A/N: Hey everyone! Here is another Papa Zoro and Sanji chapter! Thank you to those who reviewed the first one, and I hope you will enjoy this one as well :D
Remember, these are all completely random, and can be read as stand alone one shots, although each chapter might contain small bits of information that might make more sense if all chapters have been read. There is also no chronological order to these, and they will take place throughout random moments through time. So she is four years old in this one, but in the next one she could be 6 months, and in the next one she could be 18 years old…I may even do a few before she was born, in order to develop Sanji and Zoro's relationship more. But despite their randomness, they all take place in the same universe. I know I explained this in the first chapter, but I wanted to repeat it once more so there was no confusion.
I also should mention that I have yet to name their daughter, so I am still open to opinions for that. I will likely name her next chapter though.
This chapter is about Zoro and Sanji taking their daughter out for lunch, and a homophobic man makes some discriminatory comments if front of their daughter. They are worried about what they are going to tell her, but she ends up surprising them by giving them a talk instead.
Sorry for the long Author's note, I swear it won't happen again, haha. So please enjoy and let me know what you think. P.S. this is also unbeta'd.
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"It's against my religion to be here," Sanji muttered, almost gagging on the smell as they walked into the restaurant…if you could call it that, and if you were to ask him, he definitely wouldn't call it that.
"Loosen up cook," Zoro chuckled, finding the disgusted look on his husband's face beyond amusing. "After last weeks failed attempt at getting her to try Thai food, you did promise her for this weeks family outing that she could choose where we ate."
"Yeah, but I thought I taught her better than this," Sanji sighed, but couldn't help but smile despite himself when he looked down at the small green-haired girl, who was currently grinning excitedly as she looked around.
"Besides, every kid should try McDonalds at least once." Zoro added, ignoring the roll of the eyes he received in response.
Their daughter was now four years old, and both men still constantly found themselves in awe of her, and the fact that they were the ones that were blessed enough to get to raise her. She was absolutely perfect in every way; from her loving, sweet personality, to her occasional 'take no shit' attitude, as Zoro liked to call it, which he insists she got from Sanji.
Even her green hair was perfect, something Sanji had been beyond thrilled about when it had first started growing in. From the moment they met Keimi, the young woman that had chosen them to adopt her child, Sanji had been secretly hoping that their daughter would be born with green hair, seeing as Keimi had the same rare gene that Zoro did. It might have been a silly thing to hope for, especially considering how often he teased Zoro about his hair, but the idea that their daughter might actually look like she could have been biologically related to one of them was a little exciting. And now, whenever he looked at their daughter, he couldn't help but see Zoro in her, and it caused him to love her just that much more.
"Clown!" The little girl said in awe, pointing at the giant statue placed near the front of the store.
"Yes sweetie, that's a clown." Zoro said, seeing her eyes sparkle as she observed all the toys in the display case that the Ronald McDonald statue was gesturing to.
"Creepy pedo clown…" Sanji mumbled, earning him a gentle elbow in his side.
"Sanji…" Zoro muttered under his breath so only his husband could hear him. "Just try and enjoy yourself, and I promise next week you can have my pick for where we eat."
That thought seemed to snap the blonde out of his pouting, and he gave his husband a quick peck on the cheek in gratitude. Sanji was about to mention a vegan restaurant he had wanted to try, when they heard a rather unpleasant sound coming from behind them. It was like a mix between a snort and someone clearing their throat, and it was a sound that both men were more than familiar with. It was a sound of disgust…
They turned around to see a man, who looked to be around their age, and was accompanied by his young son, who looked like he was only a year or two older than their daughter. The look they were receiving from the man couldn't have been clearer, but before either party could say anything, a small voice interrupted the moment.
"Daddy, Papa, it's our turn," the little green-haired girl said, tugging at the hem of both her father's jackets.
"Sorry sweetie," Sanji said, breaking eye contact with the man first, picking up his daughter before carrying her to the cashier. "What do you want to order?"
"Happy meal!" The little girl cheered happily, completely oblivious to the tense moment that had just occurred, her mind now focused on the more important task at hand. Which toy was she going to pick?
Meanwhile Zoro finally broke the eye contact himself. He had been waiting to see if the man was going to dare say anything, something he usually didn't care about, but it was different now that they had their daughter in toe.
She was already four, but they had managed to shield her away from any form of homophobia or discrimination that might have been aimed at them and their family. They weren't so foolish to think that they could protect her from it forever, and knew it was inevitable that she would have to face it at some point, especially when she started school next year. It would only be a matter of time before the other children asked why she had two daddies instead of a dad and a mom. The only kids she had been exposed to so far were her 'cousins', and they had all been taught by their parents to be open minded and accepting, so none of them ever brought it up to her…but other kids were going to be different, and they knew that.
So knowing the ridicule and pain she was likely to receive in the future, they had wanted to shield her away from it for as long as possible. Anytime they felt like they were in a situation where someone was about to say something, one of them would usually take their daughter away immediately, and the other would try and naturalize the situation the best they could…with out having to do something that might end up with them getting thrown in prison.
