Sanji stood by the front door waiting for his boyfriend to finish getting dressed so they could leave. Franky and Robin were already outside in the van, and he didn't want his dear Robin to come upstairs and see the mess that was currently their living room. He watched Zoro come out of the room, fully dressed-thank god, and gave him a bright smile. The smile faded as soon as he heard the small sound of the other man's sword cases bouncing on his side.
"I thought you said you wouldn't bring them. Sherlock doesn't carry swords."
Zoro gave him a look. "You know Luffy and I have our big fight every Halloween."
"It was entertaining to watch the first few times, but you guys always end up in a stalemate or worse. We've gotten kicked out of three bars already for this dumb thing you two do."
"I though Watson was supposed to support Sherlock." Zoro leaned in close enough so their noses were nearly touching.
"Watson thinks he's smart when he figures a mystery out, but he assumes he's an idiot for the habits he has and the shit that he pulls. This couple costume was a very good parody of our relationship dynamic."
"Liar. You just wanted to see me in a suit again."
Sanji smiled and gave him a peck on the lips. "Come on, we're going to be late, detective."
They made sure the door was locked before heading downstairs to the van. Law opened the side door for them and moved to sit behind Keimi. Zoro followed him to the back seat, and Sanji took the last spot next to their other green haired friend.
"Sanji, it's been a while," she said leaning into her seat.
"Hello my beautiful Keimi. You and Law did a couple's costume too?"
"What are you supposed to be?" Zoro said from the back.
"We're Prince Eric and Ariel. I thought the giant red sash around my waist would be obvious." Law leaned over the seat to press a kiss into Keimi's hair.
"A seashell bra wouldn't exactly work, so we kind of cheated with the corset, but it really helps my back."
"Seatbelts on," Robin chimed.
Sanji noticed that Franky's hair was dyed black and plastered to his head. He also had a moustache and wore a pinstripe suit. Looking over to Robin, he saw that her hair was pulled away from her face, and she wore a flowing black dress that was cut very low.
"Let me guess, Gomez and Morticia Addams?" he asked.
"Well seeing as how we were Frankenstein and his bride last year, I figured we should keep the horror theme going." Robin had a small smile on her face while her hand rested on Franky's knee.
They barely managed to miss the traffic by taking back roads, but Franky still had to be careful in case a child tried to bolt across the road. Sanji thought that giving that much sugar to kids was insane, but that was just his opinion.
The car stopped in front of some gothic mansion. The dead grass was covered with smoke, strobe lights flashed to the beat of music coming from inside, and there were even a few gargoyle statues on the roof bannisters. The place looked older than dirt, and Sanji was surprised that it hadn't collapsed yet. Some cars were parked on the lawn, and Franky pulled the car into an empty house's driveway.
A sleek, black car pulled up behind them, blocking them in. Law was already out of his seatbelt before Franky had put the car into park. Reaching to the back, he pulled a lever, and the trunk door swung up barely hitting the car behind them. Sanji got out of the car to help Law get the wheelchair from the back. Zoro hopped out after him to greet their friends coming from the other car.
"Is my bag all right back there, Traffy?" Keimi asked.
Law climbed the seat and landed onto the concrete saying, "Looks like it, yeah."
Sanji unfolded her chair then leaned on the back while Law put the cushions into the pouches. Franky carried her out of the car, and set her into her chair when they were done.
"Law! Guess what I am," Luffy called out.
"A man in very high pants." He grabbed Keimi's bag from the car, choosing to hook it onto one of the handlebars.
"Luffy, get over here so I can help you with the rest of your costume." Nami was holding a headless torso in her arms.
"Headless horseman?" Sanji asked.
"How'd you guess?" Nami shoved the top piece over Luffy's head muffling his words.
"Lucky I suppose," he said smiling.
"Are you and Zoro going to enter the couples costume contest?"
"That was the plan until dumbass over there reminded me of the fight him and Luffy have. Do you think I could convince him out of it?"
Nami shook her head. "I already tried with air head here. He's just as stubborn about it. I think nothing short of a hurricane will stop these two from trying to kill each other every year."
"Yeah." Sanji's fingers itched for a cigarette, but he left his pack at home on Sherlock's orders.
Robin joined them. Her dress was flowing seamlessly along the ground. "I can't believe Ace managed to rent this place."
"Me either. Let's just hope it'll stay on its feet until we leave." Nami adjusted her ascot.
Sanji saw Zoro chatting with Chopper, dressed as a vampire, and Usopp, dressed as a werewolf, about something. Before he could join them, the whole group had started walking towards the dark mansion. Keimi had put on her red wig while he was chatting with Nami. Luffy had to be directed away from oncoming traffic while they crossed the street, and the few children they saw gave them either looks of fear or awe.
