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Chapter Text

~~  (I Love You)

'It's time.' Zoro yawned as he opened his eyes to the darkness. It was early in the morning but Sanji was still curled up into his side.

God, he loved weekends.

He gave a fond smile over his cook. 'There is a police conference in two days, I'll go to it then fly out to France to see Zeff. Hopefully, Sanji hasn't figured out the surprise' 

The green-haired man gets closer to his lover. He nuzzles the cook's hair. Takes in that natural smell that hangs around him. Before cuddling up to him. 'My husband.'

He slowly moves his hair out of the way and drops a kiss on Sanji's forehead. It wrinkles slightly as Sanji twitches but relaxes just as quickly. With both his curly brows on display, Zoro gazes at his lover. This beautiful face was what he was going to wake up to for the rest of his life if he agrees.

There was no way Sanji would say no though so he had nothing to worry about. They both brought a better person out of each other. They fought together, challenged each other like no one else, laughed together, shared hard and painful times, and now why not take the final step to be official partners for everything else. 

Zoro softly pecks Sanji's forehead again before letting his hair fall back into place. His boyfriend really was the best. He gently pulled himself out of Sanji's grip and stuffed a pillow into his arms.

As soon as he was free he stretched out his arms and legs. Painful or not Sanji's death grip sleep hugs were fantastic. 

After popping his bones to help loosen the stiffness, Zoro reached for his phone to check the time. 5 am, not too bad. Sanji would be awake in 2 hours or so to make breakfast. That gave him plenty of time. 'It should be about 2 pm in France right now. I should give Zeff a call'.

Zoro casually scratching his belly walked out of the bedroom onto the balcony. He unlocked his phone but had to wait for his eyes to adjust in the dark to the now bright light from his phone.

Squinting, he pulled up the call book and scrolled until he hit the Zs. Shit. He didn't have Zeff's number. He had forgotten to get it off of Sanji's phone. 

He sighed as he walked back into the bedroom. His love still rolled up in the blankets with a pillow. Zoro reached the opposite side of the bed and grabbed Sanji's phone. This time he would be able to get it don-

A quiet thud sound rang out in the silent room. Zoro had accidentally knocked over something in the dark. He froze. Did he wake Sanji?

A ruffling sound came from the bed but soon settled. 'Still asleep? Good' Without checking Zoro walked out of the balcony. He closed the door halfway before turning on Sanji's phone. 

--------

Unknowing to the Moss, Sanji had woken up when the thud had sounded. His personal space heater disappeared. Sanji frowned in the dark and looked around. The bed was still warm, so it wasn't all that long ago that mossy left. The pillow in his arms still had the fresh mint smell.

He saw a silhouette out on the balcony. Sanji watched as Zoro was slowly bathed in light from the rising sun. Dark enough that it was hard to see but the redness in the sky was telling that it was morning.

Sanji reached his hand out for his phone to check the time but... It wasn't there? He patted around to double-check. Yep, it was gone. 'Maybe I left it downstairs' 

He glanced back over at the balcony. Zoro looked to be on the phone. He smiled. How thoughtful of Marimo to not wake him up. He unwrapped himself from the blankets surrounding him. The blond tilted his neck to loosen it up as he started walking towards the balcony to embrace his thoughtful boyfriend. He stopped though when he reached the half-open door.

"I plan to be coming sometime this week. We need to talk. No, he doesn't know. Nope. We'll see. Yep. See you soon. Bye"

For some reason, Sanji began to feel uneasy. Zoro had taken his phone - probably to make sure he didn't wake up before his phone call was done and now he was keeping things from him. Add the phone call to his late work nights and... His thoughts stopped as Zoro sighed and shifted his arms onto the balcony railing. Sanji looked away. He didn't like being suspicious like this but what was he supposed to think. 

'No it was just a phone call, that doesn't mean anything. It could be some plans he has with one of our friends. I'll ask if he has plans this week and find out. Zoro hates liars, he wouldn't lie to me"

Set on pushing it out of his mind Sanji walked into the bathroom and started up the shower to begin his morning routine. 

--------

~~  (Lost at sea)

Zoro couldn't find any contacts with the name dad or anything parental names that could be similar. Stupified he started scrolling through the contacts. One of the names called out to him. "Old Geezer". He snorted. Of course, Sanji labeled his adopted father Geezer, he calls him that whenever we go to visit. 'He's such a dork'

It rang twice before the gruff familiar voice came through the phone. 

"Yeah, who is it?"

"Zeff, it's Zoro"

"Ah, the Broccoli. Yes, what is it?" 

Zoro made a face at the name. Great, two blond shitty cooks mocking his hair. "I'm going on a trip to see you this week, We need to talk.'

"Do you now?" A slightly amused voice spoke out 

"Yeah"

A serious tone came through, "You will be staying with me here at the baratie"

"Alright"

He could hear a pen click and a chair be moved. "Do you have a specific date on when you are coming"

"I plan to see you sometime this week. We need to talk."

There was a slight chuckle. "That's very helpful broccoli head." He heard a pause coming from the phone before a questioning tone came out "Does Sanji know you are coming?"

Zoro shakes his head "No, he doesn't know." 

"Do you plan to tell him?"

"Nope."

He could just see the older cook stroking his beard "Might be a good idea, he could be wanting to come back and visit"

"We'll see."

"Alright, was that all you wanted to call and say?"

"Yep, see you soon."

"Bye"

Zoro hung up the phone. Well, that was settled. He checked the time. 5.30 am. Dang, he didn't expect it to take that long. He wanted to get back to Sanji's death hug. He leaned up against the balcony railing with his hands. He took in his surroundings. The sun was peeking out from the horizon. It painted the sky with bright reddish colors.

He turned and made his way back inside. Sanji was no longer in bed. 'Huh, must have woken up. Maybe he's down making breakfast?' Zoro stumbled over to Sanji's side of the bed and replugged in his phone. 

Everything else had been taken care of. Nami had made sure of it. The florist has everything in order so once it is time the flowers Zoro requested would be together and ready for the big day. Now was the waiting game. 

--------

It takes a bit but eventually, Zoro found his way to the kitchen. Probably didn't help that he accidentally found himself in the attic... again. Peering into the kitchen he found the blond using the cutting board. 

Zoro snuck over and wrapped his hands around his boyfriend's waist before planting a kiss on his cheek.

"I have a police conference coming up in a few days and Franky has asked for me to come by and help him move things at his place in the countryside. I should be back when the week is up." He kisses Sanji's cheek again. 

Sanji freezes. 'Was.. was that a lie? Did he just lie to my face?'

"Franky did, did he?" He cocked an eyebrow "Why didn't he ask for my help?" He couldn't help but get defensive as he probed for more information.

Zoro picks up Sanji's hand, stopping him from cutting the zucchini for their breakfast. He brings it up to his face and kisses the knuckles. "Because he knows how much your hands mean to you." Sanji's heart skipped a beat. 'Aww my sweet-'

"Plus I have the most upper body strength out of our friends" Zoro smirked, knowing that he just pushed his curly cook's buttons. 

Sanji's face dropped as he finished his thought. 'Bastard'

Sanji threw a kick at his head. Zoro blocked it with his forearm before swooping in for a kiss. Just as the blond started to enjoy the kiss. Zoro looked at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes and moved away.

'That.. that jackass' The cook kicked at him again. Zoro dodged and shoved Sanji to the side and he ran out of kicking range. Frustrated Sanji followed. Kicking out faster and faster to try to clip the moss man. 

Intelligently, the moss kept blocking and dodging for Sanji to get any real kicks on.

'An opening' Sanji lunged at Zoro with a flying kick. Zoro went soaring into the wall and slid down onto the couch. Quickly, Sanji jumped on top of him to keep him down. He pinned him against the back of the couch and passionately kissed him.

"Dumbass,"  "I'm in" "the middle" "of cooking." He said in between kisses. Sanji leaned back to admire his work. The moss was panting slightly and all marked up from earlier. 'He looks beautiful with my marks all over him' Sanji smiled and gave him one last peck. 

The blond stood and got off Zoro's lap. He moved to head to the kitchen when he felt something hit his lower back. He glanced back at the marimo before rolling his eyes.

"Hate to see you leave, but love to watch you go" The man had slapped his ass and was now unashamedly watching him leave. 

'This guy' Sanji shook his head fondly and re-entered the kitchen. 

When he turned to look at his seaweed, he saw that Zoro had pulled out his phone. 'Strange, normally, he would be warming up for his workouts'

'It's true, isn't it. He's really hiding something from me'

Sanji's insecurities shot through him like he was a metal pole in a lightning storm. 'The phone call this morning and now this. The sound on his phone must be off. He never turns it off though. Why is he on his phone? He only uses it for calls and texts. He doesn't have games on his phone, he thinks those are a waste of time.' During his mental rant, Zoro smiled at his phone. 'Wait, that's the smile he makes when he tells me he loves me.' 

It was as if the temperature had dropped to freezing. Sanji gasped and moved back to the cutting board. 'No way, it can't be...'

It felt harder to breathe. Like something was pushing down on his chest with immeasurable force. It was difficult to stay optimistic. Zoro only made those smiles at him. Sanji needed a distraction and fast. He roughly grabbed the knife. 

Turning the oven to heat up, he finished up the rest of the zucchini before he took care of the vegetables. He chopped them all thin - the peppers, eggplant, onions. They were done in no time at all. Just the repetitive sound of the knife hitting the chopping board was the only sound coming out of his domain. He turned on the stove once he was finished and drizzled some olive oil into the pan. He pulled out the spinach and mushrooms from the strainer in the sink and cut them the same as the others. After seeing the oil shimmer to tell him it was hot enough, he placed the vegetables in the pan and sautéed them until the spinach had wilted. 

He took the sautéed vegetables off the heat, grabbed another pan, and freshly oiled it. Expertly, he cracked the multitude of eggs into a bowl. Salted, peppered, and a dash of garlic powder later, he whipped the eggs and flavorings together before pouring it into the heated pan. 

~~ (Just a Kiss)

As he let it cook he moved to get the bacon and avocados. He sliced the avocado in half and plucked the pit from it. He set one half aside to be put away after and focused on the other. He cut some strips for the inside of the omelet and some for aesthetics on the top. Checking on the eggs they were almost done. He spooned his vegetables into the egg blanket with some avocado slices.

With the now empty vegetable pan, he drizzled some more oil and lay the bacon down to cook. Then he grabbed a block of cheese and a grater. He grated some cheese into the omelet before folding it over with his spatula. A few minutes later, he turned off the heat for the omelet left it on the stove, and focused on the bacon. After flipping the bacon for the first time, he plated the omelet into the two waiting plates.

A little while later after the bacon had turned that crisp brown he turned off the stove and shifted them on top of his oil strainer. He patted them with a paper towel to get the access liquids off before plating the bacon as well. He then poured the leftover fluid into a jar for later use. Tiding up his station, he put any leftovers into ziplock bags and placed them back in the fridge. He wiped down the counters making sure nothing was out of place. Dishes were Zoro's duty anyway, so he'll get to them after.

By the end of everything, he felt that he had calmed down enough to face the moss.

He carried the plates over to the table and got a large drink of water. He turned back to call Zoro over. He was still on his phone. Swallowing around the blockage in his throat, he questioned the man. "What are you looking at there, marimo?" 

Zoro looked up at Sanji and pocketed the phone. "Nothing important" Sanji's eye twitched.

'Bullshit. He was looking at it for at least 30 minutes'

Zoro got up from his seat on the couch. "Looks good, love-cook," He said as he pecked Sanji on the cheek. He then sat and inhaled his food. 

Not feeling particularly hungry at that moment, the blond left his plate on the table. There was no Luffy to worry about so he could leave it alone for a bit. Besides, he didn't like to burn his mouth like their idiot friends. He grumbled displeasingly as he stepped out on to the balcony to have a smoke.

--------

Thinking back on it, things started to make more sense. He has seen Zoro less this month then he had since they got together. Zoro had repeatedly been out working late or weekends not coming home until long after his shift was scheduled to end. It didn't help that he was on his phone more than he ever used it in the past. All month he has been attached to the thing. He also smelled off. Not his normal scent but like flowers. 

If Zoro had smelled like their friends, Sanji would have felt less betrayed but... this was a scent Sanji didn't know. To top it all off mossy just declared that he'd be gone a week for the police conference rather than the 3 days he used to say. What if, even that, was a lie. What if, he's been cheating from the beginning and has gotten bolder now. 'Do police even have conferences? Has he been lying about that as well?'

The blond stubbed out his spent cigarette into the overfilling ashtray before tapping another out and lighting it. Breathing in hard. He was calmed by the familiar taste of nicotine, before sighing it back out. 

He almost jumped when he felt arms wrapping around his waist and pressure on his head.

"You've got that catering job today, right?" Zoro's deep voice rasped out, tightening his hands on the blond.

'If he really is cheating, it's best I enjoy this before I find out. I'm going to really miss my clingy moss' Sanji leaned back into his arms, breathing out more smoke. "Yeah, I'll be working till late" He felt Zoro nod his head from the crook of his neck. 

The blond took a steady breath watching the beautiful horizon. "Zoro" he stopped, not knowing how to continue. 

Upon hearing his name Zoro froze. They only use names during serious conversations or their most intimate moments. He blinked and waited for a moment to see if the cook would keep going. There was a pause. Sanji wasn't going to continue without prompting. Eventually, Zoro bit the bullet and piped up "Yeah" 

Sanji let out more smoke as he turned in his arms and looked Zoro in the eyes. "You would tell me if something was going on right?" The green-haired man blinked.

Sanji watched as Zoros eyes widened and then relaxed. Taken back on what was said he panicked slightly before getting in control of himself. But that short moment was enough. Sanji had seen his panic. "You know that I can't stand lying or secrets. So... is there something you want to tell me?" He asked in all seriousness. 

Zoro pondered what to reply. If he told Sanji the truth, it would ruin the surprise. It was only a week left before he proposed. Surely Sanji could wait to know. Zoro had planned it to be romantic as hell. But he could see the suspicion and hurt in the blond's visible eye. "Sanji. I promise. It is nothing bad. There is something I want to tell you but I plan to tell you when I get back." 

Sanji frowned at this response. "But there is something. You are keeping something from me" His insecurities flared. It took everything not to start pulling at his own hair. 

'He's leaving you for someone else. He doesn't love you anymore. He hasn't for weeks no-'

His inner thoughts were silenced. Zoro had shifted his bangs out of the way and cupped his cheek. 

~~ (I Found Love)

"Sanji, love." The blond started flushing. "Yes, I am hiding something from you. I will tell you all about it when I get back. I promise." He gently presses his lips to Sanji's. 

Sanji melted at his lover's touch. "Okay, I'll trust you. Just... Remember to call me while you are gone. I love you." 

Zoro gazed into the bluest eyes he has ever known. "I love you too" he held the blond close and kissed him again. 

--------

"So, lettuce head, why have you come here?"

"Zeff, I have come to ask your blessing"

--------

This was it, this was the day that Zoro had planned to be perfect. The day he was going to stop hiding things from his lover and finally propose.

He went to Sanji's favorite restaurant and got him the meal that he liked the most. Thai Crab Curry. He also picked up an apple strudel dessert. Went to a winery and found that bottle of Gewürztraminer Sanji liked, that he said went with all of it.

Zoro never really bothered matching drinks to food but he doesn't mind doing it for Sanji. He had picked up the ring from the jeweler earlier, so Sanji wouldn't find it in the house. The last thing he did was picking up the custom bouquet of flowers.

Specific flowers mind you. He'd written down the ones Sanji loved and found ones with similar meanings. He asked the florist if they could get them for today. He had started planning months ago. Nami helped a lot in getting the right ones. He got red pansies, red hibiscus, dark red calla lilies, magenta zinnias, red carnations, and a single red rose in the center.

Red pansies meant I'm thinking of you, red hibiscus means consumed with love, dark red calla lilies mean overwhelming beauty, magenta zinnias meant lasting affection, red carnations meant deep romantic love and passion and of course, the single red rose for the traditional sweep you off your feet - love and devotion it came with. 

To top it off he used his best handwriting to write "Sanji, you are my everything. The star to my night sky. The fire in my winter. My all blue. These last few years I have been by your side and I never want to be anywhere else. Love, it has been a long time coming but I have a special question for you" ~Z

There was a pair of shoes that he didn't recognize when he walked in. Strange, but it wasn't the first time one of their friends had forgotten their shoes. Something felt weird about them though, but he brushed it off to set up his plan.

He set down the flowers to get everything else ready. He placed the wine with its name facing the chair and the meal on the counter where it was centered to frame the window behind it. He cheekily got the restaurant staff to write Sanji Roronoa on the lid. He had caught the blond standing to attention when someone asked for "Mr. Roronoa" It was the best feeling in the world to see that. Sanji was so embarrassed over it - teasing him over it was amazing because Sanji wanted his last name.

Opening the lid of the box had the words, "Sanji, Will you" written in chocolate on the lid of the dessert box. He quickly went outside to the window and wrote on the icy glass "marry me?"

Coming back inside it looked perfect. He turned on the dim lights to make it glow in the dark house. He took out the blue velvet box from his pocket and checked the ring.

It was a silver band with three metal strands with gems in the starting points on the strands. They looked just like swords. A white jade gem, a red spinel, and a black obsidian diamond gleamed under the dim light. Inside the ring was an engraving. It said "forever yours" Zoro smiled before putting it on the windowsill right under the handwritten question mark.

This was going to be a night they both would remember. He couldn't wait till Sanji saw all this. He loved this kind of romantic gesture. 

