Chapter 3
After the infamous night when Sanji snapped at Nami for apparently no solid reason, Sanji had apologized profusely for at least two or three days, baking all kinds of cupcakes, muffins and cookies for her and for Vivi as well, sending her flowers every morning with a stupid poem attached to the bunch and just being incredibly stupid and pathetically sappy during band practice.
The world was back at peace, or so it seemed, and Zoro could definitely see that Sanji seemed to be back to his regular self – even though the singer didn't appreciate it much when Nami brought Vivi to practice once and Zoro had to do his best to convince Sanji not to make a scene again.
Things were good, Murder Of Crows had three show scheduled, two during the weekend and one was set for the week after on a Wednesday. They could have definitely done without another concert in the middle of the week, but the offer of a gig could never be turned down, so they sucked it up and went with the flow.
The fans appreciated the new set list, they had liked the four covers they had come up with, even the most unexpected one, an IAMX song that Sanji sang only accompanied by Nami's keyboards and Zoro's drums that goes by the title of I'm terrified – it wasn't exactly Murder Of Crows style, far from it, still they had made it theirs, made it believable and people had liked it.
Duval, Bartolomeo, Hancock and Perona were present to all three shows, congratulating the band on their incredible choices and beautiful performances, and on Wednesday night, after the concert, they all got invited to drink with the band, even Perona who wouldn't stop shrieking into Zoro's ears and Hancock who was all over Luffy who thoroughly ignored her.
After such a busy week, on a Friday night Zoro, Ace and Luffy decided to be so hardcore that they stayed home for a Breaking Bad rewatch marathon eating pizza and drinking beer on the couch, despite Shanks' protests.
When the food was finally over, they were well into episode four of the first season, and Ace and Zoro were sitting sprawled on the couch while Luffy was lying down on it with his head in Zoro's lap, the doorbell rang.
"Dude! Are they serious?" Ace growled as he glared at the front door, visibly outraged that someone dared interrupting their fun.
Mihawk and Shanks, who were playing chess after their seafood dinner, lifted their eyes from the chessboard to glance from the door to the boys.
"Who could it be now?" Shanks frowned as he pushed back the chair in order to stand up.
"Was any of you expecting someone?" Mihawk asked with an impassible expression and a monotone.
Zoro shrugged a shoulder "We didn't invite anyone over," he replied as he turned to look at Ace for confirmation.
"Yeah, we didn't." Ace shook his head.
"I'll get it!" Luffy shouted as he sprung to his feet and sprinted towards the front door before his father could even move.
"Pause it." Zoro sighed and Ace grabbed the remote to pause the DVD player, leaving Walter White frozen with his mouth hanging open as usual.
They heard the door being opened and everyone moaned and grunted about how Luffy always forgot to ask who it was first. There was a muffled chattering, then Luffy cried out in joy before marching back into the living room.
"Tada! Look what the cat brought in!" Luffy sniggered as Sanji stepped into the living room beside him with a backpack hanging from his shoulder.
"Hey there!" Sanji greeted with a smile and a raised hand "I was hoping I could maybe stay the night?"
Zoro's heart skipped a beat and his brain didn't quite process everything when it should have. It wasn't exactly the first time Sanji asked to spend the night, since they had basically known each other all their lives, still Zoro wasn't expecting to see him there, not with that tired and somehow bashful look on his face.
"Ah, Zoro's boyfriend is here!" Shanks teased and Zoro hoped to whatever deity that he wouldn't turn red as a damn pepper, while his brothers sniggered mercilessly.
Mihawk sighed, clearly used to that kind of situation "You either sleep on the couch or in Zoro's bed," then he turned to Zoro "unless you take the couch and give him your bed."
By then, Zoro was sure that he had been a murderer or some other sort of horrible criminal in his past life to deserve all of that.
"Like fuck I'm giving him my bed!" Zoro barked out as he folded his arms and glared at a random spot to his side.
"We can sleep in the same bed," Sanji said simply, and Zoro saw him shrug as he lifted his eyes on him again "we've slept together before, it's not a problem."
Ace let out a snort of laughter and Zoro couldn't help but elbow him in the ribs.
