Archive of Our Own

Being a spy wasn't as glamorous as the movies made it seem. In the movies, there were a lot of explosions and car chases, fancy gadgets and hot secretaries.

In reality, it was a lot of waiting. Waiting for transactions or secrets to be revealed. Waiting for targets to make moves. Waiting for the CEO host of a party to stop talking to all of the boring oil barons so he could go to the safe in his office to deliver the secret USB drive he'd gotten nearly two hours ago from a rich prince that contained the blueprints to an underground bunker where the prince was building nuclear weapons.

A lot of waiting.

But at least Sanji got to keep all of the clothes that his organization made for him. Currently he was disguised as one of the wait staff, milling about the party with a tray of seafood croquettes. Which were actually pretty good, because Sanji had definitely not tried one earlier.

Going as wait staff was a common but effective disguise. These rich people never paid too much attention to the workers at these events, noticing them as much as they noticed the furniture. Sometimes less if the host had impressive furniture. And they usually contracted out for catering which made pretending to be one of the waiters incredibly easy. Most of these luxurious catering companies vetted their employees a lot less than they claimed to their wealthy clientele.

Sanji really needed a cigarette. He fought his urge to smoke on jobs because the smell was sometimes too memorable. But being surrounded by all these infuriating rich people made his fingers twitch. Besides, despite what Nami said, going for smoke breaks gave him sufficient cover for disappearing.

He was just making his way back to the kitchen--the CEO was still talking to the fucking oil barons--when he saw something very bad. Across the room, standing beside some aging Hollywood star, was Roronoa Zoro of all people.

Sanji ducked into the kitchen before he could awkwardly make eye contact. If Zoro was here, that meant that his organization was not the only one after the drive. He needed to let Nami or Usopp know.

He dropped off the tray and told the boss that he was going for a smoke break. Nami was staked out on an opposite rooftop from this one, with a scope. She was trained on the safe in the office so she could see the combination when the CEO entered it eventually.

Once Sanji was outside, he lit a cigarette from his pocket, using the motion to disguise turning on the communication device in his cufflink.

"Bad news," he said as he took a puff. See? Smoking did have its uses.

"What's wrong?" Usopp said. He was in the same building as Sanji but on the floor below the penthouse. He was their technology and surveillance expert so he was in an empty apartment with all his equipment monitoring the cell activity from the party.

"The Straw Hats are here," Sanji said. Instantly he heard both Nami and Usopp curse, a harmony of swear words in his ear.

"Have you seen Luffy?" Nami asked. Sanji shook his head before he realized that Nami couldn't see him.

"I've only seen Roronoa Zoro but he can't be the only one here."

"If it's just Zoro, that's fine. You can handle him by yourself. But if Luffy shows up, we've got a major problem." Usopp and Sanji agreed. "Damn, that Nico Robin. She's always one step ahead of us."

In the modern age of spies, they weren't attached to specific borders or geographic locations. Now it was the specific interests of specific people, fueled by underground money. And Sanji wasn't high enough on the payroll to know where the money came from. He just showed up where he was told and followed orders. Then went home to his Parisian apartment alone, none the wiser.

But Nico Robin was an old name in this business. She was the shadowy figure that distributed most of the orders for the Straw Hats, but rumor had it that she was a spectacular spy in her own right. Even if Sanji had never seen her in person, he knew she was a formidable enemy.

Not like Sanji even knew the name of the person who gave him his orders. Nami did all of the communications with the higher ups. But according to her, he'd never be able to guess the face of the person who ran their organization, All Blue.

"Sanji!" Nami shouted. Sanji flinched at the sound. "You need to get back inside. The CEO is on the move." Sanji didn't need to hear anymore. He put out his cigarette and made his way back into the building.

He picked up a tray of champagne flutes and walked back into the party. Sure enough the CEO was finally making his way to the office. Sanji would wait until he returned before he'd duck back there and open the safe using the combination Nami learned.

"I thought I was mistaken," a voice behind him said, "but I'd know those curly eyebrows anywhere."

Sanji didn't need to turn around to know that it was Zoro who had spoken. But he did it anyway.

Zoro looked serious, as was his default expression from what Sanji knew about him. He wore a suit that was clearly tailored and looked expensive, but he wore it with a nonchalance that said he didn't really care about any of it. And Sanji wished he knew how Zoro kept his hair like that without gel or hairspray.

Sanji hated Roronoa Zoro.

They met on a job in London about three years ago. Sanji had been there, tailing some foreign diplomat who was believed to be carrying information on MI6 undercover operatives that he was looking to sell to the highest bidder. Sanji was supposed to follow him until he located evidence that the diplomat was gonna talk, then he was supposed to get the information first.

Zoro had beaten him to it. By the time Sanji had burst into the diplomat's hotel room, he and his guards were already bleeding and unconscious. And there, just sheathing his sword, was Roronoa Zoro.

And that was how this rivalry had begun. They often were assigned by their respective agencies to the same jobs, racing to beat the other to the target. Sanji wasn't keeping count but after Budapest last winter, Zoro might have been ahead.

"Don't blow my cover," Sanji hissed. He took a flute from the tray he was carrying and shoved it into Zoro's palm as a disguise for them talking at all.

"Relax," Zoro said, with a roll of his eyes. "No one has even looked at you twice. They couldn't tell you apart from any other waiter in this room."

Ouch. Sanji knew that Zoro saying that meant his disguise was every bit as effective as it was supposed to be. But to suggest that he was just any average guy did sting a little bit.

"Keeping an eye on me, huh?" Sanji asked. Take that. Sanji: 1 and Zoro: 0.

"You wish," Zoro said, taking a sip from his champagne. Okay so they were both back to zero then.

"What are you supposed to be anyway?" Sanji asked. He did a quick glance to make sure that the CEO hadn't returned from his office yet. If Zoro was here for the USB drive, then he'd need to make sure he moved before Zoro did.

Zoro smiled before he answered, like he knew his answer would affect Sanji. "I'm a male escort."

Sanji turned back to Zoro. "What?" He asked, louder than he should have. Thankfully, the only person who looked over was another waiter.

"Don't blow your cover," Zoro chastised. Sanji tensed his jaw to keep himself from telling Zoro to shove it. "The guy can't even get it up anymore so I'm just here to look handsome while he shows me off to all of these rich people. Appreciate the concern for my chastity though."

"You and your chastity can fuck off," Sanji said with a smile.

"Wonder what you'll be saying at the end of the night," Zoro said, and Sanji couldn't stop himself from picturing Zoro going home with some stranger, their bodies a tangle of sweat and skin and--

Sanji physically shook his head. What the hell had he been imagining?

"Because I'll be going home with the drive," Zoro said, by way of explanation to his earlier comment. But he had a glint in his eyes that said he could tell Sanji had been picturing something else.

Sanji opened his mouth to respond when his earpiece sparked to life. "Sanji, he's leaving the office. Move!"

Sanji avoided turning so as not to give anything away to Zoro. But the slight turn of Zoro's head told Sanji that he must be receiving intel from his own hidden communication device. Zoro's eyes met his and they broke apart, both making their ways to the back office.

Sanji handed out all the remaining flutes on his tray and ducked back into the kitchen. There was a secondary door that led to the hallway. Sanji carefully made his way there after depositing his tray on a counter. Once he was in the darkness of the hallway, he removed his vest and tucked it behind a statue. Now he looked much less like wait staff. If someone caught him, he could pretend to be a drunken guest looking for the bathroom.

He remembered the penthouse blueprints as he made his way down the hall. The office would be one turn and four doors down. He followed the path, being as quiet as possible. He heard a shriek and dove into a shadowed corner. There were several more sounds and Sanji realized that it was coming from a closed door on his right. Some of the party goers having a bit of fun.

Sanji made his way to the office door. He had Nami confirm that no one was in the room before he turned the handle. It was locked. Of course it was locked.

Sanji reached into his pocket and pulled out his small lockpick. Having the door be locked was an expected setback. He'd just need to move fast before someone saw him. He twisted the two pieces of metal until he felt the first pin give way.

He quickly set the rest and the door opened when he turned the handle. He shut it behind himself quietly. The office had large floor to ceiling windows and if Sanji squinted just right, he could make out a shadowy figure on the rooftop where Nami was.

He walked over to the wall length bookshelf. He pushed the edges of a large painting of a British fox hunt and felt the pressure release. It swung open to reveal a safe. Any good spy was a worthwhile thief.

"Nami? The combination?"

"0-1-1-9-9-7." 

Sanji tried the combination and the safe opened. There were a lot of papers, of various importance, along with some photos that Sanji didn't look at for more than a second. Underneath a black notebook was the thumb drive.

Just as Sanji grabbed it, he heard the door open. He ducked beneath the safe door to see who it was. Zoro shut the door quietly behind him. Sanji closed the safe and put the painting back where it was.

"Give me the drive," Zoro said. Sanji held it up tauntingly.

"This drive?" He asked. He put it in his pocket and braced himself for a fight. "You know you're gonna have to take it from me."

Zoro unbuttoned his suit coat and pulled a knife from a hidden sheath. He lunged and Sanji was there to parry. This was a dance that Sanji knew well. For every cut, stab, or thrust that Zoro made with that knife, Sanji was there to block, kick, or deflect.

They were both trained in combat and it was evident in the precise way they moved, nearly silent to avoid alerting any bystanders to their duel. When Sanji kicked Zoro hard enough for him to stagger, Zoro stopped himself from colliding with the bookshelves. When Zoro took advantage of Sanji's being unbalanced, Sanji was able to twist himself to avoid falling to the floor. This only worked for both of them if they kept it between them.

Zoro got a cut in on Sanji's arm, thankfully only tearing the fabric and not flesh. Sanji returned by driving his knee into Zoro's thigh. Before Zoro could go down, he lunged into Sanji and sent them both back. Luckily there was a very tacky chaise lounge there to cushion their fall.

Sanji's head hit the wooden arm and Zoro landed on top of him, knocking the air from his lungs. Zoro put the knife to his throat and Sanji stilled.

"Give me the drive," Zoro said, voice gruff as he panted. Sanji reached up and touched the side of his head. His fingers came away bloody. He must have hit his head harder than he realized.

Zoro turned Sanji's head and looked at the blood. He hissed and asked Sanji a question but Sanji couldn't hear as the room started to spin. Zoro grabbed his face with his hand.

"Where's your communicator?" He asked again. Sanji lazily raised the arm that had the communications device in his cufflink. Zoro grabbed it and brought it to his mouth. "Your man's down. He needs a medic."

Sanji's eyelids started to feel heavy but before he could close them, Zoro cupped his cheek. "Stay awake, Sanji. Did they respond?"

Sanji shook his head and was immediately overwhelmed by nausea. He tried to sit up but Zoro was still practically on top of him. He felt Zoro's hands on his chest, then his sides, and his ass. Sanji was confused before he remembered why they were both at this party.

