Author's Note: Okay, I officially adore Ace and can only pray I'll never have to watch the death scene (wishful thinking, I know). This chapter has to be the longest chapter I've ever written through Sanji's fact: my friend came back from her summer in China (she's Chinese, I'm also Chinese, adopted, and totally Americanized, even though I'm Canadian ... I'm known as the "Chinese girl who doesn't speak Mandarin".) and she got me a present cause I always used to try and "steal" these two Bleach folders she got in Japan and so she got me a One Piece wallet! I totally love it! Now, since this story is coming to its end eventually (in about a month and a half, we've got six chapters left. I know, it's amazing.), I do have other stories I want to write. I make a folder on my computer entitled with a pairings name if I have a lot of I want to write about them. Zoro and Sanji have a pretty damn big folder. Anyway, a lot of those stories are still in the drawing board stages, so if I write anything else after this story, it probably won't come until after my December break cause I want all of my stories to be as prepared and planned as this story was. About five or so chapters ago, I called my friend and freaked out over the story. She had never read it, but she was just like, "so ending it, how are you gonna do it?" and I was just like, "I have no frigging idea." So she gave me an ending, which I hope you'll like. I don't own One Piece or Bleach and sorry if the random text of comments from Zoro are kind of scattered. Line to separate the smut. I decided to update a day early! Next update will be on Sunday (next Sunday) and pardon me but the last 200 words or so were written on my iPad and I tried to correct auto-correct but if it ends up saying Marino instead of Marimo and a few other things, I'll get on that when I edit it again. Also, there's a poll on my profile so you can vote for the story you want most!


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:

Sexual content

Past mention of abuse and rape and bullies (because kids are cruel)


Chapter 36: White Day


There was something he was forgetting, wasn't there? There was something important about today, but what was it?

Sanji thought about it.

Well, his birthday had already passed, that had been nearly two weeks ago. He and Zoro had already spoken about "anniversaries" and how they'd probably only celebrate on their six months anniversary and yearly anniversary. It made it sound like they were married, but Sanji knew that gay marriage was prohibited by Japanese law. Besides, he didn't need to be married to Zoro to enjoy his time with him.

So it wasn't a birthday, wasn't an anniversary. They had gotten Valentine's Day out of the way a month ago— wait. Fuck.

Sanji sat up in his bed and wanted to hit himself. Of course, how could he have forgotten? He slipped out of bed, got dressed quickly and began wondering about whether or not Zoro even remembered today. It didn't get as much advertisement as Valentine's Day, but in high schools it was pretty damn important.

Had Zoro ever given chocolates to a girl on this day?

Sanji shook his head. No, best not think about past relationships Zoro had. Instead he entered the kitchen, focusing on the task of making breakfast.

Just as Sanji was about to get the ingredients out, he paused.

Did Zoro want something special today? He wasn't a hundred percent sure that Zoro even remembered the holiday's existence, plus factoring in how much he hated Valentine's Day, would White Day really make a difference to him? If Sanji made something fancy, would that make Zoro remember White Day and then would he say he hated it too? But what if Sanji didn't make a huge meal and Zoro got upset, thinking Sanji had forgotten? Out of the two of them, Zoro was the most forgetful though … Fuck, what was he supposed to do?

He stayed like that, hands flat on the kitchen counter, wondering a thousand things, his mind racing a million miles per second, wondering what he should do.

And that's how Zoro found him about an hour later.

"What're you doing?" asked the swordsman, a confused furrow in his brow.

"Zoro!" Sanji yelped, not that he'd ever admit his voice could reach such a high octave. "What are you doing here?"

Wow, you sound smart Sanji, you share an apartment with the guy. What is he doing here? He fucking lives here, dipshit!

"I live here," Zoro said slowly, giving him a strange look. "So uh, where's breakfast?"

"Right! Breakfast!" Sanji tried to shove the blush down but it did him no good. "Um right." He bit his bottom lip. "The kitchen's just a bit … weird now." He stared at the counter and tried to rid himself of the image of Zoro bending over.

The kitchen always held memories for him and every time he walked into one, he could see his past flash before his eyes. In Zoro's kitchen if he looked towards the sink he could see himself and Zoro starting a food fight, near the table and he could see Zoro sitting there with his feet propped up, mumbling something or another about Sanji's cooking at another weird hour. If he looked to the fridge, he'd remember the eggs and almost instantly, he could feel the yolk leaking into his eye. If he looked at the counter besides the countless times he had kneaded dough on that counter or had a conversation with Zoro near the counter, he'd remember that night when he had blurted out his nightmare to him. And now he could see Zoro bending over.

It was better than walking into the kitchen at the Baratie, if he looked in anywhere, he could remember the harsh beatings. Except for the corners. He remembered the corners as places to hide, places where he tried to make himself so small, no one could ever spot him. Except they did and then they'd pull him out of the small dark corner and push him into a counter.

The back room … the back room had horrible memories too, the nights he spent in there alone cooking, his tears occasionally falling into the soup, but more recently, he could remember the sight of Zoro falling to the ground, covered in flour, pulling him up off the floor.

The dining hall, an inconvenient room to sleep in when he was done cleaning the kitchen, instead of being filled with imaginary guests, his eyes were always drawn to Zoro's table and he could remember the stillness of the room whenever he blurted out something remarkably loudly.

Yes, Zoro had occupied many of his memories now and seemed to wash away the bad.

"Hey, wanna do it again?"

"What?" Sanji asked distractedly. It took him a moment to exit his thoughts but when he did, his eyes widened. "W-wait, aren't you sore?"

"Didn't I tell you? It takes a lot to bang me up," Zoro said with a grin. "Come on, we're still on our sex honeymoon."

"Food," Sanji told him. "Sit at the table. What do you want for breakfast?"

Yes, this was better. Instead of stressing over something grand, perhaps he'd better just ask Zoro his opinion. If he wanted something fancy, then he remembered. If he asked for flap-jacks, he forgot. Simple.

"Dunno, anything you make is good."

"Bastard," Sanji muttered though clenched teeth.

"Huh?" Zoro sat up a bit straighter in his chair. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Nothing," Sanji snapped, trying to reign in his temper. Many months in Zoro's company caused Sanji's temper to flare. "You did absolutely nothing."

"You sure?" Zoro asked. "You look a little tense."

"I'm fine," Sanji told him. "Sit down and I'll make you something. French toast?"

"Okay, sure."

The swordsman fell back into his seat and kicked his feet up on the table. Sanji's eye twitched. "You're being disrespectful to the furniture."

"Should you really be saying that?" asked Zoro. "You've had a food fight, a make-out session and a fuck in this room, which all revolved around furniture— well, and the floor …" He trailed off with a small laugh. "I think it's a bit late to be worried about respect."

"Shut up!" Oh great, he was even developing Zoro's habit of his fruitless exclamations. Next he'd forget his manners entirely!

Sanji moved around the kitchen, picking out the ingredients he'd need. French toast was pretty simple, it shouldn't take him that long to make it.

He worked in silence until Zoro spoke.

"Did I screw up again?"

Sanji paused in surprise. "What?"

