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Sanji comes back with bandages all over his body.
He can barely stand; he actually doesn't, not really — he's supported by Nami and Luffy, their hands across his back, and Zoro thinks, I don't deserve him.
Zoro has long suspected how the two of them feel about Sanji — he may have lost an eye but he's not blind, damn it — and if he was unsure about it, the scene unfolding in front of him is all the proof he needs. Luffy is waving excitedly at the rest of the Strawhats with his free hand, but his other hand stays steady across the small of Sanji's back, holding him close. Zoro can see its grip on Sanji's hip, and it's a little too tight, like Luffy is still terrified that Sanji would slip through his fingers again. Nami is even easier to read — she's also smiling towards the crew, but every now and then she'd throw concerned looks towards Sanji. Her free hand on her side is balled into a fist, trembling; almost imperceptibly, if Zoro wasn't looking for it.
There are bruises all over their bodies too, blackened skin and nasty cuts and — is that a burn scar? Either way, they are all proofs of how much they have sacrificed for the cook while Zoro has been doing — what? Nothing, essentially. He knows that his choice was a rational one for the sake of the crew, but sometimes when Law's ship was too quiet and the galley felt too spacious, he would wish he had followed Luffy and Nami instead. Luffy, who instantly and readily dropped everything for Sanji. Nami, who only thought about what was best for Sanji.
Sanji deserved better than him.
But then Sanji looks up and catches Zoro's eyes, and his face splits into a wide, blinding smile. The smile takes Zoro by surprise, and before he realizes it Sanji has untangled himself from Nami and Luffy's grip, stumbles towards Zoro, and yanks him into a hug.
Zoro's breath stutters in his chest.
"Hey," is all Sanji says, and it sounds a lot like, I miss you, which is already more than enough, already more than Zoro needs — Sanji is alive, right here with Zoro, and it is enough. Zoro feels a selfish thrill in his chest when he catches Nami and Luffy drop their hands from halfway reaching towards Sanji.
It's almost embarrassing, really. To succumb to such an ugly emotion. Towards his own nakama, no less.
But Zoro is Zoro, and he's never selfish but he never knows what it's like not to fight for something he wants either, so he wraps his arm around Sanji and says, "hey." It sounds a lot like, I don't deserve you. It also sounds a lot like, but please stay.