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Chapter Text

Perona was going to kill him. She was going to kill that stinky, sweating oaf. It’s been two months and he’s only gotten worse. She thought by now they’d have an amicable peace agreement. With the amount of times she’s had to patch him up, she expected at least a modicum of gratitude. 

But noooo . He had to be a grumpy asshole about everything. 

She was trying to be nice. Being nice was hard for her, especially to someone who was a part of that pesky pirate crew that fucked everything up for her and her beloved Moria. But she had to try. They were going to be stuck together for two years, and it’s not like that Dracule guy has been engaging in the slightest. 

As she floated through the empty halls, she sighed. She had cooked the swordsman a lovely meal after he returned from days of training on the cold shores. Instead of thanking her, he insulted her by saying it wasn’t as good as his cook’s and he didn’t like it! Oh, the nerve!

Returning to her physical body on her bed, she quickly reached for the makeshift Kumashi plush by her side. It was no replacement for the real thing, but at least it reminded her of her favorite friend and provided comfort in times like these. She squeezed it and was saddened not to hear a reaction from the stuffed bear. 

If Kumashi wasn’t originally created from a shadow, she could’ve used a hollow to steal his essence and place it in this bear. She sniffled. 

Wait. She might not be able to bring back Kumashi, but maybe she could make that stupid oaf bow at her feet with gratitude. He’s only so grumpy because he’s separated from his friends. Perona could understand that. 

There’s a chance that Moria is still alive and her skin itches with anticipation at seeing him again at any possible time. However, Zoro knows it’ll be at least twenty two months  before he reunites with his crew. Until then, he’s stuck with her with no idea of how his friends are doing. The worry and separation must be eating away at his soul.

Looking at mini-Kumashi, she got an idea. She didn’t have her best friend anymore, but maybe she could comfort Zoro with his. That captain of his had a weird way of making the oaf fall in line. All it took was a simple look and smile. He was the only one that could tell Zoro what to do. Maybe if the Strawhat captain was around Zoro would treat her better. 

And she definitely did not have an ulterior motive of catching the swordsman looking cute. Not for any blackmail or personal reasons at all, noooo . 

She cackled and got to work. 

~

It stared at him with big black buttons and a goofy painted grin. He had just managed to find his room after three days of grueling training and there it was, sitting on his bed. He was going to kill that wicked witch.

Zoro couldn’t believe that Perona would mock him like this. They might not talk much, but she knew how much he missed his crew. His sulking and sighing have made that obvious by now. 

But no, she had to go and poke fun at the only thing causing him actual pain. He missed his captain, and she was making him look like a fool because of it. 

Anger flared from inside him and he reached for his swords at his side. “PERON–” a movement from the bed caught his attention and in his surprise, he yelped, “ AHHHHHH!”

He heard her horo-horo ing get louder as she clacked through the hallway, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the doll that was now standing up and waving at him. 

“I see you got my present,” she giggled. “Took you long enough. He’s been waiting for days.”

“I was training!” He growled back at her, still analyzing the strange scraggly doll. “What the actual fuck is this?”

She brushed past him and approached his bed, extending an arm to let the doll step into her hand. “Why,” she picked it up and tickled its cheek. “It’s your captain. Can’t you tell? I think I did pretty well for how much of a rush job this was. I was only expecting you to be out there a couple of hours.”

“Not my fault the stupid paths keep changing. Kept on running into more of those humandrills and decided to advance my training.” He shrugged. “And that’s not my captain.”

“Oh, but he’s so cute .” She puffed her cheeks. “And he does actually have a piece of his soul. So in a way, it’s a mini-version of your friend!” 

“ What . Perona what the fuck does that mean?” He questioned her. 

She just shrugged. “Figure it out yourself. And the least you could do is thank me. I worked really hard to make you feel better, you know!” 

“I’m still trying to understand how this stupid little doll is supposed to help me. I don’t play with toys.” He seethed. 

She covered her mouth and let out an overexaggerated gasp. “You wound me, Zoro! This isn’t just a toy! It’s a friend to keep you company until you can see the real thing. I’m just trying to be nice here!”

He rolled his eyes and sighed. As she extended her hand out, he reached out and took hold of the mini-Luffy. Examining it closer, he tried to see how this thing could hold a piece of Luffy’s soul. Maybe he had been a bit grumpy recently, and the ghost girl was truly trying her best to alleviate his mood. Maybe he could at least try to entertain her. 

“What am I even supposed to do with it?” He looked up to a now-empty room. Damn that witch!

Glancing back down at doll-Luffy, he sighed as it wrapped its stubby little arms around his finger. It reminded him of the way Luffy would hang off him. Dang it, maybe she was onto something. Although Hell would freeze over before he’d even admit that. 

“Alright, Luf. Guess I can give this weird idea a try. Just don’t be weird about this.” He admitted. The doll simply stared up at him as the painted-on smile grew bigger. 

~

Walking into his room, he was met with the button-eyed stares of four toys sitting up on his bed. This was becoming a regular site for him and he had practically shaken off the rush of goosebumps he would get whenever he saw the dolls act like one of his crewmates. 

Doll-Luffy stood up with wobbly legs and jumped off the bed. In seconds, it wrapped its tiny little arm stubs around his ankle. Looking back at the bed, he saw that two others stood to follow. Doll-Nami and plush-Chopper joined doll-Luffy in hugging his ankles while doll-dumbass just stood and waved from the bed.

Pah, that was just like him. The real-life cook could only stand to be in the same room with him because they serve on the same crew. They were rivals at best, enemies at worst. 

Looking at the doll, he rolled his eyes and flipped it the bird. He wondered why Perona even bothered with that one. 

Perona seemed to be in some phase where she’s promised to improve her “craft.” Each mini-Strawhat was becoming more intricate than the last. Chopper was almost as big as the real doctor while Nami had several fancy outfits sewn for her to choose from. The cook was the most detailed doll yet, with real blond hair (Zoro didn't want to ask where Perona got that from) and glistening blue eyes. 

Perona had explained that she was creating them in the order of most easy-to-access souls, but Zoro was starting to question her reasoning. He knew she still had a grudge against Usopp, but she kept excusing his absence saying his soul was impossible to find. It’s not like he necessarily wanted a plush of the marksman, but he was already so confused by the situation–the hypocrisy just gave him more questions. 

Overall, the dolls had been pretty docile. They kept him company almost just like his real friends would. Doll-Luffy chased around plush-Chopper while doll-Nami sat on his shoulder silently cackling. Meanwhile, doll-dumbass tried to calm the other two down while performing grand ballet-style gestures. Glances up to his shoulder made it obvious who he was trying to impress.

He put on his pajamas in the bathroom, awkwardly self-conscious about stripping even though they were only objects. Coming back out, he found all the dolls back in his bed, looking like they were ready to be tucked in. All except one, who fidgeted as he stood on his nightstand.

He carefully slid into bed, making sure not to jostle the three toys that had laid down on his pillow. As he pulled the covers over himself, he felt doll-Nami cuddle up to him in the nook between his neck and shoulder while the plush-Chopper splayed itself over his chest. 

Sighing, he shut his eyes and thought of doll-cook all alone to the side. What was the harm in inviting him? He was only a doll, after all. 

“Feel free to join us anytime, dummy.”

He then promptly fell asleep, too exhausted from the day's training.

The sun was blinding when he opened his eyes. That’s why it took him a moment to figure out which of the dolls had climbed onto him in the night and was now hugging onto his hand. When his arm flexed as he raised his head, he saw doll-cook push off his hand and run, jumping from the bed. Huh , how strange.

The rest of the morning continued like normal. Or as normal as it could be when you have four toys running around. Doll-dumbass gave no indication that something weird had happened in the first place. He even pestered him as he cooked banana pancakes for him and the ghost-witch, slapping his hand any time he used too much of an ingredient. Curly had been the one to teach him how to cook pancakes for days when Zoro didn’t want to venture to some expensive island diner just for breakfast. He found it hilarious how the doll version was just as peculiar about cooking.

Perona returned not long after that, plopping down at the kitchen table with a smirk.

Glaring at her, he gestured to the doll by his side and tilted his head in question. “I think something might have gone wrong with this one,” he flicked at the doll-dumbass who kicked his finger in return. “He’s acting a little weird.”

She giggled. “The pieces of souls they hold channel their intentions, so whatever he’s doing is what the real Sanji wants to do.”

“Yeah right,” He snorted before serving them pancakes. Doll-dumbass climbed to his shoulder and watched them enjoy the food. “So, who’s next?” 

“I’ve been trying to reach the soul of that gorgeous lady on your crew. Robin?” She waited for Zoro to confirm before continuing. “But it’s been a bit hard. Seems like she’s moving around a lot.”

As expected from someone who spent her life on the run. Zoro just hoped she was doing ok and at least had some friendly company. 

“I think I’m going to have to try for your robot next. I’m not used to working with hard materials though so it’s going to be a challenge,” she explained. “I wanna save that weird skeleton dude for my pièce de résistance. I have no clue how I’ll make him cute , and he’s already fighting me off whenever I prod for a piece of his soul.”

“You don’t have to make him cute.” Zoro groaned. “They’re already strange enough.” 

She pouted and crossed her arms. “Do you want their company or not?”

Zoro growled. He would never admit it, but these toys have been the only barrier between him and going mad. He’d been alone before, but this was different. Now he knew he had a family that was waiting for him. He knew he didn’t have to go through life alone anymore, so being forcefully separated from the people he cared about hurt more than anything.

At least these little dolls had small pieces of them. That would be enough to hold him over until he can reunite with the real full versions. He could train in peace and return to see his family supporting him and motivating him to become better. It would be a good consolation until his two years were up. 