Mihawk seemed pleased with the answer, but Luffy was sulking right next to Sanji.
"Why don't you sleep with me? You've never done that!" Luffy whined as he hung his head.
"I'm not sleeping with a trout," Sanji huffed "a trout who kicks like a donkey, too." he rolled his eyes ignoring Luffy's complaints and strutted over to the couch, dropping his backpack before plopping down on the spot next to Zoro. "My feet are killing me." he sighed as he kicked both legs over Zoro's lap.
"That was my spot!" Luffy cried.
"Well now your spot is on the floor!" Sanji snarled.
"Have you come here to disrupt our peace and quiet?" Zoro asked as he watched his little brother sit on the carpet.
"That's my job," Sanji grinned, then looked over at the screen "You were rewatching Breaking Bad without me?!" he cried out in horror, then stared at Zoro "You're a horrible person!"
In response to that, Zoro simply pushed Sanji's legs off his lap "Stay out of my territory."
Ace and Luffy laughed like idiots, but Sanji only rolled his eyes and slung his legs back on Zoro's lap.
The marathon went on until nearly 2 am, with the aid of caffeine and ice cream. Mihawk and Shanks had gone to bed not too late after Sanji's arrival, and the blond didn't fail to make a dirty comment about that, receiving a series of groans and a couple pillows thrown to his face in response, as he laughed his butt off.
Zoro was quite concerned about Sanji sleeping in his bed, especially now that his raging, historical crush on him was at its climax, and especially when he saw him dragging himself out of the guest bathroom in a Sisters of Mercy shirt that was at least two sizes too big for him and a pair of tight black boxers that left very little to the imagination.
"I'm going to bed, guys," Sanji announced to the boys still sitting on the couch before yawning into the back of his hand "come whenever you want, I doubt that you'll wake me." he said as he turned to Zoro.
"Ah, he'll be coming soon, I'm sure!" Ace cut in with a shit eating grin that Zoro was going to take care of later.
"Whatever," Sanji scratched the back of his head and stretched out his arms "'night, you jerks." and with his last line Sanji walked upstairs to Zoro's room.
Zoro made sure to hear the door being shut, then slapped Ace over the chest with as much force as he could, leaving him out of breath and making Luffy jump in surprise.
"The fuck is wrong with you?" Ace cried out as he held his chest "God!"
"The fuck is wrong with you, man!" Zoro growled as he glared at his brother "Stop dicking around like this, it's only funny to you!"
Ace looked at him puzzled "What are you even talking about?"
Zoro widened his eyes "Tell me you're joking, or I'll knock your teeth out!"
"Calm down, guys! C'mon!" Luffy sighed as he stood up "Let's just all go to bed!" he sighed as he rolled his eyes.
Some times Luffy was the most adult of them all.
Ace stood up, still rubbing the sore spot on his chest "Touchy, much?"
Zoro decided to ignore him and go upstairs before the others did. Deep inside he knew he was clearly overreacting, but this behavior seemed like it was never going to end and Zoro wasn't exactly sure that he could endure it. He loved his adoptive brother (well he loved both of them) like he were his own blood, but there had to be limits that he shouldn't cross.
Once he had arrived in front of his bedroom door he hesitated, with his hand on the doorknob, as he heaved a sigh and finally opened the door to step inside. He tried to be as quiet as he could not to wake Sanji up and took off his clothes, throwing them over a chair that was already overflowing with t-shirts and jeans.
"Mmhey..." came Sanji's sleepy voice from under the duvet, making Zoro jump slightly and whip his head around to look at him so quickly that he nearly snapped his neck.
"Fuck! You scared me!" Zoro grumbled as he walked up to the bed and climbed under the covers.
Sanji snickered and burrowed his head into the pillow "'Msorry..."
"I thought you were sleeping. Did I wake you?" Zoro asked, lying on his back as he stared up at the moonlit ceiling.
"No. Well kinda," Sanji shrugged a shoulder "I wasn't properly sleeping yet." he replied before yawning into the pillow.
"How come you..." Zoro didn't exactly know how to end his question. Did he want to be a snarky bastard or not? Either way Sanji let out a long breath and shut his eyes.