"Oh, Nami, I forgot to ask. What are you this year?" Sanji saw that her clothes looked like they were from the same period as him and Zoros'.
"I'm Ichabod Crane. I'm meeting Vivi there since she's being Abbie Mills. We've decided to do the TV version of sleepy hollow. It's really great. You should watch it sometime."
"I would start watching it, but I don't have as much time for TV as I used to." He adjusted his hat.
"You guys have sex that much?"
Sanji's face grew red. "It's not that. I've just been kind of busy is all."
When they approached the porch steps, there was a ramp covering it.
"He thinks of everything, doesn't he?" Law said as he wheeled Keimi up first.
The door swung open revealing Ace, who was wearing a wearing only a bowtie and black dress pants. "Glad to see that you guys made it."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, bro" Franky said.
"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Zoro asked.
"A Chip N'Dales dancer. Shouldn't you have used your powers of deduction to figure that out or is the outfit all for show."
Zoro crossed his arms. "I can deduce that you've got a small dick."
"What did you just say to me you little bitch."
Luffy stepped between them, the torso part of his costume effectively putting them at a distance. His voice was muffled, but the message was clear. "No fair! I'm supposed to fight with Zoro tonight."
"Luffy, can you even breathe in there?" Ace tapped on the top of the neck.
"Kind of."
Their group dispersed in pairs to eat, talk to old friends, or find the booze. Zoro was on his way to do the latter until Sanji pulled him aside again.
"Eat something first, dumbass."
Zoro rolled his eyes. "I know that. Anything else you want to tell me? Watch out for razor blades in the food? Brush my teeth after every meal?"
"Fuck you."
Zoro flipped him off as he met with Luffy at the buffet. Sanji really hoped that there was much more food in the back since Luffy got to it. Looking around, he spotted familiar faces, but none that he wanted to talk to.
"Sanji! Is that you? It's been so long," came a feminine voice.
Sanji loved women with all of his heart, and Zoro was placed only slightly above that love, but there was one woman due to her sheer attitude that was placed just slightly below his love for women.
Turning around, he greeted the blonde woman with a smile. "Lady Valentine, it's so nice to see you again."
"Are you here by yourself? I would've thought your thick partner would be here with you."
"Nami is here, but we're no longer partners. Just friends."
Miss Valentine snapped her paper fan closed. "Oh, that's right. I always forget that you two retired from the stage, or should I say that you got too scared of the competition."
"We retired because we thought that winning all the prize money would be unfair to less talented pairs like you and Mr. 5," Nami said from just behind him.
"Oh, there you are, Nami. Just as round as ever I see."
Nami rolled up her sleeve ready to throw a punch when a man appeared beside Miss Valentine. "Hey, I hope you're not goading the trash into a brawl."
"Of course not, Mr. 5. They're so out of practice they wouldn't be able to keep up anyway."
Sanji placed a hand on Nami's shoulder and smiled at them. "I can tell you that isn't the case. Even without practicing, my beautiful Nami and I could easily wipe the floor with you. However, you're the ones who don't sound up to it. Almost like you're scared to issue a challenge to two champions."
"Well, since you're so eager, in one hour we'll meet you on the dance floor. Prepare to lose, Blackleg." Mr. 5 directed Miss Valentine away to another room.
"We accept, and you're gonna get your asses beat!" Nami stuck her tongue out.
Pulling a cigarette from his pocket, he lit it and took a deep inhale. Nami stood beside him grumbling while he exhaled smoke from his lips. "Nami-swan, I think we may have been too cocky."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean we haven't practiced together in 2 years, and we only have an hour to get ready."
"I FORGOT ABOUT THAT."
Zoro hand kept brushing over his meito with impatience. This party was boring, and he couldn't find anyone he had come with. How big was this house? He was gonna kick Ace's ass. It's a good thing he left his coat downstairs. All these people in here made the mansion much warmer than he preferred.
"Zoro?"
"Mihawk? What the fuck are you doing here?"
The other swordsman sat on the couch with some pink haired Lolita. She looked familiar, but Zoro couldn't place where he'd seen her before.
"I was invited. Been a while hasn't it?"
"Yeah, but almost killing me makes you a hard man to forget."
Mihawk shrugged. "Live and let go, Roronoa. Come, sit down. We should catch up."
"…sure, why not."
"What the hell were we thinking? No, wait, not me, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"
Sanji placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled. "Don't worry Nami. We haven't practiced in a while, but we're still in sync, right?"
"I don't know."
"Nami. We've been dancing together since we were 15. Do you really think we can't read each other anymore?"
Nami crossed her arms. "Ugh, fine. I'll trust you on this. Besides, if we lose to them I'll never live it down. Who does she think she is being so high and mighty? The only reason she's been winning is because we haven't been able to enter."
