A/N: Now here's the promised epilogue, I'm just really sorry that it took so long for it to come out. This one aren't beta'ed yet, though I'm awaiting for the beta'ed version to come up soon... been waiting for it for months, but my first beta-reader gave up on it a month later –had too much to do- and then a friend of mine helped me, but shit have been happened to her, so… I'm still with nothing to give you. But then I thought that you at least could get this one to read until the beta'ed version would come (I suck in grammas XD)
Thank you all for hanging on for so long, everyone, and thank you all for your great reviews… I don't know what I should have done without all of you, my great readers, fans and friends. Thank you so much… all of you! See you (hopefully) all in the next upcoming stories!
Take care! And for now I can only say; Please enjoy this last part of this long story, there wouldn't have become real, if it hadn't been for the all of you!
Disclaimer:
One Piece is owned by Eiichiro Oda-sensei. All the copyrights associated with One Piece belong to him. Only the ideas contained within this story and some of the characters are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by me, the writer, of this story.
Please enjoy! ~^o^~
Taste of bittersweet Disaster
-A One Piece fan fiction
By Pernille T. Boldemann
Alias
Crystal Blue Fox
Love has never been so deep since the day I met you,
though it was a fucked up time.
I don't regret them,
If that nightmare never had happened,
This dream had never come true.
The glorious dream of a life with you.
In your arms, I feel safe,
By your side I feel strong,
With your lips on mine, your eyes gleam like they do,
I feel worthy and loved.
If there is a god, I would like to thank him…
…for that you was born and brought into my life.
Epilogue
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Breathe for Me
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
-4 years later-
"RORONOA ZORO! I'M CHALLANGING YOU TO A DUEL! COME OUT HERE AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!"
Sanji leaned lazily up against the railing and glanced over the town that they had docked at for about two weeks ago. He blew out a long stream of smoke as he called over his shoulder, knowing the place where the swordsman was taking his usual afternoon-nap. "Oi! Moss-head! Someone wants you!"
There came a drowsy yawn in answer, and even so he didn't look, he knew that the marimo was scratching his neck right after he had stretched his arms far above his head… like he always did after a nice long nap. "Oh? Who is it then?" he finally answered. Sanji leaned further over the railing and glanced down at the young swordsman standing down in the harbour, glaring back up at the smirking cook.
"Some young chicken who wants to get his feathers plugged!"
"Mmm~! Chicken sounds good. Sanji! I want some chicken! Captain's order!" Came Luffy's sudden response from the other side of the deck, where he was playing cards with both Usopp and Brook.
"Yes sir!" he said playfully, and had to restrain himself from making a salute as well. Zoro smirked from his place at the tree on the green lawn.
"Oi oi! Don't you just stand up there and talk about me like I'm some kind of food or such! You cannibals or something?"
Sanji's smile grew so much that his lips pulled up to show his white teeth, as he looked deep into the young swordsman's black eyes. "Well~," he dragged out the word at he ran his tongue one time over his lips, "who knows, hm~? Our captain is known for to eat whatever there gets into his reach, so… cooked, flambéed or perhaps even grilled human-chicken, hmm…doesn't sound bad to me."
At the time Zoro stood up from his nap and joined his lover at the railing, the young swordsman was running far away in the distant, yelling something about 'crazy cannibals', leaving nothing but dust for them to see. Sanji laughed at him, Zoro sighed.
"And here I thought that I finally would get a nice fight," he pouted.
"Oh yeah, it must be 'horrible' to be the strongest swordsman in the world," Sanji said playfully and pulled said swordsman's chin to underline his childish features. Honestly, the stronger this man got, the more childish he often would act… but that might also be because of some other 'reasons'.
Said 'reason' came now half stumbling half racing towards him with a nervous Chopper hot on his trail, who spouted something to the kid about to be ever so careful. Sanji rolled his eyes at the overprotecting doctor. No wonder that Robin could act so carefree, she knew that her child would be in safe hands, as long as Chopper was in the near. Come tsunami, hurricane and lightning rains, no matter of what, the little doctor would cling himself to the kid, and if Robin, Franky or who ever was holding the little runner, Chopper would literally cling himself to them, until he was a hundred percent sure about that the kid would be safe without any danger.
But just like his rubber-brain of an uncle, he just had the talent to run directly into troubles, and then even with a happy face.
"Hey~, Sprout! How are ya?" came Zoro's now childish question, and as he kneeled down to come in eyelevel with the kid, the boy smiled bigger and ran faster towards his 'uncle', making Chopper to almost drop dead to the floor.
"Thoroh!" came the happy response, as the raven-haired child stretched his arms out towards him, chuckling so much that it tickled in his stomach as he was grabbed by those strong hands, there held him ever so gentle, and swung him around.
"Jesus, take it easy, Chopper, or you'll kill yourself from overloading yourself with too much of stress!" Sanji told the little doctor, as he watched the strong swordsman handle and playing with the little child so carefully, smiling so wide that it made his stomach flutter in pure happiness.
"It's just… he's just," –gasp- "running so fast," answered the little reindeer out of breath, tongue hanging out of his mouth, as he leaned up against Sanji's leg for support. Sanji only shook his head at him and went to gaze at Zoro as he 'attacked' the little kid, who fell into a giggle fit.
Many things you could say about the swordsman; he was strong, feared and respected by many, loved and hated, people called him a monster, a demon when he fought, and they feared those grey eyes more than anything. But when he lay his swords to the side, he was a wonderful friend, a caring lover, and since for a bit over two years ago when Robin gave birth to this little runner, there made Chopper into a nervous wreck as the young doctor feared for the child's well being, Zoro showed something there surprised him, almost shocked him, but also made him fall in love in him all over again.
Who would have known that an oaf like him had a soft spot for children?
Franky was a bigger clumps to be a father, as he was so afraid of to hurt the little kid with his big hands, while Zoro, with all that strength there laid in his whole body, somehow knew how to hold that little fragile child with extreme caution, like he was holding a piece of china.
Zoro was the perfect babysitter-uncle; he took care of the kid as was it his own son, and both Robin and Franky was thankful for this too, actually they all took care of the kid, like one big family would do. Secretly Sanji had thought that Zoro always had wished one day to get his own child, but never dared to tease him with it. The look he gave him whenever Zoro had the child far up in the air as he played with him and accidentally met his staring eyes as he watched them, make the swordsman blush a colour Sanji only found too sweet and adoringly. That expression spoke in volumes, and it always left him smiling.
"Danji! Over to Danji!" Sanji snapped out of it as he heard his name being spoken out, or sort of. He smiled even wider as he now saw the two of them coming towards them again, the kid's arms reaching out towards him, while he was riding on the smiling swordsman's shoulders. Who would ever have thought that he was the strongest swordsman in the world right now?
Sanji crushed his smoke and threw it over the railing as they came closer. Chopper had already collapsed up against the railing, trying to catch his breath.
"Oh, you think that uncle Sanji got something for you?" Zoro played along, and made the kid giggle ever so happy. He slapped his little hands onto the swordsman's green hair while he shook his head.
"No no, got someding for Thoro!" he corrected him. Sanji chuckled, it was unbelievingly how smart this kid actually already was… must come from his mystical mother… thank god that he didn't inherit any of Franky's genes other than those black eyes and the joy to draw and build things.
