Author's Note: So I still don't own One Piece, or Fullmetal Alchemist. Don't ask me why but this chapter ended up having a lot of references to it. I know that Sanji's a bit unreasonable in terms of his thought process, I guess, but I really like insecure people (don't ask me why) and I figured, given his situation, he might doubt things. Also random fact: the other day, I walked to my friend's house. I've known her for a long time, know where she lives too. I got lost. For like, half an hour. I left the house early in order to be there for the time we decided and I was late. I just kept walking up and down streets, looking at signs that all seemed to be hidden by trees. I totally felt like Zoro for that whole trip. Maybe the reason why I decided to talk about Fullmetal Alchemist is because my friend told me recently that the next Comic Con, she's going to go as Ed. And she totally plans on making his auto-mail. But anyway, yeah. I liked this chapter, Zoro might seem a bit out of character, but for the past while, Sanji's been a bit out of it (chapter 20, chapter 22), so uh yeah, this is my way of saying yeah, Zoro can have strange speeches. I really hope I didn't screw this up cause I hate authors who screw up the chemistry of couples once they actually get together. Please tell me if I failed at it!
Beautiful Disaster
By: Setkia
Full Summary
Sanji is the assistant cook of the world-renowned restaurant, the Baratie, the only restaurant like it in the world. He's a successful chef and flirts with the customers every chance he can get but there's a problem. It's all a facade. The cooks give a new meaning to the word "abusive", both mental and physical. The only thing keeping Sanji alive is his love for cooking and a good ol' pack of cigarettes.
Zoro Roronoa is a swordsman who suddenly has more change in his pocket than he expected and enters the Baratie by recommendation. His waiter happens to be a curly browed man with an adoration for cigarettes. An attempt speak to the head chef goes horribly wrong and he gets sucked into the crumbling world of the chef's, wondering how he can possibly save him and better yet, why does he want to save him in the first place?
Chapter 24: Something New
The pain in his back was all the proof Sanji needed to know that the night before hadn't been a dream.
Opening his bleary eyes, he focused his attention towards the rising and falling chest that his head was resting on. His fingers carefully ran over Zoro's torso, certain that if his back hurt, Zoro's had to be in even worse pain. He could feel Zoro's muscles through his shirt, blue, Zoro's favourite colour. Something that insignificant had managed to stay with him throughout all this time. He couldn't find words to describe it, what it felt like to be this close to him. It sent his pulse racing and his heartbeat was erratic, his breathing almost unsettlingly unsteady. He fisted the soft cloth of Zoro's cotton shirt, closing his eyes once more.
It was early, he knew that. Sanji's internal clock had him up at strange times. He knew Zoro found it odd that on the occasion, Sanji could be found in the kitchen at five in the morning. He was used to getting little sleep and managed to learn how to function at least relatively well with minimal shut eye. Zoro would take a while to wake up and that gave Sanji time to reflect on the past night.
He almost wanted to put his fingers to his lips. He could almost still feel Zoro on his lips, that sensual tongue. Sanji had nearly melted into him, almost wrapped his arms around Zoro too tightly, gasping for air. He had held himself back from moaning, but perhaps he just had a sensitive body that he had been acting so heated up by his kiss. Maybe his skin was just acutely aware of fingers that brushed against his hip, accidentally sliding under his shirt for the briefest of moments. Maybe his cheek was over-actively aware— fuck it, he could admit it, he was sensitive to Zoro. And maybe Zoro was sensitive to him too?
"You're not alone. Not anymore."
Sanji took a moment to breathe in Zoro's scent. Steel, mint and some other kind of indescribable smell that could only be called Zoro.
Somehow, the swordsman had quelled all of his fears of being rejected. He felt at ease with Zoro, as though nothing had changed between them. They were still close, they were still able to have carefree conversations. The day before had proved that. But honestly, he was still confused. After the almost-kiss after he told Zoro his story, he had thought that that was the end of any romantic relationship he had hoped he could maybe, possibly get into with the swordsman. But then last night …
The day had started off with his head spinning.
Zoro waking up so early was rare. As far as Sanji knew, it had never happened before but there he was when Sanji had turned around, sitting at the table, slouching. The way he had approached him from behind, practically wrapped himself up in Sanji, it had made Sanji's heart stop. He wondered why it was the swordsman was playing with his feelings, if he had found out the last night— of course he fucking found out when Sanji had practically thrown himself at him, trying desperately to kiss him— and this was his way of teasing him. The way he had told him so gently that he wasn't useless, that he was valuable … He had tried so hard to convince himself it was nothing.