"Zeff kicked me out," he began "for the night at least... He doesn't even want to see my face down at Baratie."
"Shit," Zoro frowned and turned his head to look at Sanji who had pulled the duvet over his nose. "What did you do to piss him off, this time?" he arched a sharp eyebrow.
Sanji rolled his eyes "He's pissed by default and you know it." he brought his knees to his stomach and pressed both of them into Zoro's thigh "Same old, same old. I came back home hammered last night and apparently I threw up on the floor..."
Zoro bit both of his lips really hard not to laugh at his friend's misfortune, but both his shoulders and chest were already trembling so he just gave in to a throaty laugh that earned him a slap on the chest.
"You're a shitty friend, you know that?!" Sanji growled as he rolled on his other side.
"No! No, I'm sorry!" Zoro placed a hand on Sanji's shoulder and tugged on it to make him turn around again "It is funny though, c'mon! Did you puke right on his shoes?"
Sanji didn't move, but he did reply "No... I just barfed on the hallway floor and went to bed."
Zoro laughed again, long and hard as he threw an arm over his eyes and the other held his stomach. He rarely laughed like that, and he really couldn't say he hated it.
"Stop laughing, you bastard!" Sanji growled lowly, kicking Zoro's shin with his heel.
Zoro felt the hit and it did hurt, because that damn idiot had an inhuman strength in his legs, but he didn't even flinch, instead he rubbed his eyes as his laughter died down and allowed him to breathe and clear his throat.
"So why are you here?" Zoro finally asked "Couldn't you find someone to fuck and stay the night at theirs like you always do?"
There was a brief moment of silence and a sigh so soft, yet exasperated, that was probably meant to be left unheard, then Sanji spoke "There was nobody interesting enough around, so I came here."
Zoro was kind of expecting an answer like that, still it stung a bit making him frown in the penumbra "Thought so." he sighed as he let his limbs relax and his eyelids drop shut.
Sanji turned in one sudden motion and threw an arm over Zoro's chest, pressing his nose softly against his shoulder and keeping his eyes shut.
Zoro remained frozen. He hadn't seen that coming, especially not after that exchange, but Sanji was unpredictable and rarely readable, and Zoro couldn't really complain about having Sanji half curled around him.
Silence fell upon the room, not awkward just relaxed, but Zoro couldn't sleep, not when Sanji's breath curiously matched his own, not when Sanji had chosen to spend the night in his best friend's bed instead of a stranger's after a fight with his father.
"You still haven't told me why you snapped at Nami, last week." Zoro tried, after nearly two minutes of deafening silence.
Sanji groaned into Zoro's shoulder and singsonged "Blame it on my A.D.D."
Zoro huffed, rolling his eyes "Fuck off, I'm serious!" leave it to Sanji to find songs lyrics that fit every situation he was in.
"I just did, okay?" Sanji sighed "No particular reason, you know how I get sometimes," he shrugged a shoulder "I just lost it."
Zoro wasn't exactly buying it, because he knew perfectly that he would never snap at a girl just to throw a tantrum. Sanji definitely had a reason to act like that but of course he didn't want to talk about it.
"Well you better control yourself more," Zoro humored him "next time Nami might kick your ugly face in."
Sanji let out a fake laugh and absentmindedly started drawing random patterns on Zoro's skin, making him shiver slightly. Sanji liked to do that kind of things, his cuddliness used to bother Zoro at first but he'd learned to accept and like that particular side of him, it was endearing after all, and ever since Zoro had come to realize what his true feelings for Sanji were he couldn't really say he hated that.
"Won't your boyfriends be jealous if I get all your cuddles for myself?" Zoro teased.
Sanji snorted "What boyfriends? You know I don't do boyfriends," Zoro could just hear the eyeroll in those words "also, why would I cuddle any of them? All I need is between their legs." he scratched Zoro's skin softly "Plus you should know I'm not cuddling you, 'cause you're gross and I hate you."
"Of course, I hate you too." Zoro shook his head and placed a hand on Sanji's shoulder, squeezing it softly.
Sanji hummed and kept quiet for so long that Zoro thought he had fallen asleep, but then he came back to life with a sleepy voice.