"Where's the drive?" Zoro asked him. Sanji just smiled, because concussed or not, he would celebrate his victory.

"Fuck you," Sanji said with as much glee as he could manage in the moment. Zoro sheathed his knife and stood up, hoisting Sanji with him. He pulled Sanji's arm around his shoulders and Sanji leaned his full weight against Zoro. He didn't even seem bothered by it, damn him.

"Tell me where the drive is so I can get you some help." Zoro started walking towards the door, bringing a sluggish Sanji along. But before they could even make it across the room, the door opened and in walked the CEO. Behind him were two bodyguards and a waiter that looked familiar to Sanji.

"Gentleman," the CEO said. "What are you doing here?"

"We came in here to fool around but my friend is just a little too drunk," Zoro said, the lie coming easily. And with the way his brain was tumbling around in his skull, Sanji felt drunk enough. "The other rooms were occupied."

"Funny," the CEO said. They stepped into the room and shut the door. Zoro didn't move, committing to his story. But Sanji did feel Zoro's hand tighten where it was resting on his hip bone. Zoro could probably fight everyone in this room but he couldn't do it with Sanji as deadweight.

One of the guards handed the CEO a gas mask. He put it on, along with the guards and the waiter. Zoro took a staggering step back just as one of the guards threw a canister. It hit the ground and immediately smoke started billowing out.

"Leave me," Sanji whispered. He was already falling unconscious. One of the guards rushed them and Zoro kicked him away.

"Not without the drive," Zoro said. Both of the guards rushed back in. Zoro backed up enough to sit Sanji on the couch before he blocked an attack from the guard.

The air was filling with smoke and Sanji tried to stand up. He couldn't see, either from the smoke or the concussion. He put out a hand to steady himself on the desk.

Sanji had done a job in Nairobi a few years ago and a grenade had gone off pretty close. He'd had tinnitus for nearly a year afterwards and in the immediate aftermath, he'd been disoriented and dizzy. This was as close as he'd ever come to a concussion before.

Sanji heard a thud and turned to find Zoro. Before he could move toward him, one of the guards forced him to the ground. He fell to the floor and turned his head to the side.

Zoro was there, eyes closed. He had a bruise already forming on his cheek. Sanji tried to reach out to him but his arm felt too heavy. As his eyes slid closed, the last thing he saw was the rise and fall of Zoro's chest.

-

Sanji woke up, arms and legs bound with rope, in a bathroom that looked like it was out of the first Saw movie.

His head was pounding as he sat up to look around the room. All of his joints hurt and his legs were cramping up. He turned his head but felt an instant jolt of pain.

"Nice of you to wake up, princess."

Sanji saw Zoro sitting behind him, arms and legs similarly bound to his own. He was resting against the wall and he looked bad. His clothes were covered in blood and his lip was busted in the middle.

"Fuck," Sanji said. His voice was hoarse and he wondered how long they'd been here. Wherever here was. "How long was I out?"

"I don't know," Zoro said. "But we've only been here for a day at most."

"Are you okay?" Sanji asked. Zoro stared at him for a long minute before he answered.

"I'm bleeding pretty bad," he admitted. "One of those fuckers is pretty good with a knife." Sanji realized that all the blood on Zoro's clothes must be fresh. "I tried fighting once I woke up but he got me good."

"Do they have cameras?" Sanji whispered. Zoro shook his head.

"I don't think so but I can't be certain." Sanji rolled around just enough that he could feel something jab into his side. The USB thumb drive. Sanji still had it in the hidden pocket of his coat.

He tried to maneuver so he could get his hands, which were tied behind him, under his ass and feet. But the knot didn't leave him enough extra room. He sighed in frustration and gave up.

He got to his knees and awkwardly shuffled over to where Zoro was. Zoro watched him, too hurt to even look amused. Sanji was panting by the time he collapsed against the wall.

"I still have the drive," he whispered as low as he could. Zoro looked at him.

"You should have just given it to me," Zoro hissed. Sanji rolled his eyes. He was about to respond when Zoro started coughing. He bent over in pain.

"Zoro!"

It was incredibly difficult to move around, bound as they were, but Sanji managed to hoist Zoro up with his own shoulder. Like worms, Sanji thought.

"You should lay down," Sanji told him.

"I don't want to pass out." Sanji just stared at him. He could tell from the way Zoro was clenching his teeth that he was in pain.

"I remember you using my radio to tell my team that I was injured. Nami and Usopp were monitoring that room. We just have to hold out." Zoro nodded.

"I missed my check-in so my team will know I'm MIA as well." Sanji nodded. Zoro looked at him again. "How well can you use your hands?" He asked Sanji.

Sanji started to respond with a smart remark but he changed his mind after seeing the way Zoro's eye lids closed before he snapped them back open. "They're numb a little but I think I can still use them. Zoro, you don't look good."

Zoro just nodded. He ignored Sanji's concern and instead said, "I have a knife strapped to my thigh. Do you think you can get it?"

Sanji looked at Zoro's face before looking down at Zoro's crotch. He looked back at Zoro. "What?"

"If you can't use your hands, use your mouth."

"I'm not gonna use my mouth!" Sanji said in exasperation. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Would you rather die in this shithole?" Zoro asked. Sanji tried to think of something to say but couldn't think of a good retort. He, in fact, did not want to die in this shithole.

"Where is it?" Sanji said, defeated.

"Left leg. You'll feel it."

"That better be the only thing I feel," Sanji told him. Zoro coughed out a humorless laugh.

"Yes, because getting a hard on in a bathroom with this much rusted metal during a life or death situation seems likely." Sanji shot him another glare before he maneuvered around to fit between Zoro's legs. 

It was incredibly difficult with his hands tied behind his back to undo the buttons and zipper on Zoro's pants. He took a steadying breath before he pushed his tied hands into Zoro's pants. He deliberately kept his hands to the top of Zoro's thigh to avoid any unwanted touching.

Eventually he felt the leather strap and moved until he felt the handle of the knife. He got a good grip and pulled the knife out. He turned the knife in his grip and began cutting at his bindings.

Zoro sighed but it sounded tired and Sanji turned to him. He looked pale and he was fighting to stay conscious. Sanji called his name and Zoro looked at him. He just motioned with his chin to Sanji's hands holding the knife.

"Finish cutting your bindings and then I'll cut mine."

"Don't die on me," Sanji told him while he got back to work on cutting through his bindings. Zoro smiled but it looked weak. Sanji had no idea how long he'd been out so he had no idea how long Zoro had been bleeding.

Just as Sanji felt the rope threads begin to give way, the door to the room opened and in marched two big guys who looked prone to violence. Sanji stopped his motions and instead hid the knife between his hands.

"Where's the drive?" One of the guys asked. Sanji didn't know what excuses Zoro had already given so he just kept quiet. The guy turned to Zoro. "You look bad, buddy. You should tell us so we can get you to a hospital."

Zoro laughed until he devolved into a fit of coughs. Sanji tried to not look worried. He and Zoro weren't even coworkers. If Zoro had let him walk out with the thumb drive, they wouldn't even be in this mess.

But Zoro had still tried to save him back in that penthouse. He'd radioed for help and picked Sanji up to carry him to safety. And Sanji admittedly felt better having him here, a familiar face while they went through this together.

"We don't have it," Zoro said, once he'd regained his ability to talk. "Like I said before, we don't know what you're talking about." So Zoro had feigned ignorance which while not believable, was probably better than outright admitting to their career in espionage. Sanji was trained to withstand torture but that didn't mean he wanted to.

One of the guys came over to Sanji. He grabbed Sanji's hair and gave it a tug. Sanji grit his teeth against the pain that shot through his skull. His first instinct had been to stab with the knife in his hands. But he still wasn't freed and the goons had guns that would make faster work of him than Zoro's knife could.

"Stop!" Zoro shouted. The other goon put a hand on his gun to prevent Zoro from doing anything, if he even could.

"I would believe that if our boss didn't have cameras in that room. We saw blondie open the safe and steal something. According to our boss, the thumb drive is gone." He gave another tug on Sanji's hair to reiterate his point.

Sanji caught Zoro's eye and knew what he would say before he said it. Zoro looked at both of the guards, trying to look as serious as he could. "I have the thumb drive," he told them.

"No, he doesn't," Sanji said immediately in protest. Sanji wasn't sure what Zoro's play was but as wounded as he was, they'd kill him if they hurt him anymore. It made more sense to let Sanji share the burden of any torture they had coming.

The guy holding Sanji by the hair looked between the two of them. He let Sanji go and Sanji fell to the floor. His head was pounding but he just watched the guy walk over to Zoro.

"You know what I think?" The guy asked, crouched over Zoro like this was a casual conversation. "We searched blondie for it while he was unconscious and didn't find it. Which means you could have it. Or you could be lying to protect blondie because he does have it, hidden somewhere." The man smiled sadistically at Sanji before turning back to Zoro. "Either way, I think starting with you kills two birds with one stone."

The other guy came over and together, they lifted Zoro between them. Sanji tried to pick himself up but he couldn't move fast enough. The men started towards the door, practically dragging a hurt Zoro between them.

"Leave him alone!" Sanji shouted. "I told you that I have it! Bring him back! Stop!" Sanji screamed Zoro's name but it only made the one guard laugh.

Sanji got one final look at Zoro's face before they shut the door. He worried it would be the last time he ever saw Zoro. 

Alive, anyway.

-

Sanji wasn't sure how long they had Zoro. As soon as the door was shut, he finished cutting through the bindings on his arms. He starting cutting through the bindings on his feet but left them intact. They were cut through enough that he could snap them with a good pull, but they would still give the impression of being tied upon a simple glance.

He thought about leaving. Just getting up and running, but he couldn't. Dead or alive, Sanji couldn't leave without Zoro. If he was alive, Sanji was his only hope. And if he was dead? Then he'd given his life to save Sanji and Sanji couldn't just leave without knowing.

While he waited, alone and silent in the dirty room, he planned his next move. He'd wait for them to either bring Zoro back or for them to come for him. Then he'd use the knife to take down one guard. He could probably get hold of one of their guns to finish off the other. Sanji didn't like to kill but it didn't change the fact that in this scenario, he would have too.

-

The door opened and Sanji watched as one of the guards drug Zoro into the room. Sanji couldn't tell much other than the fact that he was somehow more covered in blood. They dropped Zoro into the room and left. Sanji could only hope they hadn't just left him Zoro's corpse.

As soon as the door shut, Sanji crawled over to Zoro, trying not to break the bindings around his ankles. His escape plan relied on their ability to fool his captors for a few seconds.