When Sanji had finally convinced himself the swordsman could never want him (and for some reason, it was harder to do during that day. Maybe because he so desperately wanted it), the swordsman kissed him and sent his world spiralling.
He could feel Zoro's steady heartbeat under his hand and timed his breathing with his. Was it possible to feel this close to another human being after so little time?
No, it's been a while.
It's been a while since the Marimo walked into the Baratie. Since he's asked about magic ice cubes. It's been a while since he's mentioned my scars. He's never pushed too much but he pushes me just enough to make me vulnerable around him. To be unguarded … To be unguarded around a swordsman with three sharp, daunting swords …
Sanji stared at Zoro's sleeping face.
"You're beautiful, you know."
Liar.
But Zoro was.
Sanji had used the word "handsome" to describe several men in his life. He knew a few handsome photographers, handsome journalists, handsome people. But as for Zoro, Zoro wasn't handsome. Well, he was, but the word didn't do him justice.
When Sanji had first heard the word "beautiful", he thought it sounded pretty. Just hearing the word made him think of it as special. He had never used it to describe a man before, but it was true for Zoro and though some may say that the word "beautiful" had a feminine connotation to it, Sanji couldn't disagree more. You could say anything was beautiful, regardless of gender, sex, regardless of what it was in general. If he called a car beautiful, did that mean it was female? No, beautiful was just a word in his vocabulary that had a special meaning and very few things were labeled as such.
But Zoro …
With his sharp features, strong jaw and prominent chin, he was on the road to handsome. But it was his eyes that really got Sanji.
The shade, the colour, unlike anything he had ever seen before. The colour in those dark eyes made him feel dizzy. Looking Zoro straight in the eye always felt too intimate, always felt like he was staring into Zoro's soul. His tanned complexion and his callused hands were proof of his "manliness" and so were the bulging muscles he had. But Zoro wasn't the muscular type who just kept growing, his biceps and triceps becoming more and more grand as he went. No, they were prominent and obvious, no one could miss them, but they weren't in your face at the same time. Sanji had seen overly-muscular men and they were never handsome to him. But it was more than just that. Whether it was his nose or those three piercings in his left ear, he wasn't sure.
He knew fully well Zoro wasn't the traditional "beautiful", but Sanji still thought he was.
Maybe it wasn't even Zoro's appearance. Besides his green hair, Sanji couldn't think of a very remarkable feature of his that you'd notice on first glance. No, maybe it really was his personality that made him beautiful. But Zoro wasn't perfect, Sanji was not delusional, he knew that.
Zoro was tough, rough around the edges. He screamed a lot, swore, had previously enjoyed drinking copious amounts of beer. He had a motorcycle in the garage, without a helmet because he was just "cool like that". He couldn't cook (the Castella cake had been simple, Zoro was just too stupid to realize that), he probably couldn't find his way out of a parking lot, he seriously lacked in manners. He didn't have a way with words, they always seemed to be caught in his throat and he knew he was saying the wrong things, but at the same time, he pushed on anyway, letting out an awkward string of words that came out sounding wrong but you still knew what he was saying. He was scarred, Sanji could see them. He knew of the long scar that ran across the majority of Zoro's torso in a diagonal line and he wondered each time how he got it. Zoro was secretive, he still wouldn't talk about the past owner of Wado, though Sanji had given up hope on learning about it at this point. He had a weird, unorthodox way of showing he cared. He was rough with people, made bad first impressions …
Sanji could go on, but then there were other things about Zoro that shouldn't be as endearing as Sanji found them, but were because it was Zoro.
The way Zoro shoved that spoonful of gunk into his mouth and waited for his answer before awkwardly telling Sanji he could spit it out. The way Zoro had dragged him into the kitchen that first night, asking for cooking lessons. The way he had kept doing that until the nightmares finally faded away … When Zoro brought him to a kendo match and got Sanji the best seats in the house. The way Zoro would get his cigarettes without even arguing. How Zoro would watch all of his fights all the way through and he knew all of Zoro's attention was on him. The way Zoro always resorted to the ever fruitless retort of "shut up!" when words really began to fail him. How Zoro said things like they were going to happen, rather than a request. How he had forced Sanji to do that weird therapy session. How he went along with all of Sanji's weird word games. When he fought with him over who would drive the car. The way he had picked out Sanji's phone before Sanji could ever protest. The sweet things he said without even realizing it … The random moments when he spoke French and Sanji was left confused. The way he looked away from that kissing couple in the elevator … That he was ticklish …
There was too much he could say about Zoro, he was … he was just Zoro.
