A/N: Thanks for the lovely reviews, awesome people! I had some little extra time so I decided to upload the next chapter, hopes you guys enjoy it! There's gonna be a small lull for a while, but the action will soon start picking up. We're not even halfway through!
Sanji wakes up disoriented to the sound of insisting knocking. He tries to figure out who would be looking for him at such early time before he remembers that he isn't at his apartment.
The events from the night before rush to his mind and he feels heat pool in his stomach.
"Oh my god," he groans and buries his face on the pillow, remembering the sounds Zoro got out of him—he's never been loud in bed before, but he's sure even the neighbors heard him moaning yesterday. He chances a peek at the sleeping marimo next to him, grinning when he notices that even sleeping, the frown doesn't go away.
The loud knocking hasn't let up, and he doesn't feel like disturbing the sleeping swordsman, so he gets to his feet silently, wincing when a sharp jab of pain hit his ass. He finds his boxer briefs on the floor and quickly slips them on as the knocking gets louder.
"Hold your horses!" he snaps, hurrying to the door. "What do you want?" he asks the tall man on the other side.
He's taller than Sanji, with bottle-blond hair and a metal jaw. The man's most striking feature, however, is the axe that has replaced his right hand.
"Who the fuck are you?" the man growls, glaring down at Sanji.
"Who the fuck are you?" Sanji snaps back childishly. His ass hurts way too much to be playing games with this guy.
"I'm the landlord. Now, where the fuck is Roronoa?" the man snarls, pushing past Sanji to get inside the apartment.
"Hey! You can't just burst in here!" Sanji says.
"Roronoa!" the man yells, ignoring Sanji. "Get the fuck out here!"
"Oi, I'm talking to you!"
"Morgan, what the fuck do you want?" Zoro asks from the bedroom entrance, dressed—like Sanji—only in his boxers.
"Where the fuck is my rent, Roronoa?" Morgan growls. "You better fucking have it, or I'll—."
"I have it, sheesh," Zoro interrupts, moving back inside the room. "Give me a damn minute."
Sanji moves around the large man towards the kitchen. He feels like something sweet today…strawberries and cream crepe? Zoro doesn't like sweet things, but he wasn't the one getting fucked yesterday, so he can suck it up.
"Here you go," Zoro says, handing Morgan a stash of money. "That's a thousand Beri. I'll get you the rest with my next paycheck."
"Fuck that! I want all of my money now," Morgan insists. He points a thick finger at Zoro, "I'm fucking tired of your excuses, you hear me?"
"I said I'd get it!" Zoro yells back. "What do you want me to do? I don't have any more!"
"Why don't you ask your fuck toy over there if he can lend you some?" Morgan sneers, nodding towards Sanji.
"You have a problem with me, you shitty landlord?" Sanji snarls, turning on the man.
"Who are you calling shitty, faggot?"
"Fuck you, Morgan," Zoro growls. "Watch your fucking mouth before I break that stupid metal jaw of yours. You can't fucking demand anything when you still haven't sent anyone in to repair the plumbing. And that fucking stinking white mold is still all over my bathroom ceiling."
Sanji frowns, glancing at Zoro.
"How do you expect me to repair your plumbing if you don't pay your fucking rent?"
Sanji moves past the two arguing men and into the bathroom, looking up at the ceiling until he finds the mold Zoro is talking about. He frowns and goes back to the bedroom to grab his phone and snaps a picture of it.
He goes down the list of his contacts, stopping at the only one under 'L', then sends it the picture message.
What do you think?
The response comes worryingly quickly.
Get out. Come see me immediately.
"Shit," he curses. He hurries out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, quickly putting his clothes on and grabbing Zoro's from the floor. He makes his way to the door, before turning back around and grabbing Zoro's swords from the closet.
"—fine! I'll get you the other thousand tomorrow!"
"Don't bother," Sanji tells the swordsman, handing him his clothes. "You're moving out. Come on; we need to get Chopper."
"What are you talking about?" Zoro asks, surprised.
"Don't argue," Sanji snaps, tugging on his arm. "You better fucking hope this is nothing serious, or I swear I'll fucking kick your ass," he snarls at the landlord, snatches the thousand Beris from his hand, and drags Zoro out of the apartment before Morgan can answer.
"Oi, will you tell me what's going on, cook?" Zoro asks, ignoring the stares from the other tenants that came out to see the commotion.
"I sent a picture of that mold to my doctor. He thinks it might be dangerous," Sanji says, giving Zoro back the rent money he took from Morgan. "We need to get Chopper and get ourselves tested."
"Shit. I swear, if Chopper gets sick, I'm gonna fucking murder that fucker."
"You and me both."
Sanji calls his old man to let him know he's going to the hospital, rolling his eyes when Zeff says that if he dies, he will put Patty as Sous Chef.
