Sanji's kitchen knives were shitty. He begrudgingly acknowledged this, having been fooled by a silver-tongued salesman (who, in his own opinion, probably could have sold the entire goddamned ocean to a Celestial Dragon) at a previous market port, but he bitterly denied it whenever the swordsman brought it up. Which, he did. Often.

They required sharpening regularly, and despite the fact that Sanji obliged them in that regard and dragged them along his sharpening stone nearly every day, they seemed to dull faster than he could make any good use of them. It was frustrating, but he couldn't afford to buy a new set until after the year rolled over.

Chopper's birthday was coming up, and with it the Straw Hat pirates' annual gift giving event. They'd learned about from it from a winter island they'd come across some years ago, and Luffy had gone wild for it. The idea was simple, but still managed to stress him out to some degree. As their crew had expanded, so too did the amount of money needed to get everyone an adequate gift. A new set of knives simply didn't fit within his budget.

A small, hard knock on the galley door brought his attention away from his cruddy knives, and his frown was instantly replaced with a smile that stretched comically across his face.

"Ready to go, Sanji?" Robin asked, leaning against the doorframe. She was smiling at him in that slightly unnerving, cryptic way that set his heart skipping, and for the time being he forgot all about his dilemma.

"Yes! I've just finished cleaning!"

He rinsed his hands off and dried them with a dishtowel before waltzing to her side, and with hearts in his eyes they disembarked the Sunny to explore the markets of the island they had docked at. Earlier in the day, Robin had made mention that she needed to do some last minute shopping, and Sanji had volunteered to escort her around the majestic streets of the large winter island. Nami had discovered upon their arrival that the island was a huge trading port, and likely had a large variety of wares to be discovered that Robin was interested in browsing.

As both he and Robin had yet to do any real shopping for their gift giving event, she had figured this would probably be the best place for it.

She led their way through the busy streets, patiently listening to him as he rambled about his day and how he had some ideas on what to get for Nami and herself, but no idea on what to get anyone else. Occasionally she would pause by a vendor to inspect things more closely, or pop into a clothing store to run her fingers through the fabric of shirts and other things that piqued her interest, leaving Sanji to carry anything that she wound up buying.

They stayed out for hours, roaming the markets and purchasing things here and there until Sanji had managed to buy something for everyone in the crew, save for Robin and Zoro. The day's light was beginning to fall, and as the sun waned, bright, festive lights began to turn on. They lined the road with a cheery luminescence in an attempt to draw in more business, and Sanji couldn't help but admire how beautiful Robin looked with all the neon colors reflecting onto her pale skin.

The wind-chill that hadn't been so bad when the sun was up was now beginning to make him shiver, but still they persevered, ignoring the uncomfortable sting the cold air whipped at their exposed faces.

Sanji lit a cigarette, humming thoughtfully to himself as he pondered what he ought to get for his last two crewmates. His arms were burdened with both his and Robin's shopping bags, but they didn't weigh on him as heavily as his thoughts did.

Robin deserved something tasteful; something classy. An old, ancient book of some sort that would fit in with the rest of her collection, or perhaps an elegant piece of jewelry that would reinforce her own natural beauty.

And what about Zoro? Did he settle on just getting him an expensive bottle of booze like everyone did? Last year had been embarrassing for that exact reason, though Zoro hadn't complained when each gift he opened turned out to be the same basic thing. Sanji was sure that there were those in his crew who were still planning on just getting him the regular, and as much as Zoro loved to drink, it still didn't make it right to not put thought into a gift for him when he put so much into everyone else's.

"Sanji?" Robin spoke so softly, he almost didn't hear her until she'd touched his arm gently, dragging him from his thoughts. He stopped walking as she led him to the side of the road, and as he raised his brow in question, she shot him another one of her trademark smiles. "Would you mind if I asked that we split up here for a while? It wouldn't be very much of a surprise for you if I bought your gift with you standing with me while I did."

"Oh, yes, of course! That's a wonderful idea; I haven't picked up what I plan to get for you yet either, and I would hate to ruin the surprise."

She cocked her head as though she had something else to say, but whatever it was she kept to herself.

"We could meet back here in an hour," she said instead, and after Sanji nodded his approval, she walked off alone into the crowded street.

He lost sight of her fairly quickly in the evening's dim light, her hair blending in with the encroaching darkness that the festive lights couldn't quite keep away. Sanji stared after her wistfully for a moment before he too merged in with the foot-traffic, keeping an eye out for anything he thought Robin or Zoro might be interested in.