"Zeff says I'm a good for nothing shitty son," Sanji slurred out "he has a point? Besides singing for our band I'm not that useful. What would I be if I couldn't even sing?" the hand that lied flat on Zoro's chest balled into a fist as Sanji waited for an answer.
Zoro furrowed his eyebrows at those words. Sanji was usually full of himself, at least that's what he wanted people to think of him, because it was so much easier to appear like that than to show his true colors – those that only Zoro had seen. Sanji only allowed Zoro to see him like that, and only when he really needed it.
"Well... You're annoying, for starters." Zoro began.
"Shithead," Sanji muttered as he hit his fist into Zoro's chest.
"You're also a rude little shit." Zoro smirked, relishing Sanji's annoyed groans.
"You're a useless moss-brain, you know that?"
"I thought it was you we were talking about." Zoro arched an eyebrow.
"Nevermind," Sanji grumbled as he placed his hand flush on Zoro's pecs and let out a big sigh.
Zoro sniggered quietly and only after a handful of seconds he went on speaking. "You're useful, you damn idiot. Without your voice you're still a cook, you can feed people."
"Yeah, wow." Sanji said in a monotone.
Zoro ignored Sanji's lack of enthusiasm and went on "You can fight. Not as well as I can, but..." he shrugged.
"Shut up, I can kick your ass anytime!" Sanji yawned and hummed, getting more comfortable on the mattress.
"And..." Zoro hesitated, because he wasn't the praising type and speaking nicely about people made him uncomfortable, especially if that person was Sanji. "Well, fuck it." he sighed "You've been my best friend since when we were like 6, so yeah... You matter, and you're definitely useful to me."
Only saying those things made Zoro feel exhausted and he was actually waiting for Sanji to either laugh or insult him, or maybe both things at the same time, but he heard none of these, just a soft, nearly inaudible snore.
"Oi... Did you hear me?" Zoro looked down at Sanji, not getting a response.
The bastard was asleep. Of course he was asleep! Damn him! But that was probably for the best, so he hadn't heard jack of what Zoro had admitted. Yes, it had to be for the best.
Zoro had tried to ignore the extremely uncomfortable swelling at the front of his boxers the entire time that Sanji lounged half atop of him as they spoke, praying to the entire Norse Pantheon that the blond hadn't noticed. Well, Zoro was sure that if Sanji really had noticed he would have teased him to death, so maybe he was safe.
Zoro gently peeled Sanji's limbs off his body, careful not to wake him up as he slid out from underneath him and climbed out of bed, watching as the blond squirmed and curled on himself.
Once he was out of bed Zoro suddenly regretted the lack of warmth that Sanji's body radiated on his own, so he promised himself he was going to be quick. He just needed the bathroom and then he could sleep, nothing too hard about that... No pun intended.
Zoro sneaked out of the room, controlling his strength as he shut the door without making excessive noises, then padded his way to the upstairs bathroom. He really thought (or rather hoped) that no one was still up by then, but apparently the odds were pretty much never in his favor.
The door of the bathroom cracked open and a yawning, heavy lidded Ace dragged his half asleep limbs out of the room.
"Shit." Zoro muttered under his breath.
"Oh, hey there," Ace smiled sleepily "crowded place." he joked despite having his eyelids struggling with the rest of his body to stay open.
"Looks like it." Zoro shrugged a shoulder and tried to squeeze by, but apparently Ace was in the mood for chatting in the dead of the night.
"So how is it going with lover boy?" Ace gave a crooked grin as he rubbed one of his eyes.
Zoro huffed "He's sleeping," he nodded in the direction of the bathroom "I need to piss, go back to bed."
"That bad, huh?" Ace chuckled, hanging his head and as he did so he saw the world from a different prospective "Oh God..." he pointed at the bulge in Zoro's boxers.
"Wha-?" Zoro asked annoyed, then his eyes dropped immediately on his temporarily forgotten erection "Fuck!" he cried out as he tried to cover himself "Leave me alone, you bastard!"
Ace laughed and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder "You're not gonna find condoms there, I can lend you a couple if you want." he teased with a shit eating grin plastered on his face.
Zoro shoved him aside with a growl as he stomped towards the bathroom.
