This story is for Kumiko-sama-chan's Holiday Zosan drabble exchange and stands in for Day 5 (hence why it is so late ^^;) I'm happy to be part of the Exchange and I hope you like the story. Thanks go to Vergina-spva, my friend Thérèse (not on FF) and MyLadyDay for pre-reading, beta'ing and approving (so if you don't like it, blame them :P) In all her awesomeness, MyLadyDay has thought up the title as well (I suck at that XD)
The image is drawn by the lovely snippadeus :3 (at DeviantArt)
Enjoy :3
Snow Angels
Sanji took a step back to admire his work. The snowman looked just like Nami, if he said so himself. The orange haired girl was the prettiest in his class and he had a crush on her since she had come to his tenth birthday party nine months ago. Unfortunately she had turned him down when he had declared his love, saying she liked someone else. That someone was a black haired, nose picking boy that didn't understand the first thing about girls. And still Luffy was one of Sanji's closest friends.
That didn't mean, however, that he wasn't going to win Nami over. She deserved a real man, after all. Smiling he turned around to the girl that would be his wife one day and exclaimed: "Nami, I have immortalised your beauty in snow!"
The redhead looked up from punching Luffy – which he had obviously deserved – and snorted. "I don't look anything like that."
"Of course I can't capture your true beauty," Sanji pouted.
Luffy took a closer look to the snowman – or rather snowgirl – and cocked his head to the side. "It kinda looks like Usopp."
The curly haired boy was just making a snow angel, but looked up when he heard his name. "It kind of does."
Sanji kicked Luffy in the head. "It looks nothing like ugly Usopp. It's the beautiful Nami!"
"Looks more like a blob to me."
Sanji turned around hearing the unfamiliar voice. Behind him stood a boy about his age with green hair. Like all the others, he was wrapped up warmly in a thick coat, scarf and gloves.
"Hey Zoro!" Luffy laughed. "Come play with us!"
Sanji snorted. He knew the green haired boy. It was a friend of Luffy, who went to a different school. The blond boy didn't like him. He had never actually met the boy before, but Nami had and he didn't like the way she talked about him. Besides, anyone with green hair had to be stupid, right?
"If I wanted to make a blob, I would have made it look like you!" he yelled back.
"You obviously wanted to make something stupid, so why didn't you model it after yourself?" Zoro flung back.
Cheeks red in anger, Sanji grabbed a handful of snow and hit the stupid boy in the face with a snowball. "Take that, Grass-head," he said triumphant.
Zoro wiped the molten snow out of his eyes, looking angry. "Who are you calling Grass-head, stupid Curly-brow?" He threw a snowball back.
The blond boy managed to duck in time and stuck out his tongue. "You're stupid! You can't even throw right!" What he hadn't expected, was that Zoro ran over to him and pushed a handful of snow in his face.
"Eat that!"
Now furious, Sanji tackled the other boy, shoving snow down his collar. Zoro pushed the blond off him, pressing his face in the snow. The fight continued. Luffy encouraged them by cheering loudly, while Usopp tried to calm them down and Nami hit Luffy in the head for being stupid.
The two fighting boys didn't pay attention to their friends, being too occupied with trying to shove each other's faces in the snow. They didn't even notice that it had become quiet around them and that a dark shadow loomed over them, until they both received a swift kick in the head.
"Ow! Watch it, old man!" Sanji yelled, rubbing over the painful spot. He looked around, but it seemed his friends had fled when they saw Zeff nearing.
His father snorted. "Then stop behaving like a hooligan. Come inside before you get pneumonia, little eggplant."
The blond scrambled to his feet and standing beside his father he stuck out his tongue to Zoro.
"Put that thing back in your mouth, before I make you lick an iron rail," Zeff grouched, without even glancing to his stubborn son. Sanji immediately snapped his jaws shut.
"Well, then," the chef crossed his arms before his chest and looked the green haired boy up and down. "What's you name, boy?"
He swallowed, a bit intimidated by the tall man with his impressive braided moustache. This was the stupid blond's dad?
"It's Zoro." He didn't dare to look the man in the eye.
Zeff plucked at his moustache. "Do you live nearby?"
The green haired boy shrugged. "I live at Shell Street."
"That's on the other side of town! How did you get here?"
He shrugged again. "Mom said to take a walk."
Zeff plucked at his moustache. "Well, get inside. I can't send you home all drenched."
The two boys were hurled inside, shooting each other deadly looks, and ordered to take off their wet clothes. Both were sent upstairs where a hot bath already stood ready.
