I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
Chapter One: The Engagement Party
Zoro was lost: story of his life.
Here he was, driving all over the place to go to a party he didn't really want to attend. It took him three days to get to Alabasta; for people who are not directionally challenged it would only be a day's worth of driving, but it's Zoro. Plus, he's too stubborn to use a GPS, because that would be admitting he gets lost.
Since, he worked for himself, he could take as much time off as he wanted or needed. This came in handy because he really didn't like flying places and really did prefer to drive. So, he spent Thursday night at a hotel in town and then Friday morning and afternoon getting ready for this damn party. And now he was having trouble finding the place. He had already been driving around for an hour—even though Nami had given him the address and directions.
He was in Alabasta, but just now he drove past a sign that said he was leaving town.
Deciding to get some assistance, Zoro called up his friend, Sabo, who answered after the first ring, "You're lost aren't you?"
He scowled, "Is this place outside of town?"
"Yeah, just off the main road, there is a huge gate—you can't miss it." Sabo snorted, "Well, you could."
Zoro grunted at him, "Shut up, I'll be there soon." He hung up the phone and after a few minutes he finally spotted the large gate described to him.
The long driveway split the perfectly manicured lawn in half. As he reached the place—house doesn't do it justice, its closer to a mansion or perhaps a palace—Zoro was speechless.
The fuck? Is that a fountain in the middle of the driveway?!
As he pulled up to the staircase leading into the mansion, Zoro was delighted to hand over his keys to the valet, who in turn gave him a tag with a number. They drove his car off to wherever they were parking them and Zoro made his way up the stairs. When the heavy double doors were opened for him, Zoro's jaw dropped at the sight of the interior.
Vivi's father's mansion was clearly already expensive as shit, there were marble floors and columns, large paintings and sculptures that seemed to be a part of the foundation of the place. And it was decked out for the party of the century. The guests were even being served appetizers and champagne on round plates that were carried around by waiters. It was obvious the place had been decorated for the occasion of Nami and Vivi's engagement.
The whole place was fancy—not that he expected anything less when it came to Nami and Vivi. They had always been into the nicest and most expensive possessions that money could buy, just one of the many things they had in common. So, it was obvious that when it came to their engagement celebration the same rules would apply. The exterior was just the tip of the iceberg.
He had known Nami, along with Luffy, Ace, Sabo, Usopp, and Robin since they were young kids. They weren't all the same age, Robin was the oldest, then Ace and Sabo, then Zoro, followed by Nami, Usopp, and Luffy. They each left their hometown when they finished high school—to follow their dreams. They all stayed close and saw each other quite often, even though they lived in different places, and he was excited to see them.
Zoro still was feeling overwhelmed and anxious by the extravagance of everything around him. Nami had reminded him several times the party was a black-tie affair. Luckily, he took the time to go out and purchase a tuxedo that would fit him properly in preparation for this party. He actually got one custom-made since he has such unusually large chest and arm measurements.
After the initial shock of the place faded away, Zoro closed his mouth and walked deeper into the mansion. The first room was very large and open with high ceilings, there was a large staircase that split into two at the center of the room, which lead to second level balcony. There was a large chandelier hung from the ceiling that was covered in large crystals and probably expensive—if not priceless. Between the vases filled with red roses and the soft lull of string instruments being played, Zoro found everything to be very intimate and romantic, it was unsettling.
Considering how many wealthy socialites were present, Zoro was grateful he took the time to buy a proper tuxedo. Not that he really cared, Zoro wasn't concerned with impressing any of these people, but he realized he would have stood out even more than he already did with his bright green hair and scar over his eye. The deeper he made his way through the crowd of people, the more uncomfortable he felt. He tried to make his way into the next room in search of someone he knew.
In that next room was a large buffet of food, and Zoro thought it smelled amazing. However, he knew that where there is food, there is Luffy and Ace. And sure enough, the two brothers were making fools of themselves as they stood at a table and stuffed their faces like wild animals. They didn't even bother using a plate and ate straight from the serving trays. People were staring at them and whispering amongst themselves. Zoro decided he would keep looking. He really did not want to willingly let all these people know he was associated with them.
What idiots… How can they act like that in this place?
There was a hum of voices coming from another room, so Zoro decided to head in that direction. He tended to wander around aimlessly until he arrived where he wanted, he wasn't lost.
This next room was very large and had tables set up with vases of red roses at their centers. Almost immediately, Zoro spotted the table his friends were at—thanks to Robin's very large and recognizable boyfriend, Franky. The two had met a few years ago at the college Robin had attended for her masters in anthropology/archeology. Even though Robin was such a serious and no-nonsense person, Franky seemed to bring some laughter into her life and in return she calmed Franky's eccentric personality down.
Zoro began to make his way over to them with a slight smirk on his lips.
Usopp noticed him first, "Oi, oi! It's Zoro!" He waved his arm above his head as his other arm was wrapped around his wife, Kaya. The two had met a couple years ago and got married after only being together for a couple of months. Apparently, they knew they wanted to be together forever early on in their relationship.
