Why wait any longer for the world to begin...
"Zoro."
You can have your cake and eat it too...
"Zoro!"
Why wait any longer for the one you love when he's-
"ZORO!" Nami screeches, banging on his bedroom door.
Growling and pulling the needle off his record, Zoro runs a hand through his hair before yelling, "What do you want?"
"We are tired of listening to depressing Bob Dylan songs coming from your room. Come out and be social with us," Nami flings open the door, narrowing her eyes as if to challenge him to disobey. He considers his options for a moment before shrugging and muttering that he will be out there in a minute. Best not to argue with her now – she'll just keep screaming until he finally concedes. He sighs and moves off of the bed, making his way to the dresser and digging around for a t-shirt. Pulling it over his head, he vacates the room and heads down the hall to the living space of their shared apartment.
His room is situated at the very end of the hall, right next to the communal bathroom. Nami has her own private bath in the master bedroom, which is fine with him – she is known to take hour-long baths. He only has to split with their other two roommates – Usopp and Luffy. They've all been living together for a little over a year and although it can get kind of crazy with four people in a three-bedroom apartment, it's a crazy he can handle; a place he can call home.
He comes to the end of the hall and stands looking out at the scene before him. Two large, overstuffed couches are situated in front of a TV. An old Nintendo system is set up and the two younger male tenants are locked in what seems to be an intense fighting game. Zoro shakes his head and plops himself onto the sofa next to Luffy, who manages to pull his eyes away from his video game long enough to beam at him in approval for joining them. On the other sofa sits Usopp, tongue hanging out of his mouth in concentration as he tries to use Luffy's lapse of attention to score against him in whatever the hell they're playing. Nami returns to her seat next to him, clearly not wanting to get too close, as he tends to get over zealous and flails about when trying to beat Luffy. Her eyes haven't left Zoro since he wandered into the area and she continues to stare thoughtfully while he shifts uncomfortably under her gaze.
"What are you staring at?" he growls out, irritated at the attention she's giving him. Nami may be one of his closest friends but he still doesn't enjoy having her so interested in him. And quite frankly he doesn't understand why she is acting this way.
She tilts her head slightly and takes in his image once more before turning to the TV screen. "Nothing, I guess," she sighs, defeated, "I just don't get why you keep avoiding us and locking yourself into your room with your damn records."
Zoro glares at her indignantly with his jaw clamped shut. He doesn't make a habit of explaining himself to people - especially to selfish, greedy... oh. She turns back, connecting eyes with him and he can see genuine concern and hurt. He begins reflecting on the past couple weeks and realizes that yeah, maybe he has been shutting them all out lately. But shouldn't they be used to this by now? He spends most of his free time sleeping or at the gym working out and it's never bothered them before.
His glare softens and he sighs. It's not Nami's fault - or anyone's really- that he may be acting just a little bit more reserved lately. It's just... that time of year. None of his friends - not even his best friend Luffy - know about this time of year and what it means for him. And sitting in the middle of the living room as Luffy cackles and Usopp shrieks at their game is neither the time nor place to explain why he's been choosing to stay holed up alone or sleeping away the day more so than usual.
Zoro hardens his scowl again and feigns ignorance, "I don't know what you're talking about. Don't you always yell at me for sleeping all day?"
She ponders this for a second before agreeing, "Hmm, I guess you're right." Luffy cheers out in obvious triumph over his victory and Nami swats at Usopp as he bemoans his loss, signaling that their conversation is over.
"I made a new friend yesterday!" Luffy announces as he reaches over and picks up the pipe sitting on the coffee table. He lights it and takes a puff before continuing, "He works at the restaurant I'm being forced to help out at."