Mihawk chose that exact moment to walk in and plop himself down at the head of the table where he always sits. He huffed as he picked up his newspaper and opened it up without a word. 

“Well look who finally decided to join us.” Perona turned her attention away from Zoro and started berating Mihawk. Zoro just grimaced, appalled by her disrespect for the greatest swordsman alive. 

“We needed a supply run. Or did you two want to go out and scavenge this barren island for sustenance?” Mihawk simply exhaled. 

The pout returned on Perona’s face and she quickly shut up, choosing to dig into her pancakes. 

“Which one of you is missing an orange-haired doll, by the way?” Mihawk posed his question from behind the massive newspaper. “Seems like it wandered into my jewelry box and helped itself to some gold pieces.”

Zoro couldn’t help but snort. Yep, that was Nami—no question about it. 

“I see.” Mihawk laid his newspaper down. “I’ll drop her off in your room, Zoro, but keep a better eye on your company.”

A blush crept across his face. The doll-cook on his shoulder seemed to be holding its belly in laughter.  “I’ll make sure they stay in my room from now on.” 

“There’s no need for that.” Mihawk got up and headed to the kitchen. He came back with a plate of pancakes for himself and a cup of pipping hot tea. “Breakfast has started to taste better since their arrival. And you’re definitely behaving much better now. Quite a difference from the uncouth man you were a month ago.”

Perona started cackling and Zoro laid his head in his arms. How the hell did Mihawk manage to say all that with a straight face? They were making fun of him. They must be. 

“Sit up at the table, Roronoa. Swordsmanship isn’t the only skill you seem to be lacking in. Let's add some time to practice manners to our schedule.”

He felt doll-cook slapping his shoulder in amusement. He was gonna strangle that little fucker. 

~

He only started noticing it when doll-Nami’s hair had reached her waist and she started using whatever she could find as a hairband. Then, the Franky string doll seemed to replace its arm blocks overnight. It finally hit him when he realized that the doll-cook switched its eyebrows. 

The dolls were changing. Slowly, but enough to show the growth of muscle or choice of new accessories. He’d noticed how some would stand up straighter, act more confident, and spend more of their time alone than with the rest of the group. 

Plush-Chopper no longer cuddled with him every night. Instead, it spent its time in the library reading up any medical book Mihawk had collected. Doll-Robin would either spend her time with toy-Franky or hang around Perona as she worked on crocheting Brook’s doll. doll-cook tailed doll-Nami like a lost puppy until she would turn a corner and disappear (most likely to find where doll-Luffy had disappeared off to.) Then, doll-cook would spend his time in the kitchen or sulking in some corner of Zoro’s room. 

They were changing almost like the real versions would. It also made him realize that the lack of Usopp had really started to bother him. If he could keep track of everyone’s conditions through these dolls and know that they were safe, he wanted the same for Usopp. The marksman was a part of their family, and Zoro was still responsible for him. 

“Perona. You’re never ever going to hear me say this again–” 

They were sitting in the courtyard enjoying the snowfall. It had been a year since Zoro had arrived and Mihawk had challenged him to a duel to track his progress. Zoro held him off for longer this time, but still lost an eye in the fight. Mihawk told him to take the week to recover and meditate on his training so far. 

“But, please can you make an Usopp doll?” 

She cringed and then mimicked gagging. “You know I–” she took a look at his newly bandaged eye and sighed. “ Fine . But he’s not getting any special treatment!” 

She floated off, leaving him alone with the snoozing plush-Chopper who hadn’t left his side since his injury. 

Zoro waited patiently, enjoying the quiet atmosphere until he heard scraping from behind him. Turning around in his chair, he saw that doll-cook was pulling along a glass filled with questionably green liquid in what must be one of doll-Franky’s contraptions. It scraped against the door frame as he squeezed out, but as soon as doll-cook made it through, the painful sound stopped. 

He slowly approached where the swordsman was sitting and waved out his arm, presenting the drink to him. 

“What’s this supposed to be, Curls? Trying to poison me when I’m already down?” 

The doll’s eyebrows furrowed and he crossed his arms. 

“Fine, fine, I’ll drink it.” Zoro reached down to grab the glass. “ Don’t know how good it’ll taste coming from a doll, though .” Zoro murmured the last sentence. 

Doll-cook tapped his foot and waited. Zoro sipped at the drink and expected the worst, but was pleasantly surprised when a calm, minty feeling spread through his limbs. He could definitely taste some ginger, but he didn’t distinguish any other ingredient. 

Finishing up the drink, he placed it back on the makeshift wagon and smiled at the doll-cook.

“Thanks, Clurlybrow. That was actually pretty good. Did you learn that recipe wherever you are now?” He asked.

The doll simply stared. 

“Fine, keep your secrets asshole.” Zoro went back to lounging on the chair and kicked his feet up. 

A few seconds later, something caught his attention in his peripheral view and he turned his head to see doll-cook just floating there, kicking his feet every few seconds. 

“You can fly now?” Zoro couldn’t keep the astonishment out of his voice. “No fucking way!” 

Doll-cook kicked his way over and took his usual place at Zoro’s shoulder, leaning into his neck. One of his little limbs rubbed against Zoro’s jaw in some sense of comfort. 

“Yeah, yeah, Curls.” Zoro’s voice came out as barely a whisper. “I’ll be more careful.” 

They both relaxed, staring as snowflakes covered the world around them. 

Just as Zoro was about to say something more, Perona chose that exact moment to return, stomping into the courtyard. She stood above Zoro and dropped a rock onto his stomach, making him grunt out in pain. 

“There, I did it. You better be grateful. I want nothing to do with this freak ever again.” She huffed and walked off. 

He picked up the rock and stared at it. Perona had glued googly eyes and a pencil in the semblance of a face and called it a day. Zoro would have thought it didn’t even hold Usopp’s soul if it didn’t somehow look terrified. 

He could feel doll-cook’s trademark silent giggles on his shoulder and sighed. At least he had all of his friends now.

Chapter Text

Their reunion went just as Sanji had expected. After two years apart, of course, they would come together again and instantly have to fight off marines and imposter pirates. He wouldn’t have it any other way though.

Gods, he missed his crew. Two years was such a long time. He was excited to learn how everyone had grown and changed since he last saw them. Hell, he happened to discover some things about himself as well. You can’t run away from the truth forever, especially not in heels. 

Most of all, he was curious about what Zoro had gone through. It was almost like he didn’t care about how different everyone looked. Or maybe he didn’t notice? He barely reacted to anything, including Sanji’s new Sky Jump. He thought that would for sure impress the swordsman who was always on the lookout for a stronger match partner. 

Most importantly, the mosshead was acting stranger than ever. He used to be weird, but never this… shifty . And Sanji could bet it had to do with that large canvas satchel he had stuffed into his locker. He wanted to see what was inside, but Sanji respected people’s  privacy too much. Plus, it’s not like Zoro was putting the crew in danger or anything, he was just being more closed off than before. He should have expected that not everything would stay the same. 

Although he didn’t have to like it. 

“You didn’t even blink when I pulled my new and improved Santen Découpage! I swapped out the side kick and modified the roundhouse!” Sanji was not upset, per se. But he was vexed . They just finished their first real spar and he had saved that move to show specially for Zoro. It was a triple slice, so he thought he’d at least appreciate it! 

Zoro smirked that half smirk that he’s been showing since their reunion. It didn’t even come close to the way he smiled before they got separated, but nowadays it was the best they could hope for. 

“It’s impressive, but I was ready for it. Your movements are easy to read.” He shrugged.

“Bullshit.”

“I just know you too well, Curls.” Zoro hummed as he walked away and left Sanji with a new pain in his chest. Why did that just make his stomach flip over? 

At dinner that night, all talk was about the skittering they’d been hearing on the ship. 

“It’s gotta be ghosts!” Usopp ascertained. “Since they only come out at night!”

“It’s just rats,” Nami groaned. “Ships have rats.”

“Not my beauty!” Franky piped up. “Sunny has and always will be rat-free.”

“It could be a termite infestation slowly eating apart our ship board by board.” Robin said in that simple tone she always used when discussing the macabre. Franky looked at her with tears in his eyes and she patted his hand. “Or it could just be ghosts. Ships are always reported to be haunted, since the sea is a fickle mistress.” 

Usopp yipped. “We’re haunted!”

“It’s nothing.” Zoro spoke, face still largely in his bowl of soup. “I’ve walked the decks at night and I don’t see nothing. You must be imagining things.”

“No Zoro, I heard it too.” Chopper piped up. “I’ve got better senses than you humans, and all I can tell is that it doesn’t smell like an animal.”

Usopp gulped. “So it must be ghosts then, huh?”

“Yay, ghosts!” Luffy laughed. “New friends! Let’s invite them to the crew!”

Multiple people yelled out “No” while Brook just laughed.

“Maybe I can speak to them,” Brook suggested. “Since I happen to be quite dead myself, yoho!” 

Nami bonked him on the head and then looked around. After a minute to think, she bonked Usopp and Luffy too. “Stop that. No more ghost talk at dinner.” 

After they all ate, Zoro excused himself rather quickly and made his presence scarce the rest of the night. Sanji knew he had watch, but usually he wouldn’t start until everyone went to bed. 

He wanted to check in on him and see what was going on. Maybe he could finally pry some information about the past two years from him.

Getting some booze ready as a bribe, Sanji headed to the crow’s nest, sensing Zoro’s presence there. 

