Sanji could not tell how many times he had watched Nami's DVD, and he did not care, because he just could not get enough of Sessa's first attempts at walking, her first word, or even her first ice cream, and soon knew every word that came out of Nami's or Sessa's mouth by heart. Zoro had quietly retreated at some point without Sanji noticing, but only to emerge moments later with a steaming cup of coffee, which he held under Sanji's nose.
"Here drink, so you don't miss anything else" he remarked wryly, settling back down on the couch, though he seemed anything but thrilled at the prospect of watching the DVD again. Carefully, Sanji sipped at the hot cup, whereupon his lips curled, and placed it back on the saucer.
"Ew, you still haven't learned how to make coffee, apparently."
The green-haired man crossed his arms defensively over his chest and snorted.
"I guess the word thank you is a foreign word to you."
"Well, I can look it up in the dictionary I gave you once. I'm sure I'll find you there too, under 'I' for idiot."
Sanji grinned as he remembered Zoro's birthday five years ago, when he had given him a joke dictionary with all the swear words, they had ever thrown at each other. Every year new words were added to it, for which Sanji had left a few extra pages blank, although he never thought that Zoro would continue it, until he had discovered it by chance sometime after they had reunited and curiously leafed through it. Whereby Zoro had written down not only swear words, but even whole dialogues of them. But it was nothing compared to the lawnmower hairbrush he had given him the following year, which made lawnmower noises as soon as the bristles touched the scalp. The swordsman's horrified face when he had thrown away his new hairbrush in shock had been simply priceless. To this day, Sanji still got a laughing fit when he thought of that day.
Zoro threw a sofa cushion in his face, slid lower on the couch until he was in a horizontal position, and threw his legs onto Sanji's lap, but the cook did not push them away. On the screen Nami appeared, this time with a still young version of Sessa, who was probably only a few weeks old, bouncing her little head up and down on Nami's torso as if she were a hen trying to pick up grains from the ground.
"What is she doing?" Zoro inquired.
"I'd say she's looking for Nami's breast because she's thirsty," Sanji replied, laughing.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because I imagine that when you were a baby, you could have had a breast held right in front of you and still you would not be able to find it and would bob your head aimlessly."
The laughter died abruptly as Zoro pulled his feet from him and jumped up. The dark eyes looked down coldly and unforgivingly at the cook, who did not understand Zoro's sudden anger, or at least would have expected him to counter his comment with one of his own.
"What do you know?"
Sanji raised his arms to calm Zoro down, but all he managed to do was, have Zoro block by raising his arms.
"Hey, come on I was just teasing you a little bit. But be honest... when was the last time we were able to talk to each other so light-heartedly?"
Sanji did not want to admit it to Zoro, but he had missed their little arguments. It was nice with Mihawk, perfect even, but that was also the problem, because the sword master was rather a calm and level-headed person, who did not solve quarrels with verbal attacks and didn't shout and that frustrated Sanji sometimes and made him angry, because he felt silly when he was the only one who shouted and got emotional.
He envied Mihawk´s ability and even though he had noticed that he did not explode quite as quickly as he used to, it still happened every now and then, especially when it came to Zoro, and he felt ashamed then, but Mihawk assured him that it was okay and that it was just as much a part of his passionate personality.
Zoro slumped back on the couch like a sack, breath escaping his lungs like air from a balloon.
"An eternity," Zoro confessed, looking down at his feet.
An invisible veil of silence settled over them, which neither of them was able to break because neither of them knew what to say. Finally, it was Sanji who broke the silence by clearing his throat loudly.
"Listen, I know a lot has happened, but... let us make a fresh start. As friends."
Zoro snorted.
"That might be hard if you move abroad," Zoro remarked, deliberately avoiding mentioning Mihawk's name, which made his stomach acid up again.
"It's not even certain yet that I'm moving abroad."
"Oh no, so Mihawk is moving in with you? Preferably still in our house, huh? Then the three of you can live here as a family!"