Zoro chuckles at Luffy's reference to the restaurant. A few days ago Nami decided their small group should go out and try a new seafood place - supposedly the best in town. But they never got the chance to try anything, or even go in, because Luffy managed to get into a tussle with some guy who was trying to show off for his girlfriend and it ended with him slamming himself bodily through one of the big front windows. He was lucky the owner didn't call the cops and even luckier he managed to escape the carnage of broken glass without anything more than a couple scratches. But since he caused damages and was completely broke, he struck a deal with the guy to work until the window was paid off - approximately two weeks.
"I asked him to come hang out with us but he acted like he was too busy..."
"It doesn't sound like he's your friend," Usopp deadpanned, setting down his video game controller and reaching over to take the pipe from Luffy.
"No, he is my friend! He just doesn't know it yet!" Luffy exclaims with a glint in his eye, one that is extremely familiar to Zoro. It reminds him of the first time he ever met the dark-haired kid.
They met when Zoro was getting arrested for punching some prick at a small cafe. The guy was antagonizing the owner and her young daughter and Zoro hauled off and hit him. When the cops came he found out the punk was the son of some high ranking officer and the moron was screaming that Zoro assaulted him unprovoked, sparing the small detail that he himself had started the confrontation. The idiot had gotten right in Zoro's face whenever he told the guy to stop messing with the kid. As they were putting him into the police car, Luffy waltzed over to the officer with a smile and that sparkle in his eye and asked how he could go about making a statement as a witness. His testimony got the charges dropped. They instantly became best friends.
He smirks at the memory and is pulled from his thoughts when a warm hand tugs on his. Looking up he sees Luffy with his jacket on and signature straw hat perched on his head, "Come on, Zoro. We're getting lunch."
Apparently it has been decided that they were all going to go try that seafood place again and see if this new friend of Luffy's was working. Zoro quickly grabs his jacket and pulls on a pair of boots as Luffy and Usopp race to the car, shoving each other along the way. They were lucky enough to have a first floor apartment. Nami lingers by the door and just as he turns to walk after the two idiots, she grabs his arm and stops him. He looks down at her with an eyebrow raised and sees that look of worry again.
"Are you really okay? It's just… you seem more anti-social than normal and Luffy misses you, idiot." she pulls a glare but he can tell there's no real menace behind it. It's not normal for her to be this concerned – especially not about him.
"I'm fine, woman," Zoro scoffs and turns to walk towards the car. "Quit worrying about me and worry about the fact that Luffy just got shotgun."
"GET IN THE BACKSEAT!" she immediately screams and runs towards the car with a fist raised at Luffy, who is in the middle of clambering into the front. Zoro chuckles to himself and follows after. They eventually pile in Usopp's old white Cadillac, Luffy in the backseat jabbering about how great the food is when he sneaks scraps off the dishes he washes and Nami rolling her eyes from the front seat.
xxx
They arrive at the restaurant and manage to slide into a cushioned booth without breaking any glass; something Nami immediately declares a success. Zoro looks around The Baratie, taking in the atmosphere. The tables are covered in white tablecloths and the menu seems kind of fancy but the restaurant has a quaint, homey feeling to it. The few customers he can see range from families to businessmen in suits. They're eating a late lunch so it's mostly empty, way past the lunch rush but too early for dinner. Luffy knocks into Zoro as he cranes his neck around to scan the room looking for his friend. He starts waving madly and shouting way too loud, "Hey! Sanji! Hey! Over here!"
Zoro leans and looks around Luffy to see who this guy is. The last time Luffy got this excited was when they found that all-you-can-eat buffet just a few blocks away from their complex. Appearing in front of them is a tall man who has a Popeye-like appearance and is wearing something that resembles a sailor's outfit to boot.
"Welcome to The Baratie, wonderful customers." the man says, with a corny little bow. Zoro furrows his brow.
"This is your new friend?" he asks, slightly perturbed.
