FicWad

A large pair of brown eyes looked over the edge of the map at the distant, misty bump on the horizon, thin orange brows furrowed. “Epona?” Nami mumbled to herself, confused. They were not supposed to come close to the island for a couple more weeks, but she considered it a strike of luck for now, as the temperamental Grand Line had very suddenly decided to change its weather again in a matter of hours, resulting in a very sleepless night for those on board, as the heavy rain and strong gales had meant that Sunny had needed a lot of work to keep her afloat.



A deep rumble from above made her stuff the map back into her anorak pocket and yell for Franky to get the crew out onto the wet wood of the deck. “Hurry up!” She yelled, pointing into the distance as the others filtered out, “get her over to that island before the weather starts up again, we’ll dock her there and wait this one out!”



The next half hour or so was a flurry of deep rolling thunder, a warning for the heavy rain that started hammering down on them half way to the island. Shouted commands from all areas were nearly drowned out in the angry voice of the heavens; lightning struck and lit up the sky as the crew ran and climbed and protected their home, before they finally found a fairly quiet side of the island, close to a beach. Zoro hefted the heavy anchor overboard with a slight grunt, before jogging into the galley to sit with the others.



Sanji placed a tray of warm cocoa and a plate of cookies on the table, placing the two with extra whipped cream on top in front of Nami and Robin, before taking a cup for himself and allowing the men to fight over their own.



“How long will it take for the weather to clear up, do you think?” The cook asked politely, sitting down next to the navigator and sipping his drink slowly.



“‘Ah!” The captain said, trying to bite into a cookie and spitting crumbs everywhere as he spoke, “I wanna eggspore th’island,” he said, a large collection of crumbs gathering in front of him on the table, and the towel that Robin had given him to dry his hair sliding off of his head.



“Don’t talk to a lady with your mouth full!” Sanji hissed, slapping his captain upside the head. Luffy swallowed, before making an odd, whinging noise at the cook.



“I don’t know,” the redhead answered, fiddling with the handle of her mug and apparently deep in thought, “we weren’t supposed to dock here for another couple of weeks -- either we’ve been blown really off course by that sudden wind or I’ve miscalculated the distance between Epona and Salrynn,” she added, “but either way, I suppose we should consider it a blessing, because we’d still be out in this storm if we hadn’t arrived at this island so early,” she finished, finally looking back up at her crew.



“That, and if we’re ahead then that must be good,” Franky said, fiddling with the door on the middle of his torso. “We can make any repairs we need to from the storm, as well.”



“Yeah, and we don’t have to spend as much money on food now,” the blond said, glaring over at the others, who seemed to be playing (noisily) with the cookie crumbs and a spoon; Usopp was launching the little particles across the table like a catapult as the others looked on and laughed.



The topic of money seemed to cheer Nami up, who was feeling somewhat put down by the fact that she hadn’t known the situation very well. “Of course.” She answered, her tone slightly more cheerful. “Epona is inhabited, so we’ll be able to repair and get whatever supplies we might need while we’re here,” she suggested, finally taking a sip of her drink.



Chopper seemed to light up at this, breaking away from the game he was playing with Brook, Usopp and Luffy to grin brightly, his expression made even more adorable by the dampness of his fur. “I have a few herbs I need to get,” he said, looking over at Sanji for the slightest moment.



Sanji caught onto the meaning of the seemingly fleeting glance, which reminded him of his earlier conversation with the little doctor the day before. He decided to have a word with the little reindeer once they’d eaten. Robin watched the exchange with an enigmatic smile. “I’ll make lunch,” the cook said, standing and collecting the empty cups of his crew and walking over to the sink with a yawn. It seemed weird to offer lunch when it still looked like night time outside because of the storm.



Luffy cheered, but was interrupted by Nami, who stood, her blanket falling down to her waist as she did so. “Thanks Sanji, but I think we all need some sleep for now, we didn’t get any at all last night,” she suggested, ignoring her captain’s pouting and pointing over at the swordsman who was propped up against the wall in the corner, snoring lightly with a snot bubble hanging out of his nose. Sanji glared at him. How vulgar.



Unable to resist the woman’s tired looking eyes, he agreed with minimal swooning, before ushering everyone out of the kitchen. He considered looking over at the watch duty rotor that was plastered onto the wall of the kitchen, but he decided not to; they were well hidden away from any stray marine patrol ships that might be daring the harsh, untameable waves of the Grand Line, and he already knew that it was Usopp’s turn and he felt somewhat sorry for the sniper, as he’d probably done more work than anyone that day and looked the most tired out of all of them - save for Zoro, who was literally sleeping, still propped against the wall in the corner. Sanji jabbed him in the ribs, knowing that the swordsman was ticklish and hated having his ribs poked.



Predictably, the green haired man jumped with a high pitched whine. He blinked his eyes open blearily, then closed them again at the sight of the cook. “Wha~at~?” He groaned, waving Sanji’s face away.