He flinched.
"Ah, no, Sanji, it's not your fault."
"I know what you meant Nami. Don't worry about it, but we better brush up on a few moves before our hour is up."
Nami grinned. "Got it. Hope you can keep up."
"I will admit that I may need to stretch a little." He rolled his shoulders.
"I thought Zoro had been keeping you stretched out."
Sanji blushed and waved her off. "Not. Like. That."
"Whatever you say, Mr. Roronoa."
"DON'T BRING THAT UP."
Ace was the DJ tonight, and it looked like he was enjoying himself. At least, that's what Sanji gauged from his smug expression. Grabbing the microphone, Ace tapped it a few times to gain the attention of everyone on the floor. There were even some people starting to look over from the balcony. He kind of wondered where his swordsman had gone, but the thought quickly vanished when Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine walked to the center of the dance floor.
Ace took off his headphones. "Welcome ladies, gentlemen, and anyone in between. Tonight we have a rare treat. A dance off between two lovely couples. On the right, the current reigning champions in the Grand Line, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine."
The audience applauded, and Miss Valentine blew kisses to some of the men in the clusters.
"All right, all right. Calm down. Next, to our left, we have the retired dancing sensation that struck a chord with the nation. Nami Bell-mere and Sanji Blackleg."
The audience was quiet for a moment before clapping just as loudly as they did before. Sanji needed a smoke. Nami grasped his arm, so he leaned down.
"I think they told Ace what songs they want to dance to while we were practicing. That leaves us at a disadvantage."
Sanji rolled his tongue over his teeth and whispered, "I can handle that. Got any paper?"
"The intelligent Ichabod Crane doesn't leave without some."
Ace cleared his throat. "Now that the audience has calmed down, I'll explain the rules for this competition. Each pair will dance to their own two songs, and the audience will decide from level of applause who was the best. If there happens to be a tie, both pairs have to dance to whatever songs I pick, freestyle, until one couple is too tired to continue. Whoever flows the best, and is most in sync will take the title as hardest partiers of the night."
The crowd started cheering again. Sanji could see Usopp and Chopper jumping up and down yelling within the masses. Well, there was two of them. Looking over to the buffet table, Luffy was eating with Vivi, but there was no sign of the swordsman.
"Please don't let him be lost," he thought.
"A coin toss will decide, which group will go first." Pulling a quarter from his pocket, Ace flipped it and held his palm over the result. "Call it."
"Heads," Nami said.
Lifting his hand Ace let out a low whistle. "It's tails."
"What a relief," Sanji muttered.
"Let the dance-off begin!"
The music started to play, and as soon as the audience was immersed with the pair in the center, Sanji slipped away to drop off the note to the DJ. Ace nodded once he read the songs, and soon Sanji was waeving back through the crowd towards Nami. The cook wasn't a boasting guy. He could tell that their ex- rivals had gotten better at what they did, and him and Nami were very out of practice, but if there was one thing he learned from having a swordsman as a boyfriend, it was how to improvise.
The song was over too soon, and Sanji and Nami were up.
"Let's kick ass, Sanji."
"Of course, mellorine."
"A dance off? Sounds dumb." The pink haired Lolita, who's name was Perona, and apparently Zoro had met her before, walked to the balcony to look over.
"Did you hear who was dancing?" Mihawk sat up a little higher.
"No, it was too muffled, but I see two couples down there. One's a blonde woman with a guy with dreadlocks, and the other is some blonde and a red head."
"That's odd. I don't remember seeing anything like that in the invitation."
Zoro leaned back into his seat. "It's Ace's party. This was probably something last minute, but they must be pretty important if he paused his event for it. He hasn't shut up about the damn thing for weeks. I didn't even want to come."
"Oh! I couldn't see them at first, but now I can tell who they are," she muttered. After a pause, Perona looked away from the edge. "Why did you come?"
"Hm? Ah, my partner convinced me. We're dressed for the costume contest as Watson and Sherlock. The prize is supposed to be pretty big, and he seemed to have his heart set on me coming." Zoro didn't bother mentioning the fight. There were something's he liked to keep to himself.
"Sherlock and Watson? Then is that him down there?" She looked shocked.
"What?" Zoro was out of his chair, swords banging against his side as he rushed over to the balcony. Mihawk followed after him at a slower pace.
"Yeah, the blonde one dancing with the red head is mine. Since when could he even do that?"
Perona gave him a bored look. "Don't tell me you didn't know."
"Didn't know what?"
"How long have you two been going out? Sanji Blackleg and Nami Bell-mere were reigning champions in the dance world. They even guest starred on Performing with the Stars. They retired much earlier than normal people do. No one knows why."