"Hey Zoro! Have trouble finding the place?" Sabo smirked at him with a knowing look in his eyes. The woman beside him had orange hair like Nami, only shorter, but Zoro had never met her before. With a lighthearted chuckle, Sabo gestured to her, "This is my girlfriend, Koala."
As Zoro took an empty seat at the table, beside Kid, Luffy's long-time boyfriend, who was talking to Ace's husband, Marco, he realized he was the only one who didn't have a date.
He nodded to Koala, "Nice to meet you. I'm—"
"Zoro." She smiled at him, "I feel like I already know you since Sabo talks about you all so much!"
"How'd you two meet?" He asked out of curiosity, Zoro was used to Sabo being the other single one of their friends, in fact, he was rather surprised to learn he had a girlfriend.
Sabo answered, "We met at the grocery store in the neighborhood a few weeks ago. Koala had just moved to the area and—"
"And Sabo was such a sweetheart~" Koala had a huge smile on her face, "He showed me around and helped me rearrange the furniture in my new place and unpack… Well one thing led to another—"
"Pshh!" Sabo playfully rolled his eyes and turned to Zoro, completely serious he said, "I fell in love the moment I saw her," then he smiled at Koala and placed a swift kiss on her cheek.
Zoro didn't know what to say, so he tried his best to smile and stayed quiet. Then Robin touched his arm, and told him with a sweet smile, "You look very handsome in that tuxedo, Zoro."
He grunted, "It's ridiculous, I can't believe I had to buy it for this party." Zoro wasn't going to admit that he was actually really grateful he bothered to do so.
"I think you look SUPER!" Franky shouted, giving him two thumbs up.
Zoro rolled his eye, he honestly didn't care much how he looked as long as he didn't make a fool of himself. Not that he was prone to do such a thing, unlike Luffy and Ace. Speaking of, "Marco. Kid," Zoro called them out, "What the hell? Do you two not feed those two?"
Kid glared at him, "As if! You should see our grocery bill. The amount of meat alone—" The redhead rubbed his temple in frustration and Marco gave him a sympathetic look.
"I know what you mean, yoi. Ace eats so much food. I have no idea where it goes, though. The guy is solid muscle—believe me, I know." A sultry grin crossed Marco's features as he made the unnecessary implication about his and Ace's sex life.
Everyone at the table groaned at the comment except Koala, Robin, and Franky; the three of them laughed.
None of his friends asked him about not having a date. Although it wasn't like he ever brought anyone else with him to these types of things to begin with. And truthfully, he hadn't even thought about it until Sabo introduced him to his girlfriend.
Zoro had never been interested in someone like that, and therefore never bothered dating. He also didn't really see the point: why he would want some other person to be a part of his life when he already had his nakama. Anything more would've been an unnecessary distraction keeping him from accomplishing his dream. However, seeing all of them with someone made him feel weird.
I don't even know if I'm into men or women… I've never found anyone attractive, at least not in the way Ace talks about Marco…*shivers* I don't like to think about it. Whatever, doesn't matter—it's not important to concern myself with such things.
Nami came over to their table with a huge smile on her face, "Hey everyone! I'm so happy you could make it!" She studied Zoro, then nodded approvingly and winked, "You look good! I'm impressed how well you clean up, Zoro."
Zoro grunted at her, "You said it was black-tie. I'm not such an idiot to show up underdressed."
She began to scowl at him, and honestly, Nami looked like she wanted to hit him. Instead she shook her head then sighed, "Whatever, I'm just glad you are finally here and presentable." With a smile, she came and gave him a hug around his shoulders, "Thanks for coming."
"You're welcome," he mumbled out, embarrassed that she was showing him a friendly gesture. He assumed it was because she didn't want to make a scene and not because she was actually happy with him for once.
When Nami pulled away and fixed her dress, she explained, "One of my best friends from college is going to be performing in a bit. I will introduce everyone to her later," she turned to Robin, "You remember Sanji, right?"
Robin's face lit up, "Yes, of course!"
Nami grinned, "Yeah, well I need to go find her—see you!"
She waved to them with a smile and disappeared into the crowd. Zoro ended up going up to the bar and got himself a drink. He could already tell he would be needing it if he was going to get through this night.
Not that he wasn't happy for Nami—for all his friends—but Zoro was feeling a little sorry for himself. It was a little weird being at this party alone when all his friends had someone. This was very unlike him, Zoro wasn't interested in things such as love and romance. He always had been focused on becoming the best swordsman in the world, it was his dream and with years of hard work and determination, he achieved it. Seeing Sabo look so happy with Koala and being here to celebrate Nami and Vivi's engagement, made Zoro feel weird. And being the only one of his friends who was alone and single irritated him. He was getting so frustrated thinking about it.
So, Zoro began to do what he did best: drink. Besides, he knew his friends wouldn't suspect anything was wrong if he started excessively drinking. One of the few perks of having a high alcohol tolerance was he always drank excessively.
He ended up staying at the bar, getting refills on his sake as soon as his glass was finished, not counting how many drinks he had. Since it was an open bar, Zoro didn't have to worry about paying for them. He sure as hell was going to enjoy Nami and Vivi's generosity to his content and his abused liver's discontent.