“Bed, shitface, everyone’s tired.” The blond answered, turning on his heel and walking over to the door to collect his anorak, ready to bolt across deck to the men’s quarters. He pulled the black garment on hastily, waving Zoro over (who, predictably, went out there in his usual clothes) and opened the galley door open a slither before they pelted across the deck and into the safe, warm men’s quarters.



***



An hour or so later, everyone was tucked into bed and catching up on their missed sleep, except Sanji, who was still feeling rather worried about himself. He contemplated getting up to take another of the pills Chopper had given him, but decided he much preferred the warmth of his hammock. The snores of his other male crewmates were almost drowned out by the sound of the sky fighting the sea, and the cook glanced over at his green haired lover, who was sleeping soundly in the hammock opposite him.



He watched him like this for several minutes, before he snapped out of it and cursed himself. There was no way he’d been looking at the Marimo with something akin to… endearment (it felt wrong to even say it), of course not. He decided that perhaps taking some more of those pills was a good idea, and he dragged himself rather reluctantly out of his hammock and started walking over to the lockers.



“What are you doing?” The gruff, tired voice of the swordsman pierced through the quiet of the bunkroom like the first roar of thunder through a cloudy sky.



“Getting a glass of water,” he answered, too tired to argue, “can’t sleep…”



“Why not?” Zoro asked, but he was already closing his eyes again.



“Feel sick,” Sanji answered. It wasn’t a total lie - he was feeling the beginnings of what promised to be a nasty stomach ache in his gut.



Zoro simply raised an arm out of his half-sleeping heap, a silent invitation to share warmth.



Sanji didn’t protest, too tired, too sick and too stressed to bother. Instead, he strode over to the swordsman and burrowed himself into the crevices of the other man’s body, groaning tiredly at the warmth. He vaguely regretted not taking the pills as his nausea began to intensify, but as he buried his face further into the tanned neck of his lover and felt strong hand stroke his back idly, he felt sleep begin to take him much more quickly, and soon he was in a deep sleep.



***



It was near dinnertime when the crew awoke, and as such Sanji was the first to wake up -- mostly so that the others wouldn’t see him and fuckface all wrapped up in each other, with fuckface’s hand on his butt. Even if it was only under the covers. At some point his blanket and pillow had mysteriously teleported onto Zoro’s hammock, but Sanji didn’t wake up or feel any movement. How strange. Anyway, the rain had since stopped and the blond walked out onto a very wet deck. The sky had cleared somewhat; it was still very grey and the smell of rain and lightning was thick in the air, but patches of blue were beginning to bend above the world, deeper greys fading away on the horizon.



The cook walked across the deck and into the galley, blanket wrapped around his shoulders because of the sharp chill that was often left behind after heavy rain. He placed his blanket over a chair, quite pleased to have a few moments to himself. Strangely, he didn’t feel too nauseous. Perhaps it was only a morning thing? Sanji snorted and giggled to himself as he was quite prone to doing. Morning sickness? Maybe he was-



“Good morning, cook-san.” Robin’s voice was like… a robin’s voice in the early morning, or so Sanji thought.



“Good morning, Robin chu-waaaa~n~!” He swooned, his visible eye a bright red heart. Robin was often one of the earliest up - even at this time of day. She smiled mysteriously, pulling away from the fanatical blond and moving sit down at the table. “Could I get you anything to eat? Or a drink?” He asked, still swooning.



“I’ll have a coffee, please,” she said, smiling at him and resting a hand on her chin.



“Right awaaaay~♥” He bellowed, spinning around the make the coffee at lightning speed. He turned around with a tray and two cups on it, placing it on the table. He sat opposite the archaeologist, pouring her a cup of coffee, hearts floating around his head.



“How are you feeling today?” Robin asked, curious as to how the doctor was treating the blond.



Sanji grinned even more foolishly. “Well, well,” he tried to ignore the nausea that tried to spike up at that point, instead sipping the coffee he poured for himself, “Chopper gave me some excellent medicine for my sickness, so I’ll be back on my feet in no time.”



Robin smiled again, sipping the coffee that was in front of her. “That’s good to hear.”



“You know, Robin-chan, you always make me feel much better,” Sanji said, smiling at the other woman with a goofy smile.



“I’m sure I do,” the dark haired woman replied, her smile curling into a sly smirk as she drunk from her coffee cup, “but I’d hate to intrude on your relationship with swordsman-kun,” she finished, setting her cup down on the table.



If Robin had not been a lady (and a very lovely lady at that), the cook would’ve spat his coffee across the table. But being the gentleman that he was known for being, he simply swallowed the mouthful of coffee that had risen dangerously to his nose with a wince. After a few minutes of flustering and wiping his mouth and weeping eyes with a napkin, he looked over at the archaeologist, panting slightly. “R-relationship?”



