Part of me is like 'make the chapters even' and part of me is like 'story flow!' so here's an extra long chapter. I'll try and have the next chapter out by Christmas Eve and the whole thing done before the New Year, but we'll see.

Enjoy.

A maid showed Zoro to a room on the second floor with a large pink zero on it. He thanked her as she bowed and walked away, and he opened the door and entered.

The room was just as pink as everything else associated with Reiju, pink walls, pink furniture, pink sheets on the bed. At this point he wasn't even surprised by how deep the color coding went, and he absently wondered what Sanji's color was.

Reiju was already in here, lounging on her four poster king sized bed in nothing but her underwear and a thin t-shirt, legs spread a little as she casually flipped through a magazine. Her pose seemed a bit too casual to be anything other than planned as she looked up from her magazine to gauge his reaction.

He ignored her as he went over to his own things and dug around for his toiletries.

"You're not into women at all?" she asked as she leaned forward, "Or is it just me?" Her tone was curious, a sharp difference to the offended tone most women had when they asked him that.

"Not at all," he replied, pulling out his toothbrush, "Bathroom?"

She nodded to the other side of the room, "Through that door."

He grunted his thanks as he went to the bathroom which, unsurprisingly, was covered in pink. He shrugged as he started brushing his teeth.

"When did you first know?" Reiju asked from the doorway.

Zoro spit in the sink and rinsed out his mouth as he looked at her reflection in the mirror, "That I was gay?" he asked, and she nodded, "Since middle school."

"Any particular revelation bring that on?"

He shrugged and turned around, "Not really. At one point all the other guys in my class were drooling over this one actress and I couldn't get over how toned her boyfriend was, so by then it was just obvious."

"I see," she tapped her fingers on the door jam, "And you've been out ever since?"

"I don't exactly broadcast my sexuality to the world," he crossed his arms in front of him and leaned back against the sink, "Mostly because it's not anybody's business. But I don't hide it either. If people find out, then they find out."

She hummed and turned back into the room, "An interesting philosophy."

"What about you?" he asked as he followed her, "You into guys at all?"

"Not really," she shrugged, "I'm not really into anything."

"Like asexual?" he asked. She nodded as she settled back down into the bed and looked at him expectantly. He nodded in return, "Alright."

She raised an eyebrow, "That's it?"

"Is there something else you want me to say?"

"It's just, people usually wonder why I'm in a relationship at all if I'm not after sex."

"Yours and Pudding's relationship is between you and Pudding. Why you're together and all that isn't my business. As long as it works and you're happy, what do I care," he lay down on the other side of the bed. The mattress was so soft he sank into it a few inches before settling, and there was an ocean of blankets and mattress between the two of them, "I have a friend who's ace too, so I get it."

"Sanji mentioned when I told him. Luffy, right?"

He hummed in response and spread his arms out as wide as he could, but he could tell he was nowhere near close enough to reach Reiju. Just how big was this bed?

"What about you and Sanji?" she asked as she turned onto her side to look at him, "You don't mind that he likes girls?"

"Not really," he shrugged as best he could in a mattress that was trying to keep him prisoner, "Him being bi is just another part of who he is."

"You're not worried about him ditching you for some girl?"

His eyes narrowed, "People cheat for a lot of reasons, but not because of their sexualities," he stared up at the canopy above the bed, "I know Sanji, and he's not the kind of guy who cheats on someone. I trust him."

Reiju hummed in response, eyes downcast as she looked away.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Zoro struggled out of the bed and made his way to the door to open it. On the other side was Pudding, her hair down and brushed away from her face, sporting a frown.

"Can I talk to Reiju?" she said, crossing her arms in front of her, "Alone?"

There was no reason why she couldn't, but Zoro was still peeved at how she'd behaved around Sanji, and was just stubborn enough to say, "Why?"

Pudding frowned, "That's really not your concern."

Zoro stayed where he was, an immovable rock, mostly to piss her off.

She sighed, "Look, I'm sorry if the whole 'me being with Sanji' thing is pissing you off, but you agreed to this shit too, right? You have no reason to be mad at me for doing exactly what we all agreed to."

She had a point, but he didn't like it, "You don't see me throwing myself all over Reiju."

"Oh? Is that your problem?" she uncrossed her arms, a devilish smirk growing on her face, "I guess yours and Sanji's relationship is so fragile that a little outside nudging will break it? Good to know."

Zoro growled, as she continued "Well, whatever. Maybe you should try throwing yourself at Reiju. You know, actually try to sell this thing?" she shrugged, "Or don't. It's not really my concern. Now can I please speak to my girlfriend?"

"Whatever," he said, stepping aside to let her in, wondering if this counted as later and where Sanji was in this maze of a mansion.

As she passed him, she paused, drumming her fingers on the door jam and said, "The playacting, it's not for you."

Before he could say anything in response, she leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Sanji's room is three floors up. Giant three on the door. Can't miss it."

With that she entered the room and shut the door, effectively locking him out.

What the hell was that all about? But the last thing he wanted to do was stand in the middle of the hall and try to analyze Pudding's motivations, so he wandered off down the hall to find the stairs.

After wandering around the house for several minutes, Zoro was still no closer to finding Sanji's room. He did manage to find a door with a giant blue two on it, which wasn't quite the three Pudding said it was, but Sanji liked blue, and maybe Pudding was just fucking with him.

"Oh, Zoro," he turned and saw Nina approaching the door, "What are you doing here?"

Shit, this must be Niji's room. Damnit, where the hell was Sanji? "Looking for Sanji. Have you seen him?"

"He's probably in his room," she said with a smile.

"And that would be, where?"

