I was watching One Piece and I came upon an episode where Sanji strutted over to Nami to hand her a drink. Instantly, I had an image of Sanji being a model…so I couldn't resist writing this story, even though I normally don't really like AU stories.

But of course, I don't accept Sanji being paired with anyone else but Zoro…so I had to find a fitting occupation for him so they could be paired up nicely. Thus, he became a photographer. It seems a bit OOC I know, but if you were to assume that all the time he seems to be sleeping in the daytime, he is actually meditating, it would fit much more nicely. I am trying my best to otherwise keep them both in character, but please excuse any mistakes I might make.

The only reason I thought of making Zoro a …meditator (?), is because of the awesome-tastic amazing story Enlighten Me by Aevium. You should read it. I love it. I really wanted to write this story like that- with their relationship slowly developing and more plot and less PWP like what I've been writing…but let's see how that works out. It probably won't.

Regarding the PWP, I will be updating Love at Sea. I haven't given up on that yet, just kind of ran into a writer's block. I have all the different scenarios laid out…but I can't seem to write it in a way that I am happy with. So please be patient with me, I am definitely not giving up on that story!

Anyways….I hope you all like this story! Please enjoy, and please review! It makes me so happy to receive a review, no matter how short it is!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, clearly, or else it would be a yaoi manga.


Chapter 1

Sanji sat alone in the dressing room, surrounded by flowers. He was winding down after the long and tiring fashion show. The flowers were gifts from his lovely female fans. Although he wondered why they thought he, being male, would want flowers, he still accepted them graciously, showering the ladies with words of affection. It was his image. Indeed, he acted the same towards the beautiful ladies he worked with. He treated all women the same, as wonderful and special-as they deserved.

He sighed to himself. They were really all the same though. In the beginning, his effervescent love for the ladies was completely authentic. Not to say that he didn't still love all the ladies. He definitely did! But it just wasn't the same as before. It was the original reason he had finally accepted one of the numerous modeling offers he had gotten. It gave him a chance to be with some of the most gorgeous ladies in the world. However, being in such close proximity to so many beauties...seemed to have worn him out. None of them looked...special to him anymore. Sighing again, he reached across the table for a cigarette, and lighting it, he leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling as he exhaled the smoke.

Maybe I should give up modeling, he thought. He chuckled lightly to himself as he imagined his manager's reaction if he told him he was going to quit. He would probably go commit suicide in some melodramatic way. Sanji was the company's main posterchild. It was a small company before he joined, but with his quick rise to international fame, the company grew. If he left, the company would most likely collapse. The press mainly focused on Sanji, and really, who could blame them? Sanji was perfect. At 5'9 he was not the tallest model in the business, but his long legs and slim figure made any outfit look amazing. His golden hair framed his pale skin, and his crystal blue eyes had the women falling for him at a single glance. Admittedly he did have strange eyebrows that curled at the end, but everyone accepted that as part of his charm, as well as his habit of wearing his bangs covering his left eye.

The company had tried to convince him to change that, but he had adamantly refused to ever show that part of his face. They had conceded when the public had actually loved it. It was a fashion statement. What brought him to the top of the modeling world, however, was not his perfect exterior (although it definitely contributed). Sanji had a talent of managing to make any woman he walked with glow, and look more graceful, and more beautiful. He managed to bring out hidden talents in any model he worked with. No girl looked more glamorous than when they walked by Sanji's side. Manager-san would never let me leave, he sighed. He put out his cigarette and walked over to the mirror to straighten his tie. Whenever he could help it, he always dressed in crisp button-ups and slacks. The tie was for more special occasions, and his signature for leaving a fashion show. Gathering the flowers in his room (it would be rude to leave them) he picked up his keys and headed for the door.

Pushing open the door, he was met with a pack of screaming fans. Shit, he thought to himself. I thought they would have left by now. But although he hoped for that every time, he conceded to the fact that the fangirls always waited for him to leave, even once when he had taken a three-hour nap in the dressing room before leaving. He smiled graciously at all of his fans, walking briskly to his car. He quickly drove off, merging into the freeway. He didn't really have a destination in mind though. He wanted to head towards the Baratie to cook…but it was already pretty late. Sighing, he switched lanes, heading towards his apartment.


