Chapter song: "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley
Sanji's internal clock woke him up in the early hours of the morning in time for him to start preparing breakfast before the rest of the crew awoke. He immediately remembered that he wasn't on the Sunny and was instead lying on an enormous bed in the arms of their swordsman at an expensive hotel. He pushed away the nagging guilt that he had just blown off his morning cooking duties to have sex.
He'd had sex with Zoro. That had actually happened.
The blond stayed where he was, allowing himself a moment to decide how he felt about the night he'd just spent with the swordsman. It had been one of the most mind-blowing things that ever happened to him, and he wasn't quite sure if he should be freaking out because he'd just slept with a man, or because it was the marimo of all people. If only his lovely ladies could see him now, thoroughly fucked and covered in his own dried come, they would certainly be overwhelmed with disbelief—he could barely believe it.
Something wet was slowly dripping down his thigh from his stinging behind, and Sanji was abruptly done with his moment of silent reflection. He slipped out from under the swordsman's arm, who mumbled something in his sleep and reached out for the warmth of another person, and dashed into the bathroom to wash the sweat and come from his body. Once he was clean and feeling properly refreshed, he slipped back into the room to find his pants. Remembering that his dress shirt was still stained with wine, Sanji slipped on the swordsman's trademark white t-shirt, amused at how it hung off of his smaller frame. It smelled like Zoro.
He was sipping a cup of instant coffee and flipping through the room service menu at the table when Zoro roused himself from his slumber with a loud yawn. The green-haired man turned over in bed, stretching his arm out to feel the side where Sanji had been sleeping, before sighing sullenly and curling back into a comfortable cocoon of blankets.
"Oi, marimo. You gonna sleep all day?"
Zoro gasped at the sound of the blond's voice, shooting up into a seated position and looking wildly around the room. His gaze locked with Sanji's, face pale as he regarded the cook's appearance with utter disbelief and comically wide eyes.
"You're here—I mean, you're still here."
"Tch. A 'hello' or 'good morning' would've been nice. You look like a damn goldfish with your eyes bugging out like that," Sanji told him, casually sipping at his coffee—it was terrible, but he desperately needed the caffeine after their energetic romp. It was slightly possible that they may have overdone it a little bit.
"Is that my shirt?" Zoro asked, gesturing for Sanji to come closer.
"The least you can do is lend it to me after spilling on mine."
He set down his coffee and joined the swordsman in bed, seating himself at the edge so that Zoro could absently run his hand over the cook's shoulder as if to assure himself that he were real. Zoro didn't miss the slight wince on his face when the blond sat on the mattress.
"Shit. Are you…?"
"Sore? Yeah. My ass stings like a fucking bitch," he commented calmly. It was amazing how easy it was for him to act casual after something so unbelievable.
"I'm sorry—I should have shown some restraint. I didn't expect you to…I mean…"
"It's fine. I was asking for it."
"More like begging."
"That's…I—I didn't…bastard!"
"Yeah, that kinda sounds like you can't even deny it."
"Maybe I'll start denying you your daily pick-me-ups—say goodbye to training and walking up stairs without getting winded!"
Zoro smirked at him knowingly. "You won't do that. You're a cook whose purpose is to feed people and keep their bodies healthy and strong. I should've known that I had you when we figured out how the curse worked—you would never stand by and let me suffer like that."
"Oh, so now you think you own me or something?" Sanji growled, jumping at his choice of words.
"I didn't say that. I just meant that you were easy to convince under the circumstances."
"There was no convincing involved, idiot-swordsman. You just…" Sanji paused, trying to think of the best way to describe what he'd been feeling when he decided to be intimate with Zoro. "You just grew on me…like some sort of potted plant that needed daily watering, and the more I watered you, the more enticing you became."
Zoro chuckled, ruffling the cook's freshly washed hair just to piss him off. "Have I ever told you that you might—possibly—be sort of remotely funny…just a little bit?"
Sanji glared at him between strands of messy blond hair, making no move to fix its disarray. He looked so gorgeous out of his usual perfectly tailored attire, wearing Zoro's wrinkled shirt with no socks or tie, hair sticking up all over the place, and no trademark cigarette hanging from those perfect lips. Zoro stole a kiss, unable to help himself.
"Damn it, let me get my bearings first! I haven't even begun processing what the fuck happened last night. Give me a bit of space before you maul me to death."
"It was one kiss!" Zoro complained. "Number nineteen…I think…I don't know for sure. We were at sixteen when we got to the hotel. Then you kissed me when we started, and I think I caved somewhere near the end and kissed you again even though I was trying to avoid it…"
"We fucked up the count, didn't we?"