"Did I screw up again?" Zoro repeated. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I told you, I don't usually do this romantic shit and I have no idea how to. I mean I can ask Nami and all but that rarely does any good, she just ends up beating me up and Usopp can be useful on the occasion but then he'll tell you this obvious lie and you're confused on whether or not he actually meant what he said before and Luffy's only good for advice if you catch him on days where he's feeling really philosophical or else he's utterly useless and—"

"Zoro," Sanji cut him off. "You didn't screw up anything. I'm just … stressed," he chose his words carefully because really, Zoro did nothing wrong. He had fun though, watching as the swordsman tripped over himself. Whenever he was in the wrong, the way he made up for it always payed off and made Sanji get the distinct impression he was worrying about nothing in the first place and then felt bad for making Zoro go out of his way to do something nice for him, especially since he was so awkward about it. "Breakfast will be ready soon, okay?"

There was silence again and just as Sanji was about to take the toast out of the oven, Zoro spoke up.

"Hey, about your eye …" He trailed off. "Is it injured?"

"What?"

"I mean you only ever show me one eye, and I think it's pretty weird that with the moves you pull when you fight and the amount of energy you have and all … how is it I've never seen both of your eyes?" Zoro froze. "Do you not have one?"

"Yes Zoro," Sanji said dryly. "I'm a mummy who escaped from their sarcophagus and stole someone else's clothes. I wear make-up on a daily basis in order to maintain a human like appearance but one day this little runt found out and poked out one of my eyes, which lead to me sporting this rather unusual hairstyle."

Zoro crossed his arms and huffed. "You don't have to be so snotty."

"I'm not snotty, I'm sarcastic," Sanji replied, rolling his eyes. "What, you really want to see it?"

"I mean … just so I know it didn't actually fall out or anything …"

Sanji stared at him. "Is talking about loose eyeball sockets really the topic of conversation you've chosen for this morning?"

"I was just curious …"

Sanji sighed. He put the toast on the plate in front of Zoro before taking a seat next to him, which was strange because usually Sanji sat across from him. He took a deep breath and pushed his hair back, revealing his other eye to Zoro who stared at him.

There was silence then—

"Your face is asymmetrical."

Sanji rolled his eyes and made a move to turn away but Zoro caught him by the cheek and pulled him back. He brushed at Sanji's bangs, making sure they kept out of the way. "Why do you cover it?"

"Well you said my face is asymmetrical," Sanji said.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "I don't think that's the reason."

Sanji bit his bottom lip slowly. "When I was younger, Zeff signed me up for school. He thought it was a good idea since I had spent so much time in an orphanage and while the Baratie was still new, it could manage a few hours without me. I was enrolled in elementary school for a few years before I told him I hated it and I didn't want to go back."

"But at school, weren't you away from—"

"The cooks?" Sanji shook his head. "The thing is I thought the cooks were better than school."

"Why?"

Sanji let out a low chuckle that held no humour in it. "Kids can be cruel."

"So … what happened?" Zoro asked. "That you chose to stop going to school?" Seeing the look on Sanji's face, the way he seemed to frown, made him hastily add, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine," Sanji said. "I … I never told anyone about it, not even Zeff. I didn't want him to worry." He took a deep breath before he started to talk. "Zeff was pretty disorganized with the registration papers so I started off on the wrong foot since I came in the middle of the year. You know how it is, you need to be there at the beginning of the first semester where everyone makes their friends or else you're an outsider. Well, I would've been an outsider anyway …"


I know I don't look like the traditional Japanese. I have blond hair, which was weird and made me stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd of dark hair. I was also pretty short for a while until puberty. I had light eyes whereas everyone else had darker ones. I can't tan, I burn instead. Even when I was short, my limbs just didn't look appropriate, they just seemed to fall at my sides, I was always thin and since I've been able to grow, I've always been lanky.

I talked weird to others. I knew just about everything about culinary things but what kid in elementary is interested in something like that? I always paid attention in school, the teacher made me the victim of teacher's pet. As a kid I didn't even know it was a bad thing until some kid beat me up for it in the schoolyard.

But you're right you know, my face is asymmetrical. The kids latched onto it quickly. I was short, I was blond, I was frail and I had fucked up eyebrows. I was the perfect target. I spoke weirdly and because of that they thought it was okay to pick on me. Watching people in the Baratie, monkey see, monkey do, right? So I had more manners than a kid my age, I ate my lunch in a way that, now that I think about it, probably looked snobbish to others. The staff thought I was the perfect child from heaven or some shit like that. "Look at him, he's so well mannered!" or "he always does his homework and pays attention, isn't he just lovely?"

I tried to grow out my hair so that no one could see my eyebrows. The cooks caught on and tried to cut it for me, said it was good for me, that way I could see when I was cooking. I got away half-way through and I ended up with a botched haircut that covered one of my eyebrows. It was uneven but when Zeff saw it, he said it was almost completely hopeless. He evened out my fringe and sent me off to school like that.

The old kids kept making fun of my weird eyebrows, said they were a mutation, an abomination. I guess the first place I learnt to fight might've actually been the schoolyard. I needed to do something and I guessed I had something those other kids didn't. I was desperate. I won one fight against this guy who's name I can't even remember now. They left me alone but … the isolation was probably worse than the teasing …


"I kept the haircut," Sanji finished. "The cooks were right about one thing. If you can't see past your hair, you can't cook."

Zoro gently rubbed his thumb against Sanji's cheek. "They're beautiful, you know. Your eyes."

"Number fifteen, right?" Sanji said. "You like my eyes."

"I love your eyes," Zoro corrected him. "So what if you look different? It makes you special. I was given shit about my hair and then I beat the crap out of those guys. We're abnormalities. I've been told my hair's a genetic defect."

"At least you can dye your hair, what can I do about my eyebrows?"

"You could shave them off or something." Zoro shrugged. "I don't dye my hair because I like to think of it as an act of rebellion. It irritates the hell out of people, I got in trouble during school because apparently, my hair wasn't natural and so the school president tried to force me to dye it black."

"What did you do?"

"I told him it was my natural hair colour. He didn't believe me so I dragged him into the bathroom and showed him."

"You what?!"

"He never questioned it again, that's for sure," Zoro said with a smirk. "Course when I think about it, I think he might've wanted to suck me off right there in the bathroom stall …" He shrugged. "Anyway, we're monsters, aren't we? Crazy hair, fucked up eyebrows. We'll raise hell together, alright?"

Sanji smiled. "Yeah, we will."


Every time I go looking for Luffy and Nami, this guy's here instead.

"Hello Usopp, where's Luffy and Nami today?"

Usopp scratched his long nose for a moment before shrugged. "Dunno, I wanted to see them so I stopped by but the house was empty. I figured I'd stay around a bit longer, they're taking care of Carue after all and I don't want him to starve."

"Carue?"

There was silence and then— "Was that a duck?"

Usopp ran his fingers through his unruly hair, laughing nervously. "Yeah, Vivi's going off to a conference where she can't take Carue, so …" He trailed off.

"Who's Vivi?"

"Oh, you never met her?" Usopp said in surprise. "She's Ace's girlfriend." He shrugged. "Well, she hasn't been around recently anyway, so I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. You wanted to see Luffy and Nami?"

