Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s infuriating.

The blonde practically levitates around the kitchen, effortless in the way he prepares not only the crew’s lunch, but already starting on dinner, too.

Spices mixed with nicotine drift through the air, over to where he’s lying on the Galley’s couch by the window, arms crossed over his chest as he watches the cook work.
It’s become routine at this point, not that either of them has brought it up; they sit in silence for hours like this, soaking up the rare peace between them it brings.

He can’t remember how it began, or who was the first to seek out the other’s company like this, but it didn’t really matter.

Now, whether it was sanji jotting down recipes while he trained up in the crowsnest, or, like today, he’s slowly falling asleep to the rhythm of their cook chopping up ingredients.

The crew had noticed it, because of course they did. The Thousand Sunny was by no means a small ship, but it wasn’t big enough to outrun his crew’s penchant for gossip— especially not the witch, always looking to meddle, and make a quick buck while doing it.

A week after they’d started this unspoken agreement, she’d cornered him up in the crowsnest, a glint in her eye and an unmistakable smile on her face that could only spell out thousands added to his ridiculous debt.

“Can I talk to you for a minute, Zoro?” She asked, popping up from the trapdoor.

Sighing, he continued his reps, refusing to look in her direction. “Do I have a choice?”

She lifted herself up from the door, sitting with her legs crossed. “You already know the answer to that, right?” She tapped her chin with her finger, seeming to think for a moment. “Of course, I could leave now, but I doubt you’d be able to pay back your debt after all the added fees.”

He rolled his eyes, setting down his weights with a loud thud on the wood below. Sitting down, he finally glares over at the red head, who’s looking as unbothered as ever.

“Get it over with— what do you want?”

Her smile seems to widen, and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t make him uneasy.

“You know I’m not into men, right?”

what?

“…what?”

She shrugs, as if saying that out loud is the most normal thing in the world. ”Is that an issue?” She raised a brow, shooting a pointed glare his way.

“You know I don’t give a shit about stuff like that.” He huffs a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Good, because I feel the same way,” she leans forward, eyes burning holes into him. “And if, say, anyone else on this crew was like me, I would be there for them…especially if they’d want to talk about it.”
She’s speaking in a tone like he’s a child, as if her words have another meaning he just isn’t picking up on.

He blinks, brow furrowed.

“…Right.”

There’s a few moments of tense silence where he can see nami’s face slowly shift into something in between disbelief, frustration, and quiet acceptance. She sighs, shoulders slumping. “Well, that’s all I had to say. Just…keep it in mind, okay?” She drops down through the door, making her way down the ladder.

“Sure, yeah.” He grunts, rising to his feet as he picks his weights back up. “If anybody else is like you and is into girls, I’ll be there for them.”

Nami makes a noise that could only be classified as an infuriated squawk as the door above her closes.

That was months ago now, and since then, he’s had an odd feeling about their conversation, as if it were itching at the back of his mind.

if anyone was like her?

His hands twitched from where they sat on his chest, brain reeling for some kind of hidden meaning in what Nami had told him.

Sure, he’d seen plenty of people who had the same preference as their navigator did— he hadn’t been lying when he said he didn’t care about shit like that; it wasn’t any of his damn business who likes who.

His problem, apparently, was the way she’d been looking at him when she’d said it.

Like she knew something he didn’t.

It made his teeth clench at the memory, face twisted in a scowl.

After all, the hell did she know? No, he’d never been in a relationship with anybody, but that didn’t mean he had some crazy secret! he’d just…been busy.

He can remember people over the years offering to buy him drinks at bars he can’t remember the names of now, but he’d just drink the booze and be on his way.

He just has better things to do with his time.

The sound of a plate being set down to his right makes him crack open an eye to see, being met with the cook towering over him as he sets down a plate of onigiri, a small glass of juice to the side.

“Had some leftover rice from the dinner prep, so I figured—“ he gestures towards the plate, chewing on the cigarette in his mouth before casting his gaze away. ”Just eat it.” he mumbles before stalking back behind the counter.

He hadn’t even realized he’d been hungry. He can feel his face grow hot and he doesn’t even know why.

”…Thanks.” he mumbles, mouth full of rice.

The cook fights back a grimace at the display, but doesn’t say a word, only looking at him quietly.

A loud crash from on deck breaks both of them from whatever odd silence had washed over them, sending them both rushing outside to see what had caused the noise.

With his swords drawn, and heat emanating from sanji to his left, they jumped down to the lawn, only to see the rest of their crew looking over the side of the ship, talking to somebody out of view.

“Hey! What the hell’s going on?” Zoro called, lowering his swords, but not putting them away.

Luffy looked back, smiling brightly. “We crashed into somebody!” He laughed, looking back down.

Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose, storming over to where their captain sat. “What do you mean we crashed into somebody?! we’re the only ship for miles! how did you manage—“ the blonde goes quiet, eyes wide.

Zoro can hear it now, coming from below—

A voice.

“Holy shit! Sanji, is that you?!” it calls up, echoing as the man yells to be heard over the waves.

The swordsman makes his way over now, looking down to see the owner.

There, in a small dinghy, stands a man, seemingly around their age, but his hair shone almost white in the sun.

“You know this guy, Sanji?” Usopp looked over to him, whispering so he wasn’t heard.

The cook’s shocked expression soon turned into a wide smile, cigarette barely hanging onto his lips. “Apollo!” He’s almost halfway dangling off the edge of the ship now, and it’s making Zoro nervous. “What the hell are you doing here?! Where’s your crew!” He shouts down, the gravity about to send him tumbling until usopp and chopper both pull him back.

“Do you mind if I come on board? Seems like this dinghy’s at the end of her life, and I'd rather not talk while treading water!”

Before Luffy has a chance to wholeheartedly agree, Zoro puts a hand on his arm, whispering to him. “We don’t know this guy.”

Their captain blinked, pointing over to the blonde who was still happily chatting with Apollo. “Sanji knows him.”

Zoro growls, rubbing his face with his hands ”that’s not—“ he’s cut off with the sound of Luffy’s laughter, stretching an arm down to wrap around the silver haired man and pull him on board without another word.

