Author's Note: This was not meant to be this long, but it ended up this way anyway, so I guess tough luck for me, eh? I'm not sure why, but this chapter ended up full of references. I don't own One Piece, but my question for this chapter will be replaced by the following: a dare to all of you who read this story. Name all of the references, (tell me where they're from) and also, whether or not you had to maybe look them up to find out where they're from. The portion at the end was taken from watching a BuzzFeed video, called "How To Know If You're In A Relationship". My friend also made me watch "The Try Guys Try Cosplay" and the Zoro's opinion on anime does not reflect my own, rather, it reflects someone who's never seen anime before and does appreciate its wonderfulness. I thought I was done with weird formats. Turns out I love them too much. I asked my friend if black was a colour. She said no. I've figured something out about this story, which I kinda had the suspicion of for the past while. Zoro's chapters are unfairly larger than Sanji's chapters. Maybe because I give Zoro all the good chapters by accident ... I guess it depends on my mood, if I'm in the mood for humour (which I usually am, I like my humour with a dash of angst), Zoro's chapters just flow more naturally, not that I don't love writing Sanji's chapters, but his fun chapters are ones like the food fight and stuff. I know it's not Christmas, just try to get in the Christmas spirit though, okay? Or reread the chapter when there's snow on the ground. The timeline for this story is a bit screwed up to me, but once I figured it out for sure, I'll be sure to tell you. I swear the story started off in August though ... HOLY CRAP THIS IS LONG! Hope you enjoy!
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?
WARNINGS for this chapter of Beautiful Disaster:
Mentions of past abuse, past suicidal thoughts, past self-harm
Chapter 27: Holly Jolly Christmas
Shopping for presents near Christmas time was like trying to get a swimsuit in summer. The one time you needed it and you finally acknowledged that you needed it, that was when there was nothing around to be found. Zoro had not thought this through. He had already gotten Luffy a special steak machine that made it easier to make, he had gotten Nami a fancy compass to her great joy and he got Usopp a new pair of goggles, but he had no doubt that Kaya had probably gotten him a better pair. Now he just had to figure out something for Sanji and he had no fucking clue where to start.
Fuck.
This was the reason why he was now standing in a fancy culinary store with Luffy, looking for a new set of knives for Sanji.
Each time he watched Sanji hold a knife, two thoughts went through his head. He wondered what it would be like if instead of a knife, Sanji held a sword and how good he'd be at wielding it, while another, bigger part of his mind, wondered if Sanji would miss the cut and cause himself more pain. Worse, if he'd enjoy the pain.
Getting a set of knives for Sanji was nerve racking to say the least.
"What about one of these?" asked Luffy, pointing towards an item on display.
"Luffy, that's a meat grinder, we're getting Sanji kitchen knives."
"We are?"
Zoro shook his head. He knew asking Luffy to come would be a problem and yet he had done it anyway. Was he just stupid or something?
Sighing, Zoro tried to find the aisle with the kitchen knives. He would never ask an employee for help, that'd just be stupid. He imagined he'd get into an argument with them over something stupid and then there'd be problems and it would really suck if Zoro wasn't able get the cook anything, especially after what he had done for him the other day.
Zoro closed his eyes and tried to clam his breathing. Just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine and he was brought right back into the moment.
God he had been so awkward when it was over, he was pretty sure Sanji now thought of him as a complete dork. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He'd find the blond some great kitchen knives and then that might make up a little for his screw up of being so … Fuck, he couldn't find words. Maybe he should just call it inexperienced? He had just seemed so … He had never cum that fast, but then again, he hadn't been laid in nearly half a year. Yeah, that was why … But fuck, had he really apologized for it? Had he actually admitted to his lack of a sex life to the cook?
"Zoro? You look like you're beating yourself up over something," Luffy said. "I asked one of the employees, they say the knife section is aisle five."
"There are five aisles in this place?!"
Luffy shook his head. "I think there's thirteen total." He shrugged. "Anyway, you going to come? Christmas is like, three days away, remember? You need to get him something good, especially to repay him for that sword he got you. Shushu?"
"Shusui," Zoro corrected him. He bit his bottom lip before nodding and following Luffy into aisle five.
Aisle five was filled with knives. It almost looked like a weaponry in Zoro's opinion. He remembered Sanji telling him he couldn't tell the difference between different knives and honestly, Zoro couldn't care less about them, but they were part of Sanji's culinary arsenal and so, Zoro figured, he'd best figure something out.
"What about this one?"
Zoro stared at the knife and frowned. "I think he already has one of those."
"You don't know?"
"I'm usually talking to him when he's cooking, his back's always to me, you think I have x-ray vision or something?" Zoro snapped. He rolled his eyes. "Look, we just need something that looks fancy. I think." He picked up a knife that looked pretty fashionable with a nice oak handle (if Nami were here, she'd claim he had no clue what fashion even was, never mind fashionable) and gave a small smile. "Like this."
"Um Zoro?" Luffy asked.
"What? Sanji's a great cook, he needs the best equipment, right?"
"But the price …"
"I think I can handle it Luffy," Zoro told him, rolling his eyes. He checked the item display price and instantly his eyes gauged out of his face. "Fuck that, he can deal with crappy knives!" He shook his head. "His stuff tastes good the way it is now, why ruin a good thing?"
"I thought you could handle it," Luffy teased.
"Yeah well, I didn't know there could be so many zeroes." Putting it away, Zoro turned to another array of knives. They all looked sharp and made him feel as though anyone could stab him while his back was turned. Buying things for the cook shouldn't be this dangerous, he thought to himself, tilting his head and inspecting the blade. I think it might be sharper than Sandai—
"Hey Zoro!"
Zoro's head snapped around to see Luffy dragging an employee towards them. He was wearing the customary uniform— a shirt promoting the store and an apron. He looked stupid in Zoro's opinion. He was also freakishly tall with dark hair and blue eyes. Zoro felt as though that description was familiar to him somehow. "No," he said immediately the second he realized what Luffy intended to do. "No way! We aren't asking for help!"
