A/N: Another addition to my family of drabbles gone awry. As such, I have posted it as a one-shot. As usual, the lovely characters of One Piece do not belong to me but to their creator. ENJOY!

Admiration

Admiration.

To Roronoa Zoro it was an abstract word, as changing as the tides that lapped at the sides of the Going Merry. Sometimes, the meaning of the word was crystal clear, clear as the blue skies on a particularly sunny day. Other times, its meaning was complex and foggy, as vague and unpredictable as the weather on the Grand Line. And, its meaning became spectacularly blurred when it came to a certain blond.

Under the pretense of slumber, Zoro cracked open an eye to land a subtle gaze on Sanji, the blond in question. The self-proclaimed ladies man was actively serving Nami and Robin his latest delicious concoctions, catering to Nami's every whim and only stopping once in a while to include Robin in his flirtatious gestures. And, with every appreciative smile either of the ladies threw at him his heart would literally dance in his turquoise eyes, a sickening aura of lovey-dovey affection embracing him.

This was also a man Zoro admired.

And sometimes, he wondered why.

The swordsman was first introduced to him as the new cook onboard their ship. While Zoro did not always stereotype people, cooking was not the most masculine career in his eyes, the eyes of one who valued superiority on the battlefield. Yet he had to admit that it certainly did not make Sanji any less of a man, Sanji who fought Zoro on equal grounds in their arguments, sometimes pitching his kitchen knives against Zoro's katana in battle. The same Sanji, who put so much pride and passion in his cooking that his dishes radiated life, replenishing strength in a dying man. Zoro himself looked forward to starting each day with a dish of Sanji's cooking simply because he felt invigorated after eating, a strength flooding through him that was unmatched even by his ridiculously rigorous exercises. And, he had to admire a man, whose strength of character was such tempered steel that he never wavered in his principles even in the face of death. While often grumbling out loud on Sanji's weakness and stupidity when it came to women, Zoro would always feel a swell of reluctant admiration at the cook's stubbornness in refusing to budge on his chivalrous virtue.

Not that he would ever admit it to the cook.

Then, there was his physique. As one of the strongest swordsman around, Zoro prided himself on his lean but muscular physique. Sanji however, unlike Luffy who was gangly, was so slender that he looked delicate. Coupled with his silky blond hair, which Zoro deemed silky because it looked to be so even from a distance, and fair aquiline features as well as his swirly eyebrow, Sanji was the essence of a pretty boy, whose image was not marred even by the stubble on his chin. And, there were times when Zoro was forcibly hit in the face by how vulnerable the other man looked, so much younger than his age of nineteen years. Usually, the green-haired first mate would just scoff at this epiphany. With his foul smoking habit, Zoro never liked cigarettes, and an even fouler mouth, Sanji was often cloaked in an air of deadliness, one that kept many at bay. But, there were instances, especially when blond was streaked in crimson that Zoro had a stubborn protective urge to just lock the smaller man up in a glass cage and throw away the key. There were times when the cook just looked weary, completely worn from life, when his slim figure seemed capable of being blown away by a strong gust of wind, that Zoro simply wanted to stuff him under thick blankets and made sure he never had to face the demons of the world again.

But, those moments were fleeting, normally ending in an explosive confrontation between them both. And, Zoro was hit repeatedly by reality in the form of powerful kicks with thunderous force just how much strength lay in that lean figure. Many had underestimated Sanji because of his looks, deeming him as one of the weaker members in their crew, relatively normal unlike Luffy and relatively gentle in contrast to Zoro's rough weathered form. None had lived to correct that assumption.

Sanji was just that strong.

Satisfied with his conclusion, Zoro closed his eyes, settling in once more into velvet darkness.

To him, admiration was an abstract word. But, he knew for sure that he admired the strong.

Sanji was strong.

And, so was Zoro's admiration for him.