It took everything in Robin not to outright laugh at the cook’s expense, but she managed to suppress it into a gentle smile. “Sanji-kun, its hardly a secret,” she said softly, looking the other in the eye.



This was not happening, it couldn’t be - he’d obviously hit his head at some point when they were trying to make an emergency docking at Epona - no way that anyone could’ve possibly known about it unless- oh God. He would surely die now. Head injury, yes, head injury… he apologized to the miserable old geezer in his mind repeatedly at not finding All Blue, though if he had another chance he would surely -



“Cook-san?”



“Sorry, Robin-chan…” He pinched himself. Ow. That hurt. He had a hard pinch… so this wasn’t a dream. Nor was he dead.



“It’s alright,” she said, “I simply guessed, with the way you two look at each other,” she added, trying to calm the cook down.



“/Look/ at each other?” Sanji asked, truly curious now.



“Yes,” she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You exchange looks I can only interpret as love, treat each other as such,” she said, stroking the rim of the mug with her thumb idly and not breaking eye contact.



“Oh,” Sanji said, looking down at his hands, “I didn’t think sneering and glaring were things that lovers did, to be honest,” he’d never do that to Robin-chan, or Nami-swan…



Robin laughed. “Perhaps then, you should try and look deeper the next time swordsman-kun looks at you,” she finished, standing to walk towards the door, taking her mug with her. Sanji watched her leave, possibly even more confused than before. He pushed it to the back of his mind for now; he’d think about it once dinner was over and done with.



***



Dinner was a louder than usual affair; it seemed that the lack of one meal in the day had made the crew even hungrier. The rain had picked up again as they started eating; it seemed that the Grand Line was reluctant to give up so easily. But it was not accompanied by thunder or lightning, so the evening passed quite peacefully, save for Sanji kicking Zoro in the head (after everyone had left, of course, because he’d hate for his ladies to see such vulgarity) for being so obvious.



“Ow!” Zoro whined. “What the fuck was that for, kuso-cook?”



“Teme. Robin knows.” Sanji replied, raising a leg to kick the other man again as he drew Wadou.



Zoro rolled his eyes briefly before he pulled her out with a smirk. The rain had meant that he hadn’t been able to train, but this would suffice as well as the night he had spent pulling ropes, lifting anchor and diving overboard to save his captain. He dashed toward the cook, aiming for a blow to his midriff, but he missed; the cook dodged out of the way and lifted a leg to strike Zoro’s back with a knee, but just as his knee brushed the swordsman’s back a sudden searing pain in his gut made him cry out. He stumbled back toward the galley table, leaning on his arm and wincing, clutching his stomach with the other arm. “Shit!” He yelled, sinking to the floor and doubling over, wrapping both of his arms around his belly.



“Sanji?” Zoro asked, sheathing Wadou and rushing over to the cook, concern written all over his face, “I’ll get Chopper,” he said, trying to keep it out of his tone.



Zoro ran across the kitchen to the infirmary and returned with the little reindeer in a few moments. Chopper looked at him worriedly, having a slight mental freak out before he started tending to the cook. “What’s the matter? Is it hurting in your abdomen?” He asked, fretting only slightly and rummaging around his doctor’s bag for a stethoscope.



Sanji nodded, face etched into a grimace. He sat up more when Chopper reached to press his stethoscope against his lower abdomen. The reindeer moved it around a few times, before wrapping it around his neck and resting it on his shoulders. He then reached into his bag again and pulled out a jar of painkillers he’d been working on for the cook. He asked Zoro to get him a glass of water, and handed them to the blond, instructing him to swallow both of the pills. Sanji did so, and looked back up at the doctor as the pain slowly started to subside. “Can you walk?” He asked, but Sanji had already tried to stand. Zoro watched the exchange from behind Chopper, ready to catch the cook when he (undoubtedly) fell, but to his surprise the blond continued to walk, still hunched over, to the infirmary door.



’As if I’m going to let you help me, bastard,’ He thought, stumbling through the door and laying down on the doctor’s bed as soon as he could.



Chopper rushed in after him, followed by Zoro who walked at a much more leisurely pace. Once they were all inside the doctor’s quarters, the little reindeer rushed about his desk frantically, sweating and trying to keep his freaking out at a minimum. Truth be told, Zoro wasn’t even sure what he was still doing here - the cook could take care of himself. But he decided to stay, because he was curious to know what was wrong with the love-cook.



Sanji laid on the small bed, squirming slightly and trying to relieve the pain in his gut. “What’s wrong with me, Chopper?” He asked, truly curious and very frustrated with his constant nausea now.



Chopper froze up as he reached for the blood sample he’d taken the day before. It should be ready now - it had been 24 hours. But he turned toward the blond slowly before speaking. “It’s nothing serious,” he said, “I think you’ve just strained yourself a bit.” He paused before he spoke next, “but if it is what I think it is, you’re a lot more fragile now.” He turned around to look at the blood sample and the small array of testing apparatus on the corner of his desk, before he started fiddling around with the different instruments to read the results.