Up close, Sanji could tell that there was a giant slash across Zoro's chest. The source of his earlier bleeding, if Sanji had to guess. Because of the blood, Sanji couldn't tell if Zoro was even breathing. He put his fingers to Zoro's throat to find a pulse. It was there but only faintly.

Sanji forced himself to look at Zoro's face. The left side of his face was bloody and swollen to the point of being unrecognizable. Sanji cupped Zoro's other cheek and gave a gentle shake. Zoro's right eye opened, barely, and it was clear that he wasn't really focused on Sanji.

"I'm gonna get you out of here," Sanji told him. Zoro just closed his eye. "I have a GPS locator implanted at my hairline. I checked for it earlier and it's still there. Which means unless we're miles underground, it's still transmitting. My communicator is scuffed but help is on its way."

Zoro didn't say anything and Sanji wondered if he had passed out. He cut Zoro's bindings and pulled the other man as much as he could to the back of the room. That way it wouldn't be so obvious that he was free from his bindings until Sanji could make his move.

"I'm not letting you die here," Sanji told him. He looked at Zoro once and then he waited.

-

The goons came back, for Sanji this time. They didn't even bother looking at Zoro and it made Sanji's blood boil. But he feigned being scared to get them to think of him as weak. Those three and a half months of acting lessons really paid off.

One of the guys grabbed Sanji's upper arm and pulled him up. Since his arms were free, Sanji would only have a few seconds before the guy realized that he was unbound. So Sanji used his momentum to collide with the guy, using his free hand to plunge Zoro's knife into his chest.

He staggered back and Sanji grabbed his gun. He'd already pulled it free and shot the other guard twice before he put it to the first guard's side and pulled the trigger twice more. The guy went down.

Sanji didn't know if there were more goons. So despite his head trauma, he worked fast. He pulled the bindings on his legs apart, put the gun in his waistband, and moved back to Zoro. He checked his pulse again before he pulled him up. Sanji hoisted Zoro onto his back, which was incredibly difficult given that Zoro's body just slumped against his. He was alive but unconscious and Sanji told him not to die again.

It was slow, but thankfully Sanji didn't see any other guards. The two were either overconfident or they underestimated Sanji and Zoro. Either way, it was to their benefit as Sanji carried Zoro out of the building. Which turned out to be an abandoned factory. 

Sanji was carrying Zoro the final stretch to the front door when it swung open. The sun blurred whoever was at the door and Sanji turned to run. But sitting with his legs tied up left them weak and he collapsed after straining to carry Zoro. They both went down and Sanji pulled the gun from his waistband.

But before he could shoot, he saw a second person rush in and this one he recognized. It was Nami and she rushed over to him, talking into her communicator as she ran.

"Thank God," she said as she sat next to him. Sanji leaned against her, too exhausted to even flirt with her. She hugged him and called out to a third person coming in. Sanji just shut his eyes, knowing he was safe and he'd still come out of this with the thumb drive.

They made him lay out while they gave him some medication for the pain. Sanji turned to tell them to help Zoro first but noticed that Zoro was already being carried out. Sanji started to protest but Nami just laid a reassuring hand on his arm.

Sanji didn't know if it was exhaustion, the fading adrenaline, or the medicine but when sleep came for him, Sanji went blissfully. 

-

He woke up in an all white hospital room. He was groggy and aware that his limbs all felt numb from not being used. He had no idea how long he had been asleep for.

He turned his head to one side and saw the machine reading his vital signs. He reached one of his hands up to touch his head, which was wrapped in gauze. There was a wall of windows across from him and he noticed that they were etched with the All Blue logo.

Sanji sighed in relief. They must be at headquarters which meant that Sanji was being treated by Chopper, the All Blue doctor. Sanji trusted Chopper in all things medical.

Sanji forced himself to sit up despite the resistance from his body. He turned to the side of the bed to try and stand up and that's when he saw him. 

Zoro was in the bed next to his, with bandages on one side of his face and across his throat, disappearing into the scrubs he was wearing. He was unconscious but Sanji could hear the beeping of his monitor.

Sanji got out of bed, removing the IV and nodes attached to him. The moment he tried to stand on his feet. He stumbled and caught himself against Zoro's bed frame. He maneuvered around the bed until he could grab a chair from along the wall.

By the time Chopper and Nami rushed in, summoned by the sudden flat line of Sanji's now disconnected heart monitor, they found him sitting beside Zoro's bed, knees tucked up under his chin.

"Sanji!" Nami shouted as he ran to crush him in a hug. Sanji smiled and hugged her back. She grabbed the other chair and pulled it beside his.

"How long was I out for?" Sanji asked Chopper. Chopper grabbed his chart from the front of his bed and looked it over before handing it to Sanji. Sanji saw the concussion listed along with a fractured collarbone that he hadn't even known he'd had.

"A few days," Chopper told him. "The concussion was bad, Sanji. We had you in a neck brace for the first day so you didn't move around."

"Thank you," he told both of them. He glanced at Zoro, lying bandaged and unconscious. "What about him?"

"Not sure how he was even alive," Nami said. Sanji nodded, the memory of Zoro laying on the floor of that room burned into his brain.

"That cut across his chest is gonna scar," Chopper said. "It was in the beginning stages of infection but we were able to treat it. He lost his eye though. It was too damaged by the beating he took and I had to cut through the swelling to remove it."

"Will he wake up?" Sanji asked. Chopper didn't answer and that told Sanji all he needed to know.

"We've been communicating with the Straw Hats and they agreed that it was best to leave him here. He's too fragile to be moved right now."

"Are you hungry?" Nami asked him.

"For hospital food? No way." Sanji smiled to reassure Nami that he was okay. She squeezed his shoulder.

"I'll go run to that bistro down the block and get you something." She stood up and Chopper told her not to get anything too acidic or hard to digest. As Nami left, Chopper told Sanji to get back in bed. He acquiesced, knowing that keeping vigil by Zoro's bedside wouldn't help him wake up any faster.

After promising that he'd rest and after hooking him back up to his monitors, Chopper left. Sanji turned onto his side, facing Zoro. He was to Zoro's left so all he could see of his face were bandages.

"You have to wake up," Sanji told him. He was surprised that there were tears in his eyes. He wiped them away. "You have to wake up so I can call you an idiot. And to thank you for saving my life."

-

Chopper made Sanji stay in the hospital for several more days and said that he wouldn't be cleared for work for several weeks.

Nami and Usopp kept him company when they could. Even Brook, their old weapons trainer, had stopped by to lift his spirits. He appreciated their company.

Nami filled him in on how they were rescued. She'd seen their kidnapping through her scope and reported it to Usopp, who had called it in. They were unable to intervene with just the two of them and Usopp needed to be at his home base to track Sanji's locator.

Then they'd had to reach out to the Straw Hats and set up some kind of joint rescue mission to rescue them both, which would explain why Sanji hadn't recognized some of the people who had rescued him. Nami also informed him that while he'd been carrying Zoro through the building, their organizations had been clearing the other personnel from the building which also accounted for the lack of guards for Sanji to interact with.

"You guys weren't even missing for two days," Nami said. Sanji wasn't comforted by this. How fragile were people that they could be so damaged in such a small amount of time?

Chopper eventually cleared Sanji to take a shower in the on-site facilities. He took off Sanji's bandages for the last time and Sanji took a long, hot shower. He was still too weak and exhausted so he sat on the ground and let the water wash over him.

When he got back to the hospital room, dressed and feeling better after a shower, Sanji forwent his own bed. It was late and Chopper had turned off the lights in the room. Sanji pushed down the handle on the side of Zoro's bed and climbed in as gently as he could.

He wasn't sure what urged him to do it. There wasn't much room but Sanji just laid his head on his hand and looked at Zoro. He'd deliberately laid on his right side and he looked so normal in the darkness. Like the guy who had made fun of his eyebrows in a crowded room.

Sanji, moving on pure instinct and maybe emotion, reached down with his other hand and grabbed Zoro's. He squeezed it gently and was disappointed that there was no reaction from Zoro. Then he felt stupid. This wasn't a fairytale where Zoro's curse could be woken by an act of love.

Sanji just needed him to be okay. If Zoro wasn't, then that made Sanji a liar. Zoro had deliberately taken a beating to keep Sanji from suffering it and Sanji had sworn he'd return the favor. If Zoro didn't wake up, then Sanji had failed him.

And Sanji wasn't interested at the moment in exploring why it even mattered to him. He and Zoro weren't friends but they were rivals and Sanji didn't like the idea of not having Zoro anymore. He imagined not seeing that green hair across from him in a Moroccan bazaar as they both chased after an arms dealer.

It felt hollow.

He didn't mean to but he fell asleep, forehead to Zoro's shoulder, still holding his hand.

-

Sanji sat upright when he woke up.

Because Zoro was gone.

He looked around the room before he got out of the bed. Was Zoro awake? Or worse? Had they moved him to the morgue? Why hadn't Sanji noticed?

He stumbled out of the room and caught the attention of a passing nurse. He asked where Chopper was and she pointed him to an examination room down the hall. Sanji thanked her and walked to the room. He'd have ran but he wasn't able to just yet.

He didn't bother knocking. He just swung open the door, not caring if he was rudely barging in on someone's examination. The minute the door opened, Chopper shouted at him but Sanji didn't even register it.

Because there was Zoro, in light green scrubs, sitting down so Chopper could take his blood pressure. The bandages around his face were gone and Sanji got a look at the angry, red scar underneath. Sanji stood there in the open doorway, feeling warm with embarrassment after his hasty entrance.

Zoro turned to him and smiled, a small and knowing smile that made Sanji's heart beat double. It wasn't taunting at all, instead like Zoro was recalling some inside joke just between the two of them. Sanji recalled how he had fallen asleep and he shut the door as he left.

He could hear Zoro's soft laughter as he walked away.

-

He was sitting in his bed when Zoro returned, Chopper in tow. Sanji was surprised that he could move as well as he did, given how badly hurt he'd been less than a week ago. He didn't look at Sanji as he sat down in his own bed. Chopper went over some last minute things with him before he left.

They sat in silence, Sanji tearing at the leftover bread Nami had brought him yesterday and Zoro trying to get comfortable. After several seconds, the silence became too much for Sanji.

"Thank you for saving my life," he said. He glanced at Zoro who rolled over so he was looking at Sanji. "It was absolutely foolish to let them take you when I had the drive but thank you."

"You saved my life afterwards," Zoro just said. Sanji shook his head.

"You also tried to save me before that. After I hit my head. We're not even yet." Zoro just smiled.

"I'm the reason you hit your head. We are even." Sanji watched as Zoro rolled back over, face wincing in pain.

"Does it hurt?" Sanji asked.

"The chest? Yes," Zoro said. "The eye just feels strange. I can't feel it anymore but I don't think I ever noticed I could feel it until it was gone. If that makes sense."

"I'm sorry, Zoro," Sanji said, feeling guilty. Zoro just waved his apology away.

