Sanji pulled a loose fitting shirt over his chest as he toed on his shoes. He'd given in to letting the guys stay the night at his house for a "sleep over homework party". He found himself looking forward to it far more than he expected he would. But he knew for a fact that there wasn't nearly enough food in his house to keep the boys satisfied. He only ever bought groceries for himself when they were on sale, that's not to say he would starve himself, but his options were limited. The more popular foods like doritos and mountain dew weren't things usually found in his kitchen. It just wasn't in the budget.

Tonight though would have to be an exception. Sanji knew that Superstore opened at seven so he had decided to get there nice and early to pick up some snacks. He'd been saving coupons for junk food anyway, he just wasn't one to buy the stuff, opting instead for making himself something healthy. Four teenage boys on the other hand weren't the type to dig out on veggies and dip. He'd found a coupon for a twelve pack of Cola, two for one bottles of orange crush, buy two get one free family sized chips, and a promotional deal for some store brand cookies. That should be enough for one night. There was also a blockbuster closing down the road so he could probably get a few movies for a decent deal. Not like they should be watching movies, it's a 'homework' party after all.

Sanji grabbed his wallet and phone on his way out the door, hair tie snapped tightly around his wrist next to his watch. He was fully capable of putting in the tie without looking in a mirror and was planning on doing just that on his way to the store. It was still slightly chilly outside, rain clouds from yesterday still threatening in the sky.

"I have a right to be there and fuck them if they don't like it!"

Sanji slowed in his walk as he remembered his brief conversation with the Marimo yesterday. It was short, but it made his heart clench in his chest. He'd guessed that Zoro probably noticed how he was reacting by the way he attempted to change the subject.

"S' fine if you don't wanna talk, we can just forget this conversation happened… okay?"

Why had Zoro been acting so… considerate? Why hadn't the dumbass pushed and pushed like anybody else who's asked about his backstory. Especially the people back home who knew what happened. Not like he knew too many people who were willing to attempt asking him those kind of questions. Not a lot of elementary school kids watched the news anyway.

A rumble above his head jerked Sanji out of his thoughts and he grimaced at the darkening sky. Sanji decided he was close enough to home to turn back around and grab a jacket, he needed a pack of smokes anyway and was out of pockets to carry them in. He's just have to use one of his thinner coats. Sanji grabbed his apartment key from his back pocket and ran his thumb over it.

"I'll drop off the key to my place before I head out for work."

Maybe he should just drop the key off now, by the time he was done shopping for the party and the stand, he would probably need to go straight to work. He might have enough time to go home first but more than likely, he would be going straight to the stand. Yeah, he should just drop the key off now. Sanji stuck the key in his lock and reached inside, pulling his jacket off a hook right next to the door and slipping it over his shoulders. He knew his smokes and lighter were still inside he'd worn it yesterday.

He locked the door up again and walked the short distance to Zoro's apartment. He balled up his fist and it hovered in front of the door. He had no clue why he was so nervous about- well, maybe it was because he's never been to Zoro's house before. That and it was seven thirty in the morning on a Saturday and Sanji was planning on knocking on the door of a guy he's seen sleeping almost every other lunch. He probably slept in every day. Sanji. Just do it. It's just the Marimo, not a big deal if he loses some sleep. Sanji sucked in a deep breath and knocked.

There was silence for a moment before he heard footsteps on the other side of the door.

"It is way too early for some damn door to door sales- oh, hi Sanji." Kuina, Zoro's blue-haired, fiery tempered sister greeted the blond.

"Good morning my lovely~. I was just looking for your plant-headed brother so I could drop something off." Sanji had learned early not to be too flirty with Kuina whenever they did talk. She tended to hit and even though Sanji could take it, he could tell she also felt a little uncomfortable with the flirting. He hated to do that to women, preferring to swoon over those that liked it.

"He's in the backyard practicing, why don't you come in, he'll be done soon." Sanji raised a quizzical eyebrow as he stepped through the door.

"He's up? And he's… practicing?"

"Yeah, we do kendo together at the dojo, he usually sleeps in on Saturday's, as you probably guessed. For some reason he got up at, like, five this morning and starting waving his stupid swords around. My guess is he's trying to will away some 'dirty dreams'." Kuina smirked at the way Sanji blushed at that last part. Sanji was about ready to just drop the keys on their kitchen table and turn right back out their front door when he heard the back door to the apartment open and close behind him. He cooled his expression as he heard heavy footsteps approaching.

