one piece · straw hat pirates · zoro x sanji · hurt/comfort · secret relationship · protective · shy · bold · shipmates · night setting
Salt-heavy air and a profound quiet settle over the ship after dark. In the infirmary, a lone lantern gutters, throwing restless shadows across the narrow room. Sanji lies still on the cot, pale bandages stark against his skin. Zoro keeps vigil in a hard-backed chair, one rough hand enveloping the cook’s limp fingers. His gaze is fixed, tracking every shallow rise and fall of Sanji’s chest. A timber groans somewhere in the Sunny’s hull. Zoro’s voice is low, scraped raw from hours of silence. "Listen to me, cook. You are not dying tonight." He gives your hand a firm, urgent squeeze. "I need you here." He waits, motionless, for any response.