore blood in his head he would have used it up to blush.
Zoro didn’t smile or wait graciously this time. Something in him, something base and primal and selfish and full of testosterone told him to take what he wanted. So he did, and he claimed Sanji’s mouth roughly, moving his hands to Sanji’s chest and running them up and down the other man’s body with intent, need and lust.
Sanji gasped into the kiss. His hooded eyes flew open and he used his arms to find purchase with the side of the tub. He broke the kiss and most body contact but Zoro wouldn’t allow it. All Sanji had done was reveal more open skin to the swordsman, which only fueled his desire. He quickly ran the callous pads of his thumbs of those dusky nipples harshly. Sanji’s arms buckled but he kept his hold, arching his back further away from Zoro. His head fell forward and he panted as sweet sensations swept over his chest and fed the fire pumping through his blood stream.
Arching his back had done something else Zoro had approved of, which was grind their hips together. He roughly shoved his knee in between Sanji’s thigh, so that Sanji completely straddled him. He ground his hips upward.
Water splashed out of the tub all over the floor.
Sanji moaned and Zoro thought it was an amazing sound, almost as amazing as the sheer pleasure coming from the motion of their hips. Sanji probably didn’t even notice he was returning the motion yet.
Zoro stopped the motion quicker than he started it and Sanji abruptly found himself thrust forward. Zoro had abandoned Sanji’s nipples in favor of his taut, round ass and gripped it with enthusiasm as he forced Sanji’s hips forward and up.
Sanji was now force to grip the edge of the tub by Zoro’s head, his groin placed embarrassingly right in front of the swordsman’s face.
“Zoro, what are you- ah ah AH DON’T AH AAAH-“
Sanji tried to find purchase with his knees against the tub to pull himself back but his position was too awkward and Zoro’s grip too strong. He could only watch helplessly as his now hard cock slipped in and out of Zoro’s moist, soft, hot mouth. He felt Zoro’s tongue move up and down his stiff member, swirling around the tip-
“Oh god please please stop Zoro don’t ah ah no AH PLEASE-“
Zoro released him, frowning. He spoke as if this is what he would normally be doing during his afternoon bath. “Is there a good reason why I should stop?”
Sanji panted. He almost felt too embarrassed to speak. “Is that… do you always… that’s a normal thing?”
“Yes. But if you don’t like it-“
“No! It’s just… well… I wasn’t expecting….”
“Would you like me to inform you of everything I do before I do it?” Zoro asked, irritable that the other man wouldn’t just let him have what he wanted.
Sanji sat back with a frown of his own. “No, but at least have a bit of understanding! I’ve never been with anyone, let alone a man, or you, so I’m loathe to admit it but I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, and I certainly don’t know what you’re doing!”
/That’s right, you idiot, you said it yourself. Don’t get this far just to fuck it up./
It was an odd thing to realize right then, but Zoro discovered that the voice in his head sounded remarkably like Francois. But he pushed that thought back immediately, and focused.
“I-I’m sorry. I just got a little… caught up. I just want you to trust me. And if I go to fast, or do something you don’t want, just tell me, or hit me upside the head with the soap. But… try to keep an open mind.”
Sanji’s frown receded. “Alright. But… I don’t think I can take much of… that. It was amazing but… too much. Does that make sense?”
Zoro couldn’t help himself, and he grinned.
“Yes, it does.”
Zoro gently coaxed the other man onto his lap and kissed him deeply. He massaged his shoulders, relaxing the other man.
Sanji melted against Zoro once more, drinking in the man’s soapy scent and delighting in the feel of his lips against his own. Zoro’s massaging hands worked their way down Sanji’s shoulders to his biceps while he broke the kiss to run his lips over the alabaster skin.
He moved from his sternum up to the blond man’s throat, lapping there hungrily. His hands began to roam Sanji’s body again, and Sanji tentatively returned the action. He ran his hands through that short, spiky hair and realized with something of a start that it was… silky, and soft. He smiled. Wet, it almost reminded him of moss.
“Hey cook, don’t make fun of my hair. I get enough trouble about my tan.”
