Work Text:
“I messed up again…” Luffy whined, his whole body slouching against the table as Sanji attempted to salvage the mess Luffy had made of the dish he was cooking. Sanji gritted his teeth when he realized that there wasn’t much he could do about it, the meal was ruined.
“Luffy. Can you just, leave me alone.” Sanji said through gritted teeth. Luffy looked down at the smooth tile of the kitchen before standing up from his chair with shaking legs. He messed up. He disappointed Sanji. He ruined the food. He wasted food. Sanji was so fucking excited to cook with a new ingredient and Luffy went and fucked it all up.
“Sanji, I’m—“ Luffy said in a strong voice, trying to hold back the sobs that only resulted in a painful pulsing in his throat. Sanji slammed his clenched fist on the counter and Luffy jolted, throwing his hands up as if expecting a hit although Sanji’s back was turned to him.
“Just go. Leave me alone Luffy.” He held back the tears threatening to burn his eyes but that didn’t stop the glisten of unshod tears from being visible in his eyes.
“Ok… I’m sorry Sanji I really didn’t—“ Sanji snapped around and walked up to him quickly, grabbing him by the shoulders, his face red and hands shaking.
“DO YOU NOT GET WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY LEAVE ME ALONE?! IT MEANS FUCK OFF LUFFY, YOU ALREADY RUINED THE LUNCH I HAD PLANNED SO NOW I HAVE TO START ALL FUCKING OVER!” Sanji’s nails dug into his upper arm and Luffy’s wide eyes stared into Sanji’s wide angered ones. When Luffy didn’t reply to him he pushed him back a bit before walking back toward the stove.
“Get out of here.” And Luffy left quickly, his body shaking a bit as the words repeated in his head endlessly. He failed and now Sanji was mad and he’s such a fucking failure he’s so ashamed of himself how is he supposed to be their Captain and command them and take care of them if he can mess up a simple —
“Captain?” His eyes moved before his body. It was Zoro. He unconsciously loosened his grip on his emotions because Zoro was safe. Zoro was safety to him. A warm blanket where his emotions were like water down a waterfall he felt safe with him.
“Zoro,” He said breathlessly and wordlessly. Zoro took him in his arms. Luffy grappled onto his body and buried his face in the junction between his collarbone and neck. He complied casually, supporting Luffy with one hand before wrapping his other around his waist.
“Lu?” Zoro said softly, walking over to a seat in the shade on the deck. Luffy stayed silent, his frown only deepening. “Lu, what happened? You wanna tell me? If I can, I’ll make it better.” Zoro said that with such certainty it made Luffy feel a little bit better already. He didn’t deserve such a kind first mate.
Suddenly, hands were pressed carefully to his cheeks and his face was pulled away from the junction it was practically buried in. Luffy’s teary eyes and stubborn expression met Zoro’s stony one which soon melted away into worry. As Zoro’s expression shifted, Luffy started crying.
“Zoro!” He sobbed, his eyes watering and chest churning. His first mate pulled him closer and brought their foreheads together, hugging Luffy securely.
“What happened, Lu?” He clammed up, his teeth shaking from where they were gritted against each other. Luffy’s scrunched eyes refused to meet Zoro’s. He didn’t want to get Sanji and Zoro into a fight, it was his fault anyway so he deserved it, he was just being a —
“Luffy, it wasn’t your fault, you tried to help.” Why did he always know just what to say? Luffy’s lip trembled as he bit his bottom lip, his eyes narrowing at Zoro as more tears pinched at his eyes.
“I promise Lu. You tried.” Luffy wraps himself around Zoro, “I-I messed up Zo! I-I was tryin’ ta help San but I messed u-up and now he’s m-mad and it’s a-all myself and I d-didn't leave him alone ‘n he started yellin’ n grabbed m’ shoulders n it kinda hurt but it was my fault and —“ Zoro shushed him by pressing a soft kiss to his forehead, causing him to look at Zoro in wonder.
“It wasn’t your fault. I’m gonna talk to that shitty bastard later, but for now,” Zoro readjusted himself in the chair, his head tilting back as he brought Luffy closer to himself. “Let’s take a quick nap.”