The Prospect of Being Alone
By Kumagoro Meowzaki
At first, it was just by chance. It just so happened that the two of them were assigned to watch the ship while the others went shopping. And at first they minded their own businesses—Sanji making dinner in the galley and Zoro on deck, sleeping. But Zoro barged in the galley and decided to take cooking lessons. Of course, the result was horrible beyond words and Sanji wasted no time saying so.
"You know you have shit for brains, I'm amazed you'd even try. You know you weren't made to cook— "
In an instant, one of Zoro's three swords was on Sanji's neck, shutting up the cook at once. For a long moment, Zoro challenged Sanji to continue what he was saying and Sanji just stared down at the blade that threatened to cut across his neck. Then, quite suddenly, Zoro kissed him on the lips, and just as suddenly left Sanji to figure out if it was just his imagination. Which was just as bad if it was, since it meant he fantasized about Zoro, and it was downright unacceptable.
Either they purposely forgot about the incident or they were just too busy to remember, but they acted as though it never happened. And for a time, they kept it up, until another day they were left alone. This time, it was not wholly accidental. Zoro wanted to stay on the ship, so he did. But for some reason, Sanji wanted to stay too. He said he wanted to try out a new recipe, so he did. The rest of the crew happily went ahead, and the two men, feeling a fleeting sense of déjà vu, cast hidden glances at each other and went to their own businesses.
Zoro was asleep at the fighting-top when Sanji suddenly called him down—and not in the most polite manner, I might add—to 'test the dish he'd made for Nami and Robin'.
"There's something in the fish, isn't there?" Zoro asked warily, looking suspiciously at the large plate in front of him.
"No, you shit, why the hell would I do that?" replied the cook, and before Zoro could answer, Sanji had stuffed a huge chunk of piping hot fish into Zoro's mouth. Apparently, Zoro deemed it edible, because he finished the entire dish. Sanji was pleased, because he can then serve it to the ladies. Zoro gave his stomach a couple of satisfied pats and, to Sanji's great surprise, kissed the cook on the cheek. Then the swordsman left, and Sanji now wondered if there WAS something in the fish.
Sanji tried out the dish on Nami and Robin, but they didn't kiss him.
Again, the incident passed, seemingly forgotten. But two times made Sanji wonder. So this time was definitely no accident. Zoro again volunteered to stay behind. Everyone else, including Sanji, left. Zoro slept in the galley this time, feeling confident no one would bother hime. But an hour or so later, he woke to a kick—a hard one—on his leg. It was Sanji.
"What are you doing here?" Zoro asked Sanji, surprised that the cook was back so soon. And alone. Sanji did not reply. Not by words at least. He pulled the swordsman up by the neck and kissed him. Before Zoro could respond, he let go.
"Back at you, you shit." He smirked as he said it, feeling victorious.
"Ch. You just didn't want to waste the opportunity," Zoro scoffed. And then they were at it a moment later, there in the galley, taking their time with kissing, groping, undressing, taking. After all, they had the ship to themseleves and many more hours to kill.
So you see, sometimes people are just driven by the prospect of being alone. Sometimes, people aren't bored, nor curious; sometimes, they just ARE. So they say, "When the cat's away, the mice will play." Because the opportunity is too good to pass up.
But always, someone has to make the move.
OWARI