"Uh yeah," Sanji said. He leaned to the side slightly and caught sight of a duck. A duck. Who the fuck kept a duck as a pet? He tried not to be distracted by the new addition to Luffy's home and instead cleared his throat. "It's White Day and I don't really know what to do for it, so uh …" He scratched his head. "I can just wait till Nami and Luffy get back—"

"Oh, you want advice?" Usopp asked with a big grin. "Well, I, Love Expert Usopp, shall help you!" His grin took over half of his face as he pulled Sanji by his arm into the house. "Sit down and we'll talk!"

Sanji took a seat and to his surprise, the duck approached him, taking a seat at his feet. He stared at it. What do you do with a duck? Do you pet it? The duck— Carue, looked up at him with big innocent eyes. Fuck now I feel guilty for making duck dishes …

"So Sanji, tell Usopp your love problems!" Usopp said, taking a seat across from Sanji, a large sandwich in his hand. "You know, I've broken a few hearts before I dated Kaya," he bragged. "They were crying for me to take them back but you've met Kaya. Only an idiot would let her go."

"Um, right. So uh about White Day?" Sanji said, feeling awkward.

"Okay now Sanji I need to ask you a very important question before we start and you can't lie," Usopp told him a very serious tone.

I'll leave the lying up to you, thanks.

"What's the question?"

"Well you've been dating Zoro for a while, right?" Usopp asked. "How long has it been?"

"Three months," Sanji replied. "About. I don't know, it was end of December when it was official but …" He trailed off. "Anyway, what's that got to do with anything?"

"So I suppose I'll just get straight to the point, yeah?" Usopp asked. Sanji bent down and awkwardly patted Carue on the head. "Have you two done it yet?"

"WHAT?!"

Both Sanji and Carue's eyes widened in surprise. If Sanji had been drinking anything, he'd have probably done a spit take, though he wished he was more refined than that. He spluttered and shot daggers at Usopp, clearing his throat and taking a deep breath. He could handle this like the mature, grown man he was.

"What the fuck makes you think you can ask me such a personal question?!"

Or you know, you could do that.

"So?" Usopp pressed.

"So it's none of your business whether or not we've done it yet," Sanji snapped. He knew Nami, Luffy and Usopp were close, which meant that if he admitted it to Usopp, Nami would surely know in no time at all and that was what he was scared of.

"I see …" Usopp stroked a fake beard that he did not have. He didn't even have a stubble. It was rather pathetic. He frowned. "I owe Nami three."

"Huh?"

"She said March, I said June. Thank God she was talking hundreds or else I'd never be able to pay it off. Oh wait, dammit, she always wants triple. Dammit." He shook his head.

"June?" Sanji repeated. "What, you think I'm some sort of prude?"

"No I just— ha! You admitted it!"

Fuck!

Sanji grumbled, crossing his legs and sighed. He made a move to reach for his cigarettes when he remembered he didn't have them anymore. Double fuck. "Don't tell Nami," he said. He did not beg, he was above that. Pleading was peasant-like, he had golden buttons on his jacket— blazer, oh fuck, Zoro's talk was starting to leak into him.

"So who was the girl?"

"The girl?" Sanji echoed, slightly in a trance, wondering how mad Zoro would be when he learnt that Nami got wind of their suddenly existent sexual relationship.

Usopp nodded. "You know, like the one on top."

"There's no girl in the relationship," Sanji argued. "We're both men."

"But one of you had to take it up the ass," Usopp pointed out. "So who was it?"

"But that doesn't determine anything!" Sanji protested.

Usopp nodded. "So you were on the bottom. I should've known."

"Fucker, what are you talking about?" he demanded, glaring at Usopp.

"Well, for one thing Sanji, you're shorter than Zoro—"

"By one centimetre!"

"— and you have a lean figure, not to mention you dress better than him. You're always going on about chivalry and stuff like that. Let's be honest, in a fight, Zoro would probably kick your ass—"

"I totally beat him at Partys, weren't' you there?!"

"— and even if that wasn't the case you smell of cologne and all sorts of girly perfumes. You just radiate femininity, you know." He saw the look on Sanji's face. "That's nothing to be ashamed of—"

"I'M NOT A FUCKING GIRL!"

"I never said that," Usopp told him. "It's just you're very feminine. It's like … you leak pheromones or something," Usopp shrugged. "I don't know, I've never been friends with gay people."

"I'm bisexual!" Sanji snapped. "And you told me before, Zoro's been in other relationships. He's spoken to me about it, they were all female—"

"What if one was a transvestite or something?"

"Really Usopp? Really?" Sanji demanded. "Look, I'm not a girl. If I'm feminine so is Zoro. He spends hours in the shower, has an obsession with the way furniture is arranged, does really sappy things and says all that cheesy shit you see in those romantic movies, he doesn't understand the importance and joy of watching anime and he fucking took it up the ass!"

Usopp blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. Then—

"Zoro bottomed?"

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Never mind, you're clearly no help," Sanji muttered, picking himself up from the couch.

"Hey look, Sanji, I'm sorry," Usopp said, getting up as well. "Maybe I was kinda focusing too much on the fact that you're both men."

"Yes, both men," Sanji repeated. "None of us are women, we aren't substitutes of a woman, we both have cocks and we both have a fucking prostate. Why can't you just get that? What makes it so that you have to treat a same-sex couple so differently?"

"I'm sorry," Usopp repeated. "Look, I don't know, maybe I'm just not used to it. You're right, there's nothing different about your relationship with Zoro from the relationship I have with Kaya. I'm sorry, I was out of line. I just … it's hard to wrap my head around it, okay? That doesn't excuse anything I've said, but I'm just trying to understand this all. I know that there are some complications and difficulties you guys face unlike a heterosexual couple and I guess I was just focusing on those small differences like how you call each other 'boyfriend' and 'boyfriend' instead of 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend'. I don't know, I just …" Usopp ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't mean anything by it, I just need time to get used to it."

Sanji took a deep breath and sighed. "It's fine," he said. "I've just been stressed lately." He took a seat again and pet Carue. "It's just … Zoro hates Valentine's Day, I know that now, so I don't know if White Day would be any different. Something tells me his attempt at romance is a one time thing, or at least, I shouldn't expect it to become a regular thing." He snorted. "It's a good thing too, he sucks at it. But anyway, I just … Should I just pretend its a normal day? I mean what do you and Kaya do on White Day?"

"Us?" Usopp said. He thought for a moment. "We don't do anything really special, exactly. I mean I get her a card and we spend the whole day together. We do what we each like doing with each other. It's … it's different, to do what you like with someone you like, it makes it the times better. I can't really explain it, but do you get it?"

Sanji nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think I do." He checked his watch and his eyes widened. It was almost two in the afternoon. So much for spending all of White Day with Zoro.

He got up from his seat and gave Carue another pat on the head before apologizing to Usopp, saying he had to get going and left, slamming the door loudly.

Usopp considered telling Nami about the fact that they had done it, but he didn't feel like paying.

What she doesn't know won't hurt her.


BANG!

Sanji's back hit the apartment door and the feel of cold steel pressed against his neck greeted him. He looked up to see Zoro's hazel eyes staring at him with a mischievous smile on his lips. "Don't let your guard down, cook," he said.

