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Being back on the Merry is almost a balm for Zoro. The ropes creak noisily above him, the wood beneath his back is warm from the sun, and the waves rock them as they continue on further from Cocoyashi Village. He stretches his back a bit, wincing just slightly at the burn in his chest. The Cocoyashi doctor cleaned and stitched up his cut as best as he could, but the stitches are starting to pull in a way that's uncomfortable. He was told to leave them in for at least ten days. It's only been four and he's already dying to just tear them out already.
To the left of him, the galley door hinges squeak, and then a low voice: "oi, lunch is ready."
There's a brief pause where Zoro lets the words settle, and then there's a snapping sound just before the tell-tale bang of Luffy hitting the deck as he yells for food. Zoro blinks his eyes open and then pushes to sit up in time to see a wisp of Luffy before he disappears into the kitchen.
"Family meals now?" Nami asks, descending the stairs from small the tangerine grove they've added to the Merry.
"Guess so," Zoro offers. He blinks back as a hand enters his vision and he reaches up to let Usopp help him up from where he'd been napping on the deck.
"I wouldn't mind if it's a regular thing," Usopp says, eyeing the galley door hopefully.
"We'll see," Zoro snorts. "I'm sure he'll burn out eventually."
The three of them head into the galley to find Luffy at the center island table already half-way done with his plate. There are four other spots lined up around the table, each with a set of utensils, a napkin, and a glass of something bright orange.
"It's good!" Luffy's says through a mouthful.
"What'd you make?" Usopp asks, snagging the spot next to Luffy.
"In light of our victory against the fishmen," Sanji says, gesturing for the others to sit and setting a bowl of leafy green salad in the center, "I've prepared a lemon-garlic shrimp bowl, with a crab salad, and," he pauses, stepping around Zoro and placing a plate in front of him, "octopus carpaccio."
Zoro raises an eyebrow at the dish in front of him and then turns enough to look up at Sanji, who's smirking down at him. "It's not...him...is it?"
Sanji stares at him, smirk turning into something like disgust instead. "No, you wasted pile of braincells, I did not cook the octopus you fought. This is actual octopus that Cocoyashi Village was kind enough to supply us with. Don't be ungrateful. That's Nami's hometown."
Zoro rolls his eyes as he turns back to the plate, but can't help the slight relief he feels in his chest when he looks back down at the food.
"This all looks wonderful, Sanji," Nami says.
"It tastes good too!" Luffy adds over his last bite. He stretches an arm out to reach toward Zoro's plate and pinches the tentacle of an octopus. Zoro snatches his wrist at the same time that Sanji grab's Luffy's forearm.
"Everyone gets at least one serving before seconds," Sanji insists. He takes his hand back and tucks it into his pocket.
"What he said," Zoro mumbles, releasing Luffy's wrist. It shoots back into place with an audible snap and Luffy's shoulders slump in disappointment.
"So is this gonna happen every day or is this just, like, a celebratory occasion?" Usopp asks, before shoving a forkful into his mouth.
"Every day is an occasion when we're blessed with Nami's presence on this boat," Sanji says, sending a wink over to her.
"So, every day then?" Usopp asks, like he's confused if there was an actual answer or not.
Sanji sighs and steps over to the remaining plate on the counter that Luffy's been sneaking glances at. "You brought me on board as a chef. If you want rice thrown in a bowl with an unseasoned piece of chicken, ask someone else to cook for you."
"I'm not complaining!" Usopp says quickly. "Just to be clear. I was doing the opposite of complaining. I'm just trying to know, like, what to expect."
Zoro looks up at the cook's back as he finishes setting something on the plate. Sanji finally turns, plate in hand, and leans against the counter. He glances over at all of them and then looks down at his plate. "You've welcomed me on your crew. You can expect me to be apart of it, and that means feeding you all so you have enough strength for whatever our captain drags us into next."