Sanji traced the contours of Zoro's face, his eyelids, his nose, his cheekbones … He froze over his lips. Zoro was a deep sleeper, surely he wouldn't notice? With a shaking hand, Sanji began to trace Zoro's lips. They were probably softer than his, and even though the most foul words came out of them, they also said things sweeter than honey.
Zoro's lips parted for a moment and Sanji pulled his hand back, terrified Zoro had woken up. He tried to steady his breathing.
It was the third week of December. It was cold in the apartment. Sanji shivered, trying to bring himself closer to Zoro for the sake of warmth, it wasn't because he wanted to cuddle. It wasn't.
Okay, maybe it was. Just a little.
He easily fell back to sleep like that, curled into Zoro's chest, the nightmares kept far at bay.
When Sanji woke up, Zoro's warmth was gone. The clock read 11:56. He had slept long. He hadn't even realized he was that tired. He looked around for Zoro, but he couldn't find him. It made sense though, it wasn't as though Zoro would put his whole day on pause just so that Sanji could get his rest.
He walked into the bathroom, carefully avoiding the mirror above the sink when he realized something. Yes, he had blond hair, but what was that highlighter yellow that seemed too bright to be natural? Sanji felt around his forehead and pulled away a post-it note.
Gone out to Partys
Be back later
Z
Sanji rolled his eyes. Of course that was how Zoro told someone he was going out. He couldn't just do it like a normal person, could he? He chuckled to himself and took a quick shower before getting dressed. Once he was dressed, he found a stack of blank post-it notes in the kitchen. Looking into the waste-bin nearby, he noticed the note Zoro had been trying to write on the day before. It was still blank. What a waste.
In his neat, curly script, he wrote:
Marimo,
You've got shitty shampoo, did you know?
S
After sticking it on the bathroom mirror, Sanji put on his blazer and lit up his newest cigarette.
Waking up this morning had been an interesting and new experience, though his back still hurt —the couch was not comfortable. He wanted to know if last night had been a sleep-deprived Marimo telling him things to make him stay. He wanted to know, badly. Did that mean anything? Had their relationship changed overnight? Would Zoro go as far as kissing someone to keep them around? Dear God, Sanji hoped not.
Zoro was at Partys? Then Sanji would go to Partys. He'd talk to him and figure this out, learn what was going on.
While he sat in the back of the taxi, he wondered what he would say to Zoro. Talking about it in public felt too personal, so he figured he might have to hint. Zoro didn't seem to be one of those people who understood subtlety though. Sanji would just have to pray that for today, he'd get it.
He didn't want to admit it, but Sanji was giddy. He was beyond giddy, his whole body shaking, whether from nerves or excitement, he didn't know, he just knew that there was an overly happy voice in the back of his head reminding him over and over again that he was going to see Zoro. He was going to see Zoro soon.
It was during this taxi ride that it occurred to him that he had a phone, one which Zoro had put his number in. Why hadn't he just texted him rather than stick a note on his forehead?
When he got out of the cab, he thanked the driver and entered Partys.
"Hello Sanji," greeted Makino, "you haven't been here in a while. Zoro's downstairs."
Sanji tried to hide his blush. Was it that obvious he wanted to see the swordsman?
He nodded his thanks to her, slightly distracted as he went down the stairs to see Yosaku and Johnny at the bottom, wearing their usual shades. "Hey guys, think you can let me in?" he asked them.
"Big Bro Sanji!" said Johnny with a big smile. "You and Big Bro Zoro are a package deal, aren't you?" he asked, laughing. "The same day Big Bro turns up after his long absence, so does Big Bro Sanji!"
Sanji let out a little laugh. All he knew was that Zoro out there in the craziness that was the underground fighting arena of Partys and all Sanji needed to do to see him, was to get past Dumb and Dumber. "So, can I pass through?"
"Yeah, sure," said Yosaku, letting Sanji pass him and into the arena.
