There must have been something horribly wrong with the people who had first
designed this town. The damn place was set-up like a maze, and for
whatever reason, seemed to have more bait shops in it than there was
fisherman in the sea.
Early that day, as the crew had fist entered the port town, Sanji pulled Zoro aside and told him to meet him at a certain bait shop they had passed later in the day so the two of them could spend some time alone together.
They had shared lunch with the rest of the crew, and when they all got up to go their separate ways, Zoro walked for a bit, before making his way towards the designated spot to meet the cook.
The only problem was that the shop was not where he remembered it to be. So, more than a little perturbed, he started searching the town for the shop, growing angrier as he kept happening upon bait shop after bait shop, cursing, as not one was the one for which he was looking.
Zoro was beginning to lose his patience.
In the shadow of desperation, he returned to the bar where he had shared lunch with the cook and the rest of his crew shortly after docking. With a short wave of his hand, he beckoned the bartender towards him.
"Hey, I'm looking for my g-- the guy that I was in here earlier with."
"Can't say I remember. Can you describe him?"
"Well, he's a little shorter than me." Zoro waved his hand vaguely just above his own shoulder. "And, um, skinny."
The barkeep lifted an eyebrow.
"Anything else you can give me?"
"I dunno. He has a mouth. A big fat mouth." He snapped, irritated by the whole afternoon. Pissed that he had to spend time speaking to an old man about the missing cook, when he had hoped to have been spending the afternoon with the absent man doing other stuff that was a lot more fun, and required a lot less talking. Coherent talking, anyway.
"I see. Well, is he old? Young? Good looking guy?"
Zoro looked down and to the side.
"He's not deformed or anything."
He rubbed a hand across his face as the man in front of him continued to look clueless.
"Never mind. I'll keep looking. Thanks."
He walked out into the burnish late afternoon light, and stood in front of this tavern for a few moments, trying to decide what to do next.
Sanji was probably off baking a cake or something. Or, more likely, daunting on any girl that happen to walk by. Or, perhaps, he had finally found a way to combine the two and was baking cakes out of girls. Ok, that was sick. Maybe he was just baking a cake for girls to jump out of. Yeah, that was a lot more the Love Cook's style.
Zoro chuckled at his own cleverness.
"Well, it nice to see that you've been having fun."
***
He was not going to do it. No matter how much he wanted to, he wasn't. He was in control of himself, in control of his emotions, and he no matter much he wanted to, Sanji was not going to give in to his desire to plant a swift kick to the side of that grinning face before him.
He had finished his errands early, and had gone straight to the small bait shop where he and Zoro had agreed to meet. He had stood there, like an idiot, as hours slipped by without any sign of the swordsman. Finally giving up the meeting place as a lost cause, he had gone, silently seething, out into the crowded streets in search of the other man.
His irritation had only increased upon stumbling across a chuckling Zoro who looked amused and carefree, seeming not to care that he had, essentially, stood Sanji up.
He turned and walked into a conveniently empty ally off the swarming street, hearing footsteps as Zoro followed. When he was relatively sure that they had some privacy, he turned to face the green haired man.
"Where have you been?" he finally erupted, cursing himself as the question came out sounding far too much like a whine. He took a deep breath and searched for his dignity.
Zoro blinked at him, frowned, and said (speaking mostly to the dusty street), "... Around."
The blonde had to dig his right heel hard into the street to keep it grounded.
"You got lost again." Sanji accused knowingly.
"Don't say it like that!" Zoro shot back with his usual measure of indignation whenever his pathetic excuse for a sense of direction was brought to light.
Sanji looked up, searching for the strength needed NOT to turn this entire day into a complete disaster by launching into an all out battle with the other man. The lunacy of the situation did not fail to hit him. Here they were, arguing about who had caused them to lose more time together, when it probably didn't even matter since the both of them were finally together once again. It was so childish, and senseless, and stubborn, and so THEM, that he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from turning up ever so slowly as he was filled with something a lot like fondness and a little more thrilling than contentment.
"What the hell is so funny?"
There wasn't a force on the planet that could have stopped Sanji at that moment from leaning forward and capturing Zoro's pissed-off mouth with his own.
Zoro lips were stiff with surprise, but quickly melted against the blonde's in the natural way that made Sanji wonder why they had ever wasted time doing anything else in their lives other than kissing one another.
But then they were apart once again, as Zoro pulled back, face flushed (though, he would deny it if confronted as he always did), and looked around nervously.