"If it's gonna taste like this every day, you'll hear no complaints from any of us," Nami says. She picks up her drink and eyes it in question.
"Tangerine mimosa," Sanji supplies with a small smile.
"Nice." She takes back a large sip.
Sanji's eyes flick over to Zoro, waiting.
Zoro finishes chewing, swallows, and then stares back at him. "What?" he finally asks.
Sanji blinks at him. "What? That's it? Luffy says it's delicious, Usopp wants it every day, Nami enjoys the taste. I don't get anything from you?"
Zoro stares back at him, confused. "Do you want anything from me?"
Sanji opens his mouth closes it and then looks back down at his plate shaking his head.
"It's food. It's good. If you're looking for high praise, find me when you make your own sake."
Sanji rolls his eyes and then turns to Luffy. "So where to next, Captain?"
Luffy gently bangs his fists on the table once and looks out at the rest of them. "Grand Line."
"Oh shit," Usopp laughs, bouncing in his seat. "Do we know the way?"
Luffy frowns at him in thought and then turns to Nami. "Do we?"
Nami smiles over at him. "We'll figure it out. I managed to gather as much of my materials that I could and I can piece a route together for us."
"Great!" Luffy says, tossing his hands in the air. He grabs his empty plate and stretches an arm to place it on the counter next to Sanji's hip. "So that'll be our next destination!"
"I'll get to the maps after lunch," Nami says.
"Wonder what kind of ingredients will be out there," Sanji wonders aloud.
"Oh, I put my plate next to you, by the way," Luffy says, pointing to it. "Just, it's-- I'm ready for more. If you have more. I can-- If you want to refill it."
Sanji stares at him with a bemused expression as he turns toward the large pot on the stove.
"Do we know what we're gonna come up against first once we get there?" Zoro asks, tapping his fork idly to the plate.
"Nope," Luffy says. "Not a clue." He stretches his neck up just a bit to watch as Sanji scoops another heap of food onto his plate.
"We should make sure we're prepared," Zoro says. "Could be Marines. Other pirates."
"Those Krieg pirates were pretty tough," Usopp says, body shrinking in his seat just slightly. "I'd hate to come across another group like them."
"We're gonna," Zoro says. "We'll probably come across a lot like them. Some will be worse."
"Ball of sunshine, you are," Sanji mumbles as he brings the stacked plate over and sets it in front of Luffy. "We handled the Krieg pirates and we'll handle whatever comes next."
"You say that now."
"If you don't think you can handle it, then don't worry, I can protect you."
Zoro stands from the table, hand finding its place on Wado Ichimonji. Across the table, he catches Sanji's stance shift defensively, one leg tensing.
"Down boys," Nami says, annoyed. "Let's get through lunch and back outside on the deck before any strength contests break out."
"No need for a strength contest when one of us is clearly stronger than the other," Sanji says.
"Glad you think so," Zoro bites back.
"We could spar!" Luffy suggests, smiling over his food.
Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp all turn to look at Luffy. Nami lets out a small groan. "Here we go."
Wado Ichimonji rings out with the impact as Sanji's heel crashes against the broadside. Zoro pushes off, readjusts his stance, and then swings her low toward Sanji's other leg.
Sanji, however, easily skips his weight to the other and arcs his leg up to slam into Zoro's shoulder, tilting him sideways just a bit. "One for me," Sanji says.
"Fuck you, I didn't hit the deck."
"He's right," Usopp calls over from his seat on the steps. "No point. Continue."
"This is so stupid," Nami complains.
Next to her, Luffy takes another mouthful of lunch in.
"Fine," Sanji says, balancing his weight on his front leg. "Go."
Zoro brings Wado up in an arc over Sanji's kick and then twists his wrist to snap her up as Sanji's foot hits the deck again. Zoro snaps his wrist and locks his elbow to stop Wado half an inch from cutting into Sanji's neck.
Sanji stands there, staring back at him, chest heaving with his breath.