He heard some scuffling as he climbed the ladder, but attributed it to some sort of workout Zoro was trying out. However, the closer he got to the trapdoor, the less he could explain the grunting and exclamations the swordsman would make every now and then. 

“Ha— there . Give up now? Again, again. Come on, you cheated there.” After a slam and a grunt, he whined out, “ Curly!” which made Sanji jump. 

He thought he was hiding his prescience well enough but leave it to Zoro to hone in his haki. Slowly pushing the trap door open, he stuck his head into the Crow’s nest. “Yes?”

“Oh, shit,” Zoro stumbled around on the ground and grabbed something to very obviously hide behind his back. “Curls. What’s up, hi.”

Sanji sighed as he climbed up into the unofficial Gym. “You’re the one that yelled out my name. You tell me what’s up.” 

“Just uh…” Zoro looked around before sticking out one of his hands, thumb up. “Just thumb wrestling.” 

“Thumb wrestling?” He slowly questioned. “Sure, that’s not weird at all.” Sanji placed down the plate and put his hands on his hips. “So who are you thumb wrestling with? Is it yourself? Or maybe one of these ghosts that we’ve apparently taken on?”

Zoro cleared his throat and gave Sanji a poor excuse for a smile, clenching his teeth. Opening his mouth to say something, he instead yelped out in pain and dropped whatever he was holding behind his back. “What the shit, ow?”

The thing darted across the room and aimed straight for Sanji. Without thinking, he kicked it, only to be countered with a kick? of its own. 

Finally getting a chance to examine Zoro’s secret, he blanched. The little doll looked exactly like him and was glaring up with a ferocity that sent a shiver up his spine. 

“Now, Curls, don’t freak out.” 

Oh, he was going to freak out. “What the actual fuck , mosshead?” He tried to snatch the thing but it jumped out of his reach. “Why do you have a mini me that moves?”

“First of all, it’s just a doll.” Having returned to Zoro’s feet, the mini-him now kicked at his toes, apparently offended at being called a doll. “ Ow , what else am I supposed to call you then? A toy? ” The doll kicked him again. “Well fuck you then.” He continued addressing the doll, forgetting that the real live Sanji was there watching their strange bickering. 

Sanji just rubbed at his temples. “Please explain how in the Impel Down this doll moves on its own. And why does it even look like me in the first place.” 

“Perona.” Zoro simply shrugged. “She used her weird ghosty powers.”

“But why me? ” Sanji stressed. 

“Ok, mr. The-world-revolves-around-me-like-my-weird-brow,” Zoro mocked him by raising his hands in a fake offense. “It’s not just you . I’ve got mini versions of our whole crew .” He had a smug smile for a fraction of a second before realizing how it might make him look. Quickly covering his mouth, he refused to say anything else. 

“Excuse me?” Sanji faltered, not believing what he just heard. “You’ve got sentient dolls of each of our nakama?” He slowly spoke, enunciating every few words. 

Zoro just shut his one remaining eye in an attempt to pretend Sanji wasn’t there. 

“No. No. Absolutely not. You cannot just close your eyes— eye and shut me out.” Sanji stepped closer, prodding him with a finger. “You have dolls of all of us?”

Zoro shook his head, eye still clenched shut. 

“So it’s just me?”

Zoro shook his head again. 

“Well you have to fucking explain, Zoro.” He poked him again, harder this time. “This isn’t going away.”

The doll had taken this opportunity to climb up Zoro and was now standing on his shoulder. When the swordsman didn’t answer again, it looked like it rolled its eyes before kicking him in the jaw. 

“ Fuck! Curly, we talked about this.” Zoro finally opened his eye and sighed. He met real-Sanji’s stare before quickly blurting out, “I missed you guys so she made me smaller versions of each of you so I could keep up and know you were all ok.”

“That’s so–”

“If you say any version of cute or sweet , I will end you Curls.” Zoro growled.

“Well I was going to say charming ,” Sanji scoffed. “But if you wanna be a dick about it, fine! It’s heartwarming, adorable, and most of all – mushy! ” 

Zoro forgot all about the tiny little cook standing on his shoulder and tackled Sanji with a wild scream. In an instant they were wrestling each other on the ground, with Sanji trying to dig his heel into Zoro’s shin while Zoro tried to elbow Sanji’s solar plexus. The Sanji-doll just stood to the side, trying to figure out how to jump in and who to target. 

They just tumbled around fighting like normal for a few minutes before calling it a tie like always. Out of breath and tired from the long day, the boy just sat up and looked at each other. Zoro seemed to be struggling to find what to say, with a hint of blush appearing on his face. 

Sanji just decided to take him out of his misery. “Look, it’s nothing to be ashamed about.” He was still huffing to catch his breath, so the words came out quieter and almost soft. “But we should let everyone else know. You need to stop hiding things from us. We’re your family, and we care. But most importantly– I need Usopp to stop saying we’re being haunted .” 

Zoro let out a boisterous laugh as he held his stomach. “Fine! Okay.” It looked like all the tension he’d been holding in his shoulders the past few days was finally gone for the most part. “Thanks, Curls.” 

Sanji smiled at him, but caught the glaring eyes of the little doll at Zoro’s side. The mini-him just crossed his arms and turned away. Jeez, what was its problem? 

“You’re telling me, that everyone else here gets an exquisitely made doll with lots of special details,” Usopp slammed his fist on the kitchen table. “And I’m just a rock .”

“It’s a special rock.” Zoro clapped the sharpshooter’s back with a chuckle. “Look, he even has your scowl!”

Sanji stared at the rock in the middle of the table. Yeah, Zoro might have been on to something. The rock had barely moved like the other dolls, but its face was now in a very distinct scowl that wasn’t there when Zoro first poured the bag of dolls onto the table. 

Now, all of the dolls were hanging out with their respective counterparts except for the mini-Sanji, who sat by Zoro’s hand, smoking a fake cigarette. 

“Perona did such a good job with these. They’re all from memory?” Nami cupped her own doll in her hands while she brushed out its yarn hair. The doll seemed to have a look of pride on its face.

“Memory and a little help from your wanted posters,” Zoro shrugged. “They also started changing on their own over the years.”

“How peculiar.” Robin poked her doll. “Did you see these changes happen? Or were they instantaneous?”  

Zoro thought for a second before responding. “Most changes were minor, so I didn’t really notice them right away. But I did see when the Franky-doll started installing those bigger arm blocks. That took a few weeks to get done.” 

“Ha!” Franky guffawed. “It took a few weeks to install the real things too!” He tried to showcase his arms in the little space he had, only to be stopped by Robin gently patting his hand while shaking her head. 

Chopper had sparkles in his eyes from the moment the dolls were revealed. He only looked away from his own plush to admire Franky’s. “Why would you hide them from us, Zoro!”

“Yeah, Zoro.” Sanji kicked him under the table. “Are you ashamed of us?”

“No.” He scrunched his face and crossed his arms while the doll-Sanji glared at the real-Sanji. 

Luffy cackled from his spot in the corner as the Doll-Luffy danced on his head. “He wasn’t hiding them! I got to play with them the first night we were together!” 

“Oh?” Sanji asked his captain to elaborate, but that was all they were gonna get from the kid. Instead, he looked to Zoro, who seemed just as confused as the rest of them. 

“Huh?” Zoro sat up. “You did?”

Luffy started laughing as his doll-double swung around his body like a little monkey. 

“So what are we supposed to do with them?” Nami asked. “I don’t think Zoro misses us anymore, so what do we do with them?”

“Well,” Robin hummed. “They do hold a piece of our souls, making them a part of us. So why don’t we see what happens if they just roam freely on the ship with us?” 

“Don’t think mine’s gonna be doing much roaming…” Ussop murmured. 

“It’ll be nice to have an assistant!” Chopper exclaimed. 

“My soul already roamed outside its body for years, yohoho , I wonder what I can do with this little separated bit!” Brook said as he analyzed his crocheted doll. 

“So it’s decided!” Luffy giggled. “New crew! New Crew!”

Nami palmed her face in frustration. “They’re not new crewmates, Luffy. They’re all still us, just tiny versions.”

“You ok with this, marimo?” Sanji glanced over to the swordsman who had his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. 

Zoro simply shrugged. “Sure, whatever.”

Chapter Text

Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for the dolls to fit into the fabric of the crew. Once they were given full freedom to explore the ship at any time of day, they found themselves at their respective crewmate’s side. 

The wooden-Franky and the doll-Usopp would lend assistance in building their human’s latest contraptions. Doll-Robin helped with research in the library while doll-Nami was surprisingly trusted to catalog treasures from their side quests. Plush-Chopper helped out in the Medbay while crochet-Brook entertained doll-Luffy and real-Luffy.

However, the only doll that wasn’t velcroed at the side of its human counterpart was doll-Sanji. Instead of spending his time in the kitchen as everyone would expect, he’d still spend his time with Zoro, acting like an additional target during his trainings and just generally hanging off his shoulder.

For whatever reason, it was making Sanji angry and he couldn’t understand why. Of course, even the doll version of him would choose Zoro over him. He’s never the one anyone wants. He shouldn’t be surprised. 

He and Zoro might be evenly matched, but everyone seems to love the swordsman more, even his fucking doll. Sure, the guy was hot and strong, but he had nothing else going for him!

He threw down his ladle and sighed. But why then?  Isn’t that thing supposed to hold a piece of his soul? So why does he seem to hate himself so much?

He shook that thought out of his head and went back to making his stew. It was all too confusing. He swore he’d had enough therapizing at Kamabakka. Iva drilled him in more ways than one, and as thankful as he was for them, he was a little resentful for all of the nonconsensual emotional digging they did. 