"What? He didn't tell me that." Zoro watched them dance, and he kind of wished he was on the first floor. He was supposed to root for him, right? Where the hell were the stairs? On second thought, he should probably stay up here. Knowing his luck, he'll find his way down there after the whole thing is over if he tried to leave now.
Now that he looked closer he could see why they were famous. Were they famous? There weren't any hordes of women following after him. Not a single fan letter ever got to their apartment. Maybe early retirement had that kind of effect on a person's career. They looked like they practiced their routine for years. All the movements were really smooth, and synced well. He didn't even know Sanji could bend like that. Actually, if he could do all that then it was time for more experimenting in the bedroom because the cook had been holding out.
The trio watched the competition progress with interest, and slowly warmed faces. Zoro didn't think there would be so much dry humping involved, and he wasn't sure whether to be angry or aroused. He couldn't tell if Sanji was hard from the distance, be he assumed that he wasn't since it would be difficult to dance like that with an erection. The thought didn't make him less pissed off with the display. Sanji danced like this in front of thousands of other people without a second thought? How many times did he perform? Why didn't he ever tell Zoro about it? They'd been dating for nearly 3 years now.
Well, 2 and a half years isn't that long either. It's not like they'd been together for 20. There were still many things that the cook didn't know about him, but this doesn't seem like a small secret. Why did Sanji never bring this up? Zoro decided to put those thoughts away, and just enjoy the show. He'd ask the cook about it when they got home.
Sanji couldn't believe they tied. They must've been really out of practice, or maybe Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 finally caught up to them. Either way they'd have to go through the endurance challenge.
"First pair to get too tired to dance, loses." Ace put on his headphones, and the music started.
"Sanji."
"Ah?"
"Remember, how we practiced when we were younger?"
Sanji furrowed his eyebrows, and then tapped his fist against his open palm. "Ah, yeah. Let's do that."
Smiling, she grabbed his hand, and the contest was on.
"Perona. Lead me to the dancefloor." Zoro straightened his jacket.
"What? Can't you get down there by yourself?"
Zoro felt his cheeks warm. "I may have ended up here by getting turned around a few times."
"Did you actually get lo-"
"-I need to go downstairs to support my partner. It'll only take a second," he snapped.
Perona sighed and headed towards the far back wall. Zoro followed after her, ready to see his boyfriend? Lover? They hadn't really decided on a name yet. Partner is fine. He went down to see his partner in action up close. Which was probably a terrible idea.
It was a terrible idea.
Sanji really knew how to move his hips. Zoro was a few seconds from ruining the competition to get lost enough to find an empty bedroom. Sanji had always been a connoisseur of food, and Zoro felt like he was starving.
The other pair looked more tired than Sanji and Nami, but both were covered with a sheen layer of sweat at this point. The cook's hair stuck to his face in wet clumps. His cheeks were rosy and looked warm to the touch. Even his eyes were heavy lidded from concentration, and his lips were swollen from chewing on them every so often.
The swordsman thought that he always had good control on his impulses and urges, but he fears that he may have found his breaking point. Dear god, did he just do the splits? Zoro thought that the competition may end with a very different result if one of the pairs didn't pass out soon. Luckily the other team was thrown off their rhythm due to exhaustion. Sanji and Nami won.
Ace said something else on the microphone, but it was all white noise to Zoro. Sanji stopped hugging Nami long enough to look through the crowd again. Was he looking for him? Zoro raised a hand, and Sanji stopped turning as they made eye contact. The cook beamed at him, and his heart skipped a beat. Zoro couldn't help but think that this was dangerous territory.
The dance floor became flooded, and Sanji managed to squeeze him and Nami out of the grinding groups of people.
Approaching Zoro, Sanji started, "Did you like the performance mari-mmph!"
Zoro already had his tongue in his mouth, and Sanji felt his knees getting weaker. Running his fingers through short green hair, Sanji gripped enough to get Zoro to pull away.
"You didn't tell me you danced."
Sanji raised an eyebrow. "I thought you knew."
"No, I didn't. I only moved here because of- well- that." Zoro kept a hand on Sanji's hip.
"Oh right, you couldn't have known unless you kept up with that kind of thing. I'll explain when we get home."
Miss Valentine stomped over with hunched shoulders. "Don't get cocky just because you won."
"Oh really? I thought that was the exact reason to get cocky. Maybe you're just too out of shape to keep up with retired professionals." Nami waved her off.
Chopper and Usopp hopped in front of the fuming blonde to start talking.
"Nami that was amazing! Can you teach me?" Chopper bounced on the balls of his feet.
"Great choreography just as directed by the great strategist Usopp."
"What, you planned all that?" There were stars in the brunette's eyes as he turned to Usopp.
