The Baratie opens promptly at eight, but all of the cooks have to be there two hours before opening time to begin preparing some of the meals. They also have staff meetings early in the mornings on Fridays for all of the other workers.
Like Sanji explains to him on the way to the Baratie, a restaurant doesn't just run on cooks. Each person has a title and a job that has to be done perfectly, or the whole business will crash and burn. Dishwashing might not sound important, but if there aren't any clean plates, the cooks won't be able to serve the dishes, and servers will have no meals to deliver. There can be no weak links in the chain.
Apart from servers, a restaurant also houses a dishwasher, a sommelier, food runners, bartenders, busboys, hostesses, and even a pianist to provide ambiance music. Zoro has been hired as a server though if it's too busy, he will have to help out wherever needed.
Zoro doesn't mind. He's completely aware that he will have to pull his weight and more in this job. Not only is he the new guy, but he's the new guy that is banging the boss' son. Zoro knows the other workers expect him to abuse his relationship with Sanji, probably try to wiggle his way out of doing any work, so he has to show them otherwise. Not only is he sure Sanji would kick him to hell and back if he lazed around, but that isn't who he is, either. Sure, he prefers to fall asleep than to work, but that doesn't mean he doesn't take care of his responsibilities.
When they arrive, almost all of the other workers are there. There are seven other servers, five girls and two guys, and four of every other position, two to cover the morning shift, two for the busier evening shift. The Baratie is open from eight to ten, which means everyone is able to get enough hours to claim a full-time job.
The cooks are in the kitchen, preparing the meals that take the longest to be ready while they wait for the two workers that are still missing.
"Oi, shitty geezer! Lester texted me. He'll be here in a five minutes," Sanji tells his father as he rolls his sleeves and begins preparing something that looks like dough. Zoro isn't sure since it looks almost black.
Sanji's father, Zeff, is an older man with a long, braided mustache and an extremely tall chef's hat. His right leg is missing, replaced with a wooden leg. He has blonde hair and blue eyes, and Zoro finds it hard to believe that Sanji is adopted since the two look so much alike.
"So you're the Eggplant's lettuce," Zeff growls, glancing at Zoro.
"Excuse me?"
"Oi, leave him alone, old man," Sanji snaps. "Watch your bread or it'll burn."
"My bread is cooking fine, brat," Zeff snaps back. "Can't an old man look at the bastard that's corrupting his child?"
"I'm not a kid!" Sanji says, stomping his foot, well, childishly.
"Uh, hello," Zoro says, trying to sound polite. "My name is Zoro. It's nice to meet you."
Sanji raises an eyebrow and scoffs, and Zeff only gives his hand a disgusted stare and turns his back on him.
"Make sure you work hard, lettuce-head," the old cook growls.
"Yes, sir."
"You don't have to 'sir' him, moss," Sanji rolls his eyes. "He's just a shitty old man."
"Get the fuck out of my kitchen and go make sure that friend of yours is here already," Zeff snaps. "Get going, shitty brat."
Sanji scoffs again but obeys. He motions for Zoro to follow him, lighting a cigarette as he exits the kitchen. Zoro eyes the amber light curiously. He hated the smell of cigarette at the beginning, but now he finds that he actually likes it. He can't imagine Sanji without a cigarette in his mouth, that bitter scent surrounding him. Most of the time, though, he doesn't notice when the cook smokes. It's just such a part of him that it's like noticing that he has blue eyes every time he looks into his eyes.
The two missing workers show up within minutes of each other. The first one is a pink-haired cook Sanji gushes over, practically declaring his love right then and there. The second one is a dark-skinned man that introduces himself as Lester. He's the pianist of the Baratie at night but sometimes helps out in the mornings as a host.
Finally, the meeting starts. Zeff talks about the change in menu, a reservation that has been made for a party of seventeen, and then introduces Zoro.
"Roronoa is going to be the new server," Zeff tells the other staff, nodding towards the swordsman. "He'll work from eight to three so Rebecca can take care of her classes in the morning. He'll be in charge of section D."