Once he had a small buzz going, Zoro was still having the bartender refill his glass when suddenly, the lights in the room began to dim and jazz music began to play in the background, silencing the room of people.
Upon turning around towards a stage, Zoro saw several people playing various brass and string instruments, as well as a man at a piano. And standing front and center was a blonde woman who began to passionately sing. ("All Of Me" Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox version)
What would I do without your smart mouth
Drawing me in and you kicking me out?
Ya got my head spinning, no kidding
I can't pin you down
What's going on in that beautiful mind?
I'm on your magical mystery ride
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me
But I'll be alright
Some backup singers joined in some 'ooo's, but Zoro paid them no mind. He was too focused on the blonde singing like an angel.
My head's underwater 'Cause all of me loves all of you
But I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm, I'm out of my mind
Love your curves, all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me, I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose, I'm winning
I give you all of me
You give me all of you, Ohh
Zoro had never heard such a pretty singing voice, so rich and full of raw emotion. The blonde woman singing had her hair in some fancy up-do and her bangs covered her left eye. When she had opened her one visible eye, Zoro noticed it was a vibrant blue color and another thing—her eyebrow delicately curled on the left end. He'd never seen anything like it.
How many times do I have to tell you My head's underwater 'Cause all of me loves all of you
Even when you're crying, you're beautiful too?
The world is beating you down
I'm around through every mood
You're my downfall, you're my muse
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues
Can't stop singing, it's ringing in my head for you
But I'm, I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm, I'm out of my mind
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me, I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose, I'm winning
I give you all of me, yeah
You give me all of you
Give me all of you!
Cards on the table we're both showing hearts
Risking it although it's hard
The music slowed down and Zoro watched with his eye wide as the woman closed her eye and sang with so much emotion he could fucking feel it. The expressions on her flawless face were genuine and shown wholeheartedly, she was filled with passion.
Cause of all of me loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me, I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose, I'm winning
I give you all of me, yeah
You give me all of you
I give you all of me
You give me all of you
Zoro had walked back to the table his friends were at, drink in hand. Nami and Vivi had also joined them, but Zoro didn't realize any of this until he heard Nami start talking in his ear, "That's my friend Sanji. I met her back in college, isn't she great?"
Still with his eye on the woman, Sanji. Zoro nodded his head, not bothering to say anything. Zoro found her… intriguing and continued staring up at her on the stage as she began to sing a second song. ("Still Into You" Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox version)
Mmm
Can't count the years on one hand we've been together
I need the other one to hold you
Make you feel, make you feel better
It's not a walk in the park to love each other
But when our fingers interlock,
Can't deny, can't deny,
You're worth it
'Cause after all this time
I'm still into you
I should be over all the butterflies I'm into you,
And baby even on our worst nights I'm into you
Let 'em wonder how we got this far,
I don't even need to wonder at all
Yeah, after all this time I'm still into you
Sanji sang with a bright smile and a twinkle in her dazzling blue eye. Zoro unconsciously curled the corner of his mouth up into a smile of his own as he watched.
Recount the night that I first met your mother
And on the drive back to your house
Told me that, told you that I loved ya
You felt the weight of the world fall off your shoulders
And to your favorite song we sang along, To the start of forever
'Cause after all this time I'm still into you
Oh, I should be over all the butterflies I'm into you,
And baby even on our worst nights I'm into you
Let 'em wonder how we got this far,
I don't even need to wonder at all
Yeah, after all this time I'm still into you
Sanji swayed her body side to side to the music. If Zoro was certain about one thing, it was that these songs were sappy and romantic, and he should not like it as much as he did.
Some things just, some things just make sense
And one of those is you and I
Some things just, some things just make sense
And even after all this time
Oh, I'm into you
Baby not a day goes by that I'm not into you!
I should be over all the butterflies I'm into you,
And baby even on our worst nights I'm into you
Let 'em wonder how we got this far,
I don't even need to wonder at all
After all this time
After all this time
After all this time I'm still into you
Yeah, Zoro found himself enjoying the jazzy twist to the songs, it worked well with the whole atmosphere of the place—classy and romantic as hell. It didn't surprise him, well that didn't surprise him. What Zoro was surprised by was how much he enjoyed listening to Sanji as she sang them. ("Sunday Morning" Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox version)
Sunday morning rain is falling
Steal some covers, share some skin
Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable
You twist to fit the mold that I am in
But things just get so crazy, living life gets hard to do That may be all I need Fingers trace your every outline, yeah That may be all I need
I would gladly hit the road, get up, and go if I knew
That someday it would lead me back to you
That someday it would lead me back to you
In darkness, she is all I see
Come and rest your bones with me
Driving home on Sunday morning
I never wanna leave
Paint a picture with my hands
Back and forth we sway like branches in a storm
Change the weather, still together in the end
In darkness, she is all I see
Come and rest your bones with me
Driving home on Sunday morning
I never wanna leave
She wore a strapless black dress that was practically glued to her body, it was so tight. Her shoulders and back were exposed, her waist was narrow and her hips wide, then Zoro gulped as he noticed she had the most gorgeous legs he had ever seen.