For their anniversary last year, Zoro had managed to get them tickets onto a cruise of the pacific ocean. Sanji didn't stop smiling the entire trip. He had gotten to take recipes with the chefs, help out in the kitchen and enjoy the sights. Especially the dolphin and whale spottings. He gushed all sorts of information about them to Zoro. The green-haired man didn't mind the overload of information.

Mostly because the cooks smile but also because Sanji loved to talk about the creatures in the sea. Indulging him was the best way to having him relax and enjoy his company.

It was funny because at first Sanji had thought Zoro had forgotten all about their anniversary, so when he was driven to the docks to the cruise ship he couldn't stop kissing Zoro from excitement.

He dragged Zoro all over the ship and like a good boyfriend, Zoro let Sanji do whatever he wanted to. He was just along for the ride. They swam with the sea animals, danced, watched the stars, paroled through the art exhibit onboard, saw a bunch of sea creature-related movies, and of course relaxed in the spa. 

Sanji ordered for both of them in everything. From food to what he should wear for the dance so on and so forth. He couldn't stop laughing after seeing Zoro take a mud bath at the spa. Zoro couldn't let him get away with the teasing, so he pulled the blond in with him.

After a little playful struggle, Sanji relaxed into having a mud bath with his muddy moss monster. Ok so he teased Zoro a little more after that but it was acceptable, he was just pulled into mud after taking a refreshing water and flower petal bath. 

Sanji absolutely loved the cruise and its romantic moments. He even said it was as if he was dreaming.

So Zoro didn't feel worried about his proposal plan. A little nervous but who wasn't nervous asking someone to stay with them for the rest of their lives. 

~~ (Impossible)

Zoro took off his boots and dropped his keys into the box on the small table in front of the door. He picked up the flowers, took a deep breath to steady himself, and started heading up the stairs.

Immediately, Zoro could tell something was off. There was a smell he didn't know. No. Now was the time to make his boyfriend his husband. He would deal with it later. Not a step later he found some clothes beneath his foot. They were on the stairs and looked as if they were tossed there.

The uneasy feeling hit him again. He frowned. Sanji was a clean freak, there would never be clothes about. He got yelled at enough times that he hasn't left clothes lying around in years. 'It's possible he had a rough day at work.' That didn't seem likely though. 

Puzzled, he brought it to his face. There was that scent again. A bitter flower smell. 'A woman?' He thought. 'Can't be Nami or Robin. Neither of them smells like this. Also, why is her top on the floo-' he stopped. It was as if he was just punched in the face.

The dark house, the shoes he didn't recognize, the smell, and now this shirt. No way, right? This has to be a misunderstanding. He wouldn't.... would he? I mean he is useless around women but this...

A noise from further upstairs snapped him out of his thoughts. 'I'll just ask him' a loud thud sound rang out from behind a door.

"Sanji?" Zoro echoed, hoping he was wrong. There was no response. He made his way up the stairs and called again. "Sanji?" No reply other than another noise from their room.

He walked right up to their bedroom door. 'The sounds were coming from here. Don't... Let me be wrong, just this once' he wrapped his hand around the handle and pushed it open.

There on the bed was a woman on top of his boyfriend.

It was as if Zoro was dropped into artic from this chill going through him.

He felt numb. That sensation of getting to the top of a rollercoaster and getting stuck at the lip of the fall. His body was not responding. His grip slipped. The flowers dropped from his hands onto the floor, ruining the careful arrangement. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Sanji had his back to the door, lying on the bed and his hands on her hips - holding on her belt hoops - as if encouraging her to undress. It was as if he hadn't heard the door nor the dropped flowers. Dread filled him to the brim. 

She, however, saw Zoro and smirked. As if it amused her before she leaned down to kiss the blond. Zoro knew this woman. He couldn't place who she was though. Not now, when he was overwhelmed with the other feelings hitting him.

'This fucking bitch'

A boiling heat ran rampant through him. With a rush of emotion, Zoro grabbed the now open door and slammed it shut, cracking the wooden frame from the impact.

At a loss for words, he retreated down the stairs, grabbed his boots, and threw them on. Found his keys, unlocked and opened the door, and ...

For some reason, he looked back. He didn't want to leave. His plans, the wine, the beautifully made dinner, the dessert, the message, the ring, all romantic symbols that just seemed meaningless now.

He looked up at the roof where the bedroom was and then back at his proposal. A waste. In one moment, his heart broke. His love - now obsolete.

"Zoro!" Suddenly his name was yelled out from upstairs.

'Wow, took him that long to react. Some boyfriend he is' The footsteps from the bedroom grew louder. If he stayed, he was going to do something he would regret.

Jolting from his thoughts he hastily opened the door, stepped out, and locked it behind him. He looked at his key ring before pulling the house key off his key ring and dropped it on the welcome mat. It had a plastic fish cover on it. a gift from Sanji to tell which was the house key back when they moved in together.

He wouldn't need it anymore. Everything that had importance was in his car, anything else he could always ask robin if she could pick it up for him. He wouldn't be able to get near the blond without being angry. Years of Zoro's life wasted because of him. His heart, his kindness all for naught.

The finality of the motion followed Zoro all the way to his car. Something he bought and fixed up with Kuina all those years ago. It was a manual 2009 black and green Camaro. She loved the old thing. When they found it in the junkyard, way back then she had fallen in love with it. She and Zoro worked on fixing it up and when she died... he had finished fixing it and learned to drive a stick just to keep the treasured thing.

He jumped in and buckled his seat belt. The white sword dangle danced from the car as he adjusted. He grits his teeth looking at it before he turned it on and shifted it into gear. He tore away just as the door swung open to reveal a disheveled shirtless Sanji in the rearview mirror.

"ZORO!"

Chapter Text

~~( Goodbye My Lover)

Zoro leans his head against the steering wheel. His hands were clenched around its plastic coating. It was crumbling under his strength.  Today was supposed to be the best day of his life. When in reality, it took a turn for the worst.

'How could he just do that. Has he been cheating this entire time?'

Zoro looked up at the crashing waves against the sand. 'Fuck, what am I going to do?'

He had driven until he found a secluded place. Luckily, his directional issues didn't hurt that plan much. He saw the empty beach and figured it was a good place as any.

He unwrapped his hands from around the wheel. They were white from how hard he was gripping it. Slowly feeling started coming back to his hands. Once he could feel them move without a problem he got out of the car and sat down on the overlooking bench. 'I tried to marry the guy, and he was with a woman in our bed'

He sighed and rubbed his face 'What a time to be alive'

An alarm cut through the air. Zoro pulled out his phone. Laying on the screen was his need to leave alarm to remember to get to work. 'Wow, it's already that late- damn I've been here for a while' Closing the alarm he could see that he had a message from Smoker. He unlocked the phone and opened the message.

- I know you have plans but I have an undercover job I need you to do for me. It is out of town and might take a while. Everyone else has had dealings with the people involved. You are pretty much the only one who hasn't. You up for the task?

He checked the time stamp. About half an hour ago, Smoker would still be up.

He replied back. - Plans fell through. I need to get away for a bit, I'll do it. What's the job?

Immediately a text came through - Come down to the station, I'll brief you when you get here.

He glanced at his watch. It was 4 am. It has been many hours since he got back from his trip. He was supposed to be off the rest of today to celebrate before getting back on late shifts. 

Whatever, not like he had anyone to go back to now. He typed another message to his boss - I'll be there.

Zoro checked to see if there were any other messages. There weren't any.

After everything that happened, he expected something from Sanji. Even if it was about her or them breaking up. Something. Not radio silence. 'I suppose he didn't feel the same after all'

He pulled up his contacts and looked at Sanji's number. 'Love-cook <3' he snorts 'how fitting' he opened a new message and started typing.

- I guess you made your choice. I'll be out of contact for a while. Hope she makes you happier than I could. Have a nice life, Sanji.

He looked at the characters on screen.

Did he really want to leave like this? In the dead of night, no explanation.

Well, other than the fact Sanji was fucking cheating on him.

He thought about his friends.

'Was this why Sanji didn't want them to know they were dating years ago? Has he been with her this whole time? No, the smell was quite noticeable, so he would have known if that was the case. Was this a recent development? If so, how long has this been happening?'

It was no use thinking like that, he didn't know the answers anyway.

He looked at the contact photo. It was from a date where he took Sanji to the festival and got a picture of him staring at the fireworks. That was a fantastic night.

~~( When He Loved Me) 

------------

It was two months or so into their relationship when they went to the festival. They played games, enjoyed each other's company, and walked around. Zoro even won a whale plushie that Sanji had mentioned looking cute when they passed one of the game booths.

It was a knock over the bottles with a single ball game. The catch being that they were weighted. It was child's play to the green-haired man and his work out routine. He had shocked the man running the booth when he accidentally broke three of the bottles from how hard it had connected. Like a deck of cards, the pile of weighted bottles came crashing to the floor.

After getting the whale plushie, he grinned as he passed it over to Sanji "a whale deserved gift, don't you think?" 

Sanji had groaned and pushed his face into the whale to smother his chuckles. "God, you are such a dork"

"Your dork" He leaned in and gave the blond a quick kiss. He blushed, looked away, and grabbed Zoro's hand. He muttered under his breath that Zoro would get lost. However, lacing their fingers together was definitely not an accident. Zoro gave him a gentle squeeze and was pretty smug about it for most of the night.

He looked over the festival guide and saw that it was almost time for the firework show, so he held tight and started walking to where it was supposed to be. Sanji knowing he wanted to show him something, just let Zoro take them wherever he wanted to go.

They ended up halfway up the mountain in the wrong direction before Sanji decided to stop them. Zoro then looked around and pointed out a clearing that had a log for them to sit down and relax. Sanji was a little miffed but he was happy to be out of the crowd for the moment. 

"Hey Zoro"

Zoro checked his watch and shushed him.

The blond squawked. "Dumbass, don't shush me-"

BANG

The sky lit up with the first firework of the night. It was a dynamic explosion of red spiraling out across the sky. 

Suddenly, Sanji turned to look. He could see all of the festival underneath them and the fireworks right in front of them. He began to smile.

'Guess marimo does end up where he wants to go eventually' 

Pulled into the moment Sanji enjoyed the fireworks from their little safe haven. His eyes wide in childlike joy at the brilliance of it all. The colors reflected off his bright sea-blue eyes. The same ones that had Zoro falling for him. 

Totally unaware that Zoro had captured a picture of the moment and was now watching him enjoy the sight rather than watching the moment himself.

'He's so beautiful' 

They enjoyed the night watching the bursts light up the dark stary sky. It was almost like something out of a fairytale. A sparkling sky, colors blasting from above, and them in a cozy safe spot alone together. Just them watching the rest of the world. 

------------

~~( Say Something)

Coming out of the memory, he took in his message again.

With this text, it would be over. Four years of his life just gone. The one he wanted more than anything would no longer be his. Not to mention the three other years where they were friends dancing around their feelings for each other. 

He waited a minute watching the cursor blink on and off after his words. and then waited for another. If Sanji really cared he would have messaged.

'No. Actually, if he really loved me, none of this would have happened.'

He hit send.

'There... it's done.' It had really happened. His best friend and his boyfriend had saught another when he was supposed to be on a trip. He had gotten an earlier plane ride to surprise his beloved two days early. Instead, he was the one who was surprised. His eyes closed thinking back over what had happened all those hours ago. What he came home to, what he found, and of course what he lost.

He quickly glanced over his message box.

Still nothing new.

He should probably let Luffy know he was going away for a while.

Zoro pulled open his messages with Luffy. The most recent one was that of a meme the bottomless eating boy sent as motivation to give his man the ring. 

Luffy and Nami were the only ones he had told about his plans to propose. The others knew he had a surprise planned but he didn't let them know in case they let it slip. Nami had good insight to be able to keep Luffy from spilling it but then again... Luffy has never let others secrets drop. Even without her, maybe Luffy wouldn't have said a thing. Doesn't matter anyways, he needed Nami's help for the flowers from the florist. 

They shouldn't be left in the dark. They deserve to know. It was great that they had moved in together as it was convenient to only have to write it just once. He didn't really want to have to tell them individually twice. 

- The plan didn't go well. I'm leaving, I'll be out of touch for a while. Not sure for how long. Smoker gave me an assignment. I don't know if I'll come back after it. Goodbye Captain, See ya Witch. I'll have to take a raincheck on our Friday drinking meet-ups.

He didn't know what else to say.

He sent it before he could change his mind. Almost five in the morning. Neither of them would be awake. Both of them were busy and hardly if ever, looked at their phones until near lunchtime. Luffy worked in construction with Franky and usually was treated to breakfast, whereas Nami worked as the manager of the casino downtown. So she always slept late from how late her shifts ran.

By the time they were able to read his message, he would be long gone.

There was no way they would be able to get him before he left.

~~( Numb)

Locking the phone and pocketing it, he looked back up and watched as the ocean crash harder against the shore.

What a metaphor for his life. Constant motion. Sometimes fighting, sometimes tranquil. To both take and give.

Calm moments with laughter and fond glances. Angry moments when they were in each others' faces. Moments where words were unnecessary. Speaking with their actions and intent. Whether sparing or in each other's arms, words weren't always needed.  Zoro usually kept quiet if there wasn't anything important for him to say. There was never a need to. Sanji filled the air with his noise. Whether it be his humming, singing, talking, or just content sighs from his nicotine habits. Ever since being with Sanji, his life was now full of constant sound. Well... it was. Now he would just sit in silence.

He couldn't help but remember the times he spent with his blond cook. Both the good and the bad. How they met, how they came out, meeting the parents, the misunderstandings and insecurities, that moment with Sanji's jealous ex--.

It all washed over him as he watched the water pull the sand out to sea. 

That woman he was with. She seemed familiar.

'Could it be? Nah... but then again, it doesn't hurt to make sure'

Zoro opened up his Instagram. The first picture to great him was Usopp and his art. Posted earlier today. It was the new landscape painting for Kaya. Great as always. Giant koi in the sky swimming amongst the clouds, Massive tree creatures wandering about. It was magical. Too bad Zoro wasn't in the mood to check his friends' stuff.

He pulled up Sanji's account. The latest picture was that of their ice skating date last month. The one where it hit him that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with the blond. They were both in their fuzzy winter coats. Sanji had on a green jacket where Zoro had a blue one on. 

Sanji was posing for a selfie wanting to get the ice sculpture in the background when Zoro swooped in for a cheek kiss. Sanji's happily flushed surprised face made a small smile appear in fondness for the memory.

Zoro came in at just the right angle to get both the sculpture and the kiss mid capture.

Just seeing curly basking in the light- it hit him. No one could compare to his cook. No one ever would be able to. This unbearable urge came over him that Sanji was his one and only. His forever. So he went in for a kiss. That caused the blond to turn red and knee him after taking the photo.

Zoro was just happy he didn't try to kick him with the blades on.

'That would have been a bloody mess'

-----

~~( Long Distance Love)

He scrolled the likes for a moment before he found the familiar name. The smile disappeared as Zoro pulled up one of Sanji's followers.

Charlotte Pudding.

She and Sanji had been on again off again for a while when they met. After becoming good friends with Zoro, Sanji had fully ended it with her.

She wasn't too happy about that.

Right before he looked for a selfie of Pudding to compare, the first post of hers stole his eyes. There was Sanji.

He quickly opened the post to get a better look.

It was a picture in the bar not far from their house. It was posted about an hour prior to when he got home. Taken at an underhanded angle was a picture of Sanji drinking alone at the bar. He already looked drunk. There were at least five empty glasses next to him as he was holding another in his hand.

Normally, Sanji got two cocktails and kept Zoro company as he drank. By the end of the second cocktail, he was usually extremely tipsy - and very flirty. They'd press up next to each other as they chatted until Sanji asked for them to head on home.

It was weird that Sanji was in a bar as he didn't really go to bars on his own, that was more Zoros thing. And with his tolerance, it would take a long time before he got anywhere near tipsy, let alone drunk. 

'He's such a lightweight' he rolled his eyes. 'Still... Him drinking five drinks is concerning'

The caption said something even stranger. "That jackass cop Zoro is out of the picture. Sanji'll be mine before the night is up" 

Zoro's frown dropped deeper. The wording of the caption was bizarre. Either she knew he had gone on a trip and wasn't supposed to be in town - which wasn't likely.

He and Sanji were private in their moments out and about. Usually, they would post a picture of their date or outing the next day, but they never mention locations as it was personal. It also doesn't help that they both had stalking problems in the past and really didn't want to go through that again.

- or that Sanji had told them that they were no longer together. 

Neither of those options sounded good, but the latter hurt to think about.

He closed out of Instagram and hit the lock button. He had accidentally hit it twice and caused the lock screen to show. It was one of his favorite pictures of his cook. It was back when they were dancing around their feelings. Before they got into a relationship together.

They went on a picnic at the park with the rest of their friends. Zoro and Sanji were talking while relaxing underneath a tree. They both ended up falling asleep curled up on each other. Zoro was almost flat on his back with his arms wrapped around Sanji who was fully on top of him. He basically rolled in his sleep and was holding Zoro like a body pillow. There was no room between them at all, that was how draped over each other they were. 

The best thing about it was that Zoro had woken up sometime after they fell asleep to hear giggles from their friends. Nami had taken a few pictures by then and the rest were whispering about cute it was. The green-haired man just looked down and took in the view of the cook on top of him before smiling this little content smile, nuzzling his hair and going into a restful state to enjoy the feeling of his crush in his arms.

