I don't know what it is about the last chapter that always gives me writer's block, but I finished it in less then a month, so that's a win. Thank you to everyone who faved and commented and read and liked this silly story of mine! You're the real winners here!

Enjoy.

Sanji was up early the next morning. His sleep had been inconsistent and restless most of the night, and he was anxious to leave before the rest of the house woke up.

He decided to spend the predawn hours getting their things packed and ready to go. Reiju or one of the servants had dropped off Zoro's things during the night, so it was only a matter of making sure everything they needed got into at least one of their bags.

He paused as he opened his drawers. Usually he'd leave some clothes and things for when he came back to visit his mom, but if she never wanted to see him again then he'd have to take it all with him.

He closed his eyes, swallowed down his emotions, and made room in both his and Zoro's bags for the extra things.

When he was finished packing, his stomach was growling. He glanced out the windows and saw the sun just starting to peek out over the horizon. He didn't really want to leave the room and risk bumping into anyone, but he hated being hungry, and the odds of anyone being up at this hour were slim.

Zoro was still deep asleep, so he kissed his forehead, earning him a sleepy grunt in response, and wandered downstairs to the kitchen.

He wasn't in the mood for a big project, so he simply scrambled some eggs and made some toast before taking a seat at the counter.

Halfway through his meal, the kitchen door opened. He was about to bolt, but froze when Pudding entered. She seemed just as startled to see him, and said, "Oh, you're up early."

"Yeah." They stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments before Sanji stood up, "I can make you something if you want."

"No, it's fine," she insisted, moving to the other side of the counter and heading for the coffee machine, "I just want some coffee. I can get it myself."

"Alright," he sat back down.

Silence filled the room, with Sanji focusing on his food and Pudding fiddling with the coffee machine. Suddenly the machine beeped, startling them both as Pudding's coffee was finished. She quickly grabbed it and took a seat opposite of him.

She tapped her fingers against the mug as he stared down at his plate.

"Um," he said after a while, "How are you holding up?"

She blinked at him, "Better than you, I imagine."

He winced and looked away.

"I didn't mean that to be mean," she sighed as he looked up, "You're too nice sometimes. Worry about yourself more."

Sanji hummed and pushed his eggs around his plate, "Sorry."

"No, don't apologize," she sighed again and sipped her coffee, "You haven't done anything wrong. This whole situation is fucked up."

Sanji hummed in response. He couldn't argue with that.

"How are you doing?" she said, reaching across the counter to touch his hand, "And don't say fine, because I know you're not."

"Uh, I'm getting there," he said, slumping a little. She stroked his hand and he continued, "I kinda expected that reaction when they found out, but it's still a little hard to take. And with my mom…" he sighed and looked away, "Everything's all messed up," he took a deep breath and glanced back up at her, "But, I'll be okay. Eventually. I still have Zoro, and I still have my friends and Zeff and the Baratie."

"I'm glad," she said with a genuine smile on her face as she squeezed his hand and pulled away.

"How about you and Reiju?" he asked, "She mentioned that you managed to keep your relationship under wraps, but things still must be a little weird, right?"

"Me and Reiju," she frowned, tapping out a rhythm against her mug, "Don't worry, everyone bought our stories hook, line, and sinker. No one suspects anything."

"Really?" Sanji was a little surprised at that, "No one questioned why two allegedly straight girls would agree to pretend to date a gay couple?"

"Not even a little," she said as she sipped her coffee, "Heteronormativity is a hell of a drug."

She looked down at her coffee as if it held all the answers. It was a look Sanji knew well and a feeling he was intimately familiar with, so he asked, "And, how do you feel about that?"

She sighed and rested her forehead against her hands, "I don't know. Part of me is like, that was the whole point of this right? To keep everything a secret? You may have been outed, but as long as my status quo is maintained, everything's good," she winced and looked up at him, "No offense."

"None taken," he shook his head and took a bite of his food, "So, is there a part of you that wanted to be outed?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I think I'm just sick of hiding, of having to go miles out of town for a date, or orchestrating some involved scheme for just a few minutes alone with my girlfriend," she gave him a side eyed look, "Or having to pretend to date someone else for a whole weekend just to spend Christmas with her."

"Yeah," he tapped his fingers against the counter. He and Zoro barely made it through two days. He couldn't imagine this being their life, "Sounds exhausting."

"Did I tell you," she started, tracing patterns into her mug, "I've been working on coming out to my family?"

He blinked, surprised. She certainly had not, "You came out to your mom?"

"God no," her eyes went wide as she laughed, "She'd kill me on the spot. I'm not telling her unless I'm ready to leave forever and never speak to her again," her gaze went softer, "But I did tell some of my siblings. Katakuri, Lola, Chiffon."

"How did that go?"