"Hi," said the man with the stupid apron. "I hear you're looking to buy a knife set for a friend of yours?"
"What's it to you?"
"Don't be childish Zoro," said Luffy. "If we don't get help, we won't end up getting Sanji anything and I think you owe him a decent present for Christmas."
"Well, can I recommend—"
"No, you can't!" Zoro snapped. He took a moment to pause and breathe. "Sorry," he forced the word out like it was poison. Zoro Roronoa hated apologizing and he never did it. Unless it was for the sake of the cook. Fuck he was whipped, wasn't he? "I think we can handle ourselves just fine," he said. "Sorry to bother you."
"It's really no bother," said the giant.
"How tall are you?" asked Zoro before he could stop himself.
"186 centimetres," he replied. "You remind me of someone," he added softly, as though talking more to himself than Zoro. "He was very … eccentric I suppose you could say." He shrugged. "So, do you know what kind of knives your friend owns?"
"I don't know, kitchen knives. I don't know any culinary shit," Zoro said, folding his arms. He knew he sort of maybe possibly looked like he was pouting, but he didn't need help. Luffy was just wasting this guy's time. He'd be fine without any help from the big guy. "Look, you can scurry off and check inventory or whatever the hell culinary employees do. We don't need help."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive," Zoro said through gritted teeth. He did not have the time or patience for this. Not at all.
The man nodded. "Okay."
For some reason, Zoro thought he had given in too easily. Here he was, a confused customer (not that he'd ever admit that out loud) without a clue what he was doing and here was an employee who was probably gunning to get Employee of the Month or some shit like that, just letting him go. He really thought the man would've put up more of a fight.
Zoro frowned. This didn't sit well with him.
"Hey!" he called to the retreating figure as he was about to exit the aisle. "Where do you think you're going?"
There was a place in his mind that was telling him he was being stupid and that he should just let it go. After all, he tried so hard to get rid of the man and now he was calling him back? Where was the sense in that? God, this was absolutely ridiculous and yet for some reason, his mouth kept moving. "You're just going to leave us alone?"
The man stared at him confused. It didn't seem like his attempt to leave had been a ploy to get Zoro to ask for help, he was genuinely confused. He took a few steps closer to the two idiots in the kitchen store, pointing to himself. "Me?" he asked.
"Yeah, you," Zoro shouted at him from the other end of the aisle. "What kind of shitty employee just lets a customer go?"
The man walked up to them, but it wasn't the purposeful stride that many of Zoro's enemies whom he had antagonized had. No, he seemed calm and level-headed, which was very strange. He blinked and then the man was in front of him.
"I was under the impression you didn't want my help," said the man with genuine confusion causing his brow to furrow. "Have you changed your mind?"
"No," Zoro said, feeling a bit ruffled. What was his purpose in antagonizing this man? He couldn't figure it out, not at all. He frowned. "But still …"
"Do you want company?" asked the man.
Zoro's response was a quick and ready flat out "no", but Luffy beat him to it and instead of saying "no", like he should've like a good straw hat idiot, he said "Sure!" If that wasn't enough, he said it with that big stupid grin on his face. "The more the merrier, right?"
The man gave him a smile. "Of course."
Fuck. Well fine, it wasn't like Zoro was going to spend that much time in the store anyway. Find a suitable present and get out, that was simple, wasn't it?
Of course it wasn't.
Because Luffy was there and Luffy insisted on asking the man questions, including if he was a full-time employee. He was a part-timer, who had several other jobs, including one at a flower boutique. Zoro stared at him when he mentioned it. "You wouldn't have happened to have seen a blond come into the store at any time?" he asked. "Tall, black blazer, golden buttons on it. Wears his hair so that it covers one of his eyes and has a fucked up eyebrow?"
The man's eyes widened. "Oh! I know who you're talking about." He smiled. "Are you the person he was getting those flowers for?"
"Wow, Zoro, Sanji got you flowers?" asked Luffy. He laughed. "Really? What were they?"
"Peonies and Stars of Bethlehem," he said without blinking.
The man nodded. "Yes, they represent healing—"
"And hope," Zoro finished. "I know. He told me."
The man smiled even wider. "Do you like them?"
Zoro instantly felt embarrassed, turning his head away. "They were fine," he said in a stiff voice. "Nothing to be over-excited about."
The man let out a light chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Honestly, had Zoro become a preschooler over-night?
"Nothing," said the man. "You're interesting."
"Glad to know I entertain you."
"I didn't say that," the tall man said with a slight frown.
"Interesting, entertaining, they mean the same thing in my book." And Sanji's too. But this man didn't have to know that. "Come on Luffy, let's get going."
He grabbed Luffy's arm. He had been in the store for almost an hour and it was completely fruitless. He wasn't going to waste his time around here, which meant that it was time for Zoro to take his leave.
Luffy grabbed onto the stranger's arm as Zoro tried to drag him, pulling him with them. Zoro made a sharp turn and heard a loud crash. Luffy had smacked into the display of meat grinders, causing them all to fall onto him and the employee whom Zoro was beginning to see as a victim of Luffy's stupidity. The man didn't seem angry though. Rather, he smiled and rubbed his head, seeming to be in the middle of holding back laughter.
Zoro pulled Luffy out of the wreckage and growled. "Come on, let's get out of here before we cause anymore damage."
"But the knives—"
"Sanji has enough knives," Zoro told him, pulling him through the aisles. How big was this store? Was it just a giant maze? Everywhere he turned, it seemed there was another aisle. Stocked with different things sure, but when he saw the cutting boards for the fifth time, Zoro decided he was lost. He didn't like deciding he was lost.
"The door's over there," Luffy said, pointing towards the exit.
Zoro pulled him towards it when he was stopped by a large man. "Are you the one who knocked over the meat grinder display?"
"That was this guy," Zoro said, gesturing towards Luffy. "Why? How is it any of your business?"
"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to ask you to leave," the man said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Please exit the store silently."
"We were heading there anyway," Zoro grumbled, refusing to listen to Luffy's complaints about how he was totally sure he could afford the meat grinder if he combined his money with Zoro's. Once they were outside the store and they stood there in silence for a while, something dawned on Zoro.
