(One Piece-General. 092. Surprised. & 093. Sympathetic)
Zoro lifted his head, faintly startled, and the little girl stepped closer to him, looking cautious with her thumb in her mouth. He frowned, but Sanji wasn’t deterred. He might’ve seen Zoro smile a total of four times since they’d met, and it had never been because of him.
“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Zoro asked, eyeing his uniform the way he always did. It might’ve annoyed Sanji, if he didn’t look at Zoro’s uniform the same way.
“I’m on a smoke break,” Sanji replied, gesturing with his cigarette. “Anyway, aren’t you?”
“I am.” Zoro’s frown deepened and Sanji arched his eyebrow when he noticed the cop placing his hand on the little girl’s shoulder.
“Oh yeah?” Sanji exhaled a stream of smoke and a cutting remark, as was his custom. “Babysitting while you wait to wrestle down some poor drunk?”
“Funny.”
“Who says I’m joking?”
Zoro was scowling by now and his grip on the girl’s shoulder was a little tighter. He opened his mouth to reply when the cell phone hanging on his belt started vibrating. Zoro flipped it open without unhitching it and pushed the speaker button, saying, “Talk, Johnny.”
“Zoro,” an exhilarated voice said, “we found her. We’re sending her your way now.”
“Good,” Zoro said, closing the phone and allowing one of those rare semi-smiles to grace his visage. He looked down at the little girl and squeezed her shoulder. “Hear that?”
“Yeah, you hear that?” Sanji remarked, mocking lightly. “They’re sending her. And who is she, I wonder.” He was glaring openly at the cop now, fire in his eyes, fueled by his hatred for the boys in the blue. “Some hooker or drug dealer just trying to bring food to her family-”
“Shut up,” Zoro snapped, smile gone in an instant and eyes hard. “Smoke your cigarette somewhere else if what I do bothers you so much.”
“Well, here’s an idea,” Sanji snapped back. “How about not doing the things that bother me, and actually helping people instead of locking them up in some shitty little-”
“Shut up!”
And then suddenly the little girl gave out a little cry and she released her thumb from her mouth and she spoke: “Mommy!”
Zoro dropped his hand as the girl ran towards the woman approaching them, her arms outstretched. They embraced, the woman sobbing in relief, lifting her head from where she was dotting kisses on her daughter’s hair to meet Zoro’s eyes and say, “Thank you, officer.”
A surprised puff of smoke left Sanji’s mouth as Zoro nodded at them lightly. And then he looked at Sanji, just looked, not smiling or frowning or anything at all, and then he walked away.
Title: The Roses-Type
Author: formerly princeivy, now under cuethe_pulse
Fandom: One Piece
Characters: Zoro, Sanji, Gin
Prompt: 093-Sympathetic
Word Count: 701
Rating: PG-13, if only for Gin’s dirty mind at the end
Warnings/Spoilers: None
Summary: Takes place in my Going Express AU storyline. Sanji and Gin find Zoro buying flowers for a girl.
Sanji had never been to the outdoor market before. It had less to do with it being located in the gayest district in the city, and more to do with his pockets pretty much always being empty. Gin, however, was a regular among the stalls and kiosks, and he’d finally coerced Sanji into going with him during his lunch break.
“Let me know if you see something you want,” Gin said as they strolled by food stands. “As long as it’s, you know, in my budget.”
“So five bucks, huh?” Sanji chuckled as Gin nodded, and turned away from the temptation of the fresh fruit and vegetables that were just begging to be taken home. As he turned, his eyes fell on a stall of colorful flower arrangements. But it wasn’t the flowers that attracted his attention, but rather the familiar green-head man that was purchasing a particularly delicate-looking bouquet. Smirking, he called out, “Those for me?”
“You wish,” Zoro snorted without even looking up. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m on my lunch break.” Sanji smiled, slipping his hands into his pockets as he sauntered a little closer to the cop, who glanced at him through pink and white petals. “A friend’s treating me to five dollars worth of fine merchandise.”
“A friend?”
“Yeah. Hey Gin,” Sanji beckoned the other man over with a gesture of his head. “C’mere. I want you to meet-”
“Zoro, the cop,” Gin said, nodding as he approached. “We’ve met. I showed him around the Floating Fish once when you were on a delivery.”
“You came by the restaurant?” Sanji sounded surprised and maybe even a bit flattered. “What, to see me?”
Zoro was extremely interested in the flowers he’d just bought. “…I was bored.”