"I would never do that, rather I would..."
Sanji did not finish the sentence, instead his eyes wandered around, looking at the TV, the carpet the side table, the sofa, as if he were seeing everything for the first time, and he realized that he had to decide, whether he liked it or not. They were no longer together, yet they still had the house that connected them. And the shared memories they had experienced here, and he realized for the first time since their break-up that he could not sell the house, that he was attached to the house almost as much as he was to his childhood home. Then he would rather give the house to Zoro once it was paid off, although Zoro would be too proud to accept this gift. But perhaps he would agree to keep it for a tiny monthly rent.
Sanji raised his eyes and looked directly at Zoro.
"I would never kick you out and you know it. When the shooting is done, I will pay the balance we have to pay and then you can stay here if you like. Even rent if you want if it makes you sleep better."
Zoro stared at Sanji as if he were a stranger from another star. What was he doing alone in that house? Floating in painful memories of him? He might as well rip his heart out. Zoro shook his head.
"Do what you want with the house. You wanted a home of your own after all, I just wanted to live with you," Zoro said bitterly, grabbing his shoes and jacket. He could not stand it here any longer and just wanted to leave.
"Zoro wait! Where are you going? Let us talk about this, please?" the blond behind him was still inquiring, but Zoro ignored him, closing the door. The cook did not seem to be following him, which Zoro was quite happy about, and he hailed a cab while walking down the street a bit to make sure Sanji did not see him and possibly follow him after all. Not ten minutes later, the cab arrived. Zoro told the cab driver the address of the gym. A little workout would certainly help him clear his head, even if he could not overdo it yet because of his ribs. And I can say goodbye to everyone, he thought bitterly, watching the lights whizzing past them.
The gym was already slowly emptying, yet the reception area was still busy.
"Hey Zoro, good to see you! How are you?" Kyros inquired, looking up from his sports paper.
"I want to do some training. I don't have much time left for that..."
"I'm sorry they terminated you. That really sucks man."
"Well, trainers who can't train don't make money, it's that simple," Zoro said with a shrug.
"Still, the timing sucks. I mean so soon after the accident and everything..."
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
"I definitely wish you well, Zoro," Kyros said sincerely, returning Zoro's handshake in farewell before the mosshead climbed the stairs. There was also an elevator, but Zoro preferred to walk up. At this hour, the gym was only used by the insomniacs, some of whom worked out here until the wee hours of the morning, until they could almost barely walk or were finally tired enough to sleep. Since he was wearing casual clothes, he did not need to change and could therefore get right to the equipment. He decided on the treadmill and set the speed to medium at first and then wanted to slowly increase it. Zoro ran, as if he were fleeing. Fleeing from his worries, from his fears, and especially from the pain. It hurt that the cook seemed to be no longer attached to the house and wanted to leave it to him so that he could build a life together with Mihawk and his daughter. A life without him. Friends. How did he imagine that now that he was with Mihawk? That he was watching him make out with swordsmaster?
Zoro gritted his teeth and quickened the pace of the treadmill. As he did so, he noticed someone watching him. He was walking on the belt next to him, intently watching Zoro's every move, until it became too much for Zoro and he left the treadmill to stand in front of the one next to him.
"What's the matter? Do I have something on my nose?"
"No, although I must admit I like your nose. So does the rest of it," the guy said with a wink, eyeing the green-haired man unabashedly. He was slightly taller than Zoro, but also slimmer, and wore his blond, shoulder-length hair down.
"I'm Laurent*," he introduced himself and held out his hand to Zoro.
"Zoro," the green-haired man said, returning the handshake, albeit very hesitantly.
"Would you perhaps care to join me? I'm new in town and feeling a little lonely."
"No offense, but I don't feel like company. You'd better find someone else."
Laurent looked visibly disappointed but didn't want to give up so easily and tried to win Zoro over with his charm.
"That's really unfortunate, I would have an excellent Dom Perignon at home that I would be willing to share for a little company."