"Oi. What's Dartboard doing here?" Sanji heard a gruff voice behind him and scowled, face turning red, turning around and ready to chew the guy out when the sound caught in his throat. Zoro was naked from the waist up, sporting a loose pair of pants on the bottom and bare feet. Sanji's jaw dropped slightly at the sight and a blush tinged his cheeks. Sanji himself was pretty well built underneath his shirt, but not like Zoro. Sanji's eyes nearly bugged out as they lingered for a second longer on Zoro's chest and he noticed the huge scar that stretched from the top of Zoro's left shoulder down to his right hip. The skin was gnarled and discoloured in some spots, but it didn't look new, in fact, it looked old, like he'd had it for a long time. He was toweling himself off and three kendo swords hung loosely under his left arm. Holy shit, three swords? Had Kuina been training with him? Hmmm, but she doesn't look like she's been training. Sanji cleared his throat before speaking.

"I uh… I was just going to drop off the keys before I went shopping for the sleep over! So here!" Sanji dangled the key in front of Zoro's face and rolled his eyes when Zoro didn't take them.

"How are you gonna get it all home?" Zoro pointed out. Sanji scowled as he thought about how he would go about doing that and shrugged when he couldn't think of anything.

"I guess I was planning on just taking it all to the restaurant… I had to get some groceries for that too." If you're wondering why Sanji was acting so civil with the Marimo that would be because he is in the presence of a young, beautiful lady. He would love to curse Zoro out for walking around half naked and throw the key at his face but no. He was a gentleman and would stay just so.

"And how are you going to carry all of that?"

"If you're so worried about your boyfriend Zoro, why don't you just take the car and drive him there? Long as you don't get caught it shouldn't be a big deal." Kuina smirked as the two boys jumped at the accusation. Sanji was about to politely correct her on their situation when Zoro beat him to it.

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND YOU ASSHOLE!"

"OI! DON'T BE RUDE TO A LADY YOU CAVEMAN!" Sanji's face felt like it was on fire. But for some reason, he couldn't attribute it to anger. He wasn't angry that he'd been accused of liking Zoro. Why wasn't he angry? Why wasn't he disgusted? Why did Zoro look like he was facing the exact same problem? His hand was covering his eyes and his face was blushed a deep crimson. His posture was rigid and he looked like he was about to snap. He suddenly turned around, storming off to what Sanji guessed had to be his room, slamming the door behind him.

"…DAMNIT!" Sanji heard from behind the door and Zoro came storming out, stomping across the hallway into the room across from the one he'd gone into. Sanji walked down the hallway and looked into the room Zoro had just come out of. It was the… bathroom? Usopp wasn't joking. Zoro really did get lost in his own house! Sanji burst out into laughter and had to sit down in the hallway he had just been gawking in, arms wrapped around his stomach.

After a few minutes, Sanji had calmed himself down and just when he was about to turn and leave, a certain moss-brain slammed open the door of his room. He was dressed now. More so than he was before. He had on a pair of shorts and a tee that Sanji guessed was supposed to fit loosely but still stretched ever so slightly against his chest He had his glasses on too which did not look really fucking good on him, resting on his nose so that his eyes peaked over his glasses. He was still slightly flustered looking and grunted when he saw the chef sitting on the floor.

"Well? Are we going or not?" Sanji looked confusedly at Zoro for a moment and Zoro sighed dramatically. "You're going to all this trouble so we can have a decent sleep over, if I didn't help, Luffy would kick my ass. So don't get a big head about this! I just don't feel like being a total dick today!" Sanji nodded slowly and followed behind Zoro as he toed on his shoes and grabbed the car keys. Kuina waved at Zoro with a smile that even Sanji had to admit had a devilish tinge to it.

"You know, driving alone like this with only your 'L' is illegal." Sanji murmured as he walked.

"You don't seem to complain when I drive you home every Sunday. Completely wasted."

Zoro hopped into the beat up old car and started it up, leaning out the window and waving the blond in. Sanji slid into the passenger seat and shut the door behind him. The ride to the market consisted of Sanji yelling directions at the Marimo until he finally got the idea and went the way Sanji was pointing. It took them fifteen minutes to drive there, it honestly could have taken half that time but Sanji decided that he wouldn't test Zoro after how… nice he was being at the moment.