"That's the one closest to the kitchen, marimo," Sanji smirks. "So there's no excuse for getting lost."
"Fuck you, curly."
"Shitty moss."
"Shit cook."
"Algae-for-brains."
"Oh, that's a new one."
"I know. It just came to me."
"I didn't say it was good, pervert cook."
"Can you two brats stop flirting?" Zeff growls, glaring at the couple.
"If that's what you call flirting, I'm not surprised you never dated while I was younger," Sanji snorts.
Zeff glares at his son, before turning back to his amused staff and finishing the meeting.
Half of the staff leaves when Zeff finishes up since they have the afternoon shift. Zoro helps the other workers clean the dining floor area before the doors are opened to the public. By the time the first customers step in, the entire restaurant smells of wonderful, warm food.
Despite every table filling up in about ten minutes, Zoro doesn't really have to do much. The customers only want him around when it's time to order, or when they run low on drinks, so he moves back into the kitchen a couple of times to sneak bites out of the egg and cheese casserole Sanji prepared. Since Lester only plays in the evening, they have music playing on the speakers though it's loudest in the kitchen to be heard above the hustle of hard work. They're old songs—they were old when Zeff was young, and they're even older now—and Sanji complains about them all the time, but Zoro catches him humming along to a pretty tune a couple of times.
Working at the Baratie isn't that difficult. Through training and meditation, Zoro has improved his memory, being able to recall and forget things at his will, so learning the menu isn't that hard. The customers don't really engage in conversation, only talking to him when they need something. Zoro doesn't mind; he's not exactly a people person.
He's surprised to see, though, that every customer leaves a tip. Back at Ririka's, only his regulars left tips, and that was only a couple of Beris at the most. But here, the cheapest tip he gets is twenty Beri from a man that only ordered a cup of coffee to drink while he read his newspaper.
Abi, a young girl who is in charge of sector B, explains to Zoro that that the Baratie runs on reservations, and that they have the next two months completely booked. She also tells him that the hostess is in charge of sitting the customers, and most of the time, she sends the bigger parties to section A.
"That's the one that gets the biggest tips," she says while they wait near the kitchen for one of their customers to call them over. "You'll get tips on other sectors, too, but the smallest tip I've ever gotten on sector A is fifty Beri. Sector D doesn't see big tippers since the hostess always sits the smallest parties there since it's so close to the kitchen."
Muret, the other girl working in the morning with Zoro, doesn't really talk to him other than to order him around or bark at him to get back to work. She's in charge of sector C, the one near the stage where Lester plays, and according to Abi, gets really full during the evening shift. Porche, a blue-haired girl, is the one in charge of sector A. Abi tells him that they usually rotate sectors once a week to be fair, but since he's a newbie, they will skip him this month.
He's fine with it. There are exactly forty tables inside the Baratie, so Zoro is in charge of ten tables at any given time, and they're pretty good tippers, despite what Abi says. It starts getting busier closer to lunch time, around noon or so, so Zoro has to work a little harder to please the customers that arrive. Every table is made to sit four people, but when they get a bigger party, they move tables together. Zoro gets a couple of parties with six customers, and another one with twelve, so that's already half of the tables he has to take care off.
There is a party of three sitting as far away from the kitchen as possible but still inside sector D, that has been waiting to order for about five minutes, and Zoro can see them getting irritated. He tries to be as quick as possible with the other customers, and rushes to them as soon as he's free.
"Welcome to the Baratie, my name is Zoro, and I'll be your server today," Zoro says, greeting the group with what he hopes is a warm smile. Necessity is a bitch, and Zoro has found that he can't afford to be rude with these people when his income depends on them.
The group, which includes two girls and a pink-haired guy with a metal slate over his knuckles, look at him in surprise.
"Well, you're new," the man says, giving Zoro a disdainful glance. "What happened to the pretty blonde girl?"