"Good," she smiled, clutching her mug as her eyes grew watery, "Really, really good. They said they loved me and accepted me and all that jazz," she sniffled and wiped at her eyes, "It was really good."

Sanji reached across the table to squeeze her hand. She accepted the comfort with a smile, and he smiled back, "I'm glad."

She nodded as he pulled away, "But I didn't tell them about Reiju. Reiju didn't want me to, not yet, so I only told them I was bi, not that I was seeing someone," she sighed and rested her chin in her hand, "But I want to. I want to tell everyone. I want everyone to know that Reiju's mine and they should get their stupid green hands off of her."

His first instinct was to defend Zoro, but Pudding was already aware that Zoro wasn't into Reiju like that, and that really wasn't the point here, "Have you talked to Reiju about it?"

"Yeah," she drummed her fingers on the counter, "She said she wasn't ready to come out yet. And I get it, I do, but," she leaned back in her seat, "Maybe she's ashamed to be with me."

"That's not true," he said as she sipped her coffee and looked away, "You saw how everyone reacted last night. Reiju's a practical person. All she's ever known is the Vinsmokes and Germa Group. If she loses them then she has nothing."

"She'd still have you."

"Well," he looked down at his food. He never really considered himself an asset in that way, but he knew if push came to shove he'd be there to help his sister out in a heartbeat, "Yeah, she would. But you know that's not the same."

"Yeah," she sighed, taking another sip of her coffee, "But I think there's more to it then that. It's like she's always holding me at arms length."

"She's very reserved," he reasoned, "She has trouble letting people in, me included."

Pudding pouted, "She didn't have any trouble warming up to Zoro."

He didn't really know what to say to that other than the obvious, "You know Zoro's gay right? Like a hundred percent not into girls?"

"So he says," she moodily traced her finger along the rim of her mug before relenting with a sigh, "Yeah, I know. I'm being ridiculous. He's so obviously in love with you it's disgusting. But it's so frustrating," she growled and took another sip of coffee, "I had to fight and kick down all these walls before she could consider warming up to me and he gets to waltz right in."

"It's more complicated than that," he assured her, "And I'm sure you breaking down those walls first helped."

She hummed, staring at her coffee as he finished his breakfast. After a while, she said, "She thinks I'm still in love with you."

Sanji choked on his food a little, swallowed, then said, "Oh, uh, she told you?"

"Of course not," she frowned, tapping the mug, "She doesn't have to. It's obvious," she looked up at him, "I'm not, you know. Still in love with you."

He blushed, "I never thought-"

"Yeah you did," she smiled, and he wasn't one to try and lie to her twice, "You must have wondered, right? After everything that happened between us why would I date your sister?"

"The thought may have crossed my mind."

"I didn't want to like, like her at first," she admitted, "Being around her so much dealing with the merger kept bringing up memories about you, and I hated it. But then after a while I stopped seeing her as your sister and just saw her as her, as Reiju. And I liked what I saw."

Sanji quietly pushed his empty dishes to the side as she continued, "I liked talking to her, I liked being with her," she covered her eyes with her hand, "When the merger fell through I didn't want to lose that, so I just kept seeing her. When she agreed to date me I thought it was the best thing. Now I'm not so sure."

"Why?" his eyes narrowed, "It's not the ace thing is it?"

She shook her head, "No, actually. I thought that would be a bigger problem, but it's really not," she smiled and blushed a little, "Actually, it's really sweet. And it's nice for once to be with someone who likes me for something other than my body. I haven't had that since, well, you."

It was his turn to blush, and she continued, "Of course, you weren't really into me at all outside of being friends, I realize now, so this is much better."

That was fair, but he still had to ask, "So, then what happened?"

She gestured around them, "This."

Sanji waited as she took a long sip of her coffee. When she was done, she placed the mug back down and continued, "When she first proposed this scheme to me, I was so mad. It felt like some sort of test, like she was just, throwing you at me just to see how I'd react," she grit her teeth and covered her eyes with her hand, "Like she didn't trust me or how I felt about her."

She took a deep breath, "So I figured if she already thought I was still in love with you, then I'd play it up as best as I could. Try to make her jealous, you know?" She lowered her hand and looked right at him, "And I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about you at all, and it probably made you uncomfortable."

"Oh, no," he was quick to reassure her, "You're fine. It wasn't that bad."

She gave him a small smile and shook her head, "You're unbelievable," and glanced back at her coffee, "And I'm sorry for riling up Zoro so much too. I still don't like him, but I'm actually glad you're together. You deserve to be happy," she reached across the table and grabbed his hand again, "You deserve to be loved."

He blushed, deciding for once to accept the comments for what they were, "Thank you."

She squeezed his hand before pulling away, "Even if watching you two make those hopeless goo-goo eyes at each other made me want to barf."

Sanji laughed, "Sorry, you know how I get when I'm in love."