"Patty, get your dumb ass back in the kitchen, I got this table," a smoky voice says from behind the large man. Patty turns on his heel and leaves while muttering about stupid sous chefs. Zoro's eyes leave where they're following the Popeye-guy as he walks away and travel to where the voice came from. He blinks once and then a second time. Before their table stands the lankiest motherfucker he's ever seen. Tall and lean with golden blond hair covering half his face and an air of superiority that is so thick he feels like he could choke on it. The guy adjusts his tie and eyes their table with his one visible blue eye, a hint of a sneer playing on his lips.
"Sanji!" Luffy beams, bouncing around his seat jostling Zoro once again and earning a glare, "These are my friends!"
He begins pointing at each of them, Usopp and Nami silencing their conversation to give small smiles and polite waves. "That's Usopp and that's Nami and…" He falters, watching as Sanji immediately moves to a nearby table and picks up a flower from one of the vases. Turning back, he all but runs to where Nami is seated and bows so far over that Zoro thinks he might just fall on his stupid face. Zoro chuckles at the mental picture.
"Nami, is it? I am enchanted -absolutely stunned by your beauty. What is a delicate flower like you spending time with these guys when you could be out on a date with me?" Sanji gushes to the redhead while thrusting the flower into her hand as she visibly tenses and stares at him in a mix of amusement and horror. Usopp, however, sits beside her trying not to laugh out loud. Luffy's grin wavers a little bit and he scratches his head in confusion as Zoro's jaw slacks, dumbfounded at the man's blatant stupidity.
"What a moron. Are you sure you wanna be friends with this guy?" he wonders aloud, more so to himself than Luffy, who has begun laughing and pointing at Sanji, prompting Usopp to let go and begin laughing out loud too. Sanji, however, is unphased by their cackling and glares directly at him, looking at him for the first time.
Zoro watches as he's sized up before the blond guy turns his full body towards him and bluntly says, "I don't know why a guy who dyes his hair green thinks he can call me an idiot. You look like a shitty head of lettuce."
Zoro's eye twitches at this, who the does this guy think he is?
"Yeah well at least I'm not making shitty first impressions by twirling around like a fucking moron," he sneers, shooting a challenging glare back.
Luffy throws an arm around Zoro's shoulder before Sanji can retort and finishes his introductions. "Sanji, this is Zoro. Everyone, this is Sanji. He's a cook and makes really yummy food and he's our new friend. And after we eat he's gonna come hang out with us and play video games, isn't that right Sanji?"
"I have to work Luffy," he rolls his eyes and fusses with the sleeves of his suit jacket. Zoro looks around the restaurant again. Every other worker he's seen so far has been wearing something akin to the sailor suit on the previous waiter – why is this guy so dressed up? He eyes the form-fitting suit; the tight black pants make the guy's scrawny legs look even scrawnier. Maybe he's overcompensating for something.
"Well then you're gonna come hang out after you get off work, then!" Luffy declares before opening his menu and asking if he can get double steak and no potatoes on the steak dish. Sanji doesn't get a word in edgewise about whether or not he will be hanging out with them after work as they all take the opportunity to place their orders. As he watches the thin man walk away, Zoro prays to the God he doesn't believe in that Sanji won't want to come over. But of course after the meals and three checks are delivered (somehow Nami got a free meal), the blond learns that Nami is one of Luffy's roommates and immediately asks for the address, thus confirming Zoro's atheism.
Xxx
Zoro wakes up to knocking. He rubs his eyes with the palm of his hand and adjusts the black sweatpants that fell down loose around his hips. Another knock sounds. He grumbles and stands up, stretching and cracking his back. A third knock and Zoro is standing at the threshold, grinning stupidly at the heated swearing he can hear on the other side of the door. He swings it open to reveal the blond with his hand raised to knock again. Sanji stares as a groggy Zoro yawns and scratches his stomach, unintentionally revealing bronze skin pulled over tight packed abs.
"Hey shitty waiter," Zoro says through another yawn, leading Sanji into the living room.
"Fucker, I'm a chef, not a waiter. I only served you guys today because I knew if I didn't Luffy would have bombarded the kitchen to try to talk to me," Sanji retorts, setting his keys down on the kitchen bar and removing his shoes. He's shed his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his blue dress shirt to make his earlier outfit look way more casual.