"Ah, you think that I got something for that oaf, Ace?" Ace, that was this wonderful child's name, giggled and slapped the green head even more, indicating said 'oaf' to hurry up. Robin and Franky had left Luffy to make a choice of naming their son. Luffy had never been more seriously and nervous at the same time as he thought, and then scraped his sandaled feet on the ground when he carefully suggested their child to be named Ace. Robin and Franky could be no more honoured to have their son named after the Pirate King's -their wonderful friend and captain's- older brother.
Sanji reached his hand out as he ruffled the little kid's black hair. Ace chuckled.
"Now now, small kids shouldn't look then,"
"The heck you talking about, cook?" questioned the swordsman, liking the smugly grin on said cook's face even less.
"I'm not small," he stated with a pout, and stretched his arms out to each side, letting go of the swordsman's hair "I'm a biiiiig kid!" Zoro had to hold tighter around his legs as the kid had made such a big motion with his arms, that he fell back and now only hang by the grumbling swordsman's hands. Ace chuckled like never before. Apparently he found this 'hanging'-thing very funny.
"Oh? You are?" Sanji played along with the kid, and helped him to sit back up on his uncle's shoulders, then laid his hand over the child's black eyes. "Now, don't peak," Ace came with a noising pout when he was stolen his vision, Sanji chuckled at him.
"What-?" was all Zoro was able to say before the cook came too close to him. He leaned in to whisper into his ear that, if Zoro didn't listen carefully, almost wasn't audible, not even Ace who sat on his shoulders would be able to hear what the cook voiced into his ear. The low raw sensual voice and the hot breath beating against his ear, send shivers through his body, and directly down to his loin.
"I've heard that there should be an extra ordinary nice hotel down town. Good service, nice rooms, and I've heard that their beds should be really soft and comfy." He licked his lips and dragged out the pause, letting the words sink in a bit before he got closer, running his one finger playfully up and down along the swordsman's left side. "Pay for the room and you get the booze for free." He nipped teasingly to his earlobe, smirking as he heard the other's breathing fasten. "What do you say?"
Licking his dry lips, he swallowed to wet his arid throat, as he fought against his heart from beating out through his chest. "Sounds like a nice place to me," the swordsman answered with a low rasped voice. Sanji hummed and nuzzled his nose against his chin.
"Eight o'clock tonight?"
"Down here at the dock?"
"Mmm~, don't dare to give you the change to get lost, would be a pretty waste," Zoro growled, but the growl changed into a hum of pleasure as he got a taste of those wonderful lips against his throat, and one of those talented hands, as the one of them had slowly searched down to grab his now growing limb and massage it.
"There's children in the near," he reminded him at. Ace chuckled from his shoulders, the blonds' large hand still covering his eyes and the half of his face.
"Ah, but then you just have to be more quiet then," the cook whispered. God, hadn't they been among all of their friends, he would have grabbed that fucking teasing cook, ripped his clothes off and-
Sanji's face came closer to his, and soon he felt the hot breath bathing over his face. He leaned in, his heart beating faster as they came closer, but just as their lips was about to touch, they where interrupted by Nami who called at him. Zoro growled in both frustration and irritation. Sanji too noised his dislike to be interrupted like this.
"What is it?" Zoro called over his shoulder, not wishing to get away from this moment at all. In short it meant: This better be very important or you'll be a dead person soon!
Nami, who held her hand over the speaker to the den den mushi, only smiled at him.
"It's Franky!" was all she said, and that was also all what he needed to hear before he was right next to the navigator, forgetting the pouting blond who just stood there and watched him walk away.
"Zoro here," was all he said, there was a pause, then a smile grew on his lips. "Is that true?" another pause and the smile grew even more. Sanji blinked in confusion. Zoro only had that smile on his face just before he was fighting against a strong opponent. Ace sat and rocked back and forth on the swordsman's shoulders, and held tight onto his short hair; it was almost getting as long as Luffy's, but Zoro would never let it become that long, he had ensured him that once. "When?" this time it was only a short pause, before the smile, if possible, grew even larger. "I'll be there now," he gave the den den mushi back to a smiling navigator, and before Nami could do anything else, Zoro grabbed her face and kissed her on the chin.
"Wha-?"
"It's here," Zoro whispered to her. Nami blinked, then smiled along with him, as he ran towards the railing.
"Wha-? WHA-? The hell?" Sanji blinked in disbelieve. "Did marimo just kiss Nami-san?" his temper was slowly boiling up, but disappeared just as fast as he felt the little giggling Ace being pressed against his chest, and held tight around him in reflex. "What the-?" He was cut off as Zoro suddenly leaned in and pressed his lips against his. Sanji blinked again as the swordsman leaned away and smiled at him.
"I'll be here at 8 o'clock, promise," he said and rubbed his thumb caringly against the cook's soft chin. "Please wait for me," Sanji never managed other than to open his mouth before his lover had pulled away and called over his shoulder, "Usopp! Let's go!" and then jumped over the railing.
"Oi oi! Wait up, damn it!" Usopp cursed and gave the cards to Nami instead, mumbling under his breath as he fallowed after the swordsman. "Damn it! Wait up! Or you'll only get lost again! Zoro!"
Nami smirked as she was handed the cards and sad down among her two friends. "Now guys, who's turn is it?"
"Aww, Namiii~," whined Luffy and made an overdramatic pout "now we'll loose for sure!"
Sanji stood at the railing with the little Ace sitting in his arms, small fingers played with his hair, as he looked after their marksman and first mate disappear among the crowd of people in the town.
"The hell are those three actually up for?" he asked no one in particular. Ace chuckled in his arms.
"Surprise surprise!" Sanji blinked down at him.
"How come that you know everything, kid? Say, you wanna tell uncle Sanji what they're up for?" Ace shook his head.
"Nu-uh! Biiig surprise!" he giggled as he made the overreacting motion with his arms to show how big it was, and then yawned, indicating that he was pretty tired by now. Sanji sighed and brought the kid into his bed downstairs. Damn it, what was that that the kid knew, or rather, that anyone knew except him? He shook his head and looked back to see the tired little doctor following after them in some kind of a zombie-state. Poor Chopper was more like a walking sleeper by now. Sanji chuckled, and forgot the swordsman's and marksman's weird behaviour. He promised he would come, so he would see if he could pry anything out of him at that time.
-TOBD- TOBD- TOBD—
Zoro blinked, then blinked again as he looked at what Franky presented him… it had taken so long time to get it all in order… now it was here. "It's beautiful," he murmured. Franky's smile grew as he looked at his two wide-eyed friends.
"Yeah, isn't it? I never really thought that it still existed, but apparently the Eve-trees have been raised up in North Blue the last two hundred-or-so-years, just so they wouldn't die and disappear. I've heard rumours about that they've started to do the same with the Adam-trees… they're super those Northlings," Zoro made a sound of Franky's new names to those living up in North Blue… but he could only agree with him. His smile grew.
"He would get thrilled to know where the most of it comes from," Franky smiled along with him.