Zoro tries to remember the other two female servers not working right now, Rebecca and Ever, but neither one is blonde. She must be the one Zoro replaced, then.
"I'm sorry sir, but she doesn't work here anymore."
"Why?"
"I don't know," Zoro answers honestly. "But I'll be more than glad to help you. Are you ready to order or would you like some more time?"
"I'm ready," one of his companions, a girl with curly red hair, says while smiling at Zoro. She glances at her dark-skinned friend and giggles.
Zoro ignores this, fights off the urge to roll his eyes, and takes out his little note pad to write down their order.
"I'll have the yogurt with fruits, nuts, and roll oats," she says, glancing at her menu. "A cup of coffee—two sugars, no cream—and a tall glass of apple juice. No ice."
"I'll have the oatmeal with fresh berries and bananas and a tall glass of orange juice. Lots of ice," the dark-skinned girl says, giggling. Why she's giggling, Zoro has no idea.
He turns to the man, but when he doesn't answer, Zoro swallows urge to snap at him and instead says "And you, sir?"
"I'll have the Denver omelet cups with a side of French toast nuggets, and a venti macchiato, half and half, eight pumps vanilla, extra whip."
Zoro stares down at what he just wrote, wanting to ask if the guy is serious about the eight pumps. It's none of his business how people take their coffee, so he shrugs and takes the order to the food runner, taking a quick second to glance at Sanji who's working hard, then goes back out to take check back on his customers.
Zoro takes appetizers and drinks to the party of three, since their food is going to take around half an hour to be ready. The girls get heart-shaped gluten-free pancakes with strawberries and cream—Zoro is almost sure Sanji prepared these—and the guy gets cinnamon and apple waffles.
He checks on them only a couple of times throughout the course of their meal, since the guy looks annoyed every time he comes near their table.
He loses track of time until the kitchen doors open and the cook pokes his head out. "Oi, shit-for-brains! Come inside the kitchen as soon as Jerry gets in."
Zoro nods, not wanting to insult the cook when he's in front of customers. Sanji smirks and goes back into the kitchen. Rebecca comes in about ten minutes later, closely followed by Kamakiri and Jerry, the other two male servers. Porche—who Zoro can already tell is a gossiper—tells him that Ever is almost always late, but since she's partnered with Abi, she never gets in trouble.
Jerry is the one taking over his section, so he greets the man once he has changed into the uniform.
"Alright. Just so you know, if any of these people leave within the next twenty minutes, their tips are going to you," Jerry tells him. "If they take more than that, I keep the tips. It's a matter of trust, but you can be sure I won't play you out of your money."
"Thanks," Zoro says. Abi and Muret have already gone upstairs to get change into their street clothes, but Zoro heads back into the kitchen like Sanji asked him.
The cook is preparing some sort of dish, so Zoro takes a seat somewhere out of the way and takes out the money he made in tips. He counts it once, then once more, and then a third time just to make sure.
"You think someone cheated you?" Sanji's voice startles him and he jumps, meeting the cook's eyes with his own wide ones. "They might have left you less tips because you look a bit scary with the punkish hair."
"Three hundred and thirty-five Beris," Zoro says, staring at the bills in his hands. "I made three hundred and thirty-five Beris in seven hours. Dude, this job is amazing!"
"That's nothing, marimo," Sanji scoffs and sets a plate next to him. "The evening servers make at least five hundred Beris on a slow day, plus their salary. Most of the people that eat here have money to throw around—the bigger they tip, the better they feel about themselves."
"I'm fine with that," Zoro grins, looking down at the pasta dish Sanji prepared for him "What's this?" he asks.
"Summer Bouillabaisse with Smoky Rouille."
"Gesundheit."
"It's good, bastard. Just eat it."
Zoro knows it's going to taste good. He just doesn't see the point in telling Sanji. The cook already has an ego the size of the Mariejois tower, he doesn't need Zoro fanning it
"I was thinking we could go out after this," Sanji says softly, leaning against the table next to him.
