I'm so sorry for the long absence, college was driving me crazy.

But i'm back now and i promise i'll update soon :)

I wrote this in the middle of my studies, i hope you like it, and i'm sorry if there is any mistake.

Chapter 4: Come as you are

He's aware.

He knows how foolish he's been, how idiotic, how irresponsible, he knows how quick he's washed his life down the drain, making selfish bad decisions just to convince himself later of his own actions. He can't hide his shame, it seeps through his pores.

She's still dead when he's done with the Wiskey bottle, he still needs a job after he comes down from a high and even if he pretends to be unaffected by everything, hiding behind an empty face, it still hurts.

So, he's aware.

He's wrong. But why is it that he doesn't feel like doing anything about it? He just keeps sinking and sinking, drowning, plunging into the darkness until his thoughts are numb.

But who cares.

It feels good, it's the perfect denial, the perfect escape. I mean, what was he expecting? It's actually really easy to predict these things, his shitty life led him down a shitty road. Whatever, it's fine.

I mean, it was fine. How is it that a stranger is making him hesitate now? How could that be? How stupid is he? Hasn't he learn anything?

He made him waver with his pretty words and a heated kiss. Damn him. Screw him. He can go to hell. He made him feel so weak and he hated that. He hated it, so why is it? Why is it, god dammit, that he wanted more? He needed more.

This is so unlike him. And to make things worse, why is the warmth of these expensive sheets so comforting?

Someone just tell him how he got here, back into this bed. I mean, things happened so fast.

"You sure like to pick up troublesome things"

"Is that a yes?"

"Yeah, you asshole"

Did he really say that? Did he really agree to… what exactly? Date the cook? He's not sure what kind of deal with the devil he made, but after he agreed, Sanji kissed him again, making him feel like he was melting again.

They kissed. A lot. His lips were going numb.

"T-that's enough" He managed to say between kisses and Sanji looked at him with a conflicted expression "My lips hurt, you beast" He had to look away from Sanji's ravenous eyes "I should go home"

"Stay"

"But…" He looked down and Sanji followed his gaze. Something hard has been poking his thigh for a while now and he was definitely not ready for it.

"I won't do anything, just stay" It felt like a command to which he complied too quickly.

"Okay"

And that's how he ended up sleeping in Sanji's bed for the second time. They really did just sleep. Well, it's not like he was ready to do anything else with another man, that was gonna need some getting used to.

Should he just play the cook's game? Because that's what this is, right? He's confused. What are this feelings? What is the cook thinking?

Whatever, he'll just play along. It's kinda nice, Sanji makes him feel needed, so he'll just play along until Sanji gets tired of him, and that will happen, it always does. But whatever, he's got nothing to lose… he's got nothing.

He doesn't know what time it is, but the sunlight is annoying and he's alone in bed. Feels like a déjà vu.

He slowly gets up, he sees his pants at the bottom of the bed and he wonders how they got there. He puts them on and walks out of the room. He feels like Nami is going to appear out of nowhere like last time, at least he's got pants on this time.

Something smells good. That means Sanji is home.

"Morning" He says once he is near the cook, startling him.

"Woah" He spills some hot water on the counter "Good morning you damn ninja"

"Hungry"

"Full sentences, Zoro"

"Too tired" He yawns "Need a hand?"

"No, I'm already done"

"What time is it?"

"I think it's almost ten"

"Don't you have work?"

"I have the day off…" That can't be right, isn't the Chef like essential on a Restaurant?

"You? The Chef? On a Wednesday?"

"Okay, I took the day off"

"Is it okay for you to do that? Don't they… need you there?"

"They can handle themselves"

"Right… I hope is not because of me"

"… Of course not" He was avoiding eye contact now, who does he think he is fooling?

"You're an idiot" He turned around and walked to the dining table, once again Sanji made too much food. He smiled and sat down, he usually never eats breakfast, so this is nice. He was deciding what to eat first when Sanji appeared with two mugs of freshly brewed coffee.

"I just thought… we could spend the day together" He handed him the coffee and sat down. Zoro wrapped his hands around the warm mug.