“Uh-uh.”
“So, roses,” Gin remarked, nodding at the bouquet. “Must be for a girl, huh?”
“…Yeah.” Zoro rubbed at the back of his neck. “Well, sort of.”
“Oh, really?” Sanji asked, eyes alight with curiosity and amusement. “A girl?”
Frowning, Zoro tried to turn away, but the two men followed, stares eager and expectant. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
“It isn’t what you think.”
“No?”
“No. And I have a bus to catch.”
“You’ve got five minutes,” Gin said without looking at his watch.
“She’s just a friend.”
“Oh?”
“A-good friend.”
“Oh.”
“…She’s in the hospital.”
“Oh.”
They looked only a little ashamed. Zoro shrugged dismissively.
“She’s been there for a while. She was-is my partner. Took a nasty fall chasing some guy down a flight of apartment stairs.”
Sanji grimaced; Gin whistled; Zoro shrugged again.
“She’s been in a coma for-several months.”
“Huh,” Gin said. “Well, I don’t think she has much use for flowers, then.”
“Oi.” Sanji elbowed him none-too-gently.
“Yeah, well…” Zoro looked at the roses, frowning faintly. “I bring ‘em anyway.”
No one said anything for a moment, until Sanji cleared his throat and fingered the ribbon that wrapped around the bouquet.
“It’s nice of you.”
“You jealous?” Zoro joked, though managing to keep his face straight. “I’ll get you some too, next time.”
“I’m not really the roses-type.” Sanji smirked, just a bit of fondness slipping into his voice and the upward curve of his lips. “But how about visiting when I’m not out making a delivery?”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Zoro turned his head when he heard the sound of the bus approaching the stop, and then glanced back at Gin, eyebrow raised.
“It’s early,” Gin shrugged.
“Yeah.” Zoro lifted his hand in something not-quite-like a wave. “See you around.”
“Sure,” Sanji said, and he watched as Zoro walked to the stop and the bus pulled up, its door swinging open. “Hey!” He called and Zoro stopped, halfway up the steps, looking over his shoulder. “I-hope she wakes up. I hope she gets better soon.”
Zoro nodded, something like a smile spreading across his face, and he turned back around and the bus door closed. Sanji followed the bus with his eyes and didn’t notice Gin grinning at him until it had turned a corner.
“What are you smiling at?”
“My god, you want to do him.”
“Shut up and buy me some of that fruit.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Zoro asked, eyeing his uniform the way he always did. It might’ve annoyed Sanji, if he didn’t look at Zoro’s uniform the same way.
“I’m on a smoke break,” Sanji replied, gesturing with his cigarette. “Anyway, aren’t you?”
“I am.” Zoro’s frown deepened and Sanji arched his eyebrow when he noticed the cop placing his hand on the little girl’s shoulder.
“Oh yeah?” Sanji exhaled a stream of smoke and a cutting remark, as was his custom. “Babysitting while you wait to wrestle down some poor drunk?”
“Funny.”
“Who says I’m joking?”
Zoro was scowling by now and his grip on the girl’s shoulder was a little tighter. He opened his mouth to reply when the cell phone hanging on his belt started vibrating. Zoro flipped it open without unhitching it and pushed the speaker button, saying, “Talk, Johnny.”
“Zoro,” an exhilarated voice said, “we found her. We’re sending her your way now.”
“Good,” Zoro said, closing the phone and allowing one of those rare semi-smiles to grace his visage. He looked down at the little girl and squeezed her shoulder. “Hear that?”
“Yeah, you hear that?” Sanji remarked, mocking lightly. “They’re sending her. And who is she, I wonder.” He was glaring openly at the cop now, fire in his eyes, fueled by his hatred for the boys in the blue. “Some hooker or drug dealer just trying to bring food to her family-”
“Shut up,” Zoro snapped, smile gone in an instant and eyes hard. “Smoke your cigarette somewhere else if what I do bothers you so much.”
“Well, here’s an idea,” Sanji snapped back. “How about not doing the things that bother me, and actually helping people instead of locking them up in some shitty little-”
“Shut up!”
And then suddenly the little girl gave out a little cry and she released her thumb from her mouth and she spoke: “Mommy!”
Zoro dropped his hand as the girl ran towards the woman approaching them, her arms outstretched. They embraced, the woman sobbing in relief, lifting her head from where she was dotting kisses on her daughter’s hair to meet Zoro’s eyes and say, “Thank you, officer.”