"You're not sorry at all, bastard," she grinned as he collected their dirty dishes and brought them to the sink.

As he rinsed the dishes, Pudding walked over and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, "Thanks. For everything."

He quickly dried his hands and returned the hug, "Yeah, you too."

They pulled away slowly. She smiled up at him before leaning up and giving him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"See you around, Ji-Ji. Don't be a stranger."

She squeezed his arm and walked out of the kitchen.

Sanji took his time finishing up the dishes, mulling over everything they'd talked about. He understood Pudding's concerns, but he also personally knew Reiju's hesitation, the feeling of inadequacy and inability to accept the love being offered. It took him a while before he was able to fully accept Zoro's love for what it was, unconditional.

He put the dishes away, dried off his hands, and left the kitchen as spotless as it was before.

Reiju and Pudding would work things out, he was sure. He knew his sister cared about Pudding, both as a friend and a lover, and from what she just told him Pudding did too. They had a few hurdles to work through, but he was confident everything would be okay for them in the end.

The sun was fully risen by the time he got back to his room, but Zoro was nowhere to be found.

Wanting to get out of there as soon as possible, he grabbed their bags and made his way down to the car.

Zoro would turn up eventually.

Sora's room was on the top floor of the house. It didn't have a number on the door like her children did, but it did have a sign, a wooden one with with Mommy carved into it in childish scrawl and five tiny handprints on it in pink, red, blue, yellow, and green.

Zoro stared down the door like it was one of his tougher opponents. He reached out and touched the yellow handprint, letting his fingers drag over the grooves in the wood, and clutched at the little marimo jar still around his neck. With a new resolve, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Sora's maid answered, and her glare turned harsh instantly, "Oh. It's you."

"May I speak to Sora, please?"

"Haven't you caused enough damage already?" she shook her head and made to close the door, "Mistress Sora is still recovering from last night's festivities. She has no desire to see the likes of you."

Zoro stuck his foot in the door, preventing it from closing all the way, "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to hear that from her."

"Absolutely not," she tried to close the door again, but he wasn't budging, "Mistress Sora needs her rest, not more of the undue stress that you'll undoubtedly cause her."

"Please," he tried again, not one for begging but he really needed to speak with her, "It's important."

"No," she put more pressure on the door, and Zoro was starting to feel it even with his shoes on, "Go away."

"Just let me talk to her for a minute!" he was trying not to shout, but he was getting desperate, "Look, Sanji and I are leaving soon, and if she never wants to see us again she doesn't have to, but before that-"

"Epony?" Sora said from inside the room, "Who is that?"

"Mr. Roronoa," she responded, glaring at him once more, "He was just leaving."

"Zoro?" there was some rustling, then, "Let him in."

She gave him a look that could curdle milk, but opened the door and stepped aside, allowing Zoro to enter.

Her room was completely white, starkly so, and a little bigger than Reiju's and Sanji's. Zoro noticed a variety of medical equipment scattered across the room, and there was a striking smell of medicine in the air. The whole place reminded him more of a hospital room then a bedroom, and it set him on edge.

Sora was sitting up in her bed, back supported by about twenty pillow as her legs were tucked snuggly into the blankets. Strewn across the comforter were several crumpled up tissues.

"Good morning, Zoro," she said, gesturing to the chair by the bed, "What brings you here so early?"

He took a seat in the chair, "Sanji wants to leave soon, so I came to say goodbye."

"Oh," she looked away and clutched the comforter, "Yes, alright."

"I also came to talk to you," he leaned forward a little, resting his elbows on his knees, "About last night."

"What about last night?"

"You just," he frowned, trying to find the right phrasing, "You seemed surprised."

"I was a little blindsided," she sighed, leaning back further into the pillows, "You told me you were dating my daughter and I suddenly find out that's not the case. It's hard not to feel shocked by that."

Technically Reiju was the one who told her, but now really wasn't the time to get caught up on technicalities, "I'm sorry about that. I didn't want to deceive you," he heard Epony scoff somewhere behind him, but he didn't really care what she thought.

"If you didn't want to deceive me," she asked, tilting her head away and causing her bangs to cover her eyes, "why did you pretend to be with Reiju?"

"Because Sanji asked me to," he said, remembering Sanji on the couch that night, scared and nervous as he proposed this idea to him, and how he would have done anything to make him feel better, even this, "Because I wanted to spend Christmas with him," he leaned forward some more, trying to catch her eyes, but she refused to look up, so he took a deep breath and said, "Because I love him."

That got her to look at him, with barely contained tears in her eyes, "Really?"

He nodded, "I'm not gonna lie to you anymore, Sora. I love Sanji a whole damn lot, enough to come here and try and put on this charade just because he asked me to," he leaned his head against his hands, "You asked me before what I loved about Reiju, and the truth is I don't, I just met her."

