Speak Now

by FanfictionAddiction23

The cook is getting married, but it isn't to the swordsman. How will Zoro cope with seeing his former lover marry someone else? Warnings: mention of a miscarriage. Implied smut. FLUFF :)

p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro had been quite surprised when the cook had first kissed him. It'd happened completely out of the blue during one of the few moments that the two of them were actually getting along; Sanji was smiling and laughing, his face slightly flushed from drinking, and Zoro was equally content surrounded by his happy nakama, a lively party, and good quality booze./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The two of them had wandered a short distance from the crowd and were exchanging good-natured jokes about a comment one of the villagers had made regarding pirates who turned to men due to a lack of female companionship on the seas. At some point during their discussion on the likelihood of such a thing happening within the Straw Hat crew, the swordsman had ended up with Sanji's lips against his./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro had not been surprised when the cook had apologized profusely and tried to take back his spontaneous action after the fact, and he'd been prepared to forget all about it and act like nothing had ever happened when the blond surprised him again—Sanji had apparently changed his mind and decided that it might not be such a bad idea to relieve some sexual tension with the swordsman. They were the same age, after all, and regardless of how much they seemed to hate each other when they fought, the two men were nakama who trusted one another./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"They had been having sex fairly consistently for quite a few months before the next surprise came—Sanji told Zoro that he wanted to stop doing it altogether. It was not surprising that the cook's reason had to do with a woman he'd met on the island they were currently docked at. Zoro had never thought to ask if the other man was still pursuing women on the side, which he obviously had been since the blond had brought one back to the ship with him after ending things with the swordsman, but he didn't think it would have mattered anyways. Sanji was a ladies' man./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Her name was Leila. She and Sanji had apparently hit it off during the two weeks that the Straw Hats were waiting for the log pose to set at her island. She had always been an adventurous young lady and had no ties to the place where she had been born because her whole family had died in an epidemic a few years back, so she was quick to jump at the chance to travel with the friendly group of pirates who had happened into her life. Sanji had been ecstatic, and Luffy had agreed to have her join them since Leila was a former marine with a grudge against the government for denying her island the medical research that could have spared her family's lives./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"She easily fit in with the rest of the Straw Hats and quickly became a welcomed member of the crew. During their first encounter with another band of pirates, Leila proved herself to be a great shot with a pistol who could hold her own in a fight. She loved to bake and would always help Sanji prepare desserts to compliment his meals, often spending a lot of time with the cook in the kitchen. Everyone grew to love her sunny personality, and even Zoro couldn't deny that she was exceptionally beautiful both inside and out. It was no surprise that she had captured Sanji's attention and held it./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The shocking part of Leila's blossoming relationship with the cook came three months after she'd come aboard. After a particularly large feast that the two had spent hours preparing for the crew, Sanji and Leila announced their rather sudden engagement./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro nearly choked on his mouthful of food./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The cook was getting married. It was a mutual decision between the two of them, and they wanted to have the ceremony preformed at the next populated island. Most of the Straw Hats, though surprised, were supportive of their crewmates' impending union—no one mentioned how sudden it was or voiced any opinion on the rashness of getting married so quickly after having know each other for only a few months. Details about the wedding went in one ear and out the for Zoro until he noticed that the room had fallen silent and everyone was looking at him with varying degrees of curious surprise./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Huh?" he said stupidly, realizing that something had been said to him when he hadn't been paying attention./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Sanji-kun wants you to be the best man," Nami repeated with a hint of incredulity in her voice. "Do you think you can handle all of that responsibility? You'll have to look presentable and wear an actual suit," she added teasingly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro felt his cheeks heat under the gaze of all of his crewmates waiting for his reply. emWhy me? /emhe thought, dumbstruck. When Sanji met his eyes, and there was no indication of this being a joke, the swordsman asked, "Why don't you get Luffy to do it?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The cook flinched the tiniest bit at the unnecessary aggressiveness in the other man's tone, his face flushing as he quickly looked away and muttered, "It's fine if you don't want to. I just thought...well, you were my first choice is all."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro just stared at him, surprised by the nervous way the cook had resumed eating with his face nearly buried in the bowl to hide his expression. Leila was looking at them oddly, probably wondering why her soon-to-be-husband would choose his most hated rival (as they appeared to be to the crew) as his best man./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'll do it. No problem," he heard himself say, causing Sanji to glance quickly up at him with wide eyes. emWhy did I just agree to that?! /emZoro screamed internally. emI don't want to be his best man! I don't want to go to his stupid wedding and see him marry her. I—/embut his thoughts trailed off at the sight of Sanji's genuine smile directed at him./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Thanks, marimo."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Uh…sure."