"Alright then, shitty cook," Zoro shrugs, laying back down on the sofa and staring blankly at the random history documentary playing quietly on the TV.
Sanji sits on the other sofa and looks around before asking, "So, where is everyone? I thought I was supposed to be hanging out with Luffy and the wonderful Nami."
Zoro lifts his head and glances back at the supposed chef. His body is slightly rigid, as if he's unsure of himself for being in their place. Zoro cracks his neck and decides to play nice for now, "They went on an errand. Usopp has the car so he drove and Nami knows the guy so she went too. They'll be back soon."
"Usopp… that's the guy who was at lunch with you guys, right? Does he live here too?"
"Yeah, all four of us live here. Rent's cheaper that way."
"Huh," Sanji mutters surveying the living room again, apparently with a new light shed on its contents. "What kind of errands are ran at ten at night?" he asks puzzled, before taking out a pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket, "Hey, is there anywhere I can smoke?"
Zoro sits up and shrugs again, "You can smoke right there, I don't give a shit. They went to buy weed. I think they're planning on smoking and playing video games all night. If that bothers you, you might want to leave now."
He himself doesn't have any issue with the periodic drug use between his roommates – it's just a plant after all. No worse than the cigarette the dumb cook is puffing on right now. Ever since he's known Luffy, the guy has been so blasé about his habit that Zoro's almost forgotten that there are people in the world who have issue with it. He doesn't often partake, though; he's smoked in the past but doesn't like the slight loss of control he feels when high. People like Usopp and Luffy might enjoy letting go and relaxing but not him. Honing his senses and staying in control is how he survived most of his life. The first time he ever smoked he felt dull, almost floaty and like he didn't care as much as he should have, which had disturbed him. He just feels like he doesn't need to smoke; beer and liquor keep him satisfied. Speaking of which…
He stands up and instantly walks to the kitchen, throwing over his shoulder to Sanji, who is quietly gazing in the distance with his smoke poised between his fingers, "Hey, you want a beer?"
"No, no beer for me, mossy. And no, the weed isn't going to bother me. I was actually thinking that sounds like the perfect end to a shit day," he smirks, stubbing out the filter in an empty soda can on the coffee table.
Zoro settles back on the sofa and pops the cap off his beverage, taking a long pull from the bottle. It makes him a little uncomfortable how comfortable he feels sitting there in the quiet with this man he barely knows. Zoro isn't particularly fond of strangers, especially ones who have invaded the personal space of his home, however he can't find it in him to distrust the chef. The guy may be annoying as hell with his earlier display at Nami and insult at his hair but yet Zoro finds himself studying the man, almost intrigued. Not that he'd ever admit it.
"Well make yourself comfortable, pervy cook. Your precious Nami should be returning any moment now," he mutters smugly, turning his attention back to the television.
"Excuse me, did you just call me a fucking perv?" Sanji growls out, narrowing his eyes. Zoro smirks at this; it was the reaction he was hoping for. Riling this guy up is definitely as fun as he thought it would be.
"Yeah I did. You made such a shit show at your restaurant earlier today, what else is a guy to think?"
"I am NOT a perv, bastard! I just happen to think that women should be worshipped as the angels they are."
Zoro stares back at the man, blank faced, "That's fucking stupid, cook. Women are human beings, just like us. They don't need to be worshipped because of their gender."
Sanji opens his mouth to reply but a familiar female voice shouting from outside interrupts, and suddenly the door flings open, Luffy and Usopp racing into the room with a red-faced Nami following behind.
"Nami!" Sanji croons, jumping out of his seat immediately and busying himself helping her take off her coat… in her own fucking house. Zoro rolls his eyes and takes a swig of his beer, as the idiot duo jump onto the couch that was just vacated and hold up pillows like shields.