Holy fuck…
Zoro didn't even like legs—at least not in that way—but here he was, suddenly eyeing this blonde woman's legs, fuck—her whole body—wishing she wasn't so far away from him…
But things just get so crazy, living life gets hard to do That may be all I need
I would gladly hit the road, get up and go if I knew
That someday it would lead me back to you
That someday it would lead me back to you
In darkness, she is all I see
Come and rest your bones with me
Driving home on Sunday morning
I never wanna
Driving home on Sunday morning
I never wanna
Driving home on Sunday morning
I never wanna leave
When the song was over, he took a drink to try and distract himself. He was thinking things that he should not be. Zoro couldn't help the wide look in his eye as she began to sing the next song and he felt as if she was pulling him in. ("Take Me To Church" Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox version)
My lover's got humor
She's the giggle at a funeral
Knows everybody's disapproval
I should've worshipped her sooner
If the Heavens ever did speak
He's the last true mouthpiece
Every Sunday's getting more bleak
A new poison every week
'We were born sick,' I heard them say
My church offers no absolutes
He says me 'worship in the bedroom'
The only heaven I'll be sent to
Is when I'm alone with you
I was born sick, but I love it
Command me to be well
Ayyy Amen. Amen. Amen
She closed her blue eye and sang like she meant every word.
Take me to church If I'm a pagan of the good times Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
My lover's the sunlight
To keep the God on my side
He demands a sacrifice
To drain a whole sea
Get something shiny
Something meaty for the main course
There's a fine looking high horse
What you got in those stable?
We've gotta starving faithful
That looks tasty
That looks plenty
This is hungry work
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
Take me to church
Ohh, at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
Her voice was so powerful, so full of emotion, Zoro could feel it in his whole body, flowing through him. The instruments were nice, sure, but he could listen to her sing all day.
No masters or kings when the ritual begins
There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin
In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene
Only then am I human
Only then am I clean
There was a dramatic pause for a moment, broken by Sanji continuing to sing with more gusto.
Take me to church Amen. Amen. Amen
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
Take me to church
At the shrine of your lies
Boy you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
Amen. Amen. Amen
Amen. Amen.
After the song ended, Zoro took another big gulp of his drink, he really needed to calm down. Her voice was so powerful, he felt it through his entire body. Not just that, but she was…attractive? The music changed to a much more upbeat song and as he listened to her sing it started to ease the tension he was feeling. ("Just What I Needed" Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox version)
I don't mind you comin' here
And wastin' all my time
'Cause when you're standin' oh so near
I kinda lose my mind
It's not the perfume that you wear
It's not the ribbons in your hair
I don't mind you comin' here
And wastin' all my time
A few backup singers joined in 'Ooo's and Zoro couldn't stop the smile on his lips as Sanji danced to the song with a bright smile.
I don't mind you hangin' out
And talkin' in your sleep (sweet dreams baby)
It doesn't matter where you've been
As long as it was deep, yeah
You always knew to wear it well and
You look so fancy I can tell
I don't mind you hangin' out
And talkin' in your sleep
I guess you're just what I needed
(just what I needed)
I needed someone to feed
I guess you're just what I needed
(just what I needed)
I needed someone to bleed
A guy who was ridiculously tall and skinny with a large afro sang a few lines, but Zoro continued smiling as he kept his eye on Sanji.
I don't mind you comin' here
And wastin' all my time time
When you're standin' oh so near
I kinda lose my mind, yeah
It's not the perfume that you wear
It's not the ribbons in your hair
I don't mind you comin' here
And wastin' all my time
I guess you're just what I needed
(just what I needed)
I needed someone to feed
I guess you're just what I needed
(just what I needed)
I needed someone to bleed, Hey!
You're just what I needed
You're just what I needed
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're just what I needed
It's not the perfume, It's not the ribbons
It's not the perfume, Not the ribbons
It's not the perfume, It's not the ribbons
It's not the perfume,
Ohh, Ohh, yeah
You're just what I needed
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah
You're just what I needed
Yeah, yeah yeah, Ohh
You're just what I needed
After finishing the song, she grinned and curtsied at the applauding audience. Just like that her performance was over, and she began to walk off the stage, much to Zoro's disappointment. It was only a few songs, but he had really enjoyed listening to and watching her sing.
He also was enjoying watching her pale legs as she walked around in a pair of thin, strappy high-heels. But when she suddenly stopped walking and turned in his direction, Zoro averted his eye quickly and began to silently panic.
Shit… Did she notice me staring at her?
As Zoro was trying to act casual, Nami jumped up beside him, "Sanji~! That was amazing! You are amazing! Thank you, so much!" She wrapped her arms around the other woman for a tight embrace.
Stealing a glance, Zoro noticed Nami's actions must have made Sanji happy, because she began to smile. And damn—Zoro had never seen such a pretty smile.
Returning the hug with enthusiasm, Sanji assured, "Oh, my dearest Nami, it was my pleasure! You know I'd do anything for you two!"
Nami pulled away from Sanji and gave her a grateful look, "You have already done so much! I wish there was a way for me to repay you with something other than money."
Sanji smiled but shook her head, "Really, there is no need. You and Vivi are two of my dearest friends, you're already paying me too much. I would refuse payment, but that's not good for business."