Sanji and Zoro looked at each other briefly, as if questioning each other on what they knew. The swordsman found himself very suddenly intrigued. He had thought that the cook had some kind of flu or something, but judging from the tense look in the doctor’s eyes, it seemed as though it was something more serious. He hoped, fleetingly, that it wasn’t anything life-threatening, but he brushed it off, knowing that it wasn’t an issue. Sanji wouldn’t die just because of some stupid virus - he’d endured more than that. The blonde, on the other hand, was now worrying more, both because of Chopper’s tense demeanour and now because of the anxious look in the swordsman’s eyes as well.



After a few minutes of fiddling with the medical apparatus and consulting a heavy navy medical book with a broken spine that the doctor had purchased at Salrynn, the reindeer turned around and fiddled with his hooves for a moment, seemingly contemplating how to put what he wanted to say into words. “Sanji…” he said, not looking up at the two men who were staring at him expectantly, “I don’t know how to say this…” He paused for another moment, “but… the results from the test I took, and the book’s explanation all point to one conclusion, and that is-ah…”



“Spit it out,” Zoro said, a bead of sweat falling down his temple.



“You’re pregnant, Sanji.” He finished, staring at his hooves with wide eyes.



A long silence stretched over a couple of minutes, the words ringing around the infirmary. Pregnant? That made absolutely no sense. He was a man. Men didn’t carry babies. Women did. Sanji stared at the doctor for some time. “Is this some kind of sick joke?” He finally said.



“No,” Chopper said, eyes welling up, “Robin said there was a shrine on that last island that got people pregnant and then you started being sick and I read in a book somewhere about this kind of phenomenon and I really really didn’t want you to be angry with me!” He rambled on.



“We’re not angry with you,” Zoro said gravely, trying to keep the horror out of his tone.



“You’re not?” Chopper answered with a sniff.



“No,” Sanji replied. “I’m… I feel sick,” he said, genuinely feeling a strong gagging feeling rising to his throat. The reindeer ran to get a bowl for the cook, who took it and immediately started heaving his guts into it. Zoro looked over at him, watching him vomit for a moment before turning to look at the floor. Well, this sucked. What the fuck was he supposed to say now? After Sanji had stopped being sick, he turned to leave.



“Where the fuck do you think you’re going, shithead?” He asked, voice hoarse. ‘You think you can leave me to deal with this on my own, fucker?’



The swordsman turned back around. “I didn’t think you’d want me here,” he explained, knowing that the cook would probably get even more stressed if he stayed.



The cook didn’t know what to say. This couldn’t be happening. He wasn’t pregnant - he’d obviously hit his head and this was all some stupid, absurd dream he was having. But what the swordsman had said wasn’t true. He wouldn’t be able to stay sane without him here. He’d never admit that out loud, of course not. “Fine, if you’re that fucking scared,” he said, sneering at the other man.



Zoro glared at him. “I don’t think I’m the only one that’s scared,” he admitted, folding his arms. This wasn’t the time to be exchanging childish insults.



Sanji was rather taken aback. “T-this is your fault, asshole!” He shouted. He knew it was a pathetic insult because, well, it takes two to tango and all that crap.



“Of course it is,” Zoro said, rolling his eyes. “Now I want to leave,” he mumbled, turning to leave the infirmary. The sound of the door shutting seemed to echo for miles, and Sanji stared at it for what seemed like hours. He turned to look at the doctor who was watching him with concern. The cook wanted to cry, but he knew that it would be stupid to. He didn’t really know what to say, but he wanted to know what the fuck was going on.



“How… How am I… pregnant?” He asked, furrowing his brows at the surreal quality of the whole event.



Chopper explained what Robin had told him, and showed him the passage in the book. He asked Sanji if he and Zoro had been together on the shrine, and the blond wanted to deny it, but he knew it was fruitless now. He thanked the reindeer for explaining things to him, before rising to walk over to the infirmary door.



“Will you be okay?” Chopper asked.



“Yeah, if I take those pills you made me,” he answered, fiddling with the door handle and rubbing an eye with the other hand. He would need those tablets tonight; he’d never get to sleep if he didn’t take them. He bade he reindeer a goodnight and made his way to the men’s quarters. He just wanted to forget the entire incident.



***



Well well well! The cat’s out of the bag, folks. I feel very odd about this chapter. It feels awfully soon after posting the previous chapter, and it doesn’t feel very long either… hm. I’m sorry about the lack of character depth and exploration into how the two feel in this chapter - I felt it was best to leave it for a separate instalment. Tell me what you think, guys~! Comments are appreciated muchly. ♥

Title: Salrynn's Shrine

Word Count: 4178

Rating: M/NC-17/18 Whatever country you're in

Chapter: 4/?

Warnings: Yaoi, manxman, mpreg, lemon, angst, may contain spoilers, chapter two is not work-safe.