Nami grabbed a hold of Usopp's nose and squeezed. "Of course he didn't. That was just pure talent. Right, Sanji?"
Turning around she saw both the cook and swordsman were gone. Letting go of Usopp's nose she let out a huff of breath. They were so obvious it was annoying.
"Ah, Nami. I think Luffy is starting to steal food from people." Chopper pointed over to the buffet table. A group of people had surrounded an area where Luffy was last seen.
"You've got to be kidding me." Nami tugged at her suspenders before marching over there.
Their group of nine stood in the backyard. Luffy was stretching on one end of the wide walkway. Zoro stood on the opposite end popping his joints. Plants took over the faces and arms of statues, and moss chipped away at old concrete. Chopper had his first aid kit ready, in case of serious injury. Franky had managed to find Brooke, and pulled him away from karaoke to watch. Sanji stood between Nami and Robin. Robin stood beside them to keep either from jumping in the middle. Usopp was crouching a few feet behind them looking at some of the plant life.
"Oi, Luffy, you done yet?" Zoro pulled out his meito, the handle hovering in front of his lips.
Luffy took a deep breath and released it with a grin. "Yeah."
"Usopp! Call it." Zoro placed the handle between his teeth, and unsheathed his other swords.
Usopp dropped whatever he was doing, and ran over to the edge of the walkway. "Okay, the fight starts on 3."
"I can't believe they're going through with it anyway." Nami pouted.
"1."
Sanji smiled, and lit the cigarette hanging from his lips. "They're both bull-headed."
"2."
"It's no excuse." She crossed her arms.
"3!"
Usopp hopped out of the way just before the two clashed. It was a wonder how Luffy managed to dodge actual katanas, but the awe wore off after the first couple minutes. Sanji hated watching them fight as much as Nami did, but he knew not to put his foot in his mouth. A man's pride was something he couldn't shake off, and they were determined to end this conflict somehow. Luffy was nice enough to have this event be once a year, and not whenever they felt like it like how things were before. The guy could be a total airhead at times, but he never wanted to hurt the people he cared for intentionally.
Nami was a lot better about it. Sanji, not so much. His arm slightly trembled whenever he pulled the cigarette from his lips. His hear skipped a beat each time Zoro lost his footing. His throat got tight when a few strands of Luffy's hair were sliced off. They were both demons when riled up, and they always got riled up in these encounters. He asked Zoro to stop fighting with Luffy once, and the swordsman didn't look him in the eye for a week.
"Are you all right, Sanji?" Robin pressed a hand to his arm.
Sanji smiled at her. "Of course, my mellorine. Why do you ask?"
"It's just that I thought you left your cigarettes at home."
"Ah, well, I may have snagged a box off of someone earlier."
"…I see. Well, let's hope no one gets hurt too badly." She took her hand away and faced the fight.
"Yes, let's."
Zoro and Luffy managed to shove each other back to where they started. Luffy cracked his knuckles, crouched down, and ran back at him. Widening his stance, Zoro crossed his swords in front of him before they clashed again.
"You going easy on me, Luffy?"
"I should be asking you that."
Zoro jumped before Luffy could knock his feet out from under him. Luffy dropped to the ground and rolled aside making Zoro slice a few blocks of concrete in half. Reaching behind himself, Luffy grabbed a crumbling cupid statue and launched it at Zoro. The swordsman sliced the rest into pieces, but failed to dodge a punch to the face. Spinning on his heel with the force, he managed to get Luffy in the side with the hilt of his sword, knocking him into the bushes.
Zoro resheathed his swords as Luffy pulled himself out of the foliage. They were both breathing heavily, and Luffy licked away some of the blood on his lip. Reaching into his pocket, Zoro took out his scarf, and tied it around his head. The techno music from the party now blared loud enough from the mansion to creep into the garden.
Zoro ran his middle finger over the crowns of his teeth, and after deeming them all right, unsheathed his swords again. Luffy removed his suspenders, and rolled his shoulders. As soon as Zoro put his sword back into his mouth, Luffy charged at him again.
A blur of purple came running between them knocking them both onto their asses. Some girl dressed as Kiki spoke while holding her prop broom. "What do you think you're doing? If you want to settle an argument you don't do it with trying to kill each other."
"What the fuck do you think you're doing? You're lucky I saw you or you'd be dead right now, these aren't toys!" Zoro jumped onto his feet taking his sword out of his mouth.
She marched over to him, gripping the broom in her hand. "I could fucking tell. You're lucky I don't call the police on you. This behavior is-…Zoro?"
Zoro had taken off his scarf, and his features relaxed before his eyes widened. "Tashigi?"