"Yep. That'll make things difficult near the end."
Sanji sighed. "We'll worry about it later. Want to order breakfast? I'm starving."
"Get whatever you want. I'm gonna take a shower first." Zoro looked down at his stomach, still messy from Sanji's orgasm, and threw back the covers. The cook felt his cheeks growing warm at the sight of Zoro's completely naked body, tanned skin contrasting beautifully with the white sheets, and had to resist the urge to put his hands on the swordsman.
There was something different about it now, seeing Zoro like this in the morning, because Sanji could picture him in the dark of the night as he'd been working the blond's body into a frenzy of eroticism. Flashes of memory were causing the cook to stare, his eyes following Zoro's every move as he climbed out of bed and picked up his discarded clothes. His backside was particularly distracting, because Sanji couldn't remember getting a very good view of it, though he was sure Zoro had seen plenty of his, and suddenly he recalled Zoro telling him that he could choose top or bottom.
Sanji found himself wondering if they were going to have sex again, and if he'd ever be able to make Zoro feel as good as he'd felt being penetrated by the swordsman. The cook could feel himself becoming hard and had to force his thoughts in another direction. He knew then that he wasn't just interested in a one-time thing—it hadn't just been some sort of experiment testing the limits of his sexuality—Sanji wanted to do it again and again even after the curse had been passed on.
He decided to spend the rest of the morning enjoying the after-sex glow, ordering all of their favourite foods from room service and surprising the swordsman by paying for their meal so that he wouldn't have to waste the last of the money he'd earned from the bounty. They ate together in comfortable silence, Sanji still wearing Zoro's shirt, and Zoro secretly harbouring a sense of pride at seeing the cook in his clothes.
"I told you that anything you decide will be fine with me as long as we're still nakama, so just…promise that you'll tell me what you're thinking after you process what happened," Zoro told him quietly.
Sanji finished the food on his plate, nodding in agreement. "I don't know what any of this means to you, or what it'll mean to me if we continue it…but I'm pretty sure I don't want last night to be the only time we do it."
"You mean that? You really enjoyed it?" Zoro asked unsurely.
"Don't be an idiot, marimo. I wouldn't have been able to come twice if I hadn't enjoyed it, and I told you it was good, didn't I?"
"I think the word you used was amazing."
"That was only in reference to the blowjob. I'm not really sure about the rest since I don't have anything to compare it to—we might have to go another couple of rounds."
"Sure you do—you've had sex with plenty of girls."
"It's…different. I can't explain it, but it's in a whole other category of experiences."
"As long as you're happy," Zoro said absently, devouring his last blueberry waffle with gusto.
I am happy, Sanji realized with amazement. He hadn't been this happy in a while. Nothing was really wrong in his life at the moment, other than the usual encounters with death and danger that was only to be expected on their pirate adventure, but he could tell that the curse had been giving him something to look forward to ever since Zoro had taken it from him. Sanji's curiosity had developed into a new kind of desire that he wasn't sure he fully understood yet. His body seemed to be ahead of his mind—it craved the swordsman's touch while his brain was still in the realm of imagination. There were so many things he could see himself doing with Zoro—things that he'd never considered doing with a lady. It would only be a matter of time before he made up his mind to actually initiate those things. The next few weeks are going to be interesting to say the least.
"Where have you two been all night?" Nami asked immediately when Sanji and Zoro finally returned to the ship. "It's almost lunchtime."
"My apologies, Nami-swan! I'm a terrible failure as your cook—I'll prepare lunch right away and even make all of your favourites! Please forgive me!"
Nami waved him off, turning to the swordsman as the blond hastened to the kitchen to start what would inevitably be a top-notch meal surpassing even his usual standards.
"Did something happen?" she asked him suspiciously.
"Like what?"
"Like with the curse. Why didn't either of you come back to the ship last night? If something happened, you should tell the crew about it—especially if it kept you out of commission all night!"
"No, it was nothing like that," he assured her. "The cook and I just went to a bar—had a lot to drink, so we just crashed at a cheap hotel instead of trying to make it back to the docks."
"Really? You had the money for a hotel when you still owe me…how much?"
"Curly-brow took care of it, so get off my back, woman."
"Pray tell, what fine establishment bested Roronoa Zoro's liquor tolerance?"
"I don't remember. What's with all the questions? I'm a grown man, you know—I can handle myself."
"Usually I'd agree, but this curse is an unusual circumstance. You seem to be in perfect health, even though it's been more than a week since you picked it up."
"What do you think I went to the bar for? Now quit bothering me. You're not the only one who missed Sanji's cooking—I want to eat lunch."