"Hey, hey!" Ace protested with a frown as he was roughly pushed aside, and Zoro turned to look at him "Since you don't wanna go there... Can I use my condoms with Sanji, then?"
"Fuck you!" Zoro snarled as he shoved his brother so hard that he fell on his butt. Zoro threw the door shut and rested his forehead against it, breathing long and slow in order to calm down.
It was the second time in a single night that Ace deliberately ticked him off and Zoro was starting to think that he had a death wish.
Zoro looked down at his boxers and sighed, he wasn't rock hard as before, still he needed to take care of it before going back to bed.
He shoved his hand down the shorts and grabbed himself, a soft, shuddering breath abandoned his lips as he thumbed at the tip. He didn't really have any time to waste, so he just tucked his lower lip between his teeth and stroke himself, brow pressed against the cold, wooden door and being as silent as he could.
Zoro came hard and quick, biting back Sanji's name and cursing when he saw the mess he'd made. He took in a deep breath, cooling down before cleaning up and spraying his face with cold water, then he left the bathroom and went back to his room.
Crawling back into bed felt pretty much like heaven, even if the mattress was small and hard, having Sanji's smell all over the sheets made it ten times better. Zoro rolled on his side facing the other man, he couldn't help watching him sleep peacefully with the duvet curled tightly around him. Zoro sighed and let his eyelids drop shut, smirking slightly when he felt Sanji's leg move to settle over his own.
"Marimo..."
"Mh?" Zoro hummed in reply without opening his eyes.
"Don't you dare snoring, you bastard." Sanji muttered as he slid closer to Zoro.
"Shut your mouth and sleep, you idiot." Zoro replied with a huff as he threw an arm over Sanji's shoulders.
"You're heavy!" Sanji whined, not moving a single muscle under the weight of Zoro's arm.
"'Mnot, Zoro yawned "g'night."
"Night."
–
The night was hot and sticky, and Zoro could smell blood. As he looked down he could see he was covered in it and the good thing was that it wasn't his own. He was leading an army that was just coming back from a battle in the dead of the night, his legs felt heavy and his arms were sore.
When he approached the encampment many people cheered both he and his troops, he smirked proud and kept walking until he reached the biggest tent of the camp, guarded by two men armed with spears and shields. He was allowed to go inside, and as he walked past the threshold he heard screeching and a heavy flutter of big wings.
In the middle of the tent, sitting on a big, high chair was Sanji with long silver hair and a white silk dress. Beside him were three dragons that reminded Zoro all too well of Luffy, Usopp and Franky.
"Kha-" Zoro furrowed his brows as he thought his words through "Khaleesi?"
Sanji arched a brow as he stroke the biggest dragon's head. "Oh, you've returned."
Zoro nodded, a small hopeful smile curling his lips "It went just like you said it would, we attacked them and they yielded almost right away!"
Sanji waved his hand in a dismissive manner "Good, good. But where is Ace?"
Zoro's smile dropped from his face instantly, his hopes crushed and burnt as he saw Ace walking past him and getting down on one knee.
"I'm here, my queen."
The smile that appeared on Sanji's face was that of true happiness and it made Zoro's heart ache so much that he couldn't breathe. He dropped his helm as he vaguely saw Ace walking up to Sanji, and when the two kissed everything became a blur.
Zoro jerked awake as if someone had poured a bucket of ice on him. He sat up panting, and pressed a hand on his chest where his heart still hurt slightly.
"What the–" he muttered as he turned his head and found Sanji sleeping with his mouth open and his limbs sprawled all over the bed. Zoro scrubbed a hand over his face, then combed his fingers through his mohawk as something dawned on him "Jesus, I'm the Knight of the Friendzone." he cried as he lied back down.
–
Both Zoro and Sanji had forgotten to roll down the shutter the night before, so in the morning a ray of sunshine woke Zoro up, making him groan and pull the covers over his head.
"The shutter..." he growled with his eyes still closed as he rolled on his other side "You shithead, you didn't close it."
When he didn't get an insult or a kick as a reply, Zoro finally realized that Sanji wasn't there. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. Sanji's backpack was still in a corner, at least he hadn't left the house.