"Idiot. Why are you doing that so openly? Anyone could have seen it!"
Sanji pushed the fall of blonde hair from his face, only for it to slip back over his eye almost immediately.
"No one's around, moron. I looked."
He took a quick glance again, just to make sure. Before Zoro had a chance to launch into a new tirade, he cut in.
"Come on. There are a lot more things I would rather be doing than having a pissing match with you all afternoon."
"Really? Like what?"
Immediately, the fine hairs on Sanji's body chilled and rose in response to the throaty tone that the swordsman's voice had adopted. He suddenly felt breathless, and irritatingly shy, but eager for things that they had only guessed so far through coy insinuations. It was infuriatingly confusing moments like these where Sanji had to wonder what in the hell they were both doing, and why weren't they doing more?
***
The rest of the early evening was spent easily, as the two men explored the town together, each silently reveling in the simple pleasure of spending time with one another away from the rest of the crew. It wasn't that they didn't enjoy the company of their friends (no matter how it could often appear), it was just that the company was always quite distracting, and always quite THERE, that it made enjoying a secret sort of relationship between two healthy men often quite difficult.
There was only one off moment for the two as they spent the evening walking around town. They had passed a young couple, observing the delight on the face of the pretty blonde girl as her boyfriend surprised her with flowers. Sanji smiled at the sight, only to have his attention pulled from the pair at the sound of an uncertain voice beside him.
"So, um, what kind of flowers do you like?"
Sanji stopped walking, turned, and focused solemn eyes on the swordsman. When he spoke, it was in a calm serious tone that was meant to convey the importance of his words.
"Zoro, if you ever bring me flowers, I will kill you."
A heartbeat past, and then Zoro responded in an equally sober voice.
"I understand."
Thus resolved, they continued on.
***
A while after the last traces of the sun had fled from the sky, they decided to stop in for a meal. Sanji chose the location, picking a small family owned restaurant by the piers that he had noticed earlier in the day.
It was decently lit, and the food wasn't great (by Sanji's standards), but it also wasn't too bad, so they both seemed happy with the choice.
Or, he was happy, and Zoro was mostly happy. The blonde man had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing. A young lady who worked there, with rich cinnamon eyes and dark hair that spilled to her waist, had been shooting admiring glances his way ever since he had walked in. He appreciated the attention (since he appreciated beautiful women in general), but what made the whole thing all that much better was the simmering jealousy that Zoro was trying so had to swallow.
On another day, he may not have reveled in naughty pleasure as he did that night, but he was still a little (just a little!) irritated at Zoro for getting lost and standing him up that afternoon. Yes, it was petty. But, although he was an adult and should be past things like this, he was still a 'young' adult, so he figured that he was still entitled to momentary lapses in maturity.
At one point, Zoro had gotten up to use the rest room. Almost as soon as the green haired man was out of sight, Sanji felt light foot falls approaching the table. He couldn't help smiling as the dark haired girl approached him shyly, holding a wine goblet out to him.
"Would you like to try this? Its the special house wine."
With a nod, he accepted the cup, and with a wink that caused the girl to blush even deeper than she already had been since her approach, he drank deeply.
The alcohol burned pleasantly as it was swallowed, and the chef in Sanji couldn't help but admire the surprisingly rich full flavor of the wine.
"This is excellent. Do you sell this by the bottle? I think that I would like to take some with me."
Seemingly excited by his interest, if only for the wine, she nodded eagerly.
"Y-yes. There's more in the back. If you come with me, I'll get you some."
The last part was added with a shy glance through her dark eyelashes, and Sanji knew that there was a chance that he may be pushing things a little too far if he got up and followed her into the back. He knew that Zoro was not going to be happy to come back and find him missing.
But, the cook was feeling a little reckless that night, and it wasn't like he was actually going to DO anything back there other than purchase wine.
With a smile and a nod, he rose to follow the lovely girl towards the back room of the restaurant.
The back room was empty when the two of them entered it. He stopped when she did to stand in the center of the dimly lit room, and he felt a little confused as she just stood there, not looking at him, not looking for the wine, not doing anything.
"Hey. Is everything OK?"
She finally turned and looked at him, her rich eyes now sad.
"I'm really sorry."
She sounded as if she were on the verge of tears. Sanji was even more confused, and since he could not bear to hear a women upset, he started to take a step towards her.
He didn't get far. With a sickening lurch of his stomach, the world around him blurred and darkened, and the last sound he heard was the approach of heavy foot steps, before he fell completely to darkness.
