Author's Note: Well guys, it has been well over a year, but here I am. With a bunch of cute little one shots featuring kid!Zoro and everyone's favorite big brother, Sanji-san. I hope you all enjoy and hopefully I'll see you all with another story sometime soon!

1. The Six Rules of Sanji-san's Kitchen

Sanji longs desperately for a cigarette. But, since he isn't allowed to smoke in the infirmary and isn't allowed to smoke around children - ie one Roronoa Zoro - he's in for a rough day. Zoro sniffles softly as Chopper unwraps the makeshift bandage from around the little marimo's waist and frowns at the dried blood.

"Oh, Zoro," Chopper whispers, ears back. "What happened?"

Zoro refuses to look at Chopper, his eyes glued to his shoes, only moving to wipe his tears away.

"Zoro," Sanji says evenly. "Please, tell Chopper what happened."

A few rushed breaths leave the little boy's chest. "I-I-I did-didn't mean t-to."

Sanji lets out a long breath. Across the room, Zoro flinches.

"I know you didn't mean to do it, Zoro." Sanji works to keep his voice calm and soft. "But, Chopper wants to know how it happened."

Zoro hunkers himself in his shoulders again, hiding his eyes from Sanji. "I swear, I di-didn't mean to, San-Sanji-san."

Chopper's ears stay firmly against his head. Sadness lingers in his eyes as he looks at the deep cut across Zoro's abdomen. "Zoro, this is really deep. What did you cut yourself with?"

Zoro dissolves into a wave of fresh tears. Sanji lets out another sigh. This is going to take far longer than he hoped it would. And the sinking sensation in his chest tells him that he won't like Zoro's answer.

"Chopper, does he need stitches?" Sanji asks.

The small doctor nods. "This is really deep."

"Alright." Slowly, Sanji walks over and takes a seat on the bed beside Zoro. "Come here, little marimo. Chopper needs to fix this."

Zoro allows himself to be pulled into Sanji's lap, still crying heavily but quietly. Soft apologies spill past the small boy's lips even as Chopper begins to stitch the wound. Out of deck, Sanji hears Nami yelling at Usopp and Luffy for not watching the young boy more closely. Though, Sanji can't really blame them for what happened. Not that he can tell Nami that. The young marimo has no intentions of staying with Luffy or Usopp and Nami never should have insisted on the boy leaving the kitchen.

She had the best of intentions, Sanji knew. The beautiful Nami-swan would never cause trouble of her own will. As she told Sanji when she'd waved Zoro onto the deck, she would hate for the small boy to be in his way. If Sanji tripped over the little boy, it could hurt both of them. Or, if Zoro got curious and grabbed a hot plate or a knife fell, it would end in disaster. Which, it has.

Sanji hadn't wanted to argue with Nami and Zoro spending time with the rest of the crew couldn't be a bad thing, but the little marimo simply sits on his chair and watches Sanji cook from the one spot. And he knows the rules of the kitchen. No touching the stove or oven. No running. And absolutely no touching Sanji-san's knives. Three rules that Zoro repeats every time he steps into the kitchen.

Next time, Sanji decides, listening to Zoro's stifled sobs, he's just going to tell Nami that Zoro is to stay in the kitchen, where he's safe.

"There," Chopper says softly. "Now, I just need to bandage the stitches. Sit still, okay, Zoro?"

The little marimo's head moves in a nod against Sanji's chest. Slowly, Sanji runs a hand through Zoro's mossy green locks. To his surprise, the young boy flinches under the touch. It's been almost a week - almost as long as he's been a child - since Zoro flinched at Sanji's touch. Everyone else, Zoro remains wary around. But Sanji has been bestowed the exclusive honor of being Zoro's safety net.

Or, at least he thought he was Zoro's safety net. Clearly, something more is going on here. Zoro's hiding something. And Sanji prays it isn't another injury. Hearing Luffy shout about Zoro bleeding had given him enough of a heart attack for one day.

"You're all set now, Zoro," Chopper says patiently. "But, the next time you get hurt, you have to come straight to me, alright? You could have made this a lot worse if we hadn't found out about it. You could have gotten an infection and made yourself really sick."

"I-I'm s-s-sorry, Chopper-san," Zoro stutters around his sniffles.

"It's okay." Chopper gives Zoro a small smile. "We know that you didn't mean to do anything bad, but you should never hide your injuries. It's really, really important that you tell a doctor when you get hurt or sick, okay?"