"Like on a date?" Zoro asks, surprised.
"We haven't actually gone on one," Sanji reminds him.
And they haven't. He's known Sanji for six months now, so he knows the cook. He knows that Sanji can't go a day without smoking a cigarette, he knows that he can switch emotions faster than Zoro can blink. He knows that the cook loves all women, and it's not just sexual. He knows that his hands are his most precious possession; that he would die before using his hands in battle or before hitting a woman. Sanji has an honor code as unwavering as Zoro's. Sanji is kind and loyal. His body runs cold while his temper runs hot. He's passionate and bright. He's sarcastic and witty, but he knows when it's time to be serious. He has an oral fixation, and he's gifted with the grace of a fox.
Sanji is an observant person, the type that can figure out others, but will never figure out himself. Zoro thinks he can spend his whole life with the cook, and never get to know him. Strangely, the prospect isn't daunting. In fact, he finds himself looking forward to it, but that's dangerous territory, so he clears his mind and agrees to go out with Sanji. They don't do anything fancy for their date. They go pick up Chopper from Nami's, who Zoro had asked to babysit, then they head off to the park. The scene reminds Zoro of his dream: he and Sanji sitting on a park bench, Sanji with a bottle of tea, Zoro with a beer, and Chopper playing in the monkey bars. Sanji is looking at Chopper, a soft smile on his face as he watches Zoro's son play. He yells at a bigger kid who pushes Chopper, laughs when he transforms into a reindeer and lets the younger kids ride him.
It's once their back home, when the moon is high in the sky, Chopper has fallen asleep in what he calls his Brain Point—but Sanji calls chibi form—and the cook lays the sleeping kid softly on his bed, that Zoro thinks Sanji is beautiful.
They fall asleep kissing again.
Zoro forms a routine quickly. He wakes up early in the morning with Sanji to drop off Chopper with either Usopp, Luffy, or Nami, then heads to the Baratie and eats breakfast at the restaurant. Then, he helps the girls clean the dining room area before turning on the open sign.
He quickly learns that making friends with the food runner, a guy named Kebi, and the host, a girl named Olga, will make his life much easier. He also tries to get along with the other servers, since they always try to take care of a customer when he's too busy somewhere else. He returns the favor as many times as he can.
At three, he goes back to the kitchen to eat lunch with the cook, then they leave together and pick up Chopper. Sometimes, though, when it's exceptionally busy and his friends have the extra time to take care of his son, Sanji stays in the kitchen and Zoro stays with him to help out wherever necessary. He asks the cook how he had time to go cook for Zoro twice a day before, and Sanji guilty admits that he'd missed a lot of work.
"Zeff was pissed," he whispers, glancing at his father. "I think that's part of the reason he works you so hard."
Zoro doesn't mind too much. He make two thousand Beris a week—what he used to make every two weeks working three jobs— just in tips, so he's more than glad to say yes whenever the old man asks him to unload supplies or clean the kitchen floor.
On December 1st, Sanji decides to take the day off to go buy the Christmas tree with Chopper while Zoro works. He drops him off at seven, one hour later than usual, and gives him a quick goodbye kiss.
"I'll come get you at three," he promises. Zoro nods, sends a fond smile at Chopper, who's still mostly asleep in the back, and walks inside the restaurant through the back door, the one that leads directly to the kitchen.
"Good morning," he calls to the working cooks. He receives a few greetings in return, but most of them are too busy to say anything. At least, until they notice that Sanji is not with him.
"So, Zoro…you're dating our sweet Sous Chef," a Popeye look-alike that he thinks is named Patty says, grinning at him.
"Yup."
"How did you manage to do that?" This one is a pink-haired woman…Jenny? "I thought he was straighter than a ruler."
"Turns out he's one of those rubber rulers," Zoro says and a few of the cooks laugh.
"He had a lot of guys after him," Carne says. "Still does, I bet."