Eventually, Luffy got bored and started playing tag with Chopper. The rest of the gang either joined in or wandered back to give them space and let them be. Sanji awoke not long after, snuggled into the warmth around him, froze for a moment, and panicked as he wasn't supposed to enjoy being in Zoro's arms.

No one knew he was Bi and he wasn't ready to come out yet. So he had run off to save face and see if the girls wanted a drink. Zoro had stayed behind to give Sanji some space and the idea that he was sleeping the entire time.

He had to have patience when it came to matters of the heart. Sanji wasn't ready yet, so patience is what he practiced.

Luffy bounded over to him after Sanji had run and flopped down beside him. "I know you are awake. That was nice of you to let him pretend. He likes you back, Zo, he just needs some more time" Luffy placed his hat on top of Zoro's face blocking it out completely. 

"Yeah, I know" He sighed.

"Good. I trust you. It'll work out soon." He patted the hat, stood, and ran over to listen to Ussopp's story of how he caught a great goldfish 1000 miles long in this specific lake.

A splash sound was heard as Luffy, of course, jumped into the lake.

Knowing it was going to happen, Zoro was at the edge of the lake and dived, in no time at all. He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him out. After tossing Luffy onto the dry land he looked around. Just behind him was Sanji pulling Chopper out. They had both run in to find the goldfish colony - Once again forgetting that they can't swim.

Zoro shook the water out of his hair like a dog and went back to lay down where he put Luffy's hat to continue his nap. He laid back down and set the hat back on his face.

Eventually, as soon as Zoro was able to get Nami alone, he asked for her to send the photo to him. She had predicted he would want it and had already sent it to him. She had also liberated some money from his wallet as payment for the photo. Sometimes the money-grubbing witch was way too perceptive.

~~(Breakeven) 

It was such a fond memory that he wanted to see it whenever he took out his phone. The same was for his phone and laptop backgrounds. Though not of the same pictures or memories.

He unlocked the phone to get a better view of the background.

It was during one of their sparing moments in the gym. Sanji had just finished kicking Zoro back to make some room. He looked fierce and passionate. His hair was ruffled, his shirt was wrinkly and untucked, His pants had some dust on them and his shoes were scuffed. Zoro wasn't any different.

Robin had dropped by to talk to Zoro about one of his new cases at Koshiro's gym and snapped a picture mid-fight.

She had shown it to him afterward and he immediately asked to have it. Sanji had his thrill-seeking smile on. The one where Zoro can see that he is actually having fun. It was the same one he had when he talked about sea creatures and the mysteries of the ocean. The smile that helped Zoro to fall for him. He knew he needed to get that picture so he could see it all the time. And thus he did. To have him make that smile over them was the best feeling in the world. When they were together, albeit fighting or just spending time, they became the center of attention in each other's worlds. That smile was proof of it.

The only proof Zoro needed to see to know that Sanji was actually enjoying himself. That smile was what he looked forward to the most when he planned on his proposal. If he could see it every day for the rest of their lives. Well, he would have been the happiest husband on earth. It helped that Sanji had a competitive and stubborn streak that could match Zoro's as well as that fighting drive that allowed them to gain respect for each other. He also made the best homemade food Zoro has ever had in his life. He knew he made the best food, so Zoro tried not to compliment him over it because it would just feed his ego. But some times... some times Zoro told him the truth about how great it was. Seeing Sanji flush bright red and turn away was always cute, so he tried not to tip his hand on his plans to have him blush. It gave him a warm bubbly feeling in his chest whenever he did that. A feeling he felt would be best with restful gaps in between. No need to give the game away.  

-------

He sighed.

He hovered his finger over the default button for the backgrounds. He would have to change those pictures soon enough. He bit his lower lip and let out a defeated sound before swiping off of it and locking the phone back up. 'Leaving it a little longer won't hurt' He told himself as he got up from the bench. He'll delete it later. 

He watched as the waves had dropped into calm motions. The sun was beginning to rise at the horizon setting the clouds above ablaze in color. 

It was about time for him to go see Smoker.

Chapter Text

~~( Buy you a drank )

Sanji was working on cleaning up his restaurant after closing. Today was extremely busy. There was a group of friends that came in and basically started partying near the end. He didn't really tell them off as all of the other customers had left by then so he let them enjoy their night. The only time he got involved was when they almost broke one of his dishes. They had apologized for getting too rowdy and shuffled back out of the restaurant. He got a call as they left, so he let his staff take care of clean up.

It was from Usopp. He was asking about planning a special celebration by the end of the week. But when he pushed for answers the curly-haired man refused to say anything other than it being a celebration. Frustrated, he agreed to have his restaurant cater it. He wrote down the day Usopp had mentioned before asking about allergies and the theme. Usopp was having a hard time not to let anything slip that he basically said Sanji could decide on everything, but there had to be a cake that Luffy wouldn't devour before they could have some and that Zoro would enjoy as well.

It confused him as he knew none of their birthdays fell on that day, plus Zoro wasn't going to be back until the day after Usopp planned. When he mentioned this to the long-nosed man, the man began stuttering before saying Robin had a special surprise for them all. Filled with glee over one of his beloved roses asking for him to cater to her surprise, he didn't mind that Usopp wasn't telling him anything at all. He knew that checking with Robin would either confirm or deny his claims. After he hung up on Usopp and called Robin.

Unfortunately, she didn't answer so he would just have to call her back later. He left her a voice mail though. "Robin-Chwan, Usopp told me all about a surprise you are planning later this week. He wasn't lying about this was he? I don't want to be wasting food if it isn't true but then again if it is for you my flower it is not a waste."

He then went on back to the front. His staff had cleaned everything while he was on the phone. Quickly he wiped down the stations after everyone had finished. Half because it was a precaution and half because it was part of his closing routine. 

He bid everyone a good night as they headed out before long he became the last one left in the building. He locked the front and closed the blinds. The lights were still on but he planned to turn them off once he finished his sweep of the room. Satisfied, he turned off the main lights and went to the kitchen. 

He was doing his secondary checks on the ingredients and food levels, so he would know what needed to be purchased for next week as well as anything that was low that was needed sooner. So far everything looked to be at acceptable levels. The vegetable levels needed to be restocked soon but other than that everything was good. He made the necessary marks on his clipboard

He heard the back door swing open. It was Ace. Most of their friends had a key to the back door to his restaurant just in case. Luffy doesn't and neither does Ace, but Sabo did. He must have borrowed the blond's keys. 

Sighing he pulled out one of the extra meals he made for this kind of occasion, as well as some for himself before passing a plate with steak and potatoes over to the dark-haired man. He quickly locked up the fridge and freezer before returning to the front with Ace.

"Come on, Sanji. I know you've been upset about Zoro not being here. Let's go out for a drink" Ace passes out into his food.

Sanji just sighs and adjusts his head so he doesn't suffocate in his steak and potatoes.

It hasn't even been a day since Zoro left for the police conference. Their anniversary was coming up and he had told Sanji he would be gone for the week. 

Once the raven-haired man comes to, Sanji responds to his statement as if nothing had happened. "Ace. You know I don't like to go out and drink. That's more Zoros thing-" His denial was interrupted.  

"It'll make you feel better, I promise! A drink always makes me feel fantastic. Please Sanji!" he urged Sanji to agree. Wiping off the leftover food with his hands and eating the remains. Must have gotten it from Luffy and his bottomless pit attitude.

"I don't think it's a good idea Ace." Sanji bit his lip indecisively

"Hey, Zoro went off and left for your anniversary. Probably forgot all about it." His eyes gleamed with mischief. "What would it hurt to come drinking with me? Going out and having some company would cheer you up blondie."

He really didn't like that look in Ace's eye but Sanji felt distressed over the idea that Zoro had forgotten their anniversary. "You think he forgot?"

Disheartened and now feeling bitter over it he agreed to Ace's plan. Going out has never hurt anyone before. Besides, it wasn't as if he was going to be having all that much to drink. 

Famous last words. 

----

~~( Drunk )

This was the fifth day in a row that Sanji had been at the bar. Ace had continued to drag him to the place near his house all week now. He'd always leave with Sanji did but today Sanji wanted more. He's been limiting himself to a handful of drinks when he was with Ace.

However, now he felt the need to drown his sorrows. Today was his anniversary and if Ace was right the bastard boyfriend of his didn't even remember.

The only messages he has gotten this week was a single I love you text from Zoro.

He had asked for the dumbass to message him and he got the one message. It annoyed him to high hell. There was no way Zoro was that busy he couldn't message more than that. 

Sanji stared off into space. It's been four years that he and Zoro have been together. Four years and still that Mosshead left on 'conferences' for work. 

'Yeah right, police don't have conferences dumbass. The only explanation is that he's cheating on me' he stubs out his cigarette and heads back into the bar where he left his drinks and downs all of them. 'God, how does he drink this stuff. It's horrible. Why did it change tastes after he took a smoke? Gross'

Zoro's advice regarding his drinking habits came to mind "You've gotta drink it all at once Cook. It doesn't taste as good if you don't" Sanji shakes his head 'That alcoholic plant might be right in this case'

Sanji waves the bartender over and asks for another drink. "Something different this time. I didn't like the taste of those shots"

The barman frowns as he looks the blond up and down. "Did you come here with someone?" He asked.

Confused, Sanji shook his head "No, here all on my lonesome. Why?"

The bartender stops. His frown lines grew deeper and looks at him for a minute then slowly glances around as if looking for something. After a moment he's satisfied. He shrugs "I could have sworn I saw..." he looked back up at the patrons in the bar "ah well nevermind"

"Did he have green hair?" Sanji butted in.

"Uh no. It was a woman that came by and-" He started again

Sanji put up his hand to stop the bartender "while I am awed by their beauty and grace, at this time if it wasn't my Mossy boyfriend I don't care"

The bartender's face went into an even sharper frown. "Alright, no moss people came by. I just thought you should know that-"

Sanji tunes him out 'God, I've only had a few drinks why is he looking at me like I've had too much. Every time I go out to drink this happens.' Sanji sighs in frustration.

Realizing he's being ignored, the bartender places down the new drink and heads off to deal with another portion of the bar.

As he grabs the new drink and starts drinking a strange feeling brushes over Sanji. 'This isn't what being drunk feels like. I've felt that before. This is new, this is- Did someone drug m-'

A body forcefully grabs onto him. "Sanji-san" a high pitched voice squeals into his ear.

Startled out of his thoughts he sees a face he hasn't seen in a while. "P-Pudding-chan?"

"Yes, you dummy! Don't you remember me! You're my boyfriend Sanji! You have been for a while now! How much have you had to drink silly? Doesn't matter, you should have one of these! They taste amazing. Here drink it, I have more." She goes on and on covering any and all of his attempts to talk

'Hang on what... but I'm with Zo- ... I... I'm dating.. who?' His head. It feels so fuzzy, like cotton in a fresh rainstorm with lightning about to arrive.

"Yeah and we came to this bar on our newest date! You said you were going to grab us a drink while I parked the car" She held her drink up to his lips and started pouring. Not wanting it to end up on his nice clothes he took it and drank it.

'Wow, this is good. Why did I not want to drink it again?'

His memories seemed further and further out of reach. He couldn't quite remember what he was doing at the bar he doesn't drink. But Pudding was here.

"Pudding-chan? Oh hey there you are, wow I guess I had a few too many, come sit" she passes him a shot this time and he gracefully accepts and downs it again.

Even as the words were coming out of his mouth he felt something was wrong. 'Didn't we end-' immediately the thought is gone. Like a fleeting dream, he can't grasp.

"Hey, Pudding-chan when did we meet up? For the life of me, I can't remember" He drinks some more of his newly handed beverage.

"We just finished a dinner date silly! You mentioned how you weren't that hungry at dinner and I asked if you wanted to get a drink near our house" She hands him another.

"Our house? We never-" Confused but not wanting to turn down his girlfriend he drinks more.

"Yeah our house, we moved in together a bit ago. Wow Sanji you forgot that detail. I thought you loved me." She pouted and gave him yet another drink.

'Where did she get all these from?' He couldn't help but wonder as he took another drink.

"Darling, you must be right. You would never lie to me. But I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something important. Zoro must-"

She jumped into his lap and put her arms around his neck. She almost knocked his drink to the floor so Sanji put it on the counter. "Zoro doesn't give a damn about you remember. You two fought like possessed dogs. He hates you as you hate him. Besides he left you all those years ago. You haven't talked since we got together. He moved back to wherever he's from and you asked me to move in remember. We live together! Just earlier you were teasing me about what you planned on doing to me when we get home" she starts kissing his neck, looking at him through her eyelashes. "I love you Sanji, take me home. Please, you know you want to"

Something was seriously wrong. God his head. 'Wha- what's going on, Why can't I remember anything' This time when Pudding gave him the drink from the counter he set it aside again. "He left-"

She interrupts by kissing him. "Stop thinking about Zoro. He doesn't love you, I love you. He doesn't matter. I matter. I want you, I want to go home now Take me home Sanji-san. Show me that you love me. Stop making me jealous! There is nothing to compare me to. You only love me" She steps out of his lap, throws down money for his drinks, and pulls him out of his chair. "Now, show me how much you love me Sanji!"

~~( Paparazzi )

The bartender upon hearing the now loud commotion looks over surprised. He starts making his way over "Hang on that's the-"

"Hey, yeah he's had waaaay too much to drink. Time to take him home. That should be enough for the bill. Bye byeee." Pudding throws out there as she yanks the stumbling Sanji to the exit. He trips over himself trying to follow her out.

'Wait what did he say?' Sanji stops trying to think through "Pudding-chan, what was he talking abou-"

"Oh, he's an ex of mine Sanji-san, I can't stand him. I really don't like talking to him. I'm so glad he didn't bother us. He can't stop telling me how much he loves me. It's embarrassing." 

Sanji frowns "I guess you are right. Okay let's go home"

He stumbles over to the passenger's side and flops into the passenger seat. He tries to relax but he can't. The seat is extremely uncomfortable. The positioning hurts both his back and his knees. "Did I drive us here?"

Pudding looks at him as she gets in. "No, I drove. Why?"

"Well, the seat-"

"You forgot again??? Sanji, it's broken remember. We are working on replacing it soon. The new seat should come in next week" Her shrill voice rang out.

'But it feels like I've never been in this car before. Maybe it's new'

"Sanji-san do you remember the address. These roads are so confusing at night"

'If we live together, how do you not know?' He wonders

"It's down this road two lights then a right and down three more lights. Left on the last one. Do you not remember now?" He asks.

She looked panicked for a moment "Well, I've never driven this way before Sanji-san. You know how much I can't stand night driving. Everything always looks the same. Plus you are normally my navigator"

That last sentence really struck a chord. A voice out of his memories rang through his head 'I'm not lost. I'm following my navigator's directions. If anything you made us lost' before it's gone again. Sanji frowns again 'something isn't adding up. Why did that sound like Zoro'

-----

"Alright, Sanji! We are home." She parks the car. Leans over and kisses him. "Let's go inside and get you a quick drink and some water. You said you were going to ravish me. Come on" she unbuckles his seat belt.

Sanji got out of the car and looks around. She's parked it next to the neighbors' house. 'Maybe that's where she always parks' Something is nagging at the back of his mind. Screaming to get out, but no one can hear. Not even himself. Just flashes come through the cracks but nothing strong enough to pull him away.

He walks up the steps to his house and notices that she is just standing there. She isn't pulling out any keys or looking at her phone. It is as if she was waiting for something. "Alright, my swan lets go inside" He pulls out his keys and unlocks the door.

Pushing it open, Pudding moves to take off her shoes. Sanji stands in the doorway looking at his keys. He looks closer at them. There is a small moss ball in a jar hanging on his key chain.

A memory echos through his head.

His arms wrapped around a figure from behind as he shows off his purchase 'aww look at the little moss ball. It's one of your brethren, Marimo!' 'Shut it shitty cook' the figure grumbles as they make no moves to getaway. He kissed the figure on the cheek 'You'll always be my favorite moss ball'

~~( Beautiful Liar )

'Huh, that could only have been Zoro''

Before he can get a word out, he is pulled into the house by his forearm. "Are you getting shy on me Sanji-san?" The voice rings out and a hand grabs the keys and shoves them in the box.

She pushes him onto a stool to take off his shoes before she closes and locks the door. she is just about to close the top lock Sanji calls her attention.

"Pudding-chan"

She moves away from the door. Figuring it was locked enough she gets into his face. "Come Sanji-san." She takes a step back and starts doing a little striptease. "Let's get you that drink, then we can have some real fun" He started taking off his shoes.

"Something feels really wrong" he mutters to himself as he slips them off.

She slinks over to the kitchen and rummages through the cupboards until finding a glass. She puts it under the tap and fills it with water before adding something to it and stirring it in.

"What's that?" Sanji's voice startles her into almost dropping the glass. She flounders for a moment before composing herself and replying.

"Oh this, it's protein powder. You are supposed to mix it with water to help get rid of any hangovers in the morning. Here. Drink all of it, babe." She holds it to his mouth, pinning him against the counter. His only choices were to drink or to have her spill it everywhere. 

Not one to disappoint a lady over good intentions he makes sure to drink everything there was. It was a bit bitter but not too unpleasant. "It's supposed to help hangovers, huh?"

She smiles against his chest. "Yep, that's what my mother says." She presses her face against his shirt, not wanting to lie but then again not wanting to tell him the full truth either. "It clears the hangover and some of the memories of the night." 

Sanji couldn't quite hear her through the cloth but her hand motions on his back were very distracting to the blond man. 

