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It’s an ordinary day aboard the Sunny when Zoro receives a rather unusual question.
“Zoro, do you have a favorite place to sleep?”
Zoro blinks his good eye open, staring back at a pair of adorable doe eyes and another pair of empty eye sockets.
“... why do you ask?”
“We’re merely curious, Zoro. We all know that you love to take naps more than anyone else on the ship. So we can’t help but wonder if you have one spot that you particularly like as a place to sleep,” Brook explains.
“And we meant in the Sunny!” Chopper chirps. “Is it the crow’s nest? You like to spend a lot of time up there, right?”
Zoro considers it for a second, leaning back against the tree he’s been sitting under. “Sure, but I’m there mostly to train.”
“Perhaps it’s here on the lawn? You can get direct sunlight to help you photosynthesize.”
Zoro scowls as Chopper giggles. “I’m not a damn plant.”
“The bathroom?”
“Hmmm… I used to get really drowsy when I’m in the bathtub, but nowadays the cook is always there to keep an eye on me so I won’t fall asleep. So, uh, no, I guess.”
“Did you perhaps get distracted by Sanji’s naked body?”
“I’m not entertaining your perverted thoughts, Brook.”
“I understand.”
“What about the infirmary?”
“I only sleep there when I need medical treatment,” Zoro pats the top of Chopper’s head, which earns him a squeal.
“The library?”
Zoro remembers the one time he accidentally fell asleep inside the library when he was reading a book (something about a tale of a ronin), only to get woken up by a roll of paper hitting him right in the face, followed by the witch angrily demanding him to “move his snores somewhere else” and threatening to increase his debts when he told her to piss off.
Needless to say, Zoro had never set his foot inside the library with the intention to sleep ever again.
“Nah. Wasn’t exactly the best place to sleep.”
Not giving up, Chopper and Brook continue to guess.
“The aquarium?”
“Mmm, nope.”
“Below the deck?”
“No.”
“The toilet?”
Zoro raises his eyebrow. Brook just shrugs. “I’ve fallen asleep in the middle of pooping once. I got berated by Usopp after that because he really needed to pee but I kept the toilet all for myself. He called me a useless grandpa because of that, I was really hurt!”
“How are you even still able to poop?” Zoro deadpans. “I don’t think people who don’t even have a digestive system should have any toilet privileges in the first place.”
Brook lets out a dramatic gasp, putting a palm on his chest. “That is so mean! Everyone should have the right to poop, with or without a digestive system!”
“What about Sunny’s figurehead?”
“That’s Luffy’s favorite place.”
“Mmm, you’re right,” Chopper hums. “So where is it, Zoro?”
Right before Zoro can say anything, Luffy – or more accurately, his head, outstretched from where his body is perched on the platform above them – appears right beside Zoro.
“Hey, hey! I heard you guys are talking about something! What is it? What are you guys talking about?” he cheerily inquires.
“We’re trying to find out where Zoro’s favorite place to sleep on the Sunny is, Luffy!”
“But he is being particularly secretive about it. Perhaps you can give us some assistance to figure it out, captain.”
“Ooooooohhhh,” Luffy’s mouth turns into a wide O, before proceeding to laugh. “I don’t need to figure it out, I already know! Zoro’s favorite place to sleep is actually–”
Right before he can finish his sentence, the sound of a door opening is heard, followed by Sanji’s melodious announcement for his precious Nami-swan and Robin-chwan that their snacks are ready — and then followed by a less enthusiastic but nevertheless affectionate “and for you bastards too”. Luffy’s attention immediately shifts to the cook, mouth already salivating at the mention of food.
“YAY! SNACKS!” Luffy pops his head back to his body before launching himself at Sanji, who casually holds him off with his leg as he croons over the ladies.
“Ehh? Does that mean you already told Luffy where your favorite place to sleep is?” Chopper tilts his head in curiosity.
“I didn’t tell him anything,” Zoro frowns, eying his captain warily. The fact that he sounded so confident when he proclaimed it is somewhat worrying, too.