Getting a closer look now, he looked just fine to Zoro, for seemingly being lost alone at sea. His hair was messy, but nowhere near the dry mess the saltwater should've made it. Not only that, but he looked strong— at least he was strong enough to lift their cook in a hug.

“It’s been years! last I saw you, you were still in that stuffy uniform back on the baratie!” He laughed, pulling back as he gripped the cook’s shoulders. “Now you’re in a suit, what happened?!”

Sanji shook his head, shoving the other’s shoulder half heartedly. “‘Got good enough I could wear whatever the hell I wanted while I cooked, that’s what!” He turned back to the rest of them, most of whom were staring in silent confusion at the both of them.

“You guys, this is Apollo! He used to practically live at the baratie when I was younger.” Another gentle smile took its place on Sanji’s face.

As Apollo stepped forward, hand on the cook’s shoulder as he waved to them, Zoro could feel his chest twist with something nasty.

It was only now he realized he’d never put his swords away.

The other man seemed to notice too, eyes flickering between Zoro’s sword held tightly in his hand and his face. He leaned over to Sanji, cupping his hand to whisper something into the blonde’s ear— something which apparently made the cook’s attention hone in on him immediately.

“Hey, Mosshead, put the damn weapons away! We have a guest here!”

Zoro ignored him, cutting his gaze over to Apollo. “You didn’t answer the cook’s question from earlier.” He bites out. “You had a crew. What happened to them?”

Sanji’s about to send a kick in his direction when the man in question steps forward, placing a hand on the other’s knee to stop the attack before it has a chance to start.

“I get it, Zoro. You don’t trust me— that’s fair.” He shrugs. “To answer your question, my crew…” he clenches his jaw, casting his gaze down. “My crew died fighting the navy.”

Behind him, the cook’s eyes go wide, shoulders tense.

“The only reason I’m alive is because my captain knocked me out and sent me adrift in a spare dinghy we had.” His voice is low now, just barely audible to the rest of them.

“Apollo—“ sanji says, hand gently taking one of the man’s wrists into his grip. “I’m sorry.”

The white haired man looked back, a sad smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. “No, it’s okay. Comes with the job, right?” He looked back towards zoro, who was now silent. “I promise I’m not here to cause anyone trouble— but if you’d like me to leave, I can do that.”

A choir of various ”No!”s and ”please stay!”s
Erupted next to zoro, who only rolled his eyes.

“I’m sorry Zoro’s such a numbskull, Apollo! Please stay! I wanna hear more about kid Sanji!” Luffy pouted, clinging to the man’s leg, with usopp on the other, babbling something through tears about how brave he was going through all of that

Sheathing his swords, he turned to walk away towards the crowsnest, head thrumming in irritation.

“Zoro! Say you’re sorry so Apollo will stay!” Chopper called after him, making him stop in his tracks.

“…Whatever. Do whatever you want.” He looked over his shoulder, everyone looking at him expectantly— except for nami.

The witch had a different expression. One that was somehow asking a billion questions of him telepathically.

He shook his head, ignoring her and making his way up the rungs of the ladder to the crowsnest.

Chapter Text

It’s a few hours later when there’s a knock at the trapdoor, interrupting his meditation and bringing a scowl to his face.

He refuses to open his eyes to greet the person at the door, but if he remembers the puzzled look on the red head’s face from before, he could probably guess who it was.

“Are you going to be pouting up here all day?” Nami asked, raising herself into the crowsnest.

His eyes snapped open, wide with indignation.

“I’m not pouting—!” he yelled, standing from his spot on the floor. All the while, Nami only smiles at him, an eyebrow raised.

“Really now?” She huffs a laugh, moving to stand and meet his eyes, hands on her hips. “You’re not upset at all?”

Zoro scoffed, looking away and crossing his arms against his chest. “Why would I be upset?”

There’s a long moment of silence between them before he looks back to where Nami stood, only to be met with raised eyebrows and an unimpressed glare.

“So you’re just fine with Sanji’s friend being here?” She nodded towards the window of the crowsnest as she moved to sit down on the bench behind him. “No Ill will towards him at all for…any reason?” She leans forward, the look in her eye still unreadable.

He sighs, moving to lean against the mast. “Am I supposed to be friends with a guy I’ve never met in my life just because he knows the cook? I don’t give a shit.”

“Ah, okay…you know I was just making sure, because well, to me at least—“ she places a hand over her chest, leaving back against the bench. “It looked like you wanted to kill the guy when he hugged Sanji like that!” She laughed, crossing her legs. “But I guess I was wrong, right?”

Zoro narrowed his eyes, looking over her shoulder to the deck below.

From here, he can see Apollo playing cards with Usopp and chopper, laying on his side in the lawn. He laughs at something their sniper says, throwing his head back.

Nami waves a hand in front of him, making him blink in confusion, and glancing down to where he’d been previously staring.”Seriously. What’s your problem?”

He steps away, face pinched in thought. “He crashed into the ship.”

She looks down to where apollo is again, then back towards him. “Yeah?”

“The cook said it himself— how did we hit each other, we’re the only other ship for miles, and he somehow crashes into us and knows curly? Bullshit.” He scoffs. “You and I both know damn well this is weird.”

She looks down, picking at a thread on her skirt. “Weirder things have happened to us, right? Plus, even if something was wrong, what would he do? He’s alone on our ship. He’s cornered himself at this point.”

Zoro runs a hand down his face in exhaustion, sliding down the mast to sit on the floor. “I don’t trust it.”

“Wouldn’t you trust sanji, though? To know if this guy was a threat to us?” She leaned forward, elbows balanced on her knees. “You fight with him, sure, but you know he’s reliable.”

He huffs a sigh, closing his eyes as he tries to block out her presence, content to ignore her and take another nap, when his outstretched leg is kicked.

”Hey!”

“Get up, idiot— at least eat dinner with everybody. You can’t stay up here avoiding Apollo the entire time he’s here.” She glares down at him, eyebrow twitching as she steps over him towards the trap door.

Almost on cue, the minute she opens the door, he can hear Sanji ringing out from below.

“Nami swan~! Dinner is ready!” He calls, voice warbling with affection that makes Zoro roll his eyes.