She then let him go, rinsed off the glass and put it in the empty sink before she sauntered over to the stairs "Well, take me to bed Sanji"

She slowly peeled off her shirt, inch by inch, knowing it would make him swoon. She pulled it over her head, swayed her hair before dropping it on the stairs.

Just as she planned, he was a mess. 'It is really this easy to make him mine, He always was weak to a pretty face and an even prettier body' Shaking her hips purposefully she walks up the stairs. His eyes are glued to her hips he moves quickly to his bedroom. It still felt off somehow. 

As soon as he entered, she closed the door behind him. She crowds him onto the bed and pushes him into a seated position. "There we go Sanji, finally acting like yourself again"

A door closing in the distance catches her attention 'this is going to be interesting' she rubs up against him making all sorts of noise.

"Sto-"

"Sanji, come on"

"Pudding, this is wrong-" Her mouth traps his words. Biting and sucking the air out of him to silence him.

He puts his hands on her shoulders but doesn't push her away. 'Looks like my little trick is working' She moves his hands off of her shoulders and back onto the bed.

"Nope, you get to do what I want now." She positions him with his back to the door as she gets on top of him.

Accidently she dropped some books when hitting the shelf but ignores them as they crash to the floor. She almost has her prize. She wasn't going to let anything get in the way this time.

She sits on his lap and slowly unbuttons and takes off his shirt and making all sorts of noise to cover the sounds she can hear in the hallway.

It's pretty slow going but she manages to unbutton his shirt buttons, all the while keeping his attention focused her and not the sounds from outside the door. She is pretty sure she just heard someone say Sanji's name. 'That sounded close'

His hands go to her hips in an effort to halt her from doing anything else. She flattens her hands on Sanji's chest.

"Pudding-chan. Stop, this is not something I-" he breaths.

She straightens up and spreads her hands further over his pecs. 'Whoever was in the house, was right outside that door." She looks deviously at the door. 'If it's who I think it is, this will be a piece of cake.'

She waits until she sees the door nob begin to turn before she moans loudly to cover up the click of the door. She ends it with a smile as she looks up and sees Zoro standing there dressed nicely in a suit with a handful of flowers.

She smirks grows even wider 'He's mine now' and leans down to kiss the blond. She sees the flowers fall out of the corner of her eye as she explores her new treasure.

~~( California King Bed )

The door slams shut. Sanji in his surprise headbutts Pudding. He grabs his head as he shifts her to stand. "What the hell was that - Pudding-chan... are you alright darling" he looked at her to find her holding a bleeding nose.

"I'm sorry my swan that-" He stopped as he looked at the door. He moved over to the flowers on the floor. Picked them up and turned them in his hands. These were some of his favorites.

He turned to ask Pudding where they came from when he saw the card. 'Zo... wait a minute'

"ZORO" He yells as the dots connect in his mind. "I can't believe you. That wasn't a hangover cure, was it? You drugged me. You've been drugging me all night. Why would you do such a thing, Pudding-chan?"

He grabs the door and throws it open. He moves as fast as he can. Halfway down the stairs, he hears the front door lock. "No. Zoro, wait! Please!" To busy trying to reach his lover he didn't take in the new things in the room.

Frantically he unlocks and opens the door before stepping out. He gets a good look as Zoro tears down the street. Taillights shot past before disappearing around a corner. "ZORO" He shouts again reaching out, knowing nothing would happen from it.

"Come back. Please. I didn't- it wasn't-" He pulls at his hair trying to hold himself together. Unable to comprehend the fact that Zoro was gone, he stared in the direction his car went.

What feels like an eternity later he manages to get his hands out of his hair. He shakily pulls out a cigarette and lights it up in an effort to calm himself.

'This is bad. Really, really bad. Zoro practicality saw me cheating when he came to romance me. God, is there even a way I can fix this' The much-needed feeling of nicotine fills him as he walks inside. Immediately he stops in his tracks.

As if in a trance, he moves toward the counter. Staring at the message left from his love. Tears fill his eyes and he clasps he hands over his mouth barely avoiding his smoke. 'Was this hell? He was distant in efforts to do this? Oh my god' He slowly moved to grab the velvet box on the windowsill. The handwritten words "Marry Me?" were visible through the glass. 'Please don't tell me.' He opened the box.

Crushed he sunk to his knees. 'He... he...' speechless he sat there looking at the ring. "He was going to marry me," he says out loud. 'Marimo set all this up to marry me on our anniversary. That romantic bastard.' He shifted the box to watch it shine in the dim lights.

Beautiful.

He picks it up out of the box and feels something on the inside. 'An engraving?' Reading what it said made his stomach drop.

Clutching it tight to his chest, he wanted to cry, have a meltdown. Anything to help relieve this pressure in his heart. But he knew only getting his love back safe would help.

Sanji opened his fist once more, gazing at the ring. He wanted to have Zoro here with him so badly. This was supposed to be a joyous occasion not a time for despair. He held out the ring and slid it onto his left hand. It felt perfect. It felt like coming home. It felt right like it belonged there. He smiled. Made a fist and kissed it. 'I do. I want to marry you to Mossy. I'll make this right again, somehow. I promise' He held it close to his chest and got up off the floor.

Tasting a foul taste he realized his cigarette had burnt to the filter. Quickly, he put it out into the ashtray on the counter and pulls out another one.

Taking in his surrounding he sees the dinner and dessert, his green giant bought. His favorites. Wait a minute. There was writing on a note on the lid. Sanji moved closer to be able to read it better and was instantly filled with anguish. In beautiful cursive was the name he wanted ever since they got together. Sanji Roronoa. It was followed with a small drawn heart as if the person who wrote it knew how much it meant to him. 

'God Zoro, I'm so sorry. Why did I agree to go out with Ace? Why did I go out in the first place? Why did I have to drink so much? Why couldn't I have just stayed here?'

He had no appetite for anything anymore. He gathered the food and put them away in the fridge as he looked around. The door was still open. He moved back over to the door to close it.

Something caught his eye just as he moved the door. He reached down onto the mat and picked it up. 'Marimo's key? Did he leave this here on purpose ... I hope not'

It had a fish cover on the top of the key. It was one of the first things they bought once they got the house. Matching fish covers to tell the house key apart from the others. He had gotten them after their aquarium date.

Zoro loved teasing him with them once Sanji found them in the gift shop. Yet, the green-haired man still put it in the cart and purchased them. That was two years ago. His sweet grass headed boyfriend was like that. Teasing then loving in the same moment. It was one of the things he loved so much about that idiot. 

He felt a lump in his throat. Loved, god he hoped that in the end, he could still say loves rather than the past tense version. That was what hurt the most to think about. How his love would be thrown out for getting attacked like this.

~~( Nothing )

He put the key on the box near the door before closing the door.

He breathed in a lungful of smoke and sighing it out again. He was truly fucked. He had cut back his smoking but now his stress kickstarted his chainsmoking habit of the past. It was inevitable at this point.

He glances around again and sees the shirt on the stairs. 'Whose... Pudding-... shit. He set all this up and saw this.' He shook his head. He would start crying again if he wasn't careful. 

He picked it up before heading up the stairs to find her in the bathroom holding her bloody nose.

As upset as he was, he didn't feel like noodling around or praising her. Especially not for what she tried to pull. She might have just lost him the love of his life, not to mention, of course, her molesting him.

"Here" he hands her the shirt. "Let me see it" he moves her hand from her nose. Grabbing some tissues he puts them to her nose and has her blow out. Before grabbing new tissues and helping stuff them up her nose.

He began cleaning his hands "Now, why did you do that? How did you make me believe those things you said? What was it that you've been adding to my drinks?"

She had just finished putting on her shirt when she looks up at him and starts to cry. "I put an influencer in your drinks when you were taking a smoke. It's called Scopolamine. It makes people's memories and feelings malleable to anyone, it strips your rational thought."

"In all of them? That would be why my drinks tasted different. But why Pudding?"

Wiping her eyes she continues "Your drink tasted funny? It's supposed to be tasteless?" She takes a breath before continuing. "I love you okay, so much. I can't stand you being with that jackass Zoro. He doesn't care about you like I do."

"I'm a chef, I can tell when something has changed. What the hell Pudding-chan! You broke up with me for someone else. It's been five years since then, why now?"

"Yeah well turns out, he cheated on me and just wanted my money. You always made me feel special and wanted. You never cared about my money or what my mother does." She moves closer to him, "I think about you all the time. I have pictures of you all over. I love you" She moved to put her hands on his chest.

He grabs her arms and holds them in place away from him."You are right. I don't care about your money, but I am in love with Zoro. I have been for years. This isn't love you feel for me Pudding-chan. Its obsession."

"Obsession?... But"

Sanji interrupts "Pudding-chan, other than sex and being with me, what else do you think about"

"Us together."

"Other then that" he sighs

Frustrated she stamps her feet, "That's it though. I don't think of anything else other than us together." 

He holds her hands. Looked into her eyes and made sure she made eye contact back. "Pudding-chan. That's not love. If it was you would feel it in here" he points to her heart, "here" he points to her stomach, "here" he points to her head, and "here" he points to her eyes. "You would also want to do your own thing. Have interests other than my interests. More importantly, talk. Not the light stuff we talked about when we were together but actual conversations. Getting to know each other in an intimate way without the need for physicalities or words."

"Your feelings for me are not necessarily towards me but are towards the concepts of togetherness. You love the idea of being in love." He kisses the top of her head and pulls her into a hug. "I apologize but Pudding-chan, take me out of the equation, and you just want someone to accept you as I did. That is not love"

Her lip trembles. She holds him tight as she bawls. "I'm sorry Sanji. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just- You always made me feel like I was your world." she sobs harder against his chest. He puts out his cigarette, holds her, pets her back, and repeats that "it's all right, let it all out" to help alleviate the pressure.

A while passes until she has finally calmed down enough to talk again. "Thank you. Thank you for helping me to come to accept that. I'll never come between you and Zoro again. I promise" she pulls away from the hug and takes the bloody tissues from her nose. She grabbed some more tissues and wiped her eyes.

Lighting up another cigarette, he nods and accepts her promise. "Get rid of that drug you used on me and when Zoro gets back, I want you to personally apologize to him. It wasn't just me you hurt there. It was both of us. He is the one who will need to hear it from you the most."

"Whatever it takes. I will help explain what I did. If it will make you happy, I will do it." She stands and makes her way out of the bathroom. "For what it's worth, I am really sorry for attacking you like that. I wanted to have you any way I could and if I made it seem like you were cheating on Zoro he would leave you as I left my ex. No one should feel like that. I know that now." She started down down the hallway.

He takes a deep breath and cleans his hands once more. Taking note that the ring barely moved. He smiled 'I wonder how he got my ring size just right.'

He grabbed the first shirt he found out of his bedroom before following Pudding back down the stairs. It just so happened to be one of Zoro's baggy shirts. She pulled on her shoes and apologized again.

As she left, he closed and locked the door behind her. He set his head against the door. 'What a long night' He tried to check the time, his phone wasn't in his pocket. 'Guess I left it in the car. Ah well, I'll get it tomorrow.' He checked his watch for the time. It was 2 am. So much had happened in the last few hours. He was going to have the worst hangover in the morning that was for sure. 

'Glad that's all over. I'm exhausted.' He promptly walked back up the stairs, threw off his slacks, cuddled up in Zoro's shirt, and passed out before his head hit the pillow. 

Chapter Text

~~( In too Deep )

Zoro pulled up to the precinct, set the parking brake, and parked in his normal spot. Right at the back near the exits. Cause if something happened, he wanted to be able to get gone as soon as possible and with his speed, he could be at his car in less than a minute.

He pulled out his keys and grabbed his phone from the console. It took him a little bit, but he finally made it before it hit 7 am. 

Quickly, he headed inside. He waved and greeted the person at the desk, he clocked in and went to find Smoker. 

The first place he looked was Smoker's office. It was right slab in the middle of the precinct with a glass wall to show people if he was in there or not. The glass could tint for private meetings but it mostly remained clear.

He wasn't in his office. 

Taking a detour, Zoro went to the break room and grabbed a small mug full of black coffee. 'Doesn't taste as good as Sanji's' the thought upset him.

He drank some more before heading out of the break room with his coffee.

He figured because Smoker mentioned a briefing that he would be in the conference room. As long as Zoro kept turning left he should be able to find the room.

About 10 minutes passed before an officer came out of the restroom to see Zoro lost in the corridor. The green-haired man had just walked into the interrogation rooms thinking they were the conference room.

Luckily, this was one of the officers that knew to not mention his directionless sense and just brought him where he wants to go.(Pointing to the place sometimes made it worse because then Zoro would turn another direction halfway to the place that was pointed at. It was a wonder how this man ever found his way to anything). Glad for the help, Zoro gave an appreciative nod before walking into the conference room. 

Smoker, Tashigi, Robin, and a few people he didn't recognize looked up at him, stopping their speech once the door opened.

Smoker cleared his throat "now that Roronoa is here, we can talk about what exactly is going on. Mrs. Nico if you'd please"

Robin made eye contact with Zoro. Taking in his unhappy state she decided not to say anything regarding their personal lives. "This is a matter that needs the utmost secrecy. What is said in this room must stay here. Now ..."

-------

~~( Blow me [one last kiss] )

Thinking it over, Zoro pulled out his phone. There was a new message. Hopeful, he unlocked it to check. It was just a message from Ace asking if he had made it back yet and if he could give the man a ride.

He gave a positive response to both questions.

Still nothing from Sanji. Normally, the cook was at the restaurant by now.

'Well, it looks like he has nothing to say. Fine'

Robins word's bounced around in his head "these guys are extremely dangerous. If you take this job, you won't see anyone you know and love for at least a year. Your life would change as you know it."

Zoro huffed. 'If he can just push me away without a second thought, I guess it is decided then' He bitterly threw his phone back into his pocket.

He was going undercover.

It would be for the best. He would have time to deal with everything when he got out. If there was anything left over to deal with. For all, he knows Sanji might have created a life with Pudding while he was gone.

Kuina's voice rang out from his past.' Sometimes love isn't meant to be, Zoro. It comes and goes. Sometimes it hurts more to stay together than to let go'

They both were watching the swans by the lake. 'Kuina... It's just a bird that was left behind. It's not a big deal.' Zoro grimaced at her seriousness. 

Kuina looks back up at the green-haired boy. 'Idiot, it's more important than that. It is-'

'Does it really matter.' He interrupted her, 'You are just trying to distract me and it won't work. I'm going to beat you this time. I swear it!'

'Zoro-' Kuina starts.

'Fight me' He throws out, putting his body in a tight defensive stance.

She just holds her head and sighs "You are hopeless." She pulled her arms up into position, "Fine, but it will be my win again!' 

Rapidly shaking his head to let go of the memory, Zoro quickly sends Smoker his reply

-"I'm in, set it up."

His phone dings the message sound not long after he sent the reply. 

His heart in his throat, he drew his phone and opened the message. His heart drops. It was from Ace again. Asking if he was lost.

That ass.

Grumbling, he puts the phone away and gets into his car. Better head on over before Ace blows up his phone with more messages. He shifts into gears and drives to Ace's work in no time at all. Zoro may be a policeman, but he is the biggest speed demon when it came to driving. It probably came from when he was on the highway patrol.

By about 8 am he pulled up to the fire station and turns off the car. He gets out and looks around, Ace was probably still inside. He just came off a 24-hour shift. Zoro strolls into the building.

Immediately, he is greeted by the receptionist and some of the crew that just clocked out too. "Dang, you guys look tired." He threw out there.

One of the firefighters chuckled "That is a gross understatement Zoro. One of the skyscrapers downtowns went up in flames - we think they cheeped out on construction costs. There was no way in hell that was made out of concrete and rebar. I think it was plywood and wooden framing because it went too fast. Ace and a few others got trapped in the higher floors when the stairwell dropped."

"They are alright but it was close." The other firefighter looked over his shoulder at the double doors leading to the locker room.

"Ace saved their lives. He got them to head to the south stairwell rather than the northeastern one we were on. I'm glad he looked over the floor plans of the building before going in, or they would have died." He shuddered and looked away.

Zoro put his hand on the guy's shoulder. "They are fine, you said so yourself. Ace is a pretty smart guy, he got them out just fine. How about you both head home and get some rest. Is Ace still back there?" He nodded to the doors.

The guy gave a small smile as the other nodded at Zoro's words. "Yeah, head on back. I think the other paramedic is still checking him over." The guys gave a goodbye to the receptionist before walking out the front.

~~( I  don't care )

Zoro took a breath and headed for the double doors. Upon entry, he could see a blond man crouched down next to Ace. 

Ace spotted Zoro walking in "Yo, Zoro! This is Marco" Zoro walked closer to them. Marco was wearing the same thing as Ace. He couldn't be the paramedic. 'Wonder where they are'

"Marco huh, you must be the boyfriend" The blond man blushed and glanced between the two.

"That's me alright. You must be Zoro."

Ace gives him a kiss and ruffles his hair. "This one helped me get the others out safely" 

Zoro stuck out his hand to him. Marco grabbed it with a firm grasp and shook it. "Thanks for looking out for this hot head of ours"

Ace pouted "Hothead..."

Marco smirked "You are most definitely a hothead"

Zoro nodded in agreement, "The biggest one around."

Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind him "Portgus-ya, Phoenix-ya, you guys are good to go" Zoro spun around and looked the person up and down. 'Huh, a paramedic with a tattoo that spells death on his hands? Interesting' The man looked over Zoro. "Are you injured as well? You don't look to be a firefighter." He stated as he checked out. 

