AN: This chapter was incredibly fun. I hope you all enjoy it too!
"I accept!" Luffy called out.
"You idiot, you shouldn't just accept everything that you hear!" Nami hit her captain.
"Good, can't back down from a challenge." Zoro grinned, hand on her swords.
"Agreed." Sanji stepped forward beside her. Their captain had taken it upon himself to accept a series of games with a rival pirate group, the Foxy Pirates. The rules were simple. Each round there would be a challenge and the winning group could steal a team member from the opposite group. The Foxy team was able to choose the first game.
"First, we choose the game of… hide and seek!" The Foxy Captain announced. The straw-hat pirates gathered together and did rock, paper, scissors to see who would participate. Nami, Robin and Chopper won and were going to be the first participants.
The first game went smoothly at first. Though they were not particularly fast, Robin's power gave them quite an advantage. She was able to capture their opponents and drag them to a stop. However, one of their opponents was also a shark. Unable to capture the beast in the water with two devil-fruit users and Nami, they lost the first game.
The Foxy pirates chose to steal Chopper away as their first prize much to the straw-hat's dismay.
"Okay guys, we need to be smart to get Chopper back." Usopp said, "It's our choice to choose the game." Sanji, Luffy and Zoro nodded.
"Should we suggest a battle to the death?" Zoro asked.
"Or a cook off?" Sanji added.
"Meat eating contest?" Luffy suggested.
"We choose the game Spin the Bottle!" Nami announced for them. All eyes turned to her as she gave a cat-like smile.
"Nami-san~!" Sanji looked completely overjoyed as he twirled towards the navigator.
"We've already participated, this is all up to you guys. Good luck!" She snickered. Sanji's face fell. He looked over at Luffy, Zoro and Usopp, then back at her in horror.
"What's spin the bottle?" Zoro asked unknowingly.
"Whoever spins it fastest wins?" Luffy asked, picking his nose.
"Oh that sounds kinda fun." Usopp remarked. Sanji, looking horribly betrayed, dropped his head into his hands.
"It goes like this: Each group will make a circle with their team members. A bottle will be placed in the middle. You spin it, and whoever it lands on, you have to kiss. Whichever team cannot fulfill the kiss will be disqualified." Nami explained simply. Usopp's jaw dropped.
"Why would you choose something like that?!" He asked, gesturing to their group, "We're all guys! We are at a clear disadvantage!"
"What? You guys backing down from the challenge?" Nami asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Never." Both Zoro and Luffy said together. Nami looked highly amused.
"You're all idiots." Sanji groaned.
The enemy pirates were clearly distressed as well but couldn't back down either. They formed their own circle and started spinning.
"I'll go first!" Luffy declared, grabbing the bottle. He spun it. The others watched it closely. Sanji winced but the bottle passed him and landed facing Zoro. Zoro blinked at her captain and shrugged. It was over fairly quickly, a quick peck that was nothing more than a smushing of lips.
Nami who was watching, elbowed Robin and nodded towards Sanji. Robin nodded.
"Was that your first kiss, swordsman-san?" Robin asked curiously.
"Yeah." Zoro replied, disinterested and wishing they were fighting instead.
"Guess I'm next." Usopp frowned, looking at his options. He signed and spun the bottle. The bottle again landed on Zoro. She looked surprised but shrugged again.
"I somehow think this whole situation is easier to you." Usopp crossed his arms.
"How the hell is this easier for me?" Zoro asked.
"You get to kiss the most handsome and bravest of all pirates." Usopp replied seriously. Zoro rolled her eyes. Again, the chaste kiss was quick and over in a moment. Zoro rubbed her lips with the back of her hand.
"My turn, right?" Zoro asked, reaching down and spinning the bottle. Everyone leaned forward, curiously. As it slowed down, it inched towards Usopp yet again.
However, a large hand slammed down on it, stopping it. Sanji had stopped the bottle from moving, and it currently pointed towards the cook. Zoro looked in surprise at the cook. There was an intense, unreadable expression on his face. She realized he had been quiet during the entire game.
"San—" Zoro started but they were interrupted by a buzzer.
"Looks like it's a tie! Two to two!" Called the referee.
"So close…" Nami pouted. Robin patted her shoulder.
"Now, now navigator-san. We shouldn't force it." She responded.
The crew all gathered along the sidelines as the final battle was between the two pirate captains. It was a battle of chess. Unfortunately, neither captain knew how to play and were just moving pieces around randomly and shouting what they thought were chess related words.
"Strike!"
"That's a goal!"
Zoro wasn't paying attention, however. She saw Sanji light a cigarette and walk back to the ship. Zoro glanced at the others then quickly followed the cook.
She followed him silently, not really sure what to say. She knew he was acting weird but wasn't sure why. She had a guess it had to do with the weird game, however.
Sanji boarded the ship and headed into the kitchen, Zoro following behind. Once inside, the cook started pulling out vegetables and letting out his frustration by chopping them quickly and with a bit more force than necessary. Zoro hesitated in the doorway. She knew that he knew she was there, but the cook wasn't acknowledging her presence. After a few moments of just the sounds of Sanji chopping vegetables, Zoro stepped fully inside the room and cleared her throat.
"Sanji?" She asked attentively, "Is… everything okay?" She felt a bit awkward, herself not the best when it came to understanding people's feelings. The chopping stopped, and she could see Sanji's back rise and fall as he took in a deep breath and turned towards her. She watched him back and waited. Finally, Sanji set his knife down and walked towards her.
