The next few days ended up being torture for Sanji then, well Zoro too he supposed. They were constantly questioned about their relationship and more rumors were beginning to start. Most were really dumb though and died out quickly, only the one about them secretly dating still at large. Their facade of always fighting whenever they were in the same area as one another seemed to make sense as a huge act to a lot of people, though they were thinking much too hard. Even in private the two fought, it was just what they did.
Zoro began some of his extra work for cash. He still wouldn't tell Sanji what they were though. It was beginning to show that he was working hard. In the classes the two did share, which was only about three where they didn't even acknowledge each other much, Sanji would glance back to find Zoro sleeping on his desk exhaustively, more so than usual. It was the same reason that Sanji had made his way to Robin's classroom the Friday evening after their lunch room scene.
He hadn't seen Robin really since the first time he came out to his friends, willingly, about the babies. Sanji smiled at her as he came in, watching as she gestured to the back of the room. At one of the tables a certain Marimo had his head resting in his arms, sleeping away. What a bum! Sanji made his way over to Robin still, pulling out a chair and sitting close to her desk.
"How long has he been here?" Sanji asked, low enough that their words couldn't disturb sleeping beauty.
Robin smiled up at her young friend then glanced over at Zoro. "I offered for him to come rest in here during my planning. I didn't want to wake him, he seems very exhausted." She explained.
Sanji pursed his lips. Leave it to Zoro to impose on the beautiful Robin during the last period of the day! Though, he couldn't blame him. If he was working extra jobs he would probably be exhausted enough to accept.
"Sorry Robin-chan." He began, being able to be casual with her now that school was over. "He's been working..." He took a deep breath and gestured to the bottom of his vest, where it had began to pout outward. "For us."
Robin glanced at Sanji's tummy, letting out a small hum. "I figured it was something like that. My though Sanji, you are progressing quite fast aren't you? Has anyone been giving you trouble?"
Sanji shook his head, scratching awkwardly at his neck. "Nah... No one's really noticed after that lunchroom chaos..."
Robin chuckled lightly. "Ah, yes, Franky told me. Apparently, he had just jumped the line to grab some lunch when he saw it. We're very happy for you two. You know we are here if you need us, Sanji."
Ah, this is why Robin was such a classy lady! So supportive, even to a teenage pregnant boy like Sanji. Though he wouldn't dare burden her, she had enough going on with starting her own family and taking care of Nick. However... Maybe he could at least ask about those maternity uniforms.
He went and grabbed a chair and sat it next to Robin's desk, sliding into it.
"Actually, Robin-chan... I'm kind of worried." He confessed, looking down towards the floor. "I have no idea what I'm going to do when… Things start progressing even more. I'm already struggling to hide it but... Shit. Soon I don't know if I'll be fitting through doorways, you get what I mean? How am I supposed to be in school like that?"
Robin's smile softened. The history teacher gently reached out her hand, grabbing Sanji's and giving it a tight squeeze in a comforting way, mostly to get the blond to raise his head back up. Then she withdrew her hand, taking a deep breath.
"It will definitely come with its struggles, but you are not alone Sanji." She sent a quick glance to Zoro. "He is here for you, as well as the others. As for... Attending school in such a condition, please allow me to look into it. I know that in today's world there are usually some protocols put into place to assist young mothers."
Sanji nearly winced at the being referred to as one of those young 'mothers'. Even though that was a name he was finding himself with a lot, he still didn't like it. He just shook his head. He had confidence that Robin could help him out somehow. Honestly, he didn't want to do what he really felt he should, which was drop out. Zoro wouldn't want him to either and they'd all pay for it later. He rose from his seat.
"Thanks Robin-chan. Oh and sorry for the Marimo, I'll get him out of your way."
He put the chair back into its place then walked to Zoro, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. He watched him for a moment as he came out from his sleep with soft grumbles.
Zoro opened his eyes, seeing Sanji, then sat up in his seat, stretching and looking around.
"Ah, Fuck." He breathed out tiredly. "What time is it?"
"After school. Come on, we gotta go." Sanji nudged him again, receiving a light push in return from the Marimo, signalling he'd obey.
Zoro got up from his seat, grabbing his bag. Then silently joined Sanji on their way out of the classroom, both waving bye to Robin and thanking her one more time. They made their way into the hall, Sanji walking first since Zoro still seemed quite sluggish. He had to stop though, when randomly the swordsman called out for him.
"Oi, Cook." Zoro said, walking over and stopping a bit away.
Sanji sighed, moving to stare at him and encouraged him to continue. For certain reasons, when the Marimo called him out his heart always seemed to race a bit, as if he was expecting the worst. "What?"
