Title: Watching
Media: fic
Characters: Zoro, Sanji
Word count: 522
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It felt like he had always known the cook. From the first moment he met Sanji, it awakened fierce emotions inside him, passionate hatred mostly. He could never figure out quite when those feelings changed but as time wore on he found that he looked forward to abusing the cook, fighting with him, talking to him. Then one day he realised it was more. He felt more for Sanji than he could ever express.
Sanji was a ladies man, he loved women. He fawned over their every mincing step. Zoro wasn't ready to be shot down in flames and then have to live with the cook as they travelled the Grand Line. So, as time went by he settled. He settled for watching Sanji cook, drying his dishes, sparring with him, hunting with him… And now watching him sleep.
He had never meant to do something like this – it seemed a bit creepy – but they shared a room and at night a shaft of moonlight would light up Sanji's golden hair like a silver halo. Zoro saw it once by accident and ever after, he was hooked. He would turn over in the middle of the night and watch the cook's face as he breathed, slow and even. His features smoothed with the bliss of dreamless sleep, he looked so perfect it was almost unearthly.
Tonight Sanji looked perfect again, his hair was messy on the pillow and his mouth was slightly curved as though he was having a sweet dream. Zoro had been awake for hours. He had so much on his mind… He finally realised that he would not sleep and quietly pulled the covers back from his bed. He had to tip toe past Sanji's bad to get to the door. As he walked past, he looked down at the sleeping cook, silver bangs clung to his jaw line and one bare arm was over the blankets revealing a pale shoulder. Just out of impulse, Zoro leaned over, when his face was close enough he could smell the sweetness of Sanji's breath, the shampoo in his hair. He tickled his nose with a random silver curl and took a deep breath of the scent of Sanji. He wanted to remember it forever. He touched his lips to the silk-soft hair and then withdrew, creeping silently across the floor. Finally, from the doorway, he whispered in his softest voice,
"Goodnight gorgeous."
"Goodnight moss head," came the soft reply.
"Wha… ah…" Zoro managed.
Sanji rolled over and sat up in bed, revealing his naked upper body.
"And what do you call that?"
"Uhh…"
"Was that meant to be a kiss?"
"Umm… no? I don't know ok. Just leave it." Zoro finally said, before turning away.
What had he done?
He had ruined everything.
"No wonder the ladies love me so much more," Sanji scolded behind him. Time to take whatever tiny scraps of dignity he might have left and walk away.
"Hey, where are you going?" Sanji asked Zoro's back, "Come here. You better start taking notes because I'm going to give you a real kiss."
And boy was it ever.
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