"Hmm…you're missing Sanji's something," Nami muttered to herself as the swordsman stomped away towards the galley.
He found Sanji in the kitchen, apologizing profusely to a perfectly content Robin, who was enjoying a cup of coffee and reading at the table. "Nonsense, Cook-san," she told him kindly. "You work so hard around here. I'm glad you got to enjoy some time off. You did enjoy yourself last night, didn't you?"
"Huh? Well I—uh…it was nice to take a break, I suppose," he told her, flustered.
Robin shot Zoro a knowing smile as the swordsman entered the room. She turned back to the blond with a sly grin and said, "I hope Swordsman-san showed you a good time."
"I—I'm sure I don't know w-what you mean, Robin-chan."
"Of course you do. The two of you went out last night, did you not?"
"Oh! Yes, we went to a bar. The shitty-swordsman was looking for some company, so I decided to help him—find some company I mean…because of the curse!" he explained hastily.
She turned from the blushing cook to observe Zoro, stating, "It seems to have worked. I hope you both slept well." Sanji just stared at her, fiddling nervously with his apron and shooting Zoro admonishing glances in a silent plea for him to jump in and diffuse the awkward situation.
"Stop teasing him, Robin, he's going to explode."
"My apologies. I shouldn't be so cruel," she told him, laughing softly.
Sanji looked between the two of them in confusion. "You can drop the act, Cook. She knows."
He stared at Zoro in horror. "You told Robin-chan that we had sex?!"
Robin covered her mouth with a delicate hand, smiling behind it with amusement. "Use your brain, curly. How could I have when you walked in here before me? I meant that she knows you've been helping me with the curse."
Sanji paled and clapped his hand over his mouth in a similar gesture to Robin's. "Oh, fuck!"
"Don't worry, Cook-san…I won't tell," she promised him, smiling gleefully.
"Oh my God, why did I say that?! Robin-chan, I am so sorry! A lady shouldn't have to hear about such an indelicate affair."
"Affair? I didn't realize you were engaging in other relations, curly-brow. You ought to tell a guy these things before you sleep with him."
"Shut up, marimo, you bastard! I am clearly mortified here, so lay off with the jokes, will you?" He put his face in his hands and took a few deep breaths. "I am going to finish making lunch, and then I am going to jump ship and drown myself in the ocean."
"Don't be such a drama queen—she said she wouldn't tell. Nami might be catching onto something though. She was hinting that she thought you were the one helping me with the curse, and it's honestly not hard to figure out since we were at sea for over a week with only four living men onboard and a reindeer." Sanji seemed to sink even further into mortification at the suggestion that his sweet Nami-san was also beginning to suspect them of whatever it was they were doing.
"Speaking of the curse, I happened to acquire some useful information from the town library," Robin told them. "It seems that since this is the next island after Loa, the Curse of 100 Kisses is well-known due to the pirates who have come here in search of male companionship over the years. There was a fair amount of research recorded in the old archives that complied facts and speculations about the nature of the curse."
"What kind of information did you find?" Zoro asked, since Sanji was still stewing in his own embarrassment.
"For one thing, my theory appears to have been correct regarding the early transference of the curse. A man who had previously been afflicted wrote about how he had picked up the curse from someone who had been passed out drunk at the time. It seems that Amara's curse does not take too kindly to people who take advantage of others."
"Can we at least agree that I wasn't taking advantage of the cook?" Zoro asked, feeling guilty despite himself.
"After last night, I'm less inclined to believe that your motives were wholly focused on saving my life, molesting-swordsman."
"I swear to God, I will kill you if you tell anyone that I molested you, shit-cook!"
"Yeah yeah, don't be such a drama queen," Sanji quoted slyly.
Zoro glared at him and turned back to Robin, a vein throbbing in irritation at his temple. "Anything else? What about kisses that don't count?"
"Ah, I did discover some interesting conditions about that. The theory is that a single kiss lasting for less than 100 minutes will only count as one. Multiple kisses with the same person will not be counted unless they are a minimum of 100 minutes apart, meaning that you could kiss as many times as you wanted until 100 minutes go by and the next kiss registers."
"Okay, so the one in the galley didn't count, because I'd just been kissed by Luffy, and everything after the first one last night would've also been within that timeframe…so including this morning, that means we're still at seventeen, curly."
Sanji's face flushed again, but he ignored Zoro's wanton disclosure and listened intently as Robin continued with an amused smile on her face. "I also read about a man who decided to collect volunteers—he was able to kiss multiple people in succession and still have the curse take each kiss into account regardless of the timeframe."
"So in other words, it's faster to end the curse by kissing as many people as possible, rather than the same person 100 times?" Sanji clarified.