The green-haired man shook his head. "Nope, not injured. I work with the police. I'm a friend" The other man nodded and begun to walk away.

Ace yelled before he could leave fully. "Thanks, law!"

The man- law as it was- turned back towards them "Don't make it a habit. You must get some rest." He then slipped out the door without another word.

Zoro looked back at his friend. "Alright, Ace. Am I bringing Marco with or just you?"

Marco looked up at him "I have some errands to run but thanks for the offer" He lent down and kissed Ace before grabbing his stuff and walking out.

Ace glanced at Zoro, taking in his posture. "Oi, what's wrong with you? You look different." 

Zoro shifted his stance. "Nothing's wrong with me. Let's get going"

Ace dropped his bag over his shoulder and walked up to Zoro "Nothing huh, then why are your eyes empty? Normally, it's a pleasant sight but now... you look hollow, man" He put his hand on Zoro's shoulder, "It's not a good look for you."

"Ace-"

Said man put his hand on Zoro's head. "Are you going to lie to me again? How about we get something to drink at mine and you can tell me then?" He compromised.

Zoro sighed "I'm not going to be able to change your mind on this, am I?"

The black-haired man smiled. "Nope, come on, let's go" He pulled Zoro out the doors to his car. 

------

They had just pulled up to Ace's and got out of the car when Zoro had finished telling him about Pudding's picture and everything else that happened. 

"Wait, what? You are joking, right? He was still at the bar after I left. You said that there was a woman on him? What woman?"

"Pudding, his ex she-" The green-haired man stopped.

Almost popping his neck from the speed, he turned towards the raven-haired man. "What did you say?"

Ace chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, Sanji and I have been out drinking most of this week, he was lonely since you left and I figured taking him out drinking would be good for him -" His words were cut off as he was slammed against the side of the house. 

~~( Dying in LA )

"You -" "I -" Zoro was beyond livid. "He doesn't drink" He breathed slowly in efforts to calm himself.

It wasn't working. 

Ace frowned at his words. "Dude was like a fish, Zoro. He downed so many drinks when we were out. Today was the first day he stayed behind at the bar. He said he was headed home right after that drink" 

The rage that was boiling, cooled at his words. Sanji had been drinking every night for the last week?

"How did he get there? His car was at home when I went by, there's no way in hell he would be driving if he had any drinks." 

Ace shook his head "Nah, I picked him up and dropped him at home afterward. He said he was going to walk home tonight though. Something about clearing his head." 

Recognition flew through Zoros eyes. So from what Ace is saying today was the first and only instance of Pudding.

"Throughout the other times, you said you stayed with him the entire time right?" 

The raven-haired man nodded, "The only people that got close to him were me and the bartender. No one else. Not even that Pudding girl, you mentioned."

While it still stung of betrayal, Zoro didn't feel as bad as he did earlier when he thought Sanji had been cheating all this time.

Previously it was a burning resentment and pissed off feeling that he was being used by that blond womanizer for years. Now, however, there was still anger and hurt over finding her in their home, on their bed, atop of his now ex-boyfriend. It wasn't as bad as before. 

Ace watched the emotions go through the green man. He couldn't take all the pain he was seeing. "You know he loves you, right? That he still cares ab-"

Not wanting Ace to finish his sentence, Zoro slapped a hand over the raven man's mouth. "Don't say it. Just don't"

Frustrated at Zoro for shutting down his own feelings, Ace bites Zoro to get him to pull his hand away. 

Grimacing at the pain, he removed it from the raven's mouth.

"The entire week he's been asking for you. He's been waiting for your texts. Blubbering over how great you are and that he misses you. He fucking loves you, Zoro. You don't get to just brush that aside because-"

"IF HE LOVED ME SO MUCH WHY DIDN'T HE CALL, HUH. I NEVER GOT ANY MESSAGES BACK FROM HIM. I SENT HIM A MESSAGE WHEN I WAS OUT OF THE COUNTRY." Bellowed the policeman.

Zoro let out a slow breath.

He had his hand on his forehead lightly massaging his temple, "Why would he have gone home with her, Ace. Our home. With her. Why would her shirt be on the stairs if they weren't together? It doesn't make any sense Ace." He shakes his hidden face "No one can make the cook do anything he doesn't want to. Or did you forget when he tried to put me in the hospital when we first met over that misunderstanding? How about his ex-boyfriend Gin and that whole fiasco with Don Krieg." He pulled his hand away and looked up at Ace.

He cleared his throat. "Don't stand there and tell me how much I mean to him. When we both know that I don't mean anything to him anymore. That I don't matter to him. Obviously, I will never matter more than his precious women. I thought I could handle being second best. I didn't care that he flirted with any woman we saw. That's just who he is, a massive flirt. Yet, He was mine. I knew that he would always come back to me. So I never felt the need to be jealous. There was no reason to be. But this..." He trailed off. 

"Zoro" Ace reached out to the green-haired man.

His hand was deflected with a hard slap before making eye contact with Zoro's intense eyes. "Don't fucking touch me." He snarled. "Yeah, It's obvious how much he cares Ace. Just look at all the calls and messages I have gotten since I stormed out of that house, Oh wait, you can't because there isn't any." He sarcastically spat out. 

"Zoro, that's not being fair. Something else could have happened."

"Not being fa- hahahaha" He starts laughing uncontrollably. He dropped to a squat against the wall, staring at the clouds in the bright morning light. "You are kidding me, right"

"Zoro I-"

He shakes his head "Save it Ace. I don't want to hear it."

"Zoro he-" The raven tried again.

"I said save it." 

"Zoro-"

"Haven't you done enough, Ace? It's not like he would have gone out drinking on his own. Nope, not at all he's a smoker. There would have been no reason for him to be at a bar the night I come home to propose. Enlightening as this night has been, it's clear to me that he will always want a woman and that four years together, hell all the time we have been friend mean nothing to him." He stands and brushes the dirt off of his pants before straightening up and looking at the raven-haired man.

"Well, this was an informative talk Ace. I hope not to hear from you for a long while." He starts walking back to his car. After all of that there was no way in hell that he was going to go in and have a drink with the man that practically set it all up to come crashing down.

Rationally, Zoro knows that it wasn't Ace's fault that Sanji cheated. But with his emotions roaring out of control and Ace admitting to creating the environment for it to happen was too much for him. 

"Hang on," Ace strides over from the door, desperate to catch up and learn what he could before the man could make his escape. "What do you mean?"

Zoro got into his car, buckled his seatbelt, turned on the car, and rolled down the window. He quirked his eyebrow and looked at the clock in the car. It was close to 9 am. Almost everyone should be awake.

He cleared his throat and made sure to look Ace in the eyes. "I'm leaving." He turned his attention back in front of him, rolled back up his window, and drove away. Leaving Ace in shock. 

"WAIT!"

Chapter Text

~~(Clouds)

Even asleep there was a painful throbbing in Sanji's head. It made even the darkness of his dream appear to be a dance club from how twitchy it was. Eventually, the pulsing in his temple pulled him from his rest. He cracked an eye open and immediately regretted it as it threw yet another level of agony through his head.

'God it's so bright' Slowly he moved his hands up to hold his head. Even the lightest of touches sent him sprawling in anguish. 'What the hell happened last night.' He tried to pull himself to a seated position. He had to stop multiple times as he felt nauseous the entire time. Even with his eyes closed, it felt like the world was spinning beyond all control. Gradually he made it into a sitting position and braced himself on the backboard. Now if he remembered correctly, there were pain killers in the side table.

He felt out with his hand to the end table and started ruffling around to find the pain killers. Zoro came home with a sprain once and left some meds in the drawer in case something happened in the future. 'Thank you, Zoro for being too lazy to put the meds back in the medicine cabinet.' He opened the bottle and shook some out. It sounded like someone was rapidly shaking a rain stick like a mad man but eventually, two pills came out. He grabbed the water bottle left on the nightstand and uncapped it before downing the meds. Laying back down he waited for a while until the throbbing had dulled to a faint roar. It took a long time but he felt human again. 

He opened his eyes fully this time and adjusted to the extremely bright light of the sun. 'Damn it must be sometime after noon. It's way too bright to still be morning.' He straightened up and looked around. His phone was missing and his clothes were dropped in a pile on the floor.

'Yikes. How out of it was I last night? When did I even come home? I don't remember.' He moved off the bed and grabbed his dirty clothes. He then shuffled towards the bathroom and deposited them in the hamper. Stretching he popped his back and then his legs and caught the image of himself in the mirror. Nothing looked out of place. Well other than his eyes. They were slightly puffy. Confused he reached up 'Did I?... Nah. Probably a bad dream.' He brushed it off before jumping into the shower and throwing on the hot water.

It took him a bit as he was still pretty sluggish, but he had cleaned up and made himself feel decent enough to deal with the day. He hopped out and got dressed in his comfy relaxing clothes before heading downstairs to make breakfast. Humming, he slid down the stairs and came to a complete halt.

There was a bouquet of flowers in a vase on the counter. 'hmm, I wonder if Zoro had a friend drop them off' He skipped over to the beautiful red display and smelled the aroma coming off of them. It had smelled so good. He smiled and read the note attached before picking up the vase and hugging it. He spun in a circle before setting it back down. 'Hope he gets back soon to ask me that question.' He turned and pulled open the fridge. 

Frowning he pulled out some styrofoam food containers. He set them on the table and unstacked them. There was what looked like a note attached to the top of one. He got closer and saw his name. Flushing, he realized it was his name, and Zoros last combined. Roronoa Sanji. In awe of what he was seeing, he reached out and held the note to his face. A shine on his finger caught his eye.

'Is that...' It was a ring glistening on his finger in the daylight. 'Holy shit, I got married? Is that what happened last night?' A giant grin came across his face. 'That green lump must have come home early to surprise me.' Satisfied and ecstatic he went to make himself something to eat. 

He looked towards the clock and saw that his earlier assumption was correct. It was coming up on three pm. 'Dang I slept late. I wonder how long I was up last night.' He blushed hard at his imagination running wild, hiding his face in his hands.

He did a slight happy dance and went for his apron. 'Guess it will be a late brunch.'

~~ (If I didn't have you )

Humming he pressed play on the MP3 in the kitchen and started singing along to the song as he got ready to cook. 

Now he obviously had a hangover so perhaps the best thing for him would be to have a fruit salad with a toasted bagel. He pulled out the necessary ingredients for some cream and ginger to go with his fruit salad. He grabbed a bowl to work with as well as a grater and a strainer for the fruits. He rinsed the blueberries off in the strainer before shaking them to get the access water off them before adding them to the bowl.

He then grabbed the lime, orange, and ginger from the counter and scrubbed them good before shifting them onto a cutting board. Placing a banana in the same area he slid over to the cupboard and pulled out the honey. He turned and put it next to the bowl where the blueberries were. Then he peeled the banana and laid it on the cutting board. Pulling out a pairing knife he began slicing it into nice even cuts. He then peeled the orange and pulled the pieces off the peel. He left the pith attached and placed it to the side with the banana slices.

Maneuvering the bowl to the edge of the cutting board he scrapped the fruit pieces into the bowl with the blueberries. He then grabbed the grater and the ginger and grated some into the bowl. He did the same to the orange peels and then placed them all on the counter. He returned to the fridge and grabbed the ingredients to help him make the cream to go with it. 

He dropped a bagel into the toaster on his way back to his project and started on the cream.

Adding confectioner's sugar with the clearjel into the bowl he whisked until it was stiff. To prevent the cream from curdling he whipped it in stages while adding the ingredients to create a firm consistency. He then added some lime juice to it and beat it into it without any problems. It had blended in perfectly. 

He set the cutting board on top of the bowl with all of the fruits in it and shook it to mix it up. Placing the cutting board into the sink he put the bowl down and rinsed off the fruit juices from the board. He also picked any grated pieces that had stuck to the board and placed them back in the bowl. He then grabbed a spoon and scooped the cream into the bowl with all the fruits before grabbing the honey and drizzling it on top.  

After his fruit masterpiece was completed he packed up the remaining fruit into the fridge, cleaned up his station, and put the dishes he used into the sink bucket to soak. He then went around and wiped off the counters to make sure it was clean. 

He heard the click of the toaster and his now toasty bagels popped out. He plated them up and sat down in the kitchen with his meal. He quickly devoured his food and stepped out the side door for a quick morning smoke. He relaxed in the light of the sun, gaining energy and breathing in the familiar aroma of his cigarettes. His mini garden looked to be doing just fine, but he added some water to his tomato plants as they looked a little thirsty. The lettuce and carrots looked just fine next to the tomatoes, so he walked over to feed his fish. Zoro had helped him make his irrigation system and by helped, it was more like Sanji told him where to put things and hook them up. The things his moss ball did for him. He gave a content smile and checked the water levels. He had just finished when he heard the doorbell ring.

~~( Settle Down )

He made his way to the front door, unlocked, and opened it without checking.

SMACK

He crumpled to the floor. His cheek throbbed from the sudden hit. 'Who just...' Gazing at the person who just backhanded him he felt pangs of shock and dread. "Nami-san" He blinked in confusion.

Her fiery hair looked to be living flames under the sun's light. She had tears in her eyes and a frown on her face. "I thought you loved him" She spat out.

"What are you talking about? Does this have anything to do with yesterday?" He asked, holding his face still on the floor. Her eyes widened before her face scrunched up, seething with anger. Her hostility surged at his words.

"What the HELL do you mean what am I talking about? You-"

"Nami" A firm voice called out, interrupting the redhead from continuing.

He turned to see Luffy standing behind her. His face was tight, hat pulled over his eyes and his carefree attitude was nowhere to be found. 

"Luffy.."

"Explain" Luffy's voice was hard with tension.

"I don't know what you are talking about"

"Don't you." He tilted his head in disbelief. 

Sanji shook his head. "I don't even remember what happened yesterday. I was out a the bar with Ace having some drinks and that is all I can recall." He honestly replied.

Nami gave Luffy a look and lowered her hands. He returned the look before turning his attention back to Sanji. "Anything else?" 

"Um well," Sanji put up his left hand. "I found this on my hand this morning"

Nami grabbed his hand and looked at it. She looked up at his face before she let go and pulled out her phone. She scrolled for a bit before stopping. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it. 

"Sanji," They both turned to look at Luffy. "Where is your phone?" 

The blond-haired man blinked. 'My phone?' 

"I think I left it in the car when I came home from work before Ace picked me up yesterday." Luffy made a motion with his head to Nami after catching her eye. She grabbed Sanji's keys from the box and went back outside. 

"Let's move inside" He reached down to pull Sanji up. "There's something you should know"

---------

"Back up, you got a text this morning from Zoro?" Sanji paced in front of the couch that they had moved to. Nami was still out looking for his phone. Luffy thought it would be best to explain what he knew before asking Sanji who clearly didn't remember that morning. 

"Yeah, I forwarded it to Nami once I found it and we tried to get in contact with you since noon. You never answered so Nami figured it would be best to talk face to face" Luffy had pushed his hat back out of his eyes and was starting to relax. 

A cry of victory was heard from the front door. Nami came in holding his phone. "Found it, it is practically dead. It can charge as you check to see if he left you any messages as well" She plugged it into the USB port on the couch before handing it over. 

"It scared the hell out of us when we saw his text. Not to mention it was sent around 4 am so we definitely know it wasn't good."

He turns it on. There were 6 missed phone calls and 8 messages. '4 am? What the hell happened?' He unlocks his phone and checks the call log. Nami twice, Usopp three times, Luffy once. Yikes. Luffy almost never calls. He always sends a text. 'God my head why can't I remember'

He looked back up at the other two. Nami had her arms crossed and her posture was defensive but they both were waiting to see if there was anything.

He pulls up the messages. He's got one from Zoro, one from Nami, and all the rest from Usopp. Better check Usopp's first. He usually knew things that happened almost immediately afterward. He opens Usopps messages. They are confusing, to say the least. Something about a plan and it failing. How he loves Zoro, so what happened?

His eyebrows clench as he frowns at this. Something was definitely wrong.  

He opens Nami's next. Hers is pretty similar. The first message asks him to explain what happened and why Zoro was gone. Her second just says I thought you loved him. 

"Wait gone? He's gone?" He turned his attention to the two in front of him. 

They shrugged. "We don't have a clue, all he said was that something happened last night"

Very on edge, he pulls open Luffy's message. It just says "Fix this."

'Fix what, what the hell is going on?' 

At last, he opened up his lover's message. "- I guess you made your choice. I'll be out of contact for a while. Hope she makes you happier than I could. Have a nice life Sanji." With that, he remembers yesterday no problem. He grabs at his hair. 

"Oh god. No, no, no" He rocks back and forth pulling at his golden locks. "You are kidding me"

Nami snaps her hands out of her hold and looks concerned "What? what is it?"

Sanji is too far in his own head to hear her. "What do I do? Usopp. He'll know what to do."

Forgetting the other two are even there he pulls up Usopps' contact. He doesn't pick up until the fourth ring. "Sanji, it's good to know you are alright"

"Usopp, what did you mean that Zoro is gone? I know he isn't home now but-"

Usopp interrupts "Sanji, Zoro left yesterday morning. Luffy got a text saying that his proposal to you went sideways and that he was leaving for a while-"

Sanji feels the despair growing in him. 'Moss-ball left?'

He tunes back into what Usopp was saying. "-loved you and you rejected him? We know you two are in love. Why did you say no?"