***
To be continued....
Early that day, as the crew had fist entered the port town, Sanji pulled Zoro aside and told him to meet him at a certain bait shop they had passed later in the day so the two of them could spend some time alone together.
They had shared lunch with the rest of the crew, and when they all got up to go their separate ways, Zoro walked for a bit, before making his way towards the designated spot to meet the cook.
The only problem was that the shop was not where he remembered it to be. So, more than a little perturbed, he started searching the town for the shop, growing angrier as he kept happening upon bait shop after bait shop, cursing, as not one was the one for which he was looking.
Zoro was beginning to lose his patience.
In the shadow of desperation, he returned to the bar where he had shared lunch with the cook and the rest of his crew shortly after docking. With a short wave of his hand, he beckoned the bartender towards him.
"Hey, I'm looking for my g-- the guy that I was in here earlier with."
"Can't say I remember. Can you describe him?"
"Well, he's a little shorter than me." Zoro waved his hand vaguely just above his own shoulder. "And, um, skinny."
The barkeep lifted an eyebrow.
"Anything else you can give me?"
"I dunno. He has a mouth. A big fat mouth." He snapped, irritated by the whole afternoon. Pissed that he had to spend time speaking to an old man about the missing cook, when he had hoped to have been spending the afternoon with the absent man doing other stuff that was a lot more fun, and required a lot less talking. Coherent talking, anyway.
"I see. Well, is he old? Young? Good looking guy?"
Zoro looked down and to the side.
"He's not deformed or anything."
He rubbed a hand across his face as the man in front of him continued to look clueless.
"Never mind. I'll keep looking. Thanks."
He walked out into the burnish late afternoon light, and stood in front of this tavern for a few moments, trying to decide what to do next.
Sanji was probably off baking a cake or something. Or, more likely, daunting on any girl that happen to walk by. Or, perhaps, he had finally found a way to combine the two and was baking cakes out of girls. Ok, that was sick. Maybe he was just baking a cake for girls to jump out of. Yeah, that was a lot more the Love Cook's style.
Zoro chuckled at his own cleverness.
"Well, it nice to see that you've been having fun."
***
He was not going to do it. No matter how much he wanted to, he wasn't. He was in control of himself, in control of his emotions, and he no matter much he wanted to, Sanji was not going to give in to his desire to plant a swift kick to the side of that grinning face before him.
He had finished his errands early, and had gone straight to the small bait shop where he and Zoro had agreed to meet. He had stood there, like an idiot, as hours slipped by without any sign of the swordsman. Finally giving up the meeting place as a lost cause, he had gone, silently seething, out into the crowded streets in search of the other man.
His irritation had only increased upon stumbling across a chuckling Zoro who looked amused and carefree, seeming not to care that he had, essentially, stood Sanji up.
He turned and walked into a conveniently empty ally off the swarming street, hearing footsteps as Zoro followed. When he was relatively sure that they had some privacy, he turned to face the green haired man.
"Where have you been?" he finally erupted, cursing himself as the question came out sounding far too much like a whine. He took a deep breath and searched for his dignity.
Zoro blinked at him, frowned, and said (speaking mostly to the dusty street), "... Around."
The blonde had to dig his right heel hard into the street to keep it grounded.
"You got lost again." Sanji accused knowingly.
"Don't say it like that!" Zoro shot back with his usual measure of indignation whenever his pathetic excuse for a sense of direction was brought to light.
Sanji looked up, searching for the strength needed NOT to turn this entire day into a complete disaster by launching into an all out battle with the other man. The lunacy of the situation did not fail to hit him. Here they were, arguing about who had caused them to lose more time together, when it probably didn't even matter since the both of them were finally together once again. It was so childish, and senseless, and stubborn, and so THEM, that he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from turning up ever so slowly as he was filled with something a lot like fondness and a little more thrilling than contentment.
"What the hell is so funny?"
There wasn't a force on the planet that could have stopped Sanji at that moment from leaning forward and capturing Zoro's pissed-off mouth with his own.
Zoro lips were stiff with surprise, but quickly melted against the blonde's in the natural way that made Sanji wonder why they had ever wasted time doing anything else in their lives other than kissing one another.
But then they were apart once again, as Zoro pulled back, face flushed (though, he would deny it if confronted as he always did), and looked around nervously.
"Idiot. Why are you doing that so openly? Anyone could have seen it!"
