#the original idea was gonna be sanji basically self sabotages after whole cake and acts like he doesnt love zoro anymore

[fruityumbrella]

PLEASE do tell about your time travel wip :)

god i love a time travel fic, theyre always so fun, esp when its pre-relationship characters meeting their future established-relationship selves. i think theres enough really really good fics of that nature already out there though, so my one is actually the opposite! a sanji from six years in the future gets devil-fruit-ed back to the merry, where he and zoro are still together. the initial idea focused on the present timeline and zoro trying to stop the breakup before it happens, but i found exploring what could cause them to break up and the fallout of that + going back to your present after having just seen how much love you used to have more interesting. snapshot of said breakup:

Zoro flinches. He presses back in almost as quickly, kissing Sanji again in the hopes of distracting him. It’s too late, though. He’s already been putting it off too long. Sanji pulls away. “I just need some time,” Zoro says with frustration. He grips Sanji's arms to keep him from retreating further.  “Zoro…” “I'm not used to it, that's all, I just need a little more time, Cook!” Desperation curls at the edges of his voice and Sanji feels so much worse.  “We can't keep doing this. It's messing with everyone now.” “I love you.” “I—” A deep breath. Recenter. No distractions. “You know it's not about that. You resent me.” “The fuck I do.” “Maybe not yet, but you will. I understand, too, I—” “It wasn't your fault.” “It doesn't matter! Don’t fucking patronise me! We both know it doesn't matter how it happened, just that it happened. I don't want you to hate me. I don't want to fester in this for years, your resentment and my guilt, and the only thing we have left is bitter and ugly. We deserve better than that. You need to let me go.” “I lo—” “Let me go, Zoro. We can come back from this, for the crew, as crew, but only if we stop now,” he does a poor job of keeping his voice even. His next words are a pleading whisper. “Don't make me hate you.” Zoro blinks once and the wet sheen in his eye is gone. His mouth is a hard line when he nods, short and jerky. He lets Sanji go. It's the worst thing he's had to feel in his entire adult life.