"I don't like losing." Sanji remarked as he continued forward. Zoro found herself stepping backward until she hit the wall.
"Me either." Zoro replied simply, looking a bit confused. Sanji removed his cigarette from his lips and put it out on the wall.
"A tie is a loss." Sanji murmured, stepping into her personal space. "Do you agree?" He leaned forward, pressing his forehead lightly against her own, staring into her eyes. Her breath caught and her mind went blank.
"Yeah…" she answered, her voice barely heard. Sanji reached up and slid his fingers into her hair.
"Should we win?" He asked, his fingers rubbing light circles in her hair. Still enraptured by his gaze, Zoro simply nodded, unable to speak.
Sanji leaned down and captured her lips.
It was different.
It was oh so different from the pecks she had received from Luffy and Usopp during the game.
It was warm.
It was gentle.
He smelled of smoke and lavender.
It was over too quickly.
Sanji pulled back and stared at her a moment more with those intense eyes before letting go of her slowly and stuffing his hands into his pockets. Without another glance at her, he turned away and went back to the counter, picking the knife up again and continuing his work.
Zoro was frozen in her spot for far too long, before pushing away from the wall and leaving the kitchen without a word.
Chopper was the one who found Zoro later that evening when it was time for dinner. Zoro was in the storage room, sitting behind one of the barrels, lost in thought. Her fingers kept dancing across her lips as she replayed the earlier event over and over in her mind. Her thoughts were drifting back to her earlier anxieties, however.
"Zoro?" Chopper asked softly, putting a hoof on her knee to let her know he was there. She looked up at the deer startled, but relaxed.
"Chopper… sorry I was just thinking about something." She replied with a frown.
"Are you okay?" Chopper asked worriedly. Zoro sighed.
"I think so… my heart just hurts a bit for some reason." Zoro replied. Chopper jumped, instantly panicking.
"Your heart?! Are you having a heart attack? Is your arm numb? Are you having trouble breathing?" Chopper asked alarmed. Zoro shook her head.
"I don't think so…"
"There you two are." Nami entered the room. "We sent Chopper to get you and then we lost Chopper."
"Zoro's heart is hurting!" Chopper exclaimed, examining the swordsman. Nami raised an eyebrow.
"Could this possibly be connected to the same reason a certain cook of ours chopped up enough carrots to last us until next year?" She asked. Zoro suddenly found the floor very interesting.
"Idiots. Alright, come on. Zoro will be fine." Nami pushed the two out of the room.
Dinner was incredibly awkward. Sanji wasn't his usual cheerful self, even when Nami and Robin sat down. He was treating them like normal people, which was already throwing up red flags for the crew members. Zoro was sitting in the corner, in a daze and staring at the wall. Luffy was oblivious to the weird tension and was stuffing food in his mouth like usual. Though he did complain about the amount of carrots on his plate before consuming them all. Nami and Robin were sharing glances at one another, wondering if they should do something.
It was Usopp, however, that couldn't take it anymore. He suddenly slammed his hands down on the table.
"We should address the elephant in the room." He replied solemnly. Luffy's eyes immediately darted around the room looking for said elephant.
"Which is…?" Nami asked, worried. Usopp sighed and shook his head.
"Earlier… when Zoro and I kissed… well, there was a spark." He admitted, rubbing his chin. Sanji's head slowly spun around to look at the marksman.
"How interesting. What kind of spark?" Robin asked, leaning her head into her hand. Zoro blinked, suddenly brought into the conversation. Usopp stared at Zoro, rubbing his chin in thought.
"Hmmm… like, my heart jumped, or something." He said very seriously.
"…did you stop breathing?" Zoro asked curiously, thinking about her own experience with Sanji.
"I don't think so…" Usopp replied, tilting his head.
"Do you want to… try it again..?" Nami asked between giggles and glancing between the two. He couldn't answer though, as a large, sharp knife was slammed into the table between his fingers by a certain cook. Usopp slowly turned his head to see death staring him in the face. He scrambled away to the far side of the room.
"N-no, I'm good!" Usopp squeaked. Sanji turned his glare to Zoro.
"And you… why are you such a dumbass?" Sanji asked. Zoro snapped out of her daze and glared back.
"I'm not a dumbass, you pervert cook!" She replied, standing.
"I'm the pervert? You're the one going around kissing everyone!" Sanji replied. Zoro gawked.
"I didn't kiss anyone! It was a game! They kissed me!"
"You let them! Are you just going to let anyone who wants to kiss you?!"
"Of course not! I wouldn't let anyone I didn't trust to kiss me!" Zoro answered. Sanji paused after that statement, and crossed his arms, watching her.
"You mean that?" He asked.
"O-of course." She replied, reddening slightly but still glaring at him. The other crew members were watching with interest. Zoro noticed their eyes and quickly sat down, stuffing her face with food and wondering if there were ever a time when she wasn't constantly embarrassed in front of her crew. Sanji turned back to his cooking and a moment later offered some cake to the ladies.
"Some dessert, Nami-san, Robin-chan~?" He asked, his face much brighter than before.
AN: Thank you all for reading! I hope you all are enjoying their slowly evolving relationship. As mentioned before, we are going to skip a lot of certain story arcs and include only the ones which will develop their relationship. So gear up, Thriller Bark is coming! Thanks again, please consider leaving a review! They really help motivate me to write :) Thank you!