"Yeah, like that shitty Popeye can ever replace me," Sanji snaps, rolling his eyes. "I'll come by as soon as Law lets me out."
Zeff hangs up in lieu of an answer.
"What a caring father," Zoro snorts.
"He's not bad," Sanji shrugs. "Some kids got hugs, I got kicks to the head. Même quantité d' amour."
"What?"
"Nothing, marimo. Ignore me."
"I do that without prompting."
The couple bicker as they make their way to the medical dorms, Sanji making fun of the swordsman every time he makes to turn the wrong way. Honestly, Zoro can get lost walking down a straight hallway.
"You said Kobato's room is 13B?" Sanji asks, looking at the numbers on the nearest door.
"Yup."
"That's the one," Sanji says, nodding to the opened door in front of them. There is a small crowd gathered outside Kobato's room for some reason, but Zoro doesn't wait to ask around, shoving past them.
"Chopper, we need to go. The cook thinks—holy fuck!"
Sanji rushes forward, pushing some poor kid back to force his way inside the room. He's immediately frozen as he comes face to face with the small reindeer standing in the room, gangly legs trembling as he tries to remain upright.
"W-why is that…that deer wearing my son's clothes?" Zoro's voice trembles, whether in anger of fear, Sanji isn't sure.
"I can definitely explain," Kobato says from where she's hiding behind her bed, crouched low so that only her head can be seen.
"Hey, Dad," speaks the reindeer in Chopper's voice. "Ta-dah…?"
"Oh my god," Sanji gasps.
"KOBATO!" Zoro thunders, scaring most of the spectators away. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!"
"Wait, Dad, she doesn't—." The reindeer trips on his feet and Zoro immediately rush forward to catch him. However, neither of them expect for Chopper's body to transform again, this time into a small raccoon-like creature. "Oh wow, I have multiple forms!"
"KOBATO!"
"He ate the Reindeer Fruit," Kobato explained, still hiding. "So now he turns into a reindeer."
"Well, turn him back!"
"It was an accident, Dad," Chopper is quick to say, tiny little hooves pushing against his father's chest. "I can still turn into a human; see?"
Sanji and Zoro watch as the little boy frowns in concentration, biting his lip. It takes a full minute, but he does in fact turn back into his original form.
Sanji can feel Zoro's relief, but they're running short on time. "Zoro, we need to hurry," he reminds the swordsman now that Chopper is out of apparent danger.
Zoro nods. "Chopper, we need to go now. Kobato, I'll deal with you later."
"It was nice seeing you, Mr. Roronoa!"
"Where are we going, Dad?" Chopper asks curiously.
"Hospital," Zoro grunts. "Sanji thinks that white mold in the bathroom is dangerous."
"It looked familiar," Sanji explains. "If it is what I think it is, we really need to hurry."
Law is an old friend of Sanji. The two met in New World, and they shared an apartment during their stay at the University. Law is the Head Surgeon at the New World Hospital, one of the best hospitals in the entire world.
When Sanji arrives, Penguin—Law's assistant—leads them inside the surgeon's office, where Law is waiting for him.
"Hello, Sanji-ya," Law greets in his usual lazy drawl. "I've been waiting for you."
"Hey, Law. These are Zoro and Chopper. They live in the apartment where the mold is growing," Sanji introduces.
He feels Zoro tense next to him when Law's dark eyes moved to the swordsman. Sanji doesn't blame him: with all of his tattoos and smudged eyeliner, Law looks nothing like a doctor.
"When was the first time you saw the mold?" Law asks the swordsman.
"Maybe five, four months ago," Zoro shrugs. "Chopper was the first one to notice."
"Aren't you hiding the wrong way?" Law asks the frightened little boy. Chopper jumps and corrects his stance, hiding most of his body behind his father. "The mold that is growing in your apartment looks very much like the breeding bed of a mushroom called Amiudake; it's a very toxic, very lethal mushroom."
"But I thought Amiudake was only dangerous when eaten," Chopper pipes in, hiding again when Law returns his gaze to him.
"Correct," the surgeon replies. "But that's when it's fully mature. In its initial state, the porous mold bed holds are of the lethal pathogens, which can be released into the air when disturbed. If enough is inhaled, it proves to be just as lethal as the fully matured fungi."
"Chopper is the one who has been exposed the most," Sanji says, glancing at the little kid. "I've only been inside the room a couple of times, so I think I might not be in trouble."
"I will still like to run some tests, Sanji-ya," Law says. "I will send one of my men back to the apartment to make sure it's Amiudake. If it is, you will not be able to return there. I suggest you start looking for a new place to live."
"You can—."
"Sanji," Zoro interrupts, already knowing what the cook is going to offer.
"Just until you find your own place," Sanji rolls his eyes. "A week, at the most."