But this? This was going to revert all that progress if it continued any longer. He had to put a stop to this nonsense before it got any worse. 

The issue, however, was that any time he tried to approach Zoro, that doll would be there with his arms crossed and giving Sanji a glare he recognized could only come from Zeff. It was impossible, but that doll somehow had more of his dad in him than he did. 

He couldn’t count the number of times the doll lashed out and kicked Sanji when he got too close or said something that pissed Zoro off. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say that doll probably had a piece of Zoro’s soul in it rather than Sanji’s. 

That doll was too protective of the swordsman. He was supposed to hate Zoro, wasn’t he?

Then why did he stumble on them napping together this morning? He would never do that! So what was wrong with the doll? This was the last straw. He couldn’t let the ladies think that he actually wanted to be all soft and clingy with that idiot swordsman. That was just gross!

He knew Zoro was taking his usual afternoon nap in the aquarium, so he was going to storm in there and give him a piece of his mind— doll be dammed. They haven’t even had the chance to spar like normal the past week, and Sanji needed his outlet!

That’s it, then. The stew was done, and he was amped up. It was time to go figure this shit out.

Sanji growled and cracked his knuckles. He stormed out of the galley only to be met with an explosion. 

He recovered his balance and looked around the waters. There was nothing but a lone island off in the distance. There was no way the hit could have come from that far away, so what just happened?

Zoro climbed out of a trapdoor with swords in hand. He took one look at the ocean and furrowed his brows. 

“Invisible ships.”

“Huh?” Sanji asked. 

The doll-Sanji rolled his eye from its usual spot on Zoro’s shoulder. 

That’s when Nami ran down from the top deck with an eyeglass in her hands. She yelled at the two and pointed out at the empty waters. “They’re using some sort of cloaking mechanism! There are hundreds of ships out there.” 

“Well, shit.” Both Sanji and Zoro said.

The cook lit up a cigarette and settled into his fighting mindset. Guess the confrontation was going to have to wait. He skyjumped off the ship just before another explosion set off. 

~

Shit, he was tired. Once the Strawhats got into the groove of battle, it wasn’t too hard to beat the drones of islanders. Even easier when Nami managed to explain that they weren’t there to conquer their home. But they still put up a good fight, and being taken by surprise didn’t really give Sanji the time to stretch and warm up. 

The island was under Shanks’ flag, and they didn’t want to betray the Red-Hair pirates by aiding the Strawhats in any way. So they all agreed that the pirate crew would just move on its own accord, with no stopping for restocking or rest. 

That left Sanji to deal with dinner that night. He wasn’t mad about it at all, but he didn’t have enough energy to make one of his extravagant meals like he usually loves to do. Instead, he made little platters of tapas and distributed them to the crew in their respectful resting nooks. 

Everyone was either already asleep, or about to go to sleep, but they were thankful for the food nonetheless. Little sweet Chopper wiggled his nose and practically floated out of a dream to get a bite of the sweet concoction Sanji had whipped up, only to dissolve right back into sleep as soon as the plate was empty. 

He had finished his rounds on deck and only had one more person to visit. He had left Zoro for last since the swordsman volunteered for watch up in the tall Crow’s Nest. He’d need a bit more fuel, so Sanji wanted to devote a little extra time to making some snacks for him as well. 

The harvest moon was already high in the sky when he climbed up the ladder, platter carefully balancing on one hand. It illuminated the Nest pretty well. Well enough for Sanji to stop in his tracks when his eyes scanned over a sight he couldn’t quite believe. 

In the corner, Zoro sat on the floor leaning against the wall. He was nestled in some blankets and surrounded by each one of the dolls, all cuddling him in a different way. Sanji would have thought he was dead asleep if he hadn’t hummed a greeting with his eyes still shut. 

“Cook. You brought grub. Finally. I’m starving.” As if on cue, his stomach grumbled. 

Sanji flinched, ashamed that he let even a single crewmate go hungry. He approached Zoro’s side with the array of choices, gently setting it down before sliding to the floor himself. 

Zoro simply eyed him from the side, but didn’t say anything as he dug into the food.

 Sanji found his own doll right by Zoro’s shoulder, curled up in a ball like he usually sleeps. He reached out and slowly pet him with one of his fingers, finally feeling the soft silky hair and the intricate stitching. The doll barely rustled, only shifting its arms in its sleep. 

“They’re the only reason I didn’t go crazy while we were apart,” Zoro mumbled. 

“Huh?” If Sanji wasn’t so close, he wouldn’t have even heard him. But he still didn’t understand exactly what Zoro meant. 

“The dolls,” Zoro spoke up louder this time. “I knew you were all ok because of them. I got to see them be happy, and know that everyone else must have been happy too. Somewhere out there.”

“Wow, Zoro. That’s kind of,” Sanji paused, making sure not to hurt the swordsman’s feelings. It’s not often that the man opens up to him like this. “Sweet. And very reassuring.”

Zoro gave him another curious look he couldn’t read before continuing. “Of course, there were times I knew you weren’t doing so well. The dolls of Robin, Luffy, and even you had their dark days. But I knew you guys would always pull through because the dolls were still alive,

at first, I was so frustrated that I couldn’t do anything to help. But seeing how you guys managed to take care of yourselves gave me the confidence I needed to know that when we all reunite, I wouldn’t have to carry the weight of our whole crew alone. Everyone was strong now, and all I had to do was be there for a little bit of extra protection.”

“You were never alone at this, Zoro.” Sanji quietly said as he nudged their shoulders together. “I always had your back.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” Zoro breathed out and looked away. “Even as a doll, you’d somehow always be there, looking out for me and challenging me when I was about to give in.”

Sanji softly elbowed him. “Hey now, the great Roronoa Zoro never gives up.”

Zoro shrugged, and focused in on finishing the plate of food. 

They sat in silence for a while, letting the moon wash over the room and the sound of the night fill the air. At some point, the exhaustion hit Sanji all at once, and he yawned, stretching his arms out. 

“You know,” Zoro cleared his throat, his voice dry from a period of quiet. “The best sleep I’d ever gotten was with these guys spread all over me.” He motioned to the dolls all resting in different spots in the folds and nooks of the blankets.

“I should really get to my own bed. Plus, you’ve got watch, I shouldn’t distract you.” Sanji made his way to get up, but his legs felt like lead and his body was quickly shutting down, recognizing the need for rest. 

Zoro wordlessly pulled one of the blankets from behind him and offered it to Sanji. Reluctantly, he grabbed it and covered himself, moving his arms to hug his own torso. 

Gently picking up the Chopper plush, making sure not to disturb it from its sleep, Zoro placed it right in the middle of Sanji’s lap. Sanji inched out one of his hands from underneath the blanket and let it run through the fake fur. Shit, that was almost as soft as the real thing.

Sanji let his eyes slowly close and his mind drift off. The last thing he heard was Zoro chuckling, “I’m glad it was you that came up here.”

Sanji smiled and managed a weak response before falling into a deep sleep. “Yeah, Nami would have extorted the shit out of you for this.”

The sun shone through the windows, blinding Sanji and letting him know that he was late for breakfast. Fuck, where was he again? He woke with a start, looking around trying to remember how he got into the Crow’s Nest. It was only when his eyes landed on Zoro by his side that he realized their position. 

Zoro had flung an arm around Sanji’s shoulders while Sanji leaned his head against Zoro’s chest. Some of the dolls had climbed onto Sanji during the night, and he was now tightly hugging the Chopper plush near his heart. 

Blush spread across his cheeks and he pushed himself up at the speed of light, grabbing the empty dishes and running down to the deck. He didn’t want to let Zoro know that was probably the best sleep he’d had in a while. Especially not since he woke up in that compromising position. 

Meanwhile, Zoro didn’t want to indicate that he’d been awake since the sun had risen. And that he realized then that Sanji’s behavior reminded him of one of the very first nights he had with the doll-dumbass. Maybe they weren’t just physical vessels like he’d been thinking. Maybe there was something more to the little guys. 

~

Zoro was in no way a dumb man. It might take him some time to figure things out, but he’s not stupid . He’s actually really good at reading other people. He might not know what they might be thinking all the time, but he can tell how they feel. And that doesn’t make him stupid . 

This, however, might be the dumbest thing he’ll ever do. 

He had locked himself in a closet with little doll-dumbass. The only source of light was the single lantern hanging above the two of them. Doll-dumbass stood on top of a barrel with its arms crossed while Zoro sat down on a crate to be at eye level. 

Doll-dumbass tapped its toe angrily, getting impatient with Zoro’s antics. Zoro raised his arms in a gesture of placation before finally speaking.

“Alright, alright. Just listen.” He took a deep breath in before launching into Zoro’s version of a tirade. 

“Look, there’s always been this thing between us, right? You’ve felt it, you can’t deny it. We work really well together and there’s this spark that we never put a name to. I know you don’t hate me, because I don’t hate you. Actually, I happen to quite like you. Love you, maybe. But love’s not really my thing so I wouldn’t know. Wow, in terms of confessions this one isn’t really the cle–”

Doll-dumbass stopped him with an uppercut kick that landed loudly on the barrel below it. Zoro’s mouth gaped open as he watched the little guy pace around, seemingly clenching its fists? If something with nubs for hands could clench its fists. 

After a minute, it finally turned to face Zoro and ruffled its nub-hands through its golden hair. It almost looked like it was screaming. 

“Ok, so,” Zoro muttered, “I’m not exactly sure how this doll-soul thing works. But you are the cook, right? Or like part of him? So you would know if he likes me back.” 

Doll-dumbass shook its head.