Something in Zoro’s tone strongly reminded Sanji of something, but the moment was gone in a second.
“I’m not making fun of it.” He said, grinning. “I’m enjoying it’s… charm. OH.”
“Now what charm are you enjoying?” The swordsman said smugly as he watched Sanji’s head fall back and breath quicken.
“Unnnnnh…. Ah ah sssshhhhi- oh”
Zoro slowly stroked his hand up and down Sanji’s cock, making a tight ring with his thumb and forefinger just below the head.
“Ah-“ Sanji licked his lips. “Oh god… that feels… ah…”
Zoro lightly teased Sanji’s heavy sac with his other hand. He drank in the sight of Sanji splayed before him, panting, head thrown back and eyes closed. It was obscene the way Sanji’s hips thrust into his hand.
Zoro didn’t know how much more of this he could take.
“Sanji…”
Sanji licked his lips again.
“I’m going to do something you might not be comfortable with right away…” He said carefully, but continued to stroke and tease.
“Do anything you want-“ Sanji said breathily. “I trust you.”
That was quite a change in attitude, but Zoro didn’t question it.
“Just tell me to stop or slow down.”
The hand not busy with that throbbing member slowly moved down, caressingly gently as he went, and massaged slowly between the blond man’s crevice.
Sanji’s eyes flew open and he sat up partially but Zoro met him in the middle and sped his other hand’s motion. “Trust me.” He whispered before devouring Sanji’s lips.
Sanji groaned and his hips became somewhat frantic, thrusting into Zoro’s hand and forgetting all about the other one.
Zoro massaged Sanji’s tight entrance with one digit eagerly. He could feel the heat and the tension coming off the chef in waves. Not wasting the moment he gently thrust one finger in and Sanji quickly tensed.
“Ah what -“
Zoro shushed him and placed small kisses on his forehead.
“Just give it a second and relax. Lay back and I promise I’ll make it feel good.”
Sanji didn’t understand, but he willed himself to relax slightly. He was on the edge just then but was shoved back quite a bit when he felt the painful invasion into his body. He focused on the sweet, hot ministrations from Zoro’s right hand.
Ministrations that were abruptly stopped. Sanji looked at him.
“Do you think you can put your legs over the sides of the tub?” Zoro asked, a little breathless. He was feeling desperate and extremely turned on. He could feel the blood pulsing in his cock and all he wanted to do was bury it inside the gorgeous man below him.
Sanji complied but felt completely exposed, even though most of him was submerged. Zoro continued pumping his member. Sanji was in bliss again, until that exact moment when Zoro curled his finger and he went from bliss to ecstasy.
“ZORO!” His entire body trembled at Zoro’s finger brushed past something inside Sanji he sure as hell never knew was there. Zoro leaned over to kiss him. “See? I told you I’d make it feel good.” He began pumping that one finger in and out of the blond, aiming to hit that spot each time. Sanji hardly even noticed when he put the second one in, but he DID notice when Zoro started the scissoring motion. His erection promptly withered.
“Come here. I promise I’ll stop if you tell me to, but this will help.”
Sanji was unsure as Zoro took him back to that position they were in earlier. Again Zoro took him in his mouth and curled his fingers just right. Sanji gripped the edge of the tub tightly so that his knuckles turned white. He moaned and writhed before his instinct eventually kicked in and his hips began thrusting into that hot, welcoming mouth. When he felt Sanji was appropriately distracted enough he began pumping his fingers in and out of that tight entrance again, slowly at first, then quickly. Soon Sanji couldn’t tell if he was thrusting forward or backward, trying to get more of that hot, wet sensation for Zoro’s mouth or that amazing, bone-watering feeling from his fingers.
Zoro slipped the third and last finger in and Sanji lost himself. Water splashed freely from the tub as Zoro took the other man’s full length into that sweet mouth and hummed, shoving his fingers into that tight entrance hard and hitting that spot repeatedly. The chef’s whole body went taut and he cried out as he came in hot, thick spurts into the swordsman’s mouth.
A limp Sanji slid back down into the tub and on top of Zoro, unable to do anything just yet except breathe.
