This is my entry for the First Annual ZoSan Holiday Drabble Christmas Exchange. Ah, I got the Christmas Day. *nervous laugh* Hope you like it. ^^'' Merry Christmas!
I don't own One Piece.
The snowy streets were silent and the few people who dared to leave their warm homes tried quickly to run away from the freezing wind and snowfall. Everything was so peaceful; the snow storm was making the day dark so dim lights were shining through frosty windows. However, two warmly clothed figures were fighting their way through the thick snow layer, dragging their luggage while arguing loudly.
"Why the hell did you bring me here?! It's freezing!" Zoro whined, taking a better hold of his bag so that it wouldn't slip away.
"Shut it Marimo! I already explained that I want to spend the Christmas Day in my hometown. And you agreed! So suck it up." Sanji growled back, trying to find that one old and familiar house he was looking for.
They had arrived in North Blue on Christmas Day because Sanji had wanted to spend the special holiday with Zoro, just the two of them, in all peace. But of course that brute had to complain about everything…
"Well I didn't know that we were going to come in the middle of an ice age…" Zoro mumbled into his scarf. Sanji just sighed at this and continued walking.
"We are going to have fun here. Just trust me with this okay?" The cook said, glancing at Zoro who was currently wearing the normal scowl on his face.
They fell silent for the rest of the walk until they reached the building Sanji was looking for. He opened the door to the warm and homey little café, greeted by delicious smell of cinnamon and fresh bread. The café itself however was rather empty; it was Christmas Day after all but even so it was the only café open around here. The little bell above the door rang and an old man behind the counter turned to look at the door, immediately smirking.
"Well, well,well, look who's here. Little shitty eggplant." The man hummed and continued cutting fresh bread.
"Good to see you too, old geezer." Sanji snorted, a little smile curling on his lips from the joy to see his old man again after such a long time. This café had been their family business for years and Sanji had been the only one who ever wanted to leave it and go to work somewhere else. Despite the disappointment his foster dad had had back then, Zeff was happy that Sanji followed his dream. After all, thanks to that dream he met his lover.
"So, did your flight go well?" Zeff asked casually, not lifting his eyes from the work before him.
"Yeah, it was nice. And this place is just like it used to be." Sanji hummed, smirking. "We came to leave our stuff here and then we're gonna go to check out the market place."
"Mm, okay. Don't get lost with your green head." Zeff said, not caring about Zoro's murderous look and silent mumbling about how he didn't get lost. Oh yes, Zeff knew really well about that little 'habit'.
"Don't worry, I got a leash for him." Sanji continued to smirk and placed their luggage behind the counter so that Zeff could look after it while the two of them were out.
Sanji chuckled at Zoro's expression which was furious at this point. "Come on moss head, let's go." He then proceeded to drag Zoro outside to the cold air.
It wasn't snowing that much anymore so it was more pleasant to walk around the town. Sanji had already told Zoro before about the Christmas festival they had in the town every year. It wasn't anything big and they always held in the little market place in the middle of town. People there sold all kinds of homemade pastries and handcrafts.
They strolled towards the market place while Sanji began telling stories about each of the buildings they passed and what he had done there in his childhood. Zoro listened silently, nodding and humming every now and again to show that he was listening. He looked bored on the outside but really he was happy to hear any stories Sanji told him. But well, of course he couldn't say that out loud. It would be like a straight kick to his ego.
Soon, they could hear cheerful voices coming from the festival area. Both saw the small market place full of happy people, wearing red cheeks because of the frost. Zoro looked around, taking in the surrounding, before he glanced back at Sanji.
"Well it isn't that bad…" he admitted in a mumble.
Sanji only smirked again and mouth his barely audible 'I told you' and joined the crowd, making sure that Zoro was following. Together, they looked through every booth. Sanji got extremely excited when they crossed some of the fancy food ones. And not to forget to mention all the women they met. Zoro had rolled his eyes so many times that he was sure his eyes were going to fall out.
"Ah, is it really you Sanji?" Came a voice behind them. Sanji turned around to see who it was talking and his eyes widened in surprise.
"Lady Wilkama! Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you again!" Sanji smiled charmingly and bowed in front of the old lady. She appeared really old but still happy and healthy.
"It has been years, you little brat." Lady Wilkama laughed and grabbed Sanji into a bone crushing hug. Zoro was impressed how strong the granny was. Were all the people here as strong? Well it would explain Sanji's strength.