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" align="center"*/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"That was how Zoro ended up on the alter, standing at the front of a line of their male crewmates in a beautifully tailored suit, a matching tie, and a forced smile. He'd spent the past few weeks familiarizing himself with the traditions of marriage ceremonies and helping prepare for Sanji and Leila's big day. On many occasions, he'd had to excuse himself just to find a quiet room and let the pain wash over him./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He didn't have to be a genius to figure out why the cook's wedding preparations were so stressful; it was because he was still hurt that Sanji had chosen that woman over him. There was no point in denying the feeling now that he had willingly put himself in this situation. Zoro had agreed to be there for the stupid cook, so he had to go through with it and watch the man of his dreams promise himself to someone else./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Fuck, he regretted his impulsive decision to be the best man./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"It didn't help that Sanji looked incredible as a groom. His suit was stark white and flawlessly pristine—it made his already pale coloring practically blinding when he stood at the front of the wedding chapel. Zoro had seen him in the outfit before (since he'd had to be at every damn fitting for the stupid thing), but it looked different somehow among the tasteful flower arrangements and framed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen made up of their smiling nakama./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Then the music started, and Leila walked in holding a bouquet of white lilies. She looked equally stunning in a long, classic wedding dress that accentuated all of her curves without drawing attention away from her smiling face. Zoro watched her begin the long walk up to the alter before turning to see Sanji's reaction./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"His heart skipped a beat./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The cook was staring straight at his bride, hands folded behind his back as he stood calmly awaiting the hand of his supposed love...but he was wearing the barest smile that Zoro had ever seen. There were no hearts fluttering about nor any ridiculous hip movements indicating a swoon—it was as if Sanji were watching a mildly interesting dinner act./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emWhat the fuck? Why isn't he acting like a total idiot? He's usually fawning all over Leila. It's his goddamn wedding day, and he looks…/emWell, Zoro wasn't sure emwhat /emhe looked like, but it certainly wasn't like a man in love. Trepidation filled the swordsman's heart as he watched his former lover reach out and take Leila's hand. When the couple turned to face the officiant, Sanji's eyes flickered to Zoro for an instant. His smile thinned out into a grim line before it quirked up again as a ghost of its former expression, and he tore his gaze away from his best man./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Something was wrong—Zoro was sure of it. He was sweating in his suit now as he tried to decipher what Sanji's glance had meant. He and the cook had always been able to read each other's silent looks, rarely needing to exchange actual words to convey important meaning. The look that Sanji had given him held something heavy enough to weigh down even the love-cook's spirits on his own wedding day./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emHe…doesn't want to marry her, /emZoro thought. emThere's no way he would look like that if he were marrying the love of his life. What the hell was that look for?! /emhe wondered desperately. Did the cook have cold feet or was he just nervous? Perhaps Zoro was thinking too deeply about this, and Sanji had simply been able to contain his overly dramatic flirtations on the one day that it was important for him to be cool and collected. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"As the ceremony started, Zoro found himself tuning out the officiant's words as he suddenly remembered something that Sanji had said to him during his bachelor party. The blond had been beyond drunk, so Zoro had thought nothing of it at the time, but there had been a moment when the cook had stumbled into his lap while trying to seat himself in a booth when he'd turned to Zoro and asked, "Do you know why I chose you to be my best man?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He'd accidentally sprawled across the swordsman's lap, grinning up at him like a moron, so Zoro had had to forcibly remove him and set him down in an unoccupied spot./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Not really," he'd answered truthfully. "All you said was that I was your first choice."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji had looked at him with relative seriousness then, his eyes glazed over from the alcohol in his system but coherent nonetheless. "You are," he'd said, rather forcefully, while gripping the swordsman's forearm, "so you have to be there for when they say it…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro hadn't thought much of those vaguely mumbled words and had quickly extricated himself from the blond's grip before making his way to another booth. He didn't want to talk about the wedding with Sanji—it hurt too much./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Suddenly, he was ripped from his musings by a certain phrase that recaptured his interest in the present. The officiant addressed everyone in the room and asked, "Should anyone here know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"It was that line—that cheesy, old-fashioned line that had fallen out of use in the modern day. It was being spoken emright now./em Zoro's eyes snapped to Sanji, whose back was facing him, and he couldn't have missed the tension that appeared in the cook's shoulders when he heard that particular phrase. It was almost as if Sanji were anticipating an answer from someone in the crowd…or perhaps from his best man. Zoro's heart began to race. He barely had seconds to connect the memory in his head with the moment that he was currently being presented with, but he knew one thing…/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He had to step forward./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"As soon as he thought it, he realized that his legs had already moved. He was standing out of the line of groomsmen, and every eye in the room was on him as he turned to face Sanji's back. There was no possible way to misunderstand that step—no way to turn back from this decision. He only hoped that he wasn't wrong about the cook's feelings; otherwise, he would surely have his skull smashed in by Sanji himself for interrupting his wedding./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Yeah. I object," he said clearly, watching the cook's back for any indication that he was making the right choice. Only Zoro, having spent years training as a fighter and spending ample time scrutinizing Sanji as his rival on the battlefield, could have noticed the nearly imperceptible change in the cook's posture. As soon as he spoke, the tension in Sanji's shoulders drained away, and he straightened his back as he turned to face Zoro directly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Why?" he asked simply, ignoring the shocked exclamations from the crowd and Leila herself./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You know why," Zoro told him quietly. He took a step closer to the blond, who instantly tensed, eyes going wide as he followed the swordsman's every movement. Sanji's lips parted slightly in the tiniest gasp, his gaze sliding to the swordsman's approaching lips, but he made no move to step back. It was clear that he thought Zoro was about to kiss him, and the fact that he emwasn't /emautomatically avoiding it erased all of Zoro's doubt./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Really, Cook? You don't think I'd actually make a spectacle like that in front of all these people." His lips quirked into a smug smirk, causing Sanji to flush a delicate shade of red./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Like you aren't making one already, dumbass."