Nami looks back at him, raising an eyebrow and nodding her head down towards the deck in question.

He sighs deeply, grunting as he pulls himself from the floor and follows her down.

—

In the galley, it’s chaos, as usual.

Voices overlap each other as the crew tries their best to settle into their seats, their captain being loudly dragged away from the food that’s yet to be served.

Zoro’s in a seat at the corner of the table, leaned back with his swords leaned against the chair. Watching idly from the sidelines, he can see Apollo approaching from the corner of his eye before he hears him speak.

“Just wanted to ask— where does Sanji usually sit?”

His voice is almost drowned out from the noise surrounding them, quiet with a smile on his lips as he leans over Zoro’s shoulder to talk with him.

Zoro shifts away from the other man, glaring daggers his way. “The cook doesn’t sit with us.”

Apollo blinks, brows furrowed. “That’s shitty— he does all that work and you don’t let him sit with everybody?”

“No—“ he straightens in his seat, crossing his arms. “It’s that he can’t, it’s that he won’t.”

Another voice chimes in from his right, a wash of calm in comparison to his own thinly veiled irritation.

“Sanji-san prefers to stay in the kitchen in case anybody were to need anything else during our meals; we’ve tried to get him to sit with us in the past, but he insists he’s happier this way.” Robin says, sipping on the tea that had been set out for the ladies beforehand. “We’ve tried nothing short of violence to get him to take a break, but it seems nothing works on our cook.”

Apollo hums, standing up straight. “Well, there’s always the chairs by the kitchen island, right? I guess i’ll keep him company over there.” He smiles bright, and walks towards the stools, leaving Zoro and Robin behind.

“They seem to be close. It’s like they were never apart in the first place.” Robin speaks softly, raising her teacup to her lips and looking down to her book once more. “Don’t you agree, swordsman?”

He can hear the slight smile in her tone, and it makes his eye twitch. ”Who gives a shit.”

Now, only a few feet away from him, Apollo is leaning against the kitchen island, laughing along with something the cook had said before gesturing wildly, hair moving across his sun kissed shoulders as they converse.

His eyes narrow and he barely registers how hard he’s gripping his own arms until he hears a hushed ”uh…Zoro?” from across the table to his left.

He blinks, and his grip relaxes, looking over to Usopp, who’s looking at him with a worried expression.

”What?” he growls out unintentionally, making the other shrink into his seat with a subdued ”nothing!” being squeaked from him.

A plate of steaming food is placed in front of him before he’s able to respond, the scent of a floral cologne hidden under a heavy veil of nicotine invades his nostrils as Sanji leans over his shoulder to put it down on the table.

“I know you’re still in a pissy mood, Moss, but don’t bring down the room, would you?” He grumbles next to him, close enough he can feel the blonde’s warmth, even through the suit he wears.

He’s almost too distracted to notice Apollo across the room from him, still sitting at the kitchen island, this time with a strange look in his eyes.

After a brief moment, his eyes shift into that of recognition, if only for a second before steeling his expression into how it was before, all smiles as Sanji returns to the kitchen.

Their meal continues uninterrupted after that, the usual chatter loud and borderline unintelligible to an untrained ear; that is, until Apollo spoke up once more.

“So, where were y’all heading to before I drifted in your path?” He’s leaning with his back against the counter, facing the table as he picks his teeth clean with his fingernail.

“That’s right— you were stranded without a log pose, weren’t you?” Nami asks, leaning her head against her hand. “You really were just drifting without a clue out there, huh?” There’s an unusual tone to her voice that gives Zoro pause, making him tear his eyes away from the silver haired stranger and over to her.

He sighs, running his hand down his face. “It broke during a storm a few days ago. Thought I was as good as dead after that—“ he laughs, shaking his head. “But I was lucky enough to run into you guys!”

Nami’s eyes narrow slightly, smile tight. “Yeah. Lucky.”

Apollo shifts uncomfortably in his seat, but he doesn’t cast his gaze away. “Well, wherever you’re all headed, maybe you could drop me off there.” He shrugs, leaning his elbows back against the counter. “Can’t be leeching off your kindness forever, now can I?”

“Nami Swan did mention a large town on the island we’re approaching—“ Sanji begins, taking off his apron before he’s interrupted by the redhead in question standing from her seat.

“You must be mistaken, Sanji. You’re probably thinking of a previous island we went to—“ She drums her fingers on the table, thinking. “I haven’t looked into our next destination just yet!” Her smile is now entirely forced.

To her left, Luffy whines, resting his head on the stack of empty plates in front of him. “Namiiii—! you told me they’d have food—“ a swift punch to his head cuts him off.

Sanji tilts his head in questioning.

Another voice pops up, this time it’s Chopper.
“Didn’t you say yesterday we were approaching Talessi, Nami?”

The navigator chokes on an infuriated roar as her hands twitch at her sides.

Apollo sighs with a smirk, barely perceivable to anybody who hasn’t been watching him like a hawk the entire time.

Zoro rests his hand on the swords at his side. “How many days were you on that dinghy for?” He nods towards him, catching both Apollo and Sanji off guard.

For his part, the other man shrugs, gaze turning into something far away and distant. “I was unconscious for a while, so I can’t be sure, but somewhere around…” his brows furrow. “A few weeks? A month?”

Zoro looks him up and down, and raises a brow. “You look just fine to me.”

Apollo stiffens, fists clenched. ”I can survive.” He bites, glaring daggers back at him.

Sanji finally pipes back up from where he’s been standing confused on the sidelines the entire time. “Okay, that’s enough—” he steps forward, in between the two men. “You’ve hit a new goddamned low, Marimo—“ he growls, barely holding himself back as he leads Apollo towards the door of the galley. “C’mon. You can take my bed while I have the first watch—“ he speaks softly to the other, glaring back at zoro with murder in his eyes.

The silver haired man looks on the verge of tears, and Zoro almost feels bad.

Then, as soon as the door clicks shut, Nami speaks again.

“He’s lying.”

Everybody barring Robin and Zoro turn to her in shock, and a cacophony of questions rise around her before she quiets them down.

