Everything went as planned as Sanji and Zoro lined up aliases and got Luffy under control. Sanji talked to everyone at Peach and figured out a good story which payed off because a couple days later when Sanji showed up at the bar they said some police officers had stopped by to ask them a few questions. Robin said they also stopped by her place and Sanji had to triple check to make sure she was okay.

As for Luffy, well, he was much harder to deal with. Zoro bribed him with food but once he finished eating his mind was on Ace. They tried to explain to him Ace's situation but it went right over his head. So, they opted to telling Luffy that Ace would be coming home and that if Luffy left the house he would be missing his arrival. This kept him at bay and any other stirrings he had were coaxed away by food.

Zoro and Sanji accepted any job that came their way, desperate for money because most of it was now being burned on Luffy's crazy eating habits. And, as Smoker had jokingly said, they did help some old ladies cross the street, along with helping them shop for groceries and other simple tasks for some money. Sanji even offered to work a couple nights at Peach, which Zoro refused, but it was still an option.

Overall, business as usual.

"Food," Zoro grumbled, walking into the kitchen with a bottle of sake in his hand. He sat down at the kitchen table, opening the bottle and filling up his guinomi.

"It's before dinner, you know?" Sanji irked, sighing then after."Hold on, I'll make you some sakana."

Zoro grunted back, downing his sake and moving to fill up another cup."I'm going to Mihawk's after this," Zoro mumbled, downing another cup.

Sanji stopped what he was doing, turning to Zoro."Why?"

"To fight, what else?"

"No, no, no, not now. This isnt the best time to be doing stuff like that," Sanji rushed, attempting to get his point across. These "fights" Mihawk and Zoro had were not the most lawful things. Zoro would stop at nothing to beat Mihawk, since he was his own personal goal strength wise, which meant that buildings and even people could be hurt in this process and that was a no go right now.

"It's fine. The police are okay with him fighting," Zoro said nonchalantly.

"Right now is not a good time, do it later," Sanji argued back, going back to preparing food.

"I told him I was coming," Zoro strained, sounding like he was finally giving in.

"How?" Sanji questioned. They didn't have his number and even if they did, they probably wouldn't be able to call him since Sanji was sure they had both run out of minutes on their crappy prepaid phones.

"Perona found me."

"Ah..." Sanji sighed, feeling Zoro's unrest."Well I'm sure he's heard about the investigation. He'll understand." Zoro just grunted back."Here's some kaki-pi, I'll be done with the salted squid soon so wait just a bit." Another grunt.

There was a knock at the door, and Sanji didn't even bother to ask Zoro to answer it, knowing the swordsman wouldn't budge. He opened the door to find Trafalgar Law, pro surgeon with a shitty attitude. Zoro and Sanji weren't to fond of him but Luffy liked him so they put up with his attitude.

"Hello, Blackleg-ya," Law said, sword clutched in one hand, large bag in the other. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Zoro perk up, feeling his discomfort.

"Lets skip the pleasantries," Sanji said, blocking off his entrance into their home in case he tried to sneak inside."Why are you here?"

Law stared at Sanji, as if debating his options, and then sighed."Doflamingo if after me again, so I need a place to stay for a couple days."

"No way you're staying here," Sanji scoffed, starting to close the door on him."Go stay with Luffy or some of your other friends."

Law put his foot out, keeping the door open."To predictable," he said."I'll pay you so let me stay."

Sanji stopped closing the door, suddenly swinging it open and ushering Law inside. He took his bag and set in on the couch, sitting him in the seat across from Zoro."You're always welcome in our home, Law-chan!" Sanji smiled, moving into the kitchen."The salted squid is almost done, but in the meantime would you like some sake? I'm sure Zoro-chan would be happy to share with you!"

Both men visibly shivered."No way," Zoro growled, eyeing Law and grabbing his sake bottle protectively.

Law eyed him back."I'm fine, thank you."

X

"Oi marimo, doctor, food's on!" Sanji shouted from the kitchen, moving to pull out an extra chair for himself. It was more like a stool if anything.

The two men wandered in quietly, making Sanji wonder what they had been doing previously. Well, that was just part of their personalities.

Sanji set down their food."Here, steak diane."

Sanji made a portion for himself, sitting down on his stool and starting to eat. He looked to Law, who seemed to think the meal was at least edible, and then to Zoro, who was just staring at his plate with an odd expression on his face.

Sanji looked at him quizzically."What's wrong, Zoro? I thought you didn't like us always eating Japanese, so I changed it up a bit."

Zoro huffed back."Don't do unnecessary things, cook."

The rest of the meal was silent, Zoro finishing his portion quickly and exiting though the front door directly after to go on a "walk", which clearly meant something else. Sanji hoped he wasn't about to stir up trouble with Mihawk.

Sanji cleaned up while Law pulled out some papers and put them on the table, most likely medical documents. When Sanji finished he wiped his hands, sitting across from Law and pulling out his pack of cigarettes.

"Is it okay for you to be gone from the hospital for this long?" he asked, letting out a puff of smoke.

"Yeah, it's fine," Law said back."I just used up some of my vacation days."

"I see." Another puff of smoke filled the air.

Law peered at Sanji and then went back to looking at his papers."What's going on with you and Zoro-ya? I've been feeling a lot of tension between the two of you."

Of course Law would notice it, he was a doctor after all.

"Who knows," Sanji mused, blowing out some smoke."He's been leaving abruptly like that for awhile now. He doesn't talk to me as much either, and when he does, it's always like he wants to stop as soon as he starts."

"It's not just Zoro-ya," Law said, finally looking up to eye Sanji."You have also been acting strange."

"Have I?" Sanji said with a laugh. God, he really didn't want to talk about this.

"It's not good to hold back, Sanji-ya," Law said seriously, halting Sanji's laughter."Doing so will only make things harder in the future."

Damn perceptive bastard. Why did he have to go saying stuff like that now of all times? This is why people thought he was creepy.

"Well I don't have much of a choice, doctor," Sanji said, stubbing his cigarette."Because if I act on my urges I'll probably be killed."

Guinomi (ぐい呑) - a popular type of sake cup. Most often made of porcelain and earthenware, guinomi is appreciated as a less formal way to drink and enjoy sake. It is slightly larger than a ochoko (another type of sake cup) and usually has a rough texture which is perfect for hot sake.
Sakana (肴) - Japanese drinking snacks. It can also be referred to as otsumami or tsumami. Sakana is traditionally used as food to accompany sake and is usually salty and comes in small portions. Some popular/well known sakana are edamame and dried fish.
Sake (酒) - Japanese rice wine. It's made from fermented rice through a brewing process that converts starch to alcohol much like how beer is made. Sake can be poured cold, room temperature, or hot and has been considered the national drink of Japan.
Kaki-pi (柿ピー、柿の種) - a mixture of half moon shaped senbei (rice crackers) and peanuts. The crackers are usually salty and soy sauce flavored.