"Oh, that's right," she placed her hand over her mouth, "you've never been here before. It's just up one more floor. He's got the three on his door, get it? Because he's the third quadruplet," she giggled, "It's so helpful how they all have everything numbered so perfectly, right?"

"Sure," he agreed quickly, and turned to leave, "Thanks."

"Or," she threw her arms around his shoulders, locking him in place, "Instead of going to Sanji's room," she dragged one hand across his shoulders and down his chest, moving it behind her to open the door, "You can come in here, with me."

Zoro's mind went completely blank, "Huh?"

"You're very cute," she said as her other hand slid up the back of his neck and she started playing with his hair, "I like cute guys. Would you like to spend the night with me?"

"Uh," he tried to take a step back, but her hand had slid into his hair, holding him in place as her other started sliding up his chest, "I'm with S- Reiju. I'm with Reiju."

She hummed as she stepped closer, pressing her body up against his, "I know. Reiju can come too, if you want. I'd rather have you to myself, but whatever makes you more comfortable," she sing-songed as her hand made its way up to his face and started stroking his reddening cheek.

"Wh-what about Niji?" he asked as her fingers moved across to his lips and his face grew even hotter.

"We can wait for Niji too, if you want," she said, leaning in closer so they were sharing the same breathing space, her breasts pressing into his chest, "I don't mind sharing, especially with a cutie like you."

As she leaned in for a kiss, Zoro got enough of his senses back to grab her wrists and pry her wandering hands away. He was blushing furiously as he let her go and finally took a step back to catch his breath.

"Sorry, not interested," he said as he bolted away from there and tried to find the stairs again.

Eventually he found his way to the floor above and was outside a door with a giant yellow three on it. This had to be Sanji's room.

He approached the door and hesitated. Normally he wouldn't even think twice about just barging into Sanji's space unless he was in some kind of mood, that was one of the perks of being a couple and living together. But he was supposed to be pretending they weren't a couple, that they were just friends. Should he knock instead? Was that what friends did?

What the hell was he thinking? He knew how friends behaved! He had lots of friends, and none of them ever knocked. This situation was messing with his head. He opened the door and walked into the room.

The room was very yellow. Not nearly as yellow as Reiju's was pink, but there was a significant yellow color theme going on. That was surprising, since whenever Sanji picked out the decor in their apartment he always went for a blue theme, but tastes changed when people grew up. Maybe Sanji had gotten over yellow.

He noticed the balcony door was open and saw Sanji standing outside smoking a cigarette. As quietly as he could, he approached the door and leaned on the doorframe, "Aren't you cold?"

Sanji startled a bit, but turned to face him with a mischievous grin on his face, "Yeah, you wanna come warm me up?"

Finally, they were alone together, away from prying family eyes and fake girlfriends. Zoro grinned too as he made his way across the balcony and wrapped his arms around his waist. Sanji took the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled the smoke away from Zoro's face before he leaned forward and kissed him.

One of Sanji's hands moved into his hair as Zoro rested his hands on Sanji's hips. It hadn't even been a full day, but he'd missed this. Out of all the issues he anticipated with this dumb scheme, he underestimated how frustrating it would be to have Sanji right there and be unable to touch him however he liked.

Eventually they pulled apart, and Zoro said, "Your brother's girlfriend was trying to get me to sleep with her."

Sanji hummed as he took a drag from his cigarette, "Which one?"

"Nina," he sighed, resting his forehead on Sanji's shoulder as Sanji gently stroked his head.

"Can you blame her?" he said, shifting his head to plant a kiss on Zoro's temple, and Zoro could feel his smirk as he pulled away, "You're just too irresistible to resist."

Zoro groaned as Sanji chuckled. He kissed his forehead, and Zoro accepted the affection with a grunt as he pulled away.

Before he could get too far, Sanji cupped his face with his free hand and stroked his cheek with his thumb, "Thanks for putting up with this bullshit."

Zoro placed his hand over Sanji's and tilted his head to kiss his palm, "I put up with your bullshit on a daily basis. This is nothing."

"Shithead," he grumbled, putting out the rest of his cigarette in the ashtray on the railing as he buried his face into the crook of Zoro's neck and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug.

Zoro hummed, wrapping an arm around his waist and buried a hand in his hair, content to just enjoy the warmth Sanji was giving off and the moment they were in.

Eventually he had to ask, "So, it's later. Are you gonna tell me about you and Pudding now?"

Sanji groaned and tried to burrow deeper into Zoro, "Are you still on that?" he grumbled into his skin, "I told you, it's nothing."

"If it's nothing," Zoro said, gently maneuvering Sanji's face away from him, "Then just tell me."

"'S embarrassing," he mumbled as he stepped away and lit another cigarette. He leaned against the railing and took a long drag before looking over at Zoro, "Uh, you know how when we first met I wasn't," he gestured with his cigarette, "very secure in my attraction to men?"

Zoro recalled an incident shortly after they met when Sanji had kicked someone's teeth out just because he said he looked nice, "An understatement."

"Yeah, well, it was worse in high school," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Zoro leaned against the railing next to him and gestured for him to continue.

He took a deep breath and exhaled a cloud of smoke, "There was this guy on the soccer team with me, Gin. A year ahead of me," he tapped his fingers on the railing and chewed on the filter of his cigarette, "He was involved with gangs or drugs or something, a real bad boy, and I had the biggest crush on him," he he looked Zoro up and down and smirked, "Guess I have a type."

"Only if he was devilishly attractive and could kick your ass," Zoro said, nudging his shoulder.