“There hasn’t been a storm in weeks.”

Chapter Text

“What, so he’s been lying the entire time?” Usopp pipes up among the cacophony of voices at the table, voice wavering with nerves. “Did his crew really get killed…?”

Zoro stays quiet, instead opting to cast his gaze down to the floor below.

“All I know is that more and more things in his story aren’t adding up. This could mean he’s trying to pull something on us, or he’s keeping something else under wraps for whatever reason.” Nami speaks, leaning her arm against the table from where she’s standing. “Push comes to shove, we corner him and make him tell the truth, but I doubt Sanji would like that plan.”

The crew around the dining table nods, murmuring their agreement.

“Why not just bring this up to the cook? You were the one saying all that crap today about trusting him.” Zoro shrugged, finally looking up at Nami from where he was leaning against the kitchen island. “He’ll have to figure it out eventually, might as well pull the bandaid off now.”

The room is silent, staring his way, until Nami sighs.

“You’re right. Sanji deserves to know that something's wrong.”

“No shit.”

“Which is why you’re going to tell him.”

Zoro chokes on his spit, coughing into his fist. ”WHAT?! You know damn well he wouldn’t listen to a word I’d say!”

Nami leans back, putting her hands on her hips, already decided.

To her left, Robin speaks up. “He may not always get along with you, swordsman, but If it comes to it, and you approach him as a member of this crew concerned about our safety, he will listen.” She takes another sip of tea. “And whenever the truth is revealed, for better or for worse, I’m sure you’ll be happy to say ‘I told you so’.”

He scoffs, grabbing his swords and storming from the kitchen. “You just don’t wanna do the dirty work, this is horse shit.” He mutters under his breath as he leaves.

—-

Approaching the men's quarters, he can hear a hushed conversation between Sanji and Apollo, barely heard over the soft sounds of waves rocking the ship.

He reaches the door and peers through the small crack left open, a small sliver of light from the hall spilling in and illuminating the two inside, sitting on Sanji’s bed.

“I can leave, just give me the word.”

“I already told you, you don’t need to leave— The moss is just dense. Things…haven’t been so peaceful lately, so He’s just worried.”

Zoro clenches a fist, choosing to ignore the comment about him.

“That’s an understatement. He looks like he wants to kill me.” Apollo huffs a humorless laugh, hanging his head. “Escape the Marines and the first ship I come across—“ he claps his hands together. “Head cut off.”

Sanji pushes his shoulder lightly, resting his elbows on his knees. “It’s not like that. He…” The blonde clicks his tongue, taking another drag of his cigarette. “He doesn’t want you dead, for fucks sake. He’s nicer than that.”

Zoro blinks, taken aback at the candidness of how Sanji speaks about him when he thinks he’s out of earshot.

Apollo leans against the wall, looking at the other with a tinge of fondness in his eyes. “…you haven’t changed, have you?” He smiles, crossing his arms.

“What do you mean?” Sanji replies, looking over to him.

“You remember when we first met?” He asks, sitting up.

“Sure. You ran out of vitamin D sources on your ship and you all showed up half-dead with scurvy on our doorstep. Scared the shit out of me.”

The silver-haired man laughed, shaking his head. “You kept us fed, and saved us at a low moment, Both you and your old man.” He nudged the cook’s shoulder with his foot. “But Zeff still scared the shit out of me. Thought he wanted to kick my ass for even talking to his kid— but you never showed that same fear. You knew he was just worried about his son.”

Sanji’s hand trembles with the cigarette, lip quivering.
“It’s just how he is.” He breathes a sigh, rubbing his face.

Apollo scoots closer now, reaching close to tuck the blonde’s hair back, his face unobstructed.

Zoro has to bite back a reaction to it; from where he’s standing, he can’t see much, but he can make out both of his eyes, the blue shining in the light.

Has he ever seen his entire face like this?

Sanji blinks, turning towards Apollo in surprise, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

“You see the best in people. I’m happy that hasn’t changed about you.” His hand trails down from where he’s keeping the blonde locks tucked back, cupping the others face gently.

Zoro can feel a hollow feeling in his stomach as Apollo begins to lean in, making him avert his gaze but before he can make sense of the awful feeling in his chest, do something about it, he hears Sanji speak up.

“Apollo, I can’t— I’m sorry.”

Looking back at the two of them, Sanji has a calm but firm hand on the other’s shoulder, keeping him at a distance.
Apollo, for his part, looks surprised, before his face shifts into something calmer, a sad smile crossing his lips.

“Nothing to apologize for, Sanji.” He sits back, sighing. “Can’t say I never tried, can I?”

The cook’s brows are pinched in thought as he brushes his hair back into place. “It’s not anything you did— I’m just…” The words die in his throat before he can articulate them.

“Interested in somebody else?”

Sanji’s visible eye goes wide, face flushing fully. “I-I…!” He sputters, indignant. “I never— what the hell gave you that impression?!”

Apollo lets out a laugh, slapping the other’s back. “C’mon, Goldie, it’s not like you’re hiding it— not well, at least.”

He shrinks in on himself, averting his gaze from the silver-haired man.

He leans over, nudging him with his elbow. “Lighten up, if he’s as dense as you say he is, then he shouldn’t have figured it out yet, right?”

Sanji tugs at his bangs painfully, hanging his head. “Hopefully he never will.” He looks to the ceiling, blowing out a plume of smoke before putting out his cigarette on the side table.

To the cook’s left, Apollo looks pained by his words, emotions unconcealed on his face.

As he stands, Zoro takes a step back from the door, as quietly as possible while Sanji begins to approach the door.

Before he can think about it, he dips behind the corner leading into the hall, out of sight.

“If you need anything, come get me in the Crowsnest, okay?” Sanji calls over his shoulder to Apollo.

Sanji, wait—“

From where Zoro is standing, their voices are distant, but he can still hear the desperation in the man’s voice.

Peering behind the corner, he can see Apollo holding Sanji’s upper arm in a grip.

“Apollo? What—“

The man in question seems to fight with himself, releasing the grip he has on the other man, hand shaking with the effort it takes.

”…nothing.” He breathes, stepping back. “I’m sorry.”