After a moment he composed himself, and realized with horror that he had just… in Zoro’s mouth he had just-
Zoro’s alarm grew as the look on Sanji’s face grew to be something near terror, disgust and embarrassment.
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t help myself- I didn’t mean to… not in your… I didn’t-“
“Oh. Ah hah… that’s not… abnormal in er… such… cases.” Zoro said, for once he was the one reddening. “Some don’t like it, but it’s a matter of personal preference. Some ah… pull out before, some just spit it out, some swallow.”
Sanji looked shocked. “Oh. And you… swallow?”
Zoro scratched his head. “Not usually, but I… well, in my experience, mostly I’m the one… receiving that. I don’t have much occasion to offer the service to anyone else, I tend to… be the one in charge. But I don’t mind it.” He grinned at Sanji. “You taste good.”
Sanji might have died just then, but something hard and urgent was pressing into his stomach. His humiliation doubled.
“What about you? This whole time-“
“Come on. The water is getting cold, let’s dry off.”
“But you-“ Sanji didn’t want it to be this way. He wanted to be able to give Zoro the same mind blowing pleasure Zoro had given him.
“Sanji, a bath tub isn’t the only place to have sex. In fact I hear the bed is quite popular these days.”
“Oh.” He smiled sheepishly.
They stepped out of the tub and grabbed some towels to dry themselves off. As Sanji suspected, Zoro didn’t make any move to dress himself, so he didn’t either. He simply followed Zoro into the room and onto the bed. Zoro plucked something from the desk and placed it out of Sanji’s reach.
“What…” But Zoro was kissing him again, and again he was in an entirely different world.
You said you would come back to me.
You better not be lying.
Sanji’s whole body, covered in a fine sheen of sweat, trembled. He was ragingly hard again and his hands tightly gripped the silk bed sheets.
Zoro had his knees pushed all the way into his chest, but the strain wasn’t what was making him tremble. Poised at Sanji’s tight, pink entrance was Zoro’s thick member. The object Zoro had removed from his desk was the very salve Sanji had prescribed to him for the old wound on his hand. Now he used it to slick Sanji’s entrance, and slathered it all over his cock.
“This is going to feel a lot different than three measly fingers.” Zoro warned. “Tell me to stop if you need me to.”
Sanji nodded, not breaking eye contact.
Zoro slowly pushed the head of his swollen cock into that tight, slick entrance. Sanji gasped and his eyes watered. He willed himself to do as Zoro had told him. Relax and push out. Relax and push out. Relax and –
Zoro groaned in agony. This was too much. Not only had he been celibate for going on four years now, but Sanji was so, so incredibly tight and gorgeous and everything he ever wanted.
Sanji whimpered below him. Zoro had been right. This did feel a LOT different than three fingers. But he bit his lip and bore it.
The swordsman called upon years of training and iron control, and slowly pumped just the head of his member in and out of that red and abused pucker. He saw Sanji visibly relax and once more he reached over and kissed him.
“Here I come.”
Sanji could only nod.
Zoro gave it one good thrust and he was momentarily lost. His hands gripped Sanji’s hips with bruising force as he buried himself to the hilt inside of his lover. His vision swam red and his body was on fire.
What brought him out of it was Sanji’s rapid breathing. He had noticeably softened.
“Relax, relax. Slow breaths. Just tell me to stop-“
“NO. Don’t… I just… need a second… oh god…”
Zoro would have given him forever if he asked for it.
After a moment Sanji nodded again, and Zoro slowly began again, trying with everything he had not to just pound into the man below him and make him scream his name.
Soon Sanji’s whimpers turned into moans as the burning and stretching was overpowered by Zoro’s immaculate aim for that sweet spot inside of him. Sanji began to buck against Zoro’s thrusts and Zoro felt him grow hard again.
“Ah ah Zoro-“
That was what Zoro had been waiting for. He let his iron control slip a little, and he sat back on his knees, bringing Sanji’s hips to his own so he could watch his thick shaft pump in and out of that tight entrance with more speed and force than before. The friction felt amazing. It was so forbidden, so hot, he had needed this for so long. With a free hand he pumped Sanji’s own shaft, which was weeping by now.