Sanji rolled his eyes and looked down at the ground as he kicked his heel against the railing, "Anyway, I was in love with him, and I was freaking out about it, because I didn't want to be gay. So somewhere in my panicking teenage brain, I figured that if I was in love with a girl instead, that would be enough proof that I was still straight. And, well, Pudding was right there," he waved a hand in front of him, "We were already friends, so it wasn't hard to convince myself that I had a crush on her instead."

"Sounds like reasoning your dumb brain would come up with."

"Yeah, well," Sanji took a long drag from his cigarette, exhaling the smoke up into the air. Zoro noticed the pink tinge on his cheeks grow, so he placed his hand over Sanji's free one and gave it a squeeze.

Sanji looked down at their hands and continued, "So, uh, in order to convince myself I was in love with her, I told everyone how much I did. Loudly. And constantly. I annoyed the fuck out of everyone, and to this day I'm still surprised she can look me in the eye. I must have made her miserable," he sighed, exhaling more smoke.

"Anyway, part of this was asking her out every time I saw her, which was a lot because, despite all this, she was still my friend. I'd ask her out, she'd reject me, and we'd go on with our lives," he pulled his hand away, "This went on for months until one day she said yes."

Sanji grimaced and looked away, "Pretty much the moment we started dating I realized that it wasn't what I wanted at all. But, I had been the one to persistently ask her out, and she seemed to enjoy having a boyfriend, so we just, kept dating. After several months of it, I'd had enough and finally broke up with her."

"How did she take that?"

"Terrible, she was devastated," he took another drag from his cigarette, "I'd say she'd fallen in love with me, but we both know how hard that is."

"Hey," Zoro said, attempting to cut through the self loathing he could see swirling behind his eyes when Sanji glanced up at him, "You're hard to like," he kissed his cheek, "You're very easy to love."

Sanji hummed and looked away, but he could see his shoulders relax as he continued, "So, yeah, she spent the rest of high school flip flopping between wanting nothing to do with me and trying to get me to date her again," he knocked the ash off the end of his cigarette, "She also made time to sabotage every relationship I might have had, but I'd also ruined every relationship she could have had, so I'd consider us even there."

"Whatever happened to Gin?"

"Got arrested, dropped out part way through his senior year. I think he was in and out of prison for a while there."

"Why am I not surprised that the first guy you had a crush on was arrested?"

He laughed and took a drag from his cigarette, "I saw him again recently. He'd gotten his GED and was getting his life back on track," he smirked, "Still devilishly attractive."

"Whatever," Zoro pouted until Sanji leaned forward and kissed his cheek. His face softened and he asked, "What about Pudding? Does she still have a crush on you?"

"I don't think so, or else why would she be dating Reiju?" he frowned and took a hit from his cigarette, "But part of me wonders if she's only dating her because she's my sister, as some kind of like, back-up version of me," he sighed, "I don't know, is that self-centered of me to think?"

"Yeah," Zoro easily agreed, causing Sanji to smack his arm. He knew Sanji had a habit of blaming himself and getting guilty over things that weren't his fault, so he tried his best to reassure him, "But even if it is true, it's not your fault. You were just a teenager who did some dumb things, but you learned and grew up and got over them. If she hasn't yet, that's on her."

"I guess," Sanji sighed as he rested his head on his shoulder.

Zoro kissed the top of his head and lay his own head on top of Sanji's.

After a few moments of peaceful silence where Sanji finished his cigarette, Zoro said, "You're right though, that was super embarrassing."

Sanji elbowed him hard in the side, causing him to recoil, "Fucking shithead."

Zoro chuckled before leaning forward to kiss him, which Sanji eagerly returned.

"Um," they broke apart and saw Pudding standing in the doorway. Her face was red as she pointedly looked anywhere but at them, "I think, you should probably go back to Reiju now."

"Uh, right," his hands fell away from Sanji as he looked into his eyes, "So I guess, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Sanji leaned forward before his eyes darted to Pudding. They darted back to his lips for a brief moment before he eventually sighed leaned away, "Good night."

"Night," he mumbled, disappointed. He brushed Sanji's hair out of his eyes and stared at his full face for a moment before he finally turned and left the room.

Back out in the hallway, he stared longingly back at Sanji's door before shaking himself and continuing on his way.

Where the hell was Reiju's room again?

Sanji took the perfectly poached egg out of the water and set it alongside the others. Six eggs should be enough, but would anyone else be down sooner and want some?

"Master Sanji," the family chef insisted yet again, "I really should be the one making breakfast."

"And I'm sure your breakfast is as lovely as you, Cosette," he said with a smile, "The others will enjoy it thoroughly."

"But, Madame Sora's condition means she has certain dietary restrictions, and-"

"I know all about my mom's dietary restrictions," Sanji said, shooting her an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry for taking over your kitchen and stepping on your toes, but please let me do this. It's been a while since I've been able to make something for her."

Cosette's face went red and she stammered out, "A-alright then.

He knew at least one person who would be down before Cosette needed her kitchen back, and decided to poach a few more eggs just in case.

Just as he was finishing up plating his perfect masterpiece, Zoro wandered into the kitchen, dressed down in the pants he'd worn the night before and the t-shirt he probably slept in. He yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he sat down on the other side of the counter.

"What's for breakfast, Cook?" he asked.

He noticed Cosette bristle with indignation at the casual manner of address, but ignored it, instead replying, "Eggs Florentine for me, whatever Cosette has planned in a few hours for you."

"What, c'mon," Zoro whined, "I'm hungry now."

"And you'll be hungry later, when Cosette finishes making breakfast for everyone," he placed the smaller portion of eggs on the counter away from Zoro.