"Fine," Zoro sighs. "When do you want to start on these tests?"
"Immediately. Let's get your son ready first. Because of his age, he runs the most risks."
Law sends Penguin off to Zoro's house to check the mold while they stay and run tests. Law takes a blood sample from each of them and checks their vitals, spending the most time with Chopper once he discovers that the boy has eaten a Devil's Fruit.
While both Sanji and Zoro are worried, Chopper is ecstatic. He's quickly forming some sort of idol worship towards the surgeon, and Law, for his part, seems amazed that someone as adorable as Chopper can exist. Sanji sees him reach forward to touch Chopper's hair before physically shaking himself off.
After about three hours of testing, Law has them all wait in his office while he retrieves the test results. Sanji is reading over the files Zoro filled for Chopper and himself while craving a cigarette; Chopper is reading one of Law's many medical books, and Zoro is trying to doze off on the uncomfortable chair.
"Wait—Chopper's name is Tony? How did you get Chopper from that?" Sanji snorts.
"When he was little, he used to play with my practice swords" Zoro explains. "Chopped up everything he saw. Luffy started calling him Chopper, and before I knew it, he wouldn't answer to anything else."
"How did you start using three swords?" Sanji asks, curious. "I've never seen that before."
"When I was little…there was this girl; she was the daughter of the local sensei and the only student I was never able to defeat. I started training with two swords, thinking that if I couldn't defeat her with one, then I definitely could with two. After a while, I added the third one."
"And did you? Defeat her, I mean."
"No," Zoro laughs. "Never in the two thousand and one times that we fought."
"Wow. So she's stronger than you? I would love to meet her."
"She, uh, passed away," Zoro says thickly, staring at the white ceiling. "After our last fight; tripped and fell down the stairs. When she died, I asked her father to give me her sword, Wado, and learned how to use three swords. We had a dream…we used to say that one of us would become the greatest swordsman in the world. When she died, I took it upon myself to reach our dream. Even fought Mihawk, but you can guess how that ended." Zoro touches his chest, where Sanji remembers seeing the huge scar that had almost cut him in half.
"I almost lost my life," Zoro murmurs. "If Saga hadn't paid for everything, I don't know what I would've done."
"Dad stopped training to take care of me," Chopper says softly, surprising the two adults.
"It's just the way things works, Chopper," Zoro says, frowning. "You shouldn't worry about things like that."
Chopper glances at Sanji, then return his gaze back to the book. Sanji remembers what Chopper told him about how Zoro had sacrificed everything for his son, and understands Chopper's need to give something back.
He frowns, thinking of some way he can help the swordsman out without him thinking it's too much. Before a plan can fully formulate, Law comes back, three files in his hands.
"You are extremely lucky, Tony-ya," Law says in lieu of a greeting.
"Why's that?" Zoro asks.
"You and Sanji-ya show very little traces of the toxin." Law begins his explanation, taking his seat behind the desk. "Your bodies' immune system will work to flush it out in a couple of weeks if you keep up a healthy diet. Since you plan to stay with Sanji-ya, I doubt that will be a problem."
"I've been controlling their diet for months now," Sanji nods.
"Good. I do see some liver damage on Zoro-ya; I suggest you lay off the beer. Sanji-ya, you already know the condition of your lungs."
"Yeah, yeah. Tell us why Chopper's lucky," Sanji snaps, earning a reproaching look from the doctor and doctor-to-be.
"With the level of exposure Tony-ya experienced, his rate of survival is less than ten percent—at least that would be the case if he hadn't eaten a Devil's Fruit," Law continues before Zoro can say anything.
"The Devil's Fruit? Is it like a cure or something?" Zoro asks, frowning.
"Not exactly," Law shrugs. "Animals are immune to Amiudake, you see. An animal's body is capable of processing the toxins that are lethal to humans rather harmlessly. When Tony-ya first transformed into his reindeer form, his body flushed the toxins. Oh, he'll get a stomach ache, maybe some slight fever, but he'll live."
"Shit." Zoro breathes out sharply, staring at Chopper with wide eyes. His son is smiling back sheepishly, clearly glad that his father isn't upset about the Devil's Fruit anymore.
"Does this mean I can go back to Kobato's?" Chopper asks. "She said that Doctor Kureha is going to hold a pre-term study session for those students that want to get a head start on the course work!"
"Yeah, I guess," Zoro sighs.
"Yay!"
Sanji grins when he notices Law smiling softly towards Chopper. The surgeon seems to sense him watching, because he immediately averts his gaze back to the files in front of him.
"Oh, and I guess you two will be happy to know that neither of you carry any sexually transmitted diseases. So you can have all the unprotected sex that you want."
"What?" Zoro barks, flushing red.
"Oh my god," Sanji groans, letting his head fall on his knees. "I need new friends."