"If you feel so bad, you can make it up to me." He glanced at Sanji and Sanji felt his face heat up. He wasn't sure what Zoro meant but he knew what the images in his head were. Because whether he wanted to before or not, he knew how Zoro's body felt. It hadn't been remotely sexual in the moment, but Sanji knew how his body felt curled against Zoro's and he couldn't unknow that now.

"By letting me win on the next job, I mean."

Sanji blinked away the images in his head as Zoro's smile widened. Sanji gave him the finger and turned back to his lunch. They didn't talk after that and when Sanji did look over at him, Zoro appeared to be asleep.

Sanji couldn't stop himself from smiling.

-

Chopper passed by their room one last time to check on Zoro. Once he was satisfied that Zoro's health was stable, he turned out the light and left. They were alone in the dark.

"Sanji?" Zoro asked. Sanji turned to him, unsure if Zoro could see him in the little glow from their respective monitors and from the hallway light around the curtains to their room.

"Yes?" Sanji asked. He heard more than saw Zoro moving around in his bed.

"Would you come over here?" He asked and Sanji wasn't confused about what he meant. His initial instinct was to say no, to come up with some excuse. Instead, he just got out of bed and walked slowly over to Zoro's bed.

Just as he had last night, he put the handle down and crawled in. This time Zoro had maneuvered so that Sanji had more room. They didn't touch, a thin amount of air kept between their bodies but Sanji could make out more of Zoro's features this close.

"When I woke up," Zoro started to say, "you were the first thing I saw. I had no idea where I was or how I was even alive. But you were there and you looked so peaceful."

Sanji swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. He could feel Zoro's warmth beside his in the bed and Sanji was aware that if he reached out, Zoro would be there. Solid and alive.

"I just wanted you to wake up," Sanji admitted. He felt a light touch at his side, Zoro's hand resting against him, and Sanji was surprised to admit that he liked it.

He buried his apprehension and reached out with one hand to cup Zoro's right cheek, his thumb tracing the line from eye to nose, from nose to mouth. He felt Zoro's breath against his skin.

Neither of them knew who leaned in first, but they met in the middle, a tentative touch of lips. Sanji's hand went slowly into Zoro's hair as Zoro pulled Sanji against him. The kiss was slow and exploring because they were both still too beaten up to rush into anything.

Before this moment, Sanji hadn't realized this was an option, much less a possibility. Maybe almost dying together created a special kind of bond that changed everything. Moving forward became different from what came before.

Sanji pulled back to take a shaky breath. He felt a shiver of delight when Zoro moved his hand up Sanji's back.

"Sanji," Zoro said.

"Zoro," Sanji said back to him.

"You must have been pretty impressed when you fondled me while we were being held captive," Zoro said.

"I'm going back to my own bed," Sanji said, not bothering to respond to that comment. Zoro laughed and tightened his hold around Sanji, who just smiled and made no movement to leave.

"Are you feeling okay?" Sanji asked him.

"We kissed, Sanji. It's not like you rode my dick all night. I'm fine." Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you think that I'm riding you?" Sanji asked.

"I can't wait to be out of this hospital," Zoro said. Sanji laughed and Zoro pulled him back for another kiss.

-

Chopper dismissed Sanji and gave him a date that he could return to work. Nami had some of his clothes sent in and Sanji was happy to be buttoning himself into his own shirt.

He'd changed in the bathroom since Chopper was checking on Zoro. When Sanji walked back into the room, Zoro watched him. Sanji smiled at him and Zoro smiled back.

Chopper left and Sanji waited for a few seconds before he walked over to Zoro. Zoro moved to sit on the edge of the bed and Sanji stood between his legs. They just stood there for a minute. 

"How much longer is Chopper gonna keep you?" Sanji asked.

"At least a week. Then he said he's going to recommend I not work for at least a month." Zoro put his hands on the back of Sanji's thighs. Sanji broke away only long enough to write something down on the notepad that was on the side table.

"When you're feeling well enough," Sanji said by way of explanation. "That's my personal phone number."

"Well enough for kissing? Or for something more?" Sanji turned back to him and raised his fingers to trace the scar over Zoro's now missing eye.

"I'm serious. You should take the time off to rest." Zoro leaned into the touch.

"You're right. I certainly can't let you walk away with the victory next time our missions overlap."

"You're the worst," Sanji told him. But he still let Zoro pull him down into a kiss. 

-

Sanji was returning from an early morning run, a week later, when he got a text message. He didn't recognize the number but knew the country code was Japanese.

It just said, finally home.

Sanji smiled. It was 5am in Paris which meant it was one in the afternoon in Japan. Sanji walked into his one bedroom apartment while he thought up something to say.

In the end, he settled on something simple. He just texted back, I didn't know you lived in Japan. How are you feeling?

sore but also tired of sitting around

Normally Sanji hated when people didn't use capitalization or punctuation but he admittedly liked it on Zoro. Sanji smiled at his phone as he downed a glass of water in his kitchen.

He had to report for a meeting in a few hours. Normally Sanji would read up on his upcoming missions or cook to pass the time. But instead he sat at the table by his window and just talked to Zoro.

They hadn't outright agreed to it but they didn't talk about work other than to laugh about their shared experiences or the wackiest aspects of their jobs. Nothing upcoming and nothing about their respective organizations.

When Sanji had to text him back to say that he had to attend a meeting, Zoro had asked if he could call Sanji later. And didn't that make his chest feel a certain kind of way?

Sanji told him yes.

-

Two weeks later, Sanji collapsed face first onto a hotel room bed in New York. All Blue had gotten intel that the Norwegian ambassador was going to be assassinated prior to an upcoming climate change summit. Sanji had been hired to protect the ambassador while Usopp located the assassin via camera footage and cell phone taps. Nami had been hired to take him out.

Three times Sanji saved this guy's life today. The first was when a guy had tried to stab him at the airport. The second was when a car tried to run them off the road. The third was when Sanji noticed the glint of sunlight off a scope and tackled the ambassador just before a shot broke the glass.

It was a good day. He successfully completed a James Bond worthy mission. But man was Sanji tired.

He took a long shower and wrapped himself in the hotel provided robe afterwards. He ordered late night room service and watched the movement in Time Square while he waited.

Sanji pulled out his phone and reread the last text from Zoro. He'd told Zoro that he would be mostly unavailable due to work today and Zoro hadn't asked any follow up questions. Just told him to be safe and to text him when his day was done.

It was almost midnight in New York which meant it was early afternoon in Japan. Sanji knew that Zoro lived outside of Nagoya. Sanji hadn't been invited to visit yet. But only because Zoro was sticking to his word of trying to rest.

Sanji started to type out a text before he deleted it and just hit the call button instead. While the phone rang, a knock on the door told him that his room service had arrived. He was just bringing the tray inside when Zoro answered.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Sanji said back. Zoro asked how his day was and Sanji told him as he ate the food he'd ordered. Zoro laughed, as Sanji knew he would, when he heard about Sanji chasing the knife assassin down four flights of stairs at the airport this morning. He asked if Sanji was okay after Sanji told him about the car accident.

By the time he was done eating, he had his eyes closed and he was just listening to Zoro tell him about the various TV shows he was stuck watching while on his medical leave.

"I wish you were here," Sanji told him.

"Why?" Zoro asked him.

"Because I miss your face. And I want to kiss you and I want to touch you." Zoro made a sound in his throat and Sanji didn't know what it meant exactly but he liked it.

"Sanji, I've wanted to touch you since we met."

"Really?" Sanji asked. Zoro chuckled.

"Yes, because your ass looks great in tailored slacks." Sanji laughed. "Do you remember Venice during Carnevale? You were dressed up like a prince and I'd never seen anyone ever look so good."

Sanji smiled because he did remember and he had looked damn good. But Zoro's admission had made Sanji realize that without knowing it, he'd maybe been taking stock of Zoro all along too. Because suddenly he could see Zoro in different places around the world, stark in contrast to the lights and people because of how handsome he was.

"Do you remember Cape Town?" Sanji asked. He'd been there to await a shipment of weapons being brought in and so he was hanging out at a beach with binoculars looking for the boat. Except Zoro had been there too. At the time Sanji had watched him playing fucking beach volleyball of all things. He remembered mocking Zoro in his head, thinking that Zoro must have thought he was in Top Gun. But Sanji had looked all the same, watching Zoro's muscles flex in the South African sun.

"I knew you were watching me," Zoro said. "What did you like best? The beach volleyball or the slow walk out of the water at sunset?"

"You're insufferable." Sanji's other hand clenched in the fabric of his robe. "But the experience may or may not have made me want to tackle you into the sand."

"If I was there, what would you want me to do?" Zoro asked. Sanji knew where this conversation was going so he made his way to the bed. He undid the tie on his robe and let it hang open. He closed his eyes as he ran his hand down his chest and over his thighs, imagining that it was Zoro doing it instead.

"I'm imagining you sucking me off," Sanji said. He was already hard at the image in his head but he grabbed the lotion from the drawer beside the bed. With his hand slick, it almost felt like the wetness of Zoro's mouth.

"Yeah?" Zoro asked. "I bet I look nice between your thighs."

"You do," Sanji said, voice shaky with arousal. He imagined that head of green hair bobbing as he took Sanji as deep as he could. He imagined Zoro pulling off to look him in the eye while he licked his way down the shaft.

"Are you touching yourself?" Zoro asked and Sanji didn't feel any shame to admit that he was. He could hear his own breathy tone of voice mirrored in Zoro's. Thirteen hours apart and they still managed to pleasure each other.

"But I'd stop before you came," Zoro told him. Sanji just hummed in agreement, stroking himself to the rhythm of Zoro's voice. "Because I'd want you inside of me. Would you want to prep me or watch me prep myself?"

Sanji pictured Zoro hovering his thighs, fingering himself open to take Sanji in and Sanji moaned aloud.

"Watch you," he told Zoro.

"Fuck Sanji. Moan for me again." Sanji did, this time throwing Zoro's name into the mix. "God, just hearing you like that makes me want to come."

"I want to see you," Sanji blurted out. "Like right now."

"Okay," Zoro said. He hung up the phone but only seconds later, it rang again with a prompt for a video chat. Sanji licked his lips before he answered.

Zoro was laying on a sofa, shirtless, and his cheeks were pink. He was panting and Sanji could just barely see the scar across his chest. Sanji wanted to bury his face there.

"You're so beautiful," Sanji said at the same time that Zoro said, "Fuck you're gorgeous."

Sanji smiled as he stroked himself faster. He could see Zoro's arm moving, a hint at what his hand was doing out of frame.

"Show me more," Sanji said. Zoro just nodded. He disappeared from the frame as he stood up and Sanji heard rustling. Sanji could see Zoro propping his phone up on something so that Sanji could see most of the room, with the sofa as the focal point. Zoro laid back down so that Sanji was seeing him laid out on the sofa length-wise.