"Can't"

"Why?"

"Well, I'm poor, I need to look for a job"

For some reason, Sanji had a big smile on his face now. He just ignored him and focused on eating the food in front of him.

"Are you going to be a barman again?"

"Depends" He said this while stabbing a piece of bacon "I'll just… do whatever they hire me for, I can't really afford to be picky…It's not easy for me to find a job in the first place" He muttered that last part.

"Why?"

"Ahm… well…" He can feel his face going red, he's never cared before, why is he embarrassed to say this now? "I… never finished high school, hell, I dropped on my first day. And even if I get a job… I always screw it up"

"I see…" He keeps quiet for a bit, like he's thinking of something "But I'm sure this time will be different"

"We'll see about that"

"I'm sure" He smiles "Now, eat your food, I don't want anything to go to waste"

"You made too much… again" He sighed, he could probably eat all of it though.

"I know, but-"

"Onigiri"

"… What?"

"I… like Onigiris" He is not looking at Sanji but he can imagine the big smile on his face "And your omelet is really good"

"I'll keep that in mind" Zoro raised his gaze just a bit.

"You smile too much"

"Thank you"

"It wasn't… a compliment, idiot"

"Woah… I think your face is even redder now"

"Shut up"

They ate the rest in silence. Zoro thinks he must be going crazy because he actually finds this pleasant. When they're done, they pick up everything and they put it in the dishwasher.

"Here" Sanji pulls out something from a near drawer, only when they are on his hands Zoro realizes it's his cellphone and wallet.

"About time, you thief" He actually forgot about it at some point, this was the reason he came to Sanji's apartment in the first place "I bet you're not even sorry"

"Not one bit"

"Figures…" Well now he's got no business here now, right? Sanji's acting normal, so he probably wants to forget about last night. He should do the same. "I… Uhm, like I said, I'm busy today so you should go to work"

"I will"

"Right, good" He walked out of the kitchen and headed to the entryway, he could feel Sanji following him and his eyes just piercing the back of his head. He grabbed his jacket from the coat rack and put in on "Thanks for the food, I'll… see you around"

As soon as he opened the door, Sanji slammed it close.

"I'll see you around? Don't fuck with me" He muttered. He was right behind him, but Zoro was reluctant to turn around. "Did you, by any chance, think that last night was a joke?" It was subtle, but Sanji saw him flinch at that. He sighed. Zoro was easy to read. He grabbed his shoulder and made him turn around "You really are thick headed"

Sanji took a step forward and Zoro felt the door against his back, he was cornered. Just the thought of it sent shivers through his whole body. Sanji got closer a talked to his ear, his lips lightly brushing with every word.

"I guess I'll just make it real clear to you" He whispered, rubbing his thumb along Zoro's jaw.

Zoro finally looked at him in the eyes, he opened his mouth but his words were lost against Sanji's lips. He kissed him gently, slow. Zoro kept his eyes open, but not for long, this kiss was so different from last night, he was feeling every damn thing, it was as if Sanji was draining all of his strength. The way his tongue seemed to disappear inside his mouth, his hand against his back slowly pulling them closer, everything was making him go crazy. He wanted more.

Screw it.

He knotted his fists in Sanji's shirt, pulling him harder against him. Sanji groaned softly, low in his throat, and he deepened the kiss, this time, more aggressively, slowly grinding against Zoro, making him melt under him.

This was the first time a kiss makes him feel this way, makes him feel so needy. So, when he felt his legs about to give in, Zoro pulled away.

He tried to catch his breath, he didn't want to look at Sanji, he was suddenly feeling too embarrassed to do that.

"Did I make myself clear?" He can practically see the smirk on Sanji's face and he feels a sudden need to punch him. Who does he think he is? He really must be a manwhore, I mean, who kisses like that? "Zoro?"

"Y-yeah"

"Good"

"I have to go…"

"Sure, I'll see you tonight"

"Tonight?" He looked at Sanji and yes, Smirk confirmed.