Luffy cupped his hands around his mouth. "Zoro! Are we gonna keep fighting or-"
Zoro held a hand up to him, and quickly sheathed his swords not breaking eye contact with the woman. Tashigi's eyes were beginning to look wet, and her arms shook as she held her broom to her chest.
"Let's pause. Give me an hour." He gave Luffy a quick glance to see the other nod, and pulled the scarf off his head to shove it into his pocket.
Luffy whined but backed down. Zoro grabbed Tashigi's arm, and they made their way back to the mansion. The whole group, excluding Luffy, stared in shock at their retreating backs.
Sanji's cigarette dropped from his lips, but he stomped the butt out before Robin glanced over at him. He loved her with all his heart, but she was able to read him too easily for his comfort. Seriously though, what the fuck was that. Some beautiful woman comes barreling in to stop Luffy and Zoro from fighting. He could understand that part, but Zoro knew her? She looked really upset when she recognized him. The bigger question is why the hell he paused his match with Luffy to talk to her. Sanji couldn't even distract the bastard when he was fighting with Luffy.
What if she was a past lover? Did Zoro even have those? Sanji's blood ran cold at the thought. What if they didn't end on the best terms? Maybe their relationship was broken apart from Zoro's jail time, and they lost contact with each other. What if they still had strong feelings for each other, and after this sudden meeting they would rekindle their love leaving Sanji behind to pick up the pieces.
"Sanji? Sanji! BREATHE SANJI." Chopper shook his shoulders.
Sanji took a gasping breath and thumped a fist against his chest while he suffered from a small coughing fit. "I don't understand."
Usopp put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure Zoro has a good explanation. I mean it can't be what it looks-"
"I don't understand why such a beautiful woman would give him the time of day."
Usopp hit him on the back of the head. "THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT."
Zoro's terrible sense of direction managed to find them a quiet area in the old mansion. They sat down on the love seat, and the swordsman got straight to the point. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm visiting my uncle, and a few friends of mine told me about this giant Halloween party. I didn't expect to see you here." Tashigi placed her broom the floor.
"Same to you. I thought you were banned from seeing me."
"Zoro, I'm a grown woman. I don't listen to everything he tells me." There was a pause until she said, "I told him what you really did."
"That explains it. Also explains why he didn't snap my neck when I last saw him." Zoro rubbed his neck at the thought.
"Why were you fighting that weird guy, and why were those people just watching? Are you trying to get in trouble?"
"That's a long story-"
"-we've got an hour right?"
Zoro gave her a small smile, and was happy that she returned it.
Sanji sat next to Keimi and Law telling them what happened outside. Usopp tagged along in an attempt to give Sanji comfort. The lawyer in training knew when the cook was upset whether or not he showed it to others. Sanji was wondering if Law knew anything about this Tashigi girl since he and Zoro had become friends when the swordsman just moved there.
"Never heard of her before. Definitely before my time." Law pulled the collar of his shirt back and forth to make a small breeze.
"Dammit." Sanji went to light another cigarette, but put the lighter down when Keimi made a face.
"What's the big deal?"
"The big deal is right now Zoro and this beautiful woman are alone, for an entire hour, and I have no idea how they know each other."
Keimi snapped her fingers in realization. "So you're jealous."
"I'm not jealous, just curious."
"He's jealous," she loudly whispered to Law.
Sanji crushed the box of cigarettes in his hand, before relaxing his grip. Turning to Usopp with a smile on his face he said, "Usopp. Go find out what they're talking about, but don't let them know you're there."
"What? No way. The last time Zoro caught me spying on one of his conversations, well, I was lucky to survive."
"Do you want to find out what I'll do to you if you don't go." Sanji was glaring at him now.
"I was just heading there, bye." Usopp got up and ran off into the crowd.
"Ah, weren't we going to leave after Luffy and Zoro's fight?" Keimi had taken off her wig again.
Law brushed his fingers over her hand. "That was when we thought the winners for the costume contest were going to be announced earlier. What the hell is Ace doing?"
"Doing the last round, so I can check out all the costumes. Now, what's all this about Zoro's mystery woman?" Ace had appeared from behind them nearly giving Keimi a heart attack.
Sanji's fingers twitched. "Shouldn't you be DJing?"
"Brooke offered to take my place for the rest of the party so I could have a good time myself, but don't change the subject. He let it slip that Zoro went off in private with a beautiful girl completely abandoning the one fight he and Luffy look forward to every year. I definitely want to hear this story." He propped his elbows on the back of the couch and cradled his chin in his hands.
"There's no story to hear." The chef itched for a cigarette, but didn't want to offend his wonderful Keimi's sensibilities.