His sweats were down his thighs but before he grabbed his cock again, he turned to ask Sanji if this was okay. Sanji could only nod.

Sanji grabbed an extra pillow and put it at the end of the bed. He did as Zoro had done, propping his phone up so that it captured him in his robe, laying on the bed. He propped his knees up but kept his head elevated so he could watch Zoro.

If you would have asked Sanji, he'd have told you that the sight of Zoro pleasuring himself to the sight of Sanji doing the same was easily the most erotic thing he'd ever seen before.

When Sanji came, he said Zoro's name over and over until he heard Zoro grunt as he came too. Sanji's eyes were closed as he listened to the sound of Zoro panting through the phone.

Sanji grabbed his phone and moved it to the nightstand so he could reposition it to show his face as he laid on the pillow. Zoro hadn't moved. He was still laying on the sofa with his arm thrown over his face.

"Zoro?" Sanji asked. Zoro moved his arm and turned to Sanji. Sanji smiled. "I wish you had been here."

Zoro smiled at him. "That was the best imaginary fuck I've ever had but I'm desperate for the real thing."

"Are you feeling okay?" Zoro rolled his remaining eye.

"I'm healing well, Sanji. Thank you for asking for the hundredth time."

"Then can I come over?" Zoro smiled and it looked more fond than Sanji expected.

"I was ready to give you my address yesterday."

They talked for a few more minutes before they both felt tired, Sanji from it being past midnight and Zoro with a post-orgasm drowsiness. They said goodbye, with a promise to meet in person.

After they hung up, Sanji got a text with a Nagoya address. In return, Sanji sent back the flight information for the ticket he just purchased.

-

Zoro insisted on picking him up from the airport, despite the fact that he didn't have a car. No sooner had Sanji gotten out of the terminal that he spotted Zoro waiting for him.

Sanji dropped his bags so he could wrap Zoro in a hug. He smelled so good and Sanji wanted to just exist there, surrounded by Zoro's everything.

Zoro grabbed his duffel and hoisted it up. Sanji protested but Zoro just waved him off. Before they left the airport, Zoro pulled him into the bathroom to kiss him against the door. It didn't go further than that but just the immediate contact, the all encompassing moment with Zoro made Sanji's head dizzy.

They walked to a train station and took the train from the airport to Zoro's neighborhood. Sanji had been to Japan before but it was different. Zoro pointed to stuff out the window and taught him little phrases in Japanese. It was midday so the train wasn't crowded but it could have been empty for all Sanji noticed.

Sanji made him stop at a market so he could buy them ingredients. Zoro seemed confused until Sanji said that cooking was his personal hobby and that he wanted to cook for Zoro. Zoro was quiet after that, just watching Sanji inspect vegetables and fish cuts, smiling when he found the perfect ones.

When they got back to Zoro's, they put the groceries away and then Zoro pulled Sanji into his arms for another kiss. Sanji looped his arms around Zoro's neck, kissing him until his lips hurt.

"Tell me what you want," Zoro said. He motioned for Sanji to sit at the table.

"I'm torn between being tired from jet lag and wanting to fuck you into a mattress," Sanji told him honestly. Zoro smiled as he sat opposite Sanji.

"We could be fast," Zoro told him.

"I don't want to be fast. I want to take my time. I want to touch every part of you, make you feel good."

"Romantic," Zoro said but his smile wasn't teasing. Sanji chewed on his bottom lip before he motioned to the rest of the house.

"Show me your bedroom."

-

Sanji had never undressed someone with so much precision. Technically he'd seen Zoro mostly naked and he'd technically already had his hands down Zoro's pants. But this was in every way different.

Sanji slowly pulled Zoro's shirt over his head, lifting the fabric inch by inch as his fingers hungrily touched every part of Zoro's chest. Once the shirt was off, Sanji ran his fingers along Zoro's scar. Then he followed the trail with his lips, as gentle as he could manage.

Zoro let out a low moan and fisted a hand in Sanji's hair. Sanji kissed his way up Zoro's chest, neck, and jaw to reach his lips. When Zoro opened his mouth, Sanji took the invitation with pleasure, hands moving to untie the strings on Zoro's sweatpants.

Sanji urged Zoro to sit on the bed and he dropped to his knees so he could pull off Zoro's pants. Then Sanji kissed his thighs and his knees and his calves. Zoro just watched, knowing that this was some sort of ritual for Sanji.

Sanji stood and pushed Zoro onto his back. Sanji checked in with him again and Zoro pulled Sanji in for a kiss as an answer. Sanji leaned back so Zoro could undo the buttons on his shirt. Sanji took a shaking breath when Zoro ran his hands across his chest.

"Isn't it funny," Zoro said as Sanji stood up to remove his own pants. Sanji turned back to him as Zoro pushed his briefs down and off.

"What is?" Sanji asked as he stripped out of his boxers. He made his way back to the bed and Zoro pulled him down into another kiss, causing their bodies to slide together.

"We're supposed to be enemies, but here we are about to make an absolute mess of my sheets." Zoro maneuvered out from under Sanji so he could grab the required items from a drawer on his nightstand. He motioned for Sanji to lay on his back.

"Well you know the saying. 'Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.'"

"Is that a promise?" Zoro asked. He straddled Sanji's hips, arousal on full display, as he lubed up his fingers.

"Yeah," Sanji said, only able to gasp out the single syllable as he watched Zoro open himself up like he'd promised that night over the phone. Zoro's face contorted in pleasure and Sanji watched in awe.

"I already did this this morning," Zoro admitted. Sanji ran his hands along Zoro's thighs.

"Too excited?" Sanji asked. Zoro just smiled at him. Sanji didn't tell him to rest or to be careful, just let Zoro lead himself. Sanji would have prepared him longer but when Zoro pulled his fingers out, Sanji saw the hungry look in his eyes. He couldn't deny him after that.

When Zoro pushed himself down onto Sanji's cock, they both gasped at the sensation. Sanji's nails dug into Zoro's skin where they gripped his thighs. Zoro put his hands on Sanji's chest to steady himself.

In the several years that Sanji and Zoro had known each other, they'd been in similar positions before. Zoro pinning Sanji down while his partner ran ahead to chase an enemy. That night at the penthouse, Zoro pinning Sanji's body to the chaise lounge. Every time, Sanji had cursed Zoro, angry that the other man could best him on that day.

Today, when Sanji cursed Zoro, it was for feeling fucking incredible. Trapped between the cage of Zoro's muscular thighs, hips moving to a rhythm of his own making, Sanji was helpless to do anything but throw his head back in pleasure.

"I'm close," Zoro told him and Sanji grabbed Zoro's cock to stroke him. Zoro rode him faster, eager to reach his impending orgasm and bring Sanji with him. When Zoro came, his hips snapped erratically but the overwhelmed look on his face was enough to have Sanji's toes curling in pleasure before his own orgasm crashed over him.

Zoro pulled himself off and collapsed next to Sanji on the bed. He had his eye closed and he looked so pleased that Sanji had to pull him close, one hand on the back of Zoro's head while the other ran over his back. Zoro purred in delight and Sanji felt contentment in his chest.

-

"How many languages can you speak?" Zoro asked. They were laying side by side, though Sanji was propped up on some pillows. Zoro's fingers were lazily skimming across his stomach and side.

"Seven. French, English, Spanish, German, Hindi, Dutch, and some Mandarin." Sanji counted them off his fingers as he spoke.

"More than me. I can only speak Japanese, English, and Korean." Sanji shrugged.

"I once had a job where I worked undercover for an international advertising agency. I spent every night doing online classes to learn as much as I could."

"I once had to pretend to be an archer on the Japanese Olympic team to thwart a drug operation. Spent six months learning to be decent at archery."

"I can top that," Sanji said. "Four and a half months of ballroom dance lessons. Then undercover for three more months while I tried to find a rogue Russian spy who loved to waltz."

"I once went undercover in a circus as a trapeze artist," Zoro said.

"Actually circus freak kinda works for you," Sanji told him. Zoro gave him the finger. "Did you also have to take seduction courses?"

"Yes, those were especially awful." They both laughed and this was an added benefit of the two of them together. They both existed in the espionage lifestyle so when Sanji joked about the time that he had to parachute off of Big Ben, Zoro could match the story with one of his own.

"How long can you stay?" Zoro asked. Sanji ran his hands through Zoro's hair.

"I have to be in Oslo by Thursday so only a few more days."

"Anything you wanna do while you're in Japan?" Sanji smiled.

"You, as many times as you'll let me." Sanji ran his thumb along the scar over Zoro's now missing eye.

"I don't regret it," Zoro said. Sanji waited for him to explain. "I'd gladly endure it again if it means I get to have you."

"Don't say that," Sanji told him. Zoro sat up and pulled Sanji to his chest. Sanji traced the scar on his chest with his fingers again.

"We could die any day. One mission going bad and it could be the end of us. But in the years I've been doing this, do you know how many personal connections I've made?" 

Sanji didn't need Zoro to say it to understand. This was a lonely life. It was hard to make personal connections when you were constantly on a flight to somewhere else, with so many unshareable secrets that emotional distance seemed inevitable. 

They didn't say much after that. Zoro let Sanji lead him back to the kitchen so he could cook them dinner. Then after they had cleaned up, Sanji pulled Zoro down onto the sofa, this time to take Zoro inside himself, Sanji telling Zoro to fuck him harder in all seven languages he spoke.

-

Sanji was surprised to meet Zoro on a job in Milan, a month later. He was backstage at an opera, dressed in all black, watching a foreign diplomat in the front row. All Blue believed he was meeting with some arms dealers to broker a deal that would allow him to support a military coup in a neighboring country.

Sanji was letting the curtain drop back when he felt hands on his hips. It was dark and silent and Sanji's first instinct was that he was about to be attacked. But then he felt a breath on his ear before he heard a voice say, "Funny seeing you here."

Sanji turned around and looked into Zoro's eye. He smiled in delight before he remembered that he was working and gently pushed Zoro away from him.

"You neglected to tell me that you were going to be in Italy." Zoro shrugged but Sanji could see the mischievous glint in his eye, even in the dark.

They been together less than forty-eight hours ago, Zoro fucking Sanji against the large window in his apartment, with the lights off so they could see the nighttime Parisian lights. Sanji had been unable to look at Zoro after he'd had to clean cum off the window glass.

Sanji didn't think he'd ever been with someone he desired as much as he did Zoro. Sometimes Zoro would look at him over dinner, and just the gaze alone would have Sanji hot and bothered.

No sooner had he gotten to the airport after that first visit to Japan, than Sanji had texted Zoro to say that he had booked another. He'd spent more time in Japan over the last month than he had at his own apartment. Until Zoro had shown up on his doorstep, with red roses that he said a woman urged him to buy on his way over.

