Not Too Late Is It?, an one piece fanfic

Not Too Late is It?

Sanji skipped through the streets of the town's market with a huge smile on his face. He held a solitary shopping bag and two large bouquets of roses were bouncing in his arms. He reached the ship and his stomach flipped in delight. Today was truly the best day of the year.

"Nami~swaaaaaan! Robin~chwa—"

"They aren't back yet." The hearts in Sanji's eyes fell, and they shattered on the wooden deck of the Sunny. Usopp was sitting against the mast with a large sheet of paper in front of him and his painting supplies off to his right.

"What're you doing Usopp?"

"Ah, I'm sending a message home to Kaya." He smiled as he sketched an outline.

Sanji walked over and smirked down at Usopp. "Oh? That pretty girl from your village?"

Usopp blushed and cleared his throat, "Don't YOU have stuff to prepare for Valentine's Day?"

Sanji immediately forgot about Usopp's little project and dashed off to the Galley to get the meal ready, among other things. He took out the groceries he had purchased earlier and got to work. He had an elegant meal planned for that night and he was going to put his heart and soul into it (not that he didn't already), and wanted everything to be ten times better than perfect. The sounds of gentle guitar strums soaked through the walls of the galley and into Sanji's ears and he smiled. Franky was practicing a love song.

"Seems like everyone's got someone special to woo today." He mumbled into the barely bubbling water. 'Well, this'll take a while, might as well...' Sanji sat down in a chair and put his feet on the table. '...just...close my eyes...only for...a second...'

– One Hour Later –

Sanji awoke to the sound of a kitchen timer. He'd been slow-roasting the meat so it was tender and juicy. He set it aside and quickly, though not without precision, of course, threw together the ingredients for his mouth-watering petit fours when he heard the clatter of people clamoring up on deck. 'Have my darling angels finally returned!?' Sanji burst out of the room with the bowl in hand to see Robin and an eager Nami pushing a very reluctant Zoro around a corner and out of Sanji's sight. The girls each had a brown paper bag while Zoro carried a box. 'Now what could they be up to?' He looked over at Usopp who was shooing away a pestering Luffy.

"C'mon Usopp, I wanna make something too~"

"No! I need these for the card I'm making Kaya, now back off, I still have to paint it!" Sanji could see the outline of his drawing; it was really, really, impressive. The doves he'd drawn looked like they'd start flapping their wings and fly of the page any second, and his calligraphic skill were unbelievable. It was incredibly lavish, but it wasn't garish or gimmicky. He was so absorbed in Usopp's valentine he didn't notice that Luffy had snuck up behind him until he felt the bowl start to leave his grasp.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing, Luffy!" He regained his iron grip on the bowl and the rubber boy gave up without a fight, for once.

"Maah...I need something for Valentines Day, I'm the only one that doesn't have anything yet!"

Sanji sighed exasperatedly as his captain sunk into a disappointed puddle. "You'll think of something Luffy."

"Mmmm..." He groaned with pursed lips as he watched Sanji saunter back into the kitchen. "Even Zoro's got something..." He mumbled to no one in particular.

"Zoro's got something?" Usopp questioned as he stirred the jar of red paint.

"Yup!" Luffy smiled a moment before pouting in contemplation. "I wonder what it was; he didn't look very excited though."

"Yeah, it looked like Nami's putting him up to something again." Usopp put down the red paint and picked up the white, looking inside before starting to stir. "Wonder what she's got up her sleeve this time."

---

"Nami, I really don't think that this is..." Zoro was sitting in front of Nami on an empty barrel, looking up at her doubtingly.

"Well, if you don't get it over with now you'll never do it. You're too laid back and this is something you can't just leave alone!" Nami held up the black garment she was about to don her curvy figure with before placing it back in the bag. "Now look, I got you some special clothes for the occasion and I'm only making you pay 110 percent of the cost!" She reached into another brown paper bag and tossed the black outfit over Zoro's head.

Zoro growled as it covered his head, not bothering to remove it—it concealed his blush.

"It'll be fun Kenshi-san." Robin pulled the shoes out of the box Zoro had been carrying.

"I can't believe you, of all people, are going along with it..."

Robin smirked a sly little smirk as her bangs cast a shadow over his eyes, "Why don't you try it on, Kenshi-san?" It wasn't a question. Not at all.

Zoro sighed in resignation and did as he was told.

---

It was finally time for the Valentine's Day party, though 3 members of the crew were missing. Usopp and Franky had moved the table outside and Sanji had filled it with lavishly decorated appetizers, entrées, and deserts that were much too pretty to eat. Even Luffy's hand slowed (though just a fraction) when he saw the beautiful petit fours Sanji had prepared.