The moment is over before it’s even begun, and the door to the men's quarters is shut once more, a confused-looking Sanji left outside.

Already feeling like he’s intruded on far too much, Zoro quickly makes his way to the deck of the ship, away from whatever he’d seen downstairs.

The cool night air lets him breathe again, scrubbing his hand down his face in exhaustion.

none of that was his business, damn it!

He looks to the Crowsnest above, sighing.

They still needed to talk, and all Zoro got from being a snoop was the fact the cook was into somebody—
When wasn’t he? That’s nothing new.

He steels himself as he marches over to the ladder to the Crowsnest.

Just like a bandaid.

Rip it off.

Tell the cook his friend is lying to his face about everything—
shouldn’t be so hard.

Right?

Chapter Text

It’s dark all around him and his body aches where it lays atop splintered planks of wood.

In the distance, over the sound of his heart pounding in his chest, he can vaguely hear screams and gun fire around him. His mind screams at him to move, to protect his crew, his family, but his limbs refuse to move from where they lay limp on the ground.

Why can’t he move?

What happened?

*

Waiting for the cook to make his way up to the crowsnest shouldn’t make him feel this antsy.

His leg is bouncing as he sits on the bench, elbows leaned against his knees.

there’s no way this doesn’t end in a fight. he thinks bitterly, rubbing his hand through his hair as he sighs.

Robin was right, in the fact that Sanji would listen if he needed him to— it showed the most when they had to fight alongside each other; powerful kicks and deadly slashes playing off each other like a rehearsed waltz. This however made no difference in their interactions outside of fighting; zoro was never the most articulate with his words, preferring to act as opposed to speaking his mind.

Sanji was barely any better; he’s an open book when it comes to certain things, but there are times Zoro can see the blonde force a smile, bite his tongue, and continue on as if nothing was wrong.

Maybe that's why his chest felt so tight after seeing Apollo with him; they way they spoke with each other with so much ease.

He lets out a long sigh, casting another glance towards the entrance to the crowsnest.

Does he not feel that way with us? At home?

Why does this stranger get to know more about their cook than they do— Than he does?

Sure, apollo knew the cook as a child, but they’ve seen him fight— they’ve eaten his cooking, lived alongside him— doesn’t that count for something?

The creaking of footsteps coming up the rungs of the ladder barely registered to his ears before the door swung open, revealing Sanji, anxiously chewing on a cigarette as he pulled himself up into the room.

He startles when he finally catches a glimpse of the swordsman next to him, groaning when he realizes who it is.

“Get the hell out, moss— I’m on watch tonight and I’m not in the mood for your garbage.” He spits, the venom in his voice only softened by the exhaustion also laced within.

“‘M not leaving.”

Sanji freezes, turning back to face him. “Excuse me?”

“We need to talk.” He meets the other’s gaze, the blonde’s
Eyes wide with irritation. “And if you have a problem with that, take it up with Nami— she’s the one who sent me up here in the first place.” He stood, crossing the room with his arms crossed.

The blonde’s eyes flicker over him, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides anxiously. “What’s there to talk about? If you’re here to apologize for antagonizing Apollo at dinner, he’s in the bunks— tell him you’re sorry, not me.”

“I’m not here to apologize for anything—“ Zoro grits his teeth, trying to choose his next words carefully to keep the conversation on track and, for once in his life, away from a fight.

“At dinner, when Apollo mentioned that he was caught in a storm, that tipped Nami off; she says there hasn’t been a storm in weeks—”

Sanji goes rigid, hands now clenched tightly into fists. “What, so that’s all it takes? One wrong word and he’s a liar?” his hands tremble at his sides, shoulders hunched.

“Damnit, cook, that’s not what I wanted to make this about—“ he sighs, rubbing the palms of his hands over his eyes. “I know he’s your friend, but shit isn’t adding up!” He drops his hands, stepping closer. “For once in your life you need to trust me—“

“Bullshit!” Sanji yells, gripping his shirt in his fists. “Trust you?! You want me to just trust you with this?!” He pushes the swordsman away, hanging his head.

“Sanji—“ Zoro bites his tongue, trying to calm his growing frustration snarling in his chest.

“Shut the hell up!” The blonde grips his hair harshly, eyes shut tight. “You want me to think Apollo is here to hurt us— why? because he went through something awful and everything afterwards is a haze to him?”

Even at this distance he can see the tears welling in the other man’s visible eye, his gaze burning with anger and pain.

“Why should I not believe him, you bastard?!” He steps closer, his voice lowering to a dangerous level. “He told me what happened to him, to his crew— his family.”
His shirt is gripped tightly in the cook’s normally delicate hands, the force of their grip making them shake. “You don’t seem to get it, Zoro— I knew those people too.”

His hands twitched at his sides, fighting the urge to tear the blonde away from him— a small voice at the edge of his mind wanting to pull him closer, if only to make those precarious tears in the blonde’s eyes from falling.

“Who the hell do you think you are to throw accusations around like they mean nothing? do you know what it’s like— to lose everything you know, only to be left alone and starving?”

He speaks before he realizes what he’s doing.

“I was starved for a month by the marines when I joined Luffy.”

His voice is tight, but it seems to pierce through the man across from him— his eyes widening ever so slightly, breath catching in his throat.

“I damn well know what it is to starve, and what it can do to you.” He points to the window of the crowsnest. “And Apollo looks fine.”

“Wh…what do you mean—“ Sanji's voice is small, barely above a whisper. His hands once curled in his shirt with anger now tremble with panic. “You were starved?”

“I’m not bringing it up for pity, cook— I’m telling you so you know I’m not just talking out of my ass.” He puts a steady hand on one of the hands curled in his shirt. “Listen; You don’t wanna fucking hear this, but something’s going on with Apollo. Doesn’t have to mean it’s something bad— but he is hiding something.”

Sanji drops his hands, sighing.

“He was…shit, he was my first friend. He was the only other kid on the baratie—“ he grips his hair again, shaking his head. “If I wasn’t learning to cook from Zeff, I was running around with Apollo.” His eyes seem to gloss over, mind far away. ”I just…got to be a kid with him.”