Disclaimer: Oda owns all. All bow to the Dark Lord.

Summary: That island had seemed rather nice, normal, and pretty much like all the other islands they had visited - inasmuch as it had many pretty girls whom Sanji liked to gander at and (unsuccessfully) flirt with. It also had an unusually high number of same-sex couples, or so he had presumed in most cases, and it wasn't until they had left the island some months ago that he realised why.

Comments: Slightly quicker update than planned. Its been about a week or so since I last updated (I think). Enjoy~ I'd also like to tell you that its really not going to be all sunshine and happiness - there will be angst. Be warned.





A large pair of brown eyes looked over the edge of the map at the distant, misty bump on the horizon, thin orange brows furrowed. "Epona?" Nami mumbled to herself, confused. They were not supposed to come close to the island for a couple more weeks, but she considered it a strike of luck for now, as the temperamental Grand Line had very suddenly decided to change its weather again in a matter of hours, resulting in a very sleepless night for those on board, as the heavy rain and strong gales had meant that Sunny had needed a lot of work to keep her afloat.



A deep rumble from above made her stuff the map back into her anorak pocket and yell for Franky to get the crew out onto the wet wood of the deck. "Hurry up!" She yelled, pointing into the distance as the others filtered out, "get her over to that island before the weather starts up again, we'll dock her there and wait this one out!"



The next half hour or so was a flurry of deep rolling thunder, a warning for the heavy rain that started hammering down on them half way to the island. Shouted commands from all areas were nearly drowned out in the angry voice of the heavens; lightning struck and lit up the sky as the crew ran and climbed and protected their home, before they finally found a fairly quiet side of the island, close to a beach. Zoro hefted the heavy anchor overboard with a slight grunt, before jogging into the galley to sit with the others.



Sanji placed a tray of warm cocoa and a plate of cookies on the table, placing the two with extra whipped cream on top in front of Nami and Robin, before taking a cup for himself and allowing the men to fight over their own.



"How long will it take for the weather to clear up, do you think?" The cook asked politely, sitting down next to the navigator and sipping his drink slowly.



"'Ah!" The captain said, trying to bite into a cookie and spitting crumbs everywhere as he spoke, "I wanna eggspore th'island," he said, a large collection of crumbs gathering in front of him on the table, and the towel that Robin had given him to dry his hair sliding off of his head.



"Don't talk to a lady with your mouth full!" Sanji hissed, slapping his captain upside the head. Luffy swallowed, before making an odd, whinging noise at the cook.



"I don't know," the redhead answered, fiddling with the handle of her mug and apparently deep in thought, "we weren't supposed to dock here for another couple of weeks -- either we've been blown really off course by that sudden wind or I've miscalculated the distance between Epona and Salrynn," she added, "but either way, I suppose we should consider it a blessing, because we'd still be out in this storm if we hadn't arrived at this island so early," she finished, finally looking back up at her crew.



"That, and if we're ahead then that must be good," Franky said, fiddling with the door on the middle of his torso. "We can make any repairs we need to from the storm, as well."



"Yeah, and we don't have to spend as much money on food now," the blond said, glaring over at the others, who seemed to be playing (noisily) with the cookie crumbs and a spoon; Usopp was launching the little particles across the table like a catapult as the others looked on and laughed.



The topic of money seemed to cheer Nami up, who was feeling somewhat put down by the fact that she hadn't known the situation very well. "Of course." She answered, her tone slightly more cheerful. "Epona is inhabited, so we'll be able to repair and get whatever supplies we might need while we're here," she suggested, finally taking a sip of her drink.



Chopper seemed to light up at this, breaking away from the game he was playing with Brook, Usopp and Luffy to grin brightly, his expression made even more adorable by the dampness of his fur. "I have a few herbs I need to get," he said, looking over at Sanji for the slightest moment.



Sanji caught onto the meaning of the seemingly fleeting glance, which reminded him of his earlier conversation with the little doctor the day before. He decided to have a word with the little reindeer once they'd eaten. Robin watched the exchange with an enigmatic smile. "I'll make lunch," the cook said, standing and collecting the empty cups of his crew and walking over to the sink with a yawn. It seemed weird to offer lunch when it still looked like night time outside because of the storm.



Luffy cheered, but was interrupted by Nami, who stood, her blanket falling down to her waist as she did so. "Thanks Sanji, but I think we all need some sleep for now, we didn't get any at all last night," she suggested, ignoring her captain's pouting and pointing over at the swordsman who was propped up against the wall in the corner, snoring lightly with a snot bubble hanging out of his nose. Sanji glared at him. How vulgar.