"It seems that way, but there's no time limit for how long it takes to complete 100 kisses. As long as you never let 100 hours go by without kissing a man, the cursed person won't die a slow and painful death," Robin reminded them with another sly smile.
"That isn't so bad. We should be able to do that."
"We?" Sanji asked him, not even noticing that Robin was quietly excusing herself from the room.
"Well, yeah. You're still gonna help me with the 100 kisses, aren't you?"
"I can, but don't you want to finish them as quickly as possible so that we can get back to our journey without worrying about your health?"
"I've been doing alright so far."
"But what if something happens, and I can't get to you in time? What if you get separated from the crew or you fall down a mine shaft and get trapped underground for a week? You'll die regardless of how much will to live you have, idiot-swordsman. Your best bet is to just run around this big town kissing every man in sight—pretend you just won a load of money or something. You could pass the curse off to someone before we set sail. The log pose is gonna take a while to reset anyway."
The cook had turned his back to Zoro and was meticulously chopping and slicing ingredients for lunch. He didn't look up as the swordsman came towards him, standing so close that the blond could feel his breath tickling the back of his neck.
"Like Robin said, there's no rush." He gripped the back of Sanji's apron and pulled the other man against him, dropping a kiss on his collarbone where a faint love-bite was partially visible beneath the cook's dress shirt—he had put it back on after breakfast so that Zoro could have his shirt back, covering the wine stain with his buttoned up jacket.
"I thought I told you to give me some space," Sanji reminded him quietly, hands shaking slightly as he held the kitchen knife carefully away from their bodies.
"Did you mean it?" Zoro murmured against him.
"Yes."
He kissed the side of the cook's throat, running his tongue over the skin under his lips. "Do you still mean it?"
Sanji sighed, carefully setting the knife down beside the cutting board. He let Zoro turn him around so that they were facing each other. "I have conflicting feelings on the matter," he admitted as Zoro trailed his fingers along the sides of his neck and threaded them into his blond hair.
"You don't seem too conflicted," the swordsman commented when Sanji's lips parted in anticipation. They kissed slowly, barely touching except for Zoro's hands in his hair and the place where their lips met. "Look at the clock," he said as they pulled apart. "It's eleven-thirty."
"I didn't know you could read analogue, marimo."
Zoro ignored his jibe. "At 1:10 we can kiss again. That's 100 minutes from now, so it'll count as our twentieth kiss."
"Your math skills are on par with a twelve-year-old. Congratulations, you get a gold star."
"I'm being serious here, Cook," Zoro snapped in frustration. Sanji clearly wanted to kiss him—was so obviously attracted to him—but it seemed that he was still uncomfortable with Zoro's advances. "I don't want to convince you to do anything you don't want to, but I also don't want to kiss anyone but you. If you let me be a selfish bastard and take my time with this curse than I can promise that we don't have to change what we've been doing up until now. If you want, we can just kiss like we used to whenever you brought me snacks before my workout—quick and businesslike. That'll speed things up. 100 will be over in no time."
Sanji watched him intently as he spoke, frowning when Zoro pulled his hands away to give him some space. His frown deepened when Zoro proposed "quick and businesslike" kisses, but he continued scrutinizing the swordsman's demeanor in silence. After a long pause, the cook seemed to come to some sort of conclusion, breaking into a cocky smile.
"You really like me, huh?"
Zoro blinked, not expecting this reaction from the blond at all. "Wha—what?"
"I mean, as more than nakama. Last night you said that it was something you'd always wanted with me, and I'm pretty sure you alluded to having had wet dreams about me when you said that you half-expected the whole night to have been one."
"That was spoken in confidence during my post-orgasm ecstasy, and I will not confirm or deny that it was true," he stated instantly.
"How long?" Sanji asked. Zoro didn't need any clarification to know what he was asking. He was glad that the cook wasn't attempting to pry into the depth of his feelings quite yet, and instead, he simply wanted to know when Zoro had started caring about him as more than nakama.
"I'm not exactly sure—sometime after Alabasta, but before Thriller Bark, you just…grew on me."
Sanji nodded thoughtfully. He didn't seem willing to voice his own feelings, but Zoro didn't mind. He knew that it might take some time for the cook to begin understanding them himself—if they even were romantically inclined rather than purely physical. The swordsman would wait for him to figure it out, no matter how long it took.
"Thanks for being honest. I'm gonna make everyone lunch now. See you at 1:10, marimo—don't get lost on your way here and try to use that as an excuse for being late," Sanji told him, turning back to his preparation.
Zoro knew that he would wait for that annoying bastard if it took a lifetime.
