Title: The Old Couch

Author: Plaid Voodoo Doll

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Yeah. The end.

Pairing: ZoroxSanji

Summary: Zoro kind of misses the old coach in the boy's cabin and all the little perks that came with it. Some simple ZoSan fluff.

A/N: I kinda miss the couch too.

There were times when Zoro actually missed that ratty old couch on the Going Merry. Its lumpy cushions, its faint dirty guy smell, and its being the only soft-ish surface in the room. He could remember clearly the amount of nights he spent on the hardwood floors. He would dream of the night it would be his turn to sleep on the couch.

It was slightly ridiculous to think of it as his turn though. It would be more like 'our' turn. As in he and Sanji. He wasn't quite sure how the skinny chef managed it, but he always scooted under the covers with him. Of course, when it was Sanji's turn he never tried to curl up with the cook, simply because it wasn't his turn.

He was perfectly happy to share. Sanji would sometimes tremble when he had a nightmare and cling desperately to Zoro, as if the swordsman could fend off what ever it was that attacked the cook in his subconscious.

That old couch was what he was thinking about on this particular night. He wasn't quite sure why. He lay in his little bed, an arm let to hang over the side, his blanket half on, half off of him. The air was cool and stale. Occasionally a soft breeze made its way in through the vent, ruffling hair and sheets and bringing with it that unmistakable smell of sea and man.

He sighed and shifted in his bed, the mattress creaking beneath his weight. Not far off he heard another mattress creak. He heard the soft patter of footsteps as they neared his bed. A shadowy, sheet draped figure leaned over him. "You awake, shit-head?" The voice which spoke shook, despite the obvious attempt at sounding perfectly normal.

"Mmmhmm," Zoro replied.

"Move over." He complied, moving over in his small bed while the person curled into him. He brought an arm around the blonde's slender waist as he pressed a soft, comforting kiss to the top of his head. In his arms the cook seemed to be unable to stop trembling.

"What's wrong?" Zoro's deep, growling voice woke Sanji up from his stupor for a moment.

"Nothing."

"Like hell nothing's wrong." Sanji hadn't initiated any sort of innocent night time intimacy since the couch on Going Merry. The figure in his arms shifted, pressing himself closer. "Tell me..."

A few minutes of quiet consideration and then, "All right." Sanji's breath came out hot and uneven against Zoro's neck as he spoke. With each word his shivering worsened. "I had a dream. No, not really a dream... a nightmare. I had a nightmare about.... about you. You were facing some opponent. This opponent never laid a hand on you, and you fought so hard against him. Somehow he was able to slice through your skin with out moving. And you were dying. And in the end, I don't know how he did it, but he took control of me and I... I..."

"Sssssh...," Zoro soothed, his hand lightly rubbing Sanji's back, his thumb tracing little circles as his hand move.

"I killed you..." he finished in a hoarse whisper.

"It was only a dream."

"It felt real."

"But it wasn't. I'm right here."

"Mmmm...." Sanji wasn't crying, but it was obvious that this dream upset him.

"This reminds me," Zoro began, trying to distract the blonde, "Of back when we had that old couch, in the old cabin."

"On Merry?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because you always used to come crying to me like this in the middle of the night."

"Shut up, marimo." Sanji feebly kicked him the in the shin. The shaking had stopped.

"It's true."

"I hated sleeping on the floor."

"It had nothing to do with me then."

"Nope, you conceited bastard," Sanji growled, his body relaxing.

"Humph."

They lay in complete silence for a short amount of time, or at least as quiet as the other snoring bodies would allow. "How come you never joined me?"

"Hmmm?"

"On the old couch. When it was my turn."

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

"Mmmm.... Your feet are cold."

"Well, sorry!" Sanji tried to stand up, but Zoro's arms held him fast. "Let go shit-head!"

"No... I never joined you because... I knew you wouldn't get any sleep if I did." He nuzzled the blonde's pale neck, earning a more placatory Sanji. He knew the man would be blushing. Too bad it was too dark to see.

"Baka."