Law sends them off with a prescription for medicine in case Chopper does get a stomach ache. He informs them that he sent in a CDC agent to Zoro's apartment to make sure the Amiudake hadn't spread to his neighbors. He also advised them against going back to get their belongings, since there was a chance that they're contaminated.
Since the danger is gone, Zoro allows Chopper to go back to New World, stopping to let Kobato know she isn't on his hit list anymore. After that, Sanji drives them back to the Baratie since he has to check in with the old man.
"Just tell Olga—that's the host—that you're my guest," Sanji tells the swordsman, nodding to the front entrance. "She'll give you a seat."
"Where are you going?"
"I need to get changed," Sanji says, motioning to his day-old clothes. He's missing a couple of buttons from where he ripped his shirt off in his hurry to get naked, there are more wrinkles on them than Sanji has seen in his life, and they smell like sex.
Zoro is not much better, wearing only a dark blue muscle shirt, black jeans, and a fleece jacket. Sanji grabbed the first things he saw when trying to get away from Zoro's apartment; the swordsman is lucky he remembered to grab his shoes.
Zoro shrugs and obeys, moving to enter the Baratie. Sanji walks around back, using the staff entrance. Instantly, he's hit with the loud sounds of a busy workday and the scent of spices mixing deliciously. He doesn't call attention to himself, sneaking around to the stairs that will lead him to the second floor, where he keeps a spare suit. The staff bathroom is also upstairs, and Sanji takes advantage of it to take a quick shower, wrinkling his nose when he has to use the store-brand soap and shampoo that smells like dishwasher soap. It's clean, though.
He dries his hair as much as the towel will let him and changes into his spare suit. It's of a more simple style, single-breasted when he usually uses double-breast, and navy blue instead of black. The shirt is a simple white, and since he doesn't have a tie on him, he decides to keep the jacket open. His one piece oxford shoes clash a little with his suit, but only a keen eye like Sanji's will notice it. He doubts Zoro will.
Finally up to standards, he returns to the kitchen.
"Are you dying or not?" is his father's greeting, the man working hard on kneading a roll of dough.
"You're stuck with me for a while," Sanji replies. He washes his hands—doesn't matter that he just showered, it's a habit best not broken—and moves to help one of the line cooks with the vegetable soup.
"Too bad," Patty snickers.
"So how's that boyfriend of yours? Is he going to die?"
"Not for a while," Sanji replies, keeping his back to the other cooks. Instantly, the kitchen buzz quiets as every person turns to stare at their Sous Chef, shocked to see him not lashing out at his father for calling the other man his boyfriend.
"Well, I'll be damned." Carne is the first to break the silence, laugh bubbling up. "Our Sanji has gone limp-wristed!"
"Shut the fuck up, you piece of shit!" Sanji snaps, delivering a hard kick to the man's side. "I don't like guys, alright! I like…Zoro." He blushes a dark red, moving to dump the carrots, celery, onions to the pot to sauté. He needs to wait three minutes before he adds the garlic, so he grabs a couple of blueberry muffins from one of the trays in the pastry section and prepares two cups of coffee. Zoro, the damn weirdo, likes it black and as strong as Sanji can make it. Sanji prefers it with one sugar cube and hazelnut cream.
"I'm gonna go eat breakfast, geezer," Sanji tells his father, balancing the simple breakfast on a platter. "Someone add garlic to the carrots and onions in a minute."
"Put up the help wanted sign while you're out there," Zeff says. "I fired a dumbass this morning."
Olga has seated Zoro in one of the center booths, a fact that his neighbors don't seem to appreciate. Sanji frowns, noticing the ugly looks the other patrons are giving the swordsman. Most of them are high-ranked government officials or celebrities. The swordsman seems oblivious to their discomfort, too busy dozing off on the seat.
"Oi, marimo, breakfast's ready," Sanji says loudly, waking Zoro up as he slides in next to him.
"Wha—? Oh, thanks," Zoro mumbles, reaching for the cup of coffee.
"Careful, it's hot."
Zoro ignores his warning, taking a quick sip. Sanji watches as his eyes widen, then as a look of determination falls over his features, before he finally gives into the pain and opens his mouth to blow at his burning tongue with his hand.
"Here," Sanji says, grabbing his jaw to hold him still as he leans in and licks at his tongue, grinning when he feels Zoro let out a shaky breath. "Saliva helps with burns, you know," he murmurs.
"You might want to lick inside, then. My whole mouth is burned," Zoro says thickly.
Sanji laughs and pushes his face away, grabbing his own cup. "Nah. It's your own damn fault for not listening to me."
"I thought boyfriends were supposed to be nice to each other." Zoro pouts, and Sanji finally realizes where Chopper gets the adorableness from.