"Okay, Chopper-san."

Chopper smiles at the small boy and then looks up at Sanji. "He should be just fine, Sanji. But don't let him run around. He could pull his stitches. I'll look at it again in a few days. But, if he feels any additional pain or starts to get sick, let me know, right away."

"Of course, Chopper." Sanji smiles at the doctor and picks up the new shirt Robin had been kind enough to drop off for Zoro. "Hear that, little marimo? If you feel any extra pain or feel sick, you let us know right away, alright?"

"Okay, Sanji-san."

Zoro allows Sanji to maneuver his shirt on and pick him up. The young boy curls himself against Sanji, hands fisted in his suit coat and face buried in Sanji's shoulder.

"What do we tell Chopper?" Sanji asks softly, looking down at the boy trying to hide himself in Sanji's chest.

"Thank you, Chopper-san." Zoro's voice is muffled against Sanji's shoulder.

"You're welcome, Zoro," Chopper replies, voice happy despite the sad frown on his face. "Come see me anytime you don't feel good, okay?"

Zoro simply nods. Sanji stands, keeping the young boy tucked into his chest, and makes his way onto the deck again. Franky and Brook have fled the deck, hiding away from the scene on deck. Robin sits in her chair, basking in the sun and reading her newest book. And Luffy and Usopp cower beneath the rage of Nami.

"How could you idiots even think about turning your back on a child? A child! I thought you would be responsible enough - I thought you would care enough to make sure that Zoro didn't do anything stupid and injure himself. What is wrong with you two?" Nami's screeches draw a whimper for Zoro and the young boy tries to hide himself further in Sanji's chest.

"I'm sorry, Sanji-san," Zoro hiccups softly.

"You're alright, Zoro," Sanji whispers, rubbing the boy's back. "I've got you. You're safe. Nami-san!"

His call does manage to stop Nami's rant. It also pulls all eyes to him an Zoro. Luffy and Usopp scramble up, rushing over to crowd Sanji and his precious cargo.

"Oi, oi, is Zoro alright?" Luffy asks.

"What happened?" Usopp presses himself closer, trying to get a look at the terrified boy's face. "How did he hurt himself? That was a lot of blood!"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Luffy agrees. "What did Zoro cut himself on?"

Sanji throws his leg out, catching Luffy in the chest. The captain slams into Usopp and both of them skid back across the deck.

"Don't crowd him," Sanji snaps. "You've upset him enough. He's fine. No thanks to you morons!"

"Oh, come on, Sanji," Usopp whines. "We didn't mean it."

"Oi! You can't kick me like that, Sanji. I'm your captain." Despite the light air of Luffy's tone, Sanji can tell that he's a little miffed at being kicked away from his injured crewmate.

"I couldn't give two damns what you meant, shithead," Sanji growls.

Zoro whimpers, hands tightening around Sanji's coat. Closing his eyes, Sanji breathes deeply and tries to calm himself. Zoro is already worked up and he doesn't need his safety net yelling. God, Sanji used to hate it when people yelled. It had taken him a long time to get used Zeff yelling.

"It's alright, little marimo," Sanji whispers. "I've got you. You're safe. Come on. We'll go into the kitchen, alright?"

Zoro nods against his chest.

Sanji shoots a warning glare in Luffy and Usopp's direction, silently warning them not to come near the small boy, before he heads to the kitchen. Zoro continues to sniffle as Sanji lowers him into his chair, brushing a few tears from Zoro's cheeks. The young boy breathes deeply, each exhale shaking.

"Alright, Zoro, we're alright. You're safe in here with me. Just you and me. Chopper said your wound isn't too bad and as long as you don't feel sick, you're absolutely fine. Deep breathes with me, okay, Zoro?"

Zoro follows his example, flinching when he takes in a deep breath and rubbing his chest. Sanji frowns.

"Does it hurt a lot, Zoro?"

"No, Sanji-San."

"Are you sure? I can ask Chopper to give you something to help with the pain."

"I'm okay, Sanji-san. And, and, and I'm really sorry."

Sanji's lips twitch sadly and he reaches out to run a hand through Zoro's hair. "I know you are, Zoro. And I know you got a little scared when you hurt yourself, but I think it's really important that you tell me how you hurt yourself, alright?"

Zoro's face screws up and panic builds in Sanji's chest. No more tears. God, he can't take watching Zoro cry again.