"Completely," sounded Usopp for the first time since they had arrived. He was still amazed by the large thin -thin compared to the Adam tree Franky once presented to them that was used to build The Sunny- ash-grey tree; its leafs had a green colour to them that he couldn't really describe other than 'fair-green'.
"I hope so," mouthed Franky now, pushing his sunglasses up with his thumb "Those two trees cost me more than that Adam tree back then!" Zoro bit his lip by that information.
"How much do we have left then?" Franky made a fast calculation inside of his head.
"Not quite enough if ya want it to live up to his standards and wishes,"
"Hmm," was the swordsman's only response and Usopp -barely being able to rip his eyes away from that beautiful tree that he knew he soon was allowed to work with too- looked worried at his green-haired friend. They had got this far… couldn't Zoro just not be satisfied with the next best? Sanji would, he knew.
It almost gave a twitch in him as Zoro finally spoke again, and the smirk playing on his lips indicated already that he didn't like the whatever idea there had formed inside of his head.
"Well then, seems like that I have to take up my old profession,"
"Whoa, hey Zoro, you don't mean-?" said Usopp panicked. He defiantly didn't like the way he now looked at him.
"Usopp, you're going to help me; two doing the job will make it all go faster,"
"Oi-oi! Wh-why am I being dragged into this?"
"Eh? Still a chicken?" he said teasingly.
"Wh-who are you calling a chicken? I-I'm not s-scared at all!" Zoro gave his friend's shaking legs one look and smirked even wider. Whatever… Usopp could be called a chicken, but he was brave when it was needed… he still just had a problem to see that.
"All right! Let's get started with what we have!" Cheered Franky as he stretched his arms and then his back, Usopp's mood turned 180 degrees at once, and cheered along with the shipwright.
"Yosh! Let's get started!"
-TOBD- TOBD- TOBD—
He tapped his fingers irritated at the railing and let out a breath of air together with a tired sigh. "He's late," he mouthed out to the white moon there hang just above the town, almost expecting it to say; I told you so. He had prepared everything, all things was set. While the guys would make a trip to the next island, he and Zoro would have a little 'vacation' at the hotel where he had ordered a room for them. He had already been down there with both of their personal stuffs and clothes. Zoro already knew that they should stay on the island until the others returned back –Franky and Usopp was also staying, why, they never said, but he still found it problematic that Franky just would leave his beautiful wife and wonderful son to sail at the seas, while he just was here and relaxed. Well okay, he knew that they would be safe, but still!
He glared down at his little pocket watch, as if waiting on it to tell him that the marimo soon would be there, but of course it never said any other sound other than its normal tick-tock-tick-tock. He stuffed the watch back down into his pocket and scratched the back of his neck in frustration. Fuck if he hadn't been changed out with a more important subject, like fighting against a new opponent who had challenged him and his title out.
He took another drag of his smoke and let it out into the cool air at once. 'If just not something bad has happened to him,' he thought and frowned at this. 'Naa, probably just got himself lost again… damn it!'
"Five minutes," he said to the night. Five more minutes and he would blow it all off… and go look for him himself… then the marimo would see how hell on earth would be like!
He never saw nor heard the shadow there suddenly disappeared around the corner.
-TOBD- TOBD- TOBD—
The baby den den mushi suddenly rang loud and almost made Franky drop his saw. He had forgotten all about time and was surprised to see that it was already dark when he went to answer it.
"Yo, Franky's here!"
"Daddy?" came the hesitant answer from a familiar little voice. Franky blinked and then smiled all over his face. Only Usopp looked up from his work as the speaker was put on so they all could hear.
"Heeey Sprout! How are ya? Aren't ya up a bit late today?" he answered cheerfully, but didn't like the long pause there followed after this. "Hey, you okay, kid?"
"Daddy, pwease send Sworo homeee…!"
"Oh? Why so kiddy?" Zoro's one ear pecked at the mention of his name, and then a weird feeling started nagging him.
"Shandji's mad that Sworo's not here. Sworo had pwomisd to come at clock eight!"
Zoro halted at this information and then cursed as he remembered again "Shit! I forgot!" he dropped what he had in his hands and turned around to look bewildered at his two friends "How late is it?"
"Uhmm," came Usopp's slow response as he looked around to find the clock that hang somewhere in this workshop, that they had been allowed to borrow "Almost a quart in nine,"
"Fuck!" Zoro grabbed his hair in frustration as he felt his heart beat like a wild horse's. He was damn late… again! When the hell would he learn it? Sanji had booked that hotel room for the two of them so they would have some alone-time together, and he knew that the cook had used a dizzy amount of money on that place. His surroundings began to spin around him as he began to hyperventilate. He was letting Sanji down again…fuck! If the cook started to search after him, he would probably accidently pass this place… and if he found this place, then everything would be ruined!
All these thoughts had only taken a couple of seconds, and soon he was out the door, almost pushing something to the ground on his way out. He barely heard Franky thank his son for it and tell him to go to bed now, or as Usopp ran to the door after him, telling him that he was running in the wrong direction. He turned around, his boots made a sound on the tiles as he stopped up to make an 18o degrees turn, and grabbed Usopp's long nose to drag him along with him.
"AARGH! Not ma nouths! Not ma nouths!"
"I run, you tell me where to go!" he ordered.
"Ah, tha's greadt… uhm… just pleeasee let go of ma nouths!"
-TOBD- TOBD- TOBD—
"Time's up!" Sanji sighed and crushed his sixth cigarette on the railing, and blew out the smoke. He stretched his back, stuffed his hands deep into his pockets and strolled down at the ramp. He worked his feet, hearing the joints pop, making them ready for the well prepared beating he had made ready for the late marimo, the moment he would find him. Just as his left foot touched land he heard the voice of two people nearing him fast. He looked up to see Zoro on full speed towards him, dragging on a more likely unconscious Usopp by his arm.
As Zoro looked up and saw the blond stopping with only his left feet on the ground, he couldn't stop smiling, ignoring the growing anger in the cook's blue eye. Damn, he just made it in time. He let go of Usopp's arm –the poor man falling unconscious to the ground 'think I was a bit too harsh with him'- and ran even faster, if possible.
"The hell have you –whoa?" Sanji never made to say the rest of his sentence as the swordsman hammered right into him and wrapped his arms around him into a strong hug. He stepped back, not being able to hold the balance, and soon his foot slipped at the edge of the ramp and they both fell straight into the dark cold waters.
Sanji sprouted out the water and gasped for air as soon as he came to the surface again. Two seconds later a green head came up doing just the same.
"The fuck is wrong with you?" roared the cook; this was just what was needed to make the wine spill. "You know how much this suit has cost me? You completely out of your –ouf!" Once again Zoro pulled him into a strong hug and silenced him with a kiss before the blond even could say another word. As they parted, almost drowning in the middle of the kiss, Zoro chuckled and brushed away the wet hair from the blonds' face so he could see properly.
"Ya know, wet hair does suit you," Sanji gritted his teeth.
"You think that you're funny now?"
Zoro smirked, and then leaned in to steal yet another kiss from him. "I'm sorry that I'm this late," he apologized, whispering the words into his ear, as he held him more gently in his arms, while they both stepped water. Sanji's frown soon turned into a playful smile. It was hard to keep on being mad at this marimo.