He looks up, locking eyes with zoro.

“How am I supposed to be okay with the idea he might be trying to hurt us— that he might’ve lied?”

Lazy tears fell from the blonde’s eyes, making him quickly wipe them away, sitting down with his head in his hands.

“Am I just that stupid? That I could believe a lie so blatant?”

For a moment, all Zoro can do is watch helplessly, mind supplying replies, but none reaching his lips.

He grit his teeth instead, walking over to sit next to the cook.

“Don’t let it get to your head, curls. You care too much for your own good sometimes, but that’s just how you are.” He clears his throat, leg bouncing. “People just don’t always deserve it.”

Sanji gave a humorless huff of laughter, leaning back against the window. “I know.” He brought one leg up onto the bench to lean his head against his bent knee. “You should give me some pointers on how to be a jackass, maybe it’ll help.” He mumbled, voice lacking it’s usual bite as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

“…you don’t have to be there if you don’t want to be.”

“Hm?”

“When we confront him about everything. You don’t have to be there if it’d be too much.”

The blonde seems to consider this for a moment, chewing on the cigarette before shaking his head.

“No. I need to be there. I want to know if anything he told me was true— I…” he bites his lip, hands clenched. “He told me everything he remembered before being knocked out; he just…he had this look—” his voice broke, cutting him off. ”you can’t just fake something like that.”

Another beat of silence.

For a few moments that seemed to stretch on for hours, they just sat shoulder to shoulder, quietly breathing.

Then, he heard it; the distant boom of canonfire.

“What the—“

They both shot up from their seat, but were sent stumbling when the crowsnest lurched to the side violently—

Then they were weightless.

The crowsnest was falling.

Chapter Text

He could barely pry his eyes open past the blood covering his face.

what happened?

His ears were ringing, a blinding pain in his skull making a whine tear itself from his throat.

is everybody okay…?

He can faintly feel a rough calloused hand grab his arm and begin to pull him from his resting place, dragging him across debris.

He should be thrashing, screaming at the contact, but he’s too weak— even breathing becomes more difficult for him as the seconds pass.

“Get him in cuffs with the others— we don’t know if he’s got a devil fruit or not, so we shouldn’t risk it.” A gruff voice he doesn’t recognize shouts from a distance, and before he can try and make sense of what’s being said, he can feel the cold metal of a cuff being placed over his wrist.

Where’s my family…?

—

It’s barely a second between weightlessness and their violent contact with the deck below, and neither had enough time to fully brace for impact.

He only had enough time to pull the cook out from the path of a dumbbell that had been sent flying the blonde’s way—
After that, the explosion of noise and shrapnel was all either one knew.

Glass from the windows all around them shatter, sending shards flying through the air, along with splintered wood and other debris.

As he hit the wood of the deck below, his mind went blank from the force his head hit the ground, losing consciousness for a few moments before a sharp pain made his eyes snap open.

The area around him was dark, all sounds on deck muffled by the debris burying him.
Forcing himself to look over his shoulder, he could just barely make out a large beam of wood spearing through his side, pinning him in place further.

He gripped the wood and shards of glass beneath him, tearing the palms of his hands open as he tried to force himself up to no avail—

Where the hell is Sanji…?

He forces himself onto his knees, the weight on his back making him shake, the added pressure to the wound on his side ripping a pained growl from his throat.

Moonlight peeks through the remains of the crowsnest, giving way to the sight of fire and the stark white uniforms of the Navy.

He reaches back for the swords still attached to his hip, but his legs give out right as his fingers shakily brushed the hilt of wado ichimonji.

Crashing back to the floor, he can feel more blood pooling beneath him, soaking more of his shirt.

The noise of the rubble being disturbed must’ve tipped somebody off, because the next thing he could hear past the violence outside was a marine’s voice shouting.

“Pirate hunter Zoro’s still conscious!”

If he were slightly more lucid, he’d laugh at the hint of fear he could hear in the officer’s voice. Instead, as he once again tried to force himself to stand and join the fight, his hair was gripped by a rough hand, pulling his upper body painfully from the floor, the barrel of a gun pressed against the base of his skull.

“STRAW HATS!”

his eyes went wide.

he knew that fucking voice.

In front of him, his crew froze in different stages of fighting the various marines scattered across the deck, looking over in his direction, faces ranging from horror to barely restrained fury.

Robin raised her hands across her chest, preparing to attack, before the gun was pressed harder against his skull.

“You’re not fast enough to kill me and save him, Robin— don’t try.”

Apollo’s voice is strained, and with their proximity, he can hear his grip readjust on the gun.

“Just do what they say and nobody has to die here.”

The raven haired woman’s hands clenched into fists, hands shaking as they dropped to her sides.

To her left, Luffy stands, face dark as he silently glares at Apollo, eyes burning with a barely contained rage.

His mind is reeling.

He can barely think through the numbness in his abdomen and the ringing in his ears— he can barely even feel his legs from where they’re crushed underneath heavy lumber.

Why the hell weren’t they kicking this guy’s ass?

He blinked, trying to get rid of the blurred vision plaguing him.

how much blood am I losing?

More silence permeates the deck, and the silver haired man grows more anxious behind him, hands trembling with their grip on him.

He can hear the hammer be pulled back before he shouts again.

“Last warning! Put down your weapons!”

Luffy hangs his head, shadow completely covering his face now.

“Do it.” He orders, sitting cross legged on the ground.

Zoro’s eyes widen.

He coughs, blood splattering across his chin. “Bullshit! You can—“

”Zoro.”

His jaw snaps shut, eyelids growing heavier by the second

Brook’s sword clatters to the floor without a second thought— At their captain’s side, both Nami and Usopp pale, grips on their respective weapons tightening before they lock eyes with the swordsman, throwing their items to the ground barely a second later.

It’s a flurry of motion as the marines surround their crew, cuffing each of them and forcing them to their knees in front of him.

“Don’t—! This isn’t fucking worth it, damn it!” He yells, thrashing in Apollo’s grip— the movement pulls something internal on his injured side, and his vision goes white for a horrifying moment, making him go limp in the other’s hold.