"It's hard to work with idiot marimos," Sanji says, quickly averting his gaze. Shit, he better not let Zoro find out just how effective that look is.
Zoro scoffs, but grabs his muffin instead of replying. Sanji smacks his arm when the other man starts picking out the blueberries; Zoro smacks him back, starting a small scuffle that ends with the swordsman grudgingly eating his blueberries.
"Hey, I have a proposition for you," Sanji says, trying not to let the swordsman know how nervous he is. "And you must listen to all of it before you can say no, alright?"
"Lay it on me."
"Okay, so…I know you have three jobs, which don't really give you a lot of time to do…well, anything," Sanji begins. "So I was thinking…instead of those three jobs, why don't you just work here, at the Baratie?"
"I have three jobs because I need the money," Zoro rolls his eyes.
"The Baratie pays more than they do," Sanji says quickly. "And if you decide to stay at my place, you get rid of almost all of your expenses! You don't have a car, so you don't pay for gas or insurance. You wouldn't have to pay rent or a water bill or anything like that. And my place is closer to the university. Be honest, Zoro…the only thing you have to pay outside your basic living expenses is Crocodile. If you start working at the Baratie, you can go back to volunteering at that dojo you were telling me about."
"Ah, so that's what this is about," Zoro snorts humorlessly. "Tell me, cook, when is it going to be time for me to help you out? When are you going to ask for help?"
Sanji frowns. "Are you telling, if our positions were reversed, you wouldn't help me unless I helped you first?"
"That's not what I'm—."
"Then what's the problem?" Sanji snaps, interrupting Zoro. "I don't care about money, Zoro. I have more than I know what to do with. I care about you and Chopper. And besides, I'm always at your place anyhow—how different can it be if you move in with me?"
"Don't you think it's going to be weird?" Zoro asks. "I mean, we just barely realized we like each other yesterday."
"Yes, but we've known each other for months," Sanji reminds him. "Would you feel weird staying with Usopp or Nami?"
"No, but I'm not sleeping with them."
"And is that such a bad thing?" Sanji asks, grinning. "It'll make things easier, at least."
Zoro sighs and stares at his coffee, thinking. Sanji gives him time, knowing that pushing too much will only make the swordsman shut down. "How about we compromise?" Zoro finally says. "I work here in return for living with you? You can take my paycheck as my rent and for my bills."
Sanji frowns. That won't leave anything for Zoro, and the man still has to pay Crocodile. "Okay…second compromise: I take your salary, but you get to keep any tips you make, alright?" He decides not to mention that most of the money is made in tips, all of their waiter's salaries coming to about 300 Beris a month.
Zoro hesitates but seems to realize Sanji isn't going to budge, so he nods. "Deal."
"Alright! Okay, so I have to stay here and help out in the kitchen, but you can borrow my car in case you have any stops you need to make," Sanji says, handing the marimo his keys. "Pick me up at nine?"
"Sure," Zoro says, giving him a soft goodbye kiss.
Sanji smiles, giddy. He can't believe he's dating Zoro—Zoro! And not only that, but the man is going to live with him! He takes the dirty dishes to the kitchen, ignoring the sly grins the other cooks send him.
"I found you a server, old man," Sanji tells his father. "Zoro's gonna start on Friday."
"Whatever. Just make sure he knows how to take orders," Zeff snaps.
"Yeah, yeah, he knows," Sanji shrugs, remembering Zoro has experienced working at Shells Coffee Shop.
A few of the cooks are giggling, throwing what they think are discreet looks at their Sous Chef. "Oi Sanji...how's your back?"
"GET THE FUCK BACK TO WORK!"
After the cook gives him the keys to his car, Zoro decides to stop by his jobs to tell his bosses he's quitting. Ririka, of course, wishes him the best of luck. Ippon-Matsu starts crying and begging him to reconsider—after all, there aren't that many people with Zoro's knowledge and skill—and Colscon just nods and sends him off.
After that, he still has a couple of hours before he has to pick up Chopper from Kobato's, so he calls up Luffy to see what he's doing. It turns out that the man is ready to go out Christmas shopping with Usopp and Nami.
He still has the thousand Beris the cook took from Morgan, so he can afford to buy Sanji and Chopper some presents. He stops by Nami's house, where they have all gathered, and grins when Luffy cheers, looking at his car. It seems Vivi and Kaya are coming too.
"Is that Sanji's car?" Nami asks, giving the vehicle an appreciative onceover, her eyes glinting like they always do in the presence of something worth a lot of money.
"He let me borrow it since he's at work," Zoro explains, getting out.
"Didn't he have a blue one at first?" Usopp wonders, cocking his head while he stares at the silver car in front of him with a deep, serious look.