Sanji sighs. "It's not like that. I didn't say no, I-"

Cutting him off again Usopp goes on a mini-rant. "Didn't say no? He's been preparing to propose for the last month Sanji,"

"Usopp"

"He was supposed to come back early and surprise you last night."

"Usopp"

"Are you meaning to say he did not propose? Did something more happen last night to make him not?" 

"USOPP"

Usopp takes a breather to allow Sanji to speak. " last night..." Sanji trails off, not knowing how to tell his best friend this. "Zoro saw me with a woman-" Sanji didn't even finish his sentence before Usopp hung up.

He sighed. Of course, Usopp was going to end the call. He was still tender over how Kaya cheated on him.

~~( Break my heart )

"What?" A woman's strained voice rang out in the silent room.

His eyes widened as he took in the other two, 'Nami. That's right they came over to find out what happened' 

"Did you just say - with a woman?" disappointment filled her voice. "Last night when he came to propose you were with a woman. Did I hear that right?" Her hands began to clench up.

"Nami I-"

Her voice was cold like he had never heard before. "Answer the question, Yes or no." 

"I was drunk and-"

"That is not an excuse" Luffy interrupted, looking displeased at the situation.

"I'm not excusing it, I was out at the bar last night drinking and was drugged." Skeptical, Nami just raised an eyebrow at his words. Luffy however, seemed to be following along with his words.

With no sounds coming from the other side to stop him, he continued " I couldn't remember a thing that happened other than Pudding being there, telling me we were together and asking for us to go home. So I took her home. We went upstairs and yes, she kissed me, but nothing happened. I tried to tell her to leave when Zoro showed up and saw her on me like that. We both had clothes on. She wouldn't take no for an answer." 

He could hear muttering coming from Nami but since no one spoke loud enough for him to hear he kept going. "I tried to reach him to tell him what happened but I didn't get a chance. He left his key and drove off. I haven't seen him since. After I got Pudding to tell me what she did to make me believe her and she explained how she had been putting things in my drinks all night."

There was a slight pause "So you... didn't say no" Luffy questioned.

"To Zoro, no. If he had asked, I would have said yes. I found the ring after he left. I haven't stopped wearing it." He pleaded with them to make them understand. "To Pudding, yes. I never wanted to do anything with her. Zoro is the one I want." 

The air was tense around them as the two considered his words. Hesitantly, Sanji looked back up at them.

"Good." No longer firm Luffy's voice bubbled around them "Zoro said he didn't think he was going to come back. Obviously you love each other and this wasn't meant to happen. We will bring him back." Relieved, Sanji let out the breath he was holding. The tight feeling in his chest was slowly unraveling at his words.

Like a little kid, Luffy started bouncing on the spot." A feast! You guys have to make me a wedding feast-" A loud thump sound came from the back of Luffy's skull "IT'S NOT FOR YOU" The redhead yelled out, mumbling about her childish partner.

"Sanji" Nami took a step closer to him and looked into his eyes as if searching for something. "You really didn't cheat on Zoro, did you? It sounds bad and you will definitely have to win his trust back but did you-"

"Never, A dumbass he may be he's my Dumbass moss man."He shook his head trying to hold back his tears. "I'm never going to give him up for anything."

"Both of you are idiots." He can hear the slight smile in her voice "Alright, we can work on bringing him back then." She gave him a tight squeeze and pulled back "Just so you know that If you did cheat, we would never forgive you." 

"I wouldn't do that to him" He said from in her arms. 

She let him go after another squeeze. "Okay, let's go find him before he leaves."

Chapter Text

~~( Salt )

'You do enough jail time to convince someone this is no setup, and it might just work.' 

Zoro scoffs at the memory as he gave in his personal effects.

"Check that these papers are correct," The guard said handing him a clipboard. 

He looked them over and nodded. "Looks right" 

"Good." The man reaches for the clipboard before asking Zoro a question. "What's the name?" 

"Dorojuro" it was a mixture of names that both Robin and Tagishi chose for him. Doro was close enough to his regular name so he could remember it and Juro was supposed to throw people further as it meant 10th son but he was an only child growing up before being adopted by Koushirou. They thought that it shouldn't link back to him once he is done taking down Crocodile and any other gang he was in bed with

The guard eyed him carefully before looking back at his sheet. "Alright, shed the clothes in the changing room. You will be checked for any contraband. When that is completed put on the prison-issued undergarments. The guards over there will gather up your belongings 

Zoro thinks back to the previous day as the guards usher him to the changing area. 

--------

"Are you sure you want to do this Zoro bro?" Johnny calls out to him as he packs a duffle bag. All sorts of clothes are being stuffed into it. "A criminal ID isn't just a new name and phone number. It's a new life in a culture with its own rules and hierarchy. Are you prepared to play by those rules?"

Zoro grabs more clothes from his suitcase and puts them on the bed to decide what to take. He couldn't take the suitcase because it had his address and name on it. "Johnny, this is not the first time I have gone undercover." He gives the dark-haired man a look.

"Yeah, but you've never done an infiltration mission as well as having to actually go to prison that could take months, if not years to end. This is serious work Zoro, plus didn't you just get engaged?"

Zoro painfully looks at Johnny, then back to his suitcase, he looks down at the blankets on the couch where he slept last night, before looking back at Johnny. "Tell me you are not being serious right now."

Confusion blooms over Johnny's face. Not long after Zoro said that does pain flood the back of his head.

"Dude, if he was engaged why would he be here crashing on our couch" Yosaku explains as slowly as he can bare.

Rubbing the back of his head, Johnny put his sunglasses back on after Yosaku knocked them off from his hit, before it finally donned on him "Oh" He immediately directs his attention back to Zoro, "Oh..."

Zoro interrupted before he could hear yet another apology, "Don't worry about it. I'm all packed up. In the morning I'll head off to establish myself in the community." He patted the duffle bag as he hauled it over his arm and walked out of the room. 

Yosaku smacked Johnny again. "Why did you have to bring that up. It was obvious it didn't go very well. Don't you remember his face when he arrived, plus he turned his phone off the moment he got here. We are both police officers, how did you miss this?" Bewildered Yosaku gave a slight shake to his head

Rubbing to dissipate the dull throbbing he snapped back, "Alright, alright. You don't have to hit me." He looks up at Yosaku. "How about when Zoro bro leaves, we do some digging and find out what happened."

The man's eyes glinted mischievously, "You know that is the smartest thing you said all day" His mouth tilted up in amusement

Johnny tsked at his words as he gave the other man a glare. 

They continued to bicker for a bit until Zoro came back in.

Catching him before he took off his shoes they addressed him.

Yosaku glanced over at Zoro, " Hey bro, How about you go say goodbye to your friends, you know how Luffy is. He might try to visit you if you don't explain that he shouldn't."

He scratches the back of his neck. "It's complicated, Yosaku. I did say goodbye when I left this morning but..."

"Is that why you turned your phone off" He shot out there, not wanting to hear the excuse. 

The question halts the green-haired man. "Uh, yeah."

"I'd still suggest seeing them for at least a few minutes before you disappear for however long you are under for."

"You are probably right. Fine. I'll go say bye and come back to sleep. Does that satisfy both of you?" 

"Yes, it does indeed. Let me know when you get back bro, dinner should be done by then."

Zoro turned away to grab his keys again before walking out to his car. 

If he knew his friends they should all be at Luffy and Nami's place today. 

~~( Hymn for the weekend )

-------------

Nami had gathered everyone she could after they had met up with Sanji over to her place. Sanji had told them that he, unfortunately, had to go in and take care of Tout Bleu but that he would be joining them later to hear the news. Laying out everything that happened from what they learned from Sanji as well as what they knew previously due to the messages, Nami tried to set the story straight so everyone was on the same page. 

"Alright guys," Nami throws out "what's the plan to get Zoro and Sanji back together?" Around her are Luffy, Chopper and Usopp. Luffy was busy picking his nose to pay any attention to what the redhead was saying. Usopp didn't want to show up but he was dragged into it anyway.

"Heres an idea, how about we don't?" He replies to her. "He cheated on Zoro. Why would you want him back? He might just do it again."

As if he was paying attention the entire time, Luffy's face darkens. "Sanji isn't Kaya, Usopp. Sanji didn't cheat on Zoro."

"Yes, he did!" Usopp got off the couch and paced. "You guys said Sanji was kissing Pudding. His EX-girlfriend if you don't remember - On their anniversary - in their bed. How is that not cheating?" He progressively got louder with every word he said to the point where he was yelling the words. 

"It's not as simple as that, Usopp!" Nami pleaded with the long-nosed man while getting up in his face, "He was drugged. He believed that she was still his girlfriend and that Zoro had left him for Japan."

"Yeah but-"

A knocking at the door stopped the conversation in its tracks. "Were you expecting anyone else to be joining us, Nami?" Chopper asked as he went over to open the door. Immediately, he squealed, jumped, and climbed into the arms of the person standing there with a cry.

"ZORO! You are here?! How?? I thought you had already left?" Chopper wailed from his arms. He wasn't going to let go of his nap buddy that soon, not when he tried to leave him with a text he found out through Nami.

"Heya, Chopper" He squeezes the small doctor tight. "It's good to see you too. I am leaving later today." He adjusts the little man so he isn't hanging off of him as he closes the door.

Slowly, he made his way into the living room. He is greeted with the sight of Usopp standing, red in the face with a finger pointed towards the ground. Right in front of him was Nami frowning and pointing behind her. Both of them seem to have frozen their chat when he walked in. He waved to break the silence surrounding them. 

Not a second after he waved is he hit by a giant Luffy's running jump. "ZORO" Luckily, Zoro had enough sense to shift Chopper to catch the new addition to his backpack collection. "Welcome back."

Zoro chuckled as he hugged the one wrapped around his neck. "I haven't left just yet, Luffy. I came to say goodbye in person."

Nami scrutinized him as he continued to hug the ones hanging off of him. He didn't look very good. "How long are you going to be gone?" She questioned.

He sighed and looked over at her, "It depends on how fast I can get into the group after the prison sentence. At the very least, it will be eight months from now by the time I will be done. At most, it could be a couple of years. I don't know by this point."

"Years? But what about us? What about Sanji? Is it a coincidence that you decide to pick up something that will take a while, or was it on purpose?" Nami move away from Usopp and started towards the officer.

Zoro's face scrunched up in confusion. "What about us?" He repeats "-It is my job. Something I have been asked to do by my boss." He slowly enunciates this before continuing,

~~( I'm so tired... )

"Of course, I wasn't going to turn it down." He turns his head away so she wouldn't see his face "And what about him Nami?" He kept his eyes on the ground, unable to look at her as he spoke "If he wants to be with his brunette, ex-girlfriend, more power to him. It's obvious how he feels for her. How he's always going to feel. It's just something I should have realized years ago."

Smack 

She had decked him across the face unable to hear the painfilled words he was spewing.

"Are you an idiot? What the hell do you think you are saying? Those things are completely unrelated." She argued as he ignored the hit.

"What" he growled, "Say what you wanna say, witch"

 "You are so stupid. You are making this more complicated than it needs to be."

"What the fuck are you on about Nami? I walked in on him with his ex-girlfriend on our anniversary. It doesn't get much clearer than that." Griped Zoro.

She snickered at his words, "Clearer, huh? I thought you were born stupid, I didn't think you were blind too."

Frustrated, he grit his teeth. "Say that again." A pissed off aura came dripping off him.

"I said, you must be both blind and stupid if you can't see how much he loves you." She reaffirmed.

He scoffed, "Loves me, that's rich."

Exasperated, she continued to get in his face. "You didn't see him after everything. He wasn't just drunk, he was -" 

"I don't care. Sure, he felt guilty. Guilty he got caught. If he had loved me anything like I love him..." He trailed off for a moment before starting again "If he really loved me, he wouldn't have been with her in the first place." The green-haired man spat out there.

She geared up to hit him again. If she couldn't get it through his ears, she would just have to beat it into him. 

The room was so filled with tension even taking a breath could cut the air. "Oi-i both of you c-calm down." Chopper tried to make peace still hanging on the officer's side. "Usopp, tell them." The young man pleaded for help but the curly-haired man just shook his head and looked away from the scene. 

"Why is it taking you so long to get this through your thick skull. Sanji wasn't in his right mind. He was drugged and forced to think he was with her. That you left him-" Nami shoved him back, backpacks, and all. She began ranting over Sanji and him being idiots or something. He wasn't sure since he started to tune her out.

When he got his balance again, Luffy pulled back enough to look Zoro in the eyes. He stared in silence as he took in his best friend. His serious face, his deep silver eyes filled with anguish and despair, the dark heavy bags showing he hasn't slept, the veins prominent on his forehead. This was real hurt, not just the playful hurt he shows at times.

He searched Zoros expression, for what he didn't know but he felt it was important to check. There, under all that misery was the one thing he was looking for. A small smile grew on his face. "Zoro" He whispered to the one holding him. "You have to go." He stated, looking deep into his eyes. "Don't you?" He prompted a response.

He heard a grunt in agreement. "Alright" Luffy nodded his permission before grabbing Chopper as he got off of Zoro. 

"Luffy?" Nami questioned quietly as she stopped her rant with him standing in front of her target.

"Zoro needs to leave." Luffy turned towards Nami. 

"But-" 

He shook his head cutting her off. Without turning around he addressed him. "Zoro, tell us when you get back." 

Zoro sighed, understanding that Luffy wouldn't just let him disappear for the rest of his life. "Okay then."

~~( The Saltwater Room )

The black-haired man straightened before answering Nami's silent question, "I won't let him stay, not now. He has something to do." He turned and looked back at Zoro.

His strength leaving him, Luffy grabbed hold of his best friend again. He hugged him as tight as he possibly could. It hurt for him to let go but he knew he should. He gave one more big squeeze before unwrapping his grip on the man to let the others have their turns. "Zoro" Luffy's tone caused him to meet the raven's eyes. It was as if he was telling him to stay safe with those chocolate pools of his. Zoro nodded his confirmation. With a sudden sincerity, Luffy muttered in a quiet voice, "You deserve to be happy Zoro." Then he stepped away.

Chopper blubbery and upset that he was leaving gave him the biggest hug telling him to be safe, and what medications he should have if he was sick. Usopp thankfully stopped Chopper from going on a tangent over it. He then walked up to Zoro and patted his arm. Knowing Zoro was hurting over everything that happened, he gave in and grabbed him into an embrace. "Take care, Don't worry about us too much." He gave Zoro a small smile and walked over to join chopper and let Nami say her goodbyes, but Nami just stood there thinking about what she should do. 

Getting close, she shoved him a little in the shoulder, "Don't be a stranger now, Zoro." before pulling him in a hug. "I'd be lost without my drinking buddy." As she let go, she lifted his head with her hand and made eye contact. "Please don't forget what I said. He really does love you."

He turned his head away and stepped back. "Nami," A resigned voice rolled out before trailing off.

He took a breath before continuing. "Just stop." Zoro moved towards the door, "At this point, even if he did, it's too late." He scanned her expression when he twisted to talk to her, "I won't be back for a while and..." His gaze dropped to the floor "and he has Pudding now."

Glancing back up, he finished. "It's going to be some time before I can be around him again." He smirked, "Good thing I won't be around for at least a year."

She could see the pain in his eyes. How tight he was holding himself. God how could she think it wasn't affecting him as much as it had Sanji. 

"You better come back," She threw out before he disappeared for good, "Don't even think about forgetting how much you owe me Zoro."

He gave a sharp outburst of air, "Yeah, yeah, Goodbye Witch."

He then went out the door and drove back to Johnny's.

---------

Not too long after Zoro left for good this time did she get a text from Sanji. He was on his way over and would be there soon. 

She pocketed the phone and tried to talk to Usopp again, but he brushed her off not want to hear it and walked into the kitchen. She turned to chopper. At least the young doctor was on her side. 

A doorbell sound rang.

A little confused Nami walked over to the door and pulled it open. Robin was standing on the porch with a file in her hands. "Robin? What are you doing here?" Nami asked

"I figured I should come by and let everyone know roughly what's going on. That and the restrictions everyone will be under to protect them." Her face was calm. There was nothing Nami could pick up from her, especially body language. It was as if the woman was made out of stone. 

"Okay, come on in. Sanji is on his way over, Franky and Brook are busy so we'll have to tell them later on." She stepped aside to let the raven-haired lady in. 

"That's fine." Both women headed into the living room. They were greeted with Chopper and Luffy making faces at each other and making each other laugh. There were sounds coming from the kitchen so Nami assumed Usopp still hadn't left that room. 

She looked over at robin. She had a light smile on her face watching the young ones enjoying their time.

"I'll go get Usopp and we can start." Nami snapped Robin back into the moment with her comment before the redhead left. 

Robin looked down at the manilla folder again. She took a breath to center herself for what was about to come and let it out again as she moved toward the rocking chair. Not wanting to interrupt the boys from their joy she sat quietly watching their shenanigans. She would get to the heavy stuff once Nami got back with Usopp. It was taking longer than it normally would. She wondered if this had anything to do with what was making Zoro so miserable at the briefing. He wouldn't say a word, even after the briefing when she confronted him in the parking lot.   

Her curiosity peaked when Usopp's voice yelled out from the kitchen. "JUST DROP IT, NAMI" before there were multiple slams and footsteps leading towards the living room. Nami burst from the hall and back into the room. She was red in the face and barely in control of her anger. 

Robin gazed at her, baffled she didn't know what to say to her red-haired friend. "I take it didn't go well" 

Eyes glared at her before she closed them and sighed. "I have tried to talk with him for the last three hours without a change. It's just frustrating that he isn't listening to me." Nami sank heavily into the couch near the rocking chair and looked at Robin. "I don't know what to do Robin."