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""True. It had to be done, though. I wanted to give you one last chance to think this through. If I'm wrong, and you truly want to marry this girl, then I'm certainly not going to stop you, but if you're going to regret this day…well, you always know where to find me."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji just stared at him as if to commit the swordsman's face in that moment to memory. After a painfully long pause, during which the entire room seemed to hold its breath, the blond slowly nodded and stepped aside to let Zoro pass. The swordsman looked straight ahead and walked off of the alter, moving purposefully down the middle of the aisle and parting the double doors. He exited the room without another word./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"All eyes snapped to Sanji, who seemed to have broken out of whatever trance had kept him glued in place as he moved to follow the other man. He was stopped in his tracks by Leila's incredulous voice calling his name. "You aren't really going after him, are you?" she asked./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I apologize, Leila-chan. I know that it's highly improper for a groom to leave his bride standing at the alter, but I just…I can't get married without Zoro. He emis/em my best man, after all."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Alright then…" Leila replied sadly. She seemed to read more into the cook's words than he'd intended because she had to wipe away the tears spilling onto her cheeks with sudden abandon. "I'll wait for you in my dressing room. We'll postpone the ceremony until you make a decision."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Her sorrowful expression almost pulled Sanji back onto the alter to offer a more sincere apology, but he knew that it wouldn't be fair to give Leila any hope that he was going to go through with it. As much as he wanted to fulfill his obligation to her, he just couldn't do it. The only thing that had been holding him back from breaking off their engagement had been a certain unreadable swordsman—Sanji hadn't been able to decipher the other man's carefully schooled expressions over the past few months, so he couldn't be certain whether or not Zoro still cared about him./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The swordsman had fallen for the bait, though. Sanji had been sure to include that phrase in the ceremony in the hopes that his former lover had sensed how the cook had given into the pressure of taking Leila for his wife. Despite not knowing the whole situation, Zoro had still noticed that something was off about Sanji's upcoming nuptials./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The blond knew that he would find the swordsman in the groomsmen's dressing room because it was right next to the bar. Sure enough, Zoro was standing beside one of the windows overlooking the vineyard behind the chapel with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and the other shoved casually in the pocket of his dress pants. Sanji hated to admit it, but the stupid muscle-head cleaned up pretty damn well in that dark tailored suit. It hugged him in all the right places and made his tanned skin look even darker against the expensive fabric. Someone (Robin he'd expect) had found it ironic to give Zoro a blazing green tie to match his ridiculous hair; although, today he managed to pull off the strange color due to the fact that the man looked simply stunning as the best man./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji would never admit how his breath hitched and his heart began racing a mile a minute when the swordsman looked over his shoulder and smiled at him. It was a relatively small smile—just a pleased quirk of the lips—but it was so beautiful that he wanted to cross the distance between them and just smash his lips against the swordsman's. He was watching those lips closely as they wrapped around the bottle's neck and took a large swig. A single drop escaped over the side of Zoro's chin as he swallowed, sliding down his neck and drawing attention to the bobbing of his Adam's apple./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Yeah, he'd made the right decision in following the marimo./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The cook swallowed unconsciously and took another step into the room, shoving his hands into his pockets to hide how they were shaking. The tiniest flower of doubt had opened in his mind between the walk from the alter to his former rival-turned-bed-partner, and Sanji couldn't help but think that there could be some truth to his worries—what if Zoro didn't want him that way anymore? The swordsman was a good person at heart, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had only stopped the wedding because he'd been able to tell that Sanji didn't want to go through with it. Just because he'd stepped forward didn't necessarily mean that he wanted to take Leila's place—that possibility was what rooted the cook's feet to the floor while he waited for Zoro to make the first move./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I can't believe you really did it," he commented finally, turning to face Sanji completely. "The love-cook left his lady at the alter to chase after the best man. Ridiculous."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Fear lodged in his gut like an arrow, but the blond was determined to see this through. If Zoro was just going to laugh at him for reading too much into the situation than he would just have to win the swordsman back./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""If you think it's so ridiculous, why did you wait for me here?" he shot back, scowling at the green-haired man's infuriating smirk./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Don't take it the wrong way—I'm just surprised is all. So why emdid/em you come?" Zoro asked./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You know why," Sanji parroted cryptically just because he knew it would annoy the other man. It may have been childish, but that was the way the two of them had always worked—both men reveled in the feeling of baiting the other, whether it was to anger or something else entirely, and that constant immature teasing was the language of love they had chosen to use between them. It was fundamental to their relationship, and it was what Sanji always fell back on when he was unsure of Zoro's feelings./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""That's not good enough, Cook."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""First, why don't you tell me why you interrupted my wedding?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Fine. I'm not sure why you don't want to marry Leila, but I could tell as soon as she walked in the room that you—well, you just looked…like you weren't into it, I guess. So I stopped you from making a mistake, that's all."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""That's all?" Sanji repeated, forcing the other man to meet his eyes. Zoro nodded slowly, but his body had gone rigid. "I think you need a few lessons from Usopp in lying because you suck at it."