Here is my valentine gift for the amazing and lovely strawhat-sanji on tumblr.

This is the first fanfic I've ever written so hopefully it's acceptable and hopefully you like it ^.^

~ Re-edited: 14/11/14 ~

The long awaited Valentine's Day had finally arrived, though Zoro had mostly been dreading it, and the Baratie is packed with love-struck couples who are celebrating the holiday. Zoro is the only one here alone as he sits at the bar and drinks his troubles away. He's never been remotely interested in Valentine's Day but Zoro is on a mission. However, he has been having conflicted feelings about what he has planned to do today, and most of the time he's been here, he's almost legged it out of the Baratie doors. The reason for these conflicted feelings is the blonde shitty-cook, called Sanji, who works here with his step father Zeff who owns the restaurant.

Zoro has known Sanji since they were kids, and has been battling with, what he assumes, is one-sided feelings for as long as he can remember, and he has finally decided to ask Sanji out on a date. The reason he has turned it into a mission is because he is hoping that it will help him get into the right mind-set as he knows that he can never back down from a challenge, especially when Sanji is involved.

Zoro still remembers the first time that he met Sanji, Luffy had introduced them, they were around eight or nine years old at the time, and unsurprisingly their first meeting also turned out to be their first fight. It had happened over something as silly as hide and seek. They both had thought that they had found the perfect hiding place behind the plastic panels that built up the slide, and were annoyed to find out that they had both had the same idea. They started arguing as they hid, trying to get the other to find a new place to hide and were found instantly by their nakama because of their shouting. They didn't notice when they were found as their fight had turned physical and they ended up wrestling each other on the ground. That night they had gone home with ripped and muddy clothes, both with a huge grin on their face. It was then that their rivalry had started and they have been fighting and arguing over every little thing ever since. Though no matter what anyone says, or what their actions towards each other may imply, they are nakama and they respect each other. It is their strong bond that Zoro doesn't want to mess up. He's always been worried that if he tells Sanji's his real feelings that it will change things completely. He doesn't want to lose his friendship with the cook, and he really doesn't want to make it uncomfortable between them.

They aren't the only reasons why Zoro has never confessed to Sanji before. It's also been because he never thought the cook would be interested, and that Sanji only thought of him as nakama. If you ask anyone who knows Sanji, or had even just met him once, they would tell you that the man is straight. That was the main reason that Zoro had never said anything to him. But what had changed Zoro's mind is that recently, Robin had told him that Sanji is actually bisexual, which confused him greatly as he's only ever seen Sanji fuss over women and kick out at any man who'd try to touch him in anyway, and Zoro couldn't understand why he'd never noticed that the cook was also into men, as he is the closest to the Sanji, and always has been.

After hearing the truth from Robin, he'd decided to confess to Sanji and find out if he was interested in him too, even if it was only just a little bit, and his nakama had convinced him to ask Sanji out on a date on Valentine's Day. In the upcoming weeks to this holiday, Zoro had many chances to do so, but he'd backed down each time, and now tonight is his final chance. If he doesn't ask Sanji out tonight, then he has decided that he never will. He doesn't want to deal with the stress building up to it brings. It's now or never.

Zoro downs his drink and glances to the clock, it's now 9pm and the Baratie is still extremely busy. Sanji has been up on his feet all day, and the only reason Zoro has stuck around, instead of giving up, is because of the smiles Sanji directs his way whenever the cook has a second to check that he is still there. There aren't many options left for Zoro on what kind of date he can have with the blonde cook, as most places would be closing soon and the cook finishes around 12am. He'd heard from Nami that Sanji had decided to help out at the restaurant all day and had even agreed to close up once the night was over. He had been hoping to change Sanji's mind and get him to finish early, but he hasn't been able to approach him yet as the blonde has been rushing around, doubling up as waiter to make sure that their customers were happy and that things were running smoothly. So Zoro's only option is to ask Sanji back to his place for drinks once he's finished with his shift. He knows it's not much of a date, but it's what the cook needs right now as he can tell that the idiot is exhausted no matter how much he puts on a smile and swoons over the ladies he's serving.

Although he now has a new plan, Zoro's doubting whether he should go through with this at all, and he hasn't noticed that he has been staring into an empty glass for over half an hour now. He's only snapped out of his daze when he hears a familiar voice.

"You've been here all day marimo, what's the matter? Can't find your way home?"

Zoro looks up from his glass to see Sanji standing on the other side of the bar, looking right at him with a smirk on his face as he leans forward on the bar top with his chin resting on the palm of his hand. Zoro smirks and sits up more in his chair, "What are you doing here, ran out of women to reject you?"

Sanji chuckles as he leans closer, "Of course not, the ladies love me. I just thought I'd come over and let you know that your depressing aura and your ugly mug are ruining our customers' evening."

"Oh? And here I thought you were going to get me another drink, dartboard brow."

"Just because my old man lets you have free food and booze, doesn't mean you can drink us dry, moss head."

Zoro simply smirks and slides his glass closer to Sanji, who picks it up anyway despite his words and fills it back up, "Oh I'll drink you dry, cook~."

"Yeah? I'd like to see you try," Sanji replies with a wink, then frowns in disgust as Zoro gulps down his drink in one go and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, "You have no manners at all," Sanji says as he goes to serve the couple at the other end of the bar.

Zoro takes in a deep breath and looks down at his glass as Sanji comes back over to him. Right, best ask now before the ero-cook walks off and I don't get another chance, or I change my mind...

"What are you doing after your shift?"

"Why do you want to know, moss head?"

Zoro bites his lip as he looks up at Sanji and hesitates, not saying a word.

Sanji takes Zoro's glass and fills it up again, "If you must know, I'm going home obviously, where else am I going to go that late at night, idiot?"

"You can come to mine for drinks, if you want…." Zoro mumbles as he takes a sip of his drink.

There is a short pause, and Zoro glances to Sanji as the blonde looks at him confused for a second before he smirks and folds his arms on the bar top as he leans forward, "Is this you asking me to be your valentine, marimo-kun~?"

Sanji smiles at him then and Zoro's cheeks start to feel warmer. Damn idiot. Why the hell does he have to smile like that!

"Hell, no! I'd never ask you out on a date..."

The words are out before he can stop them and he berates himself when Sanji's smile falls into a neutral expression as he walks away from the bar, not saying a word, and walks into the kitchen through the large, blue double doors.

Fuck, did I mess up? Zoro bites his lip as he watches the kitchen doors and wonders if Sanji is going to come back out. He can normally read Sanji like a book, but this time he's not sure what just happened. Did Sanji leave because he upset him, or is he laughing at him? Does the cook even know that he'd just tried to ask him out on a date? Zoro is frustrated at not knowing what Sanji is thinking, but he is even more frustrated that he doubts himself. Maybe I should just leave….

Zoro downs his drink in one go, then gets up from his seat. Just as he's about to turn around and leave, Sanji comes back out of the kitchen, and he notices that the blonde cook is now wearing his coat. Does this mean he's coming back to mine? But he hasn't finished his shift yet.

He watches as Sanji reaches into his coat pocket and takes out a cigarette, popping it into his mouth, leaving it unlit, as he walks past Zoro.

"I just told my old man I'm finishing early. They can handle the rest of the night without me."

Sanji makes his way towards the front door of the Baratie, and doesn't even look back when he calls out to Zoro, "Are we going or what moss head?"

Zoro can't suppress the grin on his face at this, and is glad that Sanji can't see it as he follows the blonde out of the door. He doesn't know if the cook really knows if this is a date or not. But either way, one thing he knows for certain, is that tonight he is going to tell Sanji exactly how he really feels about him.