"Aww~" Vivi gave Sanji a hug, "That's really so sweet of you, Sanji. I don't know what Nami and I would do without you. But~"
"But~ nothing!" Sanji gave the two women a pleading look, her blue eye was shining under the dim lighting. Then she glanced at the table and their eyes met.
Zoro immediately turned away and took a drink from his glass as Nami began, "Sanji, you've met some of my friends from my hometown before, right?"
With a nod, she said, "I've met Robin, of course~," she waved to her, "Hello, Robin dear!" Sanji grinned then pointed to Luffy, "And you, Luffy." A dazzling smile came across her face and Zoro wished it was directed at him. "How's my favorite customer doing~?"
Luffy grinned enthusiastically, "Great!"
Nami rolled her eyes, "Okay, well everyone, this is Sanji." With a very serious expression on her face and assuring tone of voice, Nami continued, "She is amazing, like—a true goddess. She is pretty much the brains of this entire night. She did all the planning, the decorations, the food—and sang of course! This party wouldn't be anything if it wasn't for Sanji and her absolute passion to entertain—Vivi and I are just the ones who pay the bill."
Sanji didn't appear to be amused by the obvious praise she received from Nami and rolled her eye, "Oh hush, just tell me who is who, so I have a face to put to all the stories you've told me."
Hearing that gave Zoro a bad feeling, he wondered exactly what kind of 'stories' Nami had told her, mostly the ones concerning himself.
Nami giggled, "Okay, okay, relax!" She gestured to the raven-haired woman beside him at the round table and introduced them clockwise, "This is Robin and her boyfriend Franky. Then there's Usopp and his wife Kaya. Sabo and his girlfriend, Koala. Ace and his husband, Marco. Luffy and his boyfriend, Kid." Nami then grabbed Zoro's shoulder, while rocking his torso playfully she turned to Sanji, "And this is Zoro—he's perpetually single."
Goddamnit Nami!
He couldn't help the scowl on his face when his eye met Sanji's blue one. She studied him for a moment, then her expression changed to one of recognition, "You're the one who always gets lost!"
Everyone at the table burst into laughter.
That irked him, Zoro narrowed his eye at Sanji, "What was that, curly brow?"
Sanji's features hardened, "Did you get lost on the way here too, marimo?"
Marimo?! What the hell?! I thought she was nice! She was nice to Nami and Vivi, and Robin, and Luffy, too...
He didn't answer her, but Sabo did, "He called me asking for directions."
Zoro glared at Sabo across the table, but the blond man continued laughing as if Zoro wasn't ready to kill him for bringing that up.
"Hey! I gave you very specific directions on how to get here," Nami glared at him.
Luffy suddenly shouted, "Oi, Sanji! Did you really cook all this yummy food?!" For once, Zoro was happy Luffy was so obsessed with food.
The compliment seemed to be appreciated, because Sanji began to smile sweetly at Luffy, "Well~ my workers did! My restaurant catered, so all the recipes are my own."
Everyone at the table started praising Sanji on the decorations, the food, the music, essentially showering her with compliments. Zoro stayed quiet the entire time, he tried to keep his eyes anywhere that was not the blonde woman and her curly eyebrow or her bare legs standing oh so close to him.
"I love the flowers, roses are so~ romantic," Kaya cooed, and Koala agreed by nodding her head enthusiastically.
"Shishishi, they look like Kid's hair," Luffy grinned.
Kid rolled his eyes, "Good thing there's plenty of food here. Keeps someone distracted."
"Yeah! Lu, we should get some more food later!" Ace excitedly reminded his youngest brother.
Luffy's face lit up and he double fisted the air above him, "Yosh!"
Marco sighed, "Make that two someone's, yoi." He held up two fingers, one for Ace, the other for Luffy, counting the two idiots who will always become distracted by food.
After her signature giggle, Robin asked, "Do you still work at the Baratie, Sanji? Is that who catered?"
Nami answered for her, "Sanji owns her own restaurant now, they're who catered."
Marco asked her, becoming interested, "How old are you? If you don't mind my asking. You just seem so young to have your own restaurant, yoi."
She smiled sweetly at him for the compliment, "I'm twenty-six."
Zoro took a drink from his glass, hmmm, she is a year younger than me…
"WOW!" Franky shouted, "That is SUPER impressive!"
Sanji swooned at the compliment, "Thank you, I actually opened it a couple years ago, though."
"What's the name of your restaurant?" Sabo asked her looking interested.
"It's the All Blue, in Raftel," she said proudly.
"Oi! Zoro lives in Raftel!" Usopp shouted.
They all turned to him, Zoro glared, "What're you all looking at?"
"Oh yeah~!" There was a 'forgetful' tone in Nami's voice as she asked with a sly smile, "Zoro, have you ever been to Sanji's restaurant?"
Zoro scowled at her, "No, I haven't."
Then Nami did something and Zoro didn't know whether he should thank her for getting him out of the uncomfortable situation of never having been to her restaurant, or if he should curse Nami for putting him in an entirely different uncomfortable situation. Still with that sly grin, Nami announced, "You know~, Zoro couldn't stop staring at you while you were singing, Sanji. He didn't even realize we filled his drink with water."