"Yeah, when you're done job hunting, come to the Restaurant, I want to give you something"

"To me?"

"Yes, you idiot. You'll come, right?"

"I don't think I have a choice…" He muttered and opened the door again. Sanji followed him outside.

"Hey"

"What now?" He turned around and Sanji gave him a small peck on the lips.

"I like you. Good luck today, I'll see you later" He gave him his signature smile, turned around and left him standing in the hallway.

Really now, such an embarrassing guy.

Okay so, he'll go for the original plan. Stay with Sanji until Sanji gets bored of him. Simple enough.

"Wait, does that make me gay?" He asks to himself, startling the girl next to him in the elevator "How do guys have sex anyway…" This was troubling, he really does not know anything about dating a man, was it the same as dating a girl?

"I like you"

That's what Sanji said. Sanji likes him…. What for, he wonders. What's so interesting about a guy's body? He's positive touching a woman would be a heck of a lot more enjoyable.

"Uhm… could you… please stop feeling yourself up?" He heard a timid voice next to him. He looks down and he was indeed groping his own chest, like a freaking pervert.

"Crap. Yeah, sorry" What the hell is he doing?

He left Sanji's building almost running and made his way home. As soon as he got there, he took a showered and changed into some nice clothes, as nice as he could get. He left the building with Chimney yelling "Good luck" behind him.

To be honest, he doesn't know what he was expecting.

He got rejected in every single place.

There must be something wrong with his face. Does he frown too much? Is he too scary looking? It must be the way he speaks; he's always been a rude little shit. How to fix that?

Maybe he should go back and beg they give him his bartender job back. But he only got that job because of Jess… and he's got a vague image of him punching the owner. He's screwed.

It was already getting dark and he's so damn tired, he's been at it the whole day, he even missed lunch. He needs a drink, so he walks into the first bar he spots and orders a beer. Maybe this is what he needed, to drink his worries away.

He pulls out his phone and notices it's fully charged. He scrolls down his contact list and he smiles when he sees Sanji's name on it. That bastard, meddling with his phone.

"Fuck…" He forgot he has to go to the Restaurant. What time is it? It's already dark outside.

He drinks the beer in one go and leaves 5 dollars on the counter.

He's sure he knows where the Restaurant is, but it takes him quite a large amount of time to even get near it. The streets just keep changing, there was a lot of dead ends too. The Restaurant is like two blocks away now, but suddenly a girl with a strong accent stops him.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Zou Building, do you know where it is?"

"No idea" He completely avoids her a keeps on walking, foreigners are a pain in the ass. That's when notices the name of the small building right next to him. He looks back and sees the girl standing there, confused. He walks up to her. "Sorry, I was being a jerk. The building, uhm… is right here" He points at it.

"Woah, thank you very much. I'm late for the meeting" She smiled "You come for meeting too?"

"What? No. What kind of meeting takes place this late at night? Ah, sorry, not my business"

"Haha, it's okay. It's group meeting" She rummages through her purse "Here, this" She hands him a pamphlet. It's a Narcotics Anonymous group meeting.

"Right…" He tries to give the pamphlet back.

"You can keep" It's confirmed. He has the face of a drug addict.

"Oh no, believe me, I don't want it" He hands it back "Good luck in there"

"Thank you" She smiles again "Goodbye"

"Bye…" He watches her enter the building.

No way, such a thing is not for him.

He turns around and it takes him about 15 minutes to get to the Thousand Sunny. There's still a few people inside, so it's not closed. As soon as he opened the door, he heard him.

"Zoro! You came!" Luffy practically ran to him with a big smile on his face.

"Yeah… Hi, Luffy"

"And you remembered my name"

"Well, you're kind of hard to forget"

"Hahaha, I know right. C'mon, everyone is here today" He grabbed his wrist and dragged him further inside. "Brook! Hey, Brook!"

There was a small stage in the corner of the Restaurant, on it, there was a tall man with an afro, putting away a violin.