Hearing the defeat in her voice, Robin stood up and put the folder on her chair. "I'll talk to him."

"Would you." Nami requested.

"Yes. It would be wise to wait on telling everyone until Sanji gets here. He needs to hear it the most." The raven-haired woman walked down the hall and into the kitchen. 

"I don't want anything to do with it Nami. Don't ask again." A hard voice rang out once she stepped through the door. 

"I am not our navigator." Robin moved closer, joking about the time they all were pirates for the last Halloween. 

Usopp turned and caught her eye. "You were the one at the door?" He questioned. 

She nodded in response. "What can you tell me about everything happening. I didn't seem to get the memo everyone else has."

Usopp's mouth tightened and his nose flared. "Why don't you ask Nami, she seems to know everything." He threw out there bitterly.

She regarded the man for a moment. He was never this hostile with anyone. Never had such a visceral reaction to anything. Well, that is everything except things that scared him, but even then he's pretty good at working through the fear. As if playing an intense chess game she worked on making Usopp telling her. "I am asking you."

That seemed to make him brighten for a moment. Mission accomplished, flattery always gets somewhere. So he told her. He told her everything he knew from his first-hand account of what he heard from Sanji as well as the entire thing Nami told them when they arrived. He didn't leave anything out and this was the one time he didn't embellish a story. That's how she knew he was telling the truth. By the end of it all, he felt better. Letting all of it out helped rid him of the pain that he held. He took a deep breath and finally let it all go. 

She nodded, going through all the information he just dropped on her. That would make sense on why Zoro looked the way he did. 

"Thanks, Robin. I needed that." He looked much better. The tension in his face had alleviated during the story. 

A chiming sound came from the bell. 

"Come Usopp, let's head to the living room. I have some news to share." Robin beckoned him to join as she began heading back.

--------

~~( All I see )

Sanji arrived to the house not long after he sent Nami his text. She had told him to come over before he went in to work this morning but she didn't explain fully on the why though. 

Taking a few calming breaths, he got out of his car and headed to the door. He contemplated calling to let them know he was there but a doorbell would work just as well. He took notice of how Robin's car was outside as well. Must be something big to share. He listened to see if he could hear what was happening inside. 

It was silent. Not entirely unsurprising given all that happened, but it was still unsettling not to hear the noise from how loud they normally were. Usually, they were loud enough you could hear them out the door but this time there was nothing. He walked in to find them all spread out in the living room. Some on the couch, Chopper and Luffy on the floor, and Robin in the rocking chair. When he made eye contact with her she gave him an indescribable look. He couldn't properly tell what she was trying to convey to him but he could feel the disapproving aura rolling off of her. 

Not wanting to feel her piercing gaze at this moment in time, he went on his way to the kitchen. "If we are going to have a chat, we better have some food." He deliberately brought up food to make Luffy distract everyone for some more time. 

He pulled out his equipment from their places. He was over here enough that Nami had invested in letting him get actual cooking utensils he was asking for. Though he does have some better things at Zoro and his plac- He cut off his mental ramble but was too late. Once again he was filled with the hurt from his actions. 

He grabbed out some meat hidden in the fridge behind some radishes. He would make something with those later but for now, just a snack platter would do. He pulled out some broccoli and cheese. and put everything down on a cutting board. He went over and grabbed one of his knives and washed the broccoli before going back to the cutting board. Quickly he cut everything into smaller strips. Then looking into the bread box he found half a loaf left of the bread he made less than a few days ago. He added that to the board and cut strips off of it as well. Plating everything up in a platter as well as making a "Luffy platter" with some extra meat. Afterwards he put the leftovers back where they belonged before cleaning everything off. 

He tapped a cigarette out of his case and put it between his lips. He didn't light it, of course, he was still dealing with food. But he needed the familiar comfort. Even if he wasn't getting his fix. Steeling himself for the things that were about to go down, he picked up the platters and made his way out to the living room again. 

"And that is why I only have 12 shirts" he blinked. '...what?' He recognized it as the storytellers voice before it clicked, 'Ah Usopp is mesmerizing them with another story, I see'

Sanji smirked, "only 12? But don't you have the biggest clothes addiction in the country?" He teased.

Usopp stunned at the voice as he didn't hear Sanji enter, before he opened up with another story as he was given an avenue to start weaving it together on how he did have the largest clothes addiction.

Sanji gave a small smile as he put the normal platter on the table in front to the ladies then handed Luffy his meat platter before he could start whining. The blond finally moved to the kick up chair and sat on the arm. It took him a minute to realize what he had just done, this was his and Zoro's spot. Normally he would sit on the arm and eventually gravitate to sitting on his personal heater. Sadness came back over him again as he moved to sit where his boyfriend would. Zoro was never going to be his heater again. 

Clearing her throat, Nami called for all of their attention before passing it on to Robin. 

The raven-haired woman picked up her file as she stood. She decided to get straight to the point, "Zoro will be gone for quite a while. We have given him a new name and life to become one with. He has to use part of himself for this to work. He is going to be in prison to help the transition into his criminal life."

Chopper's eyes went wide, "What!? He's going to prison?" 

"Not as Zoro, but yes he is going through the first part for a long mission."

"First part?" Sanji asked. 

"Yes. I can't tell you how he's doing it but after that, he will have gone into the group of highly dangerous individuals and become one of them." 

Nami's eyes furrowed. She wasn't surprised that he would be going from one dangerous place to another but hearing it from Robin made it all feel so real. 

"Until I give everyone the all clear, you must all sware on your lives something. Promise me over this." She had this dark look in her eyes, "If you don't we can't be sure he will make it back alive in the end." She was off-balance and having a very hard time staying stone-faced. Thank god Franky wasn't there or else he would have been able to pick up on her unease. Luffy however caught her meaning immediately. 

"Robin! I promise. Now what do I have to do to keep Zoro safe?" He rocked back on the floor against Chopper.

~~( Courtesy Call )

She took in a breath and gave everyone a firm look. "For the next months, years, however long Zoro is under for you won't talk to him. Walk right past him like you don't even know him. Ignore him unless he talks to you. Even then, you don't know who he is or what he wants. He knows that if he does talk to you guys, both his and your lives will be in grave danger. We have him out of state so you shouldn't run into him in public but if you do Never say his name around him or to anyone. Don't talk about him with anyone. We don't know how many eyes the gang has so we have to keep ourselves in the dark. We have to let him disappear from our eyes for a while. Got it?"

Once Robin had finished saying her piece she grabbed a snack from the platter and sat back down and passed out the first rounds of papers. "Zoro is going to be pulling this operation apart from the inside as well as grabbing as many other puppets strings he can for the other gangs involved. Which means he will need his full focus on the mission. He can't be worrying over everyone if one of you gives him away." 

This wasn't the news Sanji was hoping to hear at all. He knew Zoro was leaving from Luffy's chat earlier but... First Zoro crashed somewhere else and now he has gone undercover for a while to not see him. It was like everything was working against him. It would take forever before he would be able to see his boyfriend (if he could even call his moss ball that anymore.)

He rolled his ring thinking over what Robin had said. 'Would he even be willing to let me explain when he gets back?' Miserably he grabbed one of the bread slices and munched on it. A hand on his shoulder startled him into choking on a piece of the bread. He pounded on his chest and finally dislodged the piece. 

He took in another sweet breath of air when someone handed him a glass of water. He drank it down in less than a minute. Finally, his throat felt lose enough that he put the glass down on the table, let out a relieved gasp and looked towards who startled him. 

"Sorry about that Sanji." Nami patted his shoulder again before sitting on the table in front of him. This was a conversation she wanted to have since he walked in the door. "We talked to Zoro before he left"

A numbness washed over him. "Oh," His face felt tight for a moment, 'He couldn't stand being around me, even to say goodbye.' His lip was dangerously close to wobbling without his permission. 

Before he realized it, he was rubbing the back of his head from a sharp stinging sensation. Nami had given him a love tap as she clicked her tongue at him, "He needed some space. You know how he is. Fight or flight. And with matters of the heart, you know he is more prone to flight when someone he cares about hurts him." 

His expression dropped further at that. 'I hurt him.' Sanji was on the brink of the downward spiral but Nami pulled him back as best she could. 

"You know, he said something I think you should hear before he left." She gave him a slight smile. Thinking over the words Zoro had let slip during their fight. 'If he had loved me anything like I love him...' He had used past tense on Sanji's part but for his... For Zoro's part he had said 'I love him' It was obvious how much he was still in love with Sanji. He wouldn't be hurting like this if he didn't.

"We got into a fight earlier." Sanji's head snapped up at her words. Brow clenched down into a snarl but she stopped him before he could go on a rant over how brutish his moss man was. "It was a good fight Sanji. I got him to admit that he was still in love with you, even after everything." 

It sounded too good to be true. Sanji looked away from her face, there was no way he would have said anything like that to her. "Sanji, he had said -like I love him, when he was speaking about you. He didn't use past tense which means he still holds feelings for you. If he didn't he would have used loved. And to top it off-" She followed as fast as she could throw the words out because she knew Sanji was going to refute her words. "To top everything off he was jealous even thinking about you being with Pudding while he was gone. That thought of you with someone else wrecked him Sanji."

As horrible as that sounded, it made him so delighted to hear. If what Nami was telling him was true then he might just have a shot at fixing everything. He would just have to be patient and hope that by the end of it Zoro still felt the same. 

------------

Dressed in the prison blues, Zoro was escorted by a guard to his cell and left to his own devices. He looked around the room. Grey walls, grey ceiling, grey floors. Even the metal frame around the bed and toilet were grey. The only thing that was white was his bedsheets. Nope, he was wrong they were just a lighter shade of grey. With nothing else to do, Zoro started working out.

Until he could be let out for mess or rec to socialize with the people they showed him in the briefing, he had to bide his time and get stronger.

So that is what he did. Push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, lunges. Practically, anything he could do without weights he did. There was just enough room for him to work out effectively.

An opportunity would show itself eventually, but when it did... He would be ready. 

Chapter Text

He stayed behind at the bar

You didn't see him after everything. He wasn't just drunk

He was drugged  

Ever since those words came out of his friends' mouths it hasn't been able to leave Zoro's head. 

The entire week he's been asking for you. He's been waiting for your texts. Blubbering over how great you are and that he misses you. He fucking loves you, Zoro. You don't get to just brush that aside 

It's all he could think about.

Prison gives you all sorts of time to think about your life. Especially the things you wished you could forget. Zoro has nothing but time on his hands these days. 

You can't see how much he loves you

Drugged  

It didn't make sense.

Please don't forget what I said. He really does love you.

Nothing was making sense anymore. It was just emotional pain. 

'I don't matter to him. I will never matter more than his precious women.'

His thoughts were so loud he wanted to yell to drown them out. 

Even if it was true, even if Sanji was drugged, Why wouldn't he say something? Why didn't he call? Why didn't he try to explain?

'Would you have even heard him out if he did try?' 

The voice that sounded eerily like Ace rang through his head. 

Zoro glanced at the floor.

He knew the answer to that. It's why he took off. 

After everything that happened between Usopp and Kaya, Zoro promised himself to never go through the emotional hell that was involved with cheaters. It had wreaked Usopp.

That kind of emotional burden alarmed Zoro. It was a crippling pain he wanted nothing to deal with. He refused to be involved with anything remotely similar to it. 

Did he make the right decision?

Removing himself from the situation sounded like the best option at the time, but now he wasn't sure. 

Were his friends telling the truth? Was there more to the situation?

Sanji wasn't the type to lie about things, especially important things. But he had done so before. He had even lied about not dating Gin at one point. 

Zoro didn't know what to believe. 

Without seeing Sanji face to face, Zoro would never know if he was telling the truth or not. Both options brought him sadness. If Sanji did cheat, the guilt serves him right.

However

If he didn't ...

Zoro didn't even hear him out. His partner would have been sexually assaulted and instead of staying Zoro walked out. 

This was a slippery slope to be thinking about while surrounded by enemies on all sides. Zoro felt damned either way.

'I don't have time to think about this right now, it's not like I'm going to see him any time soon.'

Looking at the grey walls that surrounded him, he felt the cold loneliness settling in. 

---------

Smoker's heavy voice rang out of his memory.

"Alright, what we need for you to do is work your way up the ranks to get all the information you can on this Mr. Zero guy."

He gestures to the woman sitting away from everyone. 

"Mrs. Nico here has helped compile what she has from her sources but a judge isn't going to take it without a police investigation. That evidence wasn't from one of ours and cannot be used to take them all down. We need something bigger, something where everyone in their organization will be there."

He surveys the people's facial expressions around the table before continuing 

"Tashigi has made Zoros backstory. All he has to do is become them and work his way up. We have another agent on the inside but they won't be able to help if things go sideways. Blowing their cover is a last resort"

He turns towards the board, uncaps the marker starts writing something.

"We got a tip-off that Mr. Zero has some big plans that are going down in 36 months. That's 3 years people. If Zoro can get in, gain their trust, and work his way up, he can help us get in position to take it all down at once."

He drew a line around the markings on the board.

"Any questions? No? Okay, here's the plan."

--------

With a gang the size of Mr.Zero's they couldn't just fabricate the reason Zoro was in prison. They needed to make it as legitimate as possible. To minimize people knowing or calling out Zoro's name, they proceeded with their plan in the next state over. 

They found him a cheap and crappy apartment block in a rougher side of town and had him get settled in. He wouldn't be able to enjoy his good quality items anymore. It's extremely difficult to look broke if you've got fancy things. It would be way too suspicious and they did not have time in case someone did poke around.  Thankfully it was an already furnished apartment. 

In order to make it as realistic as possible zoro came and brought his things to the apartment via trash bags.  One of the parts in his cover was that he was kicked out of a friend's apartment a couple of states over and he was looking for a place that he could get a job in crash. To keep things simple his team got him a whole new wardrobe of things they found at thrift stores far from where he was, just in case. 

Obviously he couldn't get a job with his real resume but Smoker's team had fabricated one enough in order for him to get a bouncer job at one of the nearby clubs. 

Not the best job but it would make things a lot more credible. 

After a few weeks of slowly settling in with the community and getting people to know his face, the plan was now in position. 

The best way they decided for him to be put in prison was forthere to be a bar fight and have a deadly weapon that zoro pulls near the end so nobody would get hurt but it would look dangerous enough. 

Zoro had found one of those really nice serated blades that most of the people he had put in prison had. He scuffed it up and started using it for mundane things to make it look used. Zoro went so far into slamming it into the ground and getting things to just stab it into. 

The gang definitely had people in that police force so it was the only way to explain that they got away for so long. None of the State's police would know that he's undercover. Smoker was playing close to the chest. Zoro couldn't be arrested with a brand new looking knife.  That would be incredibly suspicious.  

After he fully integrated into the area, Mrs. Nico staged it as a bar fight with a stuntman. The majority of the bruises were painted on prior to the incident and had special effects makeup that would cause them to "bruise" after Zoro hit him.

The bar was rowdy, loud, and hard for people to see in. It was perfect. Zoro and the guy started yelling at each other in the bar and wrestled each other outside. In an effort to get in each other's faces, they shoved multiple people before reaching each other. It had to look like they were really fighting but not actually hurting each other. 

Now face to face Zoro took the opportunity to gut-punch the stuntman. He flew backward jumping into the motion and hit some more patrons. With many arms trying to grab him and the deafening noises of people trying to get involved, Zoro ducked down and dragged the man by his collar before throwing him out the front window behind him. 

With screams behind him, someone dialed the police. 

---

Johnny knew they couldn't show up too soon so they were in a nearby area waiting for their cue.

Once they heard the radio crackle to life with the operator requesting units at the bar Zoro was at.

"It's go time" Yosaku nodded to his partner as he put the car in drive. 

They flipped on their light bar and started heading on over. Yosaku responded to the operator of their position and announced how they were pulling up now. 

The outside of the bar was flooded with patrons. Broken glass and what looked like a hooded man beating on an innocent bystander. The entire area was flooded in the red and blue lights from the squad car rolling up. In an effort to look the part of a thug, zoro had gotten used to a whole different wardrobe. He was dressed in a hoodie with baggy pants and was currently play-acting of beating in the face of the stuntman. Zoro paused seeing the red and blue lights and pulled out his knife. He had to get in position and on body cam of his intent. 

The stuntman knew it was coming and bellowed from the floor. 

However, when Yosaku got them to the scene, Johnny spaced the plan and started treating Zoro like a true criminal. He yelled out before the car even stopped. 

"Drop the knife" 

Zoro shocked at how aggresive Johnny sounded, dropped the guy's shirt, turned toward his friend, and began to walk towards him. 

Johnny pulled his tazer and pointed at the hooded man.  One of the bystanders grabbed a rock and threw it at zoro. Effectively distracting them and causing him to drop the blade. 

As Zoro crouched down to grab it. Johnny yelled out and dropped him with a taser.

Hyped on adrenalin he cuffed Zoro and put him in the back of the squad car and called the paramedics for the beaten stuntman. In his state, he was not thinking clearly and felt cold after the call went out over the radio.

That was not what he was supposed to do.

He had almost messed up the whole staged operation as he was supposed to call for the specific paramedics they set up for this operation.

Thankfully while Johnny was dealing with Zoro, Yosaku at the time had more sense and called the correct team. 

From a few blocks away the "fake" ambulance arrived for the stuntman and carted him away before Yosaku told the crowd that another ambulance would be on the way to deal with anyone else who was injured due to the incident.