"I don't drink alcohol anymore, though." He had kicked the drinking habit since he began therapy, and though he still found it difficult to resist it at times, Zoro realized that, unlike his father, he could manage without it.
Laurent raised an eyebrow.
"That's too bad. How about dinner?"
Zoro was already a little hungry after all that running around and agreed. It did not have to be for long; after all, he had his first therapy session tomorrow, where he was supposed to meet his new therapist. After showering, they walked to the parking lot, where by now there was only a red convertible with a black cloth top, in which Zoro hesitantly took a seat. He had thought that they would go to one of the pubs around the fitness center and was curious where the blond would drive him, but the latter only said that he wanted to surprise him.
When they finally stopped in front of a bright, spacious penthouse building, Zoro could not help but stare open-mouthed at the building as they walked up through the garage. The building's size and hip, walkable neighbourhood of bookstores, cosy cafes, theatres and museums, and open, brightly lit apartments above made it seem like another world as they rode the glassed-in elevator to the top floor. As Zoro walked across the marble floor into the living area, he realized that Laurent had obviously taken him to his place and felt visibly uncomfortable. Even though it had been a while since he had had sex with the cook, he felt little desire for physical closeness after today, especially not with a guy he had just met.
His sneakers squeaked on the marble tiles as Laurent led him through the spacious loft with its huge outdoor area. Zoro especially liked the big, round fireplace in the middle of the room, with a round cream-colored sofa wrapped around it, even if he did not like to admit it, because he did not think much of excessive decadence, which seemed to literally ooze out of every pore of this loft.
"I thought we were going to eat something. Outside."
"We will. I just prefer to eat at home, don't be mad at me is such a tick of mine."
Laurent clapped his hands together and rubbed his palms.
"Then I'll whip us up something delicious," he promised, and was already moving toward the open kitchen area that separated the kitchen and living room by a counter, where Zoro sat down on a stool to watch Laurent cook. He was skilled, though not as skilled as the chef, and diced and chopped for all he was worth, while talking to Zoro and slipped him a glass of water, from which the mosshead drank.
"Do you come to the gym often?"
"I used to."
"Why only before?"
"Because I haven't worked there recently, that's why," Zoro explained, and Laurent looked up from his work.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. It was paid poorly anyway, considering how long I had to work."
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know yet. What do you do for a living? Are you like a CEO or IT multi-billionaire?"
"No, not that. I prefer to work with people."
"And that's how you can afford this apartment?"
"No, but through smart investments. And those allow me to pursue what fulfils me. People. And what fulfils you?"
Zoro nearly choked on the glass of water he was sipping.
"Fulfilling?"
"Yes, what makes you happy?"
Zoro was so surprised by the question that he instinctively named the first thing that came to mind.
"Spending time with my friends. Playing sports."
"What kind of sports?"
"Sword fighting, martial arts, weightlifting."
"No wonder you're so fit. It's great to have friends with whom you share common hobbies."
"Actually, they're all not that sporty. I fight with Luffy from time to time or play football or basketball with him, Franky and Ussop, but that's about it."
"That's already more than I do. Unfortunately, I don't have much time for sports and even less for friends."
"If you're up for it, why don't you come rafting with us this weekend?"
"That sounds exciting," Laurent said, and started cooking dinner.
They talked about sports for a while longer, with mostly Zoro narrating and Laurent only asking a question now and then because he was focused on cooking, but still he listened with interest and kept asking questions that Zoro was happy to answer, since it was very rare that someone was interested in weightlifting, or even sword fighting, let alone the basics, and Zoro slowly lost his initial scepticism towards Laurent and started to open up more and more. He even forgot about the cook and his argument with him, at least until they were sitting down to dinner and Laurent apologized for practically kidnapping him.
"It's okay, I'm quite happy about it after this day."
"That bad?"
"Quite."
"If you are tired, I'd be happy to drive you home. Or if you want, you can sleep on the couch if you don't want to be alone."