Unable to resist the woman's tired looking eyes, he agreed with minimal swooning, before ushering everyone out of the kitchen. He considered looking over at the watch duty rotor that was plastered onto the wall of the kitchen, but he decided not to; they were well hidden away from any stray marine patrol ships that might be daring the harsh, untameable waves of the Grand Line, and he already knew that it was Usopp's turn and he felt somewhat sorry for the sniper, as he'd probably done more work than anyone that day and looked the most tired out of all of them - save for Zoro, who was literally sleeping, still propped against the wall in the corner. Sanji jabbed him in the ribs, knowing that the swordsman was ticklish and hated having his ribs poked.



Predictably, the green haired man jumped with a high pitched whine. He blinked his eyes open blearily, then closed them again at the sight of the cook. "Wha~at~?" He groaned, waving Sanji's face away.



"Bed, shitface, everyone's tired." The blond answered, turning on his heel and walking over to the door to collect his anorak, ready to bolt across deck to the men's quarters. He pulled the black garment on hastily, waving Zoro over (who, predictably, went out there in his usual clothes) and opened the galley door open a slither before they pelted across the deck and into the safe, warm men's quarters.



***



An hour or so later, everyone was tucked into bed and catching up on their missed sleep, except Sanji, who was still feeling rather worried about himself. He contemplated getting up to take another of the pills Chopper had given him, but decided he much preferred the warmth of his hammock. The snores of his other male crewmates were almost drowned out by the sound of the sky fighting the sea, and the cook glanced over at his green haired lover, who was sleeping soundly in the hammock opposite him.



He watched him like this for several minutes, before he snapped out of it and cursed himself. There was no way he'd been looking at the Marimo with something akin to... endearment (it felt wrong to even say it), of course not. He decided that perhaps taking some more of those pills was a good idea, and he dragged himself rather reluctantly out of his hammock and started walking over to the lockers.



"What are you doing?" The gruff, tired voice of the swordsman pierced through the quiet of the bunkroom like the first roar of thunder through a cloudy sky.



"Getting a glass of water," he answered, too tired to argue, "can't sleep..."



"Why not?" Zoro asked, but he was already closing his eyes again.



"Feel sick," Sanji answered. It wasn't a total lie - he was feeling the beginnings of what promised to be a nasty stomach ache in his gut.



Zoro simply raised an arm out of his half-sleeping heap, a silent invitation to share warmth.



Sanji didn't protest, too tired, too sick and too stressed to bother. Instead, he strode over to the swordsman and burrowed himself into the crevices of the other man's body, groaning tiredly at the warmth. He vaguely regretted not taking the pills as his nausea began to intensify, but as he buried his face further into the tanned neck of his lover and felt strong hand stroke his back idly, he felt sleep begin to take him much more quickly, and soon he was in a deep sleep.



***



It was near dinnertime when the crew awoke, and as such Sanji was the first to wake up -- mostly so that the others wouldn't see him and fuckface all wrapped up in each other, with fuckface's hand on his butt. Even if it was only under the covers. At some point his blanket and pillow had mysteriously teleported onto Zoro's hammock, but Sanji didn't wake up or feel any movement. How strange. Anyway, the rain had since stopped and the blond walked out onto a very wet deck. The sky had cleared somewhat; it was still very grey and the smell of rain and lightning was thick in the air, but patches of blue were beginning to bend above the world, deeper greys fading away on the horizon.



The cook walked across the deck and into the galley, blanket wrapped around his shoulders because of the sharp chill that was often left behind after heavy rain. He placed his blanket over a chair, quite pleased to have a few moments to himself. Strangely, he didn't feel too nauseous. Perhaps it was only a morning thing? Sanji snorted and giggled to himself as he was quite prone to doing. Morning sickness? Maybe he was-



"Good morning, cook-san." Robin's voice was like... a robin's voice in the early morning, or so Sanji thought.



"Good morning, Robin chu-waaaa~n~!" He swooned, his visible eye a bright red heart. Robin was often one of the earliest up - even at this time of day. She smiled mysteriously, pulling away from the fanatical blond and moving sit down at the table. "Could I get you anything to eat? Or a drink?" He asked, still swooning.



"I'll have a coffee, please," she said, smiling at him and resting a hand on her chin.



"Right awaaaay~♥" He bellowed, spinning around the make the coffee at lightning speed. He turned around with a tray and two cups on it, placing it on the table. He sat opposite the archaeologist, pouring her a cup of coffee, hearts floating around his head.



"How are you feeling today?" Robin asked, curious as to how the doctor was treating the blond.



Sanji grinned even more foolishly. "Well, well," he tried to ignore the nausea that tried to spike up at that point, instead sipping the coffee he poured for himself, "Chopper gave me some excellent medicine for my sickness, so I'll be back on my feet in no time."



Robin smiled again, sipping the coffee that was in front of her. "That's good to hear."



"You know, Robin-chan, you always make me feel much better," Sanji said, smiling at the other woman with a goofy smile.



"I'm sure I do," the dark haired woman replied, her smile curling into a sly smirk as she drunk from her coffee cup, "but I'd hate to intrude on your relationship with swordsman-kun," she finished, setting her cup down on the table.