“No? You’re not technically him?” Zoro’s voice pitched up, now a little nervous he bared his secrets to some random doll that just looked like the cook. 

The doll shook its head even more vigorously. 

“So you are part of the cook?”

The doll nodded.

“And you would know if he liked me back then.”

It shook its head.

“No you wouldn’t? Or no he doesn’t?”

It shook its head before looking up as in thought. It then pointed to Zoro before drawing a heart in the air and shaking its head, pointing back to itself. 

“You’re saying I don’t love you?” Zoro’s eyebrows furrowed, more annoyed than ever that the doll couldn’t talk. “Well yeah, I don’t love you . But I love you you. You know, big human cook you.”

The doll covered its eyes and shook its head yet again. 

“Look, I don’t understand.” Zoro sighed. “I’m going to talk to the real cook, I just need to know how to approach this. So simple yes or no, does he like me? Even a little bit?”

Doll-dumbass slowly looked up, a grimace now plastered on its face. He gently nodded, his cheeks turning red. 

“Yes!” Zoro raised his fist, too excited to stay calm. “Seriously?” Waiting for another nod of confirmation, he smiled when doll-dumbass obliged. “Cool. Cool. That’s cool. Yeah. I guess we should do something about that then?”

The doll jumped at Zoro, landing a kick directly into his cheek. 

“No!” Zoro exclaimed. “Not me and you. But me and you . Main you!”

It rolled its eyes before turning away. 

“Cool, thanks mini-cook. I’m lucky Perona made you. I wouldn’t have survived those two years…” His voice got quieter. “In all honesty, this still doesn’t feel real. Curly shouldn’t like me. But you’re here telling me otherwise, so I feel like I should believe that piece of his soul that’s in you.”

He got up, ready to confess to the real thing. 

“Or more like I want to believe you, because that would mean I haven’t been hallucinating all this time”

~

For some reason, as soon as Zoro decided to come clean to the cook, he couldn't find a moment alone with the guy. 

They instantly got pulled into some government-defying scheme after Luffy ran into a little girl who promised him a whole bunch of food in exchange for his help. So the Strawhats did what they always do, kick ass and save lives. 

The whole time, doll-dumbass spent his time on Zoro’s shoulder, helping where he could but mostly hanging on for dear life as Zoro zipped through the winding streets of the confusing city, constantly getting lost. 

The doll had been mostly quiet since their conversation in the supply closet. Or at least, as silent as a doll could be that couldn’t talk. It just hung around, not really reacting to anything or bothering Zoro with its usual fervor. It even helped the real-cook make breakfast the day after, which was a first for the doll. 

It took them a total of two days to deal with the corrupt government in this kingdom, and that was only because there was a hidden bomb that could have leveled the entire island they had to find and deactivate. 

So on the third day, once things calmed down and the townspeople were more or less healed up, the Strawhats did what they always do after kicking ass and saving lives–they partied. 

This kingdom seemed to be known for its wine and vegetables, so the feast they had was immaculate. The cook was constantly frothing at the mouth, enamored by all of the fancy wines (and probably sexy ladies) available. Zoro just rolled his eye and groaned at the sight. 

It became very apparent that the cook was too drunk to accept any sort of serious conversation now, so Zoro decided to go and find some real alcohol to go with the very good crown roast he was just handed. 

He looked back at his crew before heading off. They were hanging out with their respective dolls, all having a great time. He even watched as doll-Nami pickpocketed some guy that the real Nami was in the process of swindling. 

Zoro smiled, happy to see everyone celebrating together. This was his family, and he sure missed them. 

No matter how many times Zoro turned, he kept on ending up at the beach, face to face with the Sunny herself. After the fourth time, he decided to just give up and eat his meal on the beach. It was a wonderful view anyway. 

He propped himself up against a tree and faced out to the ocean, slowly being lulled to sleep by the oscillating waves.

Zoro woke up, feeling a twitch at the edge of his haki field. It didn’t feel like danger, in fact, it felt kind of warm and powerful. He’d felt this presence before. 

A few seconds later, the bushes by his side rustled as a struggling cook stepped out. It took a moment for Zoro to spot mini-cook leading the way, one hand clutching onto the cook’s tight fancy pants. 

“Alright, alright! I get it,” Sanji whined. “I’m here, what did you want to show me?” 

Mini-cook pointed to Zoro, who was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It crossed its arms before storming off back towards the city. 

“What a strange doll,” the cook murmured. 

“It only takes after you,” Zoro teased. 

The cook kicked some sand toward Zoro, who protested loudly. 

“What are you even doing out here, mossy? Why didn’t you take a nap in the hotel like the rest of us?” The cook asked. 

Zoro shrugged. He wondered how long he’d been out. Looking out to the horizon, he saw that the sun was just starting to set and he breathed out. “Want to watch the sunset?”

The cook made a noise of indifference before plopping down right next to Zoro. It seemed like he had slept off whatever wine was in his system. Zoro was tempted to just pull him aside and let everything out right now.

Instead, they sat in silence for a bit, watching as the sun lowered. Zoro was no coward, but when it came to this, he might as well be Usopp. 

Finally, it was the cook who spoke, facing out to the ocean. “Hey, Marimo. Can I ask a question about the dolls–or I guess my doll specifically?”

Zoro hummed a go ahead . 

“Did it ever do anything weird?”

Zoro side-eyed him. “What's your definition of weird, Curls?”

He took a moment to think before responding. “Something out of character. Something unbecoming of The Cook, you know?”

“Unbecoming?” Zoro chuckled in his throat. “I mean, not really. There was a point where it started getting more touchy , but seeing as it was already a living doll, I didn’t think anything of it.”

“ Touchy ?” The cook turned to face Zoro. “What do you mean by touchy ?”

Zoro shrugged again. “There always had to be some point of contact, especially when we were sleeping. And it wasn’t your usual fight-to-fight-off-the-touch-starvation, either. Just regular touches. Some cuddling.”

The entire time Zoro had been speaking, the cook’s face was turning a bright red. Finally, when he got to the cuddling bit, the cook exploded. “What the fuck? Fuck me . No, it didn’t. I can’t believe–”

The cook covered his face as Zoro tried to figure out what to do or say to console him. “Don’t worry about it, it’s just a doll, it didn’t mean anything.” 

The cook groaned, rapidly clenching and unclenching his fists. “But it did!”

“Huh?”

“It did mean something.” The cook covered his face. “About when would you say that all started?” He murmured. 

Zoro thought back. “About eight months into being separated, I’d say?”

“Aha!” The cook looked up into the sky, nails now digging into his knees. “I knew it. Of course. It just had to reflect a part of my soul, huh?” At this point, it felt like the cook was mostly talking to himself. “That’s right around the time Iva helped me figure it out.”

“ It ?” Zoro asked. “What are you talking about?”

“It! You!” The cook raised his hands in defeat. “What does it matter? You’re gonna hate me. We’ll never be able to go back to being friends again.”

“Curls, I could never hate you. What are you talking about?” Zoro swallowed, pausing. “Sanji?” 

Sanji carded his fingers through his golden hair, pulling at any tangle he came across. At last, he let out a frustrated scream. 

“Sanji!” Zoro grabbed Sanji by the shoulders and turned him so that they’d face each other. “What’s wrong?”

Sanji met his gaze and sighed, finally loosening the tension all over his body. “I guess I owe you some sort of explanation.”

The way that the cook went from mid-meltdown to complete and utter calm unsettled Zoro. 

“The doll became clingy because I realized something about myself,” Sanji explained. “Part of my training involved some therapy sessions with Iva.” He muttered the word therapy . 

“That’s good.” Zoro supplied. He didn’t know how else he was supposed to react. 

Sanji shook his head. “We talked about a lot of things, but one of our main topics always ended up being you.”

Zoro’s cheeks lit up with a hint of blush. 

“And as much as I talked about you–the ways I talked about you…Iva said it can only be love.” 

Zoro’s blush deepened and he clenched his toes, stopping himself from moving an inch. 

“And I guess they were right. Because we always had this spark we could never put a name to, meanwhile I’d always tried to hide away any part of myself that could’ve disappointed my old father.”

Zoro had never heard Sanji refer to his dad as anything other than old geezer , so he found the cook’s wording strange. 

“And in hiding those parts of me,” Sanji continued. “I just ended up feeling worse about myself. So when I finally let go of all that resentment and shame, it helped me realize some other feelings I’d been trying to push down. Most importantly how much I missed you.”

Zoro stared at Sanji, in awe and in a complete loss of what to say. 

The cook blushed, quickly turning away. He put up his arms in a gesture of surrender before suddenly pushing himself up off the ground. Sand scattered all over, blowing into Zoro’s eye and stunning him. 

“Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have–” Sanji stammered. “Pretend I never said anything.” 

That prompted Zoro to move. He launched himself up and grabbed the fleeing cook’s wrist. “Wait, stop!” 

The cook huffed as he turned around, still not meeting Zoro’s gaze. “What, Zoro? You wanna tease me about this? Go ahead. I made enough of a fool of myself.” 

“No, you idiot.” Zoro rasped. He cleared his throat and spoke louder when Sanji gave him a bewildered look. “Curly–Sanji. Why the fuck would I tease you about this when all I’ve wanted to do the past two minutes–fuck, the past two years– is kiss you?”

“Y-you–” Sanji croaked. “You what ?” 

“I want. To kiss. You.” Zoro spelled out. 

“No, you don’t,” Sanji argued.

Zoro groaned in annoyance. He wasn’t about to argue this with yet another version of Sanji. Instead, he pulled Sanji closer and put on hand around his cheek. Giving him enough time to push away if he really didn’t want it, Zoro leaned in before slowly meeting his lips with the cook’s. They were warmer than he expected, and so so soft. 