Usopp was folding up the giant 4-foot by 4-foot card he'd prepared for Kaya that he planned to send out the next day. "Hey," he asked without looking away from what he was working on, "where are Zoro and the girls?" The four other boys looked around the deck. The three aforementioned persons were, indeed, not on deck.

"Ah, so they're getting ready." Franky commented smugly as he strummed a lazy chord on his guitar.

"You know something we don't?" Sanji lit a cigarette. "Do you plan to share?"

Franky laughed, "Wouldn't ruin this for the world."

"Neh, Franky, how do you know?" Chopper bit into a cone of strawberry candy floss.

"Who do you think helped set things up?" Another gentle strum, "Should start any minute now."

Perfectly on queue, smoke rose from the lower deck of the sunny as a rectangular section of the floor began to rise. Light leaked out from the cracks as speakers rose out of two separate trap doors.

"What the hell..." Sanji scraped the food on his for back onto the plate before setting it down on the table. If what he suspected was going to happen were to actually happen, he didn't want to have any food in his mouth in case he might choke.

The stage was now fully ascended lights were shining out from the back, backlighting two feminine figures as they stood in sensual poses. You couldn't make out any details as they were completely shadowed, but it was obvious who they were. There were two beats before their voices started.

"All the single ladies!" A deep, unseen voice sang.

"All the single ladies!" Nami and Robin echoed as they started to jerk their hips. A billow of smoke spewed forth.

"All the single ladies!" Another shadowed person quickly walked onto center stage; the source of the voice. Sanji was glad he hadn't taken that last bite.

"All the single ladies!" They echoed again.

"All the single ladies!"

"All the single ladies! Now put your hands up!" At the 'up,' overhead lights switched on, fully revealing the three occupants on stage. Nami and Robin were both wearing long-sleeved leotards with leg holes that went up to their hips, leaving no inch of leg unrevealed. And there, in the middle was Zoro. He had on a leotard similar to Nami and Robins, but his had a turtleneck and was sleeveless; plus he wore a skirt to hide the 'fun' bits. The three of them wore matching, strapped high heels.

"Up in the club, we just broke up. I'm doin my own li'l thing." Zoro sang as he gyrated like a pro.

"You decided to dip," They bent at the waist, touched the floor before righting themselves, dragging their hands along the front of their bodies as they did so. "And now you wanna trip, cause another brother noticed me."

Sanji had gotten over the shock enough to listen to the lyrics, 'Zoro...another...you...' Sanji's heart did another flip, similar to the one he'd felt that morning, but this time it wasn't nearly as pleasant.

"I'm up on him." Zoro turned to the side and drew a hand across his chest, Nami and Robin copying his every movement in the background. But Sanji wasn't looking anywhere near them.

"He up on me." Sanji felt his heart stumble and gripped at it, as if doing so would get it back into a steady rhythm.

"Don't pay him any attention." Zoro waggled his finger in time with the jerking of his hips.

Cause I've cried my tears
For three good years
You can't be mad at me.

'Mad at you for what, Zoro?' He growled internally. 'What's he done that would...No, I can't think this literally...it's just a song...'

Zoro stepped back and got in line with Nami and Robin who were smiling coy little smiles at a stunned Sanji; they knew what was coming next.

"Cause if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it." Zoro splayed his left hand and looked between his fingers as he rocked his hips, lifting the heel of his left foot with each alternate jerk.

Sanji was officially floored. All he could do was watch as Zoro danced erotically, ignoring Franky's catcalls and whistles at a certain black-haired babe.

If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it
Don't be mad once you see that he want it
If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it.

They went into a chorus of 'woah-oh-oh's' and started clapping with their arms above their heads, twisting and gyrating, thrusting and jerking to the beat of the music that was blaring through Franky's excessively large, custom made speakers.

If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it
Don't be mad once you see that he want it
If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it."

They spun around so their backs were facing their speechless crowd, shaking their hips and showing off their asses: all of them cute and pert.

I got gloss on my lips.

Zoro turned his head around to face Sanji and ran a finger along his lips.

A man on my hips.

He ran the other hand from just below his butt to the bump of his hipbone.

Hold me tighter than my Dereon jeans.

They each crouched and ran a hand up their thigh.

I need no permission
Did I mention?
Don't pay him any attention
Cause you had your turn
And now you're gonna learn
What it really feels like to miss me

'Zoro, are you...breaking up with me?' Sanji's heart flipped, got motion sickness, and puked all over Sanji's happiness, soiling it.