Zoro dug into his pant pocket and retrieved something, holding out his hand, fist down to put it into Sanji's. Hesitantly, the cook complied. His eyes widened though when he saw what it was.
It was a key and Sanji instantly knew what it belonged to. Unlike him, Zoro didn't live with any parents or adoptive parents. For a few years he had actually been living on his own thanks to one job he kept as a children's kendo instructor on the weekends. He had a small apartment close by and he was giving Sanji a key. The cook squeezed his hand around it.
He knew what this meant. It was just like he had said earlier, he didn't want to abuse Zeff's kindness. They'd need to get their own place for their growing family in order to take care of them. Zoro just kept keeping up with his part of the deal and helping. He was giving Sanji that place, even if it were just temporary.
Zoro leaned in, a bit awkward at first, but seeing as Sanji didn't automatically pull away, he kissed his face. Then, pulling away with a nervous swallow and shifting his eyes, he turned away. "I have to head to work but whenever if you're ready." He explained with a dry cough before walking on ahead.
Sanji reopened his hand and stared at the key, his other hand moving to touch his bump. Yes, definitely things were moving fast. But at least for now, they were better.
The cook sighed, staring down at his box of things. He hadn't wasted any time since Zoro slipped him an apartment key to get to work. Zeff was already breathing down his neck asking him if he had a plan and what they would do next. The shitty geezer had been surprised to hear the blond was moving out so quick, but proud at the decision. It was a bitter sweet moment for both of them, considering the Baratie was the first home Sanji had really had.
And now as he turned to gaze up at the apartment building Zoro lived in, this... Could quite possibly be the first home these babies would have. He closed his car door with his hip, locking it. At least there seemed to be close parking, he was beginning to start dreading too much exercise. He entered the complex. It wasn't the nicest of places, nothing fancy but obviously under maintenance, but it would do. It also had its own laundry room apparently for residents, not bad. The elevator was a tad bit slow though, but again he wasn't complaining.
Zoro's flat was on the third floor and close to the elevator, which Sanji had to nod. That's not bad, he supposed. Then again he wasn't sure what he was even supposed to be liking or not liking about potential homes. He'd never really looked at apartments or shopped around for them. He slid the key into the door and watched as it swung open, revealing a severely dim room.
He knew the Marimo wouldn't be home yet. Zoro was committed to his new jobs, the few and random during the week and then his kendo teachings like today, only on the weekends. Sanji tried being brave, taking a few steps inside and setting his box of things down on the first thing he could find. Then he shut and locked the door and turned on the light.
It was at that moment that it dawned on Sanji he didn't know what the hell he was getting himself into. A wary hand on his stomach, he swallowed thickly looking around at the absolute mess. He knew Zoro was lazy but this!? He kicked at some sort of clothing item on the ground, sending it up across the room and into some beer cans he knew that stupid Marimo shouldn't even be having.
The worst part was that was only the front room. Turning to the side he saw the kitchen. It was a total opposite, completely bare. It'd almost look clean if Sanji didn't know where to look for obvious dust and neglect. It made him hiss, daring himself to keep going. He didn't get far, only opening the bathroom door to get a slight glance to know to slam it back shut. Smelled like musky Marimo...
There were two more rooms in the apartment if he remembered correctly. He'd only been here a handful of times before, he guessed when Zoro had actually managed to clean a bit. The last time he could recall was about, oh he didn't know, four months ago? He narrowed his eyes. Perhaps he should've taken the messiness then as a sign and avoided all this. Sanji sighed, opening one of the other rooms.
This one wasn't as bad. It was the bedroom, a messy bed and dirty clothes on the floor. Didn't have much but he guessed Zoro never really was one to have anything he didn't need. It had a bed, queen sized, comfortable from Sanji's memories, then a dresser and closet. He couldn't help but huff a little at the sword sheaths propped on the wall though. The Marimo, his samurai nerd or something.
He left the bedroom to look at the other room. The swordsman hadn't been lying when he said that he didn't really use it for much. He only seemed to keep some weights around the wall and had his laptop in the center on a pillow. If Sanji recalled from something he'd heard once, it was probably some weird meditation room he wouldn't understand. His cheeks slightly warmed though, because chances were that if they didn't find another apartment, which wouldn't be a huge deal this one was fine, this would be the twins' room.
Sanji messily ran his fingers through his hair, turning from that room. He didn't want to think about that and feel all grown up and like a parent. Or more so, he didn't feel like getting emotional when there was so much crap around the apartment. Might've been fine when it was Zoro's, but it was Sanji's now too! Or at least when they finalized putting his name on it. But still that was on the to-do list, so as the future half owner of the apartment, he gazed down into his box of things.