He blinks back awake, cuffs being forced tightly onto his wrists and swords torn away from his hip.

Through his haze, he can hear Apollo’s voice call out to who he assumes is a Navy officer.

“You’ll treat his wounds, right?”

’The hell does he care? He’s the bastard who got them in this situation in the first place.’ he thinks bitterly.

“You’re getting what you want from this deal of ours,” another voice replies, one Zoro doesn’t recognize. “Feel free to Consider everything outside of our agreement none of your concern.”

He can hear heavy footsteps approaching, and the stench of chewing tobacco invades his lungs.

His chest tightens, and he can’t think of why—

He blinks his eyes open, looking up to the navy officer—
The bastard had to be high ranking, right?
His head reels, trying to focus his thoughts away from whatever spiral of nonsense they were in.

“…You’ll keep up your end of the deal, right?” Apollo’s voice shakes with desperation, gun rattling in his trembling grip. “I did everything you asked— You’ll set them free?”

The man laughed, tobacco flakes stuck in his yellowed teeth. “I’m a man of my word, aren’t I?” He stepped back, allowing other marines to take Zoro from the other’s grasp, ripping him from the rubble.

He’s thrown over to the others, chopper yelling out in panic before he tries to put pressure on his wounds the best he can with cuffed hooves.

Apollo averts his gaze, gun clattering to the ground at his side as he breathes a shaky sigh of relief. ”thank you.”

As Zoro lies on the deck, fighting to stay awake, he can see the rubble behind Apollo shift, just barely.

The navy officer turns away from him, facing their crew, his triumphant smile falls, a furious scowl replacing it.

“Where the hell is he?!” He roars, making the silver haired man flinch behind him. “YOU!” He whips around, grabbing Apollo by his throat painfully.

”What—?!”

“I know he was your in for the straw hats, but I never thought you’d try and hide him from us.” He tosses Apollo across the deck, making his head slam into the railing painfully. “Do you want your ‘family’ to die? Is that it?” He picks up the pistol from where it dropped on the floor, stalking towards the other man.

“Cause I can make that happen.”

Putting the gun against Apollo's head, he kneels to his level. “I can make you watch them all be executed, if that’s what you really want— but you’re not going to keep us from getting their cook.”

“N-no— I swear! He was in the crowsnest when you shot it down, I made sure!” His eyes are wide, filling with tears. “Please, just let me dig him out and—“

“We have some very important people who are looking for him specifically—“

”I know, I know—“

”SO GO GET THE BASTARD OUT ALREADY!” he screams once more, dragging Apollo over to the pile of rubble once again and pushing him down into it.

Apollo trembles for only a moment more before he begins throwing rubble to the side as quickly as he can, knees cut open from where he’s knelt on the shards beneath him.

Zoro fights his body’s pleas for sleep, desperately searching the rubble for any sight of the blonde from where he lay.

”Come on, COME ON—!” Apollo pleads, anger seeping into his desperate cries.

Zoro’s body is cold, and he feels horrifyingly heavy where he lies motionless, but as his vision begins to spot with darkness, the scent of burning wood reaches him—
As his consciousness fades, he sees it;

A flaming leg shooting out from the rubble, hitting Apollo in his chest and sending him flying into the wall behind the rest of the crew.

Chapter Text

It’s pitch black outside, the only sound outside being the gentle waves of the sea, muffled by the clatter of dirty dishes being collected and scrubbed.

His eyes begin to droop closed without him realizing, wobbling on the step stool he’s currently using to reach the sink in front of him.

A firm hand on the top of his head startles him awake, almost making him drop the soap covered plate he’d been holding.

“You’ll break the dishes jumping around like that, brat!”

He breathes a sigh of relief, both at the sound of the old man’s voice, and keeping a firm hold on the plate.

He yawns, leaning over the sink to rinse the suds away.
Rubbing his eye, he reaches for another dirty bowl before his wrist is smacked away.

“Ow! Hey— What did I do?!” He yelps, turning to face Zeff with as much anger he can muster in his small, exhausted frame.

“You’re dead on your feet, eggplant.” He nods toward the sink, still fairly piled with dishes. “Besides, you’re a better cook than a dishwasher.”

Sanji’s brain is too sluggish to know if that’s a compliment or not— either his face gives him away, or the amount of time it’s taking him to reply, because the old man answers his question before he’s able to ask.

“Not a compliment. You’ve got tiny hands and can’t even reach the good soap without a stool.”

“HEY!” His face flushes red in embarrassment, brows furrowed as he stomps his foot, pointing up to the other.
“My hands are perfectly fine, you old geezer!”
His insults are made less effective by another yawn forcing its way out.

Zeff rolls his eyes before lifting him up into his arms by his upraised hand, adjusting his hold so Sanji’s weight is balanced on his hip.
“Good publicity for the restaurant— setting a record for the smallest hands in the world, eh?” He huffed a laugh, allowing the boy’s hands to smack at him uselessly.

“You’re the worst…” he mumbled, already nodding off with his head slumped against Zeff’s shoulder.

He clicks the light of the kitchen off, about to head upstairs when he hears a loud, frantic pounding on the door downstairs.

His grip on the small boy in his arms tightens.

***

Everything hurt.

Was his head cracked open? Is that why he couldn’t move?

What happened to him?

What happened to—

His ship, his home, covered in blood and flames;
He can’t breathe past the opaque black smoke surrounding him— it’s killing him, choking him to death.

He can hear people calling for him in desperation, pain lacing their voices.

Where is everyone?

His eyes shot open— bad idea.

Everything was too bright, piercing his brain even further.

He shut his eyes tightly, trying to adjust to the light as his heart pounded in his chest.

Slowly peeling open his eyes, he looked around, trying to gage down from up from his position on the floor.

He wheezed out a breath, flipping himself onto his stomach.

Blinking away the fog in his mind, he realizes his hands are tightly cuffed, the sea stone restraints scraping along the stone of the cell he’s found himself in as he attempts to raise himself from the floor.

His arms shake with the force it takes, but he’s able to maneuver himself to sit against the wall, panting in exhaustion.

If they kept me alive, then everybody else should be here too, right?

