𝐒𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌 - zosan [rewriting]

ⱄⰔ chapter four: wash upon land

chapter 04: wash upon land

The morning after, the sun rose above the horizon line to meet the seas and smile, joyous as the straw hats were. The air filled with pancakes, eggs, muffins, black coffee and unity as each straw hat made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen to meet an awful surprise.

"No way.." Usopp gasped, folding his cartoonish blanket and practically throwing it onto his bed. "Zoro's cooking?!"

Luffy giggled, plopping down onto the blanket, his palms warming his stuffed cheeks. "I know, right? And it's actually good."

Usopp chuckled. "Well then, I should check it out."

Luffy raised his head and repositioned himself to comfortably view Sanji, who continued to sleep soundlessly in the adjacent bunk. "Yo, Usopp."

"Yeah?" Usopp asked, letting loose of the doorknob and turning to face the back of Luffy's raven head. Luffy was fixated on a section of Sanji's forehead, which revealed an enlarging bruise that could only be spotted with the position he often slept in. Since Sanji had been growing his hair out, it wasn't often his forehead could be viewed.

"You see that?" Luffy pointed. Usopp leisurely approached. "Sanji somehow bruised his head."

"Damn." Usopp cursed. "Should we tell Chopper to check it out?"

Luffy snapped his head around. "Are you fucking dumb?" He asked. "If we tell Chopper, he'll never rest."

Usopp folded his arms and glared at the captain. "You must be the fucking dumb one. By leaving Sanji like this, it'll probably continue to grow!"

Luffy turned back to observe the sleeping blonde. "I'll let Chopper know once we're settled on the island. I want him to rest up before he hears about this." Usopp waited to meet Luffy's eyes again, but instead he watched as his captain drew himself up and signaled for him to join for breakfast.

┊☆ *　r.　 * ⋆ ┊

I often wonder of the two's relationship. How did they come to be? What is it that they speak of behind closed doors, or rather, closed closets? How long have they been sneaking behind our backs? Undeniably, last night there must've been something between the two. Zoro lost sleep to offer Sanji his hours. Sure, Zoro had rested during our dinner, so a surplus of energy was definitely there; however, cooking in Sanji's place? How scandalous.

I came to determine if we would continue to indulge in our plan, to see if it is at all worth it. Not even ten hours in, and I'm already intrigued by the idea.

"How flavorful, Zoro." I smiled.

He swung around to lethargically give me a thumbs up through his mittens. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and by his movements, he was clearly tired. He approached the island and placed a tray of muffins onto the marble.

"Banana...muffins?" He asked. He wasn't at all sure of what he had made, but he had done so anyway.

"Why, thank you. They smell delicious."

"Don't thank me, thank this book." He trailed back over to the oven area to retrieve Sanji's most famous cookbook and showed me its contents. "Without it, that would've been disastrous."