"You look nice," Zoro told him in the present, eye tracking Sanji in the dark. Sanji smiled even as he rolled his eyes. He moved the curtain aside to make sure the diplomat was still there. He was.

He felt Zoro's hand on his ass, inside his pants, and Sanji turned to put Zoro's arm in a hold that would have broken it if Zoro hadn't countered when he did. Sanji didn't need to be gentle with Zoro. He knew Zoro would react to the aggression with the combat training he'd received, the same as Sanji.

"I'm working," Sanji told him. "You're working. We're working." Zoro put up a hand in defense. Sanji let his arm go.

"No touching on the clock. Got it," Zoro said, voice indicating that he didn't really get it at all.

Sanji pointed to the other side of the stage. "I'm going over there. Stay here." Sanji started walking away before he doubled back. He pulled Zoro into a deep kiss before he pushed him back. Then he went to the other side of the stage.

Later that night, after Sanji had planted one of Usopp's listening devices on the diplomats lapels, Zoro texted him an address. It was a nice hotel and Sanji smiled as he walked to the room number indicated in Zoro's text.

Zoro didn't even bother removing Sanji's pants. He just pulled them down enough that he could go down on Sanji, his legs over Zoro's shoulders and fingers twisting into the silk sheets in pleasure.

-

"Damn you, Zoro," Sanji said as he ran full sprint after the other man. They were in Rio de Janeiro, running through an alleyway. Sanji's mission had been to deduce the location of a local businessman's water treatment facility and steal the formula for a chemical weapon. Zoro had beaten him to it, stuffing the journal into his pocket as Sanji burst into the room.

Zoro was weaving around groups of people and he actually had the nerve to toss trash cans over to try and slow Sanji down. Did he think Sanji was some run of the mill agent?

Zoro sprinted into an apartment building and Sanji chased after him. As they ran up the stairwell, Zoro still roughly a flight above him, Zoro called down to tell him that he looked nice. Sanji thanked him and then told him to stub his toe painfully. 

They got to the roof and Sanji burst through the door just as Zoro tossed the journal off the roof. Sanji ran to the edge just as a helicopter rose, Monkey D. Luffy inside to get the aforementioned journal as it fell. That was some coordination.

The driver, a larger man with blue hair, motioned to Zoro but Zoro just waved them off. The copter flew away and Sanji grabbed Zoro's collar. Zoro just smiled as Sanji backed him up to the ledge.

"I am going to make you fucking beg for it later," Sanji threatened. Zoro slipped his arm around Sanji's waist, slipping a key card into his back pocket. He told Sanji the address, kissed him once, and left him on the rooftop to report back to Nami.

Sanji kept his word too. By the time he was done with Zoro that night, he had been begging. Zoro's fingers had left purple bruises against Sanji's shoulders by the time Sanji had let him come, hand loosening its grip around the base of Zoro's cock while Sanji fucked him. Sanji never realized he'd be so good at playing the tease.

-

"How's Mexico?" Zoro asked him. Sanji was sitting at a bar in Cozumel, keeping an eye on a drug deal that would have major effects on the world wide cocaine trade.

"It would be better with you," Sanji admitted. "You know I like the way you look in a swimsuit." Sanji smiled as Zoro laughed through the phone.

For once they weren't on the same job. Zoro was in Bangkok for the week. Sanji had turned his communicator off after telling Nami he was going to pretend to take a call. In reality, he'd wanted to talk to Zoro. This was the first time in quite a few months that they'd been apart for so long.

"We should take a vacation," Sanji said.

"I've only been back to work for four months. I don't think they'll let me take a vacation." Sanji was disappointed and that alone made him feel some kinda way.

"Has it already been that long?" Sanji asked. If Zoro had been back to work for four months, then it meant it had been five months since that night in the hospital bed.

"Time sure flies when you're having fun," Zoro said. Sanji thought of all the amazing memories he'd made with Zoro in that time. Sure, the sex was phenomenal. Their bodies just clicked in a way that made it seem effortless. It just seemed like everything they tried together felt good.

But that extended to the times they weren't having sex. Laying in bed at night talking, Zoro's head on his chest. Or when Sanji took Zoro to his favorite restaurant in Paris, after a day of making him do tourist things around Paris. Normally Sanji hated that, but the photo he got of the two of them by the Eiffel Tower at sunset, heads pressed together made Sanji smile.

Sanji would be lying if he said that he just enjoyed the sex. The honest truth was that he enjoyed Zoro, everything about him. The easy way he fell asleep and when he smiled with teeth. His abysmal sense of direction and the way he said his true feelings all the time, without thinking it through first.

Every time Sanji had to walk away from him, he just wanted more.

"Long distance relationships are hard," Sanji said, sipping on his margarita as he watched the two gentlemen talking across the bar.

"Is that what we are?" Zoro asked him. Sanji bit his lip nervously as he waited for Zoro to say more. "I don't think we're long distance when I'm flying to Paris nearly every week."

"I thought you were going to say that we weren't in a relationship," Sanji admitted. Zoro snorted.

"What about us is not a relationship?"

"We just never talked about it. You know labels and being exclusive and expectations. "

"Did we need to?" Zoro asked.

"No," Sanji said. Because how did you nearly die with someone as an occupational hazard then get together in the following weeks and need to talk about relationship parameters?

"You seem happy," Zoro said.

"I didn't even say anything," Sanji said, with an undeniable smile on his face.

"I can just tell. Even from here."

"Zoro?" Sanji asked. "Next time we're both free, would you want to meet my dad?" Zoro was quiet for a moment.

"Do you want me to meet your dad?"

"Yes," Sanji said without hesitation.

"Then yes, I'd like to meet your dad." Sanji was about to say something when his targets started to move.

"Sorry, babe, I gotta go. I'll text you later."

"Okay, be safe." Sanji promised he would and they hung up. He turned his communicator back on, expecting Nami to say something. But she didn't. Sanji didn't really wonder what that meant before he was back in work mode, trailing behind the two men as they left the bar.

-

It took another month before there was enough of a lack of international disasters that Zoro could escape to France for a visit. 

Sanji booked them two tickets for the train from Paris to Nice. The journey was long and Sanji held his hand while Zoro took two separate naps during the trip. The second time was after insisting that he wanted to listen to Sanji's audiobook with him. The first chapter wasn't even done before Zoro was out, head on Sanji's shoulder.

When they got to Nice, the weather was perfect. Sanji pulled Zoro behind him, hands together, as they walked to the hotel. It overlooked the water and Sanji paid top dollar for the best room. Zoro looked on as Sanji conversed in French with the man at the desk. They both looked at Zoro and Sanji beamed before accepting the key.

"What was that about?" Zoro asked once they were in the suite. It had a room with a kitchenette and a living space and then a separate sleeping area. Both rooms had balconies that faced the Mediterranean.

Sanji pushed Zoro into the bedroom and down onto the bed. He pulled Zoro's shirt over his head and kissed him. Zoro pulled back to remind Sanji that the condoms and lube were in the bags that Sanji had dumped by the door. Sanji stood up to undress while Zoro went to get them.

Zoro watched from the doorway as Sanji unbuttoned his shirt, pants already abandoned on the floor. He smiled. "What did that man say?"

Sanji turned to him with a smile. "He said that my husband was handsome. I told him I knew that and that I was lucky."

"Damn, Sanji. We only established that we were technically dating a month ago. Now we're married?"

"Don't look so smug," Sanji told him as Zoro came over, wrapping his arms around Sanji's waist. "He just assumed and I didn't correct him."

"That's okay," Zoro said as he kissed Sanji's now bare shoulder. "If you wanted to be a Roronoa so badly, you could have asked a long time ago."

"Now who's jumping ahead? You're asking me to marry you but you haven't even told me you love me yet."

Zoro pushed Sanji onto the bed and straddled him. He looked down at Sanji for a long time before he kissed him, deeply and passionately. He pulled back, but only enough that Sanji could fully see his face.

"I do love you," Zoro said. "I loved you that night in Buenos Aires when you wore that midnight blue suit, and you had some local celebrity on your arm for the President's banquet. Afterwards, you and I fought in the garden and you kicked me hard enough to crack two ribs." Sanji blinked up at Zoro in confusion. 

"Zoro, that was over a year ago. We weren't together then." Zoro grabbed Sanji's chin so that Sanji knew he was serious.

"I know."

Sanji let that sink in, everything about their relationship realigning. All of Zoro's little comments these past few months and the way he'd been so ready to kiss Sanji that night.

His insistence on being the one tortured and not Sanji. Sanji couldn't imagine why Zoro had done that, but he guessed now he knew. Zoro had feelings for him even back then.

"You didn't know me," Sanji said. Zoro shook his head in disagreement.

"I know you better than anyone." Sanji opened his mouth to say something to the contrary but he couldn't. Because Zoro was right, wasn't he? Sanji had thought their whole relationship was based on the shared experience of their kidnapping. But that was only part of it.

Instead their relationship was based on the years of shared experiences between them. Zoro taunting him as they fought in an alleyway in Egypt. Sanji leaving him a note that said better luck next time after he beat Zoro to a shipment of diamonds that were being illegally smuggled.

"I can't believe I broke two of your ribs and you still liked me afterwards." Zoro just shrugged.

"It was kinda hot."

"Is that what you thought as you were struggling to breathe? You sure it wasn't oxygen deprivation?" Zoro kissed him and Sanji couldn't help the smile on his face.

Zoro stood up to remove the rest of his clothes. Sanji just watched him, admiring the way Zoro could be so honest and still not expect anything. He didn't ask Sanji to say it back. He just said what he felt because he wanted Sanji to know his truth.

Sanji stopped Zoro when he crawled back onto the bed. Zoro looked at him expectantly. Sanji took a deep breath.

"I love you too," Sanji told him. "I wouldn't have asked you to come here if I didn't." Zoro smiled at him and he looked radiant.

Sanji pulled him into a kiss, a sign for Zoro to continue what he had been doing earlier. Zoro obliged, stroking them both until he was hard enough to push himself inside of Sanji. Sanji took both of Zoro's hands in his, fingers lacing together as they made love then, with the sun over the Mediterranean as their backdrop.

-

They didn't get on the bus as early as Sanji had initially intended. They got up early and ate at a cafe next door. Then went back to the hotel to shower and get dressed.

Sanji hadn't even been in the bathroom for a minute before he called out for Zoro to join him. And then Sanji took his time fucking Zoro against the white shower tiles. Then afterward they'd had to take a real shower. But then Sanji couldn't stop staring at the giant love bite on Zoro's collarbone and he had to have him again, this time tangled together in the sheets of their bed.

By the time they finally did get on the bus, it must have been close to noon. As they settled onto the bench, Zoro said he felt bad for whoever had to wash their sheets.