"Nami, p-please calm down… it's not our fault!" Usopp stutters as he shields his face.
"You IMBECILES!" Nami screams before stomping off into her bedroom, door slamming behind her. Sanji pouts and settles himself on the sofa next to Zoro before turning to Luffy, who is scratching his head and staring at the hallway the redhead had just disappeared down, "What the fuck did you two do to poor Nami?"
"We didn't do anything," Usopp defends instantly, lowering his pillow protection and shedding his jacket, tossing it on the floor next to him.
"LIKE HELL YOU DIDN'T." Nami yells as she storms back into the living room with an overnight bag in hand, "If Luffy hadn't agreed so quickly I could have gotten it for even cheaper!"
She slings her bag over her shoulder, pausing only to dig into her pocket and pull out a baggie, throwing it at Usopp. "Here's your share. I am going to Vivi's," she huffs and with one last door slam, she's gone.
Luffy immediately grabs the baggie and pours the contents on to the table, giggling "It's not our fault; he wasn't going to give a better price. At least she left us most of it, eh Usopp?"
Zoro gets up to grab another beer from the fridge and Luffy lifts his head up and seemingly notices Sanji's presence for the first time.
"Hey Sanji! I knew you'd come! I hope you're ready for me to kick your ass in Mortal Kombat!" he beams while packing a bowl. Usopp moves to set up the video game system and Zoro steps over him to get back to the far sofa. Settling once more next to the chef, who is sniffing a bud Luffy held up to him, Zoro begins contemplating if he really wants to watch them all get stoned and play games or if he should excuse himself for the night, too. He managed to nap for about four hours this evening so he's not particularly tired. Maybe laying in bed and listening to records while meditating would do him some good.
Almost as if he read Zoro's mind, Luffy looks directly at him and smiles before taking a puff of his pipe and passing to Sanji. As he exhales he declares, "Zoro's gonna hang out and smoke too!"
"Luffy, you know I don't smoke." he sighs, instantly dismissing the idea of escaping to his bedroom at the current moment. He doesn't make a habit of taking demands and orders from other people but for Luffy, he almost always obliges the man's decisions. Whereas an angry Nami is pretty annoying, a Luffy who doesn't get his way is about ten times worse.
"Aw, is the mosshead scared of smoking a little weed?" Sanji snorts, taking a hit himself. He holds it in for a few seconds before blowing out smoke rings, causing Luffy to yell about how cool he is. Zoro's eye twitches. He's not one to back down from a challenge and that jibe definitely sounded like a challenge.
"No, I'm not fucking scared, moron. Gimme that."
"Hey!" Usopp whines, obviously upset at the rotation being interrupted and being skipped over as Zoro takes a hit from the bowl. He turns to face Sanji on the couch next to him with a glare as the man looks back at him with a hint of amusement in his eye and a small smirk playing on his lips. Zoro exhales through the side of his mouth and hands the piece to Usopp, who mutters something that sounds faintly like 'finally,' before grabbing his beer again and sinking back into the soft cushions of their sofa. They pass the piece around a few more times, smoking about three bowls between the four of them before Luffy declares that it's time to kick some ass and starts his game.
As he watches the fighting game being played on the screen, Luffy obviously using all his best tricks and cheats to try to beat Sanji, Zoro can feel himself slipping into his high, first slowly, and then feeling pulled under suddenly like he's drowning in a sea of smoke. The last time he smoked with them was almost a year ago, a little over a month after they all moved into this place and even then he only took a couple puffs and declined anything else. But that stupid, fucking chef had to call him scared, had to issue that challenge and Zoro doesn't know if he's ever felt this way before in his life. He drinks like a fish and has no problem holding his alcohol; hell, even hard liquor is almost like water to him. He had been drinking for years before he was legally allowed to and once he turned twenty-one there was no stopping him now that he could waltz into any gas station or liquor store and get whatever he wanted.