A surprised puff of smoke left Sanji’s mouth as Zoro nodded at them lightly. And then he looked at Sanji, just looked, not smiling or frowning or anything at all, and then he walked away.
Title: The Roses-Type
Author: formerly princeivy, now under cuethe_pulse
Fandom: One Piece
Characters: Zoro, Sanji, Gin
Prompt: 093-Sympathetic
Word Count: 701
Rating: PG-13, if only for Gin’s dirty mind at the end
Warnings/Spoilers: None
Summary: Takes place in my Going Express AU storyline. Sanji and Gin find Zoro buying flowers for a girl.
Sanji had never been to the outdoor market before. It had less to do with it being located in the gayest district in the city, and more to do with his pockets pretty much always being empty. Gin, however, was a regular among the stalls and kiosks, and he’d finally coerced Sanji into going with him during his lunch break.
“Let me know if you see something you want,” Gin said as they strolled by food stands. “As long as it’s, you know, in my budget.”
“So five bucks, huh?” Sanji chuckled as Gin nodded, and turned away from the temptation of the fresh fruit and vegetables that were just begging to be taken home. As he turned, his eyes fell on a stall of colorful flower arrangements. But it wasn’t the flowers that attracted his attention, but rather the familiar green-head man that was purchasing a particularly delicate-looking bouquet. Smirking, he called out, “Those for me?”
“You wish,” Zoro snorted without even looking up. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m on my lunch break.” Sanji smiled, slipping his hands into his pockets as he sauntered a little closer to the cop, who glanced at him through pink and white petals. “A friend’s treating me to five dollars worth of fine merchandise.”
“A friend?”
“Yeah. Hey Gin,” Sanji beckoned the other man over with a gesture of his head. “C’mere. I want you to meet-”
“Zoro, the cop,” Gin said, nodding as he approached. “We’ve met. I showed him around the Floating Fish once when you were on a delivery.”
“You came by the restaurant?” Sanji sounded surprised and maybe even a bit flattered. “What, to see me?”
Zoro was extremely interested in the flowers he’d just bought. “…I was bored.”
“Uh-uh.”
“So, roses,” Gin remarked, nodding at the bouquet. “Must be for a girl, huh?”
“…Yeah.” Zoro rubbed at the back of his neck. “Well, sort of.”
“Oh, really?” Sanji asked, eyes alight with curiosity and amusement. “A girl?”
Frowning, Zoro tried to turn away, but the two men followed, stares eager and expectant. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
“It isn’t what you think.”
“No?”
“No. And I have a bus to catch.”
“You’ve got five minutes,” Gin said without looking at his watch.
“She’s just a friend.”
“Oh?”
“A-good friend.”
“Oh.”
“…She’s in the hospital.”
“Oh.”
They looked only a little ashamed. Zoro shrugged dismissively.
“She’s been there for a while. She was-is my partner. Took a nasty fall chasing some guy down a flight of apartment stairs.”
Sanji grimaced; Gin whistled; Zoro shrugged again.
“She’s been in a coma for-several months.”
“Huh,” Gin said. “Well, I don’t think she has much use for flowers, then.”
“Oi.” Sanji elbowed him none-too-gently.
“Yeah, well…” Zoro looked at the roses, frowning faintly. “I bring ‘em anyway.”
No one said anything for a moment, until Sanji cleared his throat and fingered the ribbon that wrapped around the bouquet.
“It’s nice of you.”
“You jealous?” Zoro joked, though managing to keep his face straight. “I’ll get you some too, next time.”
“I’m not really the roses-type.” Sanji smirked, just a bit of fondness slipping into his voice and the upward curve of his lips. “But how about visiting when I’m not out making a delivery?”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Zoro turned his head when he heard the sound of the bus approaching the stop, and then glanced back at Gin, eyebrow raised.
“It’s early,” Gin shrugged.
“Yeah.” Zoro lifted his hand in something not-quite-like a wave. “See you around.”
“Sure,” Sanji said, and he watched as Zoro walked to the stop and the bus pulled up, its door swinging open. “Hey!” He called and Zoro stopped, halfway up the steps, looking over his shoulder. “I-hope she wakes up. I hope she gets better soon.”
Zoro nodded, something like a smile spreading across his face, and he turned back around and the bus door closed. Sanji followed the bus with his eyes and didn’t notice Gin grinning at him until it had turned a corner.
“What are you smiling at?”
“My god, you want to do him.”
“Shut up and buy me some of that fruit.”