"Well, you just be glad for that I already got my clothes at the hotel, but it'll be a damn cold walk,"
"Hmm, I'll keep you warm, cook," Sanji's smile widened.
"Idiot! You're just as wet as I am!" he said and kicked him playfully at his shin. Zoro's smile turned into a teasing smile, before he let go of the blond and pressed him one time under the water. Sanji grabbed him by his shirt and dragged him with him under the surface and this time kissed the marimo, who gladly kissed him back.
-TOBD- TOBD- TOBD—
The receptionist wasn't too happy to see two heap wet pirates step into the hotel, but ignored it as the blond spoke to her with a honey-sweet voice and asked about the key to their room. She even fumbled around with the keys a couple of times and soon gave him the right key to room 209, so they could come up and get some dry clothes on. She even offered to get their clothes cleaned and dried; the blond pirate gladly accepted her offer and thanked her, as she promised to give them a call when their clothes would be ready to get picked up.
Sanji threw his jacket over a chair as he locked the door after himself, slowly pulling his tie off it soon joined his soaked jacket. He sighed in relief as he took in the surroundings of the hotel room.
"It's perfect," he heard the swordsman say, before said person suddenly stood in front of him, capturing him up against the door. He was pulled into a deep passionate and lovingly kiss, Sanji hummed in joy as he wrapped his arms around his neck, deepening it even more. To think how much this oaf had both changed and had not changed, was unbelievingly. Back then he would never have believed that the swordsman could be this gently or this lovingly. To think about that 'back then' already was four years ago, that they had been together for such a long time, was almost hard to believe.
He remembered that he once had eavesdropped Luffy saying something about to the other that; "Sanji have made Zoro into a more happy person," he had smiled back then when he hear it, he even smiled into the kiss as he remembered it once again.
He had made Zoro happier. Hell, he would even say that the swordsman had done the same to him.
His thoughts soon was blown away as Zoro now trailed small kisses down along his throat, his large hands laying protectively on his shoulders while he did all those sweet things that Sanji loved so much. He knocked his head back against the door as he let the swordsman 'have his way' with him. He loved it, he enjoyed this so much. Slowly the large hands released his shoulders, to instead working his shirt free out of his pants. Sanji groaned, and against his own will carefully pushed the larger man a bit away from him. Zoro blinked confused at him, but still tried to lean in for another kiss, but was stopped by Sanji's finger against his lips.
"I want to clean up and get some dry clothes on," he informed him. Zoro's tongue lapped out to lick his finger, before his lips kissed it hungrily, sending shivers through the cook's body.
"Mmm~, against me joining you under the spray?" He asked temptingly, looking into the blonds' one visible blue eye with those glorious grey eyes. Sanji swallowed. He had to restrain himself from ripping the swordsman's clothes off right there and then, to see that glorious body again, so he could ravish him at the spot. He kissed him, pulling him with him in to the awaiting shower. The swordsman did nothing to complain about being dragged along, as he already had throw off his shirt before they ever had reached inside of the bathroom, even without breaking their kisses.
-TOBD- TOBD- TOBD—
Wrapped himself in a towel, Zoro strolled around to search for his own clothes and underwear, but didn't have to look after it for long. His hair was still damp from the bath that he had taken right after that the cook had scurried out from the bath, after they had have some wonderful mind-blowing shower-sex, mumbling something about that he had to deliver the clothes to the maidens, so they could get it cleaned. He had been afraid to get all hard again, wanted to safe that for later, in a bed, he had said as well, but Zoro had only chuckled at him as he gave him a deep kiss, before letting him go. Taking his sweet extra long time in the shower, Zoro enjoyed the wonderful afterglow of their fuck, until Sanji would return back.
Padding over to the bedroom he could hear the blonds' voice in the other room as he ordered some food up for the two of them. Honest to be told, he was starving! He hadn't got anything since morning, and their little 'project' had taken the most of his energy -the sex right now left him starving for more than only food. He smirked at the thought as he let his towel fall into a heap around his feet and dressed himself.
From the doorway Sanji watched him with a smile. Zoro was standing with his back towards him, not heard him when he had ended the call, wanting to go in to tell him that the food was on its way up… but he held his sweet mouth shut, and just watched him, arms and legs crossed as he leaned against the doorframe.
For a moment he imagined himself and Zoro in their own house, him with a beautiful busy restaurant to take care of, and the swordsman with his dojo, teaching small kids, like he often had told him in the middle of the night that he wanted, when discussing about their other dreams. Sure he wanted to travel around with the others as well, but it would be nice to settle down somewhere here in West Blue too, only the two of them, enjoying their sweet time, while the others still travelled around. He knew that Usopp had said something about that he wanted to go back to his own island to live the rest of his days with Kaya and the three kids there had been his friends. He smiled at the thought, the smile only growing wider as another thought stroke in his mind how it would be to have his own floating restaurant, bigger, more pristine than the Baratie… and perhaps with a dojo in the back… but that would be completely impossible to create, but the thought was nice anyway.
He chuckled and only now realised that he had been discovered as the swordsman now stood facing him, smile in place and a brow almost hitting the rim of his hairline. "Mind if I enjoy you in the fun?" he asked teasingly, and was suddenly closer than Sanji remembered him to be, now fully clothes. He groaned at that, he more liked him as being naked. He smiled and then shook his head as he played with the one button on the swordsman's shirt. It was pretty rare that he used one, and black always made him look sexier and more fuckable. He was tempted to rip it all off him –the black shirt there was only halfway done, showing off the tanned muscled chest, would even make a straight man to drool over the swordsman. The black trousers there snuck around his hips and that wet tousled hair of his, gave him the perfect finished look of a Greek God.
He smiled, held himself at bay, and leaned in to kiss him. "Just thought about the future," he finally confessed.
"Oh?" was the only word Zoro came with, letting his fingers run through the blonds' golden strands of hair. He dragged his fingers out all the way to the tips of the hair strands, before he let it fall back down, covering the half of the blonds' face. Sanji's hair was a bit longer than normal, but it still suited him. He smiled and leaned in for another deep long kiss.
They didn't pull apart before they heard a knock on the door in the living room –the hotel being so fancy that it had three rooms; one bathroom, one living room and one large bedroom with a huge bed in it.
It was a simple dish that Sanji had ordered them, but also one of Zoro's favourites; Teriyaki Chicken. Or rather, Zoro loved the most of the Japanese dishes, but this was one of his favourites.
Sanji chuckled as he saw the gleam in the swordsman's eyes. "Well, dig in," he said, and as untraditionally as they were, they even sat down on the floor, television turned on they ate their food in front of it. The evening went slow, but on a comfortable way. Their knees touched each other as they sat there side by side, always getting a bit closer each other for each movement, as they watched something that they really didn't pay much attention to. Zoro couldn't stop thinking how much this room actually had cost the cook, but didn't dare to ask… just unbelievingly that Nami had been so generous to share this much money out lately. But that might be because of the amount of gold that they had found on the Weasel Pirates ship that they had fought against, three months ago, laying them together with the treasure they already had, they could finally call themselves one of the riches pirate crews in history. That was what gave them the extra luxury that they where enjoying now.