Zoro grabbed a cart and Sanji started to walk down the aisles one by one. Sanji held on to the front of the cart, pushing it back lightly whenever he wanted to stop and throw something in. By the end of it, the cart was full and Sanji went searching through his coupon book until he found one for almost everything he had. He'd learned how to save within the first month of living on his own. In the end, he'd saved fifty dollars on his purchases when it should have come up to at least a hundred. Zoro helped load it all into the trunk, raindrops creating dark spots on their shoulders and back as they packed everything in. Sanji stuck a cigarette in his mouth before jumping back into the passenger seat.

"You seriously gonna smoke in my car?" Zoro asked as he buckled himself into the driver's side.

"No, I just like having it in my mouth. Dumbass." Zoro growled angrily but pulled out of the parking lot and drove off. Sanji told Zoro about how he'd wanted to stop by the old Blockbuster before they went home and Zoro followed the blonds directions to find it. Sanji found that if he used reverse psychology, telling him 'right' when he wanted him to go 'left', worked the best. Sanji picked out what DVD's he could find for special deals like two for one, while Zoro looked for video games with samurais and pirates. They ended up with about ten DVD's that were a buck each, the shitty ones without covers anymore and just the title typed up on a white piece of paper with a short description on the back that you just know they found on Wikipedia. Zoro mentioned an old game system he had in storage that had at least four controller ports that he was willing to bring over as long as Sanji would help him find some multiplayer games, so they got a few of those too.

It was weird how nice the day had been. They'd barely done any fighting and it had been nice to have somebody help him with shopping. It was especially nice having somebody that could carry four bottles and two cases of soda all at once to the car without looking the slightest bit strained. By the time they got back to the apartments it was ten and Sanji had to open the store in an hour. Zoro helped Sanji carry all the groceries into his house, except for the ones meant for the stand. Sanji was inside for about twenty minutes after redoing his outfit to look more professional. Putting on a light blue striped dress shirt over an undershirt and rolling up the sleeves. He put on a pair of black business pants and his work shoes and threw his apron in an old back pack along with his wallet, key and phone. His pants didn't have pockets to stick them in.

Sanji was surprised when he walked outside and Zoro was back waiting patiently in the car.

"For fuck's sake… It's raining! Even though I'd love to let you get soaked, all your shit is still in my car and I need it out so I'm gonna drop you off and you're gonna keep your stupid mouth shut!" Zoro yelled.

"Fine. But don't go thinking I'm gonna give you free food because of this!" Zoro laughed and honked the horn a few times until Sanji jumped into the passenger side and buckled himself back in. On the way there, Sanji watched the rain tapping on the window. It was just a drizzle, nothing that would cause him much trouble if he's just walked to the stand, but it was still nice to be inside a car. Zeff used to take him on car rides to calm him down whenever he would have nightmares. The slight vibration and hum of the vehicle was soothing.

"So… why Toronto?" Zoro asked, glancing over at the blond before looking back at the road.

"Mmmm… I guess because it was a big change moving from France to Canada and Ontario seemed like it would be the best mix of French and English speaking people…"

"If you wanted to feel more at home, shouldn't you have gone to Quebec? A lot more French there."

"Well yeah but… that's kinda what he would expect…" Sanji mumbled as he continued to stare out the window, watching water droplets form together and race to the bottom.

"Who- ah, never mind." Sanji frowned to himself. Zoro never pushed him to tell him about his past. Neither did Luffy, but Luffy seemed genuinely disinterested in anything that wasn't food or adventure. He'd told Sanji so much the other day too… stuff that if told to the wrong person, could get him shipped right back to Japan. Well, he was going back there anyway, but he probably didn't wanna get shipped back to live with the family of his. Anyway, he owed the Marimo something.

"My dad. Broke out of jail a few months ago." Sanji glanced over at Zoro, gauging his reaction. He wasn't as stoic as usual, which at least meant he was listening. Sanji rolled around the cigarette still stuck between his teeth before speaking again. "He was in for… homicide."

Zoro pulled in right next to the All Blue and turned off the car, he sat silently for a moment and didn't look over at Sanji at all, just stared down at his lap before fixing his glasses and unlocking the doors. He shuffled out and made his way to the back of the car. Sanji followed and Zoro opened up the trunk, pulling out a few bags and looping his arms through them.