"Alright, alright," Sanji says quickly. "You don't have to tell me, Zoro. It's alright."

Tears spill over Zoro's cheeks but he swallows his sobs and nods.

"Just, whatever it was, whatever happened, promise me you won't do it again. I don't ever want you to get hurt like this, Zoro. It was very scary."

"I'm sorry, Sanji-san. I really am."

"I know, little marimo. But, I still need you to know how important it is for you to find us when you're hurt, okay? So, we're gonna have a fourth rule, now. Rule number four, you always come tell Sanji-san or Chopper-san when you're hurt. Okay?"

Zoro nods, rubbing his face free of tears.

"Tell me the four rules."

"R-rule number one, no running. Rule number t-two, no touching the stove. Rule number three, n-n-no touch. No touching Sanji-san's knives. Rule number four, alway go to tell Sanji-san or Chopper-san when I get hurt."

Sanji smiles. "Good job, Zoro. That's very good."

Zoro's lips twitch in a watery smile.

"I'm going to start dinner, little marimo." Fear flashes through Zoro's eyes and Sanji rushes to speak before the young boy can panic. "But I'd like for you to stay here with me, alright? You stay in your chair while I cook. Does that sound good to you?"

Relief flows from Zoro. "Hai, please Sanji-san. I wanna stay with you."

Sanji nods.

The fish isn't quite finished cooking when the kitchen door flies open. Sanji spins, prepared to find Luffy or Usopp - and yell at them for being morons - but finds Nami instead. The beautiful navigator stands in the doorway, face scrunched in anger, with Zoro's precious white sword in her grasp. Blinking in surprise, Sanji takes in the scene. A stain of red on Wado's scabbard catches Sanji's eye and realization breaks through his mind. His heart stops.

Across the room, Zoro lets out a whimper and leaps from his chair, throwing himself into Sanji's legs. Nami's angry eyes follow the small child as he clings to Sanji, trying desperately to hide from the navigator.

"Zoro," Nami says. "What is this?"

"Nami-san," Sanji interrupts, trying to keep his voice polite but firm. "Please leave Wado on the table. I can talk to Zoro about it."

"You're busy, Sanji-kun," Nami says dismissively. "I can talk to Zoro."

The little marimo breaks into sobs, both his arms wrapping around Sanji's leg. The anger fades from Nami's face, replaced by concerned alarm. She takes a step further into the room, her intentions so pure and good, Sanji knows. She only wants to comfort the boy. The guilt over scaring him pours off of her. But she can only make it worse. Something about Nami's presence always makes it worse for Zoro.

Sanji manages to shake his leg loose and turns to scoop Zoro into his arms. Sobbing wildly, Zoro buries his nose in Sanji's collarbone and clings to him, trying to hide himself from Nami's view.

"Nami-san," Sanji says again. He hugs Zoro as tightly has he dares with the little marimo's injury. "Please leave Wado on the table. Zoro and I will talk about it."

Disappointment and a slight hurt cover Nami's face. "Sanji-kun, I really think-"

"I don't mean to interrupt you, Nami-san." Sanji loves Nami, he does. She is intelligent, loving, beautiful, and every other positive adjective anyone could possibly think of. But right now, she's frustrating him to no end. And he would never dare snap at one of the lovely ladies aboard the Thousand Sunny, but with Zoro sobbing in his ear, Sanji needs Nami out. "But, please allow me to handle this. We'll be fine. Dinner will be ready soon."

With one last glance between Zoro and Sanji, Nami places Wado on the table and vanishes. Zoro's sobs do not vanish with her. The small boy is in near hysterics and absolutely refuses to let Sanji pull away from him. Each time he manages to remove one of Zoro's arms from around his neck, the other one returns. Whatever about Nami makes him so nervous has absolutely terrified Zoro this time.

"It's alright, Zoro." Finally, Sanji brings Zoro back to his chair, sitting both of them in it and rubs the small boy's back. "It's alright, little marimo. Let it out. You're safe here with me."

By some stroke of luck, Zoro calms his sobs before the fish burns. He manages to get dinner settled with the young boy on his hip before Zoro allows himself to be put down. Sanji squats down in front of Zoro's chair, stroking back his hair with a small smile.

"There you are, little marimo. Are you feeling better now?"

"Y-yes, San-San-Sanji-san," Zoro stutters.

"Deep breath, Zoro. You're alright."

Zoro pulls in a deep, shaking breath.