"Uh…yeah." Zoro frowns; now that Usopp mentioned it, he remembers the cook driving a blue mustang at the beginning. But that night they went out to Level 5.5, the cook was driving this one. Well, he probably owns more than one car.
"He must be as filthy rich as he says if he can afford this baby," Nami mutters.
"Yeah…my dad has one, and I know they're expensive." Vivi whistles. "And he just let you borrow it? Just like that?"
"Yeah." Zoro blushes, scratching at his hair. "Are we gonna go shopping or not?" he snaps, trying to get out of the spotlight.
"Of course!" Kaya grins.
"I bet we can all fit in here," Nami says, poking her head inside the car. "Kaya, you're going to have to ride on Usopp's legs, though, since you're the shortest."
"I don't mind," Kaya says, giving Usopp a shy smile.
Zoro rolls his eyes, wondering when the two will actually start dating. He knows they have been friends since before he met the long-nosed man, and everybody knows that the two are desperately in love. Why don't they just go for it?
"So, where are we going?" Zoro asks once everybody is packed inside the car.
"Let's go to Sabaody," Vivi says. "I have a couple of stores I wanna check out."
"Are we sure Zoro should be driving? We're going to get lost," Usopp calls from the back, his voice slightly muffled behind Kaya's back.
"I'll guide him!" Luffy declares from the passenger seat.
Zoro scowls but doesn't bother denying their accusations. They never believe him when he tells them about the moving buildings, and he can't figure out why the don't move with anyone else.
Sabaody City is not actually a city. It has never been declared one by the World Government, but people don't care. In reality, Sabaody is like one huge, open mall. The whole "city" is dedicated to shops and stores, from car dealerships to food stands. Nobody actually lives in Sabaody, though a couple of the business are hotels for those people that want to do some prolonged shopping. There isn't anything that is sold for less than a hundred Beri in the whole city, so Zoro usually doesn't shop here. He simply can't afford it.
His friends, however, always go to the city. Nami has mad couponing skills, so she always gets stuff for at least half price, Kaya is an heiress with hundreds of thousands Beri to her name, and Vivi is the princess of Alabasta. Money isn't a problem for them.
Luffy always buys food, for which he always has money, and Usopp is a sensible person who saves up for months before going on a shopping trip. This is the first time Zoro has any leftover money, so he has to be careful how he spends it.
They stop at a jewelry store first, but while the girls gush and squeal over the precious jewels, the boys wait outside. Zoro has never seen Sanji wearing jewelry, so he probably won't like it. They stop at a shoe store next, and there are a couple of shoes in the men sections that look like the ones Sanji usually wears, but then again, Zoro doesn't know the man's shoe size.
He can get him clothes…but he doesn't know his dress sizes either. He can make an educated guess, but the cook always wears his clothes fitted perfectly; he's sure they are tailor-made. A tie then?
"Let's go to Hallmark next," Nami says.
Zoro has never been to a Hallmark store, and after spending almost an hour browsing, he wishes never to step foot in one again. Who the fuck buys greeting cards as a Christmas gift? And what are those little ornaments for?
They keep browsing, Zoro growing more irritated as time passes and he still can't find something to get the cook. He finds a large pink and blue hat that he's sure Chopper will love, but the cook is so hard to shop for!
"Is that all you're buying, Zoro?" Kaya asks kindly, looking at Zoro's lone shopping bag. She and the other girls have almost ten bags each, Luffy has a large coke and a bag of powder donuts, and even Usopp has three shopping bags.
"I don't know what to get the cook," he finally admits.
"Sanji? Well, what does he need?" Vivi asks.
"I don't know," Zoro shrugs helplessly. "I mean, anything he could need, I'm sure he already has."
"What does he like, then?" Luffy asks.
"Why are you getting him anything, anyway?" Nami frowns.
"Because I want to," Zoro snaps. "Besides, aren't you supposed to buy your partner gifts?"
"Wait—you and Sanji are dating?" Usopp exclaims.
"Yeah," Zoro shrugs.
"Are you sure?" Nami asks rather rudely. "He looks pretty straight to me. I mean, the guy couldn't stop looking at my breasts."
"Maybe that's because you always have them hanging out," Zoro growls. "And I'm sure a straight guy doesn't have sex with other guys."
"That's great!" Luffy laughs. "I like Sanji. And now we can hang out at his place, too, and he can make me meat all the time!"
"Like hell," Zoro snaps. "And we're not discussing my personal life anymore. I just need to get him a Christmas present!"
"Wait, that's it!" Usopp says triumphantly. "Sanji likes to cook, doesn't he?"
"There's a kitchen supply store a couple of streets from here," Vivi offers. "Terracotta always goes there when she needs new stuff. We can go check it out."
"Might as well," Zoro shrugs.
The kitchen supply store seems like the kind of place Sanji would call heaven. It's built like a warehouse, each section divided neatly. It has everything, from huge industrial ovens to forks and spoons.