“Perhaps he had noticed you sleeping in a particular spot more often, and then concludes that said somewhere is your favorite,” Brook tries to rationalize. That could be the case, but sometimes when it comes to Luffy, Zoro can’t help but think that there’s always something more than meets the eye with the boy’s way of thinking.
“What are you guys all huddled up for?” Sanji asks as he makes their way to the three of them, Luffy already tamed with his snack that has an appropriate Luffy-sized portion.
“We were asking Zoro whether he has a favorite place to sleep or not,” Brook answers, thanking Sanji as he hands him his snack.
“But it’s really hard to find out because Zoro keeps saying no to all of our guesses!” Chopper adds, squealing in delight as he receives his plate. “Can you help us, Sanji?”
“Hmmm...” Sanji hums. “Knowing the mosshead, it shouldn’t be difficult to figure out. But if your guesses so far are wrong, then I guess the answer might not be as obvious as we thought.”
Chopper and Brook nod their heads in understanding. Zoro just snorts.
“But, also, knowing the mosshead… I’m gonna guess that the answer is…” he trails off, “...nothing. You don’t actually have a favorite place to sleep.”
Zoro stares at Sanji thoughtfully, before turning his gaze to Chopper and Brook, anticipation written all over their faces. He shrugs.
“Yeah, he’s right. I don’t have one.”
“Ehhhh! Really?!”
“Oh, the answer turns out to be very anticlimactic.”
“Why didn’t you tell us that in the first place, Zoro? You got me all excited for no reason,” Chopper protests.
“You’re the one who started the guessing game, buddy. I was just going along with it,” Zoro chuckles as Chopper makes a pout that makes him look cute rather than angry. Nevertheless, he gives the kid another pat on the head to try to dispel his disappointment.
“Huh. I was actually right. It really is not that difficult,” Sanji comments, handing Zoro his plate. “It’s funny that you actually try to bait them like that.”
“I didn’t actually mean to do that, you know,” Zoro grumbles, taking a bite of his snack. “I kept trying to say something but stuff just always got in the way.”
“Whaaat? Zoro doesn’t actually have one? That’s so weird,” Luffy chimes in, his voice slightly muffled as his mouth is still full of food, surprisingly still keeping up with their conversation.
“Yeah, well, I don’t care about the place, really. As long as I can get some good sleep then anywhere will do,” he explains.
“But I thought your favorite place is–”
“Oh, just leave it, Luffy. I doubt that a simple-minded caveman like him can actually come up with an answer even if we force him to,” Sanji waves his hand dismissively, walking away to hand out the snacks to the rest of the crew. “Oh, by the way, if you guys want a refill, you can tell me right away.”
“YAY! MORE SNACKS!” Luffy hollers, apparently already forgetting what he’s about to say.
“That’s very thoughtful of you, Sanji! Perhaps it would be more thoughtful if you let me see your pan–”
“Not a fucking chance, you pervert skeleton.”
“Ah, Sanji, you’re so mean.”
Zoro merely chuckles as he watches their antics. He’s secretly grateful to the cook for diverting Luffy’s attention; knowing how scarily perceptive he can be, Zoro’s quite convinced that he already figured out something. And if it’s something that Zoro has thought it would be, then he obviously would rather Luffy keep his damn mouth shut about it.
Chopper and Brook don’t seem too interested with Luffy’s words either, probably because they don’t take his words seriously or they consider Zoro’s own statement to weigh more truth. Whatever it may be, he’s quite glad that they aren’t trying to prod further, despite seemingly not being satisfied with his answer.
Because Zoro didn’t exactly tell them the entire truth. In a way, he does have a favorite place to sleep.
It’s just not a “place” in a way they thought it would be.
*
“Hey, what you said back there….”
“Hnn…?”
“Is it true?”
“About what?”
“You really don’t have your favorite place to sleep?”
“Why? You curious?”
“I mean, I dunno, you like to sleep a lot, so I just thought maybe you have somewhere you consider as your favorite spot or something.”
