Written for ZoSan Advent Calendar 2017, 3rd December.
I've always liked "meet the family" stories, and while I've seen a couple around of Zoro meeting Zeff, I don't think I've ever seen anything like that with Kuina. And so the idea of this story was born!
I hope you like it!
The night air held a faint lingering chill, characteristic of the time of the year as late autumn slowly faded into winter. It was dark, but not fully so – the waxing moon illuminated the lands below it, lending its silvery shimmer to all it touched. Houses dotted the landscape in the distance, lamplight filtering out through windows at this time in the night when the villagers were all still awake. One house in particular stood out for its liveliness, the owner having decided to throw a party to celebrate the arrival of some long-anticipated guests. These guests were a cheerfully rambunctious bunch even on their better days, and it was thus no surprise that the festivities were soon enthusiastically joined by the village children, to the joint amusement and exasperation of their parents.
But out here in the expansive grounds of the local cemetery, blanketed by the peaceful lull of the trees planted around it, the cheers of the party's attendees were a muted murmur even at their loudest. A lone figure walked slowly through the grounds, gravel crunching softly beneath polished dress shoes. The lit cherry of the man's cigarette was a tiny point of light in the half-darkness, a thin wisp of smoke rising from it to fade into the night air. In his hand was a modest bouquet of white carnations chosen carefully for this visit.
The man's steps finally came to a stop as his eyes alighted upon the simple carved gravestone of the grave he had sought to visit. The marble of the gravestone was worn with age, but held obvious signs that it had been lovingly taken care of over the years. There were offerings already set before the grave as well, left behind from their first visit that morning.
Crouching down, Sanji placed the flowers he carried in front of the gravestone, smiling gently. "Hi Kuina-chan. Do you remember me? I came with that group of idiots earlier." The whole crew had come to pay their respects soon after their arrival to Shimotsuki Village, but he had wanted to make a private visit as well, not the least because of his relationship with a certain green-haired swordsman. "Zoro told me a lot about you. Stories of you two when you were both children." His smile held a wistful tinge to it. "The two of you must have raised hell together. I wish I could have seen it. I bet you could have told me all sorts of great stories about little marimo to embarrass him with." His voice trailed off then, taking on a faintly sheepish tone. "You're probably wondering why I'm here now, talking to you about this. About that… I don't know if you've heard from Zoro yet, but the two of us, we're… well, together."
The heightened color of his face wouldn't be visible in the dark, but still Sanji could feel his cheeks heating up in clear contrast to the crisp air. This wasn't anything new, to be honest, the pair of them having danced around their developing feelings for ages in the early days before finally getting together properly soon after their reunion two years later, yet somehow it still felt awkward to say it aloud. Or perhaps it was because of the current context, knowing that this was someone Zoro strongly cared about.
He let the silence fall, almost as if waiting for a response. But of course there would be no reply forthcoming here, in the peaceful quiet of the cemetery.
The crunch of gravel signaled the timely arrival of another nighttime visitor. "So you were out here after all," a familiar deep voice spoke up.
Sanji blew out an idle stream of smoke as he straightened from his crouch, not bothering to look behind him to the newcomer. "I'm having some quality time with Kuina-chwan, shitty marimo. Scram back to the party like the good little moss that you are."
Instead of obeying that snarky command, the swordsman continued forward with his relaxed stride to stand close to Sanji. His arms reached out, wrapping comfortably around his lover's waist from behind. Zoro dropped his chin onto the cook's shoulder, a hint of a grin wavering around the corner of his mouth as he also turned towards the gravestone. "Hey Kuina, this is my idiot."
"Who are you calling an idiot, moss-for-brains?" Sanji gave a distinct eye-roll as he scoffed, but any lingering harshness was softened by the way he relaxed into the swordsman's arms. The cook let out a dramatized sigh. "Look at what I have to deal with on a daily basis, Kuina-chan," he half-whined. "This uncouth muscleman with no refinement whatsoever. I'm sure you would have made much better company."
Zoro snorted. "Save the theatrics, shit cook. Kuina never had any patience for this kind of thing. She'd have kicked your scrawny ass for fawning over her."
While in a different setting he might have taken offense at the words, or at least pretended to, here the blond cook gave a quiet laugh in response. "So you always say." Sanji tipped his head back, the short strands of Zoro's hair tickling his cheek as they leaned closer to each other, sharing their warmth. "Tell me more about her?"
The swordsman hummed thoughtfully as he drew on his memories. "She hated being treated differently just because she was a girl." He would never forget their last conversation, the angry futility in her tone. "If she had been with us at the restaurant, that day when we first met you, probably she would have been annoyed with your stupid flirting at first. But she would have come to liked you," he said, because that was important. "After she got to know you properly, and you stopped being an idiot." He felt the cook let out a short chuckle at the small jibe, knowing that he hadn't really meant it as an insult but rather a somewhat roundabout compliment.
Because Sanji was Sanji, and he would always respect his nakama's wishes, even if it meant not treating a lady in a special way simply because she didn't want him to. Maybe he would slip up every now and then, because that was something so very ingrained in his person, but he would try and that was what really mattered.
"I really wish I could have met her."
Zoro's voice was soft with quiet reminiscence as he pictured the two most precious people together, and wished he could have seen it in life. "Me too."
A peaceful silence fell over them, the two of them savoring the shared warmth from where their bodies were pressed closely together, warding off the chill night air. Zoro tightened his hold slightly as he nuzzled against the cook's blond hair, drawing a contented sigh from Sanji.
"SANJIIII~ ZOROOOO~~ Where are youuuu?" an unmistakably familiar voice echoed in the distance from the direction of the village, remorselessly breaking the short-lived silence. "Sanji, meeeeeat."
"Shitty captain," Sanji complained under his breath but there was fondness in his tone, reflected also in Zoro's expression.
The swordsman's lips quirked into a grin. "I suppose we better head back before he starts eating the dojo equipment." Contrary to his words though, he didn't show any intention of moving, arms still cinched warmly around Sanji's waist. Sanji, for his part, wasn't about to complain, instead tilting his head back to meet Zoro's lips with a kiss that was enthusiastically returned.
"Zorooooo, are you lost again~~" Luffy called.
Sanji laughed aloud against Zoro's mouth even as the green-haired man bristled with embarrassed annoyance. "What do you mean again!?" the swordsman muttered.
"Let's head back." Sanji tilted his head to press one last chaste kiss to Zoro's lips before pulling away. Sighing in resignation, Zoro reluctantly let his arms drop, fingers still lingering briefly as a light touch against Sanji's hips. Turning back the way he came, he headed back towards the dojo to rejoin the celebrations and pacify their noisy captain.
Sanji however lingered for a little longer, gazing back at the grave with eyes filled with warmth. "He's an idiot marimo, but I love him," he told her softly, clear conviction in his voice, a promise he was fully intending to keep. "So you don't have to worry about him, Kuina-chan. I'll watch his back."
And speaking literally of said back… "You're going the wrong way, marimo!" he called. In the distance, Zoro froze.
"…Shut up! I'm taking the scenic route!"
Chuckling, Sanji went to pick up his hopeless lost swordsman.
And maybe it was wishful thinking or a trick of the light, but as he walked away he thought that he saw a specter of a young girl sitting atop the marble gravestone, smiling happily at them.
Hope you enjoyed it, please review!