She frowned and looked away, so he continued, desperate for her to understand, "But I love everything about Sanji, and picking just one thing that I find amazing or enthralling is like asking me to pick my favorite star in the sky."

Sora sniffled and reached her hand across the blanket towards him. Zoro took it as she said, "Thank you for loving my son."

He grinned and squeezed her hand gently, "He makes it easy."

She smiled sweetly at him and pulled away.

"Um," he rubbed his hair as he leaned away, "So, you're not upset that Sanji's with me?"

She shook her head, "I was certainly surprised, he's always liked girls so much, but all I've ever wanted was for him to be happy. And from what I saw he looked very happy with you."

Zoro relaxed, a weight leaving his chest upon hearing that, but it still begged the question, "So why couldn't you look at him last night? Why haven't you talked to him since?"

She sniffled, the tears in her eyes building up until they finally spilled over and she was full on crying.

He panicked, he was never good with crying people, and shit, he'd just made Sanji's mom cry Sanji was gonna kill him. There was a box of tissues on the nightstand, and he scrambled to grab them and pass them to her.

She took one and blew her nose loudly, crumpling it up and tossing it onto the pile before grabbing another as she wailed, "I'm a terrible mother! The absolute worst!"

"Uh, hey," he tried, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder, "It's not, that bad?"

She hiccuped, tossing the used tissue away as she tried to wipe the tears out of her eyes, but they just kept coming, "You didn't see him, Zoro. You didn't see his face when I saw the picture," she looked up at him, eyes red rimmed and still spilling tears as she sniffled, "He was so scared, absolutely terrified! And I put that look on his face! I made him feel like that!"

She sobbed, a new wave of tears coming as she looked away. Epony moved towards the bed, but before she could get there, Zoro had gotten out of the chair and settled on the bed next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side, and she turned her head to cry on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault," he said, rubbing comforting circles into her shoulder.

"Yes it is," she sobbed, "There was this part of him that he was too scared to show me, and that's on me. I made him too scared. I created this environment where he couldn't tell me something so important and," she looked up at him with the most watery stare he'd ever seen, "How could I look him in the eye after making him feel so bad? How can I possibly live with myself?"

"He's not scared of you," he said as he squeezed her shoulder, "He just didn't want to disappoint you."

"How could he ever disappoint me by falling in love?"

He shrugged, and the room fell silent, with Zoro comforting her as she calmed down and Epony busying herself with picking up the discarded tissues.

After a while, he said again, "It's not your fault."

She sniffled, burying her face more, "Yes it is."

She really was so much like Sanji.

He held her close as she continued, "I've always loved my children, and I try my best to show them that. I know with my husband, his love is a bit more, conditional. If they don't fit into his mold or his plan, or he can't force them in there," she shuddered and shook her head, "And Sanji's always had his own dreams and his own goals. He never quite fit in with Judge's plans, and they've always resented each other. I always tried my best to protect him, to protect all of them," she sighed and leaned further into him, "But it's hard, when the threat is their father."

"If Judge is so terrible," he couldn't help but wonder aloud, "why are you married to him?"

"He wasn't always terrible. When we first met and got married he was actually very sweet, very doting. But he changed after he became CEO of Germa Group. The company became his life," she shook her head and leaned more into him, "And I can't just leave him. The scandal alone would ostracize me. I'd have nowhere to go, and with my condition," she sighed and shook her head, "It's just not feasible."

They were silent for a bit, then Zoro said, "You could always stay with me and Sanji."

"Sanji," her eyes started watering again as she she said, "I never wanted to become another negative influence in Sanji's life," she sniffled and buried her face further into his shoulder, "But I couldn't even do that."

"You're a lot of things to him, but a negative influence isn't one of them," he said as he rubbed at her shoulder, "You should talk to him."

"How could I?" she whispered, "He probably hates me. He doesn't want anything to do with me."

"He doesn't hate you, you've got it all wrong," he squeezed her shoulder and gently pushed her back so he could look at her face, "He didn't tell you he was bi because he couldn't stand the thought of you hating him. Right now that's exactly what he thinks, and he's so fucking miserable."

Her eyes went wide.

"Please," he held her shoulders tight, practically begging, "Go talk to him. Tell him you still love him. Keep being a part of his life," he bit his lip and looked away, "My mother couldn't, and I haven't spoken to her in years. He loves you so much, and I don't," he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before slowly opening them to look right at her, "I don't want him to lose that. Please don't cut him out."

She nodded, her expression hardening as she gained new resolve, "Epony, help me get dressed."

"Mistress, I must protest," Epony said, "After all the excitement from last night, you're still far too weak to be out and about."

"That doesn't matter," she insisted, "Sanji needs me, and that's far more important," she pushed herself up and out of the bed, "If you refuse to help, Zoro will have to, and that would be extremely awkward for us both."