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Shut up. I did it for your own sake. That's all I'm gonna say for now."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""So the metaphorical ball is in my court then?" Sanji remarked dryly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He had to feign nonchalance to cover his true nervousness. Zoro probably had just as many doubts about this—his lover had left him for someone else just over three months ago, so emof course /emhe would be hesitant to face Sanji after the fact, especially if he thought that the little hints the blond had given him were purely a means to an end instead of an indicator that the cook didn't want to go through with the wedding embecause /emof the swordsman./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emDammit, we're gonna have to talk about feelings, /emSanji lamented internally. Both he and Zoro were fairly emotionally constipated when it came to the other—no wonder they were at a stalemate./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""How about you tell me why that beautiful woman wasn't enough to satisfy you?" Zoro suggested wryly. Sanji nodded, glad to have been diverted to a topic that would make it easier to explain himself. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""It isn't Leila-chan's fault—she's absolutely wonderful. I was determined to marry her a few weeks ago, and I don't usually go back on my decisions."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Yeah, I figured it was like that. You looked so happy together—that's why I backed off and kept my distance from you after she joined the crew. I swear I never wanted to come between you."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I know. I noticed," Sanji told him./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""So what changed, Cook?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Everything changed. About a month and a half ago, there was a problem with the brand of contraceptive Leila was using and she…she was pregnant."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""…Was?" Zoro said quietly, quick to understand the meaning behind Sanji's sorrowful tone. His face instantly drained of color. "Oh fuck. Sanji, I—"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We'd been planning on telling the crew about the pregnancy eventually, but I just didn't know how to break it to Luffy. How was I supposed to tell him that he would have to find a new cook because I was leaving the crew? I could never have let Leila raise our kid on her own."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Of course you would want to marry her," Zoro said, understanding completely—he knew how Sanji was when it came to his responsibilities as a man./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""It happened after we had docked on this island; she had a miscarriage. What a fucking awful thing to happen a week before your wedding, and now I've just gone and made it worse by leaving her at the alter—I'm such a selfish bastard. She's going to think that I only offered to marry her because I knocked her up, but that isn't true! It wasn't like that in the beginning. I emwanted /emto. I—"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Shh, Sanji it's okay." Suddenly there were arms around him, gathering the cook into a warm embrace and holding him tightly against a firm, muscled chest. "It's okay," Zoro repeated as if he were trying to calm a small child. Sanji let himself be reeled in, fisting the swordsman's jacket in a tight grip and releasing stuttered breaths into his shoulder./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""It's because of you," Sanji muttered quietly, blinking away tears. "I couldn't do it because of emyou/em, marimo." If he had been resting his face against the swordsman's broad chest, he would have been able to hear Zoro's heart-rate speed up when he said those words. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm emso/em sorry, Sanji. God, I don't even know what to say to you. Here I was waiting for my chance to beg you to take me back and tell you all of the things I could give you that she can't, and now I just feel foolish and…and emuseless/em—because that's the one thing I can never give you, Cook."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro held him even tighter as the blond finally broke down crying. His entire body shook with the force of his sobs as well as the hiccupping laughter that was mixed in with the grief. "You…idiot," he got out, burying his face in the swordsman's bulk. "I want it emall/em—everything that you can give me, Zoro."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Take it. It's yours."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"They stood like that until Sanji's tears had dried up, just holding one another in comfort. Their arms were stiff from the embrace when they finally broke apart, Sanji hastily wiping his face and Zoro finishing the rest of the whiskey./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm sorry, too," the cook said, once he'd managed to calm down. "I should never have told you that I wanted this thing between us to stop. That was a lie. I was afraid that I was the only one developing these feelings, and it just seemed safer to go back to what I knew. Leila was safe, and I knew I could be happy with her. I would've been content marrying such a wonderful lady."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Since when do pirates settle for the safe bet?" Zoro commented with a smirk that managed to drag a smile out of the blond./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Exactly. I just didn't want to hurt her, so I chose the most unlikely way of breaking it off."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""By 'unlikely', you mean that you didn't think I was going to figure it out, did you?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm still astounded that you actually objected to my marriage in front of everyone."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Like I said, it had to be done," Zoro stated with finality. He reached out and took Sanji's hand, drawing him back into the circle of his arms. The cook offered no resistance, automatically tilting his face to line up with the swordsman's lips./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Wait!" he said breathlessly before they could meet in a kiss. Zoro looked at him questioningly, but allowed the cook to slip out of the embrace. "I know this is a lot to ask, but there's something I need to take care of before we do this. If I—I mean…would you stay in this room for a little bit longer? If I ask you to wait for me, will you do it?" /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Sure, Cook. I'll wait however long it takes—in fact, I won't leave this room without you."