"I'm not taking a bath with him!" they yelled in chorus, but Zeff ignored them.
So they ended up sitting each on the other end of the bathtub scowling at each other in silence. Until Zoro suddenly started to laugh. "You play with rubber ducks?" He picked up the yellow toy and squeezed it so it made a squeaky sound.
"Gimme that!" Sanji jerked the duck out of Zoro's hands. "What do you play with, then, if you're so cool?"
"I have a shark," the green haired boy announced proudly.
"Sharks are stupid."
"You're stupid!"
Sanji splashed warm water in Zoro's face. "Go wash your hair, or the green won't come out."
"It's just my hair, asshole! And what did you use on your eyebrow, a curling iron?" He splashed back.
"Cut it out, shithead!" The blond splashed back again and before they knew it, the whole bathroom was wet. Zeff came in, but they didn't notice until Sanji splattered water over his old man. They both earned a kick in the head with the blond man's fake leg.
An hour later Sanji and Zoro sat together in front of the fireplace. They were both wrapped in the same blanket and holding a mug of steaming cocoa. It had taken them some time to clean and dry the entire bathroom under the strict supervision of Zeff, but they finally managed. Zoro was now wearing some dry clothes he borrowed from Sanji. Outside it had become dark and it had started to snow again.
Zeff entered the room. "I've called your mother and we have arranged that you will stay here tonight," he said to Zoro. "I can't get you to the other side of town in this weather."
Sanji jumped up, almost spilling his cocoa on the carpet. "But I don't want him to stay here. It's a school night," he added smugly. He could never have friends over on school nights.
Zeff sighed. "The boy will stay here, whether you like it or not. We eat in half an hour." His tone indicated that he tolerated no contradiction, before disappearing into the kitchen again.
Sanji sat down again pouting and sipped from his drink. Zoro said nothing, but stared in the flames.
"Why are you here?" Sanji suddenly snapped.
The green haired boy looked up surprised. "Your dad didn't give me much choice."
"Not that. If you hadn't wandered all the way across town, we wouldn't be in this mess!" the blond boy said angrily.
Zoro stared down to his drink. Sanji snorted and made his way to the kitchen. He always helped his dad out with dinner. But this time Zeff sent him out and told him to go play with his friend. Sanji scowled at him. "He's not my friend!"
"But he is our guest, so go entertain him!" And Zeff kicked him – quite literally – out of the kitchen.
Sanji kicked against the door, making Zoro, who was still wrapped in the blanket, look up. The blond stuck out his tongue. He was not going to play with the stupid boy, they weren't even friends! So he got out the notebook in which he was writing down recipes. A good cookbook needed illustrations, so he obtained his crayons and started to draw, the tip of his tongue sticking a little out of his mouth in concentration.
Curiously Zoro peered over the blond's shoulder. "What are you doing?"
At first Sanji was inclined to pull the notebook away, as it was none of Zoro's business, but to be honest he was proud of his work. Even Zeff had given him somewhat of a compliment. So he showed the green haired boy his notebook. "It's the cookbook I'm making. When I grow up, I wanna become a chef, like the old man," he said with a smile on his face.
With a look that could be described as amazed, and perhaps a little as envy, Zoro leafed through the book. "You can make all this?"
Sanji nodded proudly. "Zeff thought me. Are you drooling?"
Hastily Zoro wiped his mouth and fervently shook his head, but he couldn't stop his stomach from growling. It all looked just too good, especially with Sanji's drawings.
The blond boy chuckled. "I'll go see if dinner's ready. So don't starve in the next few minutes, okay?"
A little surprised Zoro took a seat at the table and continued to read in Sanji's notebook. The blond's last words were the nicest ones he had uttered towards Zoro. This afternoon he had observed the boy a while before he had made a comment about Sanji's snowman. The children hadn't noticed him, being too occupied in their games.
Zoro had met Luffy a while ago when he was walking home from school and accidentally had made a wrong turn. He bumped into the black haired boy, who was two years younger than he was, and his older brother Ace, who was the same age as Zoro. Luffy had immediately declared him his friend and invited him to play with them. It was the most fun he had in ages. He didn't really fit in at school and because his mom was away a lot, he had to do many chores in the house. Luffy was the first one to call him his friend. Later on he met Luffy's other 'crewmembers', as the black haired boy insisted on being called captain, Nami and Usopp. He had heard many things about Sanji, though he had never seen him before today. Nami called the blond annoying because he could never leave her alone, but in all he was described as a good friend, who brought home cooked food to school – a quality especially appreciated by Luffy.
