Just Like Sanji (one shot-2)

Thanks to BrainDeadMaggot for betaing. XD

There is an OC in this oneshot.

Characters belong to Oda

Zoro walks into his house, which feels like forever since he was last in. He started working the night before, had to go to a court hearing right after his shift, resulting in him staying up the whole night and day. He is beat when he steps through the open door.

As Zoro closes the door behind him, his eye catches sight of Sanji, the blonde by the kitchen heating up his food. Sitting on the nearest stool, he lowers his head on the counter feeling exhausted.

"Don't go to sleep yet." Sanji says over his shoulder, as he turns off the stove. "Your food is ready."

At the smell of heated food, Zoro sits up tiredly. "Thanks." he says with a stifled yawn as he takes the offered plate.

"How was the court trail?" Sanji asks. He rounds the counter and helps Zoro take off his coat before the other man can start eating.

"A killer. I couldn't leave after I gave my testimony, it was so hard staying awake as they spoke." Zoro rakes his green hair with his fingers as he takes his first bite of Sanji's blissful dish. "You've outdone yourself, cook." he says with a tired smirk.

He takes two more bites before he continues. "Ace forgot to file in some papers again. He was freaking out about getting fired if Garp found out. So I told him I will do it when the court hearing finishes."

Sanji hums at the back of his throat as he watches Zoro continue to eat. "Is everything ok now?" He sees Zoro nod. "When do you have to go back to work?"

"Monday night." He answers with his mouth full.

The blonde cook frowns when he does this, but doesn't say anything about it. "I'm glad, you have the weekend to rest. I'll be upstairs. Come to bed when you're finished."

/

Moments later Zoro walks upstairs, not bothering to wash the dishes, yawning and stretching his arm over his head as he reaches the landing. He sees the blonde stepping out of one of their bedroom, shutting the door silently behind him. Zoro catches Sanji's eye for a second, before the blonde fully closes the door, placing a finger over his lips.

Zoro walks towards him, and is about to reach for the door, but Sanji stops him by swatting his hands away, and pushing him back against the wall, pinning him there. Their bodies are pressed close together, heat radiating off them. This time Zoro frowns at him, and pushes Sanji off him. He reaches for the door again, but the cook, this time, uses his leg to stop him. Clearly, Sanji doesn't want him to enter.

The blonde has a finger over his lips again, and a hard glare aim at the brute. "Marimo, no. Go to bed, you're tired. I am too."

"Cook. One second, that's all. Promise."

This time Sanji seems to think over his answer, before he nods and brings down his foot from blocking the doorway. Without hesitating, Zoro steps into the room, as quiet as he could because Sanji is practically bearing holes on his back with his blue eyes.

He can't hold the smile that takes over his lips when he sees her. He can already hear Sanji behind him telling him to come back, but he didn't spend enough time with her today.

"Marimo." Sanji whispers. "Don't wake her, or I swear I'll kick your pudding behind!" He hisses. Zoro has to bite his bottom lip because he doesn't want to laugh - Sanji tries his best not to curse in front of her, but instead of sounding threatening he sounds like he's making either a tasty treat or a cannibal recipe.

Zoro is finally close enough to catch sight of her. She's on her back, sucking her thumb, her long black eyelashes closed as she sleeps soundly. Though only 16 months old, she has green curly locks that are shoulder length. Her skin is peachish, with gold and pink undertones, and from what Sanji keeps babbling about it will probably get darker until she's as tan as he is. She has the brightest green eyes he's ever seen, with beautiful long eyelashes, and on her right eyebrow is a curl right at the end. It's the only thing she got from the blonde. She has even inherited Zoro's high forehead, dimples and even his crooked smile.

Sanji's mouth drops open when he sees what Zoro is about to do, he rushes inside the room but it's too late. Sanji watches with wide eyes as the Marimo leans down, moves the blanket while lifting up her night shirt and blows onto her stomach. It's something he always does to make her laugh, but Sanji knew that would wake her.

Instantly her eyes open and a gleeful, high pitch laugh escapes her throat. When she sees who is blowing onto her tummy she smiles. "You bag home!" She says in her childlike vocabulary. Zoro looks down at her with an equally bright smile since she woke. "You're back home." She had said. She moves from her back to a sitting position, raising her arms for Zoro to pick her up.

Without thinking twice, the Marimo takes her into his arms, and turns around to face Sanji, one of his arms under her, and the other supporting her back.

"Wook! Addy bag" (Look, daddy back!) She says at Sanji, clapping her hands together and laughing uncontrollably.