SMACK!

Zoro was pushed off of Sanji by a well aimed kick at the man's stomach, forcing him away. Zoro grinned and readied himself.

"Gee, what a warm welcome," Sanji said. "Can I look forward to this every day now?" he asked dryly.

Zoro smirked and lunged forwards for another attack, but Sanji aimed a kick and the sword went flying out of his hands. Disarm a swordsman and he's useless. Well, that wasn't true. Zoro had two others swords. Zoro raised them, Wado and Shusui. For some reason, every time he saw Zoro using that black sword, he felt an immense sense of pride wash over him.

Sanji let his hands fall to the ground, lifting his feet and with a fell kick, aimed at Zoro's feet. Zoro jumped and flipped over him, blocking the exit. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was squatting a little. He rose quickly, striking down.

Sanji dodged and flipped back onto the couch. He sighed. "We're getting mud everywhere," he told him. He tried to kick off his shoes but Zoro wouldn't have any of it. Instead he made an attempt at striking Sanji's torso. Sanji bent over backwards, forced into a bridge position before he brought his legs over himself and was standing again. One of his shoes came off, hitting Zoro in the face. There was now a smudge of dirt on his cheek.

Sanji grinned. "Dirty Marimo," he teased.

Zoro rolled his eyes and lunged in again

Sanji blocked using his foot, pressing against Zoro's crossed swords. The swordsman skidded back, then raised his foot, kicking Sanji in the gut to his surprise, causing him to stagger back. He sighed. "And now my blazer's dirty. Want to tell me why we're fighting?"

"Not really," Zoro said with a shrug, coming in for the kill.

Sanji forced himself to use the couch as leverage and catapulted himself over it, kicking fiercely, hitting Zoro square in the jaw.

He took a deep breath, readying his breathing. It was starting to hurt a little. Zoro made an attempt to move in again but Sanji held up his hand. "Wait," he said, his voice sounding slightly hoarse.

Zoro lowered his swords and nodded, waiting.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Is it another attack?"

Sanji shook his head. "I don't know." He reached out and took Zoro's hand. The swordsman put his sword down slowly as Sanji guided his hand towards his chest. "Is that an adrenaline heart beat?"

Zoro's lips parted slowly, feeling the slightly unsteady rhythm of Sanji's heart under the palm of his hand. He grinned but didn't say anything, instead taking Sanji's hand in his and pressing it to his heart. Racing quickly. "It burns a bit," Zoro told him. "At least, to me." Sanji found his breath caught in his throat. This heart beat … The sign of Zoro being alive, pulsating, beating as quickly as his own. "But it's a good kind of burn. You?"

Sanji nodded, gulping. "Yeah. A good kind of burn."

They continued, throwing kicks and an assortment of sword attacks, stopping on the occasion when Sanji had to stop to breathe and calm his racing heart when he felt he couldn't take it. Zoro would tell him to stop if he started to wheeze and to Sanji's surprise, Zoro could be very patient when he wanted to.

The two of them collapsed on the floor about an hour and a half later, sweat dripping down their foreheads.

"Are you going to explain the fight now, Marimo?" Sanji asked, turning to him.

Zoro brushed aside Sanji's bangs, staring at his eyes. His fingers slowly traced their shape and when Sanji closed them, they skimmed over his eyelids. "You better not poke me in the eye, Marimo," he told him.

"Oh shut up," Zoro told him playfully. "I spoke to Nami today."

"Oh yeah? What'd you talk about?"

"Well, first she yelled at me about the date, saying that I couldn't ignore it and screw it up like I did Valentine's Day."

"You didn't screw it up," Sanji told him. "It was just unconventional. Strange, just like you."

"Hey!"

"You've got green hair, remember? Strange is probably the best way to call it. Peculiar sounds more intriguing though." Sanji laughed. "Remember? We're both monsters."

Zoro nodded. "Well I spoke to Nami about what she did with Luffy for White Day. She said they didn't do much. They just do things they like in each other's company, just … I don't know, being happy that there's someone else near them." Zoro shrugged. "So after she screamed at me that I was wasting the day with her when I should be spending it with you, I ran out of there and came here."

"Oh yeah?" Sanji asked. "And you thought fighting was the best way to spend the day with each other?"

"Well, that and before you came in I was working on a little something," Zoro said. "Bleach, it's another one of those animes of yours, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"We're going on another marathon, Bleach edition."

Sanji grinned.

He swore he loved this man.


The moment it started, Zoro just couldn't shut up.

"What's with the weird buildings?"

Sanji rolled his eyes. Watching anime with Zoro was always amusing to say the least. "That's just the way it is."

"Well that's fucked up. Who's that short person?"

"A person," Sanji replied with a shrug. "You need to watch."

There was silence for a few scenes until—

"Why the fuck is that guy's hair orange?!"

"Why the fuck is your hair green?"

Zoro crossed his arms and grumbled in response. "So why's he beating those guys up? I mean not that he's not great at it, but still." The moment he discovered why, his jaw dropped. "He did it for a fucking translucent girl?"

"She's a ghost," Sanji said. "A soul to be more precise."

"What the fuck was that chain thing in her chest? Is she into bondage or something? And why the fuck can he see her?"

There were various other comments, each getting more amusing than the last.

"Who kicks their son when they first enter the door?"

"Who puts a sword to your throat when you get home?" Sanji countered.

"Those girls are siblings? But they're nothing alike! And why does he have orange hair if his dad's got dark hair and his mom's got brown hair— why the fuck is there a giant poster of his mother?!"

"Wait is that the chick from earlier? Why's she wearing samurai gear? Is that a sword?"

"Why can't his father see her? No one hears him screaming? He hardly stays quiet, and she's pretty loud too! And that was just immature, writing on his face."

"You're telling me a girl that small can take down a monster that big? That's just not possible."

"IS HE AN IDIOT? GOING AT THAT GIANT THING WITH A CHAIR?!"

"Is he suicidal?"

"That has to be the most weird place to end an episode ever."

When the credits rolled, Zoro shook his head. "I mean the whole swords are cool, but maybe he's compensating for something? Like maybe, cause her sword was nice and big, it makes up for her small tits and for him he's making up for his small cock? And seriously, what is up with that family?"

Sanji grinned.

Usopp was right. Doing something you liked with the one you liked made it ten times better.

"Next episode?" Sanji asked.

The moment it started, Zoro was confused. "How the fuck does no one know what happened? And how can a girl that small with so little tits be that attractive to everyone? You're telling me no one reads that note she wrote on her hand? It was plain and obvious!"

"Okay who's the girl with the big tits? Is that where the other girl's tits went? No one has big boobs, is this even anime?"

"What are you talking about?" Sanji asked giving him a strange look.

"Isn't it an unwritten rule in anime, female characters have to have a huge rack. But that girl's got nothing and neither does that tomboy!" He frowned. "Wait a minute, is she telling him if he saves one kid, he's got to save all kids in the world? He's only fifteen!" Clearly they had left their past topic.

When that episode was finished, Zoro turned to Sanji. "Why does he have a strawberry for a head?"

Sanji tilted his head. "You kinda have a strawberry shaped head too."

"Liar!" Zoro snapped. "Your head looks like an eggplant though."