Sanji managed to gently peel the lady off of him and smiled down at her. "Yeah, it has been pretty long. How have you been? How about Mr. Wilkama?" The granny just shook her head and gave a little playful grin.
"We are both feeling better than ever! So, who's this boy here? Is this your partner Zeff told us about?" The lady spoke, the words coming fast from her mouth with such a strong accent that Zoro had to struggle a little bit to understand the questions.
"Yes he is. This idiot is Zoro." Sanji introduced him with a proud grin on his face. Zoro was about to open his mouth for a nice little comeback but was cut short when a strong hand slammed his back.
"Well good to finally meet you boy! I'm Helga Wilkama, Sanji's old neighbor." The lady greeted and patted Zoro's back again. Seriously, how strong was this granny?!
"Um yes. Nice to meet you too Lady Wilkama." Zoro said and bowed politely.
They continued their chit chat for a couple more minutes until Lady Wilkama spotted her friends and waddled over to them, leaving Zoro and Sanji alone. Sanji grabbed Zoro's hand and dragged the man after him to see more booths. Even Zoro's hard scowl melted a little bit when Sanji bought some special Christmas ale for him. The snowfall had ended by then and the sun tried to peek through the thick clouds, making the snowy ground glitter.
"Okay, let's go back to the café. It's starting to get cold." Sanji murmured when he put the last Christmas bread into his shopping bag. He was lucky that he managed to buy it, they were usually always sold right away.
"Ah, finally! I'm freezing."
Zoro tried to bury his red and cold nose into his scarf to make himself warmer. He was afraid that his limbs were going to freeze and fall off soon if they stayed outside any longer.
Sanji shoved some shopping bags to Zoro, demanding he carry something too. Zoro didn't complain this time, he was too freaking cold to argue at the moment. So with that they made their way back to the café where loving warmth welcomed them, making Zoro sigh in relief.
"Aren't you cold at all, shit cook?" Zoro asked when he glanced at Sanji who looked like the cold didn't affect him at all.
"Well I grew up here, what did you expect? I'm used to this weather." Sanji explained back before he went to put the bags away with all he had bought; something to take back with them as souvenirs for their friends and something for Zeff.
"Oh, you're back already." Came Zeff's voice from behind Zoro who was trying to make his numb fingers come back to life.
"Yeah, I think Sanji got all what he was looking for." Zoro stated casually and looked at Zeff who crossed his arms and huffed.
Sanji came back, moving over to them and explaining where he put all the stuff he bought. Zoro tuned all this out and just looked around. There were a bit more people enjoying their warm drinks than earlier. They probably came to heat up after wandering around in the festival.
"Oi, moss head! Are you listening?" Sanji snapped his fingers in front of Zoro's face to bring him back to the present.
"Uh, what?" Zoro blinked. Yeah, he wasn't listening. Sanji sighed heavily and brushed his hair away from his visible eye.
"I said that we're going to eat here now and then go to the hotel. Is that okay with you?" He repeated himself.
"Oh yeah, whatever." Zoro grunted and rubbed the back of his neck.
He hated it when Sanji caught him spacing out. Not that he was ashamed or anything, he just didn't like how Sanji usually started to tease him about it. But for some reason that usual teasing didn't come.
Sanji guided Zoro to the back room where they took their jackets off and once again Sanji started to explain all the things that had happened there back in his childhood, like messing up with other workers and all that shit. Until Sanji said something about how Zeff had made them a late lunch and it was waiting for them in the café area. Zoro was a bit confused because wasn't this a café, not a restaurant? And for wording this out he earned a hit across his head and scolding about calling it 'just a café'. So even if it was Christmas ,Zoro didn't get any lighter treatment.
The two of them sat at the table, enjoying their meal. It was good, Zoro had to admit. It reminded him of Sanji's cooking. The smell of cinnamon made him feel a bit dizzy but it was also relaxing so he was able to fully enjoy the moment.
"So, where is the hotel where we are supposed to stay?" Zoro asked between shoveling the food into his mouth. Sanji hadn't actually said a word about the hotel, just kept it a secret.
"You will see." Sanji chuckled. "But I promise that you will like it. It's one of the things that make this town quite popular. I had a really hard time trying to get a room for us, you know. Christmas makes it even more popular."
