"On What Grounds"
"He's here again," Usopp announced under his breath as he worked beside Zoro pulling espresso shots for a drink.
Zoro raised his gaze from the open fridge, crossing the clock to see it was 8 AM as usual. The familiar blond head stood in line as it had for the second day in a row. He wondered what the order would be today.
"I've got it."
"You sure?" Usopp asked, beginning to steam milk, an open container of skim milk sitting on the counter before him. "I know his tend to get complicated."
Zoro shrugged as he approached the cash register. "He hasn't stumped me yet, has he?"
"True."
The first two customers Zoro tended to were simple black coffee drinkers who took the cup Zoro handed them and served themselves from the line of carafes lining the counter further down the way.
The third was the face he would know in a crowd instantly. "Welcome to the Dirty Bean, what can I get for you today?"
Sanji's eyes met his steadily. "I'd like a large vanilla bean freeze with 3 scoops extra of vanilla bean, one scoop of java chips, one pump of mocha, one pump of hazelnut, with half oat milk, half heavy whipping cream. Extra whipped cream and mocha drizzle inside the cup and on the whipped cream." He smiled. "Please."
Ugh, so irritating.
Groaning inside, Zoro punched the order into the machine. He hated frozen drinks, which were far too sticky and loud for his tastes. Still, it was his job. Referring to his own memory as much as he could rather than the ticket that automatically printed out from the register, Zoro got to work.
The combination of sugar, ice, and coffee was massive and Zoro hoped Sanji ended up with a headache from it all. With the whirr of the blender booming behind him, Usopp busy filling the orders from the drive-thru, Zoro peered at the man who'd purposely riled him up.
Sanji was chatting with a regular named Robin who was seated at a table in the corner, the book she'd previously been reading laid aside. She was a quiet woman, coming in for a few hours twice a week to decompress from the world as far as Zoro could tell.
Zoro finished dumping the sugary mixture into a cup. He added the mound of whipped cream Sanji had requested and the mocha drizzle. Plopping down the lid on top and adding a straw, Zoro placed it on the pick-up counter.
"Vanilla Bean Freeze for Mr. Super Eyebrows," Zoro called out loudly, enjoying the brief moment of silence that fell in the room as they wondered who had ordered a drink under such a name. He smirked as Sanji marched forward to grab his drink, annoyance clear in his features.
"Stupid Marimo."
Zoro waved obnoxiously as Sanji turned away. "Thanks very much for your business."
Caught up on his end of work, Usopp scratched his head as he watched Sanji leave. "You have to wonder why he keeps coming here."
"The excellent service, of course," Zoro joked, making Usopp laugh. Noticing a few new customers start coming through the door, he elbowed Usopp lightly. "Look alive, it's go time."
The third morning, Sanji ordered, and Zoro quoted, "An extra-large half-caf almond milk raspberry latte with four pumps of vanilla, three pumps of hazelnut, and a splash of full cream, heated to exactly 130 degrees. Oh, and could he get that in blonde roast, taking extra care to stir everything thoroughly before the whipped topping was added?"
Begrudgingly, Zoro followed each pedantic instruction to the letter.
"Raspberry latte for Mr. Swirly Head!"
Sanji eyed him as he retrieved his drink, Zoro sure he'd be back tomorrow with an equally ridiculous and complex drink order.
The challenge was on.
And so it went for the next two mornings, Mr. Dumbass and Darts never failing to ask for exacting specifications.
Zoro swore he'd Googled one of the drinks just to see how much more complicated his order could get. Not that it really mattered, after three years of working at the Dirty Bean, there wasn't much of anything Zoro hadn't made on or off the menu.
"I don't see how you can stand serving that guy," Usopp muttered as they were cleaning up for the late afternoon shift. The majority of their customers had chosen to sit outside and enjoy the bright spring day. "He never even says thank you."
"You've only been working here for a few months. The worst customers are the ones who can't decide what they want or ask you to keep making the same drink over and over because it doesn't taste right, and you must have done something wrong."
Wiping tables down with a cloth, Usopp groaned. "Okay, yeah, that would be annoying."
Though his coworker was relatively new and still had a lot to learn about the job, he was a hard worker and never complained. Zoro thoroughly enjoyed his company, making sure his schedule matched up with Usopp's if he could help it.