"So neither the first friend nor the boyfriend know about her. That sounds like a story to me. What do you think Law? Ex-girlfriend? Ex-fiancée? Childhood friends whose love for each other was never spoken, and realized that the chance was lost once Zoro was put away, and then as if the goddess of love herself appeared to give them this chance meeting after so many years, Zoro happens to be in a relationship?"
Law had a shit-eating grin on his face. "I think you should shut the hell up before curly here kicks your ass."
Sanji was shaking with anger, and he looked like he would catch fire from rage if he was goaded any further. Taking a hint, Ace muttered a quick goodbye while dashing off.
When Usopp returned it had been half an hour. Were they really going to use the whole hour to talk? Sanji noticed that he looked out of breath, but not worse for wear. That means he got away with it.
"What did you hear?" Sanji crossed one leg over the other.
"Well, they were really quiet, and the music was loud, so I didn't hear much."
"Usopp!"
"Okay, okay, calm down. All I got was that they've been friends since high school, and she kept apologizing." Usopp sat down on the short table in front of him.
Sanji shook his head and tapped his fingers on his knee. "The more I hear about this the more I don't like it."
"It does sound bad, doesn't it? Like I said earlier though, I'm sure Zoro has a good explanation. He's not the type to leave things unsaid. You have nothing to be jealous about."
"I'm not jealous. Why is everyone thinking that? Do I look jealous to you?"
Usopp waved his hands back and forth. "No, not at all, maybe jealous was the wrong word. I think you're getting worried over nothing. It's all in the past, right?"
"…right."
"Ah, where did Keimi and Law go?"
"They went to find Franky to see if they could head home early." Sanji let a bent cigarette hang from his lips unlit.
The rest of the hour passed with Usopp holding most of the conversation, and Sanji sometimes giving responses that were more than a few words. Usopp did hope that Zoro had a good explanation for the whole thing, because Sanji was getting more and more out of it as time passed. Soon he'd become unapproachable on the topic, and that was dangerous territory to be in. Nami headed over with Vivi to them both.
"Sanji~. Zoro and Luffy are back outside if you want to watch the rest of the fight with us," she said batting her eyelashes.
Luckily that seemed to pull him out of his mood as Sanji hopped out of his seat with a big smile. "Anything for you Nami-swan."
"Isn't it dangerous for Zoro to be using real swords?" Vivi walked beside Sanji while the other two lagged behind.
"Thanks for that Nami," Usopp whispered.
"No problem, but I think that girl is out there too. We'll see how long his good mood lasts."
"Nami, you're late," Luffy whined.
"You could've started without us!"
"Usopp, call it." Zoro had his scarf back on, and discarded his vest sometime earlier.
"Got it. Ready on 3, 2, 1!"
Sanji could see Robin talking to that Tashigi woman out of the corner of his eye. What did they talk about? Where did Zoro's vest go? What were they doing? Why had she been apologizing to him? He wasn't sure what was going to drive him more insane, the wait for answers or his growing curiosity. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his empty box of cigarettes and put it back. Did he really go through them already? Shit. He was jealous. He was angry and jealous, and just a bunch of feelings that he didn't want to deal with. He looked up at the fight, and he'd missed a lot because they were both more bruised than before. Luffy's shirt had been sliced open, but there wasn't any blood visible. Zoro had this look in his eyes that told Sanji he was definitely lost in adrenaline. More statues had been broken in the process, and he kind of wondered if they were doing it on purpose knowing that Ace had to pay for any damages.
He knew Zoro was doing it on purpose when he ran Luffy into the fountain. The swordsman didn't expect to be pulled in himself, but Luffy knew an opportunity when he saw one. He got a few good punches at Zoro's stomach until he was kicked off, and landed back onto the dirty concrete. Sanji thought that Zoro should wear wet shirts more often when he stepped out of the fountain. Luffy was a little shaky on his feet, and didn't dodge the next strike as well as the first ones. A thin line of blood started dripping from his right shoulder to his elbow. Zoro took the sword from his mouth to spit out some blood and licked his chapped lips before putting it back in. Luffy swiped his thumb at his nose, and hopped on the balls of his feet as he put his fists back up.
Sanji pulled back out his phone when they charged at each other again. The timing for it was bad because the next time Luffy went flying it was right into the cook and had enough force to knock them back, making them roll a good 10 feet away. Luffy landed on some flower pots but Sanji's head slammed right on the edge of a nearby bench. White noise flooded his ears, and his vision came back to him after a few seconds? Minutes? Two hands were cradling his face, and another pair was helping him sit up while feeling the back of his head.
Zoro's concerned face came into focus. "Sanji. Sanji, can you hear me?"
"How long have I've been out?"
"A few minutes, does it feel tender back here?" Chopper pressed just slightly on where he was hit causing him to flinch.
"Just hurts. Kind of throbbing, white noise."
"Sanji focus on one thing at a time."
