After burying their lost one, Sanji and Zoro ate at Zeff's house and finally decided it was time to head back home to the rest of the cat family.
"Thanks for dinner and letting us bury the kitten out back old man." Zoro always picked up on some of Sanji's habits.
A foot swung at him and made contact with his gut before he could dodge or block it, making him cough.
"Goddamn you rotten brats! How many times do I have to tell you not to call me old man?!" Sanji and the other two boys just laughed at the two men.
"Geezer, stop beating on him. He still has 3 more cats at my apartment that he needs to take care of, so I need him alive," Sanji said. He knew Zoro could handle what the old man did to him. At the mention of the cats though, the two boys waiting for their adoptive father in the living room got super excited.
"Dad! Can we have one? PLEASE?" Cooper asked. Both boys put on their best puppy dog faces.
"NO! Maybe once you learn how to cook a decent meal for yourself, you'll be able to take care of another animal. Now go shower. The two of you need to be getting to bed soon. You have school tomorrow." Both boys sighed in disappointment and slowly decided to head to their bathroom to shower.
"Awww.. Alright. Bye big bro," Cooper said.
"Bye Zoro," Jake said, as they walked away.
Zoro and Sanji were trying not to laugh in the doorway of the house as the two boys made a dramatic exit up the stairs to do as they were told. Zeff just grumbled at them and shut the front door in their faces. The two men finally let it out and started laughing.
"Who would've guessed that your old man would decide to adopt two more boys after raising you?" Zoro mentioned. "I guess he's got a heart after all."
Sanji let them both into the apartment and immediately, Sugar ran up to them, walking around their feet and meowing.
"Someone is glad we're home I guess." Sanji giggled and reached down to pet her. He caressed her as she walked herself under his hand, purring the entire time.
"How are we going to get her to my apartment?" Zoro walked in and shut the door behind him.
"We don't have to. I don't think it's a good idea to keep moving them. Especially since the kittens aren't moving much yet other than wandering around the kitchen sometimes. Besides, with your empty skull, you'd probably forget about them." Zoro followed the blonde as he stood up finally, kicked off his shoes and headed to the kitchen. "I think it would be best if we put their stuff in the bathroom until we get a real bed for them. I don't know where else to put the litter box either, but the bathroom is big enough that it should be fine."
They continued to discuss matters concerning the cats and came to the conclusion that Sanji would be the one to buy them a bed instead of a box, but Zoro was supposed to find a vet in the area to take them all to very soon. While discussing it, they moved the cats and set up the bathroom. Sugar had finally put on a little more weight, but her ribs and hips were still very noticeable.
Sanji and Zoro stood together in the bathroom, watching Sugar purr as her kittens nursed a little and fell asleep against her.
"Are we just going to do this? Pretend like last night didn't happen?" Sanji asked, still looking at the cats. He wasn't sure he was ready to see Zoro's reaction to his comment.
A few moments of silence followed until Zoro finally spoke up. "I guess I just kinda freaked. I've been waiting to be with you for a while now. Sometimes I still have to convince myself that all of this isn't just a dream from me being in a coma or something. Plus, after waiting for so long, I'd really like to enjoy my time with you. I told myself I was gonna take it slow with you if this ever happened between us. I just don't want to rush this and you realize it's a mistake and hate me." Well.. he wasn't lying at least.
Sanji didn't say a word, just thinking about what Zoro said. He could understand that. After wanting someone for a long time, when you finally have them, he'd want to enjoy every second of it too. "I guess I can understand that. By why didn't you just tell me that before instead of running out on me?"
Zoro finally turned to look at Sanji. "I didn't want you to think I was going soft. Besides, I thought you wanted this to be slow. If you rile me up right before we get to the good stuff, I don't know if I'd be able to stop myself." He kissed Sanji roughly, with both hands on the blonde's cheeks. "Unless you think you're ready."
Blue eyes gazed into brown, as Sanji thought about what that really meant. What it truly meant.
Sex. Gay sex. That meant something hard going into unknown territory.
"You don't have to look so terrified." It was followed by a small chuckle. "Didn't think about what it meant to be with a guy yet, huh? C'mon. It's late. I should go home and you should get some sleep."
Sanji really wanted to ask him to stay. But… he may have some things to think about. What this relationship between them means. Maybe a night alone would be good for him.
"You're right. It's late. And for once, we both have work tomorrow." They took a step away from one another and walked to the door.
They said their goodbyes and finally headed their separate ways, each crawling into their own empty beds, thinking about the other.
Sometime in the night, Sanji had a visitor. Mama of the kittens needed a warmer place to sleep, I guess.
He climbed out of bed, turning his alarm off before it could disturb her. Sanji went about his usual routine.
Until his phone went off. That's unusual. No one texts him this early in the morning.
Checking his phone on the way to the bathroom, it was Zoro that texted him. He opened the message to see something he never thought he'd see. It was a picture..
Barely at the bottom of the picture, some of the most defined abs he'd ever seen with a little green happy trail, led into the top of a colorful pair of boxers. A picture of rock hard length, hiding and straining beneath the boxers covering it.