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji looked at his cocky smirk and knew that he loved the smug bastard. The knowledge filled him suddenly, seeming to warm him from within to the tips of his fingers and toes, and he had to resist the urge to divest the swordsman of his clothes and consummate this new development./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Instead, he turned on his heel and raced to the bride's dressing room where he knew he would find Leila. She had already changed out of her dress and removed the pins in her hair so that it tumbled around her bare shoulders in waves. Sanji was surprised to see her in the same outfit she'd been wearing when they first met—a lovely strapless dress that was perfect for a night on the town…or for a honeymoon that they would never go on./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"She didn't seem particularly upset when she turned to face him, but he recognized the signs of a deeper hurt buried inside and felt another stab of remorse for being the one who caused it./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Leila-chan, I—"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Don't say it, Sanji. Let me talk first," she told him quickly. "I've known about your relationship with Zoro for some time now. Even if you weren't involved with him after you met me, I still noticed a strange tension between you that went beyond a friendly rivalry between crewmates. So I asked Robin about it, and she told me that it had been a well-known secret within the crew."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji paled and let out a small squeak in surprise. "You…th-the whole crew…everybody emknew about it?!/em" he exclaimed, covering his face in embarrassment. It was one thing for the brilliant ever-observant Robin-chan to have figured it out, but the thought that Nami-san, Usopp—even emLuffy—/emhad known the entire time without ever bringing it up was very disconcerting./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Anyway, my point is that I understand we rushed into this. I won't blame you for calling the wedding off if it's for him. You're such a kind person, Sanji. You deserve to marry your first choice—if he'll have you. I don't want to get in the way."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You were never in the way, Leila. I do love you, truly, it's just that…well…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You love him more. It's okay. They say that the heart wants what the heart wants—it's not your fault that it didn't work out between us."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I don't deserve your kindness, Leila-chan. You are far too considerate of my feelings when all I've done is hurt yours," Sanji wailed, taking her hand and dropping a soft kiss on her knuckles./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm a tough motherfucker, Sanji. How else would I have survived on this crazy crew for so long? Don't guilt yourself over it. I'll be fine. I've decided to stay on this island for a while—get to know the inhabitants and decide what I want to do from here on out. I truly enjoyed being a part of the Straw Hats, but now I think I might be ready to settle down. Even if our baby didn't make it to full term, I already knew that I would love them and be the best mom I could be. That feeling hasn't quite left me yet. I want to start a family of my own, but I can't exactly do that as a pirate."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We'll miss your smile, Leila-chan—your beautiful laugh, your quick wit, and your desserts. You'll always be one of us, and we would welcome you back if you ever get the urge to return to sea."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"She giggled at the drooping hearts in his eyes and pulled him in for a tight embrace. "I'll never forget any of you. Just be safe out there. We'll meet again someday."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji held her in silence, overwhelmed by the gratitude he felt for her calm acceptance of his choice. He really did love her, but it was a softer, more tender flame of emotion that paled in comparison to the raging inferno he felt when he was with Zoro. He honestly hadn't expected those kinds of feelings to develop when they'd first started having sex—it had been a mixture of curiosity and sexual frustration that had initially led him to experiment with the swordsman./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Now, he couldn't imagine going a day longer without the other man's touch. It had been maddening to pull away from Zoro, but he was still technically a taken man and would never betray Leila like that. She deserved so much more than what he could give her, and she had willingly set him free. He kissed her one last time before breaking away and holding her at an arm's length./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I really am sorry, Leila. For what it's worth, I'm thankful to have met such a wonderful woman. Thank you for everything."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Don't thank me, just hurry up and get back to him. I'll take care of the wedding guests. I'm sure it'll still be an enjoyable reception—we might as well get our money's worth since Nami already rented the hall for the night. I wish you all the best in your adventures, but I just can't be a part of them."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"They exchanged a heartfelt smile, and Leila watched him retrace his steps back to the swordsman. Although Sanji hadn't been gone long, his heart was still pounding as he worried over the possibility that Zoro had changed his mind and left. He had to remind himself that Zoro had made a promise, and he was not the sort of man to ever go back on his word. Sure enough, when the cook burst into the men's dressing room he was greeted with an uncharacteristically bright smile from his green-haired lover. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You made it back, Cook."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Yeah well, some of us aren't directionally challenged morons—and I did tell you that I would."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I know. The conversation felt a little surreal though, and I…I'm sure I could've imagined something like that. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it were all a dream, and I woke up to find you already married," he explained sheepishly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Nope, I really called it off with Leila. Guess you're stuck with me, marimo."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""How did she…take it?" Zoro asked, seeming genuinely concerned and more than a little guilty for having a hand in breaking them up./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Surprisingly well. She already knew about our past relationship since we were apparently less discreet than we'd thought."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro's expression became a little more strained at this, and he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck with an even guiltier smile. "Yeah, um…about that…there might've been this one time when Luffy walked into the galley while you and I were…you know…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""EH?! emLuffy /emwas the one who caught us?! You emknew /emthat he saw us?!" Sanji wailed, his face flaming red./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You were a little preoccupied at the time, but I was facing the door when he opened it and just kind of tilted his head in confusion. He seemed to catch onto what was happening pretty quickly, though, because he made a thumbs-up and slipped back outside."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""No…no, no, no—why the hell didn't you tell me?! Actually, why didn't you emstop having sex with me/em when he walked in?! He told everyone else in the crew, didn't he?