"We haven't used a condom once since we've been here," he said. Sanji shushed him after an elderly couple looked at them. This only caused Sanji and Zoro to start laughing and then laugh harder as they tried to stop laughing.

Zoro took his hand and leaned against Sanji as the bus made its way outside of the city. Sanji hadn't told Zoro anything but Zoro hadn't asked. He just let Sanji lead him around France by the hand.

They got off the bus in a more rural part of the area. There were still plenty of people but the buildings were fewer and Zoro wondered if these were the locals who maybe worked down in Nice. Sanji started walking and Zoro followed.

Sanji expected Zoro to say something when they came to the cemetery where his father was buried but Zoro just watched him. He didn't say anything as they walked through the front gates and Sanji weaved between the graves until he found the one he was looking for.

"This is my dad," Sanji said. He watched as Zoro read the inscription on the grave.

"How did he die?" Zoro asked.

"He was sick. Died when I was eighteen." 

Zoro nodded and Sanji told him about being adopted, growing up in a loving home with Zeff. He told Zoro about Zeff's cooking and his laugh and about how he used to yell at Sanji. He was the best dad Sanji could ever ask for.

Zoro just listened and let Sanji take his hand when he reached for it. Zoro asked more questions, stuff that they hadn't spoken about until now. How Sanji got involved with All Blue, as a young man in France who had wanted to go to culinary school. So Sanji told him about his recruitment following a robbery that he'd stopped. His name had been in the papers and All Blue had reached out.

"My parents were spies," Zoro told him. "Died when I was younger. I tried to walk a different path but espionage is what I knew. Next time you come to Japan, I'll show you their plot."

"I'd like that."

Zoro knelt down and said some words in rapid Japanese. Sanji didn't know what he said but it sounded like a prayer. Or maybe some kind of thank you.

Afterwards he offered to leave Sanji with his father for a few moments. Sanji took the offer and once Zoro was out of ear shot, he told Zeff about him. Sanji didn't know if he believed that Zeff could hear him in some afterlife. But it felt good to tell someone about Zoro, to speak their relationship into existence. It made it feel more real than anything else had.

Zoro was waiting for him by the gate when he was done. He took Sanji's hand and they walked back to the nearby town. Sanji told him that he knew a good place for them to get lunch and Zoro did what he always did, he followed.

-

"Don't you think its crazy? What we do?" Zoro asked him. They were sitting on the balcony, enjoying the cool breeze off the water. Sanji had his feet propped up in Zoro's lap as he ran his hand along Sanji's leg.

"Sure," Sanji said. "We've been to more places in the world than most people get to see in a lifetime."

"We're both trained in combat. And more."

"You almost died," Sanji said, the thought causing a pain in his chest. Zoro reached up to touch the scar across his chest. "I don't want you to die. Not until you're old and grumpy. Well, grumpier."

"Planning on sticking around?" Zoro asked.

"Since the beginning," Sanji told him. Zoro smiled wide and Sanji used the foot in Zoro's lap to playfully kick him in the shin. "Stop looking so smug."

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the waves on the shore below. Eventually Zoro had gone back inside to grab himself a beer and Sanji's cigarettes. Sanji smiled when Zoro brought the blanket from the sofa to wrap around Sanji's shoulders. He leaned down to kiss him.

"What are we toasting to?" Zoro asked as he twisted the top off of his beer. Sanji took a deep puff on his cigarette.

"We should move in together." Zoro just stared at him. Sanji took another drag before continuing. "Then you don't have to fly to Paris every week. You'd just be coming home." Zoro didn't respond so Sanji clarified. "Or Japan. Or America. Or wherever."

"You do wanna be a Roronoa," Zoro said eventually. Sanji rolled his eyes but didn't deny it either. Zoro pulled him close to kiss him and Sanji couldn't imagine anywhere could be better.

-

There was a ring at Sanji's door, someone buzzing in below. He knew it wasn't Zoro. Sanji had given him a key weeks ago and he was on assignment in New Zealand.

After their trip to Nice, Zoro had gone back home and returned to France two days later with two bags of everything he considered essential. He wasn't going to sell his home in Nagoya. Instead it would act as a second home for them, a place they could go if Zoro was ever feeling homesick. 

But as Sanji watched him put his clothes in the closet, he was overcome with such happiness that he knew his future was Zoro.

Sanji turned the heat down on the stove and went to the buzzer by the door. "Hello?"

"It's me and Usopp," Nami said. Sanji was surprised. Nami had only ever come to his apartment once, after he'd been injured in Nairobi, and it was a short trip to check on him.

Sanji buzzed them in. He went to the hallway and pulled down the picture of he and Zoro from their trip. Neither of them had disclosed their relationship to their respective organizations and Sanji wasn't gonna tell them now.

He was just hiding some of the other Zoro identifiable objects when he heard the knock on his door. He opened it with a smile.

Nami and Usopp both looked serious. Sanji looked between them, not smiling himself anymore. He ushered them in and saw that Nami had a large Manila envelope in her hands.

"Would you like some tea?" He asked them.

"Sit down, Sanji." This was from Usopp, utilizing a tone of voice that Sanji didn't hear too often. He started to panic then and his first thought was that something had happened to Zoro. Then, with a sinking feeling, Sanji realized that no one would even know to tell him if something were to happen to Zoro.

Nami sat down at the table so Sanji did too. She opened the folder and slid out a stack of papers. She turned them over and put them in front of Sanji.

The top page was a large photo of his front door. Not the one to his apartment but the one to the building. The door was open so you could only see one of the men standing in the doorway. It was Zoro which meant that the arms around his shoulders had to be Sanji, even if you couldn't see his face.

Sanji flipped to the next picture. Zoro at the same table they were sitting at now. He was leaning against it, propped up with one arm, and his head was tossed back in pleasure. Because of the angle, you could only see the back of Sanji's head where he was down on his knees in front of Zoro.

He flipped through the pictures, each one of him and Zoro. Them kissing at the kitchen window at Zoro's home in Nagoya. A still from an elevator camera, Zoro with his arm around Sanji's waist at the hotel in Milan. Sanji with a wide smile on his face, holding Zoro's hand to his cheek at an outdoor cafe on their last night in Nice. Nearly forty photos of the two of them together over the last few months.

The last photo was downright pornagraphic. Sanji and Zoro were fully nude and in the middle of having sex. Sanji couldn't tell where it was taken but he could tell the camera was using a telephoto lens. It was invasive and made Sanji feel ill. He crumpled the photo up angrily and tossed it away.

"What is this?" Sanji asked, hurt clear in his voice. Nami opened her mouth to say something but she stopped. She honestly looked a little ill herself so Usopp took over.

"Why didn't you report your relationship with Roronoa Zoro?" He asked.

"Because it's no one's fucking business," Sanji snapped.

"It's a major security breach. You're sleeping with the enemy!"

"How? We don't discuss work."

"This makes you compromised," Nami said. Sanji looked at her. "The organization has to come first. For most of us, there's never a conflict. But can you guarantee that you won't choose Roronoa Zoro over All Blue?"

Sanji couldn't answer that. The answer was obvious but Sanji didn't feel like he should have to make that choice. Being a spy was his job but his relationship with Zoro was personal. They two didn't have to conflict.

"Zoro and I have been together for months. In that time, we've both continued working without any issues. I don't pull my punches and neither does he."

"And now the organization is reevaluating all the missions you failed to complete. They're wondering how many of them were because you were compromised." Sanji clenched his jaw. Hearing Nami say that hurt more than Sanji would have expected.

"I'm not compromised." He stood up and went to the window. He opened it and lit a cigarette. Nami and Usopp just watched him. Sanji couldn't help but look across the rooftops of the buildings across from his.

How long had someone been camped out there, watching everything he and Zoro did together? Did they see when Sanji fell asleep in Zoro's arms while they watched a French horror film? Or when Zoro tried to surprise Sanji with breakfast that went horribly wrong? Sanji had woken up to smoke in the apartment but after he had salvaged the situation, he sat on the floor and laughed so hard that he cried.

All the personal and intimate moments he had shared with his partner, scrutinized by an ever present stranger that Sanji hadn't known, was watching. It really stung.

"Were either of you the ones taking the pictures?" Sanji asked. Nami shook her head.

"The higher ups hired an outside agent to do it. Apparently she's got an incredible eye."

"Are you here to kill me?"

Sanji was surprised that the prospect didn't bother him as much as it should. Sanji didn't want to die but death was always a very real possibility for him in this line of work. 

But then he thought of Zoro. Of the way he had looked on the morning before he'd left for New Zealand. The light had come through the curtains to shine on Zoro sleeping so peacefully. Sanji had traced the scar on his face like he always did when he was feeling overwhelmed by the love he had for this man, and Zoro had smiled before he even opened his eye.

They'd made love that morning, slow and unhurried like Zoro didn't have a plane to catch in a few hours. And afterwards, as Zoro pressed kiss after kiss to Sanji's neck and shoulder, Sanji quizzed him on all the French words he'd been teaching Zoro. Every I love you and you're beautiful was punctuated by Zoro's lips to Sanji's skin.

Sanji had never disliked the idea of dying so much as he did now. The thought of leaving Zoro without more mornings like that was unbearable.

"The organization doesn't want to start a conflict with the Straw Hats," Nami said. Sanji understood. If they killed him, they believed that Zoro would want revenge. Sanji believed it too.

"What does that mean then?"

"You're on unpaid leave for now," Usopp said.

"And you can't see Roronoa Zoro anymore," Nami finished.

"Not gonna happen," Sanji said before Nami had even finished talking. "He's my partner. We live together. I'm not shutting him out of my life." Neither Nami or Usopp had a response to that.

Sanji finished his cigarette and left the bud in the ashtray. Nami just watched him, with a sad look in her eyes. She didn't stop him when he grabbed the photographs off the table and dumped them in the trash can.

"The higher ups will call on you after they decide their next course of action." Sanji didn't respond and after a few more tense moments, Nami and Usopp prepared to leave. Sanji didn't walk them to the door but before they left, Nami turned to him for the final time.

"I want to believe everything will work out," she said. Sanji just smiled at her sadly.

"Will it?"

She didn't have an answer so she just left, shutting the door behind her.

-

Sanji lit another cigarette before walking to the hallway. He rehung the photo he had taken down. With the Mediterranean behind them, Sanji had his arms around Zoro from behind, his chin on Zoro's shoulder. Sanji had asked another tourist to take their picture. They were both smiling broadly.

Sanji leaned against the frame, the glass cool against his forehead. He just stood there, letting the whole encounter settle in. Sanji couldn't give Zoro up because he doubted that he'd ever find someone else who complimented him like Zoro did. Zoro was the only one for him and Sanji couldn't let that slip through his fingers.