She walked off towards her closet, forcing Epony to follow behind her.

Zoro grinned, shaking his head as he leaned back on the pillows.

They really were too similar.

Sanji was waiting by the car, smoking his cigarette as he stared back at the house. Where the hell was Zoro? Didn't he know that he wanted to get out of there as soon as fucking possible? What was taking him so damn long?

He sighed, exhaling smoke and tapping his fingers against the trunk of the car as he leaned against it. He should just go look for the lost idiot.

"Hey, Three!" he heard Yonji shout. He froze as his three brothers approached, his eyes darting around for an escape.

He started making his way to the front seat of the car. Maybe if he ran them over, their screams would summon Zoro and the two of them could finally flee.

But Ichiji was there first, leaning against the door and preventing him from opening it. By that time Yonji and Niji were able to catch up to him too, boxing him in.

Trapped, he leaned against the car, puffing on his cigarette as he tried to appear as casual as he could while internally freaking the fuck out, "The fuck do you want?"

His eyes darted between the three of them. He could probably take each of them on individually, but a three on one fight was a different story. If Zoro were here the two of them could take them, so his best strategy would be to hold them off as best he could until Zoro got here, and then-

"Pretty fucked up what Father was saying last night," Niji said, bringing all of Sanji's thoughts to a crashing halt, "Even after you left, he just kept ranting and raving."

Sanji's eyes went wide as he stared at him, not saying anything.

"Yeah," Yonji said, "I get why you didn't wanna tell him, but we're brothers, man," he shoved at his shoulder, "You could've told us you were gay."

"Bi," he corrected automatically as he rubbed as his shoulder, "And why would I tell you? You hate me."

"What? We don't hate you," Niji said with an aggressive shoulder pat of his own, "What gave you that idea?"

"Literally everything you've ever said and done to me."

"That's fair," Ichiji said, looking away with a frown, "but that mostly came from misunderstanding. There's just a lot of things about you that we just don't get."

"Yeah," Yonji nodded, "Like the going out of your way to be nice to people thing."

"And the hanging out with lower-class peasants thing," Niji said.

"And the leaving home to cook for people thing," Ichiji added.

"And now the liking dudes thing," Yonji clapped a hand on his shoulder, "Which is fine."

Sanji couldn't believe this was happening. He still had vivid memories of the casual locker room talk and the slurs they'd sling around in high school, "Since when have you been okay with it?"

"Yeah, I'll admit, I wasn't the most accepting person growing up," Yonji nodded, "but Fi's older sister is a dy-" he cleared his throat, "A lover of women much like myself, and Fi's super supportive of her and her lifestyle, so I've also been trying to become a more accepting person. And her sister's a cool chick. We have a lot in common besides the loving women thing," he shrugged, "Made me rethink a few things."

Sanji stared at him, and a little smile found its way on his face. He didn't think his brother was capable of such growth and change, but anything was possible he supposed.

"Yeah, free love and all that, it's great. Nina's super into that," Niji explained, "She's actually pansexual, which makes it sound like she likes pancakes, but apparently it just means she's attracted to whatever. I mean, she also likes pancakes, but that's not what the word means."

Sanji blinked, his mouth opening wide enough that his cigarette almost fell out, "And, you're fine with that?"

"Sure," he shrugged, "We have an open relationship, so we can pretty much bone whoever we want with no hard feelings, and it makes for some pretty fun threesomes. Although if you are gonna bang ladies on the side, you gotta tell Zoro about it," he turned towards him with a serious look on his face, "I found that out the hard way."

Sanji debated for a hot second trying to explain that being attracted to more than one gender didn't mean he couldn't be in a monogamous relationship, but the whole discussion was already throwing him for a loop as it was, and he didn't want to waste his last few brain cells on this, "Okay."

"Wait, you fucking dudes too, Niji?" Yonji asked.

He shrugged, "Sometimes Nina invites other guys to bed with us, which is fine. It's still straight as long as I'm doing the fucking."

Sanji was going to say something, but decided against it. His brother's sexuality was something for him to figure out and discover on his own.

"You know what it was like growing up with Father's expectations," Ichiji said, "As long as you were constantly fucking up and disappointing him, whenever we did stumble it didn't seem as significant."

"Yeah," Niji rubbed his hair, "It was always like, 'Father won't hate me as long as I'm doing better than Sanji,'" he shrugged, "It's possible we may have taken it too far."

"After listening to Father rant last night, we realized that our treatment of you may have been unfairly harsh," Ichiji continued, glancing over at him, "We were always more concerned with getting Father's approval instead of your well being, and as brother's we've failed you spectacularly. And for that I'm sorry."

"Me too," Niji added, "We haven't always been there for you, so from now on, we'll try to be better."

"Same here," Yonji nodded, "Besides, how bad can you be if you picked Zoro to go gay for?"