Zoro grabbed the plate anyway, giving the portion size a dubious look, "That's all?"

Sanji smacked his hand with the back of his spoon and yanked the plate away, "That one's not for you!"

Zoro grinned, shaking the sting from the hit out of his hand, "So you did make me some?"

"Maybe I did," he placed the dish off to the side again and turned back to the stove, plating a much larger portion, "But with table manners like yours, maybe you don't deserve it."

He heard Zoro sigh, as if being polite was like some kind of torturous task for him, before he said, "Please may I have some food?"

"That's better," he turned back around and placed the plate and some silverware in front of Zoro.

Cosette gave him a quizzical look, her eyes darting back and forth between him and Zoro as he made up another plate. Shit, he had fallen into his usual morning routine with Zoro. Was this whole scene a bit too domestic for casual friends? Did Cosette know or suspect the truth? Who would she tell if she did? The rest of the staff? Would word get back to his mother?

Before he let his mind spiral off and wander down that panicked path, he quickly handed Cosette her portion and said, "Here, as a thank you for letting me use your kitchen."

"M-Master Sanji!" she cried, accepting the plate with a red face, "You didn't have to do that!"

"I'm not about to let you stand there hungry while we're sitting around eating," he said, plating his own portion and taking a seat at the counter, "Take a moment to eat before you start on breakfast."

She nodded and quietly sat down next to him.

They ate in relative silence, broken occasionally by praise for the dish from Cosette. When she had finished, she gathered up her plate and utensils, brought them over to the sink, and started her own prep work.

"Do you need us to move?" Sanji offered, "I'd hate to get in your way."

She shook her head, "You're fine there. Besides, Madame Sora will be down any minute."

Zoro frowned and glanced over at the remaining plate, "You made your mom breakfast?"

It was an accurate and innocuous statement, but Sanji found himself blushing anyway, "Well, yeah," he shrugged and took a bite of his own food, "What's so strange about that?"

"Nothing," Zoro smirked at him, "Mama's boy."

Sanji snarled, "Listen here fuckface-"

Before he could say anything further, the kitchen door opened, and in walked his mother.

"Sanji!" she gasp, covering her hand with her mouth, "I can't believe you would use such foul language towards Zoro! He's our guest!"

"Yeah," Zoro's smirk grew. He was enjoying the hell out of this and it made Sanji want to kick him, "Think of my poor virgin ears."

Sanji held back a comment about Zoro's virgin anything that would have been highly inappropriate in front of his mother and instead replied, "Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me," she said, placing her hands on Zoro's shoulders, "Apologize to Zoro."

Sanji closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he opened them, "Zoro, I'm sorry you had to hear me say such terrible things about your face."

"Apology accepted, Cook," he said as he took another bite of his food, "You did make me breakfast."

"Oh, Sanji, you cooked?" his mom beamed at him as she sat down next to Zoro, "What a delightful treat. I hope you saved me some."

"Of course," he placed her plate in front of her and handed her utensils, "You are my first and best customer."

"Such a sweet boy," she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. He blushed, and pointedly did not look at Zoro to see his reaction, "Pudding is so lucky to have you."

At that Sanji did look at Zoro, but he was focused on his plate, pushing one of the tomato slices around to mop up the sauce, "Yeah…"

"Mmm, Sanji this is delicious!" she exclaimed, drawing his attention back to her, "Absolutely divine! Every time I eat your food it just gets better and better."

Sanji was grinning wide, he couldn't help himself. He always loved hearing people appreciate his food, and her praise always held a special place in his heart, "Thanks."

"We didn't get much of a chance to talk last night," she said as she continued eating, "So tell me. How is your restaurant doing?"

"Excellent," Sanji replied, finishing off his own food, "We've been busier than ever."

"I'm glad to hear it! You've worked so hard, you deserve all the success that comes to you. I'm so happy people are starting to appreciate your talents," Sanji grinned as she continued, "And how's Zeff? Still doing well, I hope."

"The old man is as energetic as ever. And still an absolute pain to be around."

"Did he get the gift basket I sent him?"

"Yeah, he complained for a solid hour about what to do with all that wine," Sanji sighed, tapping his fingers against the counter top, "And then he snapped at us when we tried to take some, so I know he liked it."

"He always takes such good care of you. I appreciate it so much," she sighed as she finished off her meal, "I'm glad you two found each other."

Sanji blushed and looked away. He knew his mother went out of her way to avoid his issues with Judge, and he understood why even if he didn't particularly like it, but he always appreciated that she acknowledged Zeff's role in his life.

Zoro stood up, gathering up his empty plate and utensils. As he walked to the sink, he stopped by his mom's place and gathered her dirty dishes as well.

"Oh, Zoro!" she exclaimed, "You don't have to do that. You're a guest!"

"'S fine," he said as he gathered Sanji's dishes as well and walked them to the sink, "I'm used to it."

"What a sweetheart," she beamed at him, and Sanji noticed his cheeks turn just a little bit pink at the praise, "I hope you treat Reiju like this too."

Zoro hummed in response as Sanji glanced away. He tried not to picture Zoro doting on his sister, but the image kept popping up in his mind anyway, making him angry and frustrated.

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to come out to see you there lately," his mother said, drawing his attention back to her, "I keep wanting to, but…"

"That's alright," he insisted, placing his hands over hers, "I know you haven't been feeling well. I'm a bad son for not coming to see you more often."

"No you're not," she lightly slapped at his hands, "You're the best son I could ask for."

Sanji smiled gratefully at her as Zoro returned to the counter, carefully balancing three coffee cups that Cosette had prepared and placed them down in front of each of them.

