zosan is so...hnnghh...trauma of being neglected x trauma of being abused.
zoro who doesn't normally form close bonds with anyone because they can be lost in an instant and he has no control over it. because people turn on you, people leave, people die. zoro who grew up alone on the streets until he joined the dojo, where he was housed and fed and trained but not held, not loved, truly. zoro who doesn't try to be pleasant because he doesn't think anyone will like him anyway. zoro who insists he can do everything by himself. zoro who's been villified and hated and shunned his whole adult life. (zoro who still wants the world to know his name.) zoro who tries to keep others away from him so they don't get hurt, even if it makes him desperately lonely. zoro who works and works to become the best protector possible so that he won't lose the few people who actually care to be around him. zoro who acts tough and stoic but caves to undying devotion in an instant when given a chance at a family.
sanji who resists love like a stray dog biting and scratching at every outstretched hand. sanji who insists on being the giver of care and never the receiver, because to receive is to owe, and to owe is to be vulnerable. sanji who's aggressive and uptight and always making sure everyone knows he can hold his own and not get pushed around. (and yet, sanji who is so so eager to please because if he can't please he's not useful and if he's not useful he's not safe.) sanji who's terrified of being weak, being easy for men to take advantage of. sanji who's terrified of being too strong, lest he become the one taking advantage. sanji who hides his past, hides everything he can. sanji who fakes endless smiles just to keep the attention off of him. sanji who will work and serve and die for anyone who so much as treats him like a person. sanji whose every action is a fight, flight, or fawn response.
zoro, who would never let his loved ones go unprotected. sanji, who would never let his loved ones' needs stay unmet.
zoro who would never let sanji be abused. sanji who would never let zoro be neglected.