"Bi," he corrected before he thought about what Yonji actually said, "Wait, you like Zoro?"

"I mean, not the way you like him, obviously," he shrugged and bumped shoulders with him, "But yeah, he's a cool guy. Great color taste, and he's almost as strong as me from the looks of it. He's like the cool older brother I've never had."

"Dude," Niji gestured at the three of them, "We're standing right here."

"Uh, I said cool," Niji punched him in the arm, and Yonji punched him back before he continued, "Before everything went to shit last night I was telling Reiju that she should marry him so we could hang out more, but now I guess she can't."

Yonji's eyes darted to Sanji, almost pleadingly, and he groaned, "No, I'm not going to marry Zoro just because you asked me to."

"Aw, c'mon," he pouted, "Just marry him so he can officially be my favorite brother."

"You ungrateful twerp, we shared a womb!" Niji shouted, charging towards him as Yonji ran off, "You're fucking dead!"

"Zoro would never treat me this way!" Yonji shouted back to him, "That's why he's my favorite!"

As they chased each other through the snow, Sanji sighed and knocked the ash off the end of his cigarette. He glanced over and noticed Ichiji was still staring at him, an unreadable expression on his face.

Before he could think of something more to say to him, Ichiji asked, "Do you know what I do for Germa Group?"

He knew his brother was an engineer of some kind, but since he couldn't stand anything about Germa Group and what it stood for he always tuned any discussion of it out, "Uh, no, sorry."

"I work in R&D, mostly in the lab, creating and trying out new things," he shrugged, "It's grunt work mostly, but I like it. I like making things."

Sanji nodded as he took a drag from his cigarette. The art of creating, the satisfaction of seeing the completed result, those were feelings that he understood well; it was part of the reason he loved cooking so much. He didn't think it'd be something Ichiji of all people could relate to, but maybe it was just something about him that he'd never bothered to see.

"Lately Father's been trying to push me out of the lab," he continued, "Put me more into upper management," he looked down at the ground, "He's been grooming me for it my whole life, so I'm not really surprised, but…" he trailed off, kicking his heel against the front tire.

"You want to stay in the lab," Sanji finished for him. He nodded as Sanji exhaled smoke and said, "Well, fuck him then. Do what you want. If he won't let you keep engineering at Germa, go someplace else that will. Or better yet, make your own company. Then you can do whatever you want."

He smirked, "It's not that easy. Not everyone can just leave everything they've ever known and start a new life," and looked up at his brother, "That's a quality of yours I've always envied."

Sanji looked away, taking the compliment for what it was as he felt something warm build up in his chest. It was probably the nicest thing Ichiji had ever said to him.

They fell into silence for a few moments, with Sanji quietly smoking his cigarette as the other two screeched in the background, resorting to chucking snowballs at each other instead of punching.

He inhaled deeply and exhaled smoke, mulling over whether to bring this up, not wanting to shatter whatever moment they were having here, but he figured Ichiji at least had the right to know. Eventually he built up enough resolve to say, "Uh, so, in the spirit of brotherly bonding or whatever the fuck this is," he kicked around some of the gravel, "I feel like I should tell you, uh. Last night Dani kinda," he waved his hand and gnawed on the cigarette filter, "made a move on Zoro?"

He quickly glanced up at him, but Ichiji was as impassive as ever, only acknowledging his words with a soft hum.

"I mean, to be fair, Nina did too," he continued, babbling now that the words were out, "But apparently Niji's cool with that? I don't know if you have some kind of arrangement with her or something, but I just, you know," he rubbed the back of his head, "I thought that you should know."

After a pause, Ichiji responded, "Thank you for telling me."

His voice didn't waver, his expression didn't change. As always it was hard to tell just what he was thinking, "Did you already know?"

"No," he admitted with a shrug, "But I'm not surprised. Our relationship isn't based on things like affection or attraction. We both come from good families and we're a good match," he looked over at him, and Sanji was struck by the intensity of the gaze, "I can't imagine myself defending her the way Zoro did for you or vice versa, outside a point of pride. If she needs something outside of our relationship that I can't provide her, then I can't begrudge her to look for it."

Sanji took a long drag from his cigarette before saying, "You're not as heartless as you think you are. You deserve to be happy too."

His eyes went wide, and he looked away before saying, "We can't all be you."

Before he could respond, a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. He turned and saw Reiju smiling at him, "Hey."

"Hey," she replied, "How are you doing?"

"Good, fine," the look she give him wasn't convinced, and he inhaled from his cigarette before saying, "Better."

She pulled away, ruffling his hair as she handed him a small present, "Here, since you're not going to be around to open presents."

He cradled it carefully as he accepted it, "Thank you."

"Right," Ichiji dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out his own present to hand to him, "Here."