Zoro was confident that the man was going to keep his mouth shut, if the brief flash of fear he saw in his eyes was anything to go by. He may be on the better half of thirty now, but he was still a high ranking martial artist, and the worlds current kendo champion, so he still tended to give off a rather intimidating aura.
He turned away from the man and joined his family at the cash register, quickly picking the first thing on the menu that he read, not wanting to keep the person at the register waiting. Once the food was ready, they carried it to a free table, one close to the play area, something the little green-haired girl found most exciting.
Once they sat down Sanji gave Zoro a look that read 'is everything okay?' And Zoro gave him one in return that said 'yeah, everything should be fine'.
"Look at what this does!" The little girl said happily, pulling the little toy car she received backwards before releasing it and watching as it shot half way across the table.
"Wow, how does it do that?" Zoro asked in mock wonder, watching as the little girl grabbed the car and stared at it critically for a few moments.
"I will have to ask uncle Franky or uncle Usopp," she decided, knowing that both of them were the most mechanically, and technologically inclined of all her uncles and aunts, and one of them was bound to know and be able to tell her.
That was yet another thing they found amazing about their daughter. She was incredibly curious about almost everything around her, and unlike most kids who might give up if something couldn't be explained to them, she never gave up, always determined to find her answer. They wouldn't be surprised if she ended up being some sort of engineer or scientist in the future.
"But we should save playing with the toy until after lunch. I wouldn't want your food to get cold," Sanji said, putting extra emphasis on the word food, still refusing to think of it as such. He had went with a simple salad himself, thinking he would be safe with that, but even found their attempt at that laughable…Zoro always joked about him being a food snob, which, now that he thought about it, might not be too far off the mark.
Zoro on the other hand managed to enjoy his meal. It certainly wasn't anything to get excited about, and he may have turned into a bit of a food snob himself after being spoiled for so many years getting to eat Sanji's high class cooking, but he could still see the appeal it had to a lot of people, and was more than willing to put up with it on occasion if it made their daughter happy.
After their food was down, their daughter pleaded with them to allow her to play in the play area for a while. Zoro quickly agreed, although Sanji was a little more reluctant. He cringed to think about the amount of germs crawling around that place, but eventually gave in once the little girl whipped out the puppy dog eyes. He couldn't refuse her anything when she gave him that look, a trait she seemed to pick up from her other father.
She ran into the play area beyond excited, agreeing to stay within eyesight, Zoro and Sanji watching her from their table.
"See cook. Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Zoro said eventually, keeping his eyes trained on the little girl who was now swimming around in the ball pit.
"Hmmmm…I beg to differ."
"Come on, admit it. Seeing her happy like this is worth it, even if it means going against your supposed 'religion'."
"Well…" He said, seeing his daughter laughing, "I suppose…maybe…it might be worth it."
"Wow, and you didn't even burst into flames when you said that or anything," Zoro teased, earning him a gentle shove in return. He just laughed, putting his arm around Sanji as they continued to watch their daughter.
A few minutes passed by, when they heard another sound from behind them, similar to the one earlier. They turned around to see the same man and child from before, the man giving them the same disgusted look.
"Could you not flaunt your shameful relationship in public like that!? There are impressionable children all around, and I for one don't want my son to have to see that."
Zoro and Sanji looked at each other surprised, neither believing that this guy actually had the balls to say anything.
"Flaunting our relationship?" Sanji asked confused for a moment, "you mean him having his arm around me?"
"Yes. And that kiss earlier in front of the register. Whatever you fags do in private is your business, but I ask you to keep it out of public and away from innocent eyes."
The man continued, leaving both Sanji and Zoro at a loss. They couldn't believe this guy…and they couldn't even retaliate like they normally would in a situation like this. Despite this man being an absolute asshole, he still had his child with him, and no matter what the man said, the child didn't deserve to see his father get his ass kicked.
"Well I'm sorry you find us so offensive, and if you can't bare to look at us any longer, than I suggest you leave." Zoro said, keeping his voice even, not betraying the level of anger he currently felt bubbling up inside of him.
"This is a free country," the man countered.
"It certainly is," Zoro said again, tightening his arm around Sanji in emphasis to that point. He was about to turn back away from the man, deciding the best strategy would be to ignore him, when a small voice spoke, snapping both Sanji and his attention to it immediately.
"Daddy? Papa? What's going on?" The little green-haired girl asked, looking between her fathers and the strange man unsure. She had seen them talking to the man through the window, and got worried when she saw the unhappy looks on their faces.
"Nothing sweetie, everything is okay." Sanji assured her, getting up and making his way over to his daughter.
"I can't believe they allow you people to live, let alone raise a child." The man sneered, earning him a look from Zoro that actually caused him to take a few steps back. But then he looked down at his son, who was looking up at him confused, and he refused to allow these people to get the better of him in front of his son. "Two men raising a child is sick! You're whole family is unnatural!"
"That's enough," Zoro snapped, but the man seemed determined to prove his point.
"Faggots like you are what's wrong with this world!"