"Oh, thank you, Zoro," she said, picking up the cup as Sanji pulled away, "You really are so sweet."

Sanji's smile grew as he picked up his own cup and Zoro sat back down.

For a moment, he could pretend that he had come out to his mom, and she had accepted his and Zoro's relationship, that they could have more mornings like this, just the three of them, without it being deceitful or awkward.

As he glanced between his mother and his boyfriend, he wanted this moment to last so he could pretend for just a little longer.

Zoro was bundled up in the sweater Nami had tossed in his bag and a jacket as he and Reiju walked arm in arm between the stalls. He wasn't that cold and probably didn't need the jacket, but Sora had insisted he wear one since it was snowing, and he didn't want to make her worry.

The festival itself was just a small thing that the locals threw every year. Sora seemed to be the driving force behind the Vinsmokes coming every year, both as a moment of Christmas bonding for the family and as a chance to give the servants a chance to finish decorating the house for the party that evening. Although, despite what was supposed to be a family bonding activity, Judge had opted to stay home. Not that Zoro minded, his sons were bad enough.

"So you must like, spend a lot of time at the gym, right?" Yonji said next to him, his gloved hand clasped around Fiona's, "Being a personal trainer, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah," he had no idea why Yonji had suddenly decided to start up a conversation with him, but he didn't like it, "Kinda comes with the territory."

"So how much can you lift?"

Great, he was one of those guys, "Enough."

"C'mon," he poked his arm, "You look like you've got some muscle on you. I just wanna know if you can lift more than me."

Zoro did work out a lot, and he was constantly training to become stronger, but that was mostly for himself and his goals, not to win pissing contests with guys like Yonji.

So he shrugged and said, "Yeah, probably."

Yonji glowered as Fiona and Reiju laughed. As his face started morphing into a full blown pout, Fiona leaned up and kissed his cheek, "Don't be like that, Babe. You're always the strongest in my book."

That perked him up a little, and Fiona guided them a little ways away to look at some of the wares for sale.

"These are quaint," Zoro heard Dani say a few feet away, looking at some jewelry for sale, "Not too gauche considering the materials at hand."

"Would you like me to buy it for you?" Ichiji asked.

Dani hummed as she thought, "I don't think the aesthetic is quite right for my style, but maybe if I also had these…"

As they walked away from them he saw Niji and Nina perusing a stall selling handcrafted ceramics and casually steered him and Reiju a little further away, but that only took him closer to where Sanji and Pudding were shopping.

He pouted at their joined hands, and as she leaned up and whispered something in Sanji's ear that made him laugh, Zoro had to physically turn himself away from them and focus on something else.

"These are cute," Reiju said, fingering a pair of earrings, "If you're still thinking of something to get me."

Zoro grumbled and glanced down at the jewelry. He had finished his actual Christmas shopping weeks ago, but of course he didn't expect to need something for his fake girlfriend. Luckily part of the festival included stalls set up by local artisans, and apparently the Vinsmokes had a tradition of buying each other Christmas presents there anyway.

"You can afford pure gold and platinum jewelry," he said, glancing down at the earrings, "Why do you guys buy your presents here?"

"When your family can already buy anything they want, what else can you gift them but something uniquely handmade?" she glanced behind her, then leaned up and kissed his cheek, "I'll go pick out something for you, so get me something nice, alright?"

She let go of his arm and walked away.

He glanced back down at the jewelry. He didn't know much about Reiju and he knew even less about jewelry, so he didn't really know how he was supposed to pick something out for her.

Something sparkling caught his eye, and he turned to find a blue butterfly pendant hanging from a silver chain. He picked it up and watched as the light caught it as it turned in his hand.

"You got this in pink?" he asked the stall owner, and frowned at the butterfly, "And as a moth?"

She looked at the necklace and grinned, "I got just the thing."

She dug around behind the counter as Zoro looked at the rest of her wares. He noticed a round pair of cufflinks in the corner, and picked them up, turning them over in his hand. Inside the dome on a blue background was a carefully painted and detailed white anchor, similar to the one on the Baratie's logo.

He'd already gotten Sanji a present, a set of cookware that Sanji had printed out a picture of and the description for, circled, and left for him to find with a note saying 'FOR SANJI FOR CHRISTMAS,' but maybe he'd like these too?

"You got a good eye," the stall owner said as she returned, "Anchors are a symbol of hope in some places, that's always good luck, and that's some real nice silver," she presented him with another pendent, almost identical to the one in his hand, except colored pink and with narrower wings, "Here, slap this on the chain instead."

He did as she said, placing the butterfly pendant carefully back on the table and holding up the now moth necklace. Yeah, Reiju would probably like that.

"Normally both would go for about forty bucks a piece, but for you, I'll make it thirty."

So sixty dollars total. He dug around for his wallet but only found a twenty inside. Still, he knew Nami would never forgive him if he didn't at least try, "How about twenty?"

She gave him a dubious look, "Twenty a piece?"

Damn. He set the cufflinks back down and handed her the money, "I've only got twenty."

She took the money and frowned, glancing down at the cufflinks, before shrugging and boxing up them along with the necklace, "Hey, I appreciate a guy who appreciates moths. Take 'em for twenty."

He blinked, the Usopp voice in his head telling him she deserved full price for her work, but that was overpowered by the Nami voice telling him to just take the deal, so he put both boxes in his pocket and said, "Thanks."

"No problem, my guy," she said, adding his twenty to her stack of cash, "Happy Holidays and all that."

"Yeah, you too," he said as he walked away.

As he looked around for Reiju, he noticed that the rest of the Vinsmoke group seemed to have wandered off somewhere. Great, now he had to go find them. He shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking.