Sanji had never been to Partys so early on in the day. He wasn't even sure if the fighting still happened. Was it a twenty-four hour bar or something? He spotted Zoro instantly, sitting with Nami, talking to her about something. He considered approaching him, but wasn't sure if that was too direct.
It was Zoro for crying out loud, just because he had kissed him the night before, didn't mean Sanji had to get all weird over him. And yet Sanji was contemplating running out of there before anyone could spot him. He was just about to turn on his heel and leave, say that he had forgotten he had another engagement to attend to, when Nami spotted him.
"Hey, Sanji! Over here!"
Sanji winced. He had been hoping he could've gone longer without being found out, but he sighed and steeled himself to speak to Zoro.
It was strange how just a few minutes ago he was up and ready to nail into him— no, bad choice of words— he was ready to talk to him, confront him on the night before and now he was wishing he could sink into the floor. His stomach was in knots as he slowly approached the two friends, his hands fisted in his pockets.
Breathe, he reminded himself. Breathe. It's Zoro. Just Zoro. But though his brain tried to convince himself it was nothing, his heart seemed to scream even louder.
Just Zoro? it demanded. Just Zoro? What the fuck, are you a lunatic? It's Zoro, you're nowhere near freaking out enough!
Shut up, his brain snapped.
Finally, he was in front of them. "Nice note, Marimo," he said. Fuck, it was like his mouth had a mind of his own. No, wait, that was a good thing. He sounded casual. At least, to his own ears. He hoped. "Couldn't have just texted me?"
"Would you have read it?" Zoro shot back, raising an eyebrow.
Sanji had no answer. Instead, he took a seat next to Nami. "So, why're you here?" he asked Zoro.
"Why are you here?"
"Note, remember?" Sanji said, rolling his eyes. "What, you think I'd let you get yourself in trouble again? The last time you fought here, you needed a blood donation. I thought you were a big boy, able to handle swords, but apparently not it seems."
Nami giggled. "You two fight like an old married couple."
"Old?" Zoro demanded.
"Married?" Sanji squeaked.
Nami laughed again, harder this time. When she finally got herself under control, she looked like she was all business. "So, when do you two plan on fighting?"
"We fight a lot daily," Zoro pointed out. "What do you mean when do we plan to do it? It just happens."
Nami shook her head. "Honestly Zoro, is there anything in your head?" She sighed. "No, I meant when are you two going to fight against each other? You know, in the ring? I have tons of people who are anxious for it to happen."
"It ain't happening any time soon," Sanji said. "I don't trust him not to impale himself," he told her. "Idiot came home just two days ago covered in blood." He shook his head. "What did you do, assassinate everyone?"
"They were bastards," Zoro replied through gritted teeth.
"It's not my fault you can't handle your own temper," Sanji said. He turned to Nami. "Where's Luffy?"
"Oh, he just went upstairs a while ago to get us drinks. This guy over here," she poked Zoro in the shoulder and he sent her a death glare, "still refuses sake."
"I'm quitting," Zoro reminded her for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"So I've heard," Nami said, shaking her head. "It's almost Christmas, don't tell me you seriously plan on staying sober during the whole thing."
"I do," Zoro said. "You just want me to crack so Usopp will give you his money. You're doing that, knowing what he's trying to do," he added.
"What he's trying to do?" Sanji repeated, confused.
"You remember Kaya? You met her last night."
Yeah, Sanji remembered Kaya. She was a pretty young woman who was Usopp's girlfriend. She laughed and played and Sanji had a hard time believing Zoro's story about how she had been suffering from depression. "Nice girl," he said absent-mindedly. "What about her?"
"Well, Usopp's been thinking about … you know, sealing the deal with her—"
"What, he's going to have sex with her?"
Zoro shook his head, his face turning red. "N-no," he spluttered, "why would you even think that?!"
"Well, married people have sex to consummate their marriage, right?" Sanji said. "Isn't that sealing the deal?"
Nami laughed. "In order to consummate the marriage, under the assumption they haven't already done it, what do you think Usopp's missing?"
"A condom?"
Nami laughed even harder. "A ring, Sanji."
"Holy fuck, he plans on getting married?!" Sanji demanded, his eyes widening. "How old is he? He's like what, twenty-one? That's so young though!"