Today, Zoro had witnessed Sanji being a good friend, but then he started to act stupid for Nami's sake. For some reason Zoro had felt like riling the blond up, and it was funny to see how easy it was. Unfortunately, the blond had a knack for pushing his buttons as well.
Sanji came back into the living room, carefully carrying three plates. "Move your butt, Grass-head, the old man ordered me to set the table," he said, but there was a grin on his face.
Zoro closed the notebook, placing it carefully on the bookshelf he had seen Sanji retrieve it from, and made his way into the kitchen, asking Zeff if he could help. He was pointed to the cutlery drawer.
After the boys were finished laying the table, Zeff appeared from the kitchen, carrying a steaming bowl of spaghetti. Zoro's stomach rumbled again while he took a seat across Sanji at the table.
Zeff smiled slightly at hearing the sound. "Sounds like I'm just in time." He handed the boy the dish, while sitting down at the head of the table.
Zoro tried his best not to drool. This food looked even better than Sanji's drawings. And it smelled like heaven.
Zeff and Sanji both smiled at the hungry looking face of the boy, and where therefore surprised when Zoro only dished up a small amount.
"I thought you were starving," the blond boy snorted.
Zoro looked hesitantly at Zeff. The man plucked at his moustache and nodded encouragingly. "Take as much as you like, boy."
He didn't have to say it twice. Zoro served out so much food that his plate was barely visible anymore. The chef raised an eyebrow. "I have nothing against an healthy appetite, but you better eat it all. We don't waste food in this house."
Zoro nodded and could barely restrain himself from digging in until Sanji and Zeff had served themselves. The moment the chef placed the dish back on the table, he attacked the food. Sanji and Zeff exchanged a look.
"Do you get enough to eat at home, boy?" Sanji's father asked Zoro.
The green haired boy swallowed, but stayed silent for a moment, before mumbling: "It's just me and my mom. She doesn't earn a lot of money." He hoped that they hadn't heard him, but Zeff dished up more spaghetti on his plate.
The green haired boy ate with relish and was utterly surprised when it turned out there was also desert. After diner the two boys helped Zeff clean up, before he sent them out of the kitchen to watch TV.
"Your dad is the best cook ever," Zoro sighed happily, rubbing his full belly.
Sanji grinned. "I know. And when I grow up, I will be better than him."
"I would like to try your cooking then."
They watched television for a while until Zeff announced it was bedtime. About half an hour later both boys were tugged in. The chef had placed a mattress next to Sanji's bed, so that the boys slept in the same room. Zoro had borrowed pyjamas from the blond boy. Zeff turned off the light and warned them not to stay up too late, as it was still a school night.
They lay in silence for a while, when Sanji suddenly said: "You never told me what you wanted to be when you grow op."
In the dark, Zoro grinned. "I'm gonna be the world's best swordsman."
"Swordsman?" Sanji sat up. "You can fight with swords? That's so cool!"
Zoro nodded proudly. "I'm practicing kendo. And when I'm older I will defeat the man who has now the title of best swordsman in the world and then I will be the best! That's my dream."
The blond boy smiled. "You wanna know what my dream is?"
"Being the best chef in the world?"
Sanji shook his head, not realising that Zoro couldn't see him. "No, I want to find All Blue."
"What's that?"
The blond had a faraway look and sighed happily. "All Blue is a beautiful sea where all fish and sea animals of the world come together."
Intrigued Zoro climbed upon Sanji's bed and sat against the wall next to his new friend. "Tell me more."
The blond told him all legends he knew about All Blue and sailing the world. When he was finally finished Zoro said: "I'd like to see you find All Blue."
Sanji smiled. "And I would like to see you become the world's greatest swordsman."
When Zeff entered the room the next morning, he found the two boys both sleeping in the same bed. He smiled tenderly for a moment, before yanking open the curtains and kicking both boys out of bed. "Get up, you two! Before you are late for school."
Zoro's clothes had dried over night. The two boys ate breakfast before Zeff told Sanji to go to school. He would bring Zoro to his own.
While the chef retrieved the boys' lunches, Zoro and Sanji looked at each other, both not sure what to say. "Have fun today," the blond finally managed.
"I will," Zoro said, before adding, smirking: "Since you're not there."
They ended up fighting again and only a kick in the head courtesy of Zeff made them stop.