Sanji nodded and with some coaching was able to slowly get back on his feet again. Once he felt sure on his feet, he didn't hold back shoving Zoro's hands away. "I told you I didn't want you doing this shitty fight in the first place."
"Sanji-"
"-I'm going home." Sanji's first few steps were more like stumbles but he made it back in the mansion without help.
Luckily enough he ran into Franky just as the larger man was walking in the front door.
"Woah, what happened to you?"
"Don't worry about it. Can I get a ride home?"
"Sure, bro. The car's still warmed up."
Sanji followed Franky out, and wished he hadn't smoked the last of his cigarettes.
Sanji remembered leaving the party around 11, but Zoro wasn't back until 1. Sanji didn't sit up in bed waiting for him. His favorite show happened to come on around midnight and was about an hour long with commercials. He loved marathoning "Pick Your Wedding Dress", and he was going to stick with that story. The only light in their room was coming from the TV as the swordsman didn't bother flipping the light switch.
Zoro had a small bandage on his eyebrow and another over his nose. Unbuttoning his shirt, his chest was covered in wrappings, but his arms were mostly clear except for a few scratches. When he took off his pants, there was a wrapping just covering his left thigh, and he winced as he crawled into bed. Sanji didn't look at him instead keeping his focus on their flat screen. Zoro tugged the remote from his hands and put the show on mute.
"It was another stalemate if you're interested."
Sanji leaned back further into the pillows, and crossed his arms. His eyes never left the tv screen.
"Tashigi and I met in the high school kendo club. It was really unnerving being around her because she looked a lot like my foster sister. Anyway, she was pretty good, and even though she was a year younger than me, we were in the same grade. She tried to be my rival, but she it varied whether or not she could keep up with me."
Sanji's arms weren't crossed anymore, and laid limp on top of the blankets.
"There was this scholarship for people who did kendo that guaranteed a full ride to college if you won this competition. We were the last competitors, and I made the dumbest mistake, but she took the hit instead of taking the win. I was pissed off at her because I thought she did it to mock me, but she told me it was because my family didn't have a lot of money, and she had several scholarships already.
We ended up going to the same college, but you know how things work. There's always that drift due to different majors, organizations, dormitories, all of that. She got involved with the wrong crowd, and it was ironic because they were some of the honor's students. One day she got in too deep, and didn't know what to do, so she called me. She wasn't assaulted or anything, but there were a lot of drugs there, and the police were on their way. If they found her the way she was, if there wasn't someone to blame she would've lost all her scholarships and been kicked out of the university.
I took the hit that time. Landed in jail, got out early on good behavior, and moved here to fulfill my parole. Met Law when I was looking for a job, and the rest is known by pretty much everybody. You and Luffy are the only ones I've told about this. Luffy because I'm sure his famiy is the mafia, and he would've found out anyway. You because I think we've gotten to a point where I shouldn't be withholding information like this."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Believe it or not, it's the truth."
Sanji felt like an idiot. Zoro winced as he moved to sit up, but Sanji stopped him and moved to burrow under the covers. His arms wrapped around his bandaged waist, and Sanji pressed his face against the warm skin of Zoro's neck. "I'm sorry I didn't listen."
Zoro tangled a hand into Sanji's hair. "It's fine."
"I'm sorry I overreacted."
"It's okay."
"I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"You're forgiven."
Sanji pulled away so he could look at him and leaned into Zoro's hand. He knew his eyes were pink at the edges. "Please don't fight next year."
Zoro sighed. "Well, Chopper deemed our injuries too serious to have a repeat event, but Luffy and I decided to have the fight every other year."
Sanji felt more tears run down his face to stain the pillows, and Zoro continued on to say, "Then after a few of those, we'll probably do it every 3rd year, then every 4th, and so on and so on. I figure we'll be too old at some point."
The cook knew that this was as close as he was going to get to a compromise. In the end, Zoro would be Zoro, and he'd keep doing things like this, but Sanji was happy there was never a drastic change in their dynamic.
"So who won the costume contest?"
"Some couple dressed as Mario and Peach, and since I get to pick the costumes next year I already decided you'd be Zelda and I'll be Link."
Sanji pinched the edge of Zoro's nose. "I'll be Sheik, and that's as close as you're gonna get, marimo."
"Ouch! All right…is there anything else I can get tonight?"
"When you're able to move without flinching let me know."
"Killjoy, and don't think I forgot about the dancing thing. What's up with that?"
Sanji turned off the TV and tossed the remote aside. "I'll tell you in the morning. I'm too tired to go through that explanation. You always manage to exhaust me."
"I can think of much better ways to exhaust you if you just-"
"Goodnight Zoro."
Zoro pressed a kiss to his hair. "You're a dick."