As he spoke the other police car arrived to deal with the scene. Yosaku walked over and let them know the situation, patted one on the back, and left to take Zoro back to the station in town to begin his life as a criminal. 

--------

The only way for it to look legit was for Zoro to actually go to prison, do the time, and find his in with one of the lower-level members.

The reasoning behind the bar fight was one of those members was in jail to be transferred later in the week, which was the target for Zoro to mingle with and try to gain a connection to. 

However, Zoro had to test being on the opposite side of the law to give an accurate description for the inevitable answer of "What are you in here for" 

Making friends with them now, leaving on bond, and paying off his apartment for the next year so he didn't lose his place that was being planned for.  It would be really bad if he lost the place because he had hidden his badge, phone and everything about his real life in a lock box under the floorboards

As he was sitting in the back of Johnny and Yosaku's squad car being transported to East Blue Jail, Ms. Nico had gathered the information about an individual higher in the company that would be at a certain bank a few days after his release.

It was being set up for him to do a bank robbery while the individual was there to show Zoro's abilities 

As the squad car pulled up into the station, Johnny got out to talk with the officers coming to do the bookings. Yosaku caught Zoro's eyes with the rearview mirror. 

"I wish you luck with everything. Things are going to get rough from here but keep your head up, you'll make it through this soon enough." It was ambiguous enough that even though it was caught by the body camera it wasn't going to risk Zoro'scover. He gives Zoro one last look before nodding and getting out of the vehicle. 

Taking a breath to steel himself for what was going to come. He did not resist once the doors to the car opened. His life as Zoro Roronoa had paused while his life as Dorojuro had begun. 

-------

In the meeting, Robin was the one who came up with the idea of getting another one of the prisoners to cause a riot to allow for Zoro to 'save' the low-level member. This would give him the in for the operation. 

Thankfully, with Mr. Nine in for a drug charge and his sentence was roughly the same as Zoro's proposed one, he would be their way into the organization.

One year Zoro would have to spend in this hellish place. One year for him to fully become Dorojuro. All he had to do was find a way to get Mr. Nine in debt to him and it would be in the bag.

If Zoro was made of weaker stuff he might admit that woman was frightening. 

-------

It did not take long for the people in lock-up to start sizing him up.

Zoro stared at them all with disinterest as he gazed around the room. He was still looking to find this Mr. Nine guy he was supposed to make friends with, but so far he couldn't find him.

Eventually, Zoro wandered over to an empty area and sat down. Time would pass them by and hopefully, he would be able to find this Mr. Nine guy soon. 

Movement in the corner caught his eye.

It had looked like a fight was being concealed from the guards. He would have just ignored it but as he moved to look away he saw who it was getting hit.

We might not need the riot. 

Mr. Nine had a sunken eye and from the looks of things he was about to get a broken nose too. 

Without hesitation Zoro sprang into action, startling the guys resting near him. He came up and tackled the guy off of Mr. Nine, getting a few lucky hits in before the guards were made aware of what was going on from the noise. 

One of the snipers in the nearby guard tower let off a round into the dirt near them as the siren blasted. 

A bunch of the other inmates scattered. The ones close by dropped to the floor and laid face down with their hands behind their heads. 

"Oi, what's going on here" The sergeant yelled out as the officers threw the door open to get to the troublemakers.  

After hearing the siren, Zoro stepped back and started to move to join the others on the ground. Unfortunately for him, he was not fast enough before the guards were upon him. 

He dropped hard with a baton hit from the closest guard, with a second grabbing his arms and yanking them behind his back. Zoro released all the fight from his body and allowed for the movement of his limbs. 

"Take them to the infirmary," The sergeant said walking up. 

The two guards that took Zoro to the floor pulled him up as the sergeant stopped in front of him. They stared at each other, eye to eye. Zoro unblinking, just looking at the man quizzically. 

The sergeant cocked his head and smirked. "Take his ass to solitary" He gestured at Zoro. "Let's see how you like staring at those walls buddy" 

The guards nodded and pulled Zoro away. He looked over at Mr.Nine. Just barely stopped him from getting his nose broken but he looked appreciative at Zoro. The plan was working. Hopefully, that appreciation will still be there when he gets out but, so far so good. They have made contact with the target. 

------

It took two guards to wrestle him down the hallways of solitary confinement. He had to keep up the act in front of the other inmates and unfortunately, this meant that he would need to have some rough treatment by the guards. It did not take long for them to throw him into the empty cell. A solid clang noise rang out as the door shut behind him. 

Darkness. 

Zoro looked at the floor he lay upon. He took a mental note of his current status. Nothing was broken. He had a bruised fist from repeatedly smacking the guy off Mr. Nine. A couple of cuts and scrapes here and there but everything turned out alright. 

He shifted into a kneeling position to look around his new setting. It was a small room. He had a small cot and a toilet in the corner. The rest was the grey cinderblocks that surrounded the room and the metal grate on the floor. There was very little light coming from the small slot on the metal door. 

He had nothing to distract him now. It was so quiet. No cellmate to make noise, no people down the way singing or tapping on the walls. 

It was just him and his thoughts. A dangerous predicament for him to be in right now. 

Frustrated at the lack of anything to pass the time. Zoro sat down, folded his legs, and began trying to meditate. 

He just could not do it. Eyes slowly sliding open, he accepted his cold reality. Time was not going to pass him by so easily. 

Zoro wondered if Sanji was facing a similar difficulty. If thinking of his face made worry bubble up, or if he agonized over this situation. Maybe he did not. Maybe he was perfectly fine and moving on. 

Zoro clenched his fists. 

He wanted Sanji if front of him. He wanted to confront him with a leveled head. Get answers straight from the source. He wanted something, anything. This situation was weighing him down even states away. Why was it living rent-free in his head? Staring into space at the door slot in front of him, it's as if his heart was on the fast track and he was speeding down the road by his pants. 

Zoro put his palms on his face and wiped them downwards.

Normally in situations like these, he can fight whatever is happening. How was he supposed to fight if the enemy was his own mind? 

Taking a deep breath. Zoro stood before initiating his warm-ups for his workout. If he can't quell his mind one way. He would make it silent through muscle failure. 

---

"Juro, lunch is on" 

There was a noise coming from the metal door that startled Zoro awake. 

Zoro had pushed himself so far he had passed out. 

A sliding noise let him know that one of the guards dropped off some food through the door slot. 

"Thanks" He muttered as he went and gathered his food. 

It would be around the next day before they would release him back to Gen Pop. If he played his cards right, he would be able to talk with Mr.Nine at lunch and weasel his way into the man's trust.

Even if he has to start another fight to get it. 

Smiling to himself, he began to look at what was served. It didn’t look too bad. As soon as he put it in his mouth his face dropped. 

Disgusting. 

Once upon a time Zoro probably would have been happy with this mush. He remembered the time back when he was homeless before Kuina found him. He did not want to think about those days.

His time after when he met Luffy was better. Before all their friends happened. Back when it was Luffy and Zoro against the world. 

Back when he barged into Zoro's life and filled it with noise. Back when his steps were lighter and his eyes were less flinty. 

Zoro sometimes missed those days. They never had to say a word. They understood each other with a blink. It freaked people out in the beginning as it was like they read each other's minds. 

He sighed. 

He did not used to have a personal chef who upped his palette to make sure he was getting all his nutrients and having it taste great. Regular food just did not cut it anymore. This was even worse than that. 

He poked the food on the tray with his provided utensil before putting it back down. His appetite had dissipated.

Just another thing Pudding had taken from him.

Would anything taste good to Zoro anymore?  He could not bring himself to reset his phone, would he even be able to enjoy his favorite things anymore? The questions bothered him.

The laughter of a certain blond making something delicious in their kitchen floated through his mind. Zoro waved his hand in front of his face, as if trying to shoo away a bad smell before he got back into position and began exercising harder this time. Determined to chase out his thoughts with exhaustion. 

---

"Juro"

The guard outside the door clanged the metal shell to get Zoro's attention. 

"You going to cause us any problems or will you be able to walk with your legs unchained?" He asked unkindly. 

Zoro looked towards where the noise was coming from, difficult to point out the direct place due to how dark it was but roughly in the general area. 

"No, not going to be a problem boss" He let his body seem relaxed and moved slowly as to not spook the guard. 

"I doubt that but for now if you can follow instructions, I'll let you walk back to gen pop without the need to shuffle" He pointed towards the yellow line next to the wall in front of Zoro. "Stand on the line and face the wall" 

Zoro quickly looked around trying to find the line. When he spotted it he slowly stood up. "That line right?" The guard seemed to get annoyed by this. "Anything else" 

The guard came into the room with his partner. His partner did a check of the cell while the guard who started the interaction began frisking Zoro down to make sure he had no surprises for them. "Alright, he's clean" The second guard finished his sweep before coming to assist the first in cuffing Zoro. 

They began the walk out of the cell, close enough to touch but far enough to give him a least a little personal space. Thankful he was allowed to walk, he kept a quick pace with the guards down the winding path of the jail. 

As they passed through the hallways, they ended up face-to-face with the warden. He stared at Zoro, looked into his eyes, and made a confused face.

The warden of the East Blue Jail was a man with really good character judgment. Igarappoi was a kind man with a good heart. He was all about rehabilitation and getting his prisoners to be better. The green-haired man in front of him belonged to the general population of his jail. He was not getting the feeling of darkness from him. He waived the guards on. He would need to look further into this. 

---

"Open up on 4"

The buzzer noise sounded from the gates as they rolled open. The guards walked through with Zoro before uncuffing him at his cell. "Don't make any more trouble now" The guard who uncuffed him smirked as he yelled out to the gate operator "Close on 4" 

Zoro rubbed his wrists. Those cuffs were a lot tighter than the ones at the station. They dug into his skin. Not enough to leave marks but definitely enough to be very uncomfortable. Zoro took this time to take stock of his cell. 'Nope, nothing changed' Still the same grey walls he was brought in with and the same flooring. Things were going to get boring very fast. 

He started making plans on how he should approach Mr. Nine when they were released for lunch. He saved the man from a broken nose so there is that avenue. 

The buzzer noise went off cutting off his planning. He was brought back right before mess. Zoro cursed to himself. Instead of getting his thoughts together it was too late and he was to be thrown in the deep end. 

'Best to just get this over'

Even if it didn't work, there was still the plan for the transfer and the prison riot. The danger levels would be uncomfortable. There was no confirmation of being injury free in here and during a riot would be even worse. He walked out of his open gate and began to follow the others to the mess line. 

Looking around, Mr. Nine was not in sight anywhere. Zoro shuffled with the line to where the metal trays were being handed out. He grabbed one and slowly moved it down the line as the lunch-duty prisoners slopped things onto his plate.

He felt nauseous just looking at it. The food was going to be the hardest thing for him to deal with. This was not something any of his team could have planned for. 

After finishing in the line, he found himself an empty table near the edge and began getting his utensils ready. The best thing the could say about the colored slop in front of him was that it was warm. He swallowed to make his throat feel less dry before preparing his spoon. There was a slam noise in front of him before he could pierce the glob on his plate. 

He looked up from his food with a cocked eyebrow and saw Mr. Nine. He had stumbled into the table.

After getting his balance he dropped his tray onto the opposite side of Zoro before dropping into the adjacent chair. Zoro gave him a quick once over.

One of his eyes was covered with gauze. Makes sense why he was having difficulty. 

Zoro quirked an eyebrow at him, "you alright?" he asked as he readied his spoon again. 

Mr. Nine looked at Zoro with his working eye. "You jumped in to save me." He stated with a clear voice. The blond dropped his gaze toward his food. "Thank you. I was told it would be a lot worse if you did not step in" 

---

An unknown dark haired man leaned to the person on his left. Keeping his eyes on the lunch table of Mr. Nine and the man he is conversing with. 

“Send a message. We might have a new addition. Tell Bones to prepare a test” He watches the man across from Mr. Nine put down his fork. 

“Understood.” he nodded and walked away. 

The lanky black-haired man then addressed the larger man to his right. “Go find out everything you can about the man next to Mr. Nine, Oh, and don’t tell Mr. Nine. I want to hear what he has to say about this guy later.”

He smiles to himself in contemplation and picks up his muffin. He looks back up at the duo at the table, pulls a blueberry from the soft muffin top, and popped it into his mouth. 'This was going to be very entertaining'

---

Unaware of the dark-haired man's gaze, Zoro continued to talk with Mr. Nine about why he was locked up. The blond looked at Zoro’s face closely. Whatever he saw there gave him the impression of someone he could trust. Mr. Nine checked their surroundings carefully before starting to talk. 

“Because you saved my life, I believe that I can say a little bit.”

Zoro tried to keep his face as neutral as possible to avoid messing up this chance. 

“There is a group I am involved in. It had me take the fall for a different member. I have been here for a while now and a lot of our enemies keep finding me here and have been trying to take me out”  

He looks directly into Zoro’s eyes. “Most of the time the guards step in before I am admitted to the med bay for long-term incidents” 

Zoro quirked an eyebrow as he repeated the phrase “Most of the time” 

The blond looks down towards their empty trays and lets out a quiet agreement. 

This was gonna be more difficult than we thought.

As Mr. Nine was finishing his food, a hand reached out and grabbed his blue berry muffin.

It was a tough looking guy being flanked by two of the people Zoro had put in medical. 

"I'm taking this for what you did to my men" 

Zoro looked at the guy and then back to Mr.Nine before slowly standing. 

This was one of the things that mattered in prison. Respect. No one is going to mess with you, if you have the respect of others. If Zoro did not stand up now, his time was going to be rough moving forward. 

The message the blond man was trying to convey was that Zoro and Mr. Nine were not going to do anything about someone taking their shit. 

"You will be putting that back" 

They stared at each other hard. With tension in the air, Zoro moved first. He put power behind his hand and backhanded him hard to drop him to the floor.

Zoro glared at the two standing over their leader. They put their hands up in a 'I don't wanna be a part of this' shrug. Before he picked up Mr.Nine's muffin and placed in front of Mr.Nine again. 

"I'll see you later" Zoro waved and walked back toward the way back to the cell block.

Mr.Nine watched as Zoro walked away and picked at his muffin. Things were looking up.

---

Back in his cell, Zoro started thinking about the next steps. It was too early to start a prison riot. While he had an in, it wouldn't mean much if he didn't trust in Zoro completely. Thankfully Mr. Nine was opening up but it would take time to grow this friendship. 

The following week was similar to his earlier days. Wake up, workout, hangout with Mr.Nine and eat, workout, recreation time, hangout with Mr.Nine and eat, workout and sleep.

It's a lot like his everyday routine outside. Except it was missing his car, his friends, and his blond- 

A yell rang out of the prison block distracting Zoro from his rest time. 

He got up and took a step outside his cell. It was recreation time and all cells were unlocked for people to move around freely (or as freely as one in prison could). He looked around again when he heard it again. This time it was coming from the guard area.

"What do you mean you didn't close the cells-"

The yell was drowned out with the prisoner yells around him.  

Concerned Zoro started making his way over to where Mr.Nine's cell was.'What in the world' He could hear people clearly now.

"They turned off the water" 

"Toss it fast"

"Hurry up"

He got close enough that he could see Mr. Nine grabbing something from under his bunk and looking around his cell. 

It didn't take very long for Zoro to realize that the prison was about to undergo a shake down and the guard had forgotten to lock the prisoners in their cells to make it easier for the guards to get to each room individually. 

A siren went off above him and yelling came over near the entry doors. 

"Shakedown ladies" 

"Back in your cells cons"

There was immediate chaos. Things were being thrown from the cells, people were yelling and acting psycho as the guards came rushing in, fully kitted up in their armor. 

Zoro looked over to make sure Mr.Nine was alright before he was going to head back to his cell. When he caught the blonds eye, he watched as Mr.Nine crouched and slid something over to where Zoro was standing with a panicked expression. 

Blending in with people scrambling and things flying all over, in one swift motion Zoro bent over, picked up the item, pivoted and ducked in between other inmates to get back to his cell before the kitted guards reached Mr.Nine. 

Knowing they were not far behind, Zoro dashed for his cell. He gave the cell a quick once over. He wasn't prepped for hiding anything. 

Hoping for the best he grabbed one of the books on the shelf, ripped out some pages, stuffed the item in and jammed in the back of behind the other books. 

With the pages in his hands he ripped them again and hurried to the door to toss it, when a hand caught his.

It was the guards. 

His shakedown was next. 

"Now what do we have here?" 

With a handful of pages, Zoro schooled his expression and just stared at the guard holding his arm in a firm grip.  

"Really, you are not going to say anything con?"

The guard tried grabbing the pages from Zoro, but his fingers had a tight hold of them.

"Up for a little light reading huh?" 

Knowing if the guards found the book from the name at the top of the pages, they would find what Mr.Nine had so desperately trusted him for.

Zoro dropped the pages to have the mix with the other inmates papers. 

The guard gave Zoro a disappointed look and he pointed at his buddies and sent them into the room. 

Tension was high. The guards trashed Zoro's room. The bed was pulled off the bunk, cloths strewn about, they had even pulled some books off the shelf when they got called away to check the next cells. 

"You got lucky this time Juro. If I had my way, you would be back in solitary" The guard smirked at Zoro,  then yelled to the control tower to lock his cell. 

After he was sure they had left, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. 

Later he would be able to find out what Mr.Nine entrusted to him. 

But first he now needed to clean up the mess the guards had made during their shakedown. This was going to be a very annoying.