"Did I just get kicked out of the store?"
Luffy shrugged. "I don't know. Hey, Zoro, do you think if I asked Nami, she'd get me that meat grinder?"
"Do you know what day it is?"
"Why does that—?"
"Answer the question."
Zoro sighed. "December twenty-fourth."
"What was that?"
"I'm not fucking repeating it!" Zoro yelled into his phone. "If you aren't going to be any help—"
"Did you seriously think Luffy could help you get Sanji a Christmas gift?" Nami asked. "You should've asked me in the first place, that way you wouldn't have wasted all this time."
"You know, there was a reason why I didn't ask you—"
"Don't you know anything about your boyfriend? What, you don't even know what Sanji likes?" demanded Nami and Zoro swore, he could see her scowl through the phone.
Zoro sighed.
"Don't you sigh at me, Roronoa, you'd better clean up your act!"
"And this is my reason. A fucking good one too," he muttered to himself. "And don't call him my boyfriend," he snapped through gritted teeth.
"You're dating him, aren't you?"
"Yeah but …"
"But nothing!" Nami sighed. "I swear, you can't think of anything Sanji would like? What does he like to do? What are his hobbies?"
"Besides watching crappy anime?" Zoro shrugged, then remembered Nami couldn't see him. "I don't know, I can't think of anything."
"THINK HARDER!"
"Jesus woman, don't blow my ear off!" Zoro said, pulling the phone away from his poor, abused auditory canal. He sighed. "Never mind, I'll just go—"
"Zoro Roronoa, if you hang up I swear I'm going to murder you in your sleep!"
Zoro scoffed. "I'd like to see you try."
"Don't test me," Nami warned and Zoro's blood ran cold. If there was anyone you shouldn't underestimate, it was Nami.
"Fine, fine. But I mean what do you want me to do? I've got like …" Zoro checked his watch. "Eight hours before it's Christmas, that's not enough time."
Nami sighed. "Boys and tardiness," she muttered. "Well, you have a few more hours than Sanji had. Zoro, I'm going to ask you to close your eyes now."
"Are you insane woman?" Zoro demanded.
"Zoro. Close. Your. Eyes."
Zoro closed his eyes.
"Are they closed?"
"Yes they're fucking closed, what do you want from me?"
"Okay good, keep them close. Now I want you to think and I want to be able to hear your thoughts. I want you to talk to me, tell me what you're thinking as you think it. No censoring, no bullshit, you're not omitting anything."
"How is this supposed to help me?" Zoro asked. "Is this some kind of fung-shui shit?"
"That's moving furniture Zoro," Nami deadpanned. "Just do it."
"Okay okay, calm down!" Zoro sighed. "What am I supposed to think about though?"
"Isn't it obvious? Sanji!" Zoro could feel Nami rolling her eyes.
"Sanji," Zoro repeated softly. "Okay um …"
"I'm waiting," Nami said.
"And they call me impatient?" Zoro shook his head. "I don't know what I think of the cook—"
"How is that possible? You're dating him!"
"Okay um … blond," Zoro began. "Fucked up eyebrows, but somewhat not fucked up at the same time … Man that sounds fucked up. Soft lips, talented tongue." Zoro's mind slipped back to that night and he couldn't hold in a moan. "Fuck, really talented tongue. And those lips and that gag reflex—"
"Sanji blew you?!"
Zoro's eyes opened. "You said to think of Sanji," Zoro said, slightly pissed. "I'm following orders."
"I don't need to hear about it," Nami said.
"But you said not to censor or omit anything—"
"I know what I said!"
There was harsh breathing on the other line.
"Nami, does the thought of Sanji going down on me turn you on?"
Silence. Then—
"Zoro Roronoa, I swear I'm going to dismember you and no one will find the body."
"Does Luffy know you're this violent?"
"Zoro!"
"Okay fine, where was I?" So he couldn't think of Sanji's lips in that sense, but that didn't mean he couldn't think of his kisses. "He tastes like nicotine," he mumbled more to himself than Nami. "It's a really strong taste, almost couldn't handle it. He's always got that cigarette in between his lips." Zoro felt rage build up inside of him when he remembered why Sanji smoked. "He's got a crappy lighter though, don't know how old that thing is— Nami you're a fucking genius!"
She was totally smirking, Zoro could tell. "What was that?"
"I'm not saying it again," Zoro snapped, shutting the phone. He felt stupid for not thinking of it sooner and immediately, he called a taxi and got in.
"That one," Zoro said, pointing towards a black lighter.
"You sure?" asked the man behind the counter. "It's kind of bland."
"It's his favourite colour," Zoro said.
"Sonny, you know black—"
"Isn't a colour, I know. Try telling him that though," he told him through gritted teeth. "Do you know where I can get things engraved?"
The man behind the counter nodded. "We do them here," he said. "What do you want on it?"
Zoro told him.
The man frowned. "We charge per letter you know," he said. "You sure you don't want something shorter?"
"No, it has to be that," Zoro told him with a firm nod of his head. He grinned, able to see the look on Sanji's face when he gave him the gift.
When Zoro came back to the apartment he realized he had another problem that hadn't even occurred to him, mainly because this problem had never applied to him before.
When he bought Luffy, Nami and Usopp their gifts, he could just keep them anywhere in the apartment, only to shove into the closet when they came over on the occasion. When it came to Sanji's present … Sanji lived with him, which meant that hiding the present was very important. He supposed, since it was so small, he could just shove it in his pocket and keep it there, but then he realized he'd probably forget it was there and then Sanji would do the laundry and then find it and then that wouldn't be a good thing, now would it?
Zoro threw the lighter into the air, watching it spin before he caught it skillfully. It was of course, at that moment, that the door to the apartment opened and in walked Sanji.
"What are you playing with?" he asked curiously.
"Huh?" Zoro asked, turning around and instantly panicking.
To hide a present, to hide a present … Fuck, where the hell do I hide the present?
"Zoro?"
"Eh?" asked Zoro distractedly.