Sanji cried out again and writhed beneath Zoro, completely lost. He had to have this. He couldn’t go a day without this from now on, let alone his life. There was nothing better than this. It was heaven, it was hell, it was… too much and never enough.
He cried out for more.
And Zoro eagerly complied. He pumped faster and harder, the sound of their skin slapping filling the air, accompanied by Zoro’s labored breathing and Sanji’s moans.
He would lose it soon, but first he wanted something.
The swords man pulled out, much to Sanji’s dismay.
“What are you-“
“Roll over.”
Sanji didn’t even hesitate, though he did wonder. But something in Zoro’s voice didn’t invite argument.
He felt Zoro roughly spread his legs and lift him at the hips. He was completely and utterly exposed to the swordsman. His face burned hotly. His face was buried in his arms, his ass lifted in the air and his legs spread wantonly.
Zoro mounted his lover from behind and Sanji arched his back as even more sensations exploded over his body. Zoro reached around and gripped Sanji’s erection, pumping it in time with his harsh, frantic thrusts.
With his free hand Zoro molded Sanji’s perfect, round ass. He rode him obscenely and he reveled in it.
Sanji needed only to think of what Zoro might be seeing from this position and he came again into Zoro’s hands and on the sheet. His whole body tensed and he choked out Zoro’s name.
Zoro gave three almost cruel thrusts before his own body clenched and released his seed into his lover’s body. He had never come this hard before and he noticed only after they had collapsed together onto the bed that he had marked his lover with copious amounts of his essence. Enough to overflow, at any rate.
They lay there breathing for quite some time. Sanji didn’t think he could ever move again.
Zoro had enough presence of mind to keep himself from falling asleep.
“Are you okay?” He asked, his voice surprisingly thick. He cleared his throat.
Sanji tried to mumble an affirmative, but failing, he simply nodded his head.
After a while the chef mustered the strength to turn over and face his lover. He ran his hand over his face. He closed his eyes.
You can’t leave me.
Sanji opened his eyes. “I won’t leave you.” Sanji replied.
Zoro raised an eyebrow. “Uh… that’s good.”
Sanji furrowed his brow. “What? You’re the one who said it.”
“Said what?”
“You just said… you just said, “You can’t leave me.””
Zoro looked at Sanji. “No, I didn’t.”
Sanji sighed. “That’s twice now. Are you playing a joke on me?”
“No Sanji. I really didn’t say anything. Did you hit your head or something?”
Sanji’s world began to get fuzzy again. Zoro’s voice dimmed and was replaced with another.
I may not come back, but you can’t leave. You can’t die before me. I’m supposed to be waiting for you there. All-
Sanji felt himself being shaken.
“Sanji! Talk to me!”
The chef’s hearing returned to normal and he saw a very worried looking Zoro hovering over him.
“I’m okay. I… I couldn’t see very well for a second. I heard a voice- how did you… when did you get dressed?”
Zoro looked at him critically. “I don’t know. I’ve been out too. Apparently we’ve both been out for a few weeks-“
“What are you talking about?” Sanji shook his head.
“The battle. There was some poisonous gas or some shit, Chopper found a cure though-“
“What battle? What gas? Who’s Chopper?”
Zoro’s eyes widened.
“CHOPPER GET IN HERE NOW!”
Sanji sat up. “Zoro what the hell are you yelling for? Who is Chopper and why…” Sanji looked down at himself. He was dressed in clothing he couldn’t for the life of him recognize. He was in a room he didn’t recognize, in a bed he didn’t recognize. He tried to get up but his legs were extremely weak.
“Zoro where the hell are we?”
Zoro looked like he was about to panic. “We’re on the Going Merry, Sanji. Where else would we be?”
“Bed! We were just in bed! And we were naked! How the hell did we get here and why are you looking at me like that!? You were there!”
And if things couldn’t get any stranger, a little reindeer wearing a big pink hat walked in. And what’s worse, he spoke.
“Sanji, you should be laying down-“
Sanji promptly passed out.
When he woke up he was alone. It was dark. He was in the same room wearing the same clothes. Zoro was nowhere to be found and neither was the little talking reindeer. That much was an improvement.