The swordsman hums. “Not really. At least, it’s not the location that matters to me.”
“Oh really?” Sanji perks up at that. “Then what is it that matters to you when you sleep?”
Zoro opens his good eye and sees the sight of the blond peering down at him, an unlit cigarette hanging loosely between his lips. The afternoon sunlight peering through the crow nest’s windows bounces off against his hair, creating an illusion of a golden halo above him. He stares at him for a second before grinning, shutting his eye close once more. “Why don’t you take a guess?”
He can practically see Sanji pouting. “Really? I thought you’re not interested in guessing games.”
“And I thought you said you know me so well that the answer shouldn’t be hard to guess. So why don’t you show me how much you understand me, cook.”
“...fine. Let’s see,” Sanji gazes upwards toward the ceiling as he begins to ponder. “You said that the location itself doesn’t matter, which means stuff like a soft surface definitely don’t count.”
“Well, you got that right.”
“Other than that… uh… when there aren’t enemies around? When there are enemies around? After a good bath? Wait, you don’t like baths, so that’s impossible. When the weather’s not too hot or too cold? When you’re… tired?”
Zoro says nothing, which clues Sanji enough that none of what he had listed are right. He makes a slight frown. “Shit. I actually got no fucking clue. You’re notorious for being able to sleep off anything so I’m not sure if anything matters at all.”
“It’s not really something that’ll make me sleep better or something like that. It’s something that makes it more… pleasant. Good. Nice.”
“Nice, huh…?” Sanji furrows his brows, looking back at Zoro with a scowl. “I seriously don’t want to hear something like a good booze before sleeping as an answer.”
“Nothing like that,” Zoro chuckles, “s’not about something that I do.”
He adjusts the position of his head so it can sit better on Sanji’s lap, which prompts Sanji to softly brush his fingers through his short-cropped hair. He’s either thinking hard on what the answer might be or has given up entirely, because he doesn’t say anything else for a while, though he doesn’t stop himself from stroking Zoro’s hair. Maybe he thinks doing so will help him find the answer.
When Sanji’s movement suddenly lurches into a halt, Zoro knows he has figured it out.
“Seriously?” Sanji says, almost in disbelief. “This?”
Zoro mumbles something akin to an affirmative grunt.
“Oh, you pampered bastard,” he gives him a flick on his forehead, though Zoro easily catches the affectionate tone behind his voice. “You sure know how to be sappy and annoying at the same time.”
“You like it.”
He nuzzles his face to the soft, cushiony texture of Sanji’s shirt – the familiar scent of spices, cigarettes, and the cook’s perfume greeting him as he inhales. Sanji lets out an exasperated huff, but nonetheless gently lays his hand back on Zoro’s head.
“You know, you’re just like a cat. A dumb and lazy cat who only likes to sleep and train all day. Oh, and invading my personal space just so you can take a damn nap.”
“Shaddup. This cat will tear you to pieces if you keep annoying him.”
“I think I have a hunch on why you don’t tell Chopper and Brook about this 'favorite spot’ of yours,” Sanji grins. “It’s 'cause you’re territorial.”
Zoro scowls, his arm automatically circling around Sanji’s narrow waist. “If I tell them they’ll just get curious and try to do the same. I don’t like sharing what’s mine.”
“Heh. Yours, huh?” Sanji makes a low chuckle.
“Yeah. Got a problem, cook? I’m your shitty cat, too.”
“Yeah yeah, damn spoiled cat.”
They soon fall into a companionable silence; the gentle creaking of the Sunny and the sound of crashing waves are the only things keeping them company. Sanji has come back to comb his fingers through his hair again, earning him a soft, approving hum (that Sanji secretly decides sounds a lot like a purr). He would drift off slightly to trace the scar running through the swordsman’s eye, sometimes to the three identical earrings that let out a soft chime as his fingers brush against them.
As Sanji continues letting him stay on his lap, added with the quiet, peaceful atmosphere surrounding them, Zoro finds himself dozing off in no time.