He faintly hears the others chattering and laughing amongst themselves, getting to know each other and enjoying their game. He notices that he's still holding his beer and brings it to his lips only to realize it's completely empty. He pulls it away from his mouth and stares at it as if it had offended him personally. He realizes that the chattering had changed from casual conversation to three different voices laughing. He looks up and sees the others staring at him and chuckling.
"Hey dumbass, you're stoned out of your mind, aren't you?" Sanji asks, jabbing him in the ribs. Luffy starts laughing so hard he can't stay sitting up and falls over onto Usopp's shoulder, who collapses back against him with tears running his face.
"What, me? No… I'm just thirsty," Zoro manages to say before standing up slowly and walking to the fridge. As he walks he feels a floating, drifting feeling and he finds he enjoys the feeling of the fridge door handle in his palm. It feels safe and grounded. He grabs a beer and ponders for a second before shrugging and grabbing a second one so he doesn't have to get up again so soon. He makes his way back into the other room. Luffy and Usopp are still giggling against each other as Sanji quirks an eyebrow at them and reaches for the pipe to take another hit.
"Take my shot guns, mossy." he says while waiting for Zoro to settle back into his seat next to him.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Zoro asks as he pulls the cap off of his beer. He knows what shot gunning a beer is; his friends Johnny and Yosaku are obsessed with over who can do it fastest. But shot gunning smoke? This is something utterly foreign to him.
"Yeah, you're already pretty high so you'd probably get wrecked if you took a full hit right now… just inhale the smoke I exhale. Or is that too complicated for your pea brain?" Sanji teases, while packing the bowl. Usopp and Luffy are arguing over their game and completely ignoring the two men on their sofa and in his heightened state, Zoro almost feels like he and Sanji are the only people left on the planet.
He tries to mentally work out what the cook is saying. Inhale the smoke he exhales? He doesn't want to admit that it sounds complicated after being insulted but he doesn't quite get how that's supposed to work.
Obviously reading the puzzled look on Zoro's face, Sanji sighs, "I'll show you how it works, okay?"
He takes a puff from the pipe and holds his smoke in for a few seconds while leaning in close to Zoro. Really close, actually. So close, in fact, that Zoro feels frozen in shock with the sudden lack of distance between their faces. His wide, brown eyes stare back into a blue one as Sanji smiles slightly before exhaling directly in Zoro's face. Almost as if on instinct, Zoro finds himself inhaling the cloud of smoke before exhaling it back out himself. Sanji gives a satisfied grin and pulls back into his original sitting position and toys with the lighter in his hand.
"That's what shot gunning is. It works better when you exhale directly into the other person's mouth." he says casually, continuing to flick the lighter.
"Oh," is all Zoro can manage to dumbly say. His thoughts feel muddled and the sudden closeness with Sanji threw him for a loop. It was probably just the drugs fogging his brain but he almost feels like he misses the closeness now that it has been taken away. He's pulled from his contemplating when Luffy stands up and announces that he and Usopp are hungry and are going to go pick up some pizza.
"It's fucking midnight, Luffy." Sanji sits up straight, also startled by the bustling of the two boys who are collecting shoes and jackets and preparing to leave.
"There's a twenty-four hour place a few blocks away. We're just gonna walk there and grab a couple to bring home. I'm hungry, Sanji, and we have no food here!" Luffy cries and pulls on his hat before waving goodbye as Usopp follows him out the door.
Zoro is all too aware of how quiet it is in the small apartment with the two of them gone and the television turned off. Sanji lights up a cigarette and falls back into the sofa, puffing with an unreadable expression on his face. The silence is itching away at Zoro and he feels like he needs to fill the void with something and he searches for anything he can talk to the other man about.
"I've never been this high," he suddenly blurts out and in a moment of clarity cringes, realizing what he just admitted. The fucker is probably gonna laugh at him.