"Oi, are you even listening to me?"
Zoro nodded before shoving the present into his pants. He could probably put it somewhere like his nightstand drawer, right? No one opened that drawer anyway. But would he remember it was there? He shook his head.
"What is it? Yes or no?"
Zoro shook his head again. "Sorry, I was just thinking," he said hurriedly. "So what's up?"
Sanji gave him a strange look before falling down on the couch and lighting up another cigarette. "Nothing, just Nami says we should start the new year off with a bang and really wants us to fight at Partys when it comes. She thinks it'll be the fight of the century." He shook his head. "I swear I saw yen signs in her eyes."
"You watch too much anime," Zoro told him, shaking his head. He collapsed on the couch next to him and smirked. "So, do you think you're up for it? To fight I mean?"
"Well, it's been a while since you've recovered. I guess I wouldn't mind doing it, maybe sometime in early January? I'm definitely not doing it on New Years," Sanji said. "I don't want to start the year off with bruises and a mangled face."
Zoro let out a laugh. "I guess that wouldn't be the best thing, would it?" He shook his head. "So what are we doing for Christmas?"
"Well, I figured we'd spend the day with Luffy and the gang of lunatics," Sanji said "and then … I dunno, the night's up to you, isn't it?"
Zoro nodded when an idea popped into his head. "Let's stay up till midnight."
"Aren't we doing that on New Year's Eve?"
"No, let's do it tonight," Zoro said. "I want to give you my present on Christmas, not nine hours after its started."
"Oh yeah?" asked Sanji with a laugh. "Nine hours? You know I'd be up before that."
"Yeah but I wouldn't be," Zoro reminded him. He bit his lip, almost nervous at his proposition. "So, do you want to?"
"Stay up till midnight, huh?" Sanji asked, letting the smoke circle around him. Zoro remembered faintly in the back of his mind that while reading a book for school, there was a line about people smoking through pipes and how the small puffs of smoke they exhaled looked pretty and swirled around like small clouds. "I'm up for it, sure," Sanji decided. He grinned. "But you better not fall asleep on me Marimo."
Time: 9:30 PM JST
Hours till Christmas: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Zoro was bored.
Why did he say they should stay up till midnight again? What was he supposed to do during this time anyway? He lay vertically on the couch, upside down. Anime was stupid in his opinion, it was even more stupid upside down. What was the show this time?
Okay, so there's a dog. No, wait, he's human. No, he's not. Wait, he's neither? What kind of fucked up shit is this? Don't people prefer neko stuff? Okay wait, focus. So there's a girl. Why is her skirt so short? Is she a prostitute? She's not pretty enough to be one. Man, her voice is annoying. That's a … that's a kitsune? They call that a kitsune? Fuck that's messed up. Did that monk just grope her? Why does that girl have a giant boomerang?
"Sanji?" he called to the man in the kitchen.
"What is it Zoro?" He knew that Sanji didn't mean to sound pissed, he was just very concentrated on the meal he was making. He was pretty determined to have them eat a giant feast since it was going to be Christmas. Sanji really spoiled him, didn't he? How would he repay his kindness? "Sanji, why's that guy got a hole in his hand?" Okay, insulting his anime sounded about right.
There was a sigh. "That's Miroku, he's cursed."
"Well I figured your life can't be that great if you've got a giant hole in your hand that looks like it's going to suck in the world. And why's that weird guy in the hakama breaking that girl's alarm clock? Is that Feudal Japan or is it normal Tokyo?" He shook his head. The blood was starting to rush to his head, just a little. "This art kinda reminds me of that other show you watch, the one with the guy who's confused about his gender—"
"He's not confused, he's also cursed."
"Why are there so many cursed people in this stuff you watch?"
Sanji's footsteps approached him and Zoro knew he had turned off the stove and was about to defend all of his favourite anime characters. Oh fun. He liked seeing Sanji angry though, it was pretty hot so he continued as he heard his footsteps approach. "And then there was that El guy and Ned, right? They're also cursed, cause El doesn't have a body and Ned's missing a few limbs. Oh! And then there's that Sanosuke guy, right? He's got weird marks all over him and Ichigo has the weird ass tattoo on his stomach, right? Oh! What about that rubber man? What was his name? Fluffy?"
Sanji shook his head. "Sit up, idiot. You're going to pass out."
Now that Sanji mentioned it, he was starting to feel a bit light headed. Zoro sat up properly again.
"Okay, first of all, the cursed guy who turns into a girl is Ranma, that's cause he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time and fell into the Chinese cursed spring of the drowned girl."
"So wait, does that mean he has to worry about that blood stuff like … coming out?"
Sanji rolled his eyes. "That's not the point! Anyway, that's Ranma. The one who made Ranma 1/2 and InuYasha were the same person, so of course the art is similar. It's Al and Ed, Sanosuke is from somewhere else, it's Sasuke, and Ichigo is also from somewhere else, it's Naruto. And as for the rubber man—"
"Yeah yeah," Zoro said, cutting him off. "You like your anime. Does that mean you're still like, what, twelve or something?"
"Hey, at least I don't watch crap like Pokémon filled with pre-pubescent boys who refuse to age while everyone else around them grows older."
"Hey, that's Ash, right? I liked him!"
Sanji sighed. "Dinner's almost ready, get yourself cleaned up and I'll feed you."
Zoro stared down at his current attire. He was wearing a pair of jeans with a few tears in them and a black shirt. He had kicked off his shoes already and was wearing the customary slippers. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
Sanji rolled his eyes. "Suit up!"
"I don't own a suit," Zoro reminded him. He headed for the kitchen anyway when Sanji beat him to it and blocked his path. "Sanji, move."
"No."
"You're being childish."
"Said by the one supporting Ash Ketchum."
"Hey, he's got a cool hat!"
Sanji shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, so childi—Zoro, what are you doing?!"