"It does not!"

"It so does! Seriously, except for the asymmetrical shit of your face, your head reminds me of an eggplant. Either way, whether or not you recognize your eggplant-shaped head, I do not have a strawberry shaped one, that's just plain stupid. Who on Earth has heads shaped like food anyway? I mean except for you, that is. I think that strawberry could use some anger management classes though and how does he lift a sword that fucking big? It's not natural! And I'm totally right, he's totally compensating—"

"Aishiteru."

"—and then there's that girl's lack of— what did you just say?"

It had been whispered, barely spoken, but Sanji realized he didn't regret it. It had just slipped out, as cliché as it sounded, without his knowledge but he found he meant it. He didn't know when it happened.

It wasn't like in the movies where there was a moment where the world stopped spinning and he just knew he had fallen in love. Rather, it was more like it had happened gradually, slowly and it was at that moment that he realized he could tell Zoro he loved him with no regrets, when her realized he meant it. When he realized he was already in love. Maybe that's why they called it falling, you feel nothing as you float down to the bottom and once you hit the rock hard ground, that's when you realize you're already in love and at that point, no ladder, no rescue team can possibly get you out.

He knew if someone asked him why he loved Zoro he would never manage to come up with an answer. It was a combination of things, he couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly that made him fall in love with him, it was just … everything about him. It was a process that started slowly and silently, without your knowledge. By the time you were finally made aware it was too late.

Perhaps other people had a more romantic story than meeting their first love at a restaurant where they worked. Maybe the story was better than saying you were an abused, misunderstood man who had smoked one too many cigarettes. Maybe they had stories about beautiful courtship rather than a kidnapping and horrible soup being shoved down their throat. Not everyone's love story had the words "kidnap" and "house arrest" included in them. The word "blackmail" certainly only made its way into few relationships and those ended with restraining orders and court. Sanji was probably the only one who had Random Word Association, cooking lessons at four in the morning, Kendo tournaments, getting rich off of beating each other up and several trips to the hospital. But maybe that's what made their relationship unique.

He and Zoro were monsters, as he said. The love story between two monsters could hardly be normal, could it?

Sanji tore his gaze away from Ichigo as he went on a rant about brothers and sisters and how sibling relationships worked to see Zoro, still stunned and speechless. He didn't regret it, not at all.

Zoro was strange to say the least. He had a bad temper, he raised his voice, he was impatient. He was loud and a bit annoying, he couldn't cook to save his life, he had horrible social skills. He used to drink excessively, had an unhealthy dedication to his swordsmanship, acted like a dog in heat. He used the most stupid shampoo, had no fashion sense, couldn't walk in a straight line without getting lost, was rude, crude and Ace was kind of right, he did remind Sanji of a ballerina on the occasion.

But Zoro was so many things other than that and it was those strange quirks he had, including playing with the drawstrings of his sweatpants, that just helped Sanji fall even more in love with him.

Sanji knew this wasn't gratitude for helping him escape. This was deeper. Gratitude didn't mean you kissed each other, didn't mean you started a relationship. Being grateful didn't lead to buying someone a sword for his birthday or wanting to hear him say "I love you". Gratefulness wasn't going to bed with someone who helped you heal.

He had already known that he was grateful to Zoro, but in the seven months he had known him it had gradually changed into something else, something deeper.

"Aishiteru," Sanji repeated.

Zoro continued to gape, staring at him unblinkingly.

"This wasn't exactly the reaction I was expecting," Sanji admitted, letting out a nervous chuckle.

Had Zoro changed his mind? Had he decided he didn't want Sanji? Fear rose up in Sanji's chest, constricting painfully. Oh God, was he going to have another attack?

Zoro shook his head. "No, I didn't hear you say that, you're kidding, you're joking, I'm hallucinating."

"Why is it that every time I tell you something serious, you think you're hallucinating?" Sanji asked, tilting his head to the side slightly. "I think there's a problem with that."

"But I have to be, because you didn't just say—"

"Aishiteru."

"That! You did not just say that!"

"I did," Sanji said. "Do I need to say it again? Aishiteru."

Zoro covered his ears in a rather childlike manner. "I'm not listening, lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala!"

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Honestly …" He took Zoro's hands in his own and gently pulled them off of his ears, making sure to brush his earrings. He pressed his forehead against Zoro's, breathing softly. "If you don't give me an answer soon, I might start to panic," he said in a gentle voice. "Might even have an attack … Do I need to take it back?"

Zoro covered Sanji's mouth with his hand, shaking his head profusely. It wasn't as though Sanji would take it back, that would just be stupid. He found the way Zoro's eyes widened in panic was adorable, a strange word to use for a brute like Zoro. "No, you can't take it back."

"Why not?" Sanji teased, making sure his tongue licked his palm as he spoke against his hand.

Zoro shivered visibly. "B-because, it's already out there."

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Oh God, it's already out there, what are we going to do, it's already out there!" He finished his quick rant by licking the palm of Zoro's hand, making sure to maintain eye contact the whole time. Zoro's eyes widened and his cheeks started to flame red.

Sanji moved his head slightly and took Zoro's thumb into his mouth, sucking gently. He ran his tongue over the nail and bit softly, teasingly. Zoro's lips parted slowly, pulling his hand away from his mouth and instead replaced it with his own lips.

Sanji smirked against his lips, pulling him closer. The loud crashes of the battle on screen were forgotten as Zoro pulled Sanji into his lap. Supporting him by holding his hip with one hand and his neck in his other, Zoro let Sanji take control. Sanji's legs wrapped around Zoro's waist and with the slight height advantage he earned by being in Zoro's lap, he pulled Zoro's head upwards by tugging at his hair. Zoro let out a gasp and submitted to him, letting his hands grip him tightly as Sanji's moved under Zoro's shirt, feeling his muscles under his fingertips. He would never get bored of this man's body, it was perfect.

Sanji pulled away, breaking the kiss, breathing hard. "Aishiteru," he whispered softly.

"Aishiteru," Zoro repeated in the same quiet voice.

Sanji leaned against Zoro's sturdy frame, letting his head rest in the crook of the green-haired man's neck. "Zoro?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that thing you said? About the sex addiction?"

Zoro chuckled. "You want it?"

"Badly," Sanji admitted.

"Come on," Zoro said, giving Sanji a slight push off of him. Zoro stood and held out his hand to Sanji. "If we do it here, you're going to break my back."

Sanji bit his bottom lip. "Do you … do you not like it this way?"

Zoro gave him a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean …" Sanji closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "When I was … When I was r-raped—"

"Sanji don't," Zoro interrupted him. "Please, don't. It still hurts you, I don't want to see you cry."

"Bastard," Sanji snapped, blinking harshly. "I'm not going to cry, fucking Marimo." He took a deep breath once more and Zoro remained silent as he tried to collect himself. "I mean when it happened, I … I didn't like it. I … " He shook his head. "I hated it, how can you stand it?"

Zoro sat back down on the couch and ran his fingers through Sanji's hair, pressing him against his chest. "Sanji? Can I ask you something?"

"What?" His voice sounded so small, even to his own ears.

"Did you trust those cooks?"

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Bastard, what the fuck are you talking about?"