And everything is expensive as hell. Plate sets that cost four hundred Beri—what the fuck? A cutlery sets for—holy fuck, three hundred Beri? What, are they made of pure gold?
"Can I help you, sir?" a young guy asks him. He's a couple of inches shorter than Zoro, his black hair slicked back, his black suit neatly pressed. He doesn't pull it off as well as Sanji, but it still looks good. The look the guy is giving him, though, is ugly.
"Uh, yeah," Zoro says, swallowing. "I'm actually trying to buy a present for my boyfriend. He's, uh, a chef."
"Do you have a budget?" the guy asks, and Zoro scowls. He takes out his wallet, checking how much money he still has. Chopper's hat only cost him a hundred and fifty Beri and he bought some food, so he still has a little over eight hundred Beri.
The guy gives his wallet a quick look, then glances at Zoro. "Do you have anything in particular you are looking for?"
"Not really," Zoro shrugs. "I don't really know anything about this stuff."
The guy sighs. "All of our materials are make to be used by professionals. If your boyfriend only cooks at home, then this isn't the place for you."
"Hey buddy, watch the attitude," Zoro growls, angry. "I have the money to buy your shitty stuff, so why don't you just help me or fuck off?"
The man startles, then his eyes narrow angrily. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to—."
"Is there a problem here?" Vivi asks, suddenly appearing behind Zoro. "Hello, Liam."
"Princess Vivi!" the guy, Liam, exclaims, rude manner suddenly gone. "It's so good to see you again!"
"You, too," Vivi smiles. "I'm here trying to help my friend find a gift for his boyfriend," she says, touching Zoro's shoulder softly. "Can you help us?"
"Of course!" Liam says quickly, large, fake smile in place. "I will be more than glad to assist you. We have a great new set of frying pans that just arrived from North Blue—."
"He already has frying pans," Zoro rolls his eyes.
"Zoro's boyfriend works at the Baratie," Vivi adds. "So I'm sure he already owns all of the basics."
"Baratie? Oh, then he won't want any of this! Let me take you to the back; that's where we keep the good stuff."
Liam leads them to the back, where a nondescript door leads them to another room. It sells most of the same things as the front room, but according to Vivi and Liam, this is the good stuff. They spent a good while browsing, but Zoro still doesn't know what to get. He's sure Sanji already has everything they sell here.
"Maybe something a bit more personal?" Vivi offers helpfully. "You can get something engraved."
"We offered engraving for most things," Liam nods. "Pans, knives, cutting boards—."
"Yeah," Zoro interrupts. He's tired, irritated, and just wants to go home. "Just get me a damn cutting board with his name on it."
"What kind of material—I'll decide," Liam adds hastily, shying away from the murderous look Zoro sends him. "You can set the order today, and we'll have it ready by tomorrow. Can I have his name?"
"Sanji," Zoro says. "Just Sanji."
"Very well. You will have to pay in advance at the register; the cashier will let you know at what time you can come back to pick it up."
"Fine."
Vivi sets off to find the others while Zoro pays the curly-haired girl at the front. It's pretty expensive at three hundred Beri—he can't believe a piece of wood can cost as much as a month's electric bill—but the cook is definitely worth it.
He's staring at a point behind the cashier, trying to not snap at the girl for taking so long, when he sees a box behind the register filled with miscellaneous—plastic cutting boards, single-wrapped knives, plastic containers, and loose cutlery.
"What's that?" he asks the girl.
She glances behind her, frowning. "Oh, that's the stuff we haven't sold for ages. Every three months, we take them off the shelves and throw them out."
Zoro frowns. It seems like such a waste. Why can't they just sell it cheaper in clearance or something? "Let me buy one of those plastic containers—with the lid."
"We already took them off the inventory, sir," the girl frowns. "I can't—."
"C'mon, I'll give you an extra hundred. Just let me have it," Zoro pleads, giving her a slight smile.
The girl jumps, blushing. "I, uh…well, okay. I'm sure my boss won't mind if I just give it to you."
"Thanks." Zoro's smile widens. Maybe he should be nicer…the cook does seem to get stuff done faster—maybe it's because he's nicer.
In the end, Zoro walks out with a receipt for his cutting board and a small bag with the plastic container. Nami gives him a weird look when she sees the container, but wisely keeps her mouth shut. Zoro is too annoyed to take any of her crap right now.
"I'm so hungry," Luffy whines, dragging his feet. "I wanna eat!"
"You ate all day!" Usopp snaps. "But I'm hungry, too," he adds sheepishly.
"Well, I need to go pick up Chopper, but then we can go eat at the Baratie," Zoro says. "I need to pick up Sanji too, and he gets off at nine."