"It's been a long time since I felt this good, too." Sanji hums, tapping his cigarette in the ashtray on the table before bringing it back to his lips. Zoro's eyes flick down to the guy's lips as he sucks on his cigarette. Those same lips were just exhaling in his face. He shakes his head, sloshing his thoughts around and pulls for a different one. There's no need to be thinking about things like that. He suddenly remembers something.
"You said earlier that today was a shit day. Why?" he asks, turning his head so he's facing Sanji fully. He sees the cook's shoulders tense slightly before relaxing again as he blows a stream of smoke out slowly.
"It's nothing really. Just had some really shitty customers at work today. After you guys left the owner decided to keep me on waiting tables." he explains, stubbing out his butt and turning his head to look at Zoro too. Zoro's suddenly aware of the lack of space between their faces again and he raises his eyebrows.
"Oh," he mumbles as he clears his throat, before turning his head and staring off into a random location. He stares for a long time, aware that Sanji's head is still turned and facing him before twisting back and taking a deep breath.
"I had a bad day, too. Today's the anniversary of my sister's death," he says softly, completely unaware of why he's decided to confess to basically a stranger when his best of friends don't even know. But in his clouded mind, there's a small voice telling him this is good and he needs to get it out to someone.
"She was my foster sister, actually. I spent a childhood in and out of homes before I found one that was willing to stick with me. We were close, " he explains further, eyeing Sanji whose face has softened a little bit but remains expressionless. Sanji eyes search his own a few seconds more before he mutters 'shit' and sits up, reaching for the abandoned pipe in the table.
"I'm sorry, Zoro. That's rough," he mutters as he takes a hit and stares at his lap while exhaling. Zoro just shrugs at this. He doesn't like when people pity him or say they're sorry when really they couldn't give a shit, but Sanji isn't doing either of these things. Zoro feels like the other man actually cares and truly is sorry. Maybe he's not so bad after all.
Sanji glances at Zoro out of the corner of his eye and moves to take another hit from the bowl. Instead of exhaling slowly or doing the fancy little smoke rings he's been doing all night, he sets the pipe down gently before turning and grabbing Zoro's face and pressing their lips together.
Zoro is taken aback by the sudden movement and opens his mouth to protest. Sanji takes advantage of this by dispelling the smoke from his lungs into Zoro's mouth. Zoro closes his eyes and inhales everything Sanji gives him. He keeps his eyes closed as the cook pulls away from him slowly, keeping Zoro's face cupped in his hands. He blows the smoke out in thin wisps and opens his eyes to meet the blond's own. Sanji looks at him warily, almost as if he's expecting Zoro to haul off and punch him but it never comes. Zoro just shrugs out of his hold and sighs before standing up.
His legs have that sluggish feeling again, one that reminds him of walking through water as he moves out of the room to head down the hallway. He stops and turns back to the living room and sees Sanji staring at him from over the top of the couch. He smirks at this, feeling his lips still tingling from their recent contact and turns back to leave.
"Well, are you coming, idiot? I wanna show you something," he grumbles out, signaling the cook to follow him. He goes into his room and turns on the light, moving over to his record player. Sanji appears in his doorway and looks around the bedroom. There's not much to look at, however, just a bed, a dresser, and a small table that Zoro uses to hold his old record player and small collection of vinyls. He begins to play what was already set up and falls back on his bed, patting the space next to him. Sanji eyes him suspiciously but follows, flopping next to him. Zoro crosses his arms behind his head and stares up at the ceiling as Bob Dylan's crooning fills the room.
"This was her favorite song when we were younger. I don't know why a kid would love Bob Dylan so much but she did," he chuckles and turns his head to Sanji. Sanji nods at this, also staring at the ceiling and listens to the folk singer croon.
Why wait any longer for the world to begin…
Zoro feels an overwhelming sense of comfort and peace wash over him like a warm bath.
You can have your cake and eat it too…
He yawns and glances over at Sanji, whose eyelids are fluttering closed.
Why wait any longer for the one you love when he's standing in front of you.