There were plenty of fine alcohol vendors that each specialized in a different type of brew, but he was so determined now to not fall into that stereotype that he ignored them all. He had no idea what else Zoro liked besides booze and his swords though, and he knew so little about swords that he didn't have the faintest clue as to what exactly to look for in terms of quality. When it came to swords, or any type of blade, only the best would do for Zoro, and Sanji had no frame of reference for what the best actually was.

Sighing, he decided to focus on what to get Robin first and began window-shopping, looking through the thick panes of glass into whatever jewelry stores he came across. It took a while for something to catch his eye, but when it did, he stalled completely and stared in at the display and knew that he'd found the perfect gift. A jewelry store, however, was the last place he'd expected to finally find his gift for Zoro.

He stared in at the open jewelry box that was perched atop a podium for display purposes, expression blank but growing brighter by the second. Gifting women jewelry was all fine and dandy, but how would Zoro- or the rest of the crew, for that matter- take it if Sanji gave himsomething that could be interpreted as… romantic?

Five large, golden rings sat in the box looking back at him, and when Sanji imagined how they would look lining Zoro's ear instead of those oddly shaped pendulums he already wore, he was struck again by the notion of how perfect it was. It didn't matter to him then that there were two more rings than Zoro had piercings for as he stepped inside to begin the haggling process; all that mattered was that he'd finally found something worthy to give him that wasn't alcohol.

He was red in the face by the time he left, though, having had to deal with the salesman constantly telling him what a wonderful gift he was getting for that special girl in his life. Sanji was showered with reassurances that his woman would love the golden rings, and there was no way in hell he was going to correct him, but having to go along with the charade had almost made him reconsider getting the earrings altogether. But he had remained strong, and left the jewelry store with the box in his pocket in place of the Beri he had used to pay for them.

Shuffling back onto the street and still very mindful of the numerous bags he was carrying, he set about searching for an antiques book dealer to spend the last of his money on before he had to meet back up with Robin.

They walked back to the ship in silence, each of them more taken to admiring the way the island decorated itself at night than they were interested in talking with one another. Every once in a while though, Robin would glance at him in a way that he felt must mean that she knew what he had gotten for Zoro, and thus knew what it meant for him to be giving the swordsman such a gift, and it made the weight of the box in his pocket feel like a much bigger burden than it should have been.

He pointedly ignored her whenever she glanced his way with that look in her eye, and was thankful when they got back to the ship and went their separate ways after divvying up whose bags were whose.

Then, all that was left to do was wait.

The build up to the night of their gift exchange had been intense, and Sanji could not have felt more relief than he did when it was finally over. That night they gathered in the galley, all of them with several wrapped bundles waiting to be handed over to their intended recipients. Everyone gave Chopper his gifts first, given that it was actually his birthday, and he had opened them all with the most jubilant look Sanji had probably ever seen on his tiny little face.

Then it came time for everyone to share with everyone else, and that's when things became a little chaotic. As he'd predicted earlier in the week, Zoro wound up with a large collection of new and expensive booze, while everyone else's gifts ranged in terms of variety. He seemed satisfied with what he'd been given though, which made Sanji all the more nervous to approach him and offer up his own.

Maybe he'd been overthinking it; Zoro was a simple man with simple pleasures, after all. He probably would have been just as happy to get a bottle from Sanji as well as from the rest of the crew, but still, he couldn't return the earrings at this point so, fuck it. Might as well just go for it.

"Oi, asshole," he said, approaching Zoro who had already decided to break in some of his new drinks.

"What?" Zoro replied, fixing him with a frown when he couldn't quite figure out what the expression on Sanji's face meant.

"Step outside with me for a minute."

Although he seemed reluctant, Zoro heaved a sigh and brought the open bottle with him when he followed Sanji out onto the deck. He made sure the galley door closed behind them as he led Zoro a bit further away across the lawn to a point where the sounds of their crewmate's celebration couldn't quite reach them.

"What is it, shit cook?" Zoro grumbled, taking another swig from his bottle as Sanji lit up a cigarette.

Sanji's heart was thundering in his chest, and if it weren't for the strong wind encouraging the waves to crash loudly against the ship, he was certain Zoro would have been able to hear it. He inhaled deeply and held his breath for a moment, reaching his hand into his pocket where the unwrapped jewelry box had been sitting for the better part of the week.

"Got you something," he said eventually, taking it out and tossing it haphazardly in Zoro's direction as if it meant nothing. Part of him hoped Zoro would fumble it and it would fall into the ocean, just so he'd have something to pick a fight over.