Zoro sat, legs crossed, eyes closed, meditating. A gentle breeze ruffled his short hair, looking exactly like the green leaves on the trees that surrounded him. His camera hung around his neck. This was his favorite location to go to whenever he had a spare moment. Deep in the wilderness, it seemed so peaceful. It was a beautiful place too, even if you didn't appreciate the aesthetic qualities. You could just barely make out the gentle roar of a grand waterfall in the distance. It was this sound that he focused on as he meditated.

Sometimes, he came here for photography. He loved photographing nature, to capture that raw beauty. In actuality, he just loved the candid nature of that type of photography. He loved to wander the city and take pictures of the scenes he saw as he walked. He believed that the best photos were those that were natural. His father disagreed. He believed only in profit. He thought that it was only worthwhile to photograph professionals, because that was where the money was. Zoro thought it was disgusting. What was worse that his father thought that he was going to inherit the photography company. He had no intention to follow in the idiotic field of model photography.

He could feel himself getting frustrated again at the thought, and so his discarded it from his thoughts and focused once again on the gentle roar of the waterfall. Right as he was beginning to fall back into his heavy trance, a loud ringtone rang, jerking his mind back into consciousness.

"What the fuck!" he shouted aloud. He angrily ripped the phone out of his pocket, wondering why he had even brought it. Speak of the devil and the devil will appear. The call was from his father. He contemplated not answering, or even of tossing the obtrusive little device as far as he could. He resigned to the fact that his father would reach him somehow anyways, and he might as well make this as painless as possible. He jammed the "answer" option on his phone angrily.

"What." He stated, monotonously.

"For someone who will be soon entering the service industry, it seems much more appropriate for you to answer the phone with a civil response."

"A shitty fucker who disturbs my meditation time doesn't deserve a civil response. Just tell me what you want."

"Charming as always. Anyways, I wasn't calling to argue with you about your lack of manners. What I wanted to tell you is that you are scheduled to meet with a model tomorrow at 8:00 pm."

"Damn bastard! Why am I running your errands?"

"Because you will one day be taking over the company. Thus, you must start learning now how to associate with our business partners. I will not take no for an answer-you are going tomorrow."

"Fuck you." He mumbled but he knew he had lost the fight. When he spoke like that, there was no arguing with him. "Since when do we meet to talk to individual models anyways? I thought we always discussed with the agency?"

"This is a bit of a special situation. We do make negotiations with the company. However, it would be prudent for you to meet with this particular model and develop a friendship, as he is close to your age. It would be very beneficial for the company."

Zoro laughed once, sarcastically. "Wow this is some big-shot. Who is this bastard anyways?"

"The biggest one in the industry at the moment. Sanji."

The name seemed oddly familiar to him, but he didn't have an image to go with the name. He tended to ignore everything like that. "Fine. I'll go. Where is it?"

"7:00pm at Shakky's Bar."

Shakky's Bar. He hadn't heard of it before, but at least it was a bar. That meant he could get some booze. "Alright I'll be there." He hung up the phone and tossed it aside. Zoro sighed. He was not looking forward to this.


Sanji heard his phone ringing in the other room of his apartment. "Buru buru buru buru"… It was such an annoying ringtone. Unfortunately, that particular one was his work phone, and they had made it impossible to tamper with- probably so he couldn't block out his manager's calls. He strode into the other room and picked up the phone. It was his manager. He guessed he should probably pick up, so he tapped "Answer" on the smooth touch surface.

"Hey thanks for calling. This is the shitty restaurant. Would you like to make an order?"

"Sanji….what would you do if it wasn't me, and was actually some modeling job offer that was calling, and you answered like that? You would destroy your image!"

"Manager-san. There's a thing called caller id. I know it's you." There was silence on the other line for a moment.

"Regardless, you never know! Anyways, I was calling for a different reason. Tomorrow, you are going to meet with the heir to a major photography company. You are roughly the same age, so it wouldn't hurt to develop a friendly relationship."

"In other words, you want me to seduce this lovely lady. That I can do."