"You're gonna have to show me were all this shit goes." Zoro noted as he walked over to the stand. Sanji smiled and pulled out the keys, picking up the last few bags and unlocking the back door. The two spent about twenty minutes putting away all the groceries. Zoro kept opening up the wrong cupboard whenever Sanji told him where to put something, it was hilarious watching the meat head turn red whenever Sanji would say 'your other left.' After it was all put away, Sanji got to work getting the ingredients ready. He always pre-chopped the cabbage and bacon, placing it in a bin in the fridge for later use. He looked up after a minute to see Zoro walking around towards his car.

"Oi! You forgot the key."

"Oh yeah, toss it." Sanji did so and Zoro caught it easily, twirling it around on his finger as he jumped in the front seat. "See ya later shitty cook!" Zoro called out his window as his car pulled out.

"Oh fuck off!" Sanji cursed, leaning onto the bar area of the stand and waving a knife around threateningly. He watched water droplets fall onto the blade and frowned. Not many people would be going to an outdoor food stand when it was raining out. Even if it was just a light drizzle, people could be real wimpy sometimes when it came to getting wet. Sanji sighed as he ducked back inside. At least that meant less work for him.

The day went by just as expected. The drizzle had turned into a downpour and it was particularly slow. The usual customers all showed up, then again, most of them came just to have somebody to talk to. Sanji always made it a point to be friendly to all customers that came to the stand. Unless they were rude to the people around them or himself. He was severely tempted to spit in somebodies food while they were being too pushy with a young girl, pulling out every cheesy, inappropriate pickup line in the book. He settled instead for shoving his food in his face and telling him to get the fuck out.

Sanji groaned as he stepped out of the stand, locking the door behind him. He'd forgotten his umbrella at home and he couldn't call Zoro over to pick him up in the car. Zoro probably would do it too. He'd no doubt be an asshole about it, calling him a moron and smirking at him, but he'd still do it. Zoro was such a fucking bastard sometimes that Sanji wanted to strangle him! But then today, it was so… different. Sanji never really enjoyed shopping, he always spent the entire day doing so, making trip after trip since he didn't have his own car. Owning a kiosk without having transportation was such a pain. But today, Zoro had driven him everywhere he needed to go and everything got done in record time, despite the Marimo getting lost nine times outta ten. Sanji had even laughed a few times.

Sanji stuck a smoke between his lips, there was no point in lighting it since the rain would put it out, but it was comforting having it just sit there. Sanji wasn't quite sure why smoking had attracted him so much, it just did. Well, in all honesty, he knew why. It was so that he always had something in his mouth. His thoughts began to wander again.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so… happy. Not in his entire life. He was happier when Zeff had adopted him. He was happier whenever he got to cook in the kitchen. But he was never actually happy. People had tried to make him happy, to be his friend, and he had the people at the Baratie to cheer him up. But nothing ever worked. Hell, he'd gotten so used to wearing a fake smile that he didn't think he even had a real one.

Then he met Zoro and Luffy, and everybody else. And he didn't just smile, he actually laughed for the first time. Laughed so hard that his eyes got teary and his stomach hurt. Sanji smiled to himself as he remembered the time that Luffy had stolen some of Usopp's food and had an allergic reaction. It was some kind of weird mushroom soup that the boy had just started to slurp down when it happened. His eyes got itchy and his gums got real puffy, but he kept eating. Sanji had slapped him on the back of the head and sent him to the doctor's office. He could hear Law laughing from the other end of the hallway, which was weird because Law never laughed as far as Sanji knew.

"Well fine then! I don't need your help, I'll just go somewhere people won't laugh at me!"

"No.. no! I really am sorry Luffy-ya. You just- just caught me off guard, come back inside. Please?" Law said between chuckles and snickers. Zoro burst out laughing upon hearing the conversation and the rest of the group soon followed. Sanji had to lean on the window sill to keep himself standing.

Sanji sighed happily as he walked up to the front door of his apartment. He slowly opened the door and the faint smile on his face was immediately replaced with a deep scowl. Zoro was laying half asleep on his couch, glasses still present from their morning shopping trip, Usopp was tinkering with the TV, Luffy had his hands buried in two separate bowls of food, and poor Chopper was sitting at the kitchen table, trying his hardest to get some work done. There were wet coats scattered all over the place, boots and sneakers kicked off to the side haphazardly. There were already about three empty cans littering the sitting room, and music was blaring at an unbelievable volume from a set of speakers plugged into an MP3. Sanji took in a deep breath… and screamed.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!"