He looked around. He seemed to be… in a bunk. There were several hammocks and some bedding stacked against the walls. There was enough light shining through to locate the door, so he got up, a little unsteady on his feet, and went to it. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but he was damn sure going to find out. All he wanted was to be back in Zoro’s bed and very naked.
When he opened the door he found to his terror that he was on a small ship. To either side of him he saw nothing but ocean. There was no one on the deck that he could see. And by this time he began to think of ways to escape, for all the explanation he could come up with was that he’d been kidnapped for ransom or something.
He tiptoed around to the back of the ship. There were… trees. Trees on a ship. Dazed, he went to the front of the ship but quickly hid. There were a bunch of figures on the front of the ship. His captors, probably.
He backtracked and chanced going into a door that was up some stairs. It was a kitchen.
Suddenly he felt himself calm down quite a bit. He inhaled deeply, taking in all the smells.
Oi marimo, get the hell out of my kitchen!
From now on I’m putting a lock on the fridge. You eat when I feed you, got that? – But Sanjiiiiiii….
Sanji-kun, can you please fix me some tea? – Melloriiiine! Of course I will!
Images flashed before his eyes and suddenly he realized his cheeks were wet with tears.
He felt a sob tear through him as the last remnants of the dreams in which he had lived for all the years of his life slipped away.
Most forgotten in the haze of waking, and all the rest blurred.
Eventually all would be forgotten.
He gasped for breath. His chest felt tight. He sobbed in desperation, “No no no please I don’t want to forget-“
“Sanji?”
“No please-“ He fell to his knees, his sobs uncontrolled, unguarded. He felt the very real pain of the death of his loved ones. Zoro was gone. Nami was gone. Robin, Ussop, Ace, Luffy all of them, at least as he had known them. In their wake was a man who didn’t love him but in fact hated him, and a crew that didn’t know him. Not who he was… in dreams.
Chopper approached him carefully. “Sanji, you need to lie down.”
“Chopper you don’t understand.” He said through gritted teeth. “How long was I asleep?”
“Three weeks.”
“Do you know what I did for three weeks Chopper? While I was in that hammock? Do you have any idea what happened to me?!” He was screaming.
His head swam and suddenly he felt his stomach drop. He felt sick.
“Sanji you’re not better yet. Please come lie down and you can tell me all about it.” The little doctor had tears in his eyes. He was afraid for his friend.
Sanji let himself be led miserably back to his hammock. There he unfolded most, but not all of what he remembered. He lamented how unimportant it seemed now. He knew the moment he realized what had happened that not only would he forget the dream, but he would stop caring too. But he still cared enough in these moments to let it tear him apart.
“Is your life here all that bad, Sanji? We love you, we care about you. We’re you’re friends, just like in your dream-“
“No Chopper. It was different. I… was… I was in love with someone. And now it feels like they’ve died. Like it was a real person who I loved and they just… died.”
“I think you’re just overstressed Sanji. I think these dreams may have been a side effect of the poisonous gas. Once you really wake up and you see daylight and the rest of the crew you’ll feel better. Do you want me to go get Nami-“
“No! No, I don’t want to see her! I don’t want to see any of them I just want to go back!” He balled his fists and slammed them against the wall. The door to the bunk opened and Zoro stepped in.
“Chopper, Luffy wants you.”
Chopper looked at Sanji, worried. “I’ll be back later to check on you. Zoro you should be lying down too. You’re not better yet either.”
Zoro gave the reindeer a cold look as he left.
Sanji looked away, knowing he’d regret that Zoro saw him this way later. This was why he wanted to go back. This ridiculous game he always had to play with people, making sure he never appeared one way or another to the wrong people. Fighting with Zoro constantly over the most ridiculous shit, kissing up to Nami’s in return for nothing but dismissal and abusive comments, no appreciation for his hard work. The only person he felt he could tolerate in both worlds was Luffy.
Zoro hovered for a moment before approaching Sanji.
“Go away.”
“I had them too.”
“What?” Sanji looked up.