Sanji's leg tensed. He glanced over their touching knees, as Zoro cast his eyes down at the teenage-like thrilling point of contact.
"Is this our honeymoon?" he suddenly asked. Sanji blinked and couldn't stop himself from laughing.
"Well, if this should be our honeymoon, shouldn't we have been married at first?" Zoro looked away and mumbled something incoherent. For a moment Sanji felt like that he had said something wrong.
"Then it's a long date?"
Sanji hesitated to answer him as he looked at the TV-screen, like he was searching for some help on it. "Yeah, I guess so," he said, as he moved his leg slightly.
"Nothing other than that?" he questioned.
Sanji felt his heart drop down into the pit of his stomach, and bend his head enough so his hair covered the most of his face. "What, disappointed?" he asked with a dry voice.
Zoro shook his head mildly. "Not at all, it's… nice, to be alone with you." He reached beneath the blond curtain of hair to find his pouting bottom lip with his finger. Sanji breathed heavily against it, and instinctively whisked his tongue out to taste the teriyaki sauce on his raw skin. "I like to be alone with you," he whispered sweetly, and leaned in to lick away the sauce there had somehow ended beside the blonds' lips. Sanji hummed, still thrilled to lick the sauce away from the swordsman's finger, while he himself was being licked clean around his mouth… god how he wanted that tongue and those lips onto his own lips, and not beside them, but that meant that he had to pull away from that finger too.
As the thumb was clean, the hand found its way up into his hair and pulled his head into a passionate slow kiss. Zoro's tongue leapt out to lick him around his lips, begging to enter, Sanji did nothing to complain, opening his mouth slowly he allowed the other to enter. The kiss deepened, and then they parted just slightly. Hot air bathed their faces in an open mouthed kiss where only their tongues brushed against each other, tasted each other, caressed each other ever so gently. There was no need to speed things up, only to take it slowly; they had all the time they needed to enjoy it.
Soon Sanji found his shirt being half off him and his own fingers playing around the naked chest of the swordsman, as his senses registered this, he groaned and shook his head carefully.
"Bed, now," was the only coherent words he managed to say. How they ever went into the bedroom without ever letting their hot kisses break, was beyond his own imagination. Soon he found the swordsman standing only a foot away from the bed. As the back of his knees knocked against the frame, a devilish smirk played around the blonds' lips as he gave him a rough push so he fell unceremoniously into the large double bed. He crawled over the swordsman, crawling like a tiger on hunt, licking hungrily around his lips. Zoro pulled himself further into the bed, looking just as eagerly as the blond did, licking his own dry lips as well, imitating the blond, who growled sensually at him, looked over him as was he his next dinner and fuck Zoro didn't mind to be that. The sexy posture, careful and erotic movements got his limb to twitch.
Damn he was hard!
Sanji rubbed his hips down against Zoro's while they kissed; the kisses were getting hungrier, more needing and dirtier. Soon they where both naked, panting and gasping as Sanji leaned down to capture a nipple between his teeth, licking, sucking, then pulling gently in it until it popped back into place, the same did he with the other. Zoro looked like a mess, so fragile and so delicate whenever Sanji chose to take the lead. His hands clenched and unclenched in the sheets as Sanji placed small kisses down along his muscled stomach, listened to his breathing as it became more ragged, the further he went down.
"Oh fuh-! Hah-aah~!" Zoro's hips jolted up on their own as Sanji's mouth swallowed him whole without any warnings. Zoro laid his head back, rolling it from one side to another as he felt his lust building up and his mind go blank; he still didn't understand how he could forget how mind-blowing the blonds' mouth was when it wasn't speaking. He moaned, not knowing if he should move further up to that wonderful mouth as it licked and sucked his head lovingly while slim fingers was pumping him, or if he should move down onto those other fingers there suddenly had found their way inside of him, worked, moved, stretched him and made him almost into a wreck of pleasure and lust.
Sanji hummed, ripping a pleasurably sigh out of the other, and not long time after felt all ten fingers of said person massaging his scalp, encouraging him to go faster, as he did as asked, he soon tasted the seed as Zoro came hard into his mouth. Not one drop did he let spill out as he drank it all greedily. Zoro shivered as he laid there panting and tried to catch his breath. As the blond crawled up over him, spreading his legs to each side so he had better room, grabbed Zoro his head and forced their lips together, so he could taste himself and Sanji on the same time. He wrapped his legs around the thin waist, pushing him closer. The blond chuckled, and let out a sigh as the swordsman gently captured his lips between his teeth until it popped back into place; doing the same as the blond had done to his nipples.
He gasped as he felt the long slicked length press inside of his anus, then paused with its invasion, waiting for him do adjust, and soon he felt the whole penis working in and out of him. Sanji's nails dug into his shoulders, while his nails scraped the fine delicate white skin on the blonds' back. The blond moved slowly, both of them enjoying every second of it until they couldn't take the tortures sweet feeling, and wanted to reach the mind-blowing sex once again.
As Zoro screamed out in pleasure, scraping his nails painfully down along the cook's back, Sanji ignored the painful feeling and smiled in satisfaction, as he now had found where to drive it in to. He pulled out and slammed inside of him, and swore that he just saw those grey eyes roll back into the head for a moment. Soon he kept on ramming dead on Zoro's prostate, faster, harder, rougher, just as he begged him to do –there was nothing as pride when they made love or fucked-, the green-haired screams became louder, his grip harder, his nails dragging down along his back, with no doubt leaving angry red marks down along it, if not bloodied trail the way it hurt like. But even the pain was euphoric, it heightened the lust and made him go wild on the man underneath him, self-control completely blown out through the window… and that oaf knew it!
Sanji soon didn't know what was up or down, only what was forth and back, because that was those ways his penis rode; forth and back, in and out of the swordsman, who looked like someone who was ready to loose his mind… if not he hadn't already done that. He felt the prickling feeling in his penis and he hurried to grab Zoro's lonely length, there looked like it was ready to burst at any moment, and pumped him. Zoro hummed, moaned his name over and over again, just as he moaned his name, the closer he reached his orgasm.
And then it came. The blowing release of the tense euphoric feeling there had pressed and tortured deep in their guts, finally released as they came together, groaning, moaning. As Sanji collapsed on top of the swordsman, Zoro wrapped his arms around him at once, lay down on the side holding him close into his chest, while he felt the blonds' penis turn into a small limb inside of him again. They gasped for air, panted to steady their throbbing hearts, soon Zoro felt Sanji pull out of him, then wrapped his thin, pale arms around him as well. He captured the blonds' lips and they shared small, tired sloppy kisses with each other.
"I love you, Sanji," he whispered into his ear, then pulled enough away to get a better look of him. Sanji was covered in a thin lay of sweat and was still breathing hard as he chuckled.
"Heh heh! Love you too…" –pant- "Zoro,"
They laid there for god knows how long, whispered sweet nothings to each other, then went silent and just enjoyed the presence of one another. Sometime in between the sweet words and the silence Zoro had managed to pull the cover over them, so they wouldn't freeze during the night.
