Two Months Later
"Hey Mosshead! Hey!"
He groaned.
Five more minutes.
"Wake up idiot, you're gonna miss your tournament."
His eye sprang open as he threw back the covers and scrambled out of bed.
"Finally..." The Cook muttered. "I knew that would work."
He faked a laugh.
"Fine, next time you can just miss it." The blonde teased.
Zoro rolled his eye before his hakama was thrown over his head.
He pulled it away to find Sanji fussing around.
"Get ready! We leave in ten."
Walking downstairs Sanji pulled out his phone and quickly wrote a text.
He jumped when he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder.
"Oi!"
He slapped it away with a huffy expression.
"Don't do that!"
To his credit, Zoro did look guilty.
'SORRY'
He quickly sent the text before shoving his phone into his pocket.
"Okay. Shinai?"
"Check."
"Helmet?"
"Check."
"Awesome swordsman?" Sanji grinned.
Zoro blushed a little.
"Shut up... idiot." His boyfriend insulted fondly.
"Come on then, let's go."
He held out his hand.
Zoro smiled softly before taking it.
As they arrived, Zoro rushed off to get ready.
The others were gathered at the entrance to the dojo... along with a special guest.
Sanji beamed.
Rayleigh sat between himself and Luffy.
Everyone fussed over him but he simply brushed off their attempts with a smile insisting that he was completely fine.
Sanji's focus lay solely on Zoro who soon emerged in a line amongst the other competitors in the tournament.
He knew he should say something though. He'd been the one to come up with the idea but he'd left the execution of the plan up to the others.
Why was he so scared?
The final began a minute or so later with Zoro up first. The match was a short one and soon enough the green-haired idiot had pulled off a quick victory to progress to the next round.
"He nearly quit you know? Well... he actually did for a while, but he's back now and he's still as talented as he ever was. I think you had something to do with that."
Sanji quickly shook his head.
"Me? No. Kuina is the one you should thank for that."
"Maybe; she got him to return back once again, but you're the one who kept him going." Rayleigh smiled.
"I'm sure I wasn't."
"Don't sell yourself short like that, kiddo; you and your friends attending all his training sessions made him fall back in love with kendo. He'd come home so excited by it all and would not stop talking about it. I haven't seen him smile that it a long time, so thank you."
Sanji nodded.
"You mean a lot to Zoro, I hope you know that."
"I do."
"GO ON!"
"YOU CAN DO IT!"
"GO ZORO!"
The Straw Hats screamed, and then...
Sanji gasped as his eyes widened.
"Oh my god..."
"Did he just?"
"Z-Zoro won..." He forced out in disbelief before he broke out in a broad smile. "HE WON!"
"HE WON!" Luffy joined in.
He glanced to Rayleigh who had tears in his eyes as he watched Zoro roar out in celebration of his victory.
He couldn't help but notice the hint of sadness in his boyfriend's expression though.
Sanji placed a hand gently on his shoulder before...
"HEY MOSSHEAD!"
Even after delivering the winning blow.
Even after the shock of his victory had ebbed away.
Even after hearing the support of his friends screaming in sheer joy for him...
A part of his heart felt empty.
He'd known that he wouldn't be able to attend for months so why the hell did he still feel like shit?
He just hoped he would be able to fake a smile for Luffy and Sanji-
"HEY MOSSHEAD!"
He froze.
Sanji had shouted.
He never used his voice in front of this many people, what the hell was he-
Turning to the stands he quickly located the blonde before his eye widened.
He dropped his shinai as his eyes welled up with tears.
Zoro sprinted over wordlessly before those warm arms he'd missed so much came to pull him close, collecting him against his chest.
"Rayleigh!" He sobbed.
The old man was crying too.
And so were the Straw Hats.
Cry babies...
"It's okay, Zoro, you're okay."
He just held on tight and wished this euphoria would never end.
After Zoro was presented with his trophy and Rayleigh had taken enough photos of them to fill an entire memory card, his nurse had arrived to take him back to the hospital.
Zoro hadn't taken it as hard as he'd expected, but maybe even just getting the chance to see his Dad somewhere outside of that clinical place was enough to have him smiling for the rest of the month.
The rest of the gang had headed off home leaving just the two of them as Zoro gathered his stuff together in the locker room.
"Are you okay?" He spoke up softly.
A silent nod followed.
Was that the truth?
"Because it's okay if you're not, I know it must be hard to see-."
Zoro rushed forward and smashed their lips together.
Sanji didn't move a muscle as he stood initially stunned before a smile came to his face a few seconds later and he leant in further.
"What was that for?" He asked softly as they pulled away.
"Thank you."
The blonde rose a hand and gently placed it on his cheek before pulling him closer once again and pecking him on the lips.
"I was worried it might make you feel worse."
Zoro shook his head.
"This was the best day of my life."
Sanji gasped.
"So thank you for that."
A hand was held out to him.
He smile before taking it, intertwining their fingers.
"I love you."
"I love you too you green softie."