Sanji had let out a squeak of surprise at first, but as Zoro’s lips settled on his, he began to relax. They pushed into each other, nipping at each other's lips and letting out small gasps. Zoro let his tongue wander, licking at Sanji’s lips and prodding at the entrance of his mouth. When Sanji slightly opened his mouth, letting Zoro in, the swordsman tasted the best meal he’d ever had. 

There were so many swirls of flavor. From a sweet treat to an umami broth, a tarte wine to a refreshing salad. There were even hints of cigarette smoke making everything well, smoky . 

Zoro could have never imagined this day. He was kissing the cook. Wow, he was kissing the cook!

Their mouths quickly ended up going at each other just like the men themselves always do– making everything a battle for dominance.  They moaned and then growled only to moan again. Sanji bit at Zoro’s lip, causing a feral reaction from the man. He dug his fingers into Sanji’s sides and groaned, shoving Sanji against the tree trunk behind them. 

Sanji managed to get out a “Hey!” as Zoro pounced on him. He let Zoro run his mouth up all over his jaw and neck, biting down and licking wherever he could. 

Zoro inched down closer to his chest and went to undo one of the buttons, but was stopped by Sanji showing him away, pulling the two fully apart. 

Zoro looked at him and cocked his head. “Sorry, is that too much?”

An out of breath Sanji shook his head. “No, just…this is real, right?”

Zoro broke out in laughter and took Sanji’s hands in his. “Yes. It’s real.”

Sanji smiled. It was the brightest Zoro had ever seen the cook light up. “Good.”

They came together again, fitting together perfectly like they were always supposed to. The perfect partners, in every way. 

~

They returned to the ship in the morning, taking their time to enjoy the scenery together. Their hands weaved together as the both of them grinned at each other. They didn’t care about the crew seeing. They were bound to find out soon anyway, with how close they all were. 

Plus, they have enough to deal with in the Grand Line, so why hide away something that gives them happiness?

Stepping on deck, they expected at least some sort of reaction, but everyone was going about getting ready to set sail. It was only when Zoro spotted the dolls huddled together in a corner that he noticed doll-dumbass was staring right at them, silently clapping with his little fabric nubs. 

“Oh, Zoro.” Nami passed by the couple, engrossed in her navigator’s journal. “Looks like you got a package.” She gestured behind her shoulder towards the galley, still not looking at anything but her book. 

In the distance, Zoro spotted Usopp squinting at him and Sanji. When they made eye contact, Usopp quickly shuddered and twisted away, running off. 

That was when Zoro remembered Usopp had volunteered to take watch yesterday, only a couple hundred feet away from where Sanji and Zoro decided to spend the night. He looked back at the dolls and saw that the Usopp-rock had even more fear in its eyes than usual. Well, oops. 

Sanji pulled him towards the galley. “Let’s go see what you got! I’m curious.” 

Zoro shrugged and let himself be dragged through the door. In the middle of the dining table sat a large, white box, neatly tied with a pink ribbon. There was a grandiose ribbon in the middle, letting Zoro know exactly who it was from.

“Perona.”

He didn’t take too much care in opening the package, throwing the top and ribbons to the side. He pushed the tissue paper out of the way and groaned when he saw what was inside.

Sanji came closer to see what his special delivery was, and started giggling as soon as he spotted it. 

The doll leisurely sat up, using its parasol to push itself fully on its feet. Zoro couldn’t really tell, but it looked more intricate than any of the other eight. The mini Perona had swirling pink hair tied up in two pigtails with a tiny crown sat in the middle. Its dress was flowy and looked like something she would wear on a “summer” day at Kuraigana. It looked up at him with a devilish grin, and Zoro swore he could hear her signature laugh. 

As Zoro scowled at the doll, Sanji picked up a note from the box behind it. 

“ Because I know you miss me. Xoxo. ” Sanji tried to hide his giggling by covering his mouth. He looked down at the box and spotted another paper. He picked it up, realizing it was a picture. That’s when his laughter couldn’t be contained any longer. 

Zoro snatched the picture from him and looked at it. It was a shot of Perona taking a “selfie” with a doll looking exactly like Zoro, eye scar and all. There was a quick note jotted down at the bottom in her fancy-pants handwriting. 

And I do too. 🩷

Chapter Text

He noticed something was wrong with the dolls the moment he stepped on Zou. He didn’t need to see Nami’s face to know shit happened while they were separated.

The only one still acting normally was doll-Perona, and normal for her just involved floating around by Zoro’s head and watching everything around them. 

All the other dolls were moping about, most of all the doll counterparts of those who sailed away from Dressrosa on the Sunny. Zoro felt a pang in his heart when he realized doll-cook was missing, just like the real version.

However, he could at least find the little blond doll later that night. After Luffy had read Curly’s “goodbye” letter, Zoro decided to take a walk to clear his mind. There was a storm brewing inside his chest, and he felt like if he tried to sit down and meditate he might explode. 

He had found himself on the cliff’s edge, just where they had climbed on Ryunosuke earlier that day. Staring out into the dark ocean, his haki noticed a small presence in his peripheral. Looking over to the rocky bluff across the way, he realized that someone—or rather something— was hiding behind a bunch of bushes. 

Approaching the doll, he gently sat down next to it and just stayed silent, staring out ahead of him. 

After what felt like too long without any progression, he cleared his throat and asked, “You gonna tell me what really happened, or do you just want me to assume the worst?”

Looking down at the doll, he saw that it hadn’t moved a centimeter.  He groaned and leaned back on his elbows.

“So this is how you break up with me then? Through a doll that doesn’t even speak?” 

Finally, doll-cook looked over at him with a glaring pierce. 

“Well, what else am I supposed to assume? Big-you said you’re going off to get married, that doesn’t leave too many possibilities for what comes next with us,” Zoro explained. 

The doll kicked over with one of the weakest hits Zoro’s ever gotten from it. Afterward, it went back to being zoned out and curled up, hugging its knees. 

“Alright, what should I do then? You know if you have a plan?” Zoro nodded to the doll. 

The doll shrugged before turning its back to Zoro. 

“Fuck you then.”

~

Now, more than ever, Sanji wished he had a little Zoro doll for himself. It wasn’t fair that everyone else in the crew got one, and Zoro’s was stuck with Perona. His doll always spends so much time with Zoro, so why can’t he have a little mini-Zoro to himself?

He’d love to have any of the dolls with him right now, actually. Even the weird Usopp rock would do. He didn’t care that his brothers might give him another beating for “being a baby” and liking dolls. He missed his crew—his real family. 

Sanji was about to get married to someone he didn’t love. Yes, she was a lovely girl, but that’s all she was, a girl . He couldn’t believe that Big Mom would choose her teenage daughter to be the one to get married rather than any of her other daughters his age. But, that didn’t even matter since the worst thing about her was that she wasn’t Zoro. 

Fuck! They had finally figured  out their whole weird thingand had to separate just days later. There was so much he still wanted to do with Zoro, but it figured that his only relationship would end up so short-lived. 

He wanted to scream, to throw something, but that would just attract unwanted attention right now. At least they didn’t throw him in the dungeon this time. He was still in a cell, yes, but at least this one had windows. 

He pushed open the overly large windows and was met with a woman sticking her face two inches away from his nose. Before he could process who she was, she flew in through the windows, shoving past his shoulder, and sat herself down on his comedically luxurious bed, 

He finally realized who she was when he watched her shut her parasol and twirl her pink hair with a curious expression. 

“Miss Perona!”

“Hm.” She hummed, unamused. 

“You shouldn’t be here!” He whisper-shouted. 

She shrugged and pulled a sack from behind her. He wasn’t sure where exactly she had stored it, but the ghost princess had her mystical ways, as the Strawhats had come to learn. 

As she threw the sack on the ground, Sanji watched something inside writhe around. He really hoped she was here to answer his prayers and that this wasn’t some sort of strange nightmare. 

“Take him off my hands, please .” Perona groaned. “I miss the dumb swordsman, but not enough to babysit this stupid doll at all hours. It’s even worse than the real thing!”

Sanji watched as a green tuft of hair pushed its way through the opening of the sack. When he saw a little head with Marimo’s trademark scar follow, he let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. 

“He always gets lost! Always . I’m sick of having to backtrack hours just to find him.” Perona stood up and started swiftly pacing, with no regard to the sound she might be making. “And recently, he’s been so grumpy ! He takes it out on sweet little me, who’s only ever tried to help. He was really happy for a few days, and I’m guessing that’s cause you two finally got your shit together, but I knew something was wrong when little grump-pants here started fighting ghosts in his sleep. He may be weird, but never that weird.” 

Sanji covered his face as he blushed. All this fuss for him? He could only ask, “How’d you find me?”

Perona smirked. “A girl’s gotta be in the know on all the current gossip! A little ghostie told me about a wedding between a young Charlotte and a dead Vinsmoke, so I had to investigate some more! Honestly, I wasn’t even trying to find you specifically. I was just trying to figure out why Zoro’s soul was so troubled all of a sudden.” 

“Oh–” Sanji kicked his feet together, feeling even worse off than before. Shit, Zoro must be so mad at him.

“Gee, not even a thanks?” Perona whined. “Guess I’ll be going–”

Someone pushed open Sanji’s door, and in a moment of panic, he tried to hide Perona by throwing a blanket over her head. It did nothing but make her look even more suspicious as she ominously hovered off the floor trying to escape the surprising cover. 