"Yeah, but you know, me and Luffy have talked about it too," Nami pointed out. "It might not even be a proposal, he might just want to get a promise ring, you know, those things that swear you'll always be faithful? They're practically the same thing as marriage, in which case, I've been married for a while now." She flashed off a shiny silver ring on her left hand. "It was quite an interesting presentation of it. Apparently, Luffy nearly lost it five times before he gave it to me." She chuckled to herself. "He's an idiot, but I love him anyway."
"Exactly and you cherish that ring, right?" Zoro asked. "Even if it isn't an engagement ring or anything, Usopp still wants to get her one and he can't do that if you're robbing him of all his money!"
"I didn't rob him," Nami said indignantly, shaking her head. "I asked if he wanted to gamble—"
"More like threatened," Zoro muttered, his arms crossed over his chest.
"—and he agreed," Nami finished, sending Zoro a look. "I don't see how any of this is my fault."
Zoro sighed. "Never mind, it's impossible to fix you."
"Hey, Nami's perfect!" Sanji said. "There's no reason she needs to be fixed!"
Zoro looked at him strangely, as though these were words he wanted to say as well, but couldn't, while at the same time, there was a trace of … envy in his eyes? He shook his head and sighed. "Where's Luffy? Better yet, where's Ace? I want to have another fight."
"Oh like the one you had with those shitty cooks wasn't enough?" Sanji snapped.
"Shitty cooks?" Nami repeated, staring at Sanji strangely. "What happened?"
Sanji paled. He didn't want her to know. It was one thing for Zoro to know, but an entirely different thing for Nami to know. Nami was a picture of beauty who need not know about his terrible woes. They were his own demons, demons that were not to be discovered by Nami. They were secrets he'd keep for himself, only himself and maybe Zoro on the occasion.
"Got into a fight," said Zoro. "A little disagreement over a tab." He shrugged. "Not that big of a deal."
Sanji swore, if he wasn't falling for Zoro before, he was now. Oh who was he kidding? He was too far gone.
Sanji gave him a thankful smile but Zoro didn't even look his way.
Was he wrong? Maybe there was nothing different? Maybe he had missed something. Maybe last night hadn't meant what he had thought …
"HEY, GUYS!"
Pulled out of his thoughts by Luffy's sudden yelling, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Luffy was running towards them, a tray in his hand, trying to balance three drinks. "Hey, Sanji! When did you get here?"
"Idiot, pay attention to what you're doing!" Sanji snapped, grabbing Luffy's arm and taking the tray from him. He balanced the glasses perfectly and handed them out to Nami and Zoro with ease. Once he was done, he tucked the tray underneath his arm and blew out his smoke. "Honestly, were you raised in a barn?"
Luffy scratched his head. "Not sure, I don't think so though …"
Sanji sighed. Well, this was fun, wasn't it? It was going to be a long day, that he already knew.
Looking out of the corner of his eye, he watched Zoro. The swordsman barely looked his way and he wondered if the balloon of joy that had risen up in his chest since he woke up this morning was about to encounter a very sharp needle.
Sanji talked and laughed with the others but his heart wasn't in it. Instead, he was watching the Marimo, hoping against hope that maybe it wasn't just him the night before. Maybe there was something there? Sanji knew he could still feel the warmth of the kiss on his lips and it came back to him every time he saw Zoro's eyes.
Had he been imagining it? Had Zoro's heart not been beating faster when he had kissed him? Was he really unaffected by something like this?
Sanji had been hurt before, far too many times. He had done exactly what he told himself he wouldn't do. He got attached. He got very attached to Zoro and now he felt like this was his punishment for it. What was he supposed to do? He was falling in love with the idiot and it needed to stop. No matter what Zoro did, he had to remember he was just someone Zoro had leant a hand to, helped get back on their feet. Was there anyone else Zoro had cured with his magical touch? Were there other people he had kissed to make them stay? God it hurt him to think about it.
He entered the shit apartment and collapsed on the couch, closing his eyes tightly.
All day Zoro had acted normal, like nothing had changed, not in the very least. It was like the night before hadn't happened. Would Sanji just be better to forget about it?
Curling up into a ball on the couch where Zoro had kissed him wasn't helping him, sinking into the memory would only burn him more when he finally got it out of his head. There was still some treacherous part of his mind telling him that it was okay because Zoro felt the same. A part of him that thought maybe all his mumblings in French were something deep, something that held the very thing Sanji wanted.
Stupid brain, why'd he want me? I'm hideous.
"You're beautiful, you know."
Fuck, did his brain plan on torturing him to death?