Sanji laid there playing with his fingers, compared his hands size with his own, pale skin against tanned, light against dark. Zoro let him do it, let him compare their fingers with each other, showing that his palms was larger than the cook's, but instead the cook's fingers where a bit longer than his, and then entwined their fingers with each other. Sanji often did this, never spoke, just compared, like he liked the contrast of their skin colours, fumbling with his fingers, just touching them… or rather him on another innocent way. And Zoro loved it too, he pulled the blond closer into his sweating chest, there slowly was cooling down but still felt warm, as the blond used his other arm as a pillow, still transfixed on their hands and fingers. He would give anything to know what the blond was thinking, whenever he 'played' with their hands.
"You know," he started slowly, the sudden action, the sudden break of the silence startled the swordsman, he must have been about to fall asleep as the cook suddenly started to talk.
"Hmm?" he answered tiredly, looking up on their hands, but then Sanji shook his head and just turned enough around to face him, fingers still entwined with each other, as he smiled at him. "what?" he said curiously, but the blond only shook his head again.
"Nothing," he said, knowing that his own inner analogue was pissing Zoro off. That son of a bitch wanted him to beg the words out of him. Well… what the hell.
Zoro leaned in to him, close enough that if he moved his lips they just barely would tingle over the other's lips. "Tell me," he kissed him gently, closing his hand over the blonds' "please…?" Sanji shivered in delight by the gentle motion… while he also smiled in triumph.
"I was just thinking… how it would be like if we settled down like this, only the two of us… no more sailing?"
"No more sailing?" he asked with a raised brow, Sanji nodded.
"Just a thought though,"
"Hmm," Zoro lay down on his back, staring up at the ceiling, feeling something flutter inside of him by the thought of only the two of them together.
"What would you then do, if not sailing with the others, and have a whole crew to feed?" he asked, he just had to test him… had to be sure. Sanji shrugged.
"Still cooking, maybe one day have my own restaurant, if Nami would lend me some of our aggregate money. I…" he took a deep breathe, as to have an excuse to think his words twice before speaking them out loud. His eyes back on their hands, watching them. "I thought to maybe have a restaurant like the Baratie, just much bigger, more pristine,"
"And I should run around like a servant?" he joked. Sanji chuckled and shook his head.
"You like a servant would be more troublesome than to learn Luffy how to cook,"
"Well, thanks!" he said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. Sanji only laughed.
"A dojo,"
"Hmm?"
"You running a dojo,"
"On the sea? You know such a thing is doomed to be on land," Sanji sighed and he saw the happy gleam disappear in his ocean blue eye.
"Yeah, I know… would have been nice though not to be doomed to only belong to one place, one island, ya know,"
"Yeah, I know," Zoro said with a sigh, and did all what he could to keep his secret smile from blooming onto his lips. Without knowing it he did indeed fall asleep with a little smile plastered on his lips, with a blond looming over him, wondering what that smile even meant. Sanji shrugged and followed the swordsman's example. Few seconds later, dreaming about a perhaps impossible future for the two of them, he too fell asleep, nuzzled close into his swordsman.
'My marimo… my swordsman…'
-TOBD- TOBD- TOBD—
-5 months later-
Sanji's fingers fumbled with the champagne glass as he tried to take a deep breath. "S-shit," he chuckled nervously as he let one hand thread through his hair, as he chewed nervously on the cigarette in his mouth. "I'm actually shaking,"
Almost a half year he had been walking in unknowing darkness, secrets being wrapped around him, and whenever he asked about Zoro's suddenly and too often absence, they always tried to talk about another subject, shrugging it off with that "they didn't know," hell if they knew, and even little Ace only giggled, telling him that it was a secret. Hell, he could point that out as well. Weird thoughts had travelled through his mind; 'has he gotten tired of me?' 'Is he out together with some one else?' shit like that. And now, now he stood here and was about to be revealed to all these months of many wrapped up secrets. Zoro had brought him down here to the harbour, not too far away from The Sunny, told him that he had a present to him.
Robin looked over the rim of her own champagne glass and smiled secretly.
"I can imagine that all of our secrets that we have held against you, must have been frustratingly for you, cook-san,"
Sanji chuckled nervously. "Frustratingly? Heh! You could say something like that,"
"But yet again you had faith in swordsman-san –that is very unique to have such a trust in one another,"
Sanji ticked his fingernail against the rim of his glass. "Hm, yeah well, but marimo doesn't really look like the type to be unfaithful," this time it was Robin's turn to chuckle.
"Indeed he does not,"
Sanji's hair blew gently in the evening breeze as he looked around at the many people there had shown up; there was about 20 or so people. Some was people that he had met on their many travels on the ocean, even some from the Baratie had come, the old man was standing and talking with someone who's names he didn't really remembered but knew that they were from Alabasta –he had hoped to see Princess Vivi among those guests but sadly enough couldn't see her anywhere-, others was people who he didn't knew of; probably people from this island who was as curious as he was to see what was going on here.
As far as he knew, it wasn't his birthday yet… so what did this secret and present have to do with something down here at the harbour, where so many people had been invited to come an see?
"So, uhm," he fidgeted a little with his glass before he took a little mouthful of the bubbly champagne, as he looked around at the huge crowd of people. He could see some of his friends stand here and there talking with some of the other guests, but no matter how many times he looked, he still couldn't see Zoro anywhere, it made his throat dry to not have him by his side right now –he felt so small among all these familiar and unfamiliar faces-, even Brook and Ace was no where to be seen "what way should I even look?" Robin's smile brightened even more up as something glinted in her eyes.
"I will think that it will not take that long to find out, cook-san."
Sanji frowned at the answer. That didn't help him much. "Another question, my dearest Robin-chan, uhm…" he gestured out to the crowd "why are all these people here? I don't even know the all of them."
"Well, they're here to celebrate you, Sanji-kun, you and your… hmm….'present'," the mention of his name coming from this lady gave a gip in him. He looked around. They were here to celebrate him? But why? What the hell was this present anyway?
"And the rest of them?"
"My, you're awfully inquisitive today,"
"My apologize, Robin-chan, but-"
"But I do understand you." She took a sib from her champagne "Well, if something big was to happen, who would you be to call?"
'Call?' Sanji looked quizzically at her, then looked closer at the unknown people around them, and saw that some of them had cameras hanging around their necks while others stood with a writing pad and nodded as the person in front of them spoke, while they also wrote something down. 'Journalists? The hell?'
He blinked, utterly confused and was about to ask her what actually was going on here again, as Franky suddenly stood at the quay and hollered up about everyone's attention. Sanji looked up to see little Princess Vivi stand by his side –she looked so fragile beside the large shipwrighter. At a table beside them stood a den den mushi there was connected to a loudspeaker. Sanji blinked again and felt his heart flutter as he saw the beautiful blue-blond princess in all her glorious smiling exactly down at him, and then forgot all about his nervous posture.
"Vivi-chwaaan~! Ouuh~! My flower! My beautiful angel! The heaven must have taken me, since I am able to see such a goddess before my pore human eyes!"
Robin stood and giggled beside the blond as he called out all of the phrasings that he ever had known of, up to the now blushing princess.
Sanji halted as he suddenly felt an elbow hitting right under his ribcage, knocking the air out of him as he wasn't prepared for the hit. It was just barely that he didn't spill the champagne down at his expensive clothes.