"Girls, too. That kid was born to flirt." This one Zoro is positive is called Jessica. She's blonde, like the cook, but older than both of them.
"Have you eaten yet?" Zeff asks gruffly, surprising everyone.
"Er, no," Zoro answers honestly. "Woke up too late."
Zeff only grunts, but hands him a plate full of oatmeal and fruits. Zoro gives it a hesitant glance, but he has learned not to turn down food when it's given to him by a Black. He takes a small bite, frowning at the sweetness that explodes in his palate.
"Thank you," he still says, missing Sanji's cooking.
"Head on to the main floor," Zeff says. "We're gonna have the staff meeting today."
Zoro nods and obeys. Most of his coworkers are already waiting, and it only takes about ten minutes for the missing few to arrive.
"As you all know, December is one of the busiest months of the year," Zeff begins. "I need you all to put in a hundred percent effort. Kamakiri, I've received a couple of complaints about you, so pick up the pace. Zoro, try to do something about that scowl of yours, you're scaring our clientele. You already look scary enough with that hair, I don't need you mean-mugging my customers. Ever, don't think I haven't noticed you coming in late."
He stops, glaring at them all for a moment. Zoro rubs at his forehead, scowl deepening.
"Does anyone have any comments?"
No one is stupid enough to answer that question, so Zeff lets them go after giving them a quick rundown of the new December menu.
Work that day is hard. The pink-haired man from his first day comes back with the two girls from before, and a third different one. Unlike the last time, he calls Zoro over all of the time to demand the silliest things. Why isn't his salt shaker full? Add more ice to my glass, the juice is getting warm. I don't like my eggs cooked with yolk, do them again.
Zoro can feel his brain pulsing with the need to punch the man in his fucking face and just be done with it. Abi had let him know earlier than the guy's name is Fullbody and that he's a Marine Lieutenant or some shit. Zoro doesn't want to cause trouble for Sanji or his father, so he fights his anger, trying to be civil to the man.
"Hey, how old are you?" the curly-haired one, Cassie, asks him.
"I'm twenty-five," Zoro replies curtly, filling up their glasses with more orange juice.
"Why is your hair green?" Amanda—the dark-skinned one—asks him curiously, leaning a bit forward so that the table presses against her breasts.
"Genetics."
"You must be from the work fields." Fullbody speaks loudly, as if trying to get the attention of the entire room. "People there get all kind of genetic mutations."
Zoro bites his tongue but gives on obvious glare to the man's pink hair. He walks away before he can lose his temper, calming down when he has to take care of a single mother with her son.
"You're really good with kids," she says, smiling as Zoro manages to get her son to eat.
"I have a son myself," Zoro admits. "He's about to turn eight on Christmas Eve."
"Oh, so he's Christmas miracle," the woman sighs dreamily.
"Can I get a damn waiter over here?" he hears Fullbody yell and rolls his eyes.
"Don't worry about him. That guy is such a jerk," the woman tells him, pinching his cheek. Zoro smiles, but it falls away as he approaches Fullbody's table.
"Yes, sir?"
"I would like a bottle of your most expensive wine."
"Right away sir."
When he returns with a bottle of Henri Jayer Richebourg, Lisa, the new girl, offers him a drink. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I can't drink at work," he says politely. Besides, he doesn't do fancy drinks; he prefers hard liquor.
"Oh, don't be such a party pooper," Amanda laughs. "Why don't you join us?"
He isn't sure who looks more appalled: him or Fullbody. "I can't. I'm working, ma'am."
"What time do you get off, then?" Cassie grins, and the three girls giggle again.
"We can have a real good time, right Fullbody baby?" Amanda says, doing what Zoro thinks is supposed to be a sexy pout. She looks a bit constipated, honestly.
"I don't think my boyfriend would like that," Zoro says honestly.
"You can invite him, too," Lisa says, smiling widely at him.