He wasn't looking as Zoro caught it, a look of confusion on his face as the box rattled when it hit his palm. Sanji maintained his façade of indifference even as he heard Zoro pop it open, trying to calm his nerves by smoking languidly.

It was a gorgeous night out despite the cold, Sanji noted, as he spared a quick glance skyward to admire the stars. They'd left the trading island's port days ago, but some part of him still fancied that he could see its lights as they sailed further away.

"My gift for you is back inside, but you won't get it until the morning."

Turning back around, he'd almost forgotten what they'd come outside to do. Sanji stared at him curiously as Zoro snapped the little white jewelry box shut and slipped it inside of his pocket. He then gestured with his eyes for Sanji to follow him back inside before he stepped away.

As they rejoined the crew, Sanji couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. No word of thanks, or of anger, or of uncaring had come from Zoro's mouth to indicate how he'd felt about the earrings he'd been gifted. He thought he'd done well by giving him something out of the ordinary, but perhaps he had been mistaken.

He tried not to think about it too much as the Mugiwara's night of gifting continued, and his disappointment was short lived as he happily received the things his crew had gotten for him. Still, in the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder about what Zoro could have possibly gotten him. Why did he have to wait until morning? Why couldn't it be given to him now along with everyone else?

The only thing he could do was wait and find out.

When he woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was that neither Chopper nor Zoro were in their bunks, and while it struck him as odd that they would both be missing, he had work to do. Everyone else would be awake soon too, and he had to sharpen his knives properly before he could get started preparing breakfast.

The thought of having to grind his useless knives against the stone yet again annoyed him as he got dressed and made his way to the kitchen. He was still half asleep as he stepped up to the counter, reaching for his knives that weren't there. The knife block he stored them in was empty; his dull, shitty knives were gone.

Sanji stared at the empty block in confusion until a small bundle wrapped in black caught his eye. Placed beside the sink, he unwrapped the canvas bundle carefully, and he couldn't help the way his breath hitched in his throat when he realized it was an entirely new set of knives.

He could tell just from looking at them that the quality was a hundred times greater than what his previous knives had been. Gripping one in his hand, he admired the pristine way they shone, even in the kitchen's dim lighting. They were straight and pristine, weighted perfectly to balance easily in his hand. Cooking was no longer going to be such a chore to him, and he knew exactly who he had to thank for that.

The door to the kitchen opened and shut quietly, and Sanji didn't need to turn around to know who'd just walked in.

"See, now those are knives," Zoro said, approaching Sanji slowly. "I threw those shitty knock off ones overboard."

"Idiot, you probably could have re-sold them," Sanji muttered, but there was no actual fight behind his words.

Zoro sidled up beside him, resting easily against the counter with a smug look upon his face as Sanji admired his gift. He reached for a knife that wasn't currently in Sanji's hand and expertly twirled it around in his fingers, holding it so the blade reflected some of the sunlight directly into Sanji's eyes.

"Oi, what the fuck," Sanji hissed, blinking away from the harsh reflection. He turned a scowl to Zoro, but his anger was forgotten in an instant when he finally decided to look at him.

There, lining the swordsman's earlobe, were the earrings he'd bought for him- but not just three of them. All five of the rings were present and in his ear, having replaced the pendulums he'd worn before.

"You- When did you-"

"This morning. I had Chopper do it for me." Zoro cocked his head to the side, a grin on his face as his earrings dangled loosely. "You should've seen the look on his face when I asked him to do it. 'But Zoro, I'm supposed to heal people, not hurt them!' Took a lot of convincing on my part to get him to believe that I'd probably end up cutting my ear off if he made me do it myself."

Sanji laughed, reaching up a hand to gingerly touch the spots of Zoro's ear that were still slightly red from being freshly pierced. He'd been right, at the store; they looked damn good on him.

"You probably would have," he said quietly, his knives momentarily forgotten as he studied Zoro's profile, and Zoro let him.

By the time Sanji realized what he was doing, he was red in the face and tried to look away. Before he could, Zoro wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him in for a kiss, pushing their mouths together in a way that was far too gentle for what Sanji had come to expect from him.

It was different from all the other rough, hungry ways they'd kissed each other before. Perhaps the gift of the earrings had changed that in some way, and if it had, well, Sanji didn't mind. They stood there kissing each other softly in a way that was new to the both of them, and when they finally broke apart, Sanji smiled.

"Thank you for the knives, marimo."

Zoro snorted.

"Thanks for upgrading my ear, curly; I know how much you like to bite it."

Sanji scoffed at the cocky grin that overtook Zoro's face and reached up to lightly flick at the new additions to his ear.

"When these heal, I'll show you just how much I like to bite."