"The he-?"
"Hey, that's my wife that you're hollering your phrases at," Sanji blinked in surprise, rubbing his abused rib, as he tried to remember the face of the blond man, who stood beside him with a teasing but warningly smile.
"Ko-Kohza?" he blinked and then looked up at the still smiling Vivi, who stood and waited for the crowd to quiet down. "Wife?"
"Remember that wedding you and your crew was at last year? Or were you all too drunk to even remember it?"
"Ah, no no, my apologize, it-uhm, I-uhm.. s-sorry 'bout that," Kohza only laughed and slapped him on the back with a friendly gesture.
"Just kidding, ya know. Phrase her as much as you want to, but one hand on her or a wrongly gesture…" he let the words drag out, never giving it an ending, and Sanji didn't have to hear the rest of that sentence either. He remembered clearly last year what happened when he gave Vivi a too long drunken kiss on her mouth, at the couple's big wedding party.
If it hadn't been for Zoro and his sword skills, he would have been a dead man today.
"Everyone, please," sounded the gently voice of princess Vivi out through the loudspeaker. Everyone's talking died down to low murmurs. She smiled, giving the crowd one last glance, confirming the satisfaction of the now almost silence laying over them, before she spoke again. "We are all gathered here today, because of something special is about to happen. We all know what it is, except for one person among us, and it is this person that all this is about as well." She looked down at Sanji with a warm smile, who felt his heart make a jump inside of his chest, while he looked more confused than ever.
What? Who? Him? why?
Somehow he suddenly felt all eyes resting on him, making him wish that he could shrink down and hide himself into a mouse hole. Where was that swordsman when you needed him?
"For about seven years ago I was honoured with meeting these great people, the Straw Hat Pirates, and among them their excellent cook, friend and nakama. He too became a great friend of me, and though he had been through so many tough things through his life, helped by another pirate –later becoming one of the worlds most excellent cooks-, who took him into his care, raised him and made him to the man he is today, took Sanji his friends, even strangers he never had met before, into his care as well, feed them and gave them that happiness that only he could give."
"Today, ladies and gentlemen, is the day where all these years is getting counted up and where his friends will pay him back for all that what he have done for them,"
"Oh my god… don't tell me that this is my public execution!" murmured Sanji to the raven by his side, overreacting his overplayed shock and horror. Robin chuckled and pulled playfully on her shoulders.
"Well, who knows?"
Okay, he didn't like that gleam in the woman's eyes at all. Leave it to Robin to creep the hell shit out of you with only one, mysterious dark look and a little twisted smile on her lips.
He didn't hear as some other words had been said in the meantime, while also his name had been announced out loud, and didn't react to it before there was utter silence among the large crowd. All eyes was set on him, he looked quizzically at Robin, who just gave him that mysterious smile of hers, and then looked up to Franky and Vivi, who too looked expectant at him.
"Sanji?" Was all Vivi said as she reached her little hand out towards him. He looked one last time at Robin who gave him a nod, and then walked slowly up to the two awaiting people. He swallowed hard. What had he just missed to hear? He felt like paling. His heart hammered inside of his chest, and he felt like he was walking up to the guillotine there waited with glee to cut off his head from his shoulders. His hands trembled even more; he had to hold tighter around his glass of champagne to not let his fear show out that clearly, but also had to be careful not to break the glass either. He swore that every single person in the near could hear his heart beat, as it hammered like drums to a rock concert.
Time had never felt this long and this fast at the same time.
He took Vivi's offered hand –he knew that she could feel it trembling, but didn't say or show anything that she felt it-, and as he stood next to her, Franky suddenly roared up.
"Yo Nami-sis!" he called as he made his posture "Let him see it! Remove the 'Mirrage'!"
Sanji looked around and suddenly heard something coming behind him… but… that was impossible, because behind him was nothing but water and ocean… right?
"Mirrage retreat!" he suddenly heard their navigator call out from nowhere, and before he could open his mouth to say anything, the 'world' behind him flickered and revealed something that no one had seen before. Sanji turned around stepping back a few steps, still holding Vivi's hand, just to ensure himself that what he saw was real, because right there at the bay, laid something… huge, really huge covered in what must have been the world's largest quilt –Franky must have written world record history just by creating that large piece of clothes!
Nami stood at the bay, right in front of this thing, smiling all over her face as she looked at the blond. It was incredible that she could create such a large mirage to cover that whole thing… plus the bridge there laid beside it –seemed like that Franky also had been creating that bridge as well.
"What… is that thing…?" he blinked, trying to figure out what was the connection between him, and that there laid or stood before him.
"Not going to open it?"
"WHAAH?" Sanji literally jumped in the air as the deep voice whispered into his ear. He swirled around, hand on his beating heart. "SHIT! Marimo! Don't you dare go and scare me like that again!" he roared, not giving a shit about that twenty or so people stood and watched them and that thing with shock, amazement, curiosity and deep frowns. To Sanji's and everyone else's surprise Zoro only chuckled at his action, and dared to walk closer to the fight-ready cook, who literally stood in a defence position.
"Not going to open it?" he asked again, this time a bit louder. Sanji blinked.
"O-open it?" Zoro's smile grew as he stepped closer, then stopped right in front of him, nodding up towards the object. Sanji relaxed in his features. As low murmured music played from underneath the large quilt, the blond turned slowly around to take a second look at it. "You mean…?" he said and felt a lump sit in his throat as he tried to swallow. He had a strange feeling bubble inside of him… like what was about to be revealed soon was something that he had waited for so long… but still didn't dare to believe that it was what he thought or hoped for it was. "Is this…?"
"Yo, cook-bro! I think that these people are just as curious as you are… and a bit impatient too!" reminded the cyborg him about, though his oblique large smile only indicated on that he was the one who was so 'impatient'.
Sanji swallowed again, fully transfixed on the music there played underneath that large quilt, getting a bit louder… he knew that song, that lead… it was the one that Brook loved to play so much. He listened as fingers played over a piano, as someone blew in a saxophone, as the beats from drums hammered right into his soul and as a violin suddenly played a delicate solo, making something flutter inside of him.
His hands where shaking again, and this time the champagne in the glass spilled… he couldn't help it. A hand suddenly came forth and lay over his own trembling hand, slowly it slid the glass out from his fingers, there was passed over to someone else, who it was, he never saw… he was too transfixed on what he heard before him. Soon he felt something else in his hand. He looked down to see a rope, he looked up and saw Zoro smile at him; not a shadow of mocking was hidden behind that smile, he rarely saw such a smile and when he did it was only when they were alone; a smile of pure love and happiness. The swordsman gave him a single nod and enclosed the blonds' fingers gently around the rope, then removed his own hand.
Sanji took a deep breath…
…and pulled…!
Silence…
…silence as the wind played with the oversized quilt, as the large piece of clothes fluttered in the air, slowly slid off. Time felt like stopping, even his heart stopped to beat as he held his breath, looking up at what only could have been a dream, an imagination, a hallucination… something he wished to be there but wasn't there.
He couldn't believe it… this was impossible…
…right…?
Gasps was heard all around him, then as it seemed like that the crowd had overcome their shock they cheered up loud, cameras started to snap, the strong flashes of light lit up his back while he stood and stared up at the object before him.