"Did the other two give you theirs yet?" Reiju asked, glancing around the driveway, "Where are they?"

Just then a stray snowball was launched in their direction. They all managed to dodge as it smacked the side of Sanji's car, the excess water and snow dripping down the window.

"Honestly," Reiju grumbled as she stood up and grabbed a swatch of snow to form into two perfectly round snowballs. After some careful aiming she pelted her brothers' heads with precision accuracy.

"Hey! Sanji's leaving!" she shouted as they turned to frown at her, rubbing their heads, "Give him your shit!"

They responded with more snowballs, one of which hit Ichiji, causing him to return fire and create what was quickly turning into an all-out snowball war between the siblings. Sanji worked his way to the trunk of his car, popping it and putting the presents inside.

He heard more footsteps crunching across the gravel, and he looked up to see Zoro finally making his way over, carefully escorting his mother.

He quickly dropped his cigarette on the ground and put it out with his foot as they approached.

Why was Zoro bringing his mom? Wasn't one rejection enough to last a lifetime? Why would he drag this out and put him through this again?

"Hey," he said, trying to sound as casual as he could while inside he was screaming. His eyes were focused on the ground, his heart pounding hard enough to burst through his chest as he ran a hand through his hair, "Don't worry, we're leaving now, so-"

The rest of his sentence was cut off when she surged forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed into his chest, "I'm so sorry."

Sanji was frozen to the spot, shocked by her actions but not really sure what was going on or what to do. He glanced over at Zoro, who was leaning against the car as stoic as ever, being absolutely useless and no help at all.

"I didn't," she paused, squeezing him a little tighter before she continued, "I never wanted to make you feel so terrible about yourself, because you're perfect just as you are."

He held his breath, not quite believing her words but wanting them to be true regardless.

"I'm sorry that I didn't make that clear last night. I just," she inhaled sharply and clutched at his back, "I never wanted to be the kind of person you couldn't be yourself around, and when I found out I was I just…"

She pulled away, reaching up to cradle his face with her hands, "You are my son, and I love you," she said, rubbing at his cheekbones with her thumbs, "I'll always love you, and I don't care who you love."

He felt tears trickling down his face, and he didn't even care that Zoro and his brothers were watching him cry. His mom accepted him. His mom still loved him.

Everything was still okay.

He leaned forward and hugged her tight, hiding his face against her shoulder as he let his relieved tears flow.

"Thank you," he muttered as he felt her arms wrap around him once more, "I'm sorry I-"

"Sanji, don't you ever apologize for being your wonderful, beautiful self," she admonished in his ear, "Not to me, not to anyone."

He smiled and nodded, pulling away a bit so he could wipe away some of his tears. Suddenly he felt more arms wrap around him and looked around to see Reiju again. She smiled up at him and he smiled back.

"Yeah!" Yonji shouted as he barreled over and threw his arms around Sanji and their mom, "Group hug time!"

Niji joined them too, encasing his arms around Reiju and their mom before glancing over at their last brother, "C'mon, Ich, it's a group hug! Get in on this!"

Ichiji stood near Zoro off to the side, shuffling awkwardly, "I'm good."

"Worst brother ever!" Yonji shouted.

Ichiji's eyebrow twitched, and he made his way over to his family. He lifted his hand and rested it gently on his mom's back.

That wasn't enough for his brothers, who immediately shifted their arms around until they forced him into the hug, squeezing them all together until they were all laughing.

Sanji laughed too, for once happy to be part of this stupid family.

Zoro had assumed Sanji would want to spend the rest of the evening at home after all that excitement, but when word had spread to their friends that they were suddenly obligation free for Christmas, they instead found themselves at Robin and Franky's with the rest of the gang.

It was his preferred way to spend Christmas anyway, surrounded by friends.

Towards the end of the evening he found himself flopped on the couch nursing an eggnog. Luffy had dragged Sanji off somewhere, Franky, Brook, and Jinbei had burst into a patchwork of Christmas carols, Usopp was telling the story of how he single-handedly saved Christmas to Chopper, who was listening in complete awe as Robin observed them, amused but silent, and Nami and Vivi were curled up on the chair next to him.

He smiled at the chaos happening around him. It was perfect.

"That's new," Nami said, pointing at the marimo necklace, "Where'd you get that?"

He shrugged, a little self conscious as he took a sip of his drink, "It's just a present."

"Aw, it's cute," Vivi glanced at him too, "Who gave it to you?"

"Sanji, right?" Nami grinned, staring at the jar, "Sanji got you a little marimo?"

He felt his face heat up and looked away, "Maybe."

"Of course he did," she laughed, "Unless the Vinsmokes got it for you. But why would they?" she poked his cheek, "You're not their Marimo."

His blushed deepened and he took another sip, trying his best to ignore her.