Sanji's not sure what to say. "You cheese headed...er...rotten face chicken."

It's the only words that leave his mouth, though he knows it makes no sense at all. It took him two hours to get her tired, so she can fall asleep. Though she was born looking like the Marimo, her sleeping pattern is far from it. Sighing deeply, Sanji smiles. He doesn't want her to know how upset he is with Zoro right now, she looks so happy.

"Sorry to wake you sweety. I just wanted to hear you laugh, and see your beautiful eyes." Zoro says while rubbing her back soothingly. Sanji doubts she is upset about Zoro waking her. Her green eyes are wide open and alert, and she has the biggest smile on her face.

She shakes her head as she leans back onto Zoro's shoulder, a smile still on her face. "Id otay, Papa. Poo me bed. Not wong go." ( 'It's ok. Papa put me in bed not too long ago.) She answers. Her childlike voice limites her speech breaking her sentences up into groups of three; yet another thing she inherited from him. Seriously what's wrong with them and the number three, Sanji thinks with a sigh.

"Marimo, you know how long it will take for her to fall back asleep? She won't go at all knowing you're home. She will want to stay with you."

"Then she can sleep with us."

"Last time you almost rolled on her in your sleep." Sanji protests, remembering that day. "And you still didn't wake even when I pushed you off the bed." Sanji shakes his head. "Don't hand her over to me." He objects, while raising his hands when he sees Zoro handing her for him to hold. "You woke her; you make her go to sleep."

Zoro frowns at Sanji as he rebalances the small girl on his side.

It's almost twenty minutes later and she's still wide awake. She won't leave Zoro's side. She is like a little chicken following the mother hen. Each time Zoro places her in her small crib she would cry and hold her hands out towards him so he would pick her up.

Zoro is sitting in the living room, one knee up, so he can place his elbow on his knee, his hand on his face as he watches her play a mix of princess, wearing her pink dress and plastic tiara, and tea party with her stuffed animals. He would yawn every 5 minutes, and the small toddler is showing no sign of fatigue.

Sanji appears from the kitchen, a cup of tea in his hands. "I told you not to wake her."

"What used to make her go to sleep again?" Zoro asks, with a yawn and without looking at the blonde behind him.

"Well, the nightlight doesn't work anymore. And the lullaby makes it worse." Instead of sleeping, she starts to sing as if in some singing competition, Sanji thinks bitterly as he takes his first sip. "You can try rocking her to sleep, that's what I did."

"Yeah, but that takes forever." Zoro says, taking the offered play cup and pretending to drink it.

A look of amusement comes over Sanji when her green eyes widen when Zoro pretends to drink. Unlike the Marimo, he was listening to his daughter play pretend, and she wanted them to toast and drink it together. But Zoro drank the pretend drink before she was able to toast.

Slowly her lips turn into a small pout as tears well up in her eyes. Her cheeks take a reddish color to them, as her lips quiver. It is then Zoro notices.

"Ehh, what's wrong?" He asks, clearly sounding concern as he picks her up and places her on his lap. Zoro makes a face of annoyance once she starts crying. "Shi-" Zoro bites his tongue. Sanji would raise hell if he curses in front of her. When he looks at the blonde, he has a raised eyebrow and a warning glare aimed at him.

"She wanted to make a toast since you came back home. But you ruined it by drinking it before her stuffed animals." Sanji answers the unasked question. "God Marimo, even in pretend you have horrible manners." He says with a chuckle.

"It's just a toast." Zoro tries to reason. He clearly felt bad for making her cry. He is bouncing her up and down on his lap, but she doesn't stop crying.

"It must have meant a lot to her." Sanji says, loud enough for Zoo to hear. "She's not the only one who missed you." Sanji's not sure if Zoro heard him, and if he did, he didn't give any indication as his full attention is on their crying child. He doesn't blame her. Zoro didn't see how crestfallen she looked when he didn't come home, and how she would wake in the middle of the night looking for him. Zoro must have suspected something while he was at work, cause he had to step out of the courthouse a few times since she wanted to call him. If something happened to Zoro, she would be devastated.

'We will be devastated.'

"Cook."Sanji's eyes snap towards Zoro when he hears the other man call him. The man is looking at him with pleading eyes.., he's mentally pleading with Sanji to take their daughter and put an end to the crying and not-sleeping.

"Hey, I told you not to wake her." Looking at the door, something finally comes to him. "Why don't you take her on a drive around the block."

"Huh? Why?" Zoro asks, confuse on what Sanji is saying. Sanji watches as realization finally hits him. "Why didn't I think of that? She always falls asleep in the car."