“Dreams. I had dreams too. I’m still… disoriented. I don’t quite remember… how things go here. I… if I had the choice at this moment, I’d go back. But like the little furry thing said… that feeling is starting to go away. I think we’ll be back to normal in the morning.”
“I don’t want to be back to normal.” He snapped. “I want to go back. I want to remember everything, I-“
“So do I.” The swordsman said with surprising emotion in his voice. “I feel like… everyone is dead. And I’m the only one left. Or that I’ve died and gone to hell.” He shrugged. “In my dreams, everyone was there, but they were different. Except that little guy… animal… thing.”
Sanji sniffed. “Mine too.”
Zoro took the hammock next to Sanji.
The swordsman scratched his head. “What was yours like?”
Sanji hesitated. “I was… in another world. It was a lot different than this one. I… was a chef, like I am here, but I cooked for a king. Or used to. I retired from that position officially. I was just a courtier.”
Zoro’s face paled considerably.
“Sanji?” He whispered. “What was I in your dream?”
“A swordsman. Heh, you used to be a peasant but…” Sanji’s throat became thick. Talking about it made him remember what little he still could. It hurt. A lot. The man sitting next to him could barely stand him and was constantly shooting him dirty looks and insulting him. In the morning it would all be back to morning. Baka marimo and shitty cook.
“But-“ He began again.
“But I became a noble after winning a fencing tournament.”
“What? How did you know that?”
Zoro ignored him. “How did your dream end?”
“Answer my question first!”
“Just tell me how your dream ended and I’ll tell you kuso co-… just tell me.”
“I… don’t remember.” He lied.
“You said it when you woke up. We were in bed.” Zoro said, his eyes hard, piercing Sanji’s gaze. The swordsman took a deep breath. He could still be wrong. They could have had very similar dreams, after all. “Your name is Sanji du Cuire-“
Sanji made a strange sound that sounded like a strangled gasp.
“And we were lovers at the end.”
The door burst open. “Sanji! You’re awake now too! When can you cook again, Nami sucks!”
Nami slapped her captain upside the head.
The rest of the crew spilled in and Sanji cringed. He still didn’t want to see them. This was too much.
“Luffy he needs rest! Everyone out!” Squeaked an indignant Chopper.
“Aw I just wanted to see him! Get better Zoro and Sanji!”
Robin smiled at him, Nami waved, Ussop stuck his tongue out and Chopper gave him one last wavering look before shutting the door behind them.
Sanji laid back down, thoroughly miserable again.
Then he shot back up.
“We were lovers? You had the same dream as me!?”
But it was too late. The swordsman was snoring.
The next morning proved Chopper right. Sanji felt a lot better, and he apologized for his crazed moment to Chopper. He felt bad that he ever preferred some dream life over his life on the Going Merry, and happily cooked a lavish breakfast for everyone, even though Chopper insisted he take it easy.
Zoro had been gone when he woke up, and he was nowhere at breakfast.
He lounged in the company of his crew, still feeling a little strange. He tended to the ladies on the deck as Robin read a book and Nami suntanned. Soon the weather turned cloudy and misty and it began to sprinkle just a little. Robin and Nami returned to their room and the boys were playing cards in the kitchen.
Zoro, he found, was in the crows nest, looking out into the thick mist.
He didn’t know why he went up to the nest without hesitation. He had known that morning exactly who he was and who everyone else was, except Zoro. So relationships went on as normal with everyone except Zoro. He reached the top of the crows nest and climbed in. Zoro seemed undisturbed.
Talking and thinking about the dream still made him a little sad, but mostly he began to realize how ludicrous the whole thing was. He and Zoro? Laughable. Admittedly, he wasn’t completely opposed to men, but he was completely opposed to men like Zoro. Grumpy muscle heads with no taste and most of all no respect for women.
So he started the conversation. “Look, I’m sure by now you’re feeling the same way I do. It was a ridiculous dream, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t know about you, but I feel ten times better about everyone and everything this morning so… you don’t have to hide from me or be weird. We’ll just forget it.”
Zoro didn’t say anything for a long time. He just continued to look out into the mist.
Eventually he said, “If that’s how you feel.”
“Well yeah. I’m sure you feel the same way too.”