Zoro sat up, rubbing his eyes with the back of his wrist and yawning like a hippo. He couldn't believe that Sanji wouldn't sleep in on a Saturday, not even when he wasn't supposed to go to work.
There was a sudden knock on the door and Zoro furrowed his eyebrows at it "Yeah?"
The door opened and Ace poked his head inside "Morning, sunshine!" he smirked.
Zoro rolled his eyes "Does your face miss my fist or something?"
"Yeah, so much!" Ace nodded towards the bed "Can I come in?"
Zoro arched an eyebrow "No, not really. Why are you being creepy?"
Ace huffed and rolled his eyes "I just want to apologize, c'mon!"
Zoro frowned "Are you drunk?"
Ace groaned and just entered the room, shutting the door behind him and sitting on the floor across from Zoro "I shouldn't make jokes when Sanji's present, nor pester you about him too much, I'm sorry."
Zoro pressed his lips together and nodded "And you came to this conclusion all by yourself?"
Ace ignored Zoro's reply and went on "Sanji's been in the kitchen since 6 a.m., I think? He made the biggest breakfast ever and Luffy is still downstairs eating it!" he laughed, shaking his head.
That food freak seriously woke up at 5 in the morning when he could have slept at least 'til 7 or 8? Zoro didn't think it was normal, not even for Sanji. "And you're up here instead of pigging out in the kitchen?"
"This should be enough to tell you what an amazing brother I am!" Ace grinned "So, how'd it go last night?"
Zoro stared at him dead in the eye "You're kidding, right?"
Ace threw his head back with a groan "Come on!"
Zoro shook his head and stood up to put on some sweatpants and a t-shirt nearly stepping on Ace in the process "What do you think that happened? We spoke a bit and then we slept, that's all!" he growled as he pulled on the t-shirt.
Ace sighed and rested back against the leg of the desk "You're a gentleman. Other guys would have jumped him, being in your shoes."
Zoro shot him a glare "You better not be talking about yourself!"
Ace's eyes grew wide and he immediately waved his hands in denial "No! No, no, no! Every time I imply something is just a joke!" he shrugged "Just to piss you off!"
Zoro arched an eyebrow "And you do a damn good job at it." he scratched the back of his head as he thought, then let his arms fall back along his sides "I don't wanna be like the other guys... Even if he's an annoying asshole I respect him too much to do anything stupid."
Ace nodded as he listened to him, then he cocked his head "And getting into his pants isn't exactly all you're aiming for." he smiled softly when Zoro didn't say anything, but a soft blush tinted his cheekbones.
"You know what, you jerkoff?" Zoro suddenly spat as something came back to his mind "I had this dream in which Sanji was Daenerys Targaryen! He had dragons and shit... And you were fucking Daario Naharis and..." he paused, looking down at his bare feet "I was Ser Jorah."
Ace stared up at his brother for what seemed like ages, then fell on his side as he laughed so hard that Zoro thought he was going to have a fit.
Zoro cursed at himself mentally for telling him and shook his head as he watched Ace squirming and crying from laughter "Are you gonna stop dying or what?" he barked out in embarrassment.
Ace didn't stop laughing but he did push himself up to his feet, and as he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder he squeezed it "Ser Zorah, Knight Of The Friendzone!" he bursted once again and had to use Zoro as a support not to fall on his knees.
"Fuck you, Ace!" Zoro growled as he pushed his brother aside and walked out of the room, leaving Ace to laugh on the floor like an idiot.
The moment in which Zoro was halfway down the stairs he was suddenly surrounded by the delicious smell of Sanji's food.
How could he possibly think that he was a good for nothing when he could sing and cook the way he did? Zoro was aware of the fact that he never complimented him, but then again it wasn't in his nature.
Once he arrived to the kitchen, Zoro lingered on the threshold, just to get a look of what that room looked like when Sanji was in control.
Mihawk was sitting at the table reading the newspaper and occasionally sipping on his coffee, sitting across from him was Luffy who kept wolfing down every food within his reach. Shanks wasn't around, he was probably down at the dojo since Mihawk was still at home, being a lazy butt, and maybe Shanks was also a little jealous to have someone so much better than him taking care of his men's stomachs.