He grits his teeth and closes his eyes, trying to block out the pain that seems to permeate his entire body; from what he remembers, their ship was attacked in the night, catching them defenceless and woefully unprepared.

He hopes this is as bad as injuries go for his crew, but in the back of his mind, he knows it’s not true.

The last things he can remember before being knocked unconscious were further proof of that, even if they were fragmented into bits and pieces.

A loud metal scraping of a heavy door being opened snapped him from his daze, his heart picking back up even if he was in too much pain to try and flee to the back of his cell to hide.

A heavy waft of tobacco entered the cellblock before the man did; an imposing wall of a Navy admiral, the hair by his temples thinning, shirt stained around the collar, and a large cigar hanging from his lips.

He’s been a pirate his entire life, and he’s been actively hunted by the navy along with his family for just as long– He’s seen the likes of Smoker, another Navy officer, and even Crocodile, in the papers. It takes a special kind of man to make smoking look suave, or even just plain cool–

This wasn’t that.

His face twists at the stench that only becomes stronger as the man approaches the bars of his cell, a lower level officer dragging along a chair to set down in front of him.
The man lets out a yellowed smile as he sits, plucking the cigar from his mouth.

“I hear you have a very interesting deal for us, Apollo.”

***

“Go upstairs and get under your bed– no matter what, until I come get you, do not leave, do you understand me?”

Sanji shakes in his arms, eyes as wide as saucers, clinging to his coat as he’s being set down.

“No– what about you? Why can’t you come with me?” his little voice warbles with unshed tears, eyeing the door over Zeff’s shoulder.

“This isn’t the time to argue, Sanji– go to your room while I deal with whatever this is.”

The blonde bites his lip, turning and running up the stairs as fast as his legs will take him.

Facing back towards the front door, which hasn’t stopped being pounded on by whoever was outside, he feels some of the tension in his body deflate.

walking over, he readjusted his stance, holding his breath.

“WE AREN’T OPEN! READ THE SIGN, IDIOT!” he yells, loud enough to be heard through the wall.

His eyes widened at the voice of a kid responding back, just as loud. “PLEASE! I can give you everything on my dad’s boat! Just let my family in, they’re sick!”

Zeff grit his teeth, getting closer to the door, despite his better judgement.

“What kind of sick, kid?”

There’s a pause, the sound of sniffling being muffled.

“I– I don’t know…? They have spots on them and yellow skin– they keep getting tired…their teeth are falling out, m-mine too.”

Hearing this, he let out a long sigh, quickly opening the door before he could think better of it.

In the light from the baratie stands a boy, no older than 11 or 12, the silver hair on his head caked in dirt, and face flushed with tears.
a little bit behind him is a limp body of a man, who Zeff assumes the boy had dragged out onto the deck from their ship.

“Let me have a look at you, boy.” he kneels, gesturing for the kid to come closer.

He takes a small step back, looking to the man behind him then back towards zeff, hesitation in his eyes.

“You pounded on my door for help, whether you like it or not, you’ve got it now. Get over here.”

Slowly, he steps closer, wringing his hands in front of himself, eyes downcast.

Zeff palms the top of the boy's head, angling his face to see better.

“You said you were losing your teeth, too?”

The boy nods, flashing his teeth.

“My dad says it’s because I’m still a kid, but–”

As he continues to speak, Zeff sighs. The boy’s gums are bright red, his face speckled with discoloration.

“No. you, and I’m assuming whatever idiots are on that boat of yours, have scurvy.”

Another pause.

The boy’s hands tremble, looking back towards the unconscious man.

“...is my dad gonna die?” he swallows, fighting back tears.

“How long’s he been like this?” Zeff nods towards him.

“A few months…”

He curses, standing.

“Bring him inside, I need to get things in order, so I’ll be a minute. You caught me in a good mood, kid. Don’t try anything while I'm gone.”

The kid nods quickly, running to the other man, gripping their shirt and dragging the limp body towards the door.
Making his way upstairs, he lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

Sanji’s in his room, nobody’s gonna take him. Nobody’s gonna hurt him.

He goes to open the door, only to find it locked

smart kid, he didn’t even mention that part.

He knocks firm, loud enough to be heard, but not to startle.

“Eggplant, come out, it’s me. Need your help with this.”

Silence.

He knocks again, louder. “Eggplant! C’mon, it’s safe now.”

He can hear the lock being undone, the door cracking open slightly to reveal a mop of blonde hair, a wide blue eye hiding behind it.

“...you came back.”

It’s small, barely above a whisper, like he doesn’t believe what he’s seeing is real.

“The hell you mean ‘came back’? You expect me to take care of this mess while you’re under the bed? C’mon, you need to gather oranges while I help drag the rest inside.” he waves Sanji to follow, turning to go down the stairs before the other can say anything.

“You know what scurvy is, eggplant?” he calls behind him.

“I– yes!” he snaps out of whatever daze he was in, tone irritated. “I worked on a ship before–”

“You worked on a luxury ship, kid. Not the same as this. You know how to deal with scurvy?”

Looking over, he can see Sanji nodding, determined. “More vitamin C in the diet, with fruits like oranges!”

Zeff ruffles his hair, stepping forward. “Good.” he rolls up his sleeves, moving towards the door. “Go grab some like I said, and anything else you know has vitamin C, I need to help get some Idiots inside.”

Sanji nods, running off without another word towards the kitchen.

Exiting into the cool night air, he can see the kid from before struggling with another body, this time of an elderly man, grunting from the effort.

“You got a name, kid?” he calls, grabbing his attention.

“My name’s Apollo!” he replies, before refocusing his efforts back on the limp man in his arms.

Rolling his eyes, he steps up, hauling the body into his own arms effortlessly and walking towards the door. “How many in your crew, Apollo?’

“Uh…” he counts on his fingers, looking at the sky as he thinks. “Eight, including me.”

“This is gonna take me a while, then.” he glances between Apollo and the kitchen, thinking.
“Go help in the kitchen. I got a kid about your age getting oranges for all of you.”

***

His side is on fire when he regains consciousness.

He bolts upright from the hard ground underneath him, a strangled scream stuck in his throat.

where is everybody?

where is Sanji?