After the end of his cigarette dropped off, ashes falling to the floor, Sanji finally moved. He swept up the ashes and then went to get his phone. He needed to talk to Zoro, to tell him about what had happened.

As soon as he picked up the device, there was a knock at his door. Sanji stilled, uncertain of who it could be. Nami or Usopp coming back to inform him of something else? Zoro, hurried back home after his own organization learned the truth? An All Blue agent ready to try and kill him?

Sanji took a deep breath, muscles poised in case he had to fight for his life, and went to the door. He yanked it open, not wanting to give the knocker any advantages.

Standing there, was Luffy of the Straw Hats and a tall woman with long black hair. Luffy smiled widely at him as the woman asked if they could come in. Sanji was too stunned to do anything but step aside for them to enter the apartment. 

The woman asked if she could take a seat while Luffy walked around the living area. He started down the hallway and stopped when he saw the photo of Sanji and Zoro. He turned to Sanji and smiled.

Sanji had met Luffy a few times in jobs over the years. He was younger than Sanji but he'd already made a huge name for himself. He'd single handedly taken down some of the biggest bad guys in international crime. Sanji had only had to fight against Luffy once and Sanji wasn't dumb enough to think it had been a fair fight.

"I almost couldn't believe Zoro lived here," Luffy said, walking back into the living area. "It's way too nice for him."

"So then you know," Sanji said, matter of factly.

"Well, yeah," Luffy said, seeming confused. Sanji was in turn confused by his confusion. Isn't that why they were here? Because they'd found out and they were gonna threaten him or something? Why did Luffy seem like it was obvious that he knew?

"Zoro told us about your relationship at the very start. We've known for months," the woman said.

"That's why I told Robin to keep sending him on the same missions as you. Wasn't it fun?" Luffy asked. Sanji stared at him in confusion before turning to the woman.

"You're Nico Robin?" Sanji asked. She smiled politely and nodded. Sanji couldn't believe that the Nico Robin was sitting on his sofa.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sanji. Zoro has told us so much about you," Robin said.

"He has?"

"He said you're a great cook," Luffy said. Sanji couldn't stop himself from smiling. He assumed Zoro had told them that he was a good spy or something complimentary to his job. Not personal stuff that Zoro liked about Sanji.

"He did?" Sanji let that information sink in before turning back to Robin. "But aren't you worried he might betray you? Since he and I are supposed to be enemies?"

Robin shook her head but it was Luffy who said, "No way. Zoro is the most loyal person I know. He'd retire before he ever betrayed us."

"So why are you both here?" Sanji asked.

"We wanted to meet you." Sanji stood there awkwardly. This wasn't a work call but Sanji couldn't exactly think of these two as just casual guests. He wasn't sure what the etiquette for something like this was.

"Would you like tea?" Sanji asked. Robin smiled and thanked him. While Sanji prepared tea, he somehow offered to make sandwiches. Half an hour later, they were all sitting in the living area.

Robin asked him polite questions about his upbringing and hobbies. While Luffy asked him about his job performance. Zoro had mentioned that Sanji was a competent fighter and Luffy was practically asking for his resume.

They were there for over an hour. Eventually Sanji had been comfortable enough to ask questions of his own. The time passed by so quickly that Sanji was shocked to see the setting sun reflecting off the window panes in his kitchen.

"You should join us," Luffy said. Sanji turned to him in shock but Luffy only smiled. "If All Blue doesn't want you, then I'd be happy to have you on the team."

"How do you know All Blue doesn't want me?"

"What Luffy means," Robin said, "is that should your relationship with Zoro prove to be a problem with your organization, you would have employment with us. Being with Zoro means that we already think of you as family."

"I appreciate the offer but I can't do that," Sanji said apologetically. "If I leave to join you, I'll be doing what they fear I might. I can't prove myself to be a traitor."

Robin stared at Luffy who seemed to be thinking. Finally he turned to Robin. "Get me an appointment with the All Blue leader. I'll talk with them."

"Of course," Robin said with a smile. Sanji looked between them, completely confused. Why was Nico Robin taking orders from one of her underlings? She turned to him, understanding his confusion. 

"I'm not the leader of the Straw Hats," she said. "Luffy is." Sanji turned to the young man as he actually picked his nose.

"What? But he's a field agent?"

"I'm better at logistics and planning," Robin said.

"And being behind a desk is boring," Luffy said. Sanji couldn't believe that. The leader of one of the biggest espionage organizations was this young man, who willingly risked his life in high stakes missions daily.

"Wow," was all Sanji could think to say. Luffy took another sandwich, commenting how good they were.

After clearing the plate, Luffy was sufficiently full. As it was getting late, Robin announced that it was probably time for her and Luffy to go. Sanji, not sure what else to say, thanked them for stopping by.

"Don't worry," Robin said at the doorway. Luffy was already down the hall. "Luffy will handle this."

Sanji could only nod.

-

Zoro came back from New Zealand with a pretty bad cut on his arm. He kept reassuring Sanji that he was fine but Sanji just held him in a vice grip. He suddenly hated that Zoro could be a world away from him, life in danger.

During dinner, Sanji shut all the shutters and curtains in the apartment. Zoro watched curiously before Sanji sat down and told him about what had happened. They'd only spoken twice while Zoro was in New Zealand and Sanji didn't want him to be distracted on a mission so he hadn't said anything.

As Sanji told Zoro about the photos and what All Blue had told him, he could see Zoro getting upset. His jaw was tense and Sanji wasn't surprised when Zoro turned the steak knife around to stab it into the table. He got up from the table and paced the room.

"That's so fucked up, Sanji."

"I know, love." 

He beckoned Zoro to him and Zoro pulled a chair close so he could sit and wrap his arms around Sanji. Sanji laid his head on Zoro's chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was racing and despite how serious this all was, Sanji smiled.

"What's gonna happen?" Zoro asked. And so Sanji told Zoro about the other part. He told them about Robin and Luffy coming by. He repeated what Robin had told him about Luffy handling it. Zoro just nodded.

"Then I believe Luffy will handle it." He kissed Sanji's hair. "Still makes me so mad that they took photos of us while we were being intimate. That's really fucking violating."

Sanji agreed but kissed the frown from Zoro's mouth. Zoro hummed in delight, pushing the kiss forward so he could bite at Sanji's bottom lip. Sanji pulled back and motioned for Zoro to follow him.

Zoro followed, a few steps behind, as Sanji took off each article of clothing one by one. Zoro stopped at the doorway as Sanji crawled onto the bed and smiled at him.

"I missed you so fucking much," Zoro told him.

"I missed you too, mon coeur."

-

Sanji was too tired to move. He and Zoro had made love so many times, Sanji wasn't pretty confident that he wouldn't be able to get it up for a few days. 

One of those times, Zoro had fucked him so hard that Sanji thought Zoro was trying to eliminate any space between their bodies. It felt like Zoro was trying to merge them into one inseparable entity. His back hurt so bad afterwards that he made Zoro draw him a bath and then carry him like a princess to the bathroom. Zoro had the decency to pretend to be embarrassed.

Zoro sat outside the tub while Sanji soaked, telling Sanji about his job in New Zealand. Sanji ran his hand through Zoro's hair while he listened.

"Luffy said you talked about me," Sanji said once Zoro's story was over.

"Of course I did. The Straw Hats are like family to me."

"I bet you couldn't stop," Sanji said, teasing. Zoro didn't respond and Sanji smiled, knowing he hit the nail on the head. Sanji pictured Zoro annoyingly bringing him up every opportunity he could.

"I love you," Sanji told him. Zoro turned to smile back at him.

"And I love you."

-

Sanji never did hear from the All Blue higher-ups. Instead Luffy showed up at his door, this time accompanied by an older man with a beard and a top knot. Zoro told Sanji that the other man was named Jinbei, their martial arts expert.

Zoro greeted his teammates and Sanji offered them tea. Luffy asked for more sandwiches instead. Zoro scolded him but Sanji started to cook with a smile on his face anyway.

Once they were seated at the table, Jinbei handed over a Manila envelope. Sanji looked at Zoro, but Zoro just shrugged, equally confused. Sanji opened it and pulled out a stack of papers. He read through the first few pages.

It was a contract for employment with the Straw Hats.

"I already said that I couldn't--" Luffy waved Sanji's comment away. 

"It would just be a formality, Sanji." This was from Jinbei.

"Technically," Luffy said, "You already are a Straw Hat."

"What does that mean?" Zoro asked. Luffy just smiled at him.

"I met with the leadership at All Blue and we came to an agreement." Zoro and Sanji just stared at him.

"Luffy made them a great offer to merge. All Blue is now under the Straw Hats."

"A great offer?" Zoro asked skeptically. He gave Luffy a look that Sanji didn't know and it only made Luffy smile wider.

"A really great offer," he said.

Zoro shook his head but he was smiling. He told Sanji that he'd fill him in later. Sanji agreed to read over the contract and return it to them. Jinbei and Luffy left, but not before Luffy gave him a large hug and congratulated him on joining the Straw Hats.

-

Sanji and Brook were undercover with a traveling orchestra. Brook turned out to be a very talented musician so he was playing with the band. Sanji was undercover as a stagehand. Apparently, they still have to wear suits.

"Damn, you look good," a voice in his ear said. Sanji looked to where Zoro was sitting in the crowd, in a box with two other couples. Sanji couldn't help but smile.

The audience couldn't see him standing off to the side but Zoro's private box was angled just right. Sanji blew him a kiss, with his left hand so that the ring on his finger twinkled in the light.

Sanji opened his mouth to respond but someone else cut him off.

"You guys are so gross," Usopp said.

"Yeah, we're supposed to be working," said Nami. They both followed the merger and ended up as Straw Hats as well. Sanji was happy to still have them since he thought they worked well together as a team.

Thankfully they hadn't given Brook an earpiece so the chatter didn't disrupt his playing.

"Behave," Sanji told Zoro. Though he made a very suggestive gesture that only Zoro could see. Sanji could tell Zoro had seen him because he could just make out Zoro's tooth smile in the darkness of the theater.

Nami warned that their target, a defective CIA operative planning to meet with a terrorist cell, was moving. Sanji watched a shadowy figure moving in the crowd. Sanji confirmed and started after the target, exiting backstage to see the man walking towards the entrance.

Sanji started after him. His footsteps were impossible to hide in the quiet hallway. The man turned to see Sanji and immediately broke out into a sprint. Sanji cursed and took off after him.

They burst through the front door just as Zoro came down the stairs. He joined Sanji, pushing him out of the way as the target turned to fire a weapon. The bullet dinged off the wall where Sanji had been.

Sanji thanked him as Zoro helped him up. They took off after the target again as Zoro radioed to Nami and the others where they were chasing the suspect. He fell into step beside Sanji as they ran.

This time not as rivals. But as partners.