Zoro couldn't help but smirk at that thought, and as he finally settled his eyes on Sanji he couldn't help but lean against the doorjamb and sigh. He was nearly elbows deep into the sink as he scrubbed pans and dishes, his long hair slipped from behind his ear and fell to cover half of his face, but his hands were wet and he obviously didn't want to get his hair soaked too.
"Sanji, these are the best pancakes I ever ate!" Luffy cried with his mouth still full of bacon pancakes.
Zoro saw Sanji's face light up and the hint of a smile curved his lips.
"Of course, you're not used to eat healthy, nourishing food." Sanji replied in a monotone as he kept a cigarette between his lips.
"Oh but Shanks tries," Mihawk commented as his eyes never left the newspaper "God, does he try." he sighed as he flipped the page "Son, are you done lurking from the door? It's rude."
Zoro stiffened and widened his eyes, and at the same time Sanji and Luffy turned to stare at him.
"Morning, Zoro! Come here, Sanji made bacon pancakes!" Luffy greeted him with a huge smile and a forkful of food in his hand.
"Good morning, you lazy fuck." Sanji greeted without looking at him.
Ah, nothing like Sanji's kindness to start out a great day. Zoro didn't answer to anyone and went to sit next to his brother who all but threw an arm around his neck and pressed a sloppy kiss to Zoro's cheek.
"You snail! Quit drooling on me!" Zoro grunted, but failed to bite back a tiny smirk.
"You like it, shut up." Luffy responded with a smile as he sneakingly tried to steal Mihawk's french toast.
"Do it and you're gonna have to play bass with your feet." was the low threat that came from behind the newspaper, and Luffy gave up on his attempted theft.
"Don't you ever feel full?" Sanji commented as he placed a plate of pancakes and a mug of tea right under Zoro's nose.
Luffy snorted and tried to steal one of Zoro's pancakes in response, but Sanji was quicker to slap his hand away.
"You've been eating since the moment you stepped in here, enough!" Sanji barked making Luffy flinch and Zoro roll his eyes.
"Stop shouting, you're already giving me a headache!" Zoro growled as he threw one of his pancakes into Luffy's empty dish.
"Thank you, Zoro! You're the best brother ever!" Luffy sniggered as he began to eat the pancake with his hands as if it were a cookie.
"Why'd you do that?!" Sanji slapped Zoro on the back of his head.
"I'm supposed to be the best brother! What's all this about?" Ace asked as he stepped into the kitchen with both hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.
"God, is impossible to bear with you lot," Mihawk huffed as he slammed the newspaper on the table "and I hoped you'd get more quiet growing up, what was I thinking?" he stood up to leave the kitchen and not too long after they heard the front door slamming shut.
The boys had remained there, frozen into the positions they had assumed when Mihawk raged out, their eyes widened in surprise.
Ace was the one to break the ice "I bet he regrets this family like twice a day."
"He only regrets having had to deal with Shanks' brats for all these years." Zoro commented as he finally started eating.
"Hey!" Luffy and Ace cried in unison.
Sanji rolled his eyes and lit himself another cigarette "He's just sick of every single one of you," he exhaled some smoke in a thin line "and your friends."
"I'm sure he loves all of us," Luffy cut in with a full mouth "he just needs some space, every once in a while." then he jerked his head in Zoro's direction "Like father like son."
Ace sat on the empty chair across from Zoro and lifted his eyebrows "He has a point."
Zoro rolled his eyes and Sanji snorted.
"What's so funny?" Zoro asked, not even lifting his eyes to glare at Sanji.
"You've been with Mihawk all your life, you really took after him," Sanji shrugged "even if he's your foster dad and you'll never admit it."
Zoro threw his head back groaning "What's with the dad talk, now? Fuck off, already!"
"See?" Sanji grinned "Just like Mihawk!"
"And you're an ass just like Zeff!"
"You shithead!"
"No! No! If you break something Shanks will kill both of you!" Ace cried as Sanji knocked Zoro's chair back and they both ended up wrestling on the floor.
"Breakfast with a show!" Luffy laughed, stuffing his mouth full as he watched Ace trying to break the fight.
To Be Continued...