Zoro pulled Sanji closer by his blazer before pushing him up against the doorframe of the kitchen. He faintly knew his cigarette was falling. It hit the floor with a hiss but Zoro was focusing on other things. With his hands on either side of Sanji's head, he just leaned down to close the space. Gently running his tongue along the Sanji's lips, the cook opened his mouth slowly, one of his hands reaching up and holding Zoro's neck angling it so that it was easier for him.
Zoro swore he could get addicted to Sanji's kisses, if he wasn't already. The taste of nicotine, spices and Sanji on his tongue, bitter with a tad of sweetness. Not too sweet, not too sour. Sanji still had no idea how to kiss, he was under no illusion that Sanji was good at this, but it was the tentative way that he responded to his touches that made Zoro as happy as he was when he kissed him. It was the way he seemed to mould under his touch, cave in as much as Zoro did to him when he kissed him. He was so responsive and he tried his best, it was the raw want that he could feel Sanji conveying to him through his kisses that really made Zoro's head spin. No kiss had ever been like the ones Sanji gave him, not even ones from her.
Before he could get himself too caught up in the kiss, Zoro pulled away, trying his hardest to ignore the smallest trace of a whimper coming from Sanji, though he was sure that the cook didn't know he had done it and would deny it if ever pressed on the subject. He entered the kitchen and took a seat at the table.
"That was dirty," Sanji accused.
"I didn't hear you complaining," Zoro said with a smirk.
"I didn't have much of a choice, now did I?"
Zoro gave him a smile. "Sit down and eat, Curly Brow."
Time: 10:26 PM JST
Hours till Christmas: 1 hour and 34 minutes
They had eaten their dinner in silence and were cleaning up, their usual routine of Zoro drying and Sanji cleaning, when Sanji spoke.
"You know … I've never had a Christmas like this," he said softly.
Zoro stayed silent, sure that if Sanji wanted to talk, he would.
"The … the orphanage didn't really care that much about stuff like that. I mean I think we used to have this really horrible looking Christmas tree with a star on top but by the time the day was over, some kid would steal it." He let out a hollow laugh. "And you know how the cooks are, they aren't the type to be all holly and jolly during Christmas. Zeff would give me something for the holiday though, but he'd never really do give it to me, you know? He's just kind of leave it in the house and when I woke up, I'd see it. One year, he actually gave it to me when I came back from getting the groceries and he just kind of … shoved it at me before telling me to get back to work." He shrugged. "I don't know, it's just … nice, you know? To do something like this."
"Hey, it isn't even Christmas yet," Zoro told him softly. "You're never going to have to deal with those shitty excuses for a holiday anymore. This'll be the best fucking Christmas ever," he said with a grin.
"There's not much to beat," Sanji said. "It's already better than I thought," he confessed. He turned his head away from Zoro, scrubbing at a dish forcefully.
He was very silent as they continued but it wasn't until Zoro had dried about four more plates and their glasses that he had nothing to dry and he could hear Sanji's scrubbing on a platter that he heard it. It was soft, almost impossible to hear it, but Sanji … Sanji was crying.
Zoro thought for a moment before he spoke. "Hey Sanji?"
"Hmm?" responded the blond. It sounded strained.
"Have you ever had eggnog?"
Sanji looked at him and Zoro's heart broke. He could see the tear tracks running down Sanji's face, but the fresh ones had stopped. How long had he been crying while Zoro was right there, next to him? "Eggnog?" repeated Sanji, his voice cracking slightly.
Zoro wondered how long it took for Sanji to learn to cry silently, almost as though it weren't happening. It must have taken years. That he had to learn to cry in silence was heart breaking enough, but to see it for himself, that Sanji thought he couldn't cry in front of Zoro … "Yeah, eggnog," he said softly. "It's a drink." He kept his voice quiet and gentle. He didn't want Sanji to suffer, if it was from his past, injuries or anything at all. Zoro wasn't an idiot, he knew he couldn't erase the past. He couldn't undo all the horrors Sanji had braved, but that didn't mean he couldn't try to distract him. He could give him at least five new memories that were beautiful and wonderful for each of the bad until they were almost forgotten. He could do that much for Sanji. "You want to make it?"
Sanji didn't sniffle, nor did he wipe his face. It was as though he wanted to pretend he hadn't even been crying in the first place, which meant there was no evidence that needed to be erased. "Okay," he said softly.
Zoro flashed him a smile.
"Okay," he said just as softly.
Time: 10:40 PM JST
Hours till Christmas: 1 hour and 20 minutes
After they finished cleaning up all the dishes, they were about to dirty more. "It's not that complicated," Zoro told him. "My old man taught me to make it when I was like, eight or something. I don't need a stove or anything, it should be simple."
Sanji let out a light laugh. "Suddenly you're teaching me?" he asked with a laugh.
Zoro blushed. "Well, the teacher becomes the student, doesn't he? It was bound to happen."
Zoro took out a carton of eggs. "Okay, we're going to make six servings, so we need four eggs. You can beat them, if you want."
Sanji nodded. "I may as well crack them too," he said. "Knowing your egg cracking skills."
"I only had one hand at the time!" Zoro said, rolling his eyes. He cracked two eggs into bowl skilfully before throwing the eggshells into the sink. "You can crack the last two."
Sanji nodded, though he looked slightly amazed that Zoro had managed.
"I'm not completely incompetent," he said, rolling his eyes. Pulling out the milk, he asked Sanji to get the vanilla extract and sugar, along with ground nutmeg. Zoro himself got the measuring spoons and measuring cup. "Okay, we need six tablespoons of sugar, four and two third cups of the low-fat milk and a two teaspoons of the vanilla extract. Simple enough?"
"Another fraction?" Sanji teased. "You sure you can handle it?"
"Shut up," Zoro snapped teasingly.
It was amazing watching Sanji cook as always. As simple as the recipe was— just pour everything into the bowl, mix it and then cool it— he was still completely immersed in it. Whatever memories that had haunted him before seemed to be long-forgotten, at least for now. Zoro was beyond glad that he could keep Sanji's demons at bay.
Once it was done, they put it in the fridge to cool it and took a seat at the table.
"So you've really never had eggnog?"
