Sanji was asleep, the washrag covering his eyes, when hunger brought Zoro back below deck. Sunlight streamed through the window, cutting in at a high angle, highlighting Sanji's profile. He had shed Zoro's shirt, which caused Zoro an odd pang when he saw it in a heap on the floor.
Zoro left it where it lay and went over to the icebox. It was more leftover vegetable soup for a meal. He put the pot on the stove, added a little water, and turned on the burner. Stirring it with the ladle, he wondered if Sanji could eat actual food now, or if he was supposed to stick to broth. He should've asked Dr. Cleft.
"What smells like shit?"
"My soup does not smell like shit."
"That's soup?"
Zoro glanced over his shoulder, as he fetched a glass. "Don't move," he ordered.
Sanji finished sitting up and shot him a glare. "Don't tell me what to do."
"I can and I will. You're gonna stay there and rest until Chopper says otherwise." Zoro filled the glass with water, dumped a measure of powdered medicine into it, and stirred.
"Make me," Sanji said, pushing to his feet.
Zoro crossed the cabin and poked him lightly in the chest. Sanji fell back onto the bench seat as if Zoro had shoved him hard. Smirking, Zoro held out the glass.
Sanji looked like he wanted to knock it out of Zoro's hand, but he finally took it and drank the contents down. Zoro had explained the medicine the evening prior, when he'd given it to Sanji for the first time since he'd regained semi-normal function.
Taking the empty glass, Zoro waited until Sanji sat back and folded his arms with a huff before putting the glass in the sink. "How long until we get there?" Sanji demanded to know.
Zoro shrugged, taking two bowls out of the cabinet. "Later today, maybe. Or tomorrow. I was told it's four days between islands, but that's if we'd sailed nonstop."
"Why the hell didn't you?"
"Because your skinny ass was cold every night," Zoro said with a pointed look.
Pink bloomed on Sanji's pale cheeks and he averted his eyes, but still, he growled, "Tell anyone and you're dead."
"Like I'd want anyone to know," Zoro scoffed. He dished soup into the bowls and gave the one that was mostly broth to Sanji.
Sanji made a face after eating some of the soup. "You call this food?"
"It's edible, ain't it?"
"Barely." Sanji had another sip from the broth and grimaced. "And that's giving it too much praise."
Leaning against the navigation desk, Zoro ate a bite. It tasted fine to him. "Not all of us are snooty chefs with snobby palates."
Sanji's curled eyebrow arched. "Since when did you know what a palate was?"
"Since I've had to listen to you bitch about my common one as long as I've known you."
Sanji continued arguing with him as they ate, which was relievingly normal. Zoro rubbed in the fact that, for all his complaining, Sanji finished his bowlful. Drowsiness thickened Sanji's voice while Zoro washed the dishes, and by the time Zoro returned with the empty and rinsed piss-pot, Sanji was asleep again.
Four Head Island appeared off the port side as the sun was just touching the horizon. Four atolls spiked the long island, waves crashing against the base of the reddish rock. The wreckage of crashed ships dotted the black sandy beaches and floated in the surf. Zoro counted five masts spearing through the surface of the sea, marking the graves of sailors sunk with their ships. Weathered docks, with a few small sailing vessels tied up, bobbed with the rolling water. Feeble men armed with farming tools and crude weapons gathered as Zoro brought the ketch into a berth.
Zoro jumped nimbly onto the dock and tied off the ketch. Like on Chin Island, the locals were welcoming once they saw who he was.
"Roronoa Zoro, we've been expecting you," the spokesperson, a lanky, grizzled old man who went by the name of Massie said, clasping Zoro's hand. "We cannot thank the Straw Hat pirates enough for what you have done for us."
Zoro felt awkward, since he hadn't been present for the fight. "It was nothing."
"Nothing!" Massie said. "We've been under the thumbs of those slavers for seven years! No, your nakama freed us from our wretched existence and gave us hope again. How can we repay you?"
"Uh, if you just point out where the Merry is moored…"
"They were chased off three days ago by the Marines." Massie scowled fiercely. "Those bastards finally show up after the fighting's been done to try and arrest the real heroes."
"You mean, they're not here?" Zoro couldn't believe it. He'd missed the others by three days. If he'd sailed through the night from Chin Island, he and Sanji would've been back in time. "Great. Just great."
"We will be happy to provide you with any supplies you need, so that you may leave to catch up with them," Massie said.
Zoro rubbed his forehead and resigned himself to having to spend more time with just Sanji. "You got a doctor on this rock?"
"Yes, of course." Massie's broad forehead wrinkled in concern. "May I ask what ails you?"
"An annoying pest.