Romancing a Rock Prompt: Romance
Characters/Pairing: ZoLu
Fandom: One Piece
Sanji wasn't too surprised when he found out about Zoro and Luffy's relationship. Of course, he would have rather not walked in on the two at such an intimate moment. It was their fault really. They were the ones late for dinner and he'd called them half a dozen times before he'd abandoned his own meal in favour of dragging their sorry asses to the table. As it turned out their asses were a little busy and though he managed to keep all but a faint quiver from his voice and the angry expression plastered on his face, Sanji was quite sure his face was burning beetroot as he snapped at them to hurry the fuck up because dinner was ready. He couldn't look at either of them as they joined the rest of the crew a few minutes later and almost choked on his mouthful of spinach when Luffy offered up his excuse:
"Sorry guys! I was sleeping with Zoro!"
He wasn't lying after all.
As he lay in bed that night Sanji found sleep elusive. His mind was on the ship's captain and Marimo. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Luffy had always been Zoro's number one – that much was obvious. Luffy cared for them all deeply, but Zoro had been his first shipmate and there was always something between the pair that the rest of them couldn't touch. It was a chemistry, a romance all of their own.
When considering Zoro and Luffy, one would not even contemplate labelling either with the title 'romantic', but they were in a class all of their own personality-wise. It all made so much sense.
Whenever a crew member was hurt so badly to be bedridden, Luffy paced their room and settled by their bedside like a guard dog. His eyes held an intensity that promised death to anybody who should dare approach his ailing nakama unwelcomed. As Sanji recalled Thriller Bark and how Zoro had sacrificed himself for Luffy, then how Luffy had taken his place faithfully beside Zoro's bedside, he couldn't help but notice something different lingering in Luffy's eyes. He couldn't identify what it was then, but with his recent discovery he finally understood – it was a mesh of love, fear and heartache. As the ship's 'love cook' he felt foolish for not noticing it before now.
Sanji glanced across the room first to Luffy and then Zoro. He wondered if anybody else knew about their secret? Was it even a secret at all or had he just not noticed until now? Just how long had their little romance transpired? The questions burned inside of him but he swallowed them down with a lungful of smoke as he took another drag on his cigarette and watched the smoke drift lazily toward the ceiling as he exhaled.
He would be more astute from now on, he promised himself. He wondered how his keen eye could have possible missed the signs up until now. It was obvious from the way Zoro let Luffy steal a scrap of meat as he pretended to guard his plate or the way Luffy copped a feel when his rubbery arm wound around Zoro's body to launch them off somewhere on an adventure – or perhaps somewhere a little more private for their own personal 'training'.
A loud snort escaped Sanji's lips at his own thoughts. He was a man devoted to romancing ladies, but those two were obviously skilled in romancing one another in their own weird way. He stubbed out the butt of his cigarette onto a small plate beside his bed and sighed. He'd once joked that any woman that attempted to romance either Zoro or Luffy would be akin to them romancing a rock; but then again, if they were both rocks they were sure to know what the other needed. With a rueful shake of his head Sanji rolled over and tried to sleep. Next time they didn't show up to dinner they could either eat it cold or go hungry – principles be damned.