After wandering around the festival grounds for a few minutes, he heard someone shout, "Zoro! There you are!" He turned and saw Sora coming towards him, cheeks rosy and slightly out of breath.

"Reiju said you had a habit of wandering off," she said, trying to catch her breath as he approached her, "So I came to find you."

"I would have found my way back," he said, offering her his arm, "But, thanks."

She smiled up at him and took his arm gratefully, squeezing it tight as they started walking. He couldn't help but notice that she was leaning most of her weight onto him, but she was light, and he had strength to spare.

"So, Zoro," she said after a while, "I haven't had a chance to get to know you yet. Tell me about yourself."

"Uh," he could feel her gaze on him as blood rushed to his cheeks. He focused on the ground instead, carefully matching his steps to hers as they crunched through the snow, "There's not much to tell."

"Oh pish-posh," she playfully poked his arm, "You are a unique person with your own unique story to tell, so tell."

He grinned, he couldn't help it, she reminded him so much of Sanji, "What would you like to know?"

"Hm," she tapped her lips, "Tell me, about, your family."

"Uh, I'm not really all that close to my family family," he scratched his ear, "But I have a close knit group of friends that I consider family."

"Oh," she perked up, "Is Sanji one of them?"

He chuckled, "Yeah, Sanji's part of it. Nami too, uh, she mentioned that you met her once?"

"The orange-haired girl, right?" Zoro nodded as she beamed, "Yes, I remember her well. She was very sweet, I'm surprised that she and Sanji never got together. He seemed to like her a lot."

Zoro wasn't, considering Nami was the biggest lesbian he knew, and he knew a lot of lesbians, "Yeah, well, some people are better off as friends."

"Who else is there?" she asked, leaning a little more into him, "Whenever Sanji talks about his friends he never goes into specifics, and I'm a little curious."

"Well, there's Luffy," Zoro said as he dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, "He's basically a giant ball of energy in human form," he scrolled through their group chat until he found the picture Luffy had sent last night, "He's got a good heart, but he can't keep himself out of trouble," he tapped the picture and showed her.

"Is he playing Sanji? How delightful!" she laughed, and his grin spread wider at the sound as he took his phone back to see what else he could find, and stumbled across a selfie Usopp took of the two of them and Chopper.

"The guy on the left is Usopp," he said, showing her the phone, "He can't tell the truth to save his life, but he's the most dependable guy I know. The guy on the right is Chopper. He's real smart, currently working his way through med school."

"Aw, they both look so happy," she smiled, "They must love hanging out with you."

"I guess," Zoro absently flicked to the next photo and froze for a second when it was of Nami and Vivi at the beach, but luckily they weren't being super flirty, just sitting closer to each other than friends normally would, "Nami you know, and her, uh, friend Vivi."

"What lovely girls. Did you ever date them?"

"Uh, no," he took his phone back and scrolled through the pictures again, "I'm not really their type."

The next picture he found was from last year's Christmas party, a group shot of them all wearing different colored Santa hats. Perfect, "This woman is Robin," he pointed her out, "she's a professor of archaeology at a local college and I'm pretty sure an actual genius. She's traveled practically everywhere. The guy next to her his her fiancè Franky. He's an oddball, but a real good guy."

"Oh!" she perked up, "When's the wedding?"

"They haven't set a date yet, but they're aiming for sometime in May last I heard," he pointed out the other people in the picture, "The tall guy is Brook, he says he's like eighty something, but her certainly doesn't act it. He was some kind of rock star back in the day, Soul King?"

"Oh, really?" her eyes went wide, "I remember Soul King. He was big when I was in high school, one of my school friends was convinced she was going to marry him," she chuckled at the memory, "Why didn't Sanji ever tell me he knew him?"

"Beats me," he shrugged, "But if your friend ever wants to make good on her promise, let me know," he pointed out the last guy, "And that's Jinbei. He's Luffy's brother's friend's cousin's former roommate or something, but he recently moved down the street from Luffy, so now they're best friends. Good guy, and he's probably the best at rolling with Luffy's punches."

"They look like wonderful people. Do they get along with Reiju?"

"Oh, yeah," he nodded and looked away, deciding on a half truth to give her, "I wouldn't be dating her if they didn't."

"Good," she squeezed his arm, "I'm glad, and thank you for showing me all of Sanji's friends."

"Yeah," he put his phone back in his pocket.

"So tell me something about you, Zoro," she said, brushing a few stray snowflakes off her arm, "What do you want to do more than anything in the world?"

Well, if she wanted to know life goals, there was really only one that mattered, "There's this man," he frowned, reaching up to touch his jacket and the scar underneath that ran across his chest, "He's kinda considered the world's greatest swordsman, and I've sorta made it my life goal to defeat him and take his title."

"Such lofty ambitions, but it's good to aim for the top," she smiled, "I did a bit of fencing myself in my younger years."

"Oh?" he wasn't as familiar with the European fencing styles as he was kendo, but he knew enough about them to appreciate the art, "Which weapon?"

"Foil, of course," she grinned, "If you're going to stab someone, you should aim for the torso," he laughed, and she chuckled too, "I was good, but not good enough to get very far competitively. Actually, Sanji's been getting more into swordplay recently. He said one of his friends is a high ranking kendoka, but I'm guessing that's you?"

"Uh, yeah," he blushed a little at the thought of Sanji talking to his mom about him, specifically about his kendo.

"I'm glad he has friends that can help him branch out a little," she squeezed his arm, "Is Reiju into your kendo at all?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, a bit," he shrugged, not really sure how to answer, but he'd made it this far by winging it, "She watches me compete when she can, but she's usually busy."