"Oh, and speaking of," she leaned over the arm of the couch to smirk at him, "The Vinsmokes. How was it?"

He shrugged, "S'alright. Reiju was nice. The brothers were whatever. Sora's great," he took another sip from his drink, "Judge is a fuckass."

"Yes," Vivi slurred as she leaned more into Nami, "I've been saying it for years."

Nami wrapped an arm more securely around her waist and kissed her temple.

"You gonna go next year?" she asked him, raising her eyebrow.

"Hell no," Zoro laughed, "Doubt Judge will let us within a hundred feet of the house," he swirled his drink, "But Sora was saying she might come to the Baratie instead. And who knows? Maybe by next year Reiju can just bring Pudding herself."

Just then Luffy burst from the kitchen holding a plate of cookies and shouted, "Cookie time!"

There was a rush of everyone scrambling for some cookies, but Zoro was content to stay right where he was.

Sanji emerged from the kitchen with his own cookie and eggnog and planted himself right on Zoro's lap, "Hi."

"Hi," he replied, and as soon as he opened his mouth Sanji shoved the cookie in it.

He chewed on it moodily, he didn't really like sweet things, but as he kept eating it he found that it was covered in dark chocolate and peppermint and wasn't all that sweet.

Sanji grinned, "You like?"

He nodded and grabbed his waist, pulling him closer. When he was done, he swallowed and asked, "What's with the cookies?"

"Luffy wanted cookies. Well, I think Luffy really wanted to make sure I was okay after, you know," he waved his hand, and placed his eggnog on the table, "Everything. And he probably wanted cookies too."

"He's good like that," Zoro smiled, putting his drink down as well as he leaned in for a kiss.

Sanji kissed him back and hummed, closing his eyes and falling into it as his hands sank into Zoro's hair. After a few moments he pulled away and said, "I like this."

"Yeah," he rubbed circles into his hips with his thumbs, "I do to."

He hummed again and kissed his cheek, muttering into his ear, "I like kissing you."

Zoro laughed, "Are you drunk?"

"'M fine, mostly just tipsy," Sanji found his way back to his lips and kissed him again, and he couldn't help but grin as he kissed him back.

"You two want a room or something?" Franky said, causing them to pull apart.

"Franky, did you know?" Sanji asked as he cradled Zoro's face, "Zoro's the best boyfriend ever."

Franky smirked as Zoro blushed, "Is he now?"

"Yup," he grinned down at him, his eyes full of nothing but affection, and Zoro blushed even more, "He dated my sister and told off Judge and made my mom love me," he leaned down and pecked his lips, "He's the best. I love him a lot."

Zoro groaned and buried his face in Sanji's chest. He kinda hated how overly affectionate Sanji got when he was drunk, but he also kinda loved it.

Sanji glanced back up at Franky as he started stroking Zoro's hair, "You can't have him."

Franky laughed, "No worries, dude. He's all yours."

"Damn straight he is," he giggled, "Or I guess, damn bi."

"You're the damn bi," Zoro muttered as he pulled away.

Sanji was smiling so sweetly at him, he couldn't help but lean forward and kiss him again. He'd meant to keep it short and sweet, but Sanji opened his mouth and let one hand slid down his chest, and he wasn't going to refuse an invitation like that.

"Anyway, guest room's open if you guys want it, just saying," Franky said as he left them alone, "Go nuts."

Eventually, Zoro pulled away, "You want the room? Or do you wanna go home?"

Sanji hummed as he thought about it, "Home."

He stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet as they quietly made their way to the door.

Just as they opened the door, Usopp shouted, "Ooh, mistletoe!"

They both looked up at the mistletoe that had been hung in the doorway, and the entire room started chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Sanji grinned, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him eagerly into one more kiss. Zoro sighed into it, closing his eyes and wrapping a hand around his waist to pull him even closer.

The room cheered as they pulled away. Sanji flashed him a satisfied smirk as Zoro grabbed his hand and led him out the door.

Their intertwined hands swung between them as they walked down the street towards their apartment. The snow swirled around them, and if Zoro were the romantic type he'd almost call it magical.

"I meant it, you know," Sanji said. Zoro glanced over at him and he grinned, "You really are the best."

He smiled, "You're worth it."

Sanji leaned in and kissed him softly. Zoro let him for a few moments, but as the snow started to stick to their jackets Sanji shivered and pulled away.

As they started walking again Zoro thought back to the weekend. Yeah, everything turned out alright with Sora's acceptance and all, but the whole thing still ended up being kinda a mess, and whatever status quo Sanji had been pretending to have with the Vinsmokes and that world was shot to hell.

"You're really okay, right?" he asked, just to make sure, "I mean, with how everything turned out?"

"Of course I'm okay," he said, swinging their hands a little as he smiled, "I'm with you."

Zoro grinned, feeling Sanji lean more into him as they made their way home.