"Did you trust them?" Zoro repeated.

"Fuck no," Sanji snapped.

"That's the difference."

"What do you mean?" Sanji asked in a quiet voice, looking up at Zoro, trying to hold back tears. Usopp's words were brought back to him. He said he was feminine. And here he was, completely disproving the point Sanji had tried so hard to get across to him about there being no female in the relationship. He was being a fucking pansy, wasn't he? So close to crying …

"I know you Sanji. This isn't the same as rape, it isn't. This is consensual, trust me." Zoro took a deep breath. "I don't mind doing it like this, I like it like this, because it's you Sanji. I wouldn't even think of doing it again if I didn't like it. I trust you." He bit his bottom lip. "And, when you trust me enough, we'll try it again. The other way around. If we do it that way and you don't like it, we won't do it again. And if that day never comes, then that's okay too."

"Liar," Sanji said. "You so want to do it that way."

Zoro gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I do." Sanji was surprised he admitted it so easily. "But I don't want to do it if you don't want it. I told you, I'm not going to force you into anything Sanji, I'm not after your body and your soul and whatever fucked up demon possession sounding shit people say that's supposed to be romantic. I need someone for national holidays who can tie my tie, or let me beat them up to bond. I'm not in it for your ass. As sexy as it is," he added with a smirk.

Sanji nodded slowly. "One more thing," he said softly. "If you still want to do it after we're done, that is."

"You're so naive, Sanji," Zoro said with a light chuckle. "I'm always going to want you."

"Big words," Sanji told him. "Can you back them up?"

"You're beautiful," was Zoro's response.

Sanji didn't believe him. Not yet. But he was so fucking close.

"I went to talk to Nami and Luffy today," he said. "And I got into a talk with Usopp." He bit his bottom lip. "And he said … he said that there was a girl in our relationship."

"Usopp's full of shit."

"I know he's a liar," Sanji said, worried by the way Zoro's brow was furrowing and his fists were clenching. "But I mean …" He bit his bottom lip. "I just … What if he's right?"

"Sanji, do I look like a woman?"

"What kind of a fucking question is that?!" Sanji demanded.

"Answer the question."

"Well, no …" Sanji looked away from him, trying not to blush. "There's no fucking way anyone can confuse you with a woman. But—"

"Next question. Sanji, do you look like a woman?"

"No, but—"

"Then that's all there is to it," Zoro cut him off. "You're not a woman, I'm not a woman. We've both got dicks, we both have balls and we're both in a relationship with each other. Simple as that."

"You over-simplify everything," Sanji said.

"It saves me from worrying about things like you do," Zoro said, musing Sanji's hair playfully. "Now that that's all sorted out, how about we go to the bed?"

Sanji nodded, picking himself up off the couch.


When they entered the bedroom, Zoro pushed Sanji onto the bed slowly, towering over him. Sanji tensed. He loved Zoro, he really did, he wouldn't have said it otherwise, but being taken like this … He shut his eyes tightly, breathing deeply. He could be calm, he could handle it. If Zoro wanted to switch places, he'd deal with it.

There was a tight knot in the pit of his stomach, causing his breathing to come out laboured as he tried to calm himself down.

Think of something else, think of something else. Preheat the oven to 200˚ C, combine panko and oil in a pan, toast over medium heat until golden—

"Sanji?"

Sanji sucked in a deep breath. "Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

Sanji opened his eyes to find that Zoro was sitting on the back of his legs, which were on either side of Sanji, about half of Zoro's weight on Sanji's stomach. He was giving Sanji a strange look, obviously confused by the cook's behaviour.

"Recipes," Sanji blurted out.

"Huh?"

God he looked adorable like that.

"Never mind," Sanji said, shaking his head. "Aren't we going to do it?"

"You're tense," Zoro said. "And you look like you're bracing yourself for death. Is it really that horrible?" He shook his head. "We don't have to do this, you know. If you think we've been doing it too much, we can stop."

Sanji raised an eyebrow, eyeing the bulge in Zoro's pants. "Oh really?"

Zoro blushed. "Yeah, I can take care of myself," he said, his face flushed.

"It's just … different," Sanji said instead of voicing his fears of being taken. "You're on top." All the past times they had done it, not only had Sanji been the one in charge, but he was always above Zoro. The first time on the bed, Zoro had been sprawled out on his back with Sanji above him, in the kitchen he had stood behind him while Zoro had been leaning. There had always been a definite of who was on top.

"Do you … not like it?" Zoro asked in a voice that Sanji would've labeled as shy, had it not been Zoro Roronoa.

"No, it's fine," Sanji said and he found that, seeing Zoro look at him with those beautiful hazel eyes, it really was fine. He was overthinking things, he could handle it. He trusted Zoro. "You can keep going."

Zoro nodded and slipped off his shirt before lowering himself on Sanji. He pushed up Sanji's shirt, bunching it up. Sanji decided not to tell him he'd be ironing it out when this was over. Zoro began to kiss Sanji's stomach and almost immediately, Sanji sucked in a breath.

Close your eyes, count to ten, it'll be over before you know it.

Zoro's tongue poked through Sanji's navel and the blond let out a gasp. Shit. Zoro grinned against his skin. His hands went lower to Sanji's buckle, swiftly undoing it. He released him from his boxers and proved once more that he had no gag reflex, taking all of him in one go.

Sanji gritted his teeth as Zoro bobbed up and down on his cock, looking at him through his lashes. The eye contact made it all the more intense as Zoro hummed, the vibrations causing Sanji to shudder. Zoro pulled back, leaving only the head in his mouth before he took it all in again, swallowing, his throat constricting around Sanji.

"Hah …" Sanji tried to catch his breath, but his attempts were futile. "Ngh …"

The now familiar feeling of release approaching reached him and he shut his eyes tightly. "Christ," he gasped, letting his fingers thread through Zoro's hair. "Zoro, I'm gonna …"

At that moment, Zoro pulled his mouth off of him, grinning mischievously.

"Fucking bastard," Sanji growled.

Zoro got off the bed, unbuttoning his pants and unzipping quickly, his pants becoming a pile on the floor. "I'm going to try something, okay?"

Sanji nodded. Instead of fear of having Zoro inside of him, he felt … a thrill. Anticipation. It was like it didn't matter that Zoro would be the one on top, Sanji knew he wouldn't regret it this way either.

And then Zoro totally surprised him.

Instead of spreading the lube he had quickly gotten from the nightstand drawer onto his fingers to prep Sanji, he pushed two fingers into himself. He sat on the bed with his legs spread wide open, thrusting two fingers deep inside of him, trying to pick up the pace.

"Fuck, how do you do this?" he demanded. "It's fucking tight," he moaned as he pushed in a third finger.

There was something about watching Zoro fuck himself that was so erotic. Sanji licked his lips, watching as Zoro's cheeks became flush and the swordsman's head tilted back and he let out an assortment of curse words and grunts. He yelped in surprise when he hit his prostate. "Fuck, I could cum from this alone," he admitted. He pulled his fingers out of himself though and poured more lube onto them before wrapping his hand around Sanji's cock, stroking him.

"Do you want me to move?" Sanji asked, now assured they were doing this the same way they had first done it and for some reason, he found himself feeling … a little disappointed?