"Yes," she sighed, "She works too hard sometimes."

He hummed, and they fell into a brief silence.

Sora adjusted her hat as she asked, "So, do you like working as a personal trainer?"

"It's alright," he shrugged, "I'm mostly focused on my swordsmanship right now, but there's not a lot of paying kendo gigs around. Being a PT at least gives me access to training space and a steady paycheck."

"And your clients? How are they?"

"Annoying, usually," he grumbled, then remembered what Reiju went with for their first meeting and added, "But Reiju was great."

"Good to know," she laughed, light and airy, "Is that why you fell for her?"

"Uh, yeah," he nodded, hoping she would just move onto the next topic.

But the universe didn't seem to be listening to him, as her next question was, "So, what do you love about Reiju?"

He flashed back to Judge's question the night before and grimaced, "I'm not after her money, if that's what you're wondering."

She laughed loudly, "Of course not! I trust my daughter's judgement more than that! I just," she tapped her fingers on his arm as she thought about it, eventually coming up with, "I just want to know that my children are well loved. I asked the girls last night, but I haven't gotten a chance to ask you yet."

That seemed reasonable enough, and he frowned as he thought of his answer, "Well, she's smart, and pretty," but he knew those shallow answers weren't going to cut it, and he struggled to come up with something else he could say about someone he met yesterday, "I like that she's her own person. She doesn't need me, or any man, so the fact that I'm here means something, you know?"

She nodded, "Yes, but what do you love, about her? What are the things about her that only she does and no one else can?"

"Uh," he bit his lip as he mulled it over. Reiju was nice, and she'd been a fine fake girlfriend so far, but it didn't change the fact that he didn't love her, and any answer he gave here would be insincere at best.

While he thought over the question and what possible response he could give, images of Sanji flashed through his mind, so he just went with it, "I love her smile. Like, when she actually honest to god smiles, it can just light up a room, and every time I see it I fall a little more in love."

That seemed to be a good answer, as Sora was now beaming up at him. He racked his brain for something else and found that when he thought about Sanji instead, the answers flowed easily, "I love her eyes, how they're so blue and bright and you could just, fall into them if you stare too long. I love when she talks about things that make her excited, and she just lights up like a star in the sky. I love how she never backs down from a challenge, even if the world is against her. I love that she's strong, and she doesn't always look it, but she's one of the strongest people I've ever met, and she's confident, she knows her strengths well and doesn't back away from her weaknesses. I love how she lights up a room when she enters and somehow makes everything better just by being there, even if she doesn't realize it.

"I love," how the cigarette smoke scent clings to everything, and he hated it at first, but now he loves it, because it's like having a little bit of Sanji with him at all times. He loved Sanji when he was happy and he loved making him happy, he loved him when he was angry and loved making him that too. He loved how Sanji kissed him like he could never get enough, making every kiss feel like the first one, how Sanji made love to him like he was the only thing that mattered, how Sanji loved him with everything he was and everything he had.

"I love how when we're together, it's like the rest of the world melts away, and we're the only two people around."

That may have been a bit too much. Even he was still surprised by the depth of what he felt for Sanji, and he just kinda dumped it all on his mom.

Zoro blushed, rubbed the back of his head, and said, "Ah, sorry."

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about, Zoro Roronoa," she leaned further into his side, "I'm glad my daughter is so well loved."

He hummed in response, hating how guilty that comment made him feel, "Yeah…"

"That was easily the best answer I heard," she squeezed his arm, "The other answers were great, don't get me wrong. Nina and Fiona had fantastic answers, and of course Pudding's was phenomenal, but yours was the best," she grinned up at him, "Don't tell the others."

He couldn't help but grin back, "Of course."

Shortly after, the found the rest of the group. Zoro handed Sora off to her maid and he took Reiju's arm instead as they walked through the rest of the festival.

The ice skating rink was always Sanji's favorite part of the Winter Festival. His fondest childhood memories involved him sliding across the ice with his mom, her teaching him at first, but later just gliding together as a synchronized pair.

But this year she had left the festival early. Wandering out in the cold for so long wasn't good for her health, and although she tried to stay, everyone insisted she go back and rest a bit before the party.

So Sanji was going to have to be content skating with Pudding instead.

"No smoking on the ice," Pudding reminded him as she finished tying her skates and stood up.

"Oh, right," he put out his cigarette and stashed the butt in his pocket as he finished lacing up his own skates.

"Are you ready?" Pudding asked once he was done.

He glanced around at the rest of their group. Ichiji and Dani were already out on the ice, Niji was helping Nina tie her skates, Yonji and Fiona had gotten about halfway through getting their skates on before deciding that making out on the benches was a better idea, and Reiju was waiting with Zoro at the entrance to the rink.

"Yeah," he smiled at her as he took her offered hand and stood up. Together they made their way over to the ice.

"Try not to trip and fall, Marimo," Sanji taunted as they passed Reiju and Zoro.

"Hey, fuck you," Zoro replied, clinging to the side wall.

He laughed as he and Pudding sped off across the ice.

He and Pudding were a perfect pair skating around on the ice. Even after all these years, they were still perfectly in sync, able to pick up on each others tempo changes with only looks and gestured. They were able to skate circles around his brothers, and Sanji even had the opportunity to body check Niji as he past him, giving him an insincere "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there," as they zoomed by.

It was perfect. Pudding was all he could ask for out of a skating partner.

His eyes kept finding Zoro and Reiju wherever they ended up. It was clear that Zoro had never skated before in his life, and was still struggling to find his balance on the ice. He had fallen at least three times already that Sanji had seen, and he made sure to tease him every time they passed. Even if he and Zoro were skating together, there was no way he'd be able to keep up with Sanji, so it was better this way, right?

