A/N: OMG! 6 reviews in just one day! I could not believe it. People saw me as a crazy person when I squealed in delight on the road. Yeah on the road after work. I just could not wait but check from my phone. Yeah, you guys had brightened up my boring day.
Thank you all who have reviewed and appreciated this story of mine. Answers to your questions will be answered real soon.
Enjoy...
Light footsteps sounded in the corridor as the nine year old child made his way towards a certain bedroom at this early hour of the morning.
"Zorooo~ Wake up!" Sanji shook the green haired boy lightly. "Wake up!" he said again.
"Mmmn. Leave me alone." Zoro shook Sanji's hands off and rolled onto his other side, away from the blond.
"No! Zoro late. Zoro late!" Sanji insisted and shook the green haired harder. "Wake up! Marimo!" he growled, not too happy of being ignored.
Zoro's eyes snapped open and he practically exploded out of his bed on hearing the insult to his hair, hitting Sanji in the process and the latter fell down on his butt with a rather loud thud.
"Oww! Hurts." Sanji rubbed at his back side.
Zoro's body stiffened at the sight of seeing Sanji on the floor and worried frantically whether he had hurt him for real, not that it was intentional of course. He didn't mean to hurt a girl. Zoro just could not help it, that is, feeling annoyed when someone was making fun of his hair color. He had just acted on reflex.
"I'm uh ummm so-sorry. I mean. I'm sorry!" Zoro tried his hardest to apologize and mentally cringed at the thought that the blond would start whining and crying on the floor.
"No problem!" Sanji flashed him a grin instead as he got up on his feet. The blond dusted himself off and after that, ran out of the room.
Zoro's lips pressed in a tight line wavered a bit once he was alone again in his room. He was still under the shock of the smile which Sanji had just given him. He was feeling rather odd, almost giddy, like his heart had skipped a beat when he had seen Sanji's smiling face. Besides, it was the first time that he had been woken up by someone and on top of that, by a beautiful girl.
Sitting on his bed, Zoro recalled last night when Sanji and his mother came to his house. The blond looking shy at first and then coming insulting his hair color in front of his face with a stupid grin. His father had left as soon as he had considered the matter settled.
Zoro had watched his father's shiny red sports car drive away and had sighed. He was going to live with two complete strangers and his father had not even told him the reason nor given him a little bit of reassurance. Yeah, that was Dracule Mihawk.
"gah!" Zoro sucked in a sharp breath when he saw Sanji's head poking back into his room, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Come down. Breakfast," the blond announced.
Zoro did not know how he managed to nod in his petrified state and Sanji was gone again.
What is this feeling? He asked himself but his thoughts were quickly interrupted again but this time, by the alarm going off. He allow it to ring a few minutes before reaching out and finally switched it off.
He climbed down his bed and sniffed the air. Zoro's mouth almost watered and his stomach grumbled at the sweet and delicious smell hanging in the air.
"Ah Zoro dear, have a seat," said Sophia when she noticed Zoro's hesitance in coming into the kitchen. "Come on," she urged.
Making his way almost mechanically, Zoro sat down at the table across of Sanji who smiled at him encouragingly.
Why the hell am I feeling like I am the guest here? Zoro did not understand.
The green haired had just followed the sweet smell emanating from the kitchen but had frozen in place when he saw Sophia in an apron making breakfast. But that was not only the reason why he was surprised. The fact of seeing someone cooking for him and waiting for him to eat breakfast were what struck him the most. After all, Zoro was still a child and would naturally be yearning for parental affection and company deep inside, and which Dracule Mihawk totally sucked at providing.
Of course, Zoro had not even once complained about waking up every day in this big and cold house of his and eating cereal for breakfast and the food sent over for dinner all alone in the kitchen.
His chest felt suddenly tight. Tears welled up in his eyes as he tried to suppress them by clenching his fists tighter on his thighs.
I'm a man! I must not cry!
"What is it, Zoro?" asked Sophia, concerned at his trembling form.
"I-sniff-I never did this," started Zoro. "I-sniff-sniff-I-was always always lonely." Tears streamed down his face as he bit his lips so as not to let out his cries.
"Aww sweetie. Don't cry. It's okay now. It's okay.." Sophia patted his head affectionately in her arms and mentally scribbled down in her to do list that the next time she saw Mihawk, she would give him a good talk.
When Zoro had finally calmed down, Sophia cleaned his tearful face with her towel. She stroked his head gently while her other hand put down a plate of pancakes on the table in front of him. Zoro sniffed a little more and hungrily dug in.
That was the best breakfast Zoro had ever eaten in his entire life.
A/N: I promise that the next chapter will be longer.