If Robin had not been a lady (and a very lovely lady at that), the cook would've spat his coffee across the table. But being the gentleman that he was known for being, he simply swallowed the mouthful of coffee that had risen dangerously to his nose with a wince. After a few minutes of flustering and wiping his mouth and weeping eyes with a napkin, he looked over at the archaeologist, panting slightly. "R-relationship?"



It took everything in Robin not to outright laugh at the cook's expense, but she managed to suppress it into a gentle smile. "Sanji-kun, its hardly a secret," she said softly, looking the other in the eye.



This was not happening, it couldn't be - he'd obviously hit his head at some point when they were trying to make an emergency docking at Epona - no way that anyone could've possibly known about it unless- oh God. He would surely die now. Head injury, yes, head injury... he apologized to the miserable old geezer in his mind repeatedly at not finding All Blue, though if he had another chance he would surely -



"Cook-san?"



"Sorry, Robin-chan..." He pinched himself. Ow. That hurt. He had a hard pinch... so this wasn't a dream. Nor was he dead.



"It's alright," she said, "I simply guessed, with the way you two look at each other," she added, trying to calm the cook down.



"Look at each other?" Sanji asked, truly curious now.



"Yes," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You exchange looks I can only interpret as love, treat each other as such," she said, stroking the rim of the mug with her thumb idly and not breaking eye contact.



"Oh," Sanji said, looking down at his hands, "I didn't think sneering and glaring were things that lovers did, to be honest," he'd never do that to Robin-chan, or Nami-swan...



Robin laughed. "Perhaps then, you should try and look deeper the next time swordsman-kun looks at you," she finished, standing to walk towards the door, taking her mug with her. Sanji watched her leave, possibly even more confused than before. He pushed it to the back of his mind for now; he'd think about it once dinner was over and done with.



***



Dinner was a louder than usual affair; it seemed that the lack of one meal in the day had made the crew even hungrier. The rain had picked up again as they started eating; it seemed that the Grand Line was reluctant to give up so easily. But it was not accompanied by thunder or lightning, so the evening passed quite peacefully, save for Sanji kicking Zoro in the head (after everyone had left, of course, because he'd hate for his ladies to see such vulgarity) for being so obvious.



"Ow!" Zoro whined. "What the fuck was that for, kuso-cook?"



"Teme. Robin knows." Sanji replied, raising a leg to kick the other man again as he drew Wadou.



Zoro rolled his eyes briefly before he pulled her out with a smirk. The rain had meant that he hadn't been able to train, but this would suffice as well as the night he had spent pulling ropes, lifting anchor and diving overboard to save his captain. He dashed toward the cook, aiming for a blow to his midriff, but he missed; the cook dodged out of the way and lifted a leg to strike Zoro's back with a knee, but just as his knee brushed the swordsman's back a sudden searing pain in his gut made him cry out. He stumbled back toward the galley table, leaning on his arm and wincing, clutching his stomach with the other arm. "Shit!" He yelled, sinking to the floor and doubling over, wrapping both of his arms around his belly.



"Sanji?" Zoro asked, sheathing Wadou and rushing over to the cook, concern written all over his face, "I'll get Chopper," he said, trying to keep it out of his tone.



Zoro ran across the kitchen to the infirmary and returned with the little reindeer in a few moments. Chopper looked at him worriedly, having a slight mental freak out before he started tending to the cook. "What's the matter? Is it hurting in your abdomen?" He asked, fretting only slightly and rummaging around his doctor's bag for a stethoscope.



Sanji nodded, face etched into a grimace. He sat up more when Chopper reached to press his stethoscope against his lower abdomen. The reindeer moved it around a few times, before wrapping it around his neck and resting it on his shoulders. He then reached into his bag again and pulled out a jar of painkillers he'd been working on for the cook. He asked Zoro to get him a glass of water, and handed them to the blond, instructing him to swallow both of the pills. Sanji did so, and looked back up at the doctor as the pain slowly started to subside. "Can you walk?" He asked, but Sanji had already tried to stand. Zoro watched the exchange from behind Chopper, ready to catch the cook when he (undoubtedly) fell, but to his surprise the blond continued to walk, still hunched over, to the infirmary door.



'As if I'm going to let you help me, bastard,' He thought, stumbling through the door and laying down on the doctor's bed as soon as he could.



Chopper rushed in after him, followed by Zoro who walked at a much more leisurely pace. Once they were all inside the doctor's quarters, the little reindeer rushed about his desk frantically, sweating and trying to keep his freaking out at a minimum. Truth be told, Zoro wasn't even sure what he was still doing here - the cook could take care of himself. But he decided to stay, because he was curious to know what was wrong with the love-cook.



Sanji laid on the small bed, squirming slightly and trying to relieve the pain in his gut. "What's wrong with me, Chopper?" He asked, truly curious and very frustrated with his constant nausea now.