He had gotten away from Partys a few hours ago, walked around aimlessly and finally come back to the apartment. He didn't care where Zoro was at the moment (liar, liar, liar), he just wanted to forget everything. Sink into the cushions, hold onto the lousy couch pillow and drown himself in the memory, when he thought it meant something.
Click.
Fuck no, Zoro was not allowed to be back yet! That would mean that he'd have to face him. He hadn't prepared himself enough! He needed more time, more time to— to … fuck, what did he need more time to do? Pick up the broken pieces of his heart? He'd probably never have enough time for that.
"Hey," greeted Zoro, entering the apartment. He dropped his gym bag on the floor and approached Sanji, a grin on his face.
Don't look so happy, not right now. Not when I've just barely come to terms with the fact that my whole world just fucking shattered.
"You wouldn't believe the day I had," Zoro claimed. It was then that he did something strange. He bent down and gave Sanji a quick kiss on the cheek before he went back to the kitchen, pulling a water bottle out of the fridge.
What the fuck was that?
"Huh?" asked Sanji, still in a daze. No, he was not allowed to do that! Not while Sanji was trying to mope, he couldn't give him things that made him misinterpret things, he wasn't allowed to! That went against the recovering from a broken heart rule book! Right?
"There were some real shitheads at the gym today," Zoro said. "Tried to get all up in my face. I mean sure, the day wasn't bad at Partys, but after you ran out of there like your pants were on fire— why'd you do that by the way?" Zoro asked, giving Sanji a strange look, tilting his head to the side slightly. He shook his head. "Never mind. But anyway, they were just so fucking stupid. They thought that cause they knew how to run on the treadmill's highest function, they were some big shot deal." He laughed. "Fucking naive bastards."
He took a seat on the couch next to Sanji, who was trying to process everything. What was going on? Wasn't last night just a fluke?
"Zoro, what are you—"
"Why isn't the TV on? Your anime's on tonight, right? Fuck, what was its name? Fullmetal Bitch?"
"Alchemist," Sanji corrected him. "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, FMA just plain sucks in comparison to the manga," he found himself saying. "Wait, no!"
"No what?" Zoro asked, giving him a confused look. "It's really Fullmetal Bitch?" He shook his head. "I thought it was a kid's show, what's with the language? I mean sure, he lost some limbs, but—"
"No! I'm not talking to you about Ed," Sanji said, shaking his head. How did he say this without sounding strange? "You just … what the fuck was that?"
"What? Me letting you watch your show?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "I'm too tired to fight over whether or not we watch your shitty animes," he said. "I thought you'd be glad about it."
"I am—"
"So what's the problem?"
"Would you stop cutting me off?!" Sanji demanded. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Can we forget about the anime for now? What was that kiss? Why'd you kiss me?"
Zoro looked at him strangely. "I thought you knew."
"Yes because I'm a fucking mind reader! Seriously, Marimo?"
Zoro shrugged. "I kissed you cause I wanted to, got a problem with that?"
"Got a problem with that?" Sanji repeated. "Fuck yes I've got a problem with that!"
"Hey Sanji, why's the blond kid so short?"
"THIS IS NOT ABOUT ED'S INABILITY TO GROW!"
"Sanji?"
"What, Zoro?"
"Your face is turning all red. Just thought you should know."
Sanji's fist curled. Honestly, he wondered why it was that he was falling in love with the moss-brained idiot. Why was he still around? He should've just packed his bags the night before, it would've saved him a lot of heartache and Tylenol. "Ahou!"
Zoro stared at him in silence as though he was waiting for something, the only sign of life in him was his occasional blinking.
When Sanji's breathing went back to normal and his face returned back to its usual pasty colour, he took a deep breath.
"Hey Sanji?"
Sanji turned to him, breathing in through his nose, out through his mouth. He wouldn't freak out, he wouldn't scream. "What?" he asked in a clipped tone.
"You wanna bitch?"
Sanji stared at him, open mouthed. "Do I want to what?"
"Bitch," Zoro repeated. "Nag, complain, rant, whatever you want to call it. It's your turn, isn't it? I've already complained about my day."
Ah, that was why.
He sunk into the couch and took a deep breath. "Where … where do we stand?" he asked. He tried to mentally prepare himself for every answer Zoro could throw at him, from being friends to being complete strangers.
"Where do we stand?" Zoro repeated. "Where do you want us to stand, Curly Brow?"