"No," Sanji said. "I've made fancy eggnog beer or something like that, since the recipe's a bit familiar to me, but I've never had it myself." He shrugged. "But you don't like sugar—"
"I don't like overly-sweet things," Zoro corrected him. "There's a difference. Besides, who doesn't like eggnog?"
Sanji raised his hand.
"That's cause you've never tried it, idiot," Zoro told him.
Sanji laughed lightly. "So anyway Zoro … do you have any New Year resolutions?"
"Huh?"
"You know like, I will not do this, I will do this, stuff like that," Sanji said, shrugging.
"You read Bridget Jones' Diary?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're into chick-books?"
"I saw the movie," Sanji corrected.
"That doesn't mean anything, that just makes it worse. You watched a chick-flick." He shook his head. "Oh God, I'm dating a gay guy!"
Sanji frowned. "I don't think I'm gay exactly," he said slowly, "since I've been fawning over girls since just about forever … maybe I'm just bisexual." He shrugged. "Besides, you can' exactly date a straight guy, can you? Anyway, do you have any New Years resolutions?"
Zoro thought about it. Did he really have any? "I guess, I mean, no one doesn't have any, right?"
"That sounds like a double negative."
"Only because I said the word 'no' and the word 'doesn't', that doesn't mean it was a double negative," Zoro said. "And besides, I'm the grammar Nazi, not you." He rolled his eyes. "What are your resolutions?"
Sanji bit his bottom lip. "Um, mine never seem to change," he said softly. "You know how it is, you come up with a resolution that you swear you're going to follow and then you just break the second it's 12:01." He shrugged. "They're nothing big."
"Come on, tell me. A lot's happened this year, surely your resolutions have changed at least a little," Zoro said.
Sanji nodded. "I guess it's okay …" He took a deep breath. "Well, the first one is always the same. I'm going to manage to sound like a normal sensible human being in front of women." He laughed. "We're really busy on New Year's Eve, so the second I make that resolution, I end up in the dining hall and it goes out the window. Um, I also say I'll learn how to make Zeff's top secret recipe for pie, but that never happens. He keeps that recipe looked up inside his head and never shares it to anyone. I tell myself I'm going to read the large book that Zeff bought me for my twelfth birthday, but I just look at the cover and get bored. It's some story in Latin. The back says something about some idiot who goes off on a journey to discover himself … it's pretty dumb." He shrugged. "I say I'm going to get regular hours of sleep, but then I end up cleaning the kitchen and falling asleep on the floor … I tell myself I'll learn how to thank Zeff properly for everything he's done, but I can never think of something great enough and by the time I think of something that's good enough, he does something else that makes it so that whatever I have planned has to be grander and I'm back at the drawing boards." He shrugged. Zoro wondered if Sanji knew the way his eyes lit up when he was talking about Zeff. He really admired him, clearly. "I don't know, they're all dumb ones."
"Oh yeah?" Zoro asked. "Come on, there has to be some that have changed. You aren't at the Baratie anymore, which means that you don't have to worry about that. You'll get normal hours, you've spoken to Nami pretty sensibly, so you're on the right path."
Sanji bit his bottom lip. "Well, there is one more. It's not really a New Year's resolution, it's more of just a resolution in general but …" He turned his head away. "I … I told myself I'd stop … stop the scars …"
Zoro froze. Did that mean—?
"I said I'd hold off on the pain … that I'd try to stop completely with the knives in … that way …" He didn't seem to be embarrassed by it, rather he looked ashamed. "I told myself I wouldn't be that weak, that I didn't need it anymore … I've told myself I'm damaged enough so … there's no reason to deliver anymore blows. Not by … not by my own hands …"
"Sanji?" Zoro said softly.
"Hmm?" asked Sanji. He wasn't crying, but he was close, his voice strained.
"You're not damaged," he told him. "You're wounded. Remember those flowers?" he asked. "Healing and hope. You're getting better Sanji, you are."
Sanji nodded slowly. "Um … how long till its ready?" he asked, trying to distract Zoro.
"I will stop drinking."
Sanji gave him a strange look.
"But then I saw a bottle of sake and it was stupid not to drink in the New Year, right?" Zoro shook his head with a laugh. "I'm better now though. I will not lose my temper. That went out the window when Nami shouted I was drinking all her expensive wine. I will not scream at people who are still singing the Little Drummer Boy in the middle of May. Believe it or not, people do that and then by that point in the year, I've forgotten it was even on my list."
Sanji smiled. "What else?"
"Hmm, good question. I will get better friends, who don't end up in jail, that's always on there, but eventually, they do something at makes me think they're not that bad and then once I've secluded myself to the point where it's impossible to make friends that year, they're in jail again so yeah …" He chuckled. "I will get Nami to stop gambling. That's mission impossible anyway though. I will train every day, that seems to be the only resolution I manage to keep. I won't watch that crappy drama that's on its fifth season for some reason … They have a New Year special every year and that's gone too. I will figure out how to drive to Luffy's house without getting lost. It never works. I won't scare children on Halloween, but that's got nothing to do with me, they're always screaming monster or something." He shrugged. "They're weird."
"You have a pretty intimidating scowl," Sanji pointed out. "You should smile more, you look less vicious."
Zoro snorted. "Oh yeah? Give me something to smile about."
Sanji rolled his eyes. "Anything else?"
"I usually tell myself I'll dye my hair so people stop asking me if I'm the Grinch."
Sanji laughed. "Seriously?"
"That and Ebenezer Scrooge, they say that too." Zoro shrugged. "Christmas was never really my holiday."
"What makes this year different?"
Zoro bit his lip and turned away, trying to hide his blush. "You're here."
"You sound like a stupid sap when you say that," said Sanji in a soft voice.
"Yeah well—"
"I didn't say I didn't like it," Sanji cut him off. He gave him a gentle smile and Zoro's furrowed brow smoothened as he began to smile. "But if you dye your hair, I swear I'm killing you."
Zoro laughed.
Time: 11:58 PM JST
Hours till Christmas: 2 minutes
"This is fucking amazing!"