"Eh? But if it's so popular then why is this place so quiet?" Zoro wondered out loud.
Sanji started to explain how people had something else to do as well than just sit in the café, like doing sports outside but… Zoro tuned it all out again and continued to eat, letting Sanji ramble about the winter activities in the town. After finishing their food Zoro patted his belly and sighed happily. It was a nice feeling to have his stomach full and sit in the soothing comfort of the warm café.
"Enjoy your meal?" Zeff asked from behind the counter as a waitress came to collect their plates and glasses. Zoro nodded and mouthed his thanks and Sanji did the same. Sanji was really thankful that Zeff had cooked for them because now he wanted to just concentrate on being with Zoro. Even if the said green head didn't say it out loud, he really appreciated it as well.
"Okay, time to head to the hotel, it's getting dark soon."
He stood up and stretched his arms with a yawn. Zoro looked out of the window and yes, the sun was almost pretty much gone by now. The hell? So early?! Sanji noticed Zoro's confusion and explained how it gets dark earlier in the north during the winter.
"We should come here in the summer. Then the sun doesn't set at all." Sanji said and laughed at Zoro's what the fuck-expression. Oh how amusing it was how little did Zoro know about this place.
"Okay so how do we get to the hotel? How far away is it?" Zoro asked curiously while they were putting all their winter clothes on again. He was slowly starting to get used to this. Maybe winter wasn't that bad after all.
"Zeff allowed me to use his car. We should be there in 30 minutes or so." Sanji pulled the hat over his ears.
"Well that's handy." Zoro murmured and adjusted his scarf.
Soon Zeff came up to them and gave Sanji his car keys, telling him where the car was. They drug their luggage to the car and put them into the trunk. Zoro also found out that the one and only condition to use the car was that Sanji had to drive. That shit cook had told Zeff about Zoro's misfortune with his own car when he got badly lost…
The drive to the hotel really took about 30 minutes and when they were out of the town it was already pretty dark. All that Zoro could see was snow and hills. One old man was herding reindeers on the side in the snowy field. Zoro was amazed how different this place was to compared their current hometown.
They arrived safely and what they had before them was far from what Zoro had expected. It wasn't a regular hotel, not at all. It was shiny, white with a hint of blue and most of all… made of snow and ice…! Zoro stared at it for a good long moment, his jaw hanging open. Seriously, what the hell was that?! This whole place was weird but this… this opened a whole new level of weird.
Sanji watched Zoro's expressions changing from shock to confusion and chuckled in amusement. Yes, the thing in front of them really was an ICE hotel, one of the famous ones. It was built of ice and snow; making it look almost magical in lantern light. He once stayed a night in that building and it was amazing! Sanji really hoped that Zoro would like it too.
"Get out of the car Marimo. I don't have a whole day." Sanji snapped Zoro out of his thoughts. Zoro was still staring at the pile of ice and snow they called a hotel. He stumbled out of the car and took his bag and followed Sanji.
"Wh-What is this thing?" Zoro almost whispered, mostly to himself but Sanji caught his words.
"It's an ice hotel, made of snow and ice. Pretty impressive, isn't it?" Sanji said grinning.
He had always loved this place and now he had an opportunity to share it with Zoro. Zoro let out just some incoherent words and followed Sanji inside where a cheerful man with a fancy parka was welcoming them.
"Ah, hello gentlemen! Merry Christmas!" The man greeted with a polite bow.
Then he looked a bit closer at them and his face split into a playful grin.
"Well isn't it Sanji right there. Long time no see!" He laughed and went to hug Sanji who looked just as happy. Zoro raised his eyebrow slightly at this a bit too friendly hug but decided to brush it off; now wasn't a time to be jealous.
"Good to see you Taavi. So, is our room ready?" Sanji said and let go of Taavi. They were both smiling from ear to ear; it was clear that they had been best friends before.
"Oh yes, it's ready and waiting for you. And I guess that this guy here is Zoro?" Taavi said in his polite tone and gestured at Zoro with a slight nod.
"Yes, I'm Roronoa Zoro. Nice to meet you." Zoro responded and bowed his head.
Taavi smiled at him and started to explain about the hotel, like about the restaurant, breakfast, their room and some activities around. Sanji had booked a suite for them, and a really impressive one.