He grinned. It was mostly some of his cooking utensils, which he was so glad he packed because Zoro had absolutely nothing, including inside the fridge. The kitchen only seemed to only have some processed sandwich meat, some instant ramen and dusty rice cooker on the counter. There was also a takeout menu under a magnet on the front of the fridge. Oh and booze, go figure. Could he be any more predictable? Sanji liked thinking to himself that now that was going to change. He was here and Zoro would get to eat good food, real food. The least he could do since Zoro was having to do so much.
The rest of the stuff in his box were minor. There were a few clothes, folded and pressed at the bottom so that they could fit. His back pack and stuff were in the car so they didn't count, but he also brought his photo frame and some other random things he had around his room. Having had to rely a lot on his own expenses also, living under Zeff, he didn't really buy a lot of random crap. Though looking around again at the plain walls and interior, he sort of wished he had.
He could envision this place being nice though and that was good enough for him. He went back through the door and down the elevator, clutching his keys. Not because he was so running out of that dump, but because he had just had a moment of inspiration. What he could do to make this a lot more special, for the both of them, to help get them on the right track.
Zoro's apartment was in a good location of town too. Not too far from the school or the Baratie, which Sanji was thankful for. The grocery store was just a few blocks away too. Sanji stared down at his wallet once he got into the car. He knew they were going to have to start saving soon and he was about to get paid, but there were simply things they would need. Food, for one. He knew take out was a lot cheaper but dammit if he was starting a family as a cook he could not live with himself if that was what they had to eat.
So he'd buy groceries. Not necessarily a lot but enough for small meals and lunches. Then there were things for the apartment, like the dire need for some trash bags. He sighed. Everything would be alright, he knew how to manage money unlike a certain alcoholic. So he set off, visiting a corner store for essentials, then the grocery store.
By the time Sanji had loaded it all from the car and brought it up to the apartment his feet were killing him and he was already snacking away at some of his purchases. He rested a bit on Zoro's couch, shoving all the shit off of it first and staring at the mess. It was so odd, moments ago he was totally ready to tackle this crap but now he was exhausted again. He whined slightly checking his phone. It was already into the afternoon and he had a badly typed text from Zoro asking if he was able to get in. Really the swordsman never surprised him, he never thought of Zoro as the abbreviating word type. He decided to mimic him.
'ur house sux. U stink'
He stared at it for a moment, contemplating on sending it but then opted out. Even though it was a dumb way to type in general, he felt even dumber trying to purposely text that way. He deleted it, wrote it right to send it, then set his phone down on the small coffee table. That's when he noticed it. Sanji sat up, scooting closer to the edge of the couch and glancing down.
On the small table was one thing he recognized automatically. It was their ultrasound picture that Zoro kept – dammit there goes his cheeks again- and a note book and pen. Curiously he picked up the notebook and turned back to how he was sitting on the couch, putting the end of the pen to his chin as he read. He didn't know the Marimo was so... Technical? He had made lists and small scribbles everywhere.
It made Sanji's eyes slightly widen. This was some sort of plan for them. He knew Zoro had mentioned doing some research but this, Sanji wasn't sure to be flattered or impressed. Zoro had listed out items they'd need to get and their prices, then scribbled down payments and bills and all the like that they'd need to deduct and raise to get ideas. Sanji dropped the notebook in quiet. Damn. Zoro was doing all this for him? Or no... For them. Talk about how to get his emotions running full speed. He couldn't help his lip quiver as his eyes moved downward.
It was all he needed for his motivation to come back. He got up, went to his bags and pulled out the cleaning supplies he bought (on clearance of course because he was a fugal shopper) and got to work. He began shoving all the crap into the bags. After an hour or so, the apartment actually looked like an apartment. He did dread taking the bags down the stairs though. He took full advantage of the apartment complex's accommodations of having a laundry facility, washing all of Zoro's shit.
He glared watching the clothes spin around in the wash. He didn't care how it looked but he had definitely not been domesticated, he was just being clean. When that was through, all the apartments floors were now visible to the eye. Sanji couldn't help but feel a little proud. His first spring cleaning of his own home and it wasn't even spring yet. He checked his phone still on the table. If the Marimo wasn't working late, which he usually didn't at this job, he still had enough time to do a little more.
Sanji glanced down at his curve, brushing against it as he felt another hunger growl come from inside him. They were hungry ones, their twins.
"Time for dinner then, yeah?" He whispered softly, moving back to the kitchen area.
He'd already taken the time to wipe it down clean and set his things up happily. Then looking in the now less empty fridge, he was able to pull some things and get to work.