"We won't fit in the car with Chopper," Nami says. "You can drop us off at my place so I can get my car, then we'll meet at the Baratie."
"Alright."
It takes him a couple of tries to actually get to the university, but Chopper is able to guide him back to the Baratie once he gives him the address. Zoro has actually taken quite a while, so the others have already grabbed a table by the time he arrives.
"Did you get lost?" Usopp asks flatly.
"No."
"Yes," Chopper giggles. "Hi, Miss Kaya!"
"Chopper, I told you, you can call me Kaya outside of the classroom," Kaya says, smiling at the boy.
"Okay! Luffy! Luffy, guess what?" Chopper asks excitedly, leaning across Zoro to talk to Luffy.
"What?" Luffy asks excitedly, bouncing on his seat like the younger kid.
"I ate a Devil's Fruit!"
"That's amazing!"
"A Devil's Fruit?" Nami gasps. "Zoro!"
"I didn't let him!" Zoro snaps. "He ate it by accident!"
"What kind of fruit is it?" Usopp asks eagerly.
"It lets me turn into a reindeer!" Chopper says. "I can show you!"
"Chopper, I doubt Sanji would like a reindeer prancing around in his restaurant," Zoro says.
"I don't know, Marimo. That chibi form he did was pretty cute," Sanji says, appearing next to him with a platter full of food.
"Sanji! Food!"
"Yeah, yeah, you glutton." Sanji rolls his eyes and begins setting the plates down in front of them. He hands the platter to a passing server and sits down next to Vivi, giving the girl a soft smile.
"So…Sanji…we heard you and Zoro are now dating," Nami says, giving the cook a sly smile.
Sanji blushes, but he smiles at Zoro. "Yeah," he murmurs.
Zoro smiles back at him, enjoying the way the blush spreads to the tip of his ears and—he now knows—his chest.
"Congratulations!" Vivi smiles.
"You and Dad are dating?" Chopper asks, surprised. "So you're like my new mom."
Sanji chokes on spit and Zoro turns beet read. "Chopper, no," he says quickly, covering his face with one hand.
"Sanji's a guy, he can't be a mom," Luffy rolls his eyes.
"I know that," Chopper says. "That's why I said he's like my new mom."
"Uh, no Chopper," Sanji says, coughing. "You already have a mom. I'm your friend, just like before."
Chopper frowns, but Sanji hands him a cup of ice cream and the boy loses interest.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Usopp exclaims. "Where are we doing the decorating this year?"
"Shit! We already decorated ours," Nami says, glancing at Vivi.
"My place is too small for all of us," Usopp says.
"What's going on?" Sanji asks curiously.
"Christmas tree decorating," Zoro explains. "On the first of December, we pick one of our houses and we have a party to decorate the Christmas tree."
"Hey, we haven't done your house for a while," Kaya says, looking at Zoro.
"That's right!" Luffy nods. "We can't do it at my place, because Ace and Marco like to decorate their own."
"We can't do it at my place. I'm staying with Sanji," Zoro says, wincing when silence falls on the table.
"You guys are already living together?" Vivi asks, surprised.
"It's not what you think," Sanji says quickly.
"Yeah. Our house is under quarantine," Zoro says. He glares at Nami. "That white mold you said was probably nothing turned out to be Amiudake."
"Oh my god!" Kaya gasps. "Are you guys okay?"
"Yeah. Sanji took us to the hospital and his doctor checked us out," Zoro reassures them. "We're fine."
"If you need a place to stay, you can always stay with me," Usopp says quickly, patting Zoro's back.
"Or with us," Nami says, Vivi nodding in agreement.
"I'm fine with the cook," Zoro says. He turns to catch Sanji's eye and smirks. "It'll be fun." Sanji glares at him and throws him a piece of bread, which he catches with his mouth.
"If you guys want, we can have it at my house," Sanji says, turning to the others. "I usually don't get a tree, since I live by myself. But I can buy one later on. I'm taking the moss to Sabaody tomorrow, I can check some out."
"We're going to Sabaody? Why?" Zoro groans.
"Because you and Chopper have no clothes, and I need to buy you some." Sanji rolls his eyes.
"Ugh. Fine," Zoro mutters, knowing better than to complain. He won't ever say it aloud, but he can't deny Sanji any more than he can deny Chopper.
"It's decided then," Vivi grins. "We'll have the party at Sanji's place."
Zoro doesn't miss the excited grin that spreads over Sanji's face before he quickly controls it, going back to his nonchalant expression. He smiles to himself, thanking whatever made him so lucky as to have met the cook.
Not that he will ever tell him. Ever.
A/N: Amiudake is the mushroom Chopper gives to Dr. Hiluluk. I made some changes to it, obviously, to make it fit the plotline. Also, I gave Chopper his Devil's Fruit because I find his Brain Point completely adorable.