Taavi guided them to their room and wished Merry Christmas one more time before leaving. They looked around the room and Sanji grinned widely.
"This is even better than I remembered. What do you think?" Sanji asked, full of enthusiasm.
He put his bag on the snowy floor and walked around the room to check every single detail that had carved into the snow and ice. Electronic lights were placed all around the room, hidden under the structures. They created cold but still nice lightning. The room didn't have windows but the dim lights were just enough. All the furniture was made of ice and snow as well with beautiful and elegant carvings on them. The bed was covered with fluffy and warm bear skin rugs.
"We really are in the middle of ice age." Zoro stated but couldn't really hide the amazement on his face. But still one thing bothered him. "How the hell are we going to sleep in this place? We're going to freeze to death!"
"Don't worry, we have those rugs and nice and warm sleeping bags." Sanji said and smiled. Sleeping in the ice hotel was always an extreme experience.
"So this is a reason why you told me to pack my warmest pajamas…" Zoro snorted and stroked the fur cloth on the bed.
It was really soft and warm and he couldn't help but imagine how many nice things they could do on it tonight. But he wondered how exactly they would be able to do things without their asses freezing off… And some other critical places too.
Sanji sat down on the bed and hummed happily; the rugs were so soft and comfortable. That night was going to be amazing.
"So, wanna go to take a walk? If we are lucky we can see northern lights." Sanji asked and grinned like a little boy. He had always loved those magical lights in the sky, creating a wonderful atmosphere to the dark winter night.
Zoro groaned but after Sanji shot a death glare at him he complied. Actually he was kinda curious to see those northern lights. Sanji checked that they both had enough clothes on, which irritated Zoro a little bit as he claimed he wasn't a damn child anymore, he could take care of himself. After a little argument they managed to make their way outside to the cold air.
It was already pitch-dark and the only source of light were stars, moon and big lanterns around the hotel and a path that they were going to follow. Zoro and Sanji walked in silence, side by side, admiring the beautiful dark view around them. Sanji grabbed Zoro's hand without a word and held it gently but firmly in his own and he felt how Zoro squeezed his hand in a quiet approval.
The path lead them to a little pond. There were a couple benches around the pond with few more lanterns here and there. Zoro spotted one bench that was cleaned from the snow and dragged Sanji to sit down. They sat there for awhile before Zoro noticed that Sanji was shivering like a leaf.
"Hey, maybe we should go back already." He suggested and wrapped his arm around Sanji. The blonde looked at Zoro, surprised about this little act of affection but then nodded.
As they stoop up though a weird green light surrounded them. Sanji looked up and smiled brightly.
"Oi Zoro! Look up! Those are northern lights," Sanji almost cried out in joy and pointed to the sky that was now full of beautiful flaming lights with green, yellow and slight blue shades.
Zoro looked up and was amazed. It was the most beautiful, and weirdest, natural phenomenon he had ever seen.
They both stared up to the sky while they walked back to the hotel, talking about random things what they were going to do when they get back home. Zoro also started to shiver pretty bad once they reached the hotel and he was afraid that he wouldn't get warm at all until they got back to town. But he was wrong, gladly. Taavi greeted them and noticed their frozen states and friendly told them about the opportunity to use sauna and hot tub that was outside.
"You can find towels in the sauna and our cook can prepare you some nice evening snacks you can eat there." Taavi explained and gave Sanji a key to sauna.
"That would be great, thank you." Sanji said while taking the key.
"The food will be there in 20 minutes. You can go to grab some fresh clothes and then head to the sauna and it will be waiting for you there." Taavi added. With that Sanji and Zoro went to grab their clothes and walked to the sauna that was located behind the hotel. It was beside another tiny pond. Also a little hot tub was next to the sauna; it was big enough for four people.
"So, sauna eh?" Zoro mused and stepped inside after Sanji. "I remember being in one a couple of times."
"Those stinky heat rooms in our gyms aren't real saunas. This one is a proper sauna." Sanji said grinning and put his clothes onto the bench that was beside a little table. On the table also were their promised evening snacks with hot mulled wine. "Ah, this looks good! Wanna eat now when it's still warm and fresh?"
"Yeah, why not." Zoro shrugged and sat down at the table. He took one of the mulled wine cups and gently blew in it and took a careful sip. It was amazing; different spices danced on his tongue and the warmth of the drink made it even more perfect. Sanji usually made this stuff in the winter as well.