Standing up, with the crying toddler still in his arms Zoro passes Sanji and heads for the counter where he left his car keys. "I'll be back in less than twenty minutes. Going around the block and back." Zoro informs as he grabs his coat and zips it up, his daughter tucked into his coat. Sanji follows Zoro out, watching as he reaches his green and black mustang.

"Marimo." Sanji calls as the other man buckles the still crying girl in the car seat. "Pull up your seat, no loud music, not too late and most of all no speeding." Sanji can't believe he has to say this to a police officer.

"Yes, Mom." Zoro says sarcastically, mumbling under his breath. He smiles at his daughter when he sees her with a smile on her face and looking at him with her bright green eyes. He finally closes the car door and opens the driver's side and slips into the car.

Moments later Zoro is on the road. Though she has stopped crying, she has yet to fall asleep.

"Where whe gowing?" She asks, her curious green eyes on the window.

"On a small drive." There is a few seconds of silence before he hears her speak again.

"Fatter?" Zoro catches her small voice from behind.

"You want me to go faster?" He asks. He can hear her laugh behind him each time he shifts gear. It makes him wonder how much like Sanji she actually is. He knows Sanji would disapprove, but he isn't here so maybe…

The moment he starts to speed up, he can hear her laughter grow. She is clearly enjoying herself. "Fatter, fatter, fatter!" She laughs with a smile on her face. She is enjoying herself too much, he thinks. Zoro slows down when he reaches a stop sign.

"Again?" Zoro asks, looking at her through the rear view mirror.

"Yet, yet, yet!" She says in a fit of laughter. "Again, again, pweade."

"But you can't tell Papa, ok?" Zoro warns. He didn't want to get in trouble with the blonde.

"Otay." She agrees in her childlike voice.

With a smile on his face now, he starts up again and shifts, hearing her laugh harder and harder.

When he returns home, he can see Sanji still standing by the door, waiting, and expecting a sleeping girl, not a girl with a smile big enough to compete with Luffy's. Once parked, Zoro looks over his shoulder. "Pretend like you're sleeping." He says quickly when he sees the blonde make his way towards them.

Sanji is the one to open the car back door. "Smooth driving Marimo. She's sound asleep." he says, unclipping her from her seat. Taking her into his arms Sanji pulls her out gently as to not wake her.

"Yeah." Zoro says with a sweatdrop. Stepping out of the car Zoro follows behind Sanji. He can see her peeking with one eye, and a smile threatening to make itself known. He places a finger over his lips, indicating for her to stay quiet. Sanji heads upstairs, and places her in her crib, tucking her under her blankets. "Goodnight." he whispers, giving her a small, quick kiss on the forehead.

Closing the door behind him, Sanji heads to his room. When he enters he finds Zoro sprawl out in bed. He can already hear his light snores in the otherwise quiet house.

"Must be tired." Sanji concludes. Closing his door Sanji takes off his shirt and shakes Zoro gently for him to wake. "Go to your side."

Instead of doing what Sanji wants, Zoro wraps his arm around Sanji and pulls him to lie down next to him. He buries his neck in the crook of Sanji's neck, making the blonde laugh since he is ticklish there.

"Marimo, stop it." Sanji says with a smile and shoving Zoro's shoulder gently. "Go to sleep." He says while tracing Zoro's strong back with his hand, his other hand on the strands of hair at the back of Zoro's head.

"I know she was awake Mairmo."

"Oh... How?" Zoro asks, sleepy.

"She kept peeking. I think she thought I didn't see her, but I did." There is a short moment of silence. "Why do you like to hear her laugh so much. I mean, I love to hear her too, but you would even wake her just to hear her. Why?" Sanji asks. Zoro would do anything to make their little girl laugh, anything.

"Because…" Zoro shakes his head, making Sanji giggle when his short green hair tickles him again. "Don't worry blonde."

"Come on, Marimo." Sanji tries. All Sanji gets is a hum from the other man, and that's it. Giving up, Sanji relaxes as he lets sleep take him. The Marimo was always a mystery to him. He guesses he'll never find out why Zoro made her laugh so much.

"I love you, Sanji." He murmurs into Sanji's neck.

The blonde doesn't respond. Not because he didn't feel the same, but because he knew Zoro fell asleep. I love you too, Sanji thinks, pulling the other man closer into a tight hug.

Because…

Each time she laughs, she sounds just like Sanji when he laughs.

AN: Thank you for reading. Don't forget to review, please. XD