Filled my drink with water…?
When Zoro brought his drink to his lips and took another sip he realized it was indeed, water. "Shit…," he cursed under his breath.
Sanji laughed at him, but it still meant she was smiling at him. He needed to man up and face this woman, for no other reason than to see her smile directed at him. Zoro shifted his body on the chair and as soon as he got a look at her, his heart beat a little faster in his chest.
She had been smiling at him, laughing, and he really had never felt like this before—breathless.
After composing herself, Sanji teased, "Is that so~?" She took a long, hard look at him from head to toe before shaking her head in what appeared to be disappointment, "So, you're here without a date."
He glared at her and waved his arm in front of himself. It obvious he didn't have a date. Nami introduced him as single. He was here alone, he had always been alone.
"Huh, I didn't bring a date either." She shrugged it off coolly, then gestured to his glass filled with water, "Would you like to get another drink with me?" Her blue eye was on his gray one, her curly eyebrow cocked slightly as she expectantly awaited an answer from him.
Would I like to get a drink with this woman?!
Zoro stood up from his chair a little too quickly, he ignored the snickers of laughter that came from Kid. Attempting to play off his excitement and eagerness he answered, "Sure," and was pleased that his voice stayed steady and low.
Sanji smirked at him and linked her arm around his, placing her hand on his forearm. He felt himself start to blush from the gesture, so he turned away and began to lead them up to the bar. Along the way, Zoro noticed there were a lot of men staring lustfully at Sanji as they passed through the crowd. He didn't like it.
The bartender took one look at Zoro and his furrowed brow, grabbed a bottle of sake and handed the whole thing over without a word.
The beautiful woman on his arm burst into laughter, "What the hell?! Is that all for you?!"
"I dunno…" he paused and asked her, "You drink sake?"
She raised her curly eyebrow, "Not a whole bottle." Sanji then turned to the bartender, "Could I please have a glass of the Cabernet sauvignon?" They nodded and poured her a glass of red wine.
Now, Zoro doesn't really know much about wine, so he had no idea what she just ordered tasted like or even how to pronounce it himself; but holy fuck did he like hearing her say it. As she cupped the glass with the stein between her fingers then brought it to her lips, Zoro realized she was actually wearing red lipstick. He hadn't noticed it before, it looked so natural, but it left a smudge on the glass.
Fuck… Her lips are so…shit! Stop staring at her mouth!
Zoro distracted himself by opening the bottle of sake in his hands and taking a long pull straight from the bottle. When it left his lips, Zoro opened his eye and found Sanji staring at him. He narrowed his eyes at her and grunted, "What?"
Her eye rolled as she took a small sip of her wine, "You don't talk much." The way she said it, Zoro knew it wasn't a question, but a statement.
He grunted at her.
She glared at him, "Geez, what are you? A Neanderthal who walked into a tuxedo shop? Because that's what you look like."
He mumbled, "That's what I feel like."
Sanji turned to him with an amused look, "Oh my god, it can talk!"
Zoro glared at her.
She cocked her curly eyebrow, with a smirk, she teasingly asked, "So~ what does this caveman do when he isn't playing dress-up?" The way she popped the 'P' sent a shiver down his spine.
He tried to play it off with a roll of his eye and answered, "I am a swordsman."
"Ahhh," Sanji nodded her head in understanding, "I remember Nami saying something about that."
He looked at her nervously, "What did she say?"
Sanji narrowed her eye, "You run the dojo in Raftel."
Zoro stayed quiet, if it was something Nami had told her, then she already knew. The only dojo in Raftel was Zoro's very own, and it was located right next to All Blue.
After a moment of silence, Sanji asked, "Why have you never been to my restaurant?"
"To All Blue?" He shook his head and smirked, "It's not really my style."
She looked offended, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Watching her get agitated by him was entertaining, he liked seeing that cocky smirk of hers leave her face, "Do I really seem like the type of guy who'd go to such a snobby restaurant?"
Instead of her getting angry like he wanted, she smirked again, "Well, you don't need to come eat the delicious food I cook at my snobby restaurant. You can eat it right here," she waved her hand in the direction of the room with all the food in it.
Zoro rolled his eye, "Didn't look delicious to me." Total lie.
This time his response seemed to irritate her, just like he wanted. Sanji furrowed her curly eyebrow and shouted at him, "Fucking asshole! My cooking is incredible!"
Seeing her get angry made him smirk and he continued to tease her, "You're a shit cook."
Her blue eye was wide with rage, it was pretty hard to believe this was the same woman who was described as a 'goddess' by Nami. She was more like a demon as she quipped back, "What'd you call me, shitty swordsman?"
Shitty swordsman?!
Zoro scowled at her, Sanji was now officially irritating the hell out of him. He wasn't a shitty swordsman, he is the best swordsman in the world! He took a swig of his sake, trying to distract himself from the feel of her eye on him.
Sanji began to laugh, "Oh, you are way too much fun," she said it with an odd tone in her voice.
He shook his head, "I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or being a bitch."
Instead of getting offended, like he was, Sanji smirked at him, "Who knows, maybe both, maybe neither." She was batting her eyelashes at him as she took another sip of her wine.