"Zoro, listen to what I have to say very closely, alright?" Sanji waits for Zoro to nod before he continues. "No matter what happens, no matter what you tell me, I will not be angry with you. Nothing you do could ever make me angry with you, alright?" Again, he waits for Zoro to nod. "Did you cut yourself playing with this sword?"

"N-no, Sanji-san. I-I-I wasn't p-pl-playing. I just w-w-wanted to look."

Sanji nods slowly. "Okay. You weren't playing with the sword, but you did cut yourself on the sword?"

Tears swim in Zoro's eyes. "Yes, Sanji-san."

Sanji nods. "Okay. How did you cut yourself on it? You didn't do it on purpose, did you?"

"No, Sanji-san. I just wanted to see what the b-blade looked like. It-it's really h-heav-heavy. It slipped. I'm s-so-sorry, Sanji-San."

"I know you are, Zoro. And you aren't in trouble this time, because I think you learned your lesson all on your own, huh?"

Zoro nods, tears escaping softly.

"What's the lesson, Zoro?"

"Not t-to touch sharp things."

Sanji smiles. "That's right, little marimo. You should have come and gotten me. I would have showed you what the blade looked like."

"Nami-san, Nami-san said I-I couldn't bother you."

Sanji sighs and nods. "Nami-san thought that I needed an empty kitchen to cook. And sometimes I do. But, you, little marimo could never bother me. Anytime you need anything, you can come get me. You might have to wait a few minutes, but I will always show you the things you want to see. And, you are never a bother. You're always welcome in my kitchen, Zoro. And I'll make sure to tell Nami-san that, so we don't have another misunderstanding."

Zoro scrubs a hand across his face again nods. Sanji leans forward to kiss the crown of Zoro's head.

"Good." Sanji's eyes move to the sword on the table and he lets out a long breath. "Now, before we eat, we need to clean this sword, alright?"

"Yosh." Zoro leans a little closer to the table. "Is it your sword, Sanji-san?"

"No, I don't use swords, Zoro. Cooks should never risk their hands."

"Is it Brook-san's?"

"No. It's another one of our nakama's. He isn't here right now, but he'll be back soon."

Hopefully before Sanji either dies of a heart attack or a broken heart. Somehow a fully grown Zoro is less of a hazard than his child counterpart.

"Is he going to be mad at me?" Fear shines in Zoro's eyes.

Sanji opens his arms for the young boy and Zoro lunges to him. "No, little marimo. He won't be angry with you." Which might be a lie. The grown Zoro would most certainly be upset to learn that someone had handled a sword so recklessly. And that they'd gotten blood on his most precious sword. "But, he might give you a lecture on how to safely handle a sword."

"Really? Do you think he'll teach me how?"

"You want to learn how to use a sword, little marimo?"

Zoro nods. "I met a swordsman, once. Everyone in town wanted to be friends with him. He was the strongest person I ever met before you. And, when I grow up, I'm going to be strong like him, Sanji-san. I'm going to be the strongest swordsman in the whole world. And then people will want me around."

If Sanji ever finds who hurt his little swordsman, he might have to kick them, full force, in the head. "I'm sure you're going to be the greatest swordsman in the world, little marimo. But, I think you should know, that no matter what, I will always want you to be my nakama."

Zoro beams at Sanji, hugging him tightly. "I always want you to be my nakama too, Sanji-san. And when I get big, I can protect you, like you protect me."

"I'm sure you will, Zoro. Now, come on. You and I are going to go get the cleaning kit for Wado."

Zoro nods, laying his head Sanji's shoulder as Sanji stands. "Sanji-san?"

"Hai?"

"My chest hurts."

"I'm sure it does, little one. We'll go see Chopper and see if we can get you some medicine, alright? Thank you for telling me, Zoro. That's a great job, following rule number four."

He feels Zoro smile against his neck. "I'm gonna remember all five rules really well, Sanji-san."

"Oh? And what are the five rules?"

"Rule number one, no running. Rule number two, no touching the stove. Rule number three, no touching Sanji-san's knives. Rule number four, always go to tell Sanji-san or Chopper-san when I get hurt. Rule number five, always ask Sanji-san when I want to touch something."

"Rule number six," Sanji adds, opening the kitchen door. "Little marimos are always allowed in the kitchen."

The smile Sanji receives shines brighter than the sun. "I'll remember that one too, Sanji-san."

"I'm sure you will, little marimo."