" …It's a guy."

"No can do."

"Sanji! I'm not telling you to 'seduce' him. I just want you to act civil and courteous. Just stick to your public image and you will do fine!"

"Don't I do that on an everyday basis? Why are you specially reminding me this? You're hiding something from me aren't you."

"It's just that you have a tendency to be…blunt at times. And he has a rather distinguishing feature, so DON'T insult him!"

"Alright alright, manager-san. Calm down. I'll be your perfect poster boy."

"And DON'T DRINK, we both know you can't hold your alcohol. The meeting is at 8:00pm at Shakky's Bar, so I'll have the chauffer pick you up at…"

"I'm perfectly capable of driving myself, and I much prefer it. I'll be there by 8 myself." Sanji hit the end button on his phone. He really disliked being driven around everywhere like a schoolchild. He had a very good sense of direction, so he wouldn't have a problem.

He reached for his cigarette and lit it, wondering what exactly was so distinguishing about this stranger.


Zoro was somehow lost. He had his GPS, and yet he had still managed to get himself to get hopelessly lost. He checked his watch. It was 7:20pm. He was already late. He contemplated just giving up and going home. He dismissed that idea for two reasons: first, his father would kill him. Second, he didn't exactly know how to get home. He sighed and decided to just unbend his pride and go ask for some directions.


At 7:50pm, Zoro finally drove up to a fancy sign reading "Shakky's Bar". He had asked for directions a total of five times, often being forced to make u-turns because he had been traveling in the complete opposite direction. He locked his car and walked into the bar. He had googled "Sanji" before he left the house, only glancing at the picture long enough to note that the man had golden blonde hair. It would be easy enough to recognize-or so he had thought. He glanced around and failed to locate any blonde man. Seriously? He thought to himself. It's 50 minutes past the meeting time and he's still not here. And I thought I was the late one. He decided to just grab a few drinks as he waited.


Five minutes later, Zoro looked up again as the door chimed as it was opened. A slim man dressed in a blue-green button-up shirt and tie walked in. He had a pair of large sunglasses obscuring his face and bright blonde hair. He was the first blonde that had walked in the door, so Zoro hoped he was the right one. He got up from his seat and walked towards him.

"Are you Sanji?" He asked. The blonde man looked up as if startled.

"Yes I am. Are you from Roronoa company?" he said, sliding his sunglasses off his face.

"Yes. I'm Zoro." As they spoke, they had walked toward the bar, and were sliding into their seats. Inside, Zoro was actually rather surprised. He had to deal with models on multiple occasions, but this blonde-haired man was actually especially good looking. But there was something about him that just seemed to annoy him.

When they had sat down, Zoro turned towards Sanji and said bluntly, "You're late."

Sanji blinked in surprise and glanced at his watch. "It's 7:55" he said, "I'm actually early. The meeting time was at 8:00pm."

"8:00…? It was sev…." He broke off midword. That fucking bastard. His father had purposefully given him an earlier time so that he wouldn't be late.

Sanji glanced at the multitude of glasses before the green-haired man. "Are you drunk?"

Zoro chuckled. "As if this few drinks could get me drunk."

"Few? This is not a few."

"What, you can't hold your liquor or something?"

"Bullshit. I could out-drink you any day." Zoro smirked evilly. So this little prissy blond boy thought that he could drink more that he could? In his dreams. Zoro had never been outdrunk before, indeed he had never gotten more than buzzed in a drinking contest, even when multiple opponents had long since given up and passed out.

"That sounds like a challenge."

Even as he smirked at Zoro, a cigarette lazily dangling from his lips, inside Sanji was wondering just what he had gotten himself into. He had a horrible tolerance for alcohol, and this man clearly could drink. But it was too late to back out now. Something about this marimo-head just grated against him-and he didn't want to lose to him. Although he did have to admit, with his well-built body, the strange green-haired man was actually rather attractive- not that he was attracted to men.

Zoro called the bartender and ordered a few hard drinks.

Shit, Sanji thought. He was the type to get buzzed after just a few beers. This wasn't going to end well.


Hope you liked it! Please review!