"You can leave now, waiter," Fullbody interrupts firmly, and Zoro has never been happier to obey the man. The group stays for another twenty minutes, but Fullbody only calls him in to ask for the check. After they leave, time goes by a lot faster and it isn't too long before Sanji and Chopper are waiting for him outside.
"Dad! Dad, we bought the biggest tree ever!" Chopper squeals excitedly, sitting at the edge of his seat, his hands holding on to Sanji's and Zoro's seats. "And it's real!"
"I told the others to come in around five," Sanji says. "Should give me plenty of time to finish up a couple of dishes."
"How big is the tree, exactly?" Zoro asks, fearing the worst.
"Oh, around twelve feet," Sanji shrugs. "And you don't get to complain about anything, because I just found out your birthday was over two weeks ago, and you didn't tell me anything."
"Ah." He didn't tell Sanji about his birthday because he knew the cook would get him something unnecessarily expensive. He's happy just hanging out with friends, drinking beer. Saga was the one who suggested going out to Level 5.5, and he had agreed for lack of anything better to do and because the others seemed eager. "How did you find out?" he asks.
"Well, Chopper told me he's turning eight, but you said you were sixteen when he was born, which doesn't add up."
"No, I was sixteen when Alice got pregnant," Zoro corrects. "I turned seventeen on November, and Chopper was born a month later."
"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Sanji whines. "I love birthdays, connard."
"When's your birthday, Sanji?" Chopper asks curiously.
"March 2nd. You better plan an awesome birthday party for me, grass-head!"
"Aren't older people supposed to be more mature?" Zoro sighs. "And here I thought I got lucky dating a cougar."
"Shut the fuck up, marimo. You're not even that much younger."
They continue to banter lightly at home, especially when Zoro sees that Sanji has prepared enough food to feed a small army. Chopper reminds him that Luffy is coming to the party, so the food might not actually be enough.
While Sanji and Chopper are finishing the preparations in the kitchen, Zoro takes the time to do some exercise, taking advantage of Sanji's home gym. The cook surprised him with new weights a couple of days ago, a gift from Robin's husband, Franky. The lightest one weights two hundred pounds and he also created a rope that is strong enough that Zoro doesn't have to worry about it snapping when he uses it to tie barrels to his back when he does squats or push-ups. His heaviest weights are a ton each, and Franky had to reinforce the floor so they wouldn't break through it.
The doors to Koshiro's dojo don't open again until January 1st, and Zoro is itching to return to it. He can feel his swords shaking in anticipation, hardly able to wait the moment when they join Zoro in battle again.
Nami and Vivi are the first to arrive, and Zoro can see as the red-head's eyes practically turn into Beris signs as soon as she steps past the elevator doors. Even Vivi is impressed, and she's a goddamn princess.
Sanji gushes over them, acting like the perfect host and then some, offering everything but the skin off his back.
The next to arrive are Usopp and Kaya, and fifteen minutes after them, Luffy arrives with Ace and Marco.
"Sorry to intrude," Ace says politely, shaking Sanji's hand. "You have a beautiful home."
"Oh, well—thank you," Sanji says, surprised.
With his cargo shirts, faded white shirt, and floppy hat, Ace doesn't look like the type to be polite and well-mannered. Marco, on the other hand, just smiles serenely and nods at Sanji.
"Well, now that everyone is here, I guess we can start the decorating," Sanji says, nodding to the tall tree taking over the spot where a glass coffee table used to be. The three is big, standing just about three feet below the ceiling and wide enough to cover the painting of the ship and Sea King that Zoro likes.
"It's so pretty!" Luffy exclaims excitedly.
"Isn't it?" Sanji agrees, trying to hug. His arms aren't long enough to go all the way around, so he looks like an excitable little kid. "Chopper chose silver and white for the decorations, but I picked a couple of blue accents since it's my favorite color."
"We bought everything!" Chopper adds, so excited that he has transformed into his Brain Point. "Tinsel and lights, the tree skirt and the tree topper; we got all types of ornaments, and Sanji even made candy canes! And we have lace to make bows and glitter to spread all over."