"No," Zoro said. "Stay right where you are."

Sanji nodded, but gave him a strange look as Zoro then lifted himself off the bed and then to Sanji's shock, lowered himself onto Sanji's lubed member.

He watched as Zoro's ass swallowed his cock and Zoro put his hands on Sanji's chest to steady himself. Oh God, he was in deep, deeper than he was pretty sure he had been before.

"Fuck," Zoro hissed.

Sanji sucked in a breath, trying to breathe and failing miserably. This was … this was …

Zoro began to move slowly, grinding against him. Sanji's head tossed back as he moaned loudly. He wouldn't be surprised if the neighbours knew what they were doing, apartment walls were thin. He took a deep breath as Zoro continued to grind. He leaned down and claimed Sanji's lips with his own, using Sanji's slightly parted lips to his advantage, taking control of the kiss.

He parted from Sanji and then the blond was in for another surprise when Zoro, using his arms, pushed himself up before lowering himself back down onto Sanji.

Zoro Roronoa was fucking himself on Sanji's cock.

Sanji knew he was the only one to ever get to see such a sight, the only one who had ever seen Zoro's brow furrow in concentration, his chest heave with each breath he took as he used his hands for leverage, while at the same time trying not to put too much of his weight on Sanji. No one had ever seen the way Zoro's eyes rolled to the back of his head as Sanji hit his prostate.

Sanji's hips bucked forward in time with Zoro's thrust. He wasn't going to lie. It was clumsy at first but they eventually developed a rhythm, with sweat dripping down his forehead, Sanji watched in amazement as Zoro took control, timing the thrusts. Being underneath Sanji - well, actually, he wasn't under him, technically, if anything he was on top, but it brought new realization to his eyes.

Just because one gave up the "man" role of the act, that didn't give them any less power than the one in "control". It really did feel like they were equal as Zoro panted, his skin gleaming with sweat as he controlled the situation, he decided how far Sanji penetrated him, he decided the pace, he was in control in every sense of the word. He didn't lay down flat for anyone, but he didn't take the power from anyone either. It was complicated and Sanji couldn't wrap his head completely around it, but this ... This was so different from what had happened with those damn cooks. This was what it should be like and Sanji realized, this was what it would always be like, if he played his cards right.

He had decided it.

No matter what happened, Sanji was never letting this man go. He wouldn't let him get away, not if he had any say in it and considering the way his life was going, it seemed that was exactly how it was.

"Sanji," Zoro breathed heavily, "I'm ... I'm so close ..."

"Me too," Sanji admitted, his head tossing back as he watched Zoro speed up, trying to find release.

Zoro truly was beautiful when he came. His head tossed back, his lips parted slightly, his entire body tensed and a sound that was something between a moan and a cry escaped those gorgeous lips. His cum splattered over his chest as Sanji watched, entranced in the way that hazel eyes opened hazily when he was done and he licked his lips. Sanji came with full force inside of him and let himself fall back, taking a deep breath.


Zoro got off of him slowly before down next to him. He reached out and wrapped an arm around Sanji.

"You're sticky," Sanji said in a soft voice.

"Don't leave,."

Sanji's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"The first time ... You left," Zoro said. "I woke up alone."

"I was in the kitchen-"

"I don't care," Zoro cut him off. "I don't care," he repeated softly. "Just stay. My bed's too big for me."

"Whose fault is that?"

"Don't tease," Zoro told him, frowning..

"I'm kidding, you know I love you Marino."

Zoro nodded. "I know. And I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you don't regret saying that."

Sanji looked him in the eyes. "Zoro," he said in serious voice, "I've done many things I've regretted in my life. My inability to stand up, how I wasn't able to help Moodie, how I never managed to say thank you enough to Zeff, that I've never known my parents, that I've hurt myself, that I couldn't cope in a better way, that I didn't get help when I needed it, that I was too proud to ask for it when it was what I desperately needed. The way I first treated you, my first time ..." He shut his eyes tightly, trying to push away the memories. Zoro rubbed his arm gently in a way that was slightly comforting and yet at the same time incredibly awkward. A ghost of a smile surfaced on Sanji's lips. "I admit it. You told me you've never done anything you've ever regretted. I can't say the same. But I can tell you this." Sanji took a deep breath. "There's not a single thing in these past few months with you I've ever regretted. The only thing I regret is that I didn't start dating you sooner."

"You know I meant it too," Zoro said softly. "When I told you."

"I know." Sanji grinned. "Funny enough, for my birthday ... I actually wanted you to tell me you loved me. I didn't expect you to tell me that. I thought daisuki would've been the best I would've gotten, I just ... I don't know, I needed to hear you say it, to ow you weren't around because you felt bad or anything ..."

"I don't feel bad," Zoro said. "Well, I mean I do, what happened to you was horrible," he corrected himself, "but I mean I don't feel bad for you in the sense that it would make me feel obligated to start a relationship with you. I mean ... You're my first everything."

"With a man," Sanji corrected him. "First with a man. You can't honestly tell me you' re never fallen in love before?"

"I have," Zoro admitted and suddenly, Sanji felt a stab of jealousy. "But only once before. It didn't end well."

"Was it with that girl?"

"Who?"

"Don't say who all innocent, you know who I'm talking about. That girl you dated who ..." He trailed off.

"Sanji," Zoro said with a grin, "I can't even remember her name right now."

"Liar."

"Alright fine, I remember her name," Zoro conceded. "It's burned into my mind, it's the first thing I think of when I wake up, last thing before I go to bed. Well actually, that's been changing lately. She had dark hair, I've found that recently, blond's been invading my thoughts." He gave Sanji a look. "Do you want me to forget her?"

Sanji thought about it.

Did he want Zoro to forget this woman? He saw the way Zoro's eyes lit up with a bittersweet sadness, nostalgia and wonder, dream-like. He'd always smile when he mentioned her, he really seemed to cherish her. His sword, Waro, who had belonged to her, he worshiped it, took the best care of it out of all his swords. There was a deep sadness in his eyes, one that pained Sanji to see, like Zoro was lost far away in a world where he didn't know Sanji, a world that Sanji would never know because he had never known her.

Sanji shook his head. "No," he said finally. "I don't want you to forget her. She's a part of you, clearly. I think it might kill you if you forgot her." He bit his lip. "I'm not going to ask you to forget your past Zoro, I'm not going to tell you to only think of me. I'm not that selfish and besides, I'd feel weird and clingy if I did. But ... I ... I want to be a part of you too." Sanji couldn't help blushing as he said it.

"You're moving in," Zoro declared.

"I thought I've been living her for seven months."

"No, I mean get all your shit and get your fucking white ass in here by noon tomorrow."

"What?"

Zoro shrugged. "Well, if my nights keep ending like this I think it'd be stupid for you to have your stuff in the guest bedroom. Any objections?" There was the slightest hint of nervousness at the end of his question.

Sanji took a long time pretending to decide. "I don't have an objection so much as a condition."

"And what's that?"

"Never call refer to my buttocks as white ass again."

"Did you just say buttocks?"

"Zoro."

Zoro laughed.. "Okay sure, Curly Brow."

When Sanji 's eyes closed that night, he thought about it.