They ate all their snacks quickly because they were still freezing and wanted to hurry to get warm; mulled wine itself didn't make them warm up enough. So after eating they stripped all their clothes off and stepped into the shower before going to the sauna. The heat was welcoming and made their cold skins tingle. Sanji placed bench covers on the bench at sat down. Zoro sat down next to him and watches as Sanji threw some water onto the rocks of the sauna stove. Steam surrounded them and the heat hit their skins and made the both men groan in satisfaction; it felt really nice. And Zoro had to admit that Sanji was right; those things back in their hometown were nothing like this!
They sat there about 20 minutes before they felt completely melted and decided to go to enjoy the hot tub outside. They wrapped towels around their waists and walked outside. Zoro would have wanted to put shoes on but Sanji demanded not to do that. The green head looked at Sanji like he was crazy but in the end they both ended up running for their dear lives across the yard to the hot tub. Zoro hopped quickly in the steaming water and sighed in relief, Sanji following right after him.
"You northern people really do crazy stuff." Zoro chuckled and looked at Sanji who was leaning his back on the wall of the tub. Sanji mouthed a little 'look who's talking' and looked up to the sky; the northern lights were still there, giving them their mysterious light.
Zoro moved a bit closer to Sanji and looked up as well. The air was cold and water hot, just a perfect combination. Silently Sanji leaned on Zoro's shoulder and continued to admire the sight above them.
"So, was it that bad to spend a Christmas here?" Sanji asked and smirked playfully.
"I guess it's okay." Zoro stated casually with a bored voice. But Sanji knew better. He had known Zoro long enough to understand how his brain worked. Zoro really enjoyed this little trip; he was just too full of his pride to admit it.
They sat there in silence, just enjoying the relaxing atmosphere and each others company. After awhile Zoro grabbed Sanji's chin all of the sudden and kissed his lips gently. Sanji gasped in surprise but after recovering from the shock he kissed back just as gently. He took Zoro's hand under the water and squeezed it gently as Zoro slipped his tongue in Sanji's mouth. He was still able to taste the spiced mulled wine. Sanji was the first one to break the kiss and he gazed into Zoro's eyes, his face all flushed.
"Wanna go inside already?" Zoro said quietly, almost whispering. He had pressed his forehead against Sanji's and he stroked Sanji's wet hair that shined in the light of the northern lights.
"Yeah, let's go." Sanji sighed out and stood up with Zoro. They ran quickly back to the sauna building and washed themselves. After a warm shower they walked back to their hotel room.
Sanji took their sleeping bags from the cabinet next to the bed and unpacked them. Zoro spread his own onto the bed and crawled into it; and man, was it warm! He let out a happy sound from the back of his throat as he lied down on the bear skin rug. Sanji followed his example and wrapped into his sleeping back. It was so comfortable. He snuggled closer to Zoro who captured his lips into another gentle kiss. Sanji closed his eyes slowly and enjoyed the kiss. Zoro wrapped his arms around Sanji and somehow they managed to shelter themselves with two sleeping bags so that they still stayed warm.
The kissing continued and turned more passionate after time passed. Hands traveled across soft skin and clothes and soon those clothes were long forgotten on the other side of the bed. The two of them stayed close to each other to keep their bodies warm and it was more than welcomed. With passion and gentle moves their bodies worked magic under the sleeping bags, the soft fur of bear skin rags rubbing their skins soothingly. They made each other feel good, feel the passion, heat, and pleasure.
After a long and pleasurable love making Zoro rolled off of Sanji and tried to catch his breath, his body warmer than ever before during the day. Sanji snuggled close to Zoro's chest and kissed the scar on it.
"Well, that was our first time having sex in the hotel room sheltered by snow." Sanji said and grinned up at Zoro who chuckled.
"Well I guess that this wasn't that bad. Thanks for bringing me here." Zoro confessed softly and ran his fingers through Sanji's still slightly damp hair. Sanji couldn't help but laugh mentally at this; Zoro always showed his soft side right after sex. Sanji had grown to treasure those moments.
Sanji lifted his head to give a little peck on Zoro's lips and smiled softly. "Merry Christmas, shitty Marimo."
"Merry Christmas, ero-cook."
Thank you so much TurtleFriedRice for beta reading this!