Chopper froze up as he reached for the blood sample he'd taken the day before. It should be ready now - it had been 24 hours. But he turned toward the blond slowly before speaking. "It's nothing serious," he said, "I think you've just strained yourself a bit." He paused before he spoke next, "but if it is what I think it is, you're a lot more fragile now." He turned around to look at the blood sample and the small array of testing apparatus on the corner of his desk, before he started fiddling around with the different instruments to read the results.



Sanji and Zoro looked at each other briefly, as if questioning each other on what they knew. The swordsman found himself very suddenly intrigued. He had thought that the cook had some kind of flu or something, but judging from the tense look in the doctor's eyes, it seemed as though it was something more serious. He hoped, fleetingly, that it wasn't anything life-threatening, but he brushed it off, knowing that it wasn't an issue. Sanji wouldn't die just because of some stupid virus - he'd endured more than that. The blonde, on the other hand, was now worrying more, both because of Chopper's tense demeanour and now because of the anxious look in the swordsman's eyes as well.



After a few minutes of fiddling with the medical apparatus and consulting a heavy navy medical book with a broken spine that the doctor had purchased at Salrynn, the reindeer turned around and fiddled with his hooves for a moment, seemingly contemplating how to put what he wanted to say into words. "Sanji..." he said, not looking up at the two men who were staring at him expectantly, "I don't know how to say this..." He paused for another moment, "but... the results from the test I took, and the book's explanation all point to one conclusion, and that is-ah..."



"Spit it out," Zoro said, a bead of sweat falling down his temple.



"You're pregnant, Sanji." He finished, staring at his hooves with wide eyes.



A long silence stretched over a couple of minutes, the words ringing around the infirmary. Pregnant? That made absolutely no sense. He was a man. Men didn't carry babies. Women did. Sanji stared at the doctor for some time. "Is this some kind of sick joke?" He finally said.



"No," Chopper said, eyes welling up, "Robin said there was a shrine on that last island that got people pregnant and then you started being sick and I read in a book somewhere about this kind of phenomenon and I really really didn't want you to be angry with me!" He rambled on.



"We're not angry with you," Zoro said gravely, trying to keep the horror out of his tone.



"You're not?" Chopper answered with a sniff.



"No," Sanji replied. "I'm... I feel sick," he said, genuinely feeling a strong gagging feeling rising to his throat. The reindeer ran to get a bowl for the cook, who took it and immediately started heaving his guts into it. Zoro looked over at him, watching him vomit for a moment before turning to look at the floor. Well, this sucked. What the fuck was he supposed to say now? After Sanji had stopped being sick, he turned to leave.



"Where the fuck do you think you're going, shithead?" He asked, voice hoarse. 'You think you can leave me to deal with this on my own, fucker?'



The swordsman turned back around. "I didn't think you'd want me here," he explained, knowing that the cook would probably get even more stressed if he stayed.



The cook didn't know what to say. This couldn't be happening. He wasn't pregnant - he'd obviously hit his head and this was all some stupid, absurd dream he was having. But what the swordsman had said wasn't true. He wouldn't be able to stay sane without him here. He'd never admit that out loud, of course not. "Fine, if you're that fucking scared," he said, sneering at the other man.



Zoro glared at him. "I don't think I'm the only one that's scared," he admitted, folding his arms. This wasn't the time to be exchanging childish insults.



Sanji was rather taken aback. "T-this is your fault, asshole!" He shouted. He knew it was a pathetic insult because, well, it takes two to tango and all that crap.



"Of course it is," Zoro said, rolling his eyes. "Now I want to leave," he mumbled, turning to leave the infirmary. The sound of the door shutting seemed to echo for miles, and Sanji stared at it for what seemed like hours. He turned to look at the doctor who was watching him with concern. The cook wanted to cry, but he knew that it would be stupid to. He didn't really know what to say, but he wanted to know what the fuck was going on.



"How... How am I... pregnant?" He asked, furrowing his brows at the surreal quality of the whole event.



Chopper explained what Robin had told him, and showed him the passage in the book. He asked Sanji if he and Zoro had been together on the shrine, and the blond wanted to deny it, but he knew it was fruitless now. He thanked the reindeer for explaining things to him, before rising to walk over to the infirmary door.



"Will you be okay?" Chopper asked.



"Yeah, if I take those pills you made me," he answered, fiddling with the door handle and rubbing an eye with the other hand. He would need those tablets tonight; he'd never get to sleep if he didn't take them. He bade he reindeer a goodnight and made his way to the men's quarters. He just wanted to forget the entire incident.



***



Well well well! The cat's out of the bag, folks. I feel very odd about this chapter. It feels awfully soon after posting the previous chapter, and it doesn't feel very long either... hm. I'm sorry about the lack of character depth and exploration into how the two feel in this chapter - I felt it was best to leave it for a separate instalment. Tell me what you think, guys~! Comments are appreciated muchly. ♥