After that day Sanji and Zeff always made sure that Zoro had a home made lunch and got enough food. Along with his father the blond drove to Zoro's school in the morning to give him lunch and invited him, sometimes along with his mom, over for diner every once in a while. Zoro was also told to pick up leftovers at the restaurant where Zeff worked if his mother was short of money.
It was nearing Christmas when Sanji found his friend sitting outside wrapped up warmly. He looked sad.
"What's wrong?" The blond boy sat down next to him.
Zoro looked up slowly. "My mom's found a new job. A good paying one."
"Well, that's great, right? But don't worry, Zeff will still allow you to come over to eat here," he added grinning, knowing full well that once someone had tasted his dad's cooking, nothing could be compared.
But Zoro sniffled and Sanji was surprised. If the food wasn't the problem, what was?
"My mom's job is in another town. We're moving away."
At first Sanji was silent, having trouble to let the news sink in. But then he burst out: "Stupid Moss-head! You can't move away! What about me? You can't just leave! I hate you!" Tears dripped down his cheeks, while Zoro looked at him shocked. "You can't leave," the blond repeated sniffing. "You're my best friend…"
Zoro scrambled to his feet and hugged Sanji tightly. "You're my best friend too." Both sat down, next to each other in silence. Suddenly Zoro said: "I'll write you. I promise."
xXx
An annoying beeping sound woke him. Groaning, Sanji slammed the button of his alarm clock and rolled out of bed yawning. A new day again to serve annoying costumers and beautiful ladies. The latter was the only reason he even bothered to show up for work. Well, them and because the other shit cooks couldn't do anything without him. Really, how Zeff had managed at the restaurant before he was old enough to work was beyond him.
In the bathroom he took a shower, before maintaining his moustache and goatee. After that he got dressed. When he came downstairs to make breakfast he glanced outside the window. It had started snowing.
Sighing he made coffee. Winter always made him sad. Some thought he suffered from a winter depression, but Sanji knew better. He had never felt lonely before his best friend had moved away eleven years ago. He probably should get over it, but somehow he couldn't forget the foul-mouthed, green haired idiot, who had vowed to become the world's greatest swordsman.
After the boy had moved, he wrote like he had promised, and during holidays Sanji had visited him or the other way around. But after a year the contact faded. Sanji found new friends, just like Zoro and they just grew apart. Nothing in life Sanji regretted as much as letting Zoro get away. Even if their friendship was short lived, he had never found again someone who riled him up like Zoro could with just one look.
The clock struck nine and shook Sanji from his thoughts. Shit, being lost in nostalgic memories made him run late! Quickly he drunk his coffee, burning his tongue, and put on his coat. He would eat breakfast at the restaurant.
Today was no different from other days. He yelled at the other chefs for being morons, he yelled at the waiters for being morons as well and he swooned over the waitresses and female customers. And he got yelled at by Zeff for being an idiot, as his father called it.
While chopping some carrots, the head chef came standing next to him. Sanji's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Zeff had trained him all his life, surely he didn't need to breathe down the blond's neck while chopping vegetables?
"You're making them too big," Zeff snorted. "Really, being a good-for-nothing chef like yourself, it is truly a miracle that someone wants to pay you a compliment."
"My carrots are just fine, shitty old fart! Go annoy someone– Wait, did you say someone wanted to compliment my food?" the younger man interrupted himself.
"God knows why," his father grouched. "Table three."
Sanji washed his hands and with his hands in his pockets, he left the kitchen. Hopefully a beautiful woman enjoyed her meal so much she wanted to thank him with kisses…
The hearts disappeared from his eyes when he saw who was sitting at the table. It had been ten years, but that green hair was unmistakable. "Moss-head?"
Zoro turned towards him, a big grin on his face. "Curly-brow."
Sanji gaped at him. Zoro had sure done some growing up. The green haired boy he had known had turned into a handsome man. His upper body was well trained and the muscles showed even through his shirt. He had a strong looking yaw, and from his left ear hung three earrings. And that voice… Sanji's heart started to beat faster when his old friend met his eyes. A dark orb pierced into his, as the other eye was permanently shut thanks to the scar that ran over it.
From his side, Zoro did some staring as well. In an off-chance of seeing his old friend again, he had walked into the restaurant he knew Zeff owned. Coincidentally the head chef had seen him and they had done some catching up before Zoro dared to ask for Sanji. Zeff had smirked and said he would give Zoro's compliments to the chef. Only moments later Sanji had turned up, now a full grown man.