Working with Franky or Brook was fine, but their boisterous personalities could be a bit much at times. Usopp at least could regale him with a few good stories during downtimes.
"Any plans for the weekend?" Usopp asked.
Zoro dropped his apron into his bag, ready to head home and take a nap. "Same old, same old. You?"
Thumbing his nose, Usopp smiled. "Kaya is coming over. Bringing along some coursework, but it'll be nice to see her again."
"She studies medicine at the university, right?"
Looking proud, Usopp nodded. "She's got a few years to go yet, but she's getting there."
Carrot's small statue approached Dirty Bean's glass doors, the much taller Brook at her side. She nearly bounced through the doors. "The relief team is here!"
"Was it a very busy shift?"
"Nothing we couldn't handle."
He fired up the game console to let off some much-needed stream, having spent the majority of the Saturday morning sleeping in. Zoro soon lost track of time playing a fighting game until the doorbell rang.
Zoro paused it and walked over to answer the door.
It was nearly midnight and Sanji was standing outside his door, holding a white canvass bag.
"Welcome home," Zoro said, moving out of the way to let Sanji inside the entryway.
Sanji put down the bag on the counter. Something smelled good inside it. He must have brought home a few goodies for them. "Good to be back."
Zoro leaned on the back of the couch. "You know, you didn't have to drive an hour out of your way each morning just to see me at the coffee shop," he said, Sanji peering at him with a raised eyebrow.
He stepped forward and hugged Zoro. "Of course I did. Otherwise, I'd have gone almost a whole week without seeing my boyfriend's grumpy face."
Zoro patted the back of Sanji's shoulder, glad his face was concealed. He had a feeling it was bright red.
"Restaurant all squared away?"
Sanji pulled back with a grin. "Yep, the staff is fully trained, and with any luck, Tangerine Dreams will be a massive success. Not that I have any doubts with Nami at the helm."
"Nice of you to help Nami and her sister out before the grand opening."
"I didn't do much beyond make the cooking staff and recipes were up to snuff." Sanji's All Blue restaurant was well-known for good reason, and he had left it behind in the capable hands of his father during the week.
Sanji let out a loud sigh. "It's so nice being home. I got tired of hotel beds. So big and lonely."
Zoro scoffed. "Come on, I know you were probably hanging out with the staff after hours. Lonely my ass."
Sanji went to put away the food he'd brought home. "Just to be friendly, Zoro. It doesn't mean I love you any less."
How could he say that with a straight face? They'd been together for almost two years, only moving into a house when it was decided it was cheaper than driving between each other's apartments all the time.
Sometimes Sanji drove Zoro up a wall, but the mutual sense of competition had made their relationship last. It was the longest Zoro had ever been with anyone, and he didn't regret a single moment of it.
"Fine." Zoro motioned to the TV with his head. "I've got One Piece going if you want to catch up on what you missed."
Sanji's eyes went bright with interest. "They released more content?"
"Yep," Zoro replied. "The Dressrosa DLC has a string and weapon master Devil Fruit eater in it."
"Nice."
Sanji sat down on the couch and grabbed the controller. He finished the fight Zoro had paused to answer the door, then quit to the main menu. Selecting the first mission again, he was showing the nameless mooks what for, making up for any lack of practice with pure button mashing skills.
A half-hour later, Sanji well into a tournament section, Zoro's curiosity got the better of him.
"Hey, did the drinks you ordered even taste good?"
Sanji's gaze ticked over to him for a few seconds and he smiled. "Why wouldn't they? You made them after all."
Damn, he'd struck again.
"You're an idiot." Zoro yanked Sanji close, kissing him while his chest warmed pleasantly. Sanji could say the sappiest shit and still make it sound genuine.
Sanji deepened the kiss as he climbed into Zoro's lap, abandoning the game controller completely.
His character, a green-haired barrier Devil Fruit user, faltered on the TV screen, ultimately coming to a standstill, the AI opponent kicking in to defeat him in seconds.
Leaning back a moment, his breathing a touch unsteady, Zoro chuckled. "I thought you wanted to play?"
"This is the first free time I've had in a week. Let me have my fun."
Supposing he couldn't begrudge Sanji that, Zoro let himself be pushed down onto the couch. Looking up into Sanji's face, he had a feeling he was in for a good time.
He had absolutely no problem with that.