A dream… a dream there had… come true?
He had to voice it; he needed to be sure… if just his mouth would work and his tongue stop gluing itself to his palate.
"Am I…" he tried slowly, his voice barely a whisper as he spoke. He swallowed to wet his throat "…Is this… a dream…?" He didn't have to see, he knew, he could sense that the marimo beside him, his marimo, was smiling even wider at him, before he felt that large body press itself against him from behind, two tanned hands laid on each of his trembling shoulders to calm him down.
"Yeah," he whispered, this time Sanji shuddered as the hot air from the other bathed his ear "it's a dream… don't like it?"
Sanji tipped his head back, then looked to the left and then to the right, he stepped a bit back -, Zoro fallowed quietly with him, not wanting to let go of him- to take in the whole sight before him.
'This is the reason for all those secrets? All my worries have been for nothing…!' He felt tears wet his eyes, threatening to release, as he looked up at the floating restaurant before him. It was huge, larger and more pristine than the Baratie. It was like it had been cut out from his thoughts and placed on the waters in front of him. He blinked as his vision started to blur, those damn tears made it hard for him to look clearly. He took a hand up to dry the tears away and for a moment feared that what he had been seen would disappear the moment the tears were gone… but it still laid there in front of him; the floating restaurant, 'All Blue'. Then the tears came again, and this time he didn't care about them being there.
"A dream," he said and then laughed "a dream there just has become true…! I-"
"Wait wait," Zoro said calmly, though his stomach was fluttering of pure happiness and excitement, "don't say anything more before you've seen the inside of it," he mentally beat himself from sounding like a excited kid, who wanted his present to be opened first. He rummaged through his pockets and soon fished the key out of it, placing it in the blonds' still trembling hand. He looked up and smiled at him. "Here is the key not only to my heart, but also to our new home,"
'Shit shit shit shit shit! Roronoa, put yourself together! Stop trembling that much!' he scolded at himself as he caught himself fumbling with the blonds' hand, and enclosed the fingers around the key. He took a deep breath of air to calm himself.
"Sanji?"
Sanji looked at him, then opened his hand, looking down at the little key, like it was a specimen that he never had seen before. He closed his fingers around it again, then nodded one time at his lover, giving him a little smile. Cameras still flashed as he stepped on board of the floating restaurant, as he walked over the large deck, there would work perfect as a dancing floor at the evenings as couples danced to the music –he almost could see it for him, the visions danced around him as he stepped closer to the double-doors there leaded in the restaurant itself. He put the key into the hole, the music was getting louder, and as he pushed both doors open at once, creaking a little on their hinges, he was bathed in soft light and welcomed by the music there played more happily as the musicians saw him.
He held his breath, perhaps a bit too long, because he soon felt like he was about to faint.
A dream… impossible to be anything else other than a dream…!
He stepped inside of the surreal world with Zoro walking right beside him, supporting him so he wouldn't fall, and looked around at the inside of the restaurant. The place was huge. Small and large tables stood around here and there, the floor was cut out of a tree-specimen that he never had seen before and laid as ash-grey and dark-grey patterns all around the place, it was beautiful. At the entrance where he stood was the walls decorated by white walls and mahogany-wood panels, on the other side of the room, the white and mahogany-decorated walls changed into a huge long aquarium instead, just like the aquarium bar at the Thousand Sunny, his favourite-room beside the kitchen, underneath the aquarium stood a long sofa, following the it all the way around. In front of three or four seats of the long sofa stood oval tables, where there was room for three people on each side of it, on the other side of these tables stood two singled-sofa-chairs. In the middle of this huge room, there with a fast guess could fit to at least a hundred guests, was a large round bar, there had a cut in it where a large opening was. What he could guess from what he saw, the one half of this large room went out as being a restaurant, while the other half was some sort of a cosy-corner and bar. Franky confirmed this as he stood and told him about this two-parted restaurant and bar-room.
Right in the middle of these two 'rooms', to the right was a podium, so it could be seen from both sides, where a band was playing. He was dragged too fast away to recognise any of the musicians beside Brook, who played on his beloved violin as he made a quick wave in his direction, as Franky suddenly stood right in his vision, like he was hiding the rest of them. Sanji was even still too dazed and overwhelmed to even have the power or sanity to snap at the shipwright, since he stood and told about everything about this floor, then grabbed his shoulder, turning him so he stared directly at the staircase.
"The staircase goes up behind the bar," told the shipwright proudly, while he kept on speaking and pointing at what he told about "and the staircase goes both up to the kitchen above –I'm even proud of myself that I have let Zoro have the task to create it as well, he has talent that man, never thought that would be possible- and down underneath us, where the sleeping quarters are."
"Oi! Just because I don't have a profession in anything, doesn't mean that I can't do a thing, metal-nose," snapped the swordsman back at the cyborg, who just chuckled, as he went over to the bar, but then stepped aside.
"I think that you should be the first to go, cook-bro,"
"H-huh?" Sanji was still dazed and only listened to half of what they spoke about. Thankfully was Zoro right beside him to support him from falling, because right in this moment Sanji had forgot all about how to even stand straight, yet alone how to walk. "Oh… yeah-uhm, t-thanks," he nodded when the words finally settled and gave meaning in his head, after the words were repeated, the swordsman lead him up at the winding staircase.
This time though as he reached the first level, he honestly thought that he had died and gone to heaven, because this was simply impossible to exist on earth among humans. The kitchen was what a cook ever could dream about. It was large, spacey so there was room for more cooks to work at the same time. Five huge ovens like the ones on The Sunny, ten or so gas cookers, large long kitchen tables out of marble so there was room for many cooks to stand at it, seven sinks, and utensils of pots and pans hanging at the walls above the sinks, and after what he could hear from what Franky told him about, there were many more pots and pans, in ever thinkable sizes, in the cupboards.
Sanji walked along the tables, oven, and sinks and let his hand run along the fine piece of work. The walls were decorated with white tiles, so they would be easy to clean. He looked quizzically at the many and long pantries there where, but couldn't see any handles. He had seen this kind of drawers before and smiled satisfied as he gave one of them a push with his hip to it open. Spacey. Just as he liked it. He looked around in all of them, and suddenly he reached to some drawers there took the most of his interests.
On the walls hang metal knife racks with all kind of different knives, just as a real cook working in a restaurant needed. He took one of the knives and looked on it from all sites. It was a Sashimi knife, one you used to prepare sashimi with, raw fish in sushi, therefore the name. It was a very long and slender knife, the blade about ten or eleven inches long, and weighed almost nothing in his hands. He smiled and placed it back on its proper place and took out this time an oyster knife and looked at it.
"…it was Zoro who got the task to find the best knives, while Usopp searched for the rest utensils…" told Franky, who had spoken all this time while he had pointed at the stuff he spoke about. Sanji nodded and smiled as he once again caught Zoro in blushing again, when Franky literally phrased him for his work. So… the moss-head was having such a talent? Well, who would ever have known? Sanji snickered by himself and knew that Zoro heard him; that only made him smile even more.
He placed the knife back on the rack and looked to the right of the kitchen, the non-kitchen area was a