Zoro smirked as Sanji drank his eggnog for the first time. He clearly liked it, if the way his eyes widened and seemed to glow was any indication. "Yeah?" Zoro asked. "Don't you feel depraved now?"
Sanji nodded. "This is fucking amazing!"
"You already said that," Zoro pointed out.
"Fuck you Marimo, I'm allowed to repeat things if I want."
Zoro laughed. "Alright then Curly Brow." He stared at the clock, checking. It was almost Christmas.
Sanji turned on the TV, putting his eggnog down.
"I thought you said it was fucking amazing, you're ditching it all of a sudden?" Zoro teased.
"Shut up, there's a Pokémon Christmas special on," Sanji snapped. And of course, this caused Zoro to laugh because really, wasn't it Sanji who had been making fun of him for watching Pokémon?
"Merry Christmas, Sanji."
Sanji gave him a strange look when he looked at the digital clock on the mantle piece. It was twelve o'clock. "Merry Christmas, Marimo," he said softly.
Immediately, Zoro jumped up from the couch. "Alright, present time!"
"But the special just started," Sanji argued.
"Deal with it!" Zoro told him. "Record it, tape it whatever. I'll watch it with you later when we get back from Luffy's annual Christmas party," he said.
"You will?" Sanji asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I will," Zoro said. There was a moment of silence between them, sweet and almost romantic before Zoro jumped again. "Now go get my present and then get your ass back here."
Sanji rolled his eyes and went off to get Zoro his gift while Zoro pulled the lighter out of his pocket, rolling it over in the palm of his hand. His fingers ran over the engraving and he couldn't help the smile that surfaced on his lips.
"Who goes first?" asked Sanji as he reentered the living room.
"I'll go first, I suppose," Zoro said. He already had it in his hand anyway. He held it out to Sanji who smirked.
"No wrapping?"
"You should be grateful, my wrapping skills are atrocious."
Sanji laughed and turned the lighter over. "I've been in need of a new one," he said in a soft voice. His eyes widened when he spotted the engraving.
Merry X-Mas, from Marimo
Sanji's breath seemed to be caught in his throat as he stared at the lighter. He held it tightly in his hand before wrapping his arms around Zoro's neck, pulling him close to him in a tight hug. "Zoro …" He sounded like he was on the verge of tears again, but Zoro knew this time they were happy tears. Sanji let go and Zoro felt he missed Sanji's warmth, but he just gave him a smile.
"You better use it," he told him with a firm scowl that was only half-hearted.
"Ahou, why wouldn't I?"
Sanji bit his lip. "I feel kind of bad though now, since you gave me something so thoughtful and when it came down to it, I knew I couldn't beat what I had gotten you for your birthday …" Sanji's cheek flushed red and pulled out a nicely wrapped box. "I considered this other present but it was really stupid, so I sent it back. I had to ask Nami for some help for it and it kinda makes me think its more of a gag than anything but …"
Zoro unwrapped the gift without a care in the world. He really didn't care what Sanji had gotten him. From his life in the Baratie, Zoro figured that Sanji didn't buy many Christmas gifts. Maybe for Moodie and Zeff, which meant that it took a lot for Sanji to get him a gift for Christmas. He was honoured that Sanji had even thought to give him something.
It was a GPS.
Immediately, Zoro started to laugh.
"I know it's stupid," Sanji muttered, "I kept the bill, you can return it—"
"I love it," Zoro said, trying to breathe through his laughter. "It's fine Sanji, I love it," he repeated with a bright smile on his face.
Sanji let out a sigh of relief that was almost hidden, but Zoro saw it because his only focus was on Sanji. It had been that way a lot recently.
Zoro pulled Sanji to him, kissing him softly. Mouth against mouth, a gentle motion that was innocent and held the slightest hint of hesitance, reminding Zoro of his first kiss with Sanji. When he pulled away, he blushed. "Mistletoe," he blurted out. "There was uh … mistletoe."
Sanji rolled his eyes. "There's no mistletoe in the entire building," Sanji told him. "If we're boyfriends, you shouldn't need a fucking reason to kiss me, especially not such a shitty one like that!"
Zoro blinked. "Are we boyfriends?" He just remembered telling Nami that he and Sanji weren't boyfriends, they were just dating. You could do that, date someone and yet not actually be their "boyfriend" or "girlfriend".
Sanji sighed and rolled his eyes. Zoro wanted to tell him if he kept doing that, they'd get stuck that way, but he refrained. "Are we really doing this?" he asked.
"Yeah," Zoro told him. "We're really doing this. Are we boyfriends?"
"Fine," Sanji said, crossing his arms. He seemed to think for a while before saying, "Do I annoy you?"
"All the time," Zoro blurted out by accident, but it didn't seem like Sanji cared that Zoro had just answered the affirmative.
"Do you stay with me when I ask?"
"Um, yeah …?" Zoro frowned, confused. Sure he stayed with the cook in the kitchen at pointless times when he could've been napping or training, but what did that have to do with anything? "So what?"
Sanji acted as though he hadn't heard him. "Can you stand to sit in silence with me?"
"Yes, but you're not explaining anything so—"
"Do you listen to me?"
"I'm listening to you now," Zoro said, getting a bit frustrated, "but you're not listening to—"
"No, I mean when I have a problem, you listen to them, don't you?" Sanji asked, giving him a look that clearly stated he didn't want Zoro questioning him, so obediently, Zoro gave him a one-worded answer.
"Yeah."
"We go grocery shopping together, right?"
"Yeah, we've been doing that for months now," Zoro pointed out.
"Do you give me a kiss when you say goodbye?"
"What is this, another round of Twenty Questions?" Zoro looked at him strangely. "I don't always, but …"
"It's a yes or no question."
Zoro sighed. "Yes."
"Then yeah, we're in a relationship. At least, according to the Internet," Sanji said with a shrug.
Zoro stared at Sanji strangely. "I wonder what you do in your spare time …"
"I figured since you said we were dating, then we were boyfriends but I guess now it's official," said Sanji. "Are you okay with that?" he asked as though as an after thought but the crease in his brow showed how much he wanted Zoro to tell him the truth, and he wanted the truth to be that he was fine with it.