The other eye than he remembered was covered with hair, revealing an eyebrow that curled the same way as the other. His face had grown mature, now decorated with a well maintained goatee and moustache. In all, he looked incredible and Zoro had a hard time not to drool – much like on the first night he ate at Sanji's house, but for entirely different reasons.
The blond pulled out a chair and sat down. "What the hell are you doing here? I haven't seen you in ten years and suddenly you decide to walk into my restaurant?!"
Zoro shrugged. "I was in the neighbourhood."
They started to talk, telling each other what was going on in their lives like no time had passed at all. Zoro told that he had been on his way home from a job, he had taken a wrong exit on the motorway and he had ended up here. Sanji of course made fun of his sense of direction, something that hadn't changed since the green haired man was a boy. It made Zoro flush slightly – though he denied it. Sanji's heart skipped a beat at seeing that. The green haired man was still adorable.
They both tried to sound normal, but it was obvious that something had changed between them. Their friendship hadn't faded, it had evolved into something more, something that left a tension hanging in the air. Both felt it, but neither dared to say something about it.
"So are you the world's greatest swordsman yet?" the blond asked, ignoring whatever was going on. He sounded teasing, but deep down he really wanted to know if Zoro still pursued his dream. After all, Sanji still did.
The swordsman shook his head. "Not yet. But I'm still becoming stronger." He pointed at his closed eye. "I got this in the process."
Sanji reached out his hand and before he realised what he was doing, his fingers caressed the damaged skin. He must have looked worried, because Zoro said: "It's not that bad."
Tanned fingers wrapped around his hand and slowly pulled it down. The green haired man stared down to their intertwined fingers. He liked the contrast of their skins. Realising he was staring, he coughed and let go of Sanji's hand.
"So, what about your dream?"
The blond smiled, his eyes shining in glee. "I'm saving up to buy a boat."
They talked for hours. Eventually Zeff kicked them out, because 'they were occupying a table and Sanji was a good-for-nothing anyway.' After yelling at his dad, the blond insisted Zoro came home with him.
On their way to Sanji's place, the chef suddenly stopped dead, bending down, grabbing a handful of snow and throwing a snowball in Zoro's face before the green haired man could respond.
Wiping the snow out of his face, Zoro started to laugh and swore he would make Sanji pay, by tackling him and rubbing his face in the snow. The blond pushed him off him, chuckling and wiping his face. Zoro snickered as well, laying on his back and admiring Sanji's happy expression. The chef's cheeks were red because of the cold, and if the green haired man didn't fear the consequences, he would call Sanji adorable. But he had only a few seconds to relax before the blond jumped him again, trying to make him eat snow. They played outside until it had become too dark to see anything.
Sanji pointed Zoro to his house. Both were drenched by the molten snow. Inside the blond lit the fireplace, before going upstairs to get some dry clothes. Unfortunately the only thing that would fit the muscular man was his bathrobe. In the kitchen he made cocoa while Zoro changed.
A while later they were sitting before the hearth, both wrapped in the same blanket. Zoro smiled nostalgically, sipping his cocoa. "This is just like eleven years ago, when I first stayed over at your house."
Sanji stared at the floor, biting his lip. "It's… Not entirely the same."
His words made Zoro look at him, a dark orb penetrating his eyes. He looked away, staring at the carpet.
"What do you mean?" the green haired man asked.
"I just… Nothing, never mind," he sighed. Zoro was his friend, or at least had been many years ago and now they had found each other again. Could he really risk that?
A large calloused hand caressed his jaw, before grabbing it tenderly and turning Sanji's face towards the swordsman, forcing him to look at the man. "Tell me," Zoro demanded.
Taking a deep breath, the blond leaned in and pressed his lips lightly against the green haired man's.
At first Zoro just stared at him, blinking in surprise, before grabbing the back of the chef's neck and pulling him back in a kiss. Sanji sighed happily when Zoro's teeth softly bit his lower lip.
They pulled back, both with heated cheeks – because of the heat of the fire of course. Sanji snuggled into the green haired man's strong arms, while they both stared into the flames.
"You know," the blond said softly, "I'm kinda glad you're not the world's best swordsman yet."
He could feel Zoro's voice vibrating through his chest against which his head rested, when the man said: "Why's that?"
He looked up. "'Cause now I can see you fulfil your dream. You won't get rid of me this time, Moss-head."
Zoro chuckled lowly. "Then I'll just have to come with you on your quest for All Blue, don't I?"
"I'll probably get lost then," Sanji teased him, but still crept closer to the swordsman.
They stared into the flames, while outside it had started snowing again.