"I don't care," Sanji lied. He knew what he wanted them to be, he knew exactly where he wanted to stand, but he wouldn't say it. No, not if this was just something temporary, not if Zoro was just experimenting.
Zoro nodded slowly. "Well, where do you think we stand?"
"We're …" Sanji took a deep breath. "We're … friends? No, that's not right." He shook his head. They were more than that. He couldn't say they were in a relationship, but they were more than friends, weren't they? They had something deeper. "We're … fuck, I don't know, where do you think we stand?"
"Me?" Zoro asked casually. "I think we're dating."
If Sanji had a glass of water, he'd have done a spit take. Since he didn't, he spat out the one thing he did have in his mouth, his cigarette. It fell on the coffee table, right next to Zoro's kicked up feet. He nearly choked on his own spit. "WHAT?!"
"Hey, does that girl always throw wrenches at him?" Zoro asked, tilting his head to the side. "Isn't that an abusive relationship?"
"Wait, back up!" Sanji said. "We're … we're dating? You think we're dating?"
Zoro looked at him with innocent eyes. "Don't you?"
"I … I …"
"I thought I had made it obvious," Zoro said with a shrug.
"Obvious?" Sanji repeated with wide eyes. "What the fuck do you mean it was obvious?"
"Well, I kissed you, didn't I?"
"B-but …"
"You didn't think I went around kissing people for charity, did you?" Zoro laughed before he saw the expression on Sanji's face. "Seriously?" He sighed. "Whatever. You don't have a problem with me thinking we're dating?"
"B-but …" Sanji bit his lip and knew that if he didn't speak now, Zoro would interrupt him and his point would be forever lost. "But nothing's changed! You don't act any different, it's like everything's the same as it was before! How the fuck do you call that dating?"
Zoro frowned. "Just cause we're dating, doesn't mean I have to act any different," he said. "What, do you think that means I'm entitled to act all lovey-dovey?" Just as he said this, an evil look entered his eyes. Zoro moved a little closer to Sanji on the couch. He lowered his head slightly, his breath trailing on Sanji's neck. He gave him a light kiss, sucking just a little on his collarbone. "I can be more romantic, if you'd like," he said in a soft voice, letting his hands run over Sanji's chest underneath his blazer, but the barrier of Sanji's shirt was still separating them from skin on skin contact.
"Z-Zoro …" Fuck, he'd never speak if the swordsman kept doing this!
Zoro continued, giving Sanji small kisses up his neck and back down, sucking on his pulse points just a little.
"Hmm?" he hummed against Sanji's neck.
What was he doing? Was he teasing him? Was he taunting him? What the fuck was going on? A sinking realization settled in Sanji's stomach. He closed his eyes tightly and fisted his hands which stayed still on either side of him. "Just do it," he muttered.
Zoro stopped briefly, his breath still ghosting over Sanji's pulse. "Do what?"
"Fuck me," Sanji said. "That's what you want, isn't it?"
Zoro pulled away from him and stared at him, his mouth opening and closing like a gaping fish. "W-what are you talking about?" he demanded. Sanji understood his stutter to him admitting to being found out.
"Just fuck me, isn't that what you're after?" He closed his eyes tightly. "I won't fight you," he said softly. He felt like crying so badly. "Fuck me and send me on my way, I can find somewhere to live, it won't be that hard." He sucked in a breath, biting his bottom lip. He wouldn't break down, not in front of Zoro. Zoro had already seen him at pitiful times, he didn't want to add another to his list. "Why aren't you doing it?" he asked. "Just fuck me already!"
"Sanji."
A tear slid out of Sanji's closed eyelid. Fuck, and he had been trying so hard. It wouldn't hurt this much if Zoro didn't sound so sweet, didn't sound so concerned.
"Sanji, I'm not going to sleep with you."
Sanji opened a single eye and looked at him. "What?"
"I'm not going to sleep with you," Zoro repeated. "I … I've heard what you've been through, I'm not putting you through something like that again. What the fuck do you think of me? That I'd just fuck you and leave you on the streets?" He shook his head. He lifted Sanji's head to meet his eyes. "Sanji, look at me. I'm not going to have sex with you. Not until you ask for it. Not until you tell me that you want it, that you really want to do it. Otherwise, I'll keep my hands to myself."
Sanji stared at him, confused.