Thankfully, it was only Reiju. She still gave him a disapproving glare, but at least she wouldn’t do anything bad to Perona just for being in Sanji’s room. 

“Sanji…” Reiju carefully spoke. “Who might that ghost be? Whoever it is should have never come anywhere near Big Mom’s territory.”

Finally managing to fling the blanket off her head, a frazzled Perona growled at Sanji before looking at Reiju. A strange look overcame her the moment she saw his sister and all of a sudden, she was patting herself down before providing a quick curtsey.

“ Ghost Princess Perona, much obliged.” She held out her hand as if she was expecting a kiss.

Reiju just stared at Perona, slowly forming a smirk. “A Princess, huh? Well, this is surely a pleasure.”

“A-and, who are you?” Perona quickly asked, flinging her arm behind her.

Reiju chuckled. “Reiju Vinsmoke of the Germa Kingdom. Some might say I’m a sort of princess myself.”

Perona gleamed. “Well, us pink-haired princesses have to stay together. What do you say to having tea sometime soon?”

“ Hm ,” Reiju hummed. “I’m more of a wine girl myself, but maybe I can try tea one time. That is, of course, if nothing goes wrong with this wedding.” She glanced over to Saji who was awkwardly standing between the two of them. 

“You can’t really want that!” Perona commented. “Have you even met Sanji’s boyfriend ?” 

Sanji hid his face again, not wanting him nor Zoro to be the subject of their conversation. 

Reiju looked at him strangely. “No, I don’t believe I have. I suspected there was someone, but—” she shook her head, ending the sentence prematurely. 

“Oh! I can introduce you to him now!” Perona exclaimed. “Or, at least a part of him.” She went to go and fetch the doll. 

Reiju tilted her head quizzically. “More guests? Really Sanji?”

“It’s not like—” He tried to respond, but all of a sudden Perona groaned. 

“Fuck! He’s lost again!” She said. “We need to make sure he didn’t run off into the castle, I wouldn’t want him getting you into trouble.”

Sanji grimaced. “I’m already in trouble, don’t think he can make it that much worse.”

Perona rolled her eyes while Reiju crossed her arms. 

“Fine! Fine!” Sanji conceded. “You two go then. If I’m caught anywhere outside these quarters, then—” He raised his hands, implying that the cuffs would do their job. 

“Alright, princess ,” Reiju purred. “Fancy a surreptitious stroll under the moonlight?”

Sanji thought he saw Perona pink up more than he thought possible. 

“It would be my pleasure,” she giggled and followed Reiju towards the door. Stopping for a moment, she looked back and said, “Take care of each other, ok?”

He wasn’t sure if she meant the doll or its counterpart. 

~

“Leave me alone.” Zoro groaned. “Unless you’ve got an explanation for how you’re getting out of your mess, I really can’t stand to look at you right now.”

The doll tried to act out something, but Zoro didn’t have the patience— let alone the resolve— to keep looking at the blatant reminder of what he’d lost.

The cook was gone. He’d made his choice. If it was out of some stupid sense of sacrifice or self-harm, Zoro couldn’t care less. Or, didn’t want to care. In all honesty, it felt worse than any other injury he’d endured. Sanji didn’t trust the crew—didn’t trust Zoro —enough to put up a fight. 

Up until today, the doll had been moping around too. It was pretty obvious pretty-brow believed he wasn’t coming back. So why should Zoro twist the knife in his heart any further?

But now, the doll had some sort of stick up its ass. It jumped up in the air and gave Zoro a square kick across the face. It only hurt because Zoro wasn’t prepared for the doll to suddenly be so energized, but he was still mad. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

The doll crossed its arms as it slowly floated down to the table. It motioned to its hands with such fervor that Zoro was forced to pay attention. 

“What? Your hands?”

It made what seemed like a cutting motion against one and pointed at Zoro’s swords. 

“Cut your hands?” It took a moment for him to understand. “They want to cut your hands?” 

The doll nodded. 

“So don’t let them? Kick their asses.”

The doll shook its head and violently pointed to its hands again. Except, this time it was touching below the tip of its hands. Right about where a person’s wrists should be. 

“They’ll cut your wrists?”

The doll shook its head again. Looking around, it noticed an old abandoned bird cage in the corner and pointed to it.

“Trapped?”

The doll nodded and raised its hands up. 

“Your hands are trapped?” Zoro rubbed at his chin. “Then, how are you using them?”

The doll looked frustrated and hit its own head. 

“Fine, fine. Your hands are trapped somehow, but you can still use them.”

The doll nodded.

“So, what are you going to do about it? I mean, you are going to do something , right?” a small sliver of hope rooted its way into his heart. Maybe the love of his life wasn’t going to get married to some strange girl in order to build an evil alliance and save their crew in the process. 

Sheepishly, the doll turned away. 

“ Sanji .”

It wasn’t reacting to him anymore, so he looked at the other dolls in his room. For some reason, he was tasked with care of the dolls that came with them to Wano. He was supposed to keep them out of sight. 

At least there weren’t too many of them here. Nami’s doll was the only one that joined the other half of the crew, with real Nami saying any other doll could put them at risk of getting found out. Meanwhile, Usopp, Robin, and Franky all held on to their dolls, with Robin also taking charge of plush-Chopper. Robin and Franky had some weird thing going on with their dolls, but he didn't ask. As long as they were happy.

Zoro unfortunately, had to deal with the most annoying bunch of dolls. Perona floated around, bugging Zoro every second. Meanwhile, the Brook doll would try to play music at all hours, which Zoro had to keep it from doing. Any sound would attract unwanted attention. Luffy’s doll was the worst though. It would always get in trouble any chance it could.

However, the doll-Luffy was actually smiling now. It approached Zoro and patted his ankle. It felt… comforting ? It was at that moment that Zoro knew his crew would save their cook. No matter what. 

~

They had strapped the Zoro-doll to Nami’s beautiful doll counterpart a long time ago. It kept on going off and getting lost, which was going to ruin their plan. Their plan to stop Big Mom’s Tea Party and save Sanji from being married to a psychotic 16-year-old. 

Sanji was more than grateful, of course. He couldn’t escape alone if he set his mind to it. It took a lot of convincing to even let the others try and get him out of the situation. He knew in all reality, he should’ve always trusted Luffy to take care of his crew. That’s why his betrayal stung so much more now that Luffy was running around all dumb and happy. It was almost like the fight never happened. 

Almost . 

Nami still wouldn’t meet his eyes. And even the doll-dumbass was acting like it knew what happened. Which, there shouldn’t be any way that Zoro-doll, let alone real-Zoro, would have known about Sanji punching their captain. Souldn’t there?

The doll was sitting with its arms crossed, glaring at Sanji. Perona had made it cuter than the real swordsman. (That's not to say that real swordsman wasn’t cute , but this one just had some stars sewn into its one open eye, and the seams were stitched with a baby pink thread that contrasted the doll’s light minty hair.) Looking into its eye was hard, and that wasn’t just because of the sparkles. 

“What?” Sanji whispered, hoping no one would judge him for talking to a doll. 

The Zoro-doll shrugged and curled up tighter into itself. The doll-Nami sat nearby, ignoring the whole situation. 

“Why are you staring at me?”

The Zoro-doll raised its fist, and only after a moment, Sanji realized that he was trying to flip the bird. 

“Hey, what the fuck have I done?” A few thoughts raced through Sanji’s mind, and he conceded, “Other than the obvious running away bit?”

The doll rubbed his chest weirdly before lying down and turning its back to Sanji. 

“Even the doll’s angry with me! Of course!” Sanji exclaimed to no one. “Because that absolutely makes sense with the way my life’s going right now.” 

“It seems to me,” Pedro’s voice startled Sanji. He didn’t even realize someone had walked into the room. Damn, his senses were getting muddled by this whole situation. “It’s not the doll that’s actually angry at you. It’s a manifestation of its source.”

Sanji looked back at the mink. He leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed. “I had some time to observe these dolls that travel with your crew,” Pedro continued. “They emulate exactly what their owner is feeling. It’s sort of like a mirror. A very rudimentary mirror. But a mirror nonetheless.” 

“Yeah, well,” Sanji sighed. “It’s mirroring how mad Zoro must be. I left everyone and took on this sacrifice. I bet he’s mad I didn’t let him join the fight. That I decided to do this by myself.”

Pedro hummed. “Join me for a smoke?”

Sanji conceded. What else was there to do while the big plan was being put into action? 

They stepped outside, and Pedro offered him one of his cigarettes. Sanji had never tried a mink cigarette before. As thanks, he lit both of theirs with his favorite golden lighter. 

“You’re wrong about Zoro.” Pedro simply stated.

Sanji couldn’t help but scoff. “And what do you know about it?”

“You two are lovers, yes?”

Sanji choked on smoke for the first time since he was a teenager. He tried to cough, but felt like he was suffocating. Thankfully, Pedro waited for him to catch a breath before continuing. 

“It’s clear by the way you two care about each other,” Pedro said. “I only had a chance to interact with Zoro for a few days, but he was lossless. There was an air of grievance to him, almost like he lost someone dear to him.”

Sanji could only grunt, unsure of where Pedro wanted to take this conversation. 

“Meanwhile, you seem like you're missing something as well. Some one . Almost like a half of a whole that’s now separated, and unable to function properly without the other half.”

Sanji had to hand it to Pedro, that man had every sort of intelligence, with his emotional intelligence being the strongest. In another life, if he hadn’t met Zoro, he could see himself falling for the mink. He was strong, kind, thoughtful, pretty, and most of all—positively self-assured. 

Almost like another sword-wielder he knew. 