Zoro stared at her mouth as her tongue swiped across her red lips. He gulped and felt his face become hot, along with the rest of his body. He distracted himself from Sanji's mouth by removing the jacket of his tuxedo, then rolled up the sleeves of his white button-up.
"So, marimo~," she started with a teasing tone, "Why's a guy like you single?"
Where the hell did that come from?
He scowled, "What the hell are you talking about?"
Sanji glared at him, unamused, "I'm asking you why you're single, dumbass," she rolled her eye and looked annoyed.
He scowled at her for calling him a 'dumbass.' Zoro knew that's what she was asking, he just didn't understand why. Regardless, he answered, "I've never been interested in a relationship like that."
"Oh~?" Sanji had an irritating grin on her face, the look she was giving him made him blush, but still he didn't look away when she asked, "What about me?"
Zoro glared at her, "What about you?"
She gazed into his eye with a challenging look, then shrugged.
Fuck this woman is irritating. What does she want me to say? She is so fucking frustrating!
While gritting his teeth, he grumbled, "Why don't you just leave me alone?"
Her blue eye widened and she accusingly asked, "If my company is so unpleasant, why haven't you left and gone back to your friends yet?" Sanji gazed at him with a reserved smile and raised her curly eyebrow, taking another sip of her wine.
Turning away, but staying put beside her, Zoro took a long pull from the bottle of sake in his hand.
Sanji began to giggle and the sound of it brought a strange feeling to his stomach.
What the hell? This isn't normal. Is the booze making me sick? But I'm not even drunk. And I don't feel sick… I feel… I don't know. What is this feeling? I've never felt like this before… Shit.
As Sanji was still laughing at him, Zoro grumbled, "What's so funny?"
She smiled at him, like really smiled and the feeling in his stomach increased tenfold. "You are, marimo," he felt his face getting hot. Sanji shook her head, grinning, "You're lots of things."
That made him nervous. Zoro gulped, "What kinds of things?"
"Well~" Sanji smirked at him with a glint in her blue eye, "For one, you are stubborn." He grunted at that and she paused, with a thoughtful smile playing on her lips, "Also, you seem to be an alcoholic—no offence." Zoro just scoffed at her, but he continued staring at her mouth; she was smiling, "You're cute."
He blinked, "Wait, what?" Her lips had been distracting him, he must have heard her wrong.
Sanji laughed again, "Yeah, cute—like a marimo."
"Ehhh? You think marimos are cute?" He stared at her, confused.
She smiled at him, this one was shy, he hadn't seen her smile like that before now, "Well yeah, that's why I call you that."
His stomach was definitely not okay, neither were his heart, lungs, or brain.
Zoro was still feeling a weird twisting, tumbling, feeling in his belly every time Sanji smiled at him. As soon as she became shy his heart began to pound in his chest as if he had just finished an intense workout. His breath was taken away knowing that every time she called him 'marimo' she had been calling him cute in her own weird way. And the only thing on his mind was: Sanji thinks I'm cute.
As he was absentmindedly staring at her mouth, Zoro licked his lips, then looked back up at her eye. He remembered the name he had called her, "Your eyebrow. I like it—It's pretty."
Zoro was surprised when he saw Sanji start to blush. She shook her head, embarrassed, "I hate them."
He furrowed his own eyebrows, he couldn't understand and asked, "Why?"
She sighed, exasperatedly, "Because~ they curl the same goddamn direction—making my face asymmetrical! That's why I keep one eye covered, so people can't see how weird they are." She pouted her lips, he had never seen something so adorable.
Zoro smiled at her fondly, "It just makes you unique—just like how I have green hair."
Sanji stared at him, wide eyed, "The fact you have green hair definitely makes you weird—like seriously, why?"
"What? It's my natural hair color! I can't help it!" Zoro scowled at her.
"Are you fucking serious?! Your hair is naturally green?" Sanji deadpanned.
Zoro rolled his eye, "Yes, it is."
After staring at him with unreadable look in her eye, she began to giggle again, and his stomach flip-flopped, "Aww~ that is so~ cute!"
He pouted and grumbled, "Quit calling me cute."
"Okay, fine…marimo~" Sanji teased with that same smirk on her red lips.
Scowling, Zoro took another drink of sake with a blush on his cheeks. He was becoming more and more irritated with this woman. Just when he thought he had things under control, she would take him by surprise. Sanji was unpredictable, she didn't hold back and took things head on. And fuck this woman must have drank poison and survived, because she had the dirtiest fucking mouth Zoro had ever seen or heard. She might look like a lady, but she sure as hell doesn't talk like one, at least to him. She was headstrong, fierce, didn't take any bullshit, and Zoro was intrigued by her—despite his irritation.
There was one thing in particular that Zoro was fascinated by, "How'd you learn to sing like that, curly brow?"
Sanji didn't appear to be as bothered by the nickname as she had been before. She actually blushed, much to Zoro's surprise—although he didn't know if that had to do with the nickname or the question. She smiled fondly, as if recalling a memory, "I've always loved to sing, since I was little. I like to sing while I cook, on the way to work in my car, in the shower…"
Hmmm, Sanji singing naked in the shower… Fuck! Get a grip.