Zoro raised an eyebrow. “You’re seem pretty sure about that.”
“SAAAAAAAANJIIIIIII! LUFFY’S IN THE FRIDGE AGAAAAAAAAAIN!”
Sanji jumped down and proceeded to deal out punishment.
So it would seem that the story ended there.
Or Sanji thought. But many nights later, after Sanji had forgotten all of his dreams except for the facts about Zoro, the chef began to have dreams again. Regular dreams in the sense that he only dreamt for the night, but all the same in the sense that there he was, back in France, with Zoro. They were lovers still and every morning he woke up with a momentary sense of loss that engulfed him completely.
Zoro’s attitude had not changed. While he didn’t become aggressive towards Sanji, he remained distant, and almost cold. His attitude improved with the rest of the crew, especially towards Chopper, which was well enough. As long as he didn’t bother Sanji, he didn’t care.
But that was what proved to be the problem. He did care. It was like Zoro was waiting for something. Waiting for Sanji to do something. Always when they made eye contact Sanji could almost hear him saying, “Well? Are you going to do it or not?”
His dreams were days, sometimes weeks long, though upon waking he found it was only the next day on the Going Merry. It was problematic in the fact that not a night went by that he didn’t dream he and Zoro made love. He knew he was talking in his sleep, and he always woke up horny. He fooled himself into thinking he was frustrated, but some nights he couldn’t wait to fall asleep. He found excuses to nap during the day when he could manage it.
He’d been snapping at people for waking him up from those naps. It was getting important now, Zoro was just a week away from facing Mihawk. Unfortunately he was now stuck up in the crow’s nest on watch, and no matter how much he wanted to know what happened, he wasn’t going to fall asleep on the job.
“Mmmm.” Sanji sighed in content. “Are you going to have energy enough left for tonight?”
Zoro grinned into Sanji’s neck, inhaling the scent deeply, treasuring it. They were tangled up in a mess of sheets, sunlight glittering through the window, splashing warm rays onto the bed.
“It’s a different sort of energy. I could fuck you all day and still take Mihawk.”
“And this whole time I thought I was helping you train. I wouldn’t have spent so much time in this bed had I known otherwise.”
“So that’s how it is, is it?”
Sanji smiled. “No. I’m a rotten liar.”
“I know.”
Suddenly Sanji stopped smiling. “I have faith in you Zoro, but I won’t lie and say Mihawk doesn’t terrify me. I saw him in the library yesterday. No one would go near him. It’s like he had this invisible gate around him…”
“Did you talk to him?”
“…”
Zoro looked intently at his lover.
“Yes.” Suddenly his mood was light again. “I sounded like a terrify child. I stuttered and my voice broke.” He laughed.
Zoro shook his head. “What on earth were you going to say to him?”
“I don’t know. I’d never heard his voice, so I was curious to know what he sounded like. If he was polite or arrogant. You know- things like that.”
“And what did you find?”
“He said I was the first person to speak to him besides the King himself. He said he was impressed.”
Zoro’s gaze narrowed. “And were you impressed by him?”
“Oh I suppose.” He replied loftily. “He’s dark, handsome, impressive. His sword is the biggest I’ve ever seen… But then, he only has one. You have three.”
Zoro rolled his eyes and punched his lover in the arm, while Sanji just laughed.
“Oi, wake up, it’s my watch.”
Sanji looked at Zoro, who’s expression was suddenly stern. “What?”
“Wake up!”
Sanji’s head connected with the mast and he sat up quickly. Disorientation was only momentary, but grief again set in. His head was throbbing and he was pissed about having fallen asleep on his watch, and even more so about having been woke up. By Zoro, who looked just as happy to see him as Sanji was to have been woken.
He got up without a word, just happy to know he could go straight to sleep when he got to his bed.
Zoro mumbled something to him that he didn’t quite catch.
“What?” He said irritably.
“Do you think I’m ready?”
“For what?” He had no idea what the idiot swordsman was going on about, he just wanted to go back to sleep.
Zoro looked at him. “Never mind. Get lost.”
Sanji was too eager to find his bed to pay the swordsman any mind.
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