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Well, we weren't exactly in a good position at the time to just stop. I obviously planned on talking to him about it after, but you know how Luffy is—he's got a pretty big mouth, and he genuinely didn't think it was a big enough deal that we would want to keep it a secret. Everyone had a good laugh about it before I caught up with him. We all agreed not to tell you because we knew you'd freak out."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I emshould /embe freaking out. I should be kicking your ass, but…I'm sort of relieved that I won't have to deal with the whole 'coming out' part once this wedding reception is over. I don't want to keep whatever this is a secret anymore," Sanji admitted quietly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""And what emis /emthis, Cook?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I was sort of hoping that you would tell me," he answered, blushing furiously at the thought of putting a label on their strange relationship. He had never even considered the possibility that Zoro could be his emboyfriend /emor anything of the sort. It had always been a purely physical thing until—suddenly—it wasn't. Sanji was just glad that he wasn't the only one who had ended up getting his emotions tangled into it./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro was looking at him contemplatively, hands still in his pockets as he scrutinized the cook's bashful demeanor. A smirk quirked onto his face when he tried to meet Sanji's eyes, but the blond quickly looked away in embarrassment. This seemed to amuse him to no end, and he was clearly dragging out his reply just to be as infuriating as possible./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Will you answer the damn question?!" Sanji snapped, finally losing his patience. He just wanted to kiss the stupid swordsman, but he also wanted to settle this matter before jumping back into things. If he were being honest, Sanji didn't emwant /emthings to go back to how they were—he wanted them to change for the better. He wanted Zoro—all of him—and he wanted everyone to know it./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Technically, that wasn't a question, curly."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Bastard, you—!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Relax, I just made a fool out of myself in front of everyone we know, so I'm not going to play coy and act like I stopped the ceremony out of 100% the goodness of my heart—not when I know that you want this too."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I do," Sanji confirmed immediately, causing Zoro's smirk to widen into a full grin./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm glad you said those words to me and not her."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The blond looked quickly at his feet to hide the redness in his cheeks. He was barely coming to terms with the thought of him and Zoro in some sort of committed relationship, and now the bastard had to go and say something like emthat? /em All Sanji could think about was the swordsman repeating the phrase back to him, standing beside him on the alter with all of their nakama behind them and an even more immaculate suit./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Let's get out of here," he said suddenly, forcing himself to ignore his embarrassment and lift his flushed face to look the other man in the eye. "Leila's going to handle the guests. There's no reason for us to stay, and I certainly don't want to have to go back in there and calmly drink champagne when I just ran out of my own wedding."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Alright," Zoro agreed, seeming particularly amused by the suddenness of the cook's suggestion. "Where should we go?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Home."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He smiled at the fondness in Sanji's reply—the swordsman had been doing a lot of that ever since he'd taken that little step forward and uttered his objection, and it really improved his rugged good looks. "That's right, no one is on the Sunny right now. We'll have it all to ourselves for the next few hours—but the crew is still going to return later tonight."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I don't really want to be interrupted. Should we…find a hotel?" Sanji asked unsurely./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'd like that," Zoro told him, finally stepping forwards to embrace the blond man. His arms encircled Sanji's slim waist, pulling their bodies together so that he could claim him with his mouth. Sanji leaned into him and parted his lips immediately to deepen the kiss. It was slow, and sweet, and nothing at all like the fiery, lust-fueled passion that usually took over when they were together. He could taste a lingering hint of alcohol on Zoro's tongue and thought that he could get drunk off of the kiss alone. Sanji was easily losing himself in the moment when his partner broke their kiss to ask, "Are you totally sure you want to spend your would-be honeymoon with me?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Don't be stupid," Sanji gasped, dragging the swordsman closer so that their foreheads touched. "I'd gladly spend at least one more with you if you'd let me."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"As soon as he finished his sentence, Zoro went completely rigid in his arms and let out an audible gasp that seemed to stop the swordsman's breathing altogether. Sanji jerked back in surprise, his eyes going wide as he realized what he had said. "Shit, I...I didn't mean—!" /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Cook…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm sorry, i-it just came out—I know that you probably weren't thinking this was gonna be something serious, and—"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Oi, Cook…"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I was just caught up in the moment—mmpf!" Zoro silenced his rambling by yanking him into a kiss so hard that Sanji thought they might fuse together if the swordsman held him any tighter. They clung to one another, panting into each other's mouths as the implication of the blond's words washed over them./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Did you mean that?" Zoro asked gruffly, somehow managing to get the words out in between a shower of kisses. "Because if you actually meant it—marry me."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Wha...emwhat did you just say?!/em" Sanji spluttered, stumbling back half a step. Zoro caught his shoulders and just looked at him in complete seriousness. His eyes were so dark, and they were filled with an intense heat that made Sanji's knees feel weaker the longer he looked into them./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You heard me, Cook. If that's really how you feel than say yes. I don't want this to be a casual thing—I haven't since the first time we decided to 'relieve tension'. I always knew that I felt something for you, but it was too deep to put into words, and I had no experience with this kind of thing. At first I assumed that I just wanted to fuck you, but I was so wrong."