Cause if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it
If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it
Don't be mad once you see that he want it
If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it.

Wha-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Wha-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Cause if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it
If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it
Don't be mad once you see that he want it
If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it

Wha-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Wha-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Sanji hadn't noticed that he'd gotten closer to the stage until he was practically looking up Zoro's skirt. Zoro was still working it like he'd been doing it since he was born. He looked down at Sanji with hazy eyes and a parted mouth. Sanji could feel the heat of the lights and he wasn't even under them, much less doing a fully rehearsed dance routine or singing no less.

Don't treat me to these things of the world

'Like I would.' Sanji thought.

I'm not that kind of girl

'I know you're not.'

Your love is what I prefer, what I deserve

'Arrogant bastard.' Zoro jumped down from the stage and started dancing towards Sanji. It had been unplanned, obviously, because Robin and Nami exchanged looks of uncertainty, but followed him regardless.

Here's a man that makes me then takes me and delivers me
To a destiny, to infinity and beyond
Pull me into your arms

Zoro wrapped an arm around Sanji's shoulder and lifted his knee for Sanji to grab hold of. Sanji did without a second thought (other than the thought of how smooth his skin was and how strong his thigh was).

Say I'm the one you want

He traced a finger along Sanji's jaw and pinched his chin, eyes flowwing his finger before looking back up into Sanji's eye.

If you don't, you'll be alone

Zoro pushed Sanji away and stood spread eagled in front of him.

And like a ghost

He crossed his arms in front of his face.

I'll be gone

As he uncrossed his arms, he disappeared. Sanji looked around desperately for his sexy little devil, but couldn't see him anywhere. The song continued, and when he looked up, Nami and Robin were disappearing as well. The stage fell apart into nothingness, but the song kept going, no longer in Zoro's voice, but in Nami and Robin's echos.

All the single ladies!
All the single ladies!
All the single ladies!
All the single ladies! Now put your hands up!

Everything went black with the 'up' just as the lights went on in the beginning.

Whoa-oh-oh

Cause if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it

Sanji looked around in the darkness and took off in a random direction. He had to find Zoro. He couldn't let him go, not like that

If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it

Don't be mad once you see that he want it If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it

Sanji was running through darkness, unable to escape those taunting lyrics. He wanted to call Zoro's name, but his mouth wouldn't open.

Whoa-oh-oh

Cause if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it
If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it
Don't be mad once you see that he want it
If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it

And then Zoro's voice finally returned, "Whoa-oh-oh!"

---

Wait.

Why did this all seem so familiar?

He heard the thumps and bumps of someone hopping back on board and the dream he'd just had came rushing forth and Sanji crippled to the floor. He heard a faint: 'C'mon Usopp, I wanna make something too~' And he clutched at his head. As strange as it seemed, the song had been spot on with what his and Zoro's relationship had been going through: his constant neglect for Zoro's feelings and how he'd pay more attention to the ladies than Zoro on every major holiday; or everyday in general. He had never given Zoro a day's worth of his time. Of course Zoro would be sick with him, but that didn't mean Sanji would allow Zoro to get with anyone else. 'So I'm a shitty, selfish bastard. Sue me.'

Sanji threw the bowl on the counter and raced out of the galley and into town. The petit fours would have to wait, there were more important things that he had to take care of.

– That Evening –

Sanji had prepared all the same foods as were in the dream. He'd even had time to redo the petit fours and make them even better than the ones before.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying the party so far. He noticed that Zoro, Nami, and Robin were all missing and he broke out into a huge grin. Perhaps he shared Usopp's psychic abilities.

---

As they neared the end of the song, Sanji found himself in front of the stage, but instead of his dumbstruck gaze he was smiling confidently.

Zoro hadn't hopped off the stage like in his dream, but he did lock eyes with Sanji. They were harder and a bit colder than he remembered. But when Zoro reached the final 'oh' Sanji jumped on stage.

He grabbed Zoro's extended hand and slid the cold band onto Zoro's finger, not breaking eye contact from a completely baffled Zoro. He kissed the ring, loving the blush on Zoro's cheeks as he took an uneasy half-step backwards in his incredibly uncomfortable heels. Sanji still wasn't sure how he'd managed to dance so well in them.

"Is it too late to put a ring on it?"

The End

Author's Note

http://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY

Happy Valentines Day

Oh, and the 'psychic abilities' bit was a reference to another story of mine (Story Time with Captain Usopp) and there are 2 sort of continuations: Right on Time, and A Day Late, but Just as Good

-PD