“That doll—and by extension, Zoro—isn’t mad at you for leaving. It’s mad at you for not believing in it— him . He’s mad that you would give up on your happiness because you didn’t trust someone else with your life.” Pedro paused to take a deep breath of smoke. “And I’m betting he and many of your crewmates have put their life in your hands themselves.”

“But my life isn’t worth theirs,” Sanji said under his breath. He only meant the comment for himself, but Pedro was close enough to hear it with his mink ears. 

“Someone must have told you that lie once, because you’d be a fool to believe it on your own.” Pedro spat on the ground in front of them. “Your life is worth just as much if not more than theirs. Your captain paused everyone’s efforts to save an entire country just to get you back before saving Wano. To your crew, you are more important than a nation of people. Than the promise of glory. Than the ideals of freedom .”

Shit, that hit Sanji hard. Luffy was all about freedom. And for him to put off the liberation of an oppressed country just to save his measly cook?

“I’d reconsider how you value your life and do everything in your power to get back to your other half. Because I’m betting Wano—no the world —needs you to be at your strongest. And you are strongest when you’re where you belong.”

~

Ebisu was a strange town. Everyone was too happy. And this man—Yasuie— he was the happiest of them all. He was strange, but he gave Zoro food and shelter, and hey, what more can you ask for? 

The only doll that he still had with him was Perona. It refused to leave his side, so when he inevitably got lo—when the streets moved—it floated by his head during the entire journey. 

That’s why he didn’t notice when the Perona doll went off on its own. It was only when Yasuie pointed out that it had disappeared that Zoro started to feel slightly concerned. Looking around, he caught the tail end of some pink pigtails turning around a corner. 

Following it, he found himself down an alley. Literally . There he was, or at least, a little doll him. 

“Shit, don’t tell me Perona’s here.”

Both the dolls looked at him and violently shook their heads. 

“Well, if Perona didn’t bring you, then-” Realization washed over Zoro and blood flowed to his face. He was here. He was here . He made it. He came back .

“Well, looky-here!” Yasuie’s laugh boomed in the alleyway. “You’re multiplying!”

Zoro grunted while his doll kicked its feet and looked at the ground. 

“Why are you moping little guy? Why not laugh? Frowning doesn’t bring you fortune!” Yasuie was addressing the doll. 

“He doesn’t really talk.”

“Ah, a silent type!” Yasuie laughed that obnoxious laugh. "Just like the big one!"

Zoro grunted again. 

“Why’s he so sad-looking?” Yasuie whistled. “Matter of fact, why are you so sad, boy?” 

“Not sad,” Zoro huffed. “And not a boy.”

“The doll doesn’t lie! And I got a feeling this doll has more to it than just your looks.”

Zoro rolled his eye and was about to brush off the remark, but he thought about how Yasuie has treated him with nothing but respect since they crossed paths. Yasuie was more than just this goofy guy. And Zoro’s intuition has never failed him before. 

“It’s got a piece of my soul in it. All the dolls have a piece of the big version’s soul.” Zoro quickly spat out an explanation. “Basically, they show what we feel.”

“If only we could all be so lucky.” Yasuie exhaled with a big smile on his face. “Anyways, we gotta turn that frown upside down! No sense in being sad when life is so beautiful! What can we do to get a smile on your face?”

Zoro shrugged. “I gotta go see somebody.”

“Ah! It’s a someone that can make you happy? Who’s this lucky friend, then?” 

“I don’t really know if I can still call him a friend…”

“A partner then? Oh, how lovely!” Yasuie giggled. “Is he here in Wano?”

“I think so.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Yasuie hit his shoulder while laughing. “Go find him!” 

Zoro was going to agree, but suddenly, his side felt lighter and he reached for his swords. His hands found only two hilts. Shit.

~

Sanji always had mixed feelings about these dolls. They showed human emotion way too easily, anyone could read them. Sure, his doll helped Zoro figure out some stuff, but overall it kind of sucked having your heart out in full view for everyone to see.

Except, right now he actually really appreciated how candid the dolls were. Hiyori was trying so hard to grab the attention of the Zoro-doll. She tried to play with it, touch it, and chase it around the field, but it fully ignored her, only crossing its arms and rolling its one very cute eye.

When she leaned down to try and kiss it on its head, it turned away, leaving her wobbling and practically falling over. That was it, Sanji couldn't help but let a laugh escape. Don’t get him wrong, he respected all women, and it’s absolutely terrible that the gorgeous Hiyori got even slightly hurt. But, part of him also hated to admit that he was possessive of Zoro, and proud that Zoro’s attention couldn’t be stolen by anyone. 

Anyone but him. Sanji felt eyes on him, and he looked around to find the Zoro-doll now staring into his soul. As soon as he spotted the doll, it quickly turned and ran off. Sanji could almost swear it blushed. 

He and Zoro hadn’t really talked much since finding each other again. They only exchanged heated words at the execution of Yasuie as they both jumped in to save Toko. Sanji wanted to blame the air between them on the situation they found themselves in, but the more time passed, the more he thought Zoro was simply just mad at him. 

He looked down at his doll sitting nearby and nudged it with his foot. “You should go and see what mini-mosshead is thinking.”

His doll crossed its arms and cocked its head, practically saying Only if you do the same with your mosshead . 

Sanji groaned, “ugh, fine. I’ll go find him. Bet he’s wandered off again anyways.”

And of course, Sanji was right. He found Zoro walking in circles around the forest, unable to find his way back. 

“Need some help?” He proffered. 

Zoro grunted like an ape, unwilling to make eye contact. 

“Zoro.” 

“ Sanji ,” Zoro retorted with surprising sass. He’d never been one to resort to unpleasantries, but it seemed like he was really hurt. After a second, he sighed and said, “Sorry.”

“I deserve it.” Sanji shook his head. “I should be the one apologizing to you.”

Zoro let out a long breath and finally looked up. “No, you don’t deserve it. The dolls told me everything I needed to know.”

“Oh?” Sanji didn’t realize the dolls could communicate so much, let alone have Zoro understand everything. “Like what?” 

“Your hands were trapped, but still usable. Something happened that made Luffy very sad, but something else happened that made him super happy. You gave up, but something gave you hope and you started fighting again. Luffy made sure you’d be safe, that you’d come home. You did this out of some misguided romantic notion that it would make us all happy because you somehow deserved to be married to a stranger since your family was so shitty.” Zoro listed off a whole bunch of things, many of which Sanji didn’t know how the dolls managed to communicate. “That last part was all the crocheted Brook by the way. It’s still a musician, and it forced some corny sonnets on me until I figured it out.” 

Sanji whistled. “I guess we should keep the little guys around forever, then,” he joked. “But I should really explain everything. Make sense of most of that for you.”

“No need.” Zoro shrugged. “I mean, you can if you want to, but I really just want to know one thing.”

“What’s that?” Suddenly, Sanji’s throat felt dry. 

“Do you still trust me?”

Sanji couldn’t help but let out an offended scoff. “Of course I do! Zoro, I love you . I always will. That will never change.”

Zoro stepped forward and reached out a hand to caress Sanji’s cheek. “Yeah, but do you trust me?  To be at your side? To fight with you? As equals. No more running off to do bullshit alone, yes?”

Sanji swallowed. “Yes. Of course. From now on, I’ll never leave. I’ll drag you guys into all my problems, and work together with you to protect our crew—our family.” 

Zoro nodded, and came closer, leaning in as he said, “Good.” He closed the gap and kissed Sanji, putting everything else he wanted to say into the kiss, hoping his mouth would do the talking in a different way. 

~

Zoro sat down in front of the two graves. He poured some sake on each headstone and bowed, thanking the two for giving up their lives. 

The Raid on Onigashima was a success. Kaido and Big Mom were defeated, and Orochi was vanquished. But, now that everything was settling down, they had to face the quiet horrors that were all ignored during the preparations for battle. 

“I’m sorry about your friend.” The cook walked up to the graves and bowed, joining Zoro on the ground afterward. 

“I’m sorry about your friend too,” Zoro said. 

“They were both such good people. They didn’t deserve to die.” Sanji exhaled.

“Yeah.” That’s all Zoro said as he poured Sake in four cups, passing one to the cook and taking one for himself. They raised the cups in respect of the dead, and drank, wishing Pedro and Yasuie a safe and comfortable voyage in the afterlife. 

“Somehow, he was always so happy. Despite the SMILE fruit, I know he must have smiled— actually smiled— almost every day. They lived in such awful conditions, and yet he still found things to be happy about.” Zoro reminisced about Yasuie.

Sanji nodded. “I guess you have to focus on the good things, or else the bad will weigh you down. Pedro helped me see that.”

“Really?” Zoro glanced at him from the side. “Pedro was the one who did that, huh? So if he never went to Whole Cake Island, would you have stayed?” 

Sanji elbowed his side. “Of course not. I just mean, he had a good view of life, and when he shared it with me I felt a little more inspired than before. I wanted to come back and find my other half.”

Zoro turned to face him. “Your other half, huh?”

“Yeah, Mossy.” Sanji smiled that dumb enamoured smile of his. “You’re my other half, and I found you.”

“Idiot,” Zoro chuckled. 

“But I’m your favorite idiot,” Sanji leaned in closer, brushing noses with Zoro. “And you’re mine.” In respect of the dead, their kiss was quick and soft, but they both knew that there would be way more in their future. 

A few meters behind them, up on a grassy knoll, sat the two dolls mirroring their human counterparts. They leaned their heads together and slowly slid their hands toward each other. As the sun set, they turned and met where their lips were meant to be. A light flashed, and wisps passed through both of them, merging the pieces of yellow and green souls into something more.