Maybe if it was Zoro, he could surrender his body in that way again. Maybe. But only if it was Zoro.


Author's Note #2: The thank yous!

Cara-Dolce: I have this deep loving for long reviews so thank you so much for the fact that your review was so long, the e-mail I got notifying me that the review had to be cropped cause it was too long! So those questions ... Do you want answers to them because you weren't very specific about 'em ... I just knew I wanted to have another sex scene in the kitchen because Sanji had a bad experience there and I wanted Zoro to replace it with something better. Plus the idea of Zoro physically having to bend over was beyond sexy to me and I didn't really get to meddle with dirty talk for the first time. I like dirty talk, personally, I don't know why, I like stories that include it, but I don't usually like BDSM, which is annoying since that's usually what you get with it. BDSM is always wondering whether it's consensual or not, and pardon me, but non-consent is NOT arousing, it's just plain disturbing and wrong. Now, I've said before and I'll say it again: there will be both SanZo and ZoSan in this story, it will be written, it will be read, I will enjoy it, someone will come in while I'm writing the scene and I'll feel awkward but I'll push through and publish again.

JustCallMeLucie: Sanji got out of Zoro's death grip and got dressed (because he sleeps shirtless and he was naked in the bed, he still feels uncomfortable being completely shirtless around Zoro) and made breakfast. That's why he was wearing a tie, and because Zoro had to fumble with it (because it's adorable) and ties are sexy on Sanji. Now I know there's been a lot of smut recently, and I know you've said you don't really read it, which is fine, but you're in luck, the next few chapters don't have any smut planned in them.

Random Person: I think it's inevitable. I dorkafy all the characters I write about. The coolest character I ever created who wasn't from a fanfiction was a science obsessed genius with an ego a thousand times the size of Texas and he didn't look like a science geek, he was that person who makes being smart look cool, but he's a closet geek obsessed with Doctor Who. Yup, I made him a nerd. He's the one who knows everything about the Doctor and Star Trek.

lilcutieprincess: I came across this scene in a book I was reading (Gansett Island series, Book 2, Fool for Love, I'm totally obsessed with these iBooks, you don't understand) where these two people were having sex and then the girl's just like, "Do you have any hobbies?" and the guy said "Are we really talking about this now? I'll tell you when we're done." And she was like, "Nope, I'm not giving you any until you tell me." And I really wanted to do something like that so that lead to them talking about Luffy. I swear, Zoro will never be able to look at Luffy again and Sanji'll get hard every time he uses olive oil.

KleinXDgirl: Oh my God, that is hilarious! You're totally right. I kinda feel like I need to rewrite that chapter now and have Nami walk in on them! Oh God, that'd be priceless! If it doesn't turn up in this story, it will in another, definitely and I'll credit the chapter to you, I swear, oh my God, I'm still laughing!

Shizuka Taiyou: Hmmm... I know (recently cause you know, met Chopper, little reindeer made me cry and my cat was sick at the time so I was like, "animals totally get to me". Also, it's so weird when he, the adorable reindeer with the cute voice, swears. I think it's so strange ... He and Usopp for some reason are characters in my mind who are not allowed to swear. Don't ask me why.) that Sanji has never gotten sick. I don't know about Zoro though. These are good ideas, but I'm going to have to say it'll have to be in another story. I think I'll be sticking to AUs now though ...

theLoveablelyLovelyNinja: If you read my ANs, you know that this is my first ever endeavour in something like this. In One Piece, in AUs for anime, in rape, in sex scenes, in building a relationship that started thanks to a kidnapping and such, fight scenes, you have no idea how happy I am you like it! I felt stupid for making Sanji not understand French once I learnt that basically all of his attacks were in French, but I've personally seen too many blonds speak French (they made Draco speak French in this awesome Harry/Draco story I read. Also, they assume Remus is French for some reason?) so I changed it up. Marimo talking in French, new change of pace, something fresh.

Nachtwolke: I personally prefer Zoro topping, but I don't mind either. I find that djs (cause I can't write out the full name cause I can't pronounce it or anything, but I read TONS of it) show more ZoSan and then fanfictions (or the ones I read) have a lot of SanZo. I don't really care, as I've said before, but I like it when they both get a turn above all things just because that's flexibility and yeah ... And yeah, the Zoro I have in my head (who I keep in my pocket and bring to school and force him to share my pink locker, which I don't like because I HATE PINK! but anyway, yeah ...) is the most embarrassing person in the whole world, which makes up for my embarrassingness and then I feel less awkward and then I realize how awkward I'd have to be to make Zoro this awkward and realize that no, I'm still the most awkward.

Okay question time!

Here's the thing, I mentioned before I'm interested in writing a few other stories for One Piece. I'll give you titles and brief summaries and you tell me which story you want me to start on next, yeah?

Okay, here we go, there's a few. Not all are for Zoro and Sanji. Actually, there's only one that's not them, so let's start with that.

Money Can't Buy: a story about Nami and Luffy! Yay, straight couples! (I appreciate both) In which Luffy meets Nami, he is a pirate, she is not. She wants to fight against Arlong and the strange man in the straw hat seems more than willing to help for no price whatsoever?!

Haircuts Change Lives: I hate this title, I'll probably change it, but it'll be based on the occupations Oda said the straw hat pirates would have if they weren't pirates. Zoro Roronoa is an officer who is being sent to the Baratie, a salon to get a haircut because his boss thinks he's scaring people and there's a strange blond man doing his hair who seems to be nice to women, but is rude to him.

Like Heroin: Zoro is a detective who is investigating a drug deal thing (I don't know much about drugs, I will work on this, if I do this one next, I need to do research, a lot of it) and it turns out that Sanji had unknowingly been buying his cigarettes from a drug dealer. Zoro wants Sanji's help to infiltrate the operation, but maybe there's something more than a strange partnership developing between the two?

Of Denial, Crookedness & Sexy Therapists: Ace thinks Sanji is gay, so he sends him to a support group for closeted gays. Sanji is not gay, he likes smooth skin and curvy hips. He is not gay. But that green haired therapist sure is sexy ... That doesn't mean he's gay though, right? Right?

Poison: Sex friends with your best friend from childhood whom you're in love with. This can only end badly for one Zoro Roronoa.

Ten Count: A story based off a manga I read and adored about a man who has mysophobia (the fear of germs) and a the therapist who falls in love with him and tries to help him overcome his fear. It won't be entirely like the manga (mainly cause I can't find chapter 23, which pisses me off, but yeah, I want to try an adaptation of sorts.

The Yakuza's Son: Sanji's having a shitty day, and the fact that some idiot ran over his last pack of cigarettes is doing nothing to improve his mood. When the strangely green-haired man gets out of his car to yell at him, Sanji just snaps. How was he supposed to know the shitty Marimo was the heir to the yakuza?!

Now my question to you: after Beautiful Disaster, which of these stories do you think I should work on first?

One more question: there was a reference in here to another anime which I don't own, when Zoro spoke about his hair. Can you tell me which anime it's from and which character Zoro was imitating?

Okay, said it at the top, I'm going to say it again. I have a poll on my profile which asks which of these stories you want most to be published after Beautiful Disaster, their descriptions are there too. Please vote!