"It's going to look so good!" Usopp cheers. "Man, Sanji, I didn't think you would go all out."
"I've never decorated a Christmas tree before," Sanji admits, ducking his head. He touches the green needles softly, and there is something in his expression that Zoro can't quite read. "We couldn't afford one when I was younger. And when I finally could, I lived alone, so there wasn't any point in getting a tree."
Zoro frowns, trying to figure out the expression on the cook's face. He doesn't know much about Sanji's past—he's actually surprised to hear the cook was poor at one time, even though he's almost positive Sanji has mentioned it before. He only knows that he went to New World and worked for Iva as an exotic dancer. He's an orphan, and was adopted by Zeff when he was young.
But that's all he knows. Sanji knows about Kuina and about Mihawk; he knows about Alice and Crocodile. He knows why Zoro started underground fighting. He doesn't know everything, but he knows the important stuff. But Zoro? Shit, he doesn't even know how Sanji met that Robin chick.
"Well, it's definatley going to take more than an hour to decorate this baby, so let's get started," Nami interrupts his trail of thought, her hands on her waist. "Let's unravel those LED lights, everybody!"
"You look like a little kid," Zoro whispers to Sanji as the others start unraveling the boxes of lights. They blink bright white when Ace plugs them in to test them out, making them look almost like jewels.
Sanji sticks his tongue out at him. "Shut up, marimo. I'm having fun," he shrugs, opening a box with silver garlands. He opens another one with thick strands of what looks like linen. "Do you know how to tie bows?" He sits down on the floor, legs crossed.
Zoro rolls his eyes and joins him, snatching the linen from him, copying the movements Sanji does to create a simple, yet elegant bow.
The girls have started circling the tree with the lights, making sure they are evenly spaced and that the cord is hidden. Luffy, Ace, and Marco have taken to the higher parts of the tree, since both Marco and Ace can fly and Luffy can stretch. Usopp and Chopper have taken out the garlands and ornaments and have lined them on the floor by color, probably to try and see how to best decorate the tree.
"So Ace and Luffy are brothers?" Sanji asks. He has taken strands of silver and going over the blue bows he has already done, adding a little color to the decorations.
"Yeah," Zoro nods. "They're not blood brothers, but they don't care. There's another one, Sabo, but he doesn't have as much free time as Ace and Luffy."
"Sabo? Sounds familiar," Sanji hums. "You can get a couple of the white ornaments and tie them at the center of the bows. It'll make them look better."
Zoro stands up and approaches Chopper and Usopp, who are busy admiring the ornaments. Sanji really did go all out. There are ornaments of every type, some that are make out tinted-glass, others that are a matte color, some shiny, and some frosted. Some are solid colors, others have designs on them, from snowflakes to snowmen. Others are clear, with little figurines inside. Some are round, some are oval, some are small, and some are big.
Each one is unique, and Zoro can't decide on which ones to get.
"Aren't these beautiful?" Chopper asks him happily, holding a clear ornament with a twinkling blue star inside
"They are."
"Luffy, stop playing around and finish up your section!" Nami yells from the ground. Vivi and Kaya are standing a couple of feet away from the tree, checking to make sure the tree looks good.
"But Nami, I can't find the little connection thingy!"
"Argh. Marco, please help him out," Nami sighs.
Zoro grabs a handful of white ornaments and returns to Sanji, who has now about a dozen bows laying around him.
"Ooh, those are perfect," he grins, picking up one as Zoro lays them softly on the ground.
"Sanji, how come you're house is so white?" Luffy asks from the top, torso elongated inhumanly.
"I like the color," Sanji shrugs, and Luffy only makes a humming noise.
"And what are all these little things you have here?"
"Stop messing around, Luffy," Ace scolds. "You're gonna break something."
"And I'm not paying for it" Marco adds.
"But look at this thing! Sanji, what is this?"
"A telescope. If you take out to the back patio, you can look at all the stars up close."