~Thinking about you this morning ;)
Shocked, Sanji made his way to the bathroom, fully intending on playing along.
On the other side of the phone, Zoro was hoping he wasn't pushing his luck with the picture. Hiding his attraction to his best friend was just pointless now it seemed.
After overthinking for a few minutes, his phone finally went off. A picture message from Sanji…
The mirror in Sanji's bathroom had started to fog up from his morning shower, but it didn't hide the very defined abdominal muscles that Sanji clearly had. The image made Zoro smile. Sanji was a beautiful man. He had finally been successful and this beautiful man was his and he didn't have to hide his feelings anymore. Sanji was doing this for him. And him alone.
Moments like these were the most fulfilling.
Days like this turned into weeks and then into months. Everything seemed too good to be true. Senshi and her babies had finally put on some healthy weight and their hair had grown back. Senshi, was now Zoro's cat. By now, they had both started to call her mama as her nickname. Their relationship felt just right.
Sanji thought today was going to be just like every other day, with his own little twist added. The Baratie was catering to a large event the next day, so the entire staff helped with setting up today. Luckily, with all the hands they had to help them, they were finished early. Sanji decided he wanted to spend the day with Zoro, but it was going to be a surprise.
Sanji walked into Zoro's apartment and was happily greeted by mama kitty. Zoro gets off work around 3, but usually stays until around 5 to grade students' papers. It was only a little after 2 so he had plenty of time to put his plan into action. He'd bought groceries on the way and found himself at home. Grabbing a starter beer, he took a big gulp and stripped himself of his blazer. After popping open a few buttons on his undershirt, he rolled his sleeves and began prepping for the meal he was about to make for his boyfriend.
He had decided on a simple dish, chicken alfredo pasta. Classic and delicious. He put on some background music, drank some more and fell into his rhythm of cooking. Seasoning the chicken, then throwing it in a skillet to cook while he started making the alfredo sauce from scratch all while the noodles were boiling on a back burner of the stove. This was what he loved.
Almost as much as Zoro. But he wasn't ready to admit that yet..
Before he knew it, it was close to 4 and the food was done. While he was cooking, Zoro had texted and said he'd be home around 4. Sooner than Sanji had planned. He quickly rushed around to set up the table with candles, flowers and all the dinnerware. He might be dating a man now, but if there is one thing Sanji knew how to do, it was romance. And he wanted to give Zoro a night he deserved. For being so patient with Sanji throughout their ups and downs.
Finally, the amount of alcohol he had drank hit him all at once and he realized he hadn't used the bathroom since he got to Zoro's.
Making sure all the flames were off, he wandered towards the bathroom. He was feeling very relaxed and had loosened up quite a bit since he had arrived.
When he got into the bathroom, all he could think about was Zoro's naked body standing in the shower. What a sight that had been..
Sanji was washing his hands when he heard the front door open. Zoro was finally home. He smiled, letting himself get excited about Zoro being home. He really hoped Zoro liked his surprise.
When he moved to dry his hands, something caught his eye in the mirror. It was tucked into the dirty laundry basket behind him.
Something purple. A deep gorgeous shade of purple.
But Zoro didn't own anything purple?
"Sanji? It smells good in here," Zoro hollered from the doorway. He was still taking off his boots and putting away his work items. He turned around to see Sanji, red in the face and coming right at him.
"What in the fuck is this? Care to explain yourself, you piece of shit." Sanji's hand came up and smacked Zoro in the chest hard. Enough to take Zoro's breath away for a second.
Zoro instinctively reached out to catch what Sanji had shoved at him. He looked down at his own hand in confusion and saw what Sanji was so upset about.
Zoro turned red, knowing Sanji had a right to be upset.
"It's not what you think honey. I swear." Zoro was at a loss. He wasn't ready for this moment. Sanji wasn't supposed to find out.
"Don't call me 'honey', you fucker. I trusted you. I believed you when you said you loved me." Sanji didn't want it to happen. His chest felt like it was on fire. This had to be a nightmare. It can't be real. "Tell me this is a fucking sick joke. Tell me… you're not cheating on me." He couldn't hold back the tears building in his eyes and he didn't care if Zoro saw it. If this was really happening, he wanted Zoro to see just how much he had hurt him.
Zoro couldn't find the words. For anything. Deep down, he knew he had to tell Sanji the truth.
His eyes met Sanji's for a brief moment, but he couldn't handle seeing the pain in that beautiful blue eye, so he did the only thing he could. He stared down at the cause of this whole situation.
The purple lace women's pair of panties that lay bunched up in his hand.
A/N: Yes. Finally. I have accomplished something again lol. The writing may be different just because it's been so long. I knew where I wanted to go with this chapter. It just took me a while longer than I'd hoped to figure out how to get there. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! I do really want to get back into writing more, but I've got 2 jobs currently and 5 dogs that need love and taken care of. I'll do my best to keep writing. Thank you for all your support! 3 I appreciate everyone more than you know.