"Uh," Usopp says, "I guess that would have been a point if he didn't stop himself."
"That's bullshit!" Sanji calls over, shifting his gaze without moving his head. "I stopped my leg from dislocating his shoulder and you didn't want to count that!"
"It's hard to tell with kicks," Usopp says, shifting in his seat.
"Oh yeah?" Sanji asks. He drops low quickly enough that Zoro feels a small scrape vibrate down Wado's blade. He just catches the smallest flash of blood as Sanji's cheek before his feet are swept out from under him and his back slams into the deck below. Almost immediately there's a weight at his wrist, pinning his arm down to the deck and then a knee lands hard on his chest, knocking the breath from him. He stares up at Sanji.
"Usopp?" Sanji asks.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'd say that's a point."
"Yeah," Sanji nods. "Me too."
Zoro bucks his hips up for leverage to shove Sanji's knee off of him and then sits up once Sanji's standing again. "My turn." He pushes up from the floor with one hand and slices Wado up with the other. His hand his knocked aside by Sanji's knee and then Zoro blocks against a kick with his arm. They go like this swing for swing until Zoro finally knocks the hilt of Wado into Sanji's ankle, spins, and comes around from behind him to press Wado to Sanji's neck. "My point?"
"Zoro's point," Usopp confirms.
He can feel Sanji heave breaths against his chest before they step back from one another. They turn and face each other again, falling into their stances immediately.
"Round four!" Luffy yells cheerfully.
"I'm going for a nap," Nami says, waving them off as she disappears toward the barracks. Zoro just catches a glimpse of her before he spins to block another kick.
Another full minute of sparring later has Zoro's back against the side of the Merry with Sanji's shin pulled up and pressed horizontally across his chest. "Believe that one's mine," Sanji grins.
Zoro jams an elbow into Sanji's knee and pushes a shoulder into his chest to back him off. Luffy's laughter and Usopp's cheers ring out across the deck toward them, but Zoro can really only focus on the shifts of Sanji's weight and the hitches in his breath when he gets close enough with a dodge to exhale against Zoro's shoulder.
They go back and forth like this for the better part of thirty minutes. Usopp calls out one after the other as they alternate points, and soon enough Zoro finds his own laughter echoing Luffy's. Sanji's smile curves up over a sharp canine, hands still tucked into his pockets as he steps back quickly and uses a knee to push Wado aside.
Zoro pins him against the banister of one of the staircases and then a few minutes later he's got his back against a wall as Sanji shoves him into it with a laugh.
"So is this gonna happen every day or is this just, like, a celebratory occasion?" Usopp calls out, laughing along.
Zoro's chest heaves as he works to control his breathing. His gaze drops down to the pulse point in Sanji's neck as it races against the sweat-slicked skin there.
"What do you think?" Sanji asks, quietly enough where Zoro can tell it's just meant for him. "Every day thing or just celebratory?"
Zoro drags his gaze back up. He feels just the slightest bit of pressure as Sanji leans into him just a bit more, knee pressing into his hip. Sanji's eyes shift down, catching on Zoro's mouth.
"Alright," Luffy calls over. "Who's stepping out? I want in." He cracks his knuckles and steps out into the middle of the deck waiting.
Zoro holds Sanji's gaze for another few seconds before Sanji takes a step back from him.
"All yours," Sanji says, stepping aside and pulling out his cigarettes.
Zoro keeps his eyes set on him even as he walks to the center of the deck where Luffy's waiting.
"Hungry for more?" Luffy asks, grinning wide with his fists up.
Zoro watches Sanji flick his lighter against the cigarette, take a long drag through hollowed cheeks, and then exhales the cloud of smoke above him, stretching his neck back and then rolling it to the side to stretch out the muscle there. Zoro swallows down the sudden odd feeling of want and turns back to Luffy, something dangerous churning in his gut like a warning. "Sure," he says, setting into a fighting stance and raising Wado. "Ready when you are."