"Great! Usopp, c'mon!."
"Not today, Luffy!" Nami snaps. "We have to finish decorating the tree."
"But the lights are up!"
"We still need to add the garlands and tinsel," Vivi calls out.
"Not to mention all of the pretty bows Sanji and Zoro made," Kaya adds.
"Dude, those look amazing," Ace praises, fire dying out as he lands in front of Zoro, eyeing the bows appreciatively.
"Thanks," Sanji grins. "I didn't make too many, since it will make the tree look too tacky if there's a lot of them."
"With such good taste, I don't know how you ended up with Zoro," Nami says, sending Zoro a sneer.
"Fuck you, bitch."
"Don't call Nami that, you shithead!" Sanji snaps, sending a kick to his head.
Zoro curses as pain explodes behind his eyes. "Oi, fucker, that hurt!"
"Really? I thought you wouldn't feel anything with such a thick head."
"You're the one with the huge head, Megamind."
"What the fuck did you call me, you shitty moss?" Sanji accompanies the question with a kick aimed for Zoro's side.
He's more prepared this time, and he's able to stop the leg and wrap his arms around it, only receiving a fraction of the power it's supposed to have. It's still enough to hurt like hell, though. "Are you deaf now, fucktard?" He pushes the leg until it's pressed against Sanji's chest, the rest of his body still perfectly straight.
"No, I just didn't know you are so stupid as to go for Megamind, useless swordsman," Sanji snaps back, eyes widening when Zoro squeezes his thigh. Zoro grins, and Sanji seems to realize their position: bodies pressed from chest to thigh, his right leg hooked over Zoro's shoulder, the swordsman's crotch pressed against his.
"Oh fuck off!" Sanji barks. He pulls on the leg Zoro has trapped, just far enough so he can press the sole of his foot into the side of Zoro's face and send him slamming against the floor.
"Nami-swan! Let's put up the garlands!"
Zoro massages his face, but it doesn't hurt too badly. Sanji held back a lot of his strength—thank god, too, or Zoro would've lost a couple of teeth.
"Little ball of spitfire, isn't he?" Ace says wryly, helping him to his feet. "Luffy mentioned you guys argue a lot. Didn't think he meant this."
"He's an annoying brat," Zoro grunts. Sanji glances back at him from where he's helping Nami wrap the garland around the fucking huge tree, but turns back to her as soon as their eyes meet.
It takes them around an hour and a half to decorate the entire tree, and that's with all ten of them working seriously. By the time they're finished, it's dark outside, so Sanji dims the lights and plugs in the tree.
It looks beautiful. Mostly silver and white, with a few splashes of blue, the tree looks like it belongs in Neptune's royal courts.
"It's gorgeous," Nami whispers.
"And look at that view," Ace whistles, looking past the tree into the dark ocean.
Zoro still hasn't gotten used to the sight of it. It's huge, stretching out farther than he can see, and always so calm, it looks like a void of nothingness.
But not tonight. Tonight, the whole sea is glowing with an inner, blue light, making the usually dark water look a bright, electric blue. Each small wave lapping on the dark beach is lit up like sheets of lightning, bright blue stars seemingly dancing in the water. Above, the sky is moonless but starry, like a dark blue canvas painted with white snow.
The tree lights are suddenly turned off and the whole room is illuminated by the bright blue ocean. "It's a natural phenomenon called bioluminescence," Sanji explains softly. He's the one who turned off the tree, and now stands next to an oddly quiet Luffy. "These tiny, microscopic organisms react with the oxygen in the water to create light. I've only ever seen it happen farther out at sea."
Again, there is something in the cook's expression that Zoro can't read. It's like…like Sanji isn't there. Like he's far away, lost somewhere. His eyes are shining brighter than the ocean, his pale skin caressed by the blue light in such a way that he looks ethereal. He looks like at any moment, he will step out into the ocean to be swallowed by the small waves, never to been seen again.
He looks unattainably beautiful.
He looks terribly sad.