"I'm sorry Luffy, it hurts me too, but that was the last song" He turned around a looked at them "Oh my god, he really has green hair!" He jumped off the stage, grabbed Zoro's hand and started shaking it nonstop "It's nice to meet you, my name is Brook, I'm a musician as you can see, oh, but I also am a waiter, I've been working here for almost 6 months, Sanji hired me, he's such a nice person. I love working here, ah, but enough about me, tell me about yourself"

"I'm… Zoro"

"…"

Luffy bursting out laughing and soon Brook joined him. What was so funny?

"Stop that guys, he looks like he wants to punch you" He heard a familiar voice behind him, it was Nami "Hello, Zoro"

"Hi"

"Would you mind waiting a few minutes? We're closing any second now"

"Yeah… sure"

"Guys, be nice, Sanji is almost done"

Brook and Luffy nodded and watched Nami go, and then they turned to look at Zoro with a wide grin on their faces.

How old are you? Where are you from? Do you have any hobbies? Is that your natural hair? Do you like music? Do you like animals? They asked him every question they came up with, Zoro gave them half-ass answers.

"So, Zoro, I know yesterday you said no, but is it official now?"

"What is?" He doesn't like where this is going.

"You and Sanji"

"Ah! Young love, how exciting!" Said Brook.

"Well-"

"Guys, Sanji is calling" Saved by the person with the exceptional nose.

"Let's go" Luffy looked at Brook "You too, Zoro"

"Uhm, isn't it like a staff meeting or something like that"

"Something like that, let's go" He grabbed his wrist again and dragged him along; he sure liked to do that.

They walked until they reached Sanji's office, when Luffy opened the door, Zoro was a bit taken a back. There was Sanji, Nami, Chopper and a big guy with blue hair. Usopp and Brook walked past him and Luffy closed the door. Everyone was looking at him, what is going on?

"What's this?"

"Rude, Zoro. Hello first" Chopper said next to Nami, who, by the way, seemed like she was enjoying herself.

"Ah, yeah, sorry. Hello everyone, I hope you are doing just fine. Sanji, what the fuck?" He looked at Sanji, hoping he would give him an explanation, he only laughed. This was starting to look like an intervention.

"Sorry, Zoro. This is how we always do it"

"Do what?"

"How did it go today, your job hunting?"

"Like shit" Usopp and Luffy laughed.

"Figures"

"You guys are creeping me out"

"Relax, we just wanted to give you something" Sanji pulled out something from behind him, walked up to him, and gave him a package.

"I don't like presents…" He muttered. This was too weird.

"You idiot, just open the damn thing"

He looked at the package, reluctant, and after gazing at Sanji one more time, he slowly opened it.

He didn't recognize what it was at first. But he soon realized it was a long black waist apron, and not only that, there was a small golden name plaque with his name on it.

"This…What? I…" Words wouldn't come out.

"We would love for you to join the Thousand Sunny family"

"Why? I'm sure you can find someone more… suited"

"But we want you. I want you, what do you say?"

There was sudden silence.

Zoro didn't know what to say. Why would they even consider a failure like him to work here? How could they be so nice? He always had to beg for a job, but now, they were offering one. A good one. With good people. What did he do to deserve such kindness? It was weird, things like this don't happen to him. Nice things… things that make him happy. And he was happy. He was overjoyed. He had a job now… maybe, after all this time, he could be a part of something, a family. Was it okay for him to be this thrilled? Was it okay to say yes to this job he probably didn't deserve?

He looked at the apron one more time and then he raised his gaze and smiled. An honest to god smile, a wide grin on his face and blushed cheeks. He couldn't help it. He didn't get it, he could not understand why they would do this for him, but they did.

"Thank you"

Zoro's smile captivated Sanji. His expression was completely different from usual. This smile reached his eyes, he was happy. Zoro was happy. He looked beautiful.

Sanji looked around him and noticed he wasn't the only one thinking that. The blush on everyone's face was proof of it.

"Okay stop, stop what you're thinking" Sanji took a step forward and hid Zoro behind him "I'm sorry, but this guy is mine" Right after he said that, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. Zoro had hit him.

"I'm not a thing you can own, you perverted cook"

To be continued...