Bringing the wineglass to her lips, Sanji finished the last of her wine, "I've never taken lessons or anything if that's what you're wondering."
He was staring at her lips as she spoke, when Zoro looked up, he made eye contact with Sanji and his heart began to pound in his chest. He nodded his head, "It was."
A smirk appeared on her red lips, "Were you really enjoying it so much that you mistook water for sake?"
"Tch," he tried to think of something clever to say, but instead sighed and sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, I guess I was." Her red lips were the only thing on Zoro's mind, he turned away to distract himself.
"Well~, sometimes I sing at All Blue. You could always listen to me there, marimo." When he turned to Sanji, she was smiling, and it made Zoro's stomach feel light and fluttery. Then she held her hand up, seeming to remember something, "Unless you can't find the place."
He felt his jaw drop, Sanji grinned.
It's right next to my fucking dojo! Of course, I can find the place!
Sanji laughed, "The dress code is much more casual than this party. Standard: no shirt, no shoes, no service. Not too snobby for a caveman." She smirked at him, then left him alone.
He turned around and watched as she walked into the next room.
What the fuck? This woman is so… so fucking infuriating! She doesn't make any sense! The way she's making me feel doesn't make any sense! God, those legs are really something though… Ugh! Why do I like her legs so much?! What is wrong with me?!
With his partially finished bottle of sake and his tuxedo jacket, Zoro returned to the table his friends had been sitting at and found there was just Kid and Marco. He grumbled, "Where's everyone else?"
Marco answered, "Dancing, yoi. Ace and Luffy are eating again."
Once he sat down with a thump and took another drink of sake, Kid wondered aloud, "Geez, was the blonde chick that bad?"
Zoro glared at the redhead, challenging him to continue.
Since this was Kid, he continued without hesitation, "I mean, I know you drink a lot, man—but you've got yourself a bottle of sake!" He began to laugh out, "And its half gone!" He was clapping his hands on the table top in his laughter.
"She wasn't that bad…" Zoro grumbled out.
Marco smiled slyly, "She's pretty, yoi."
The comment made Zoro scoff, "That's an understatement."
Kid raised his nearly non-existent eyebrow and looked between Marco's knowing smirk and Zoro's frustrated scowl, "Zoro… Are you into that chick?"
"NO—I mean… I don't know," Zoro was beyond frustrated, he honestly didn't know what it was he was feeling about Sanji.
Maybe they will be able to help…?
With a sigh, Zoro confessed, "Well… As soon as I heard her singing, I was absolutely blown away." He paused and thought for a moment, "I've never felt so…moved, like that before. And she's…fucking gorgeous…" He shook his head and became irritated, "But, she's so frustrating! It was like half the time we were talking—we were fighting, or she was teasing me—and the other half of the time I felt like I was sick or, or something! She kept calling me 'marimo' and then she told me she thinks that marimo's are cute, and that's why she was calling me that!"
Marco and Kid both burst out laughing.
Zoro groaned, "Oi! This isn't funny! The woman is absolutely infuriating!"
The two men were still laughing at his expense, then Kid blurted out, "Zoro—It's obvious you two like each other!"
"What?!" Zoro needed to get a more specific answer, "You mean like you two like each other?" Pointing between Marco and Kid.
Marco frowned at him, Kid looked disgusted, then Marco reiterated, "No, he means like how I like Ace, yoi."
Zoro's eye practically bulged out of his head, "You've got to be kidding, I don't even know her! How could I like her that way?"
Kid rolled his eyes, "Are you seriously that stupid? You don't have to know someone to want to fuck them."
The moment Kid said that, Zoro snapped, "It's not like that! I don't want to just fuck her!"
For once, Kid shut his stupid mouth. Marco raised an eyebrow, "What do you want then, yoi?"
Sighing, Zoro ran his hand through his hair, "Honestly—I have no fucking clue. I've never felt like this before in my life. I don't know why I like her smile so much, or the sound of her laugh… Ughh! She is just so fucking irritating!" Zoro was clenching his fists, his knuckles turning white.
"Hey, Zoro…calm down." Marco narrowed his gaze at him and spoke sternly, "I think you just need to think about this for a bit, yoi. She lives in Raftel, doesn't she? You know about her restaurant—if you want to see her again, just go there and visit."
Kid scowled, "Fuck that! It's obvious Zoro's finally—OW!"
Marco had kicked Kid under the table and glared at him, "Zoro needs to think it over," he then turned back to Zoro, "You might not even care tomorrow, yoi."
Zoro rolled his eye with a slight smirk, he hoped he came off as indifferent to the two men, but truthfully, Zoro knew that the possibility of him waking up tomorrow and not caring about meeting Sanji, was not only unlikely, but impossible.
AN: Hey everyone! I have been really wanting to write a ZoSan story and then I came up with this idea while listening to Postmodern Jukebox. I hope that although Sanji is female, you were not upset by how I wrote her character so far. I know some people are offended that Sanji, a lady's man, be a lady himself. Anyway, I have more written, just need to get it up to my standards, so stay tuned!
Please leave a review and let me know what you think of this story so far!
xoxoLadyLiberal