Sanji pushed the fall of blonde hair from his face, only for it to slip back over his eye almost immediately.
"No one's around, moron. I looked."
He took a quick glance again, just to make sure. Before Zoro had a chance to launch into a new tirade, he cut in.
"Come on. There are a lot more things I would rather be doing than having a pissing match with you all afternoon."
"Really? Like what?"
Immediately, the fine hairs on Sanji's body chilled and rose in response to the throaty tone that the swordsman's voice had adopted. He suddenly felt breathless, and irritatingly shy, but eager for things that they had only guessed so far through coy insinuations. It was infuriatingly confusing moments like these where Sanji had to wonder what in the hell they were both doing, and why weren't they doing more?
***
The rest of the early evening was spent easily, as the two men explored the town together, each silently reveling in the simple pleasure of spending time with one another away from the rest of the crew. It wasn't that they didn't enjoy the company of their friends (no matter how it could often appear), it was just that the company was always quite distracting, and always quite THERE, that it made enjoying a secret sort of relationship between two healthy men often quite difficult.
There was only one off moment for the two as they spent the evening walking around town. They had passed a young couple, observing the delight on the face of the pretty blonde girl as her boyfriend surprised her with flowers. Sanji smiled at the sight, only to have his attention pulled from the pair at the sound of an uncertain voice beside him.
"So, um, what kind of flowers do you like?"
Sanji stopped walking, turned, and focused solemn eyes on the swordsman. When he spoke, it was in a calm serious tone that was meant to convey the importance of his words.
"Zoro, if you ever bring me flowers, I will kill you."
A heartbeat past, and then Zoro responded in an equally sober voice.
"I understand."
Thus resolved, they continued on.
***
A while after the last traces of the sun had fled from the sky, they decided to stop in for a meal. Sanji chose the location, picking a small family owned restaurant by the piers that he had noticed earlier in the day.
It was decently lit, and the food wasn't great (by Sanji's standards), but it also wasn't too bad, so they both seemed happy with the choice.
Or, he was happy, and Zoro was mostly happy. The blonde man had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing. A young lady who worked there, with rich cinnamon eyes and dark hair that spilled to her waist, had been shooting admiring glances his way ever since he had walked in. He appreciated the attention (since he appreciated beautiful women in general), but what made the whole thing all that much better was the simmering jealousy that Zoro was trying so had to swallow.
On another day, he may not have reveled in naughty pleasure as he did that night, but he was still a little (just a little!) irritated at Zoro for getting lost and standing him up that afternoon. Yes, it was petty. But, although he was an adult and should be past things like this, he was still a 'young' adult, so he figured that he was still entitled to momentary lapses in maturity.
At one point, Zoro had gotten up to use the rest room. Almost as soon as the green haired man was out of sight, Sanji felt light foot falls approaching the table. He couldn't help smiling as the dark haired girl approached him shyly, holding a wine goblet out to him.
"Would you like to try this? Its the special house wine."
With a nod, he accepted the cup, and with a wink that caused the girl to blush even deeper than she already had been since her approach, he drank deeply.
The alcohol burned pleasantly as it was swallowed, and the chef in Sanji couldn't help but admire the surprisingly rich full flavor of the wine.
"This is excellent. Do you sell this by the bottle? I think that I would like to take some with me."
Seemingly excited by his interest, if only for the wine, she nodded eagerly.
"Y-yes. There's more in the back. If you come with me, I'll get you some."
The last part was added with a shy glance through her dark eyelashes, and Sanji knew that there was a chance that he may be pushing things a little too far if he got up and followed her into the back. He knew that Zoro was not going to be happy to come back and find him missing.
But, the cook was feeling a little reckless that night, and it wasn't like he was actually going to DO anything back there other than purchase wine.
With a smile and a nod, he rose to follow the lovely girl towards the back room of the restaurant.
The back room was empty when the two of them entered it. He stopped when she did to stand in the center of the dimly lit room, and he felt a little confused as she just stood there, not looking at him, not looking for the wine, not doing anything.
"Hey. Is everything OK?"
She finally turned and looked at him, her rich eyes now sad.
"I'm really sorry."
She sounded as if she were on the verge of tears. Sanji was even more confused, and since he could not bear to hear a women upset, he started to take a step towards her.
He didn't get far. With a sickening lurch of his stomach, the world around him blurred and darkened, and the last sound he heard was the approach of heavy foot steps, before he fell completely to darkness.
***
To be continued....