"Sanji…" Zoro said, turning back towards the blonde, who was now holding their rather frightened looking daughter in his arms. Sanji nodded, not needing to be told what he was thinking, and immediately gathered their things and left the building.
Once his husband and daughter were out of earshot, he turned back towards the man, no longer caring whether his son was their with him or not.
"You're wrong. It's hateful people like you that's wrong with the world." Zoro all but growled, taking a few steps toward the man, who promptly took the same number of steps back. "How dare you say those things in front of my daughter, I swear to God if we weren't in public right now I would make you regret those words."
"Somebody has to tell her that she's being raised by a couple of freaks…" He went on, but Zoro could hear as more and more fear crept into his voice.
"You don't see me telling your son that he's being raised by an absolute asshole, do you?"
That seemed to get to that man, who was now fuming at being insulted in front of his son like that. He swung his right arm forward, but the move was too slow and too predictable for Zoro, who easily dodged it, causing the man to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
He could hear the man cursing under his breath, but decided enough was enough. As much as he would love to absolutely pummel the man for the things he said, he didn't exactly fancy going to jail, especially for such a worthless asshole.
He turned around and began walking away, when he heard the little boy mumble 'stupid fag' under his breath. He sighed, but continued walking. He knew there would always be people like that man in the world, but hated seeing him poison his son's mind with his same hate. That is why discrimination such as this would never end, because future generations would continue to be influenced such as that. It truly saddened him to see it, but resigned himself to the fact that there wasn't really anything he could do about it. No matter how many kind people there were in the world, hate would always exist.
He got out to the car, to find the engine already going, and Sanji and their daughter already buckled up and ready to go. He hopped in the driver's side, and didn't waste anytime before driving off.
The car was silent the entire way back to their house, neither Zoro nor Sanji knowing what to say. They weren't sure how much she actually understood from what she had heard, and didn't want to bring anything up unnecessarily. It wasn't until they arrived back home that the little girl finally broke the silence.
"Daddy? Papa?" She asked quietly, still looking slightly upset.
"Yes sweetheart?" Sanji asked, dreading what was going to come next.
"I hate McDonalds..." She said dead seriously, crossing her arms, scowling.
Both men looked at each other surprised, definitely not expecting that to come out of her mouth, especially since she seemed to be enjoying her self quite a bit before the incident.
"Why do you say that sweetie?" Zoro asked, picking the little girl up, balancing her against his hip.
"Well…I was staying at Auntie Nami's and Uncle Luffy's one time, playing with cousin Sabo, when I thought of a question. I went to ask them the question and they were watching a TV show. I overheard some words like 'fag' that I didn't know what they meant, so I asked them to explain it to me…I decided I don't like that word, or anybody that uses it. I never want to go back to McDonalds again!"
Once again, both men exchanged a look, beyond surprised by the words coming out of their daughter's mouth. She never ceased to amaze them. She would often come home from one of her Aunt's and Uncle's houses with a piece of new knowledge that no child her age should actually know, let alone understand.
"Why didn't you tell us about that before? We could've helped you understand," Sanji said, torn between being relieved that they didn't have to have the conversation he had been mentally preparing the entire ride home, and slightly pissed at Luffy (because he could never be pissed at his precious Nami-swan), for not telling them that they had had that conversation with her.
"Because it's a mean word, and I didn't want to bring it up, because I don't want you or Papa to ever be sad." The little girl stated simply, leaning her head against her dad's shoulder, yawning tiredly.
"Thank you sweetheart," Sanji smiled, stroking the little girls cheek, before placing a quick kiss on her forehead, "And I promise you, we never, ever, have to go back to McDonalds again, if you don't want to."
"Good," the little girl agreed, before her eyes began to droop and she drifted off to sleep in her father's arms.
"Don't look so smug," Zoro chuckled, carrying the little girl to her room.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sanji said, feigning innocence, but couldn't keep the smirk off his face nonetheless. "But if she never wants to go back there, that's her decision."
"Yeah, yeah," Zoro said, rolling his eyes, before laying the girl gently down on her bed, pulling the covers over her.
Both men stood there for a few moments, smiling down at their sleeping daughter, before exiting her room as quietly as possible.
They took a seat on the couch in the living room, Zoro pulling his husband so he was all but in his lap. Sanji leaned his head on the other man's shoulder, enjoying the feeling of being close to him.
"How did we get so lucky?" Sanji asked after a moment, absently stroking one of Zoro's biceps.
"I ask myself that same thing everyday. And I still don't know the answer," Zoro sighed, placing a barely there kiss on his husband's neck, "but I'm not going to question it."
The two men continued to sit there, until they too drifted off to sleep, both feeling beyond blessed for their family and the life they shared.
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A/N: Thank you all for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed. Please let me know what you thought, I love to hear your opinions/any constructive criticism. I am also accepting prompts, so either review, or PM, to let me know any prompt ideas you might have. I will take all prompts into consideration, and will likely write yours if you leave me one. And don't forget to leave any name suggestions as well, next chapter I will be choosing a name, so get your opinion in while you can XD