"Thanks, but I'll take a cab."
"Are you sure? You look tired. I do not mind; in fact, I would enjoy the company. The couch is extremely comfortable, but if you want, you're welcome to sleep in the bedroom and I will lie down on the couch. Or we can both lie down in the bed. It's big enough for two," Laurent revealed to him with a wink.
"No, thanks. I can't, I have an appointment tomorrow and I have to change beforehand."
"Can I at least drive you home then?"
Zoro agreed because he needed to save some money until he found a new job. On the drive, they talked a bit more about places to go if they wanted to experience something in the evening and about restaurants, and Zoro mentioned Baratié, albeit unintentionally.
"Baratié? I think I have heard that name somewhere. Have you been there before?"
"Yeah, a couple of times," Zoro said, and asked Laurent to let him out at the corner in front of Franky's apartment.
"Maybe we could have dinner there together sometime."
"I'd rather not. Thanks for the ride," Zoro said and turned his back on the car as well. He would sooner amputate his foot than eat at the baratié with Laurent. Patty and Carne would tell the cook about it, and then he would freak out as always. Or maybe not, after all, they were not together anymore. Zoro shuffled up the stairs and opened the door as quietly as possible with the spare key Franky had given him, since he was probably already asleep, and slipped into the guest room, where he stripped down to his shorts, got into bed, leaving the light on, and set the alarm on his cell phone so he would not accidentally oversleep.
But as soon as his display lit up, he saw that he had received at least 20 messages and 15 calls from the cook because he had put his phone on silent. Although he was too tired, he still opened a few messages, but he only skimmed them.
Damn it why do you always have to disappear right away? Come back and let us talk.
Zoro, where are you? Come back! I am worried!
Why the hell are you doing this?
Fuck you, I am going to my father's place!
Zoro set the alarm and angrily put the cell phone next to his pillow. Damn it, why does he always make such a fuss when he leaves the house alone? He was old enough to take care of himself he thought before falling asleep.
When he awoke the next day, Franky was already sitting down to breakfast and greeted him, in good spirits as always, and slipped him one of his special breakfast sandwiches.
"Well, how was your evening with Sanji yesterday? Did you guys talk?"
"Please, not on an empty stomach, Franky," Zoro mumbled with his mouth full.
"So, you didn´t talk. Man Zoro, can you guys talk without fighting too?"
"He's the one who wants to move away! And our house is probably being sold too!"
"And why do you think?" Franky sighed.
"Zoro, Sanji's leaving again tomorrow, and after that you probably won't see him at all until the filming. And you can guess what is going to happen after filming. You can't let him go like that."
"I don't want him to go at all..." Zoro whispered.
"Then tell him that!"
"And what good will that do? He's with Mihawk, and he's certainly not going to give up his dream house in Spain for him."
"Who knows, maybe he will. It would be a good opportunity to test how important Sanji is to him."
"Or vice versa." Zoro was afraid of that because he thought he already knew the answer.
"It's worth a try, at least. Come I'll drive you to your appointment."
Franky drove him to the doctor´s office, which was in a bay-windowed row house built of brownstone and wished him good luck as a farewell before continuing to a client appointment.
Zoro walked along the path lined with fine white gravel, ringing the bell, and nervously bobbing his foot as he waited for the door to open and for the doctor, or at least his secretary, to receive him, but nothing happened, so he rang the bell again. This time he heard footsteps from inside, rapidly approaching the door, and the squeak of hinges as the heavy door opened and two bright blue eyes eyed him through black nickel glasses.
"Zoro, what are you doing here?"
The green-haired man visibly struggled for words.
"I... I have an appointment. With Dr. Thierry."
"Oh...well, that...would be me."
Zoro stared stunned at the brass sign, next to the door, that he only noticed at that moment.
Dr. Laurent Thierry
Psychotherapist
*This character is based on the character of Laurent Thierry from the Netflix series Great Pretender, even though he does not do the same job professionally. :D