"Do I want to have sex with you?" Zoro let out a low chuckle. "That's another matter all together, but I'm not going to force you into something you don't want. I'm not going to use you, I don't want to use you. I just want …" Zoro trailed off. "I want a relationship with you, Sanji. I want stupid things like flowers and movie nights and someone to go out with on national holidays. I want someone to go to the fair with, someone to fight with, someone to eat my dinners with. I want all that sappy shit and I want it with you, Sanji. Do you understand me? I want you. I don't want your body, I can wait for that, I want you to want me." He bit his lip and looked away from him. "Fuck, look at what you just did to me …"
"Do … do you mean it?" Sanji asked, scared of the answer he'd get. "That you want me?"
Zoro was blushing. It was truly adorable, as much as he tried to hide it. "Maybe …"
"Zoro."
Zoro looked at him and though he was blushing like a mad man, his eyes were dead serious. "Yes, Sanji. I want you."
Sanji bit his bottom lip. "Okay." He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart beat. "Then you have me."
This was something new, something different, but something Sanji was willing to welcome with open arms. For as long as Zoro wanted him there.
Author's Note #2: The thank-yous!
lilcutieprincess: I was thinking of just labeling it as "Luffy's House" but since I already said "Shit-apartment" I was like, "what do I have to lose?" Originally, I tried to write chapter 22 with a lot of quotations, but decided it was better in italics the way it was written, but the rape scene had to be written the way it was because the italics way of telling the story has Zoro sort of detached from it and it was that part that I really wanted him to react to and to show it.
Keitsu Han'ei: I hope you were pleased with this chapter as well. I have fun mixing genres of angst and humour and hurt and comfort, just seeing if I can pull it off. I hope I did it well!
JustCallMeLucie: Thank you so much! I really appreciate it when people enjoy my writing. I've never gotten it from my parents, but it's fine, I like fanfiction, it helps me when it comes to getting other people's opinions on my writing.
Sabinah (x4):Yeah, uh, Sanji just kinda needed to get Zoro that sword and he was desperate and ... well it's a fanfiction, it's fictional, it works to me. Okay, about When Harry Met Sally, I wrote a story on fictionpress (my name is OneShotQueen), called Of Private Jets, Grease & Patrick Swayze, which uses Grease, Dirty Dancing and When Harry Met Sally as the real references for everything. I would recommend reading it, just cause I thought it was fun to write and adorable. Oh God, you just gave me an idea for a Zoro and Sanji story where they're both soccer players (football, I'm Canadian, which means American terms float to me. I got so confused when we read this book in school about this guy who played football (England style) and he was using it as a floatation device cause he nearly drowned and I was imagining a soccer ball until I was like, "Oh wait! That's wrong!" As for Moodie, I just considered things and figured she'd be one of those people who don't want to show their nervousness, but its still obvious anyway. One of those people who are all talk, no do, but in a good way. Kind of like, she WILL talk to her father about the marriage and all that, but because of her appearance, you wouldn't really believe her. I like to think Moodie's a strong person, that she could stand up for herself.
VictoriaLovesSmut: Do I listen to Skillet? Oh Dear God, you have no idea how much I love that stuff! I had to introduce my brother to Three Days Grace and he was like, "this shit fucking rocks!" and I was like, "You are so deprived", cause he's older than me by a lot, so he listened to old stuff, like I don't know, Black Crowes or something (it pisses me off that they didn't spell crows right) and he thought that was hardcore stuff and I was like, "Um, no. No."
Alright Zoro said, "Would you like to go out with me?"
And yes, it was 2004 summer Olympics that were held in Greece.
Okay let's see, my question this time? Okay, while Sanji and Zoro were speaking about Fullmetal Alchemist, Zoro made a reference to a film. My friend watched it on a long plane ride and was like, "ED?!" Here's a little hint to it cause it's an American film and I did some looking on some reviewers profiles and realize there are some from Denmark, Malaysia and other exotic places (watching Japanese TV and finding out that they think Canada is exotic ... I felt somewhat flattered). The film stars Tom Cruise and was released in 2014. It goes by two different names. If you can tell me them both, I'll be really happy.
So in translation, I hope you liked this chapter. i hope I didn't screw up Zoro and Sanji's relationship and that you'll still stick around! Anyway, please review, no flames, and I'll update when I can. School starts in three weeks, so when we hit September, I think my updates will become weekly rather than practically daily.
1st Edit: September 20th 2015