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Y-you—you're seriously asking me to marry you right now?!" Sanji pressed, too stunned to even come close to believing it. Zoro had never seemed like the type to fall in love, let alone get emmarried/em, and the cook had certainly never envisioned himself as the recipient of that question, much less from a man. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm perfectly serious. It nearly killed me seeing you up there on the alter with her today—I've never been so fucking jealous of anyone in my life. I tried so hard to ignore this feeling because I wanted to spare myself the pain of losing you even if it was to someone as wonderful as Leila. I love you, Sanji. Will you marry me?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The words were spoken so softly but with so much force behind them that the cook was compelled to accept them as the truth. He had no doubt in his mind then that Zoro wanted this, and he discovered that he wanted it just as desperately. To be able to stand next to the swordsman and call him husband…to hold his hand and feel the imprint of their wedding rings at home on their fingers—emfuck/em, to be able to finally fill the blank space where his rejected surname had been before he gave up his birthright and turned his back on the monsters he'd once called family…/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emRoronoa Sanji./em/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Tears were overflowing before he could contain them, and suddenly the blond was drowning as he clutched at Zoro's lapels and buried his nose in the swordsman's collar. He was practically sobbing when Zoro finally shifted to kiss him again, but luckily he didn't seem to care that Sanji tasted like salt and was unable to muster up any of his usual skill./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Finally, the cook managed to draw a breath and calm his racing heart long enough to say, "This is absolutely insaneem—you're /eminsane, Zoro—but fuck, I love you! I love you, and I'm just as insane because I'm saying yes. I'll marry you, marimo."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Zoro's smile only grew throughout Sanji's hysterical outburst until he finally let out a laugh of pure mirth. He crushed the other man to him and kissed him again—kissed him until they were both breathless. The cook had to pull away when he began to feel lightheaded, but the other man continued to kiss him along his jaw, neck, and collar, which caused half of his blood to flush to all of the places where lips were touching skin while the other half rushed downwards./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Mmm…I guess this makes you my fiancée," Zoro murmured against the curve of his neck. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I guess I'll have to get used to your last name."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Yeah?" the swordsman said happily, straightening up to grin at the cook./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I don't exactly have one to give you," Sanji told him, unsure of whether or not he wanted Zoro to ask him about that. It wasn't something he was comfortable talking about, but if he was going to marry this man than he would have to tell him about his dark past eventually./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""That's okay. Whatever it was probably would've sounded terrible."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Sanji couldn't help but shiver in disgust at the way the words emVinsmoke Zoro /emlooked in his mind, and he was instantly grateful that the swordsman wasn't going to press him for details. He was too happy to even consider delving into emthat /emmess of a backstory at the moment./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I think we should do it on the ship," Zoro told him suddenly, shaking him a little in his excitement./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I thought we agreed on a hotel."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Not that, pervert-cook, I was talking about the wedding. I don't wanna deal with all that stressful planning again—it was bad enough just being your fucking best man. Let's just do it on the Sunny with the crew. You'll wear that blue shirt I love 'cuz it brings out your eyes, and I'll suck it up and let you dress me in whatever you want. You'll probably bake a ridiculously complicated layered cake with green and yellow icing and fawn all over Nami and Robin's bridesmaid dresses."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You've really thought this through, huh? Should I go and get the officiant before he leaves? I mean, we already paid for a wedding," Sanji said wryly, amused by Zoro's enthusiasm with the idea of marrying him./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I think we should hold off for a bit for Leila's sake. It would be pretty uncool of us to do that immediately after you left her at the alter, Cook."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Sh-shut up! I had to do it—it wouldn't have been fair to her if I hadn't. No woman deserves a husband who doesn't love her with all of his heart," Sanji argued guiltily./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""And what about men? Do they deserve that, too?" Zoro asked, pulling the blond a little bit closer so that he could lean forwards and whisper into the other man's ear. "Do you love emme /emwith all of your heart?" he asked in a sensual voice, which, combined with the feeling of his warm breath on Sanji's skin, instantly caused him to blush even harder than before./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Y-yes…but the rest of me still loves the ladies—all of them—because women are meant to be cared for and cherished," he said, his breath hitching when Zoro's warm tongue drew a wet line around the curve of his ear./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Excluding this part of course," he murmured, surprising the cook with an unabashed grope of the steadily growing bulge between his legs, "and this part…" he added huskily, sliding both of his hands over Sanji's waist to gently cup his ass. In the next moment, Zoro had somehow tugged Sanji's dress shirt out of his waistband and was slowly rucking it up as his hands explored the hard planes of his lover's stomach and chest. His fingers began trailing over each of the blond's nipples as his mouth retraced its earlier path from jaw to collar. "These parts are definitely mine, okay?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I think you're asking too much of me," Sanji commented, though they both knew that he didn't mean a word of it./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I don't want to give up any claim to your body, Cook. Maybe that makes me greedy, but I don't give a damn—I want you too much to even consider sharing."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The swordsman's hands were running over every inch of skin that they could reach by now, and it was seriously affecting Sanji's ability to both form a coherent sentence as well as fit comfortably into his pants. Zoro's arousing words, on top of the sudden stimulation of his touches, were an immediate physical reminder that it had been emmonths /emsince the two of them had had sex, which was something that they were about to fix very shortly—emtoo /emshortly if Zoro didn't get his damn hands off of him before the need to fuck overrode Sanji's sense of propriety./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Alright, fine! I'm completely yours—even if I still flirt with the girls. My body, heart, soul—all of it is yours, marimo. Just let go of me so we can get the fuck out of here," Sanji told him, nearly whimpering when Zoro latched onto his mouth with the desperation of a dying man. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"They left the building immediately after and didn't return to the Sunny until late afternoon the following day. Sanji and Zoro had made good use of their time at the nearest hotel, and neither man had been in any shape to walk back to the ship without significant recovery time. Needless to say, the pleasure had far outweighed the pain./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""So you finally made it back, huh? I hope you didn't waste anymore of our money," the red-haired navigator scolded as soon as the pair had finished their walk of shame onto the ship's deck./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I am emso /emsorry, Nami-san! I am an utter disgrace as a man—not only did I have you put our funds toward a wedding that I ruined myself, but I've also failed in my duty as a cook and left you to fend for yourselves today in the kitchen. I accept whatever punishment you see fit," he told her miserably./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Well, it wasn't a total waste since we had a great time at the reception. There wasn't a crumb of food or a drop of liquor left after all of the guests were through—those islanders that Leila invited can really drink like pirates," she reassured him./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""No, you mustn't let me off so easily! I've broken a woman's heart and spit on your kind generosity with my selfishness. I can't bear to go on without emsome /emsort of retribution for my failures," Sanji lamented, practically grovelling at her feet./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Don't be too hard on yourself, Cook-san. You deserve a break from the kitchen every once in a while," Robin added with a sweet smile./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Just ignore his pathetic whining and get the whole crew out here. We've got something to say to everybody," Zoro cut in impatiently. He was standing beside the cook's deflated form with his arms crossed and an incredible amount of tension in his body. Something in his tone convinced the two women to calmly gather the rest of their crewmates without asking any questions. Once all of them had assembled, excluding Leila who had already retrieved her things earlier that day and moved them temporarily to a hotel, Sanji lit a cigarette and stood in front of his nakama with newfound conviction./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""First of all, you bastards have got a lot of nerve hiding things from the person who feeds you," he announced, striking an indignant pose and gesturing wildly to Luffy, "and emyou /emhad better fucking knock before you enter my galley, you loud-mouthed rubber shit!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Shishishishi! Sorry Sanji! I don't think you would've heard it anyways with all of the noise you were—" He was silenced by a particularly hard kick to the jaw that left him sprawled out on the deck, his straw hat askew, and an imprint of Sanji's foot in the rubber./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Ahem. As I was saying, I am aware that the seven of you already know about mine and Zoro's previous…interactions, but this new development will still come as a surprise," he said awkwardly. It was clear that he was intimidated by the intensity of his nakama's stares, which ranged from obvious shock that the swordsman and cook's relationship was being openly acknowledged by none other than the women-loving blond himself, to varying degrees of excitement in anticipation of the announcement. /p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We're engaged," Zoro stated bluntly./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""EHH?!" the seven of them exclaimed./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Dammit, marimo! You can't just drop a bomb like that without leading up to it!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""But you just did that part, Cook."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""That wasn't enough of a lead-in! Now you've ruined the whole thing."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I think it was fine. They know now, don't they?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""That's not the point!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""That's exactly the point, dumbass."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Gah! You're such a—"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He was cut off with a quick kiss, which caused the flustered blond to blush redder than Zoro had ever seen him since the entire crew was there to witness the intimate moment. Some of them reacted with gasps or loud cheers, and all seven eventually joined Luffy in clapping for the couple./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""D-don't do that so suddenly, idiot," Sanji complained in embarrassment./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Why not? They don't care," Zoro argued, turning to address his nakama. "If anyone emdoes/em have a problem with this, you'd better speak now."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Luffy split into a wide grin, answering for the entire crew when he said, "Nope!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Good, 'cuz the cook and I are gonna get married on the Sunny as soon as we dock at another island where we can get an officiant to do the ceremony." He pulled the blushing man into a tight embrace, saying, "You have until then to change your mind, curly-brow. Don't think you can get away with leaving emme /emat the alter—I'll cut you up, shithead."/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Fucker! I'm not gonna change my mind. Now get off of me before I catch your stupid!" Sanji snapped back, wriggling out of the swordsman's arms, though he didn't let go of his hand afterward./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You guys are so funny!" Luffy told them, laughing heartily at the display of love-hate affection. "Hey, can I be the best man this time? Pleeease!"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Only if you promise not to ruin my wedding like the last one did," Sanji said ironically./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Or run off with the groom—he has a thing for men in suits," Zoro added./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Yosh! This'll be so fun!" Luffy declared in excitement. "So when will you have kids?" he asked seriously, which prompted a chorus of laughter from their crewmates and a synchronized, "We can't!" from the two men in question./p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Awww, but you guys would probably be great dads! Who knows what could happen on the Grand Line?" Luffy reasoned. "A lot of strange things are possible in this ocean, you know?"/p
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"As it turned out, he was right./p