"Yeah, that's cool," Zoro said slowly. "So what, now we're official?"
Sanji nodded, seeming to roll on the balls of his feet, teetering. "Yeah, guess so …"
There was silence as Zoro thought it over.
Boyfriend. Sanji's my boyfriend and I'm his. I like the sound of that. Boyfriend. Wait—
"Fuck, does that mean our anniversary is going to be Christmas?"
"Anniversary?" Sanji repeated. He smirked. "What makes you think you can keep me until next Christmas?"
And that was all Zoro needed to know he was never letting this amazing, mischievous cook go. Not even if he begged him to.
Author's Note #2: Okay the thank-yous!
JustCallMeLucie: Thank you? I guess? I'm not sure, does saying it's not crappy constitute as a compliment? I don't always read smut either, I mean I like a dash of it, I like everything in a dash I realize. Like I'll read a story regardless of rating and if there's a bit of smut in there, okay, sure. Pointless stories with just smut, I can't imagining writing one, though I might, cause of the idea of writing about Zoro walking in on Sanji masturbating ... but anyway, I was writing that scene when this person just came into my room and I was like, "calm, cool, is my face red?" and yeah ...
takafumi (x2): Okay am I the only one who had a heart-attack when I found like, 5 episodes for season 3 of Junjou Romantica subbed? I was totally freaking out! Though, I think I've decided that Miyagi and Shinobu are my favourite couple from there. It's just cause Shinobu is as awkward as I am so he's like, 10 times cuter to me. Plus, they had English in their story! I just remember the comments on YouTube where everyone's like "Oh my God, not fair! They're awesome, they're cute, they're adorable, they're smart and now they can talk English?!" and I have to admit, I thought their accents were pretty funny, but I know I sound stupid when I try to speak Japanese, so what can I do? I have taken to calling my friends "baka" though ... and more recently, "ahou". Also, would that takafumi be any reference to Takafumi Yokozawa? (I'm writing that last name with no reference, I might've spelt it wrong ...)
versora: Hey, so yeah, I was thinking and realized Sanji did REALLY well with the sword and then totally went, "Oh shit, now what can he do for him?" and so it ended up being like that ... Yup. Plus, it was 22 chapters after being raped, which I have to say, that's pretty good, he waited a long time. I mean, I thought about how he must've been feeling and I made sure he wasn't over-excited or anything. I tried to make it realistic. I'm not saying Sanji's blowjob was great, I bet it could use some work, but Zoro's a sexual frustrated Marimo who hasn't gotten any in really long so ... yeah. And it's Sanji, this guy he's falling in love with. I just thought about the scenario and was like, "if I were to watch this, what would be the cutest thing I could see?" because they were just so sweet in that scene. I don't like how when I read yaoi, it's either totally rough, or totally sweet and no communications like at all, except for the warning that they're entering the other person. I wanted it to be humbling and yeah, they're probably out of character for it but I swear, my teeth rotted on the sweetness. So yeah, I hope it was good for you ... (wow, I swear I wasn't this perverted my whole life, but that really seemed like an innuendo... High school tainted me. I was the most innocent person in the world before I entered it. Dammit, another innuendo ... I'm just going to stop)
Raigon: I didn't want full-blown sex, cause you're right, that would be too soon, but I thought it was a good place to put it since they developed and build up a nice relationship. It was also to show that Sanji's healing, he's getting better and he's starting to think that that sort of intimacy isn't always the way the cooks made him do it.
crystalbluefox: I've only ever heard of that in stories, I swear! They seriously tried to get you a date? Wow. My family says they don't care about sexuality, they're just like, "I don't care if you're a hippie, a hobo, or a homo, just bring in money!" Course, they're joking but still. You have no idea how many conversations we have where my parents are just like, "so when you get married, who do you imagine at the alter? Are they male?" and I'm always just like, "Uh, Mom? I'm not a lesbian." At least, I don't think I am. I remember when I told my friend I was going to an all-girls school, he was like, "So, does that mean you're a lesbo now?" I attacked him with a hose the next summer. (VICTORY! Sorry, I'm weird). Since I've never had a boyfriend or a girlfriend for that matter, I'm pretty sure only fictional people work for me, then again, I'm really dedicated to school so that means I won't really be trying to find anyone for a long time. I'll be holing myself up in my room all year, studying, doing homework and writing fanfictions. Such is the life of a studious otaku (my friends say I'm insulting myself using that term. I don't care if I use it on myself, but I do hate how my friend called me a weeabo, I don't even know if I spelt that right).
Ayamichan34: I always feel every time I show Nami, I'm making her too aggressive or something, but I hate dormant and non-active female characters. I used to write stories that always focused on a female lead but the first story that was properly planned had a main cast of mainly boys. Still, I keep all my female characters strong and independent. I also make all my genius characters blond. I think that's my way of saying blonds aren't dumb, even if I already know that ...
Wow I write long answers to reviews ... Heh heh...
Well, okay so yeah, it was Nowaki from Junjou Romantica, or rather, Junjou Egoist. He's here again! Welcome him with open arms please! He's adorable!
Okay, now my question which I mentioned earlier: I kinda went crazy with all of the references. I want to know if you caught them all. If you can, list all of the references that were made in this chapter (that means any titles that were mentioned, any allusions towards other things, anime or not anime.) I know, I'm so Englishing this story, even though I wanted to set it in Japan. I feel like a horrible person.
Well, I hope you guys review! I have a chapter ready for you guys, so if I get at least 5 reviews, I'll update as soon as I can. I kinda think the fact that there's such an odd number of chapters (pun somewhat intended, I'm very punny, I know, I'm a horrible person), is really pissing me off. Could we try for like, I dunno, an even number? I like multiples of 5. Wow, that's like begging for reviews ... Now I really feel bad.
If anyone's interested in this story's playlist, I'd be happy to send you some of the songs (they're not all relevant since the story hasn't progressed far enough, the playlist is ahead of the story itself, heh ... heh ...) so tell me if you want some of them!