But now Reiju was holding his hands, gently skating backward and helping him find his balance, laughing with mirth at his blushing face as he slowly got the hang of it. She leaned forward, whispering something in his ear, causing his face to break out in a grin.

That should be Sanji teaching him how to skate, Sanji holding his hands and showing him the motions, Sanji he should be sharing this moment with. An angry, jealous feeling bubbled in his gut as he looked away with a scowl.

He had no reason to be jealous, he knew that. He knew Zoro had no interest in women, and he knew Reiju had no interest in Zoro. He was also the one who had asked Zoro to date Reiju in the first place, so he had no right to feel so jealous about it now.

But he was, and he hated it. He hated seeing them together, he hated seeing them happy, he hated himself for this ugly feeling when he only himself to blame for it.

"Ji-Ji," Pudding's use of his old childhood nickname brought him out of his dark musings as she touched his arm, her gaze towards Reiju and Zoro as well, "Do you think we can still pull off a lift?"

He grinned at her, "We can certainly try."

They skated around until they found a clear enough space. Sanji took Pudding's hand and turned her around until their chests were pressed against each other. His hands moved to her waist and he whispered in her ear, "Are you ready?"

She adjusted his hands a bit before nodding, "Yeah."

He tightened his grip and lifted her gently into the air, just enough so her skates were off the ice. After he got used to her weight in his hands, he lifted her higher, his feet automatically shifting to a spread eagle position. When she was above his head, she gripped his shoulders tight until she found her own balance in the air, then she let go, trusting him to keep her airborne.

Sanji glanced around, and when he was sure Zoro was watching he started spinning, managing to pull off three rotations before he lowered Pudding. When she was around halfway down she surprised him by wrapping her legs around his waist and clutching his shoulders. She grinned down at him and placed a light kiss right on his nose before releasing him and allowing herself to be placed gently back on the ice.

A small smattering a applause broke out amongst some of the onlookers as Sanji and Pudding grinned at each other, faces flushed from the cold and the exertion. Across the ice he heard Niji shout, "No one likes a show off!" but he didn't really care, eyes darting around the ice for Zoro.

He eventually saw him, still skating arm in arm with Reiju, face darkening by the second. Well, good, he was trying to get that reaction out of him, right?

So why did he still feel like shit?

"Well," Pudding said, looping her arm through his and leaning her head on his shoulder, "That was fun."

"Sure," he shrugged as they continued skating along.

When their time on the ice ended, they all skated off and back to the benches. Sanji tried to catch Zoro's eye as he took off his skates, but he was refusing to look at him.

"Oh, look!" Nina exclaimed, clapping her hands as she pointed at something above Sanji's head, "Sanji and Pudding are under the mistletoe!"

Sanji looked up and yeah, some nitwit had thought it was a good idea to hang a mistletoe up on one of the wooden beams over the benches. He looked back down at Pudding, who was grinning up at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Uh-"

Before he could really say anything, Pudding cradled his face in her hands and brought their lips together.

He heard catcalls and hollering from his brothers and the sound of a door shutting as he pulled away. A quick look around showed that Zoro and Reiju were gone, but the bathroom door was still swinging with a bit more force than necessary.

"I'll be right back," Sanji said, squeezing Pudding's hand as he followed Zoro into the bathroom.

Zoro was standing at the sink with the water running, but he wasn't touching it, just resting his hands along the side of the sink and leaning towards the mirror. His eyes were closed, and he was taking deep, measured breaths.

Sanji did a quick check of the stalls to confirm that they were alone before he approached Zoro, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry."

Zoro grunted, not saying anything as his grip on the sink tightened. Sanji squeezed his shoulder and rubbed circles with his thumb, "It didn't mean anything, it was just a dumb mistletoe kiss."

"You love dumb mistletoe kisses," Zoro said softly, his voice barely heard over the gushing water.

That was true, he did love dumb romantic stuff like that, and the number of times he'd tried to catch Nami and later Zoro under the mistletoe were numerous. But he only loved doing dumb romantic stuff with people he actually loved.

"It didn't mean anything," he repeated, hand moving to Zoro's face and turn his head. When Zoro finally opened his eyes, he brought his other hand up to cradle his face and rubbed his thumbs across his cheekbones, "I didn't want to kiss her."

Zoro brought a hand up to cover his and sighed, "I hate this. I hate seeing you with her. I hate seeing you smile at her. I hate that she can just put her hands all over you."

"I know," and part of him was still mad and jealous, but part of him was relieved that he wasn't the only one being so affected by this.

Zoro gazed at him, eyes sad and vulnerable, and in that moment Sanji wanted nothing more than to kiss him. He took a step forward and leaned in until their lips were only a breath apart, "Zoro, I-"

The bathroom door opened, and Sanji immediately pulled his hands away and took a step back. He turned on a second sink and began washing his hands just as Ichiji rounded the corner.

"Once Yonji and Fiona come up for air we're heading back to the house," he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, "If you two would care to join us."

Zoro grunted as he dried off his hands and exited the bathroom.

"Don't get your shit in a twist," Sanji said as he turned off his sink, "I'll be right out."

Ichiji grunted out a "Whatever" as he turned around and left.

Sanji dried off his hands and glanced at his reflection in the mirror, and hated what he saw. He should end the charade, tell his mom the truth, just face whatever her reaction would be and get it over with. But of course he wouldn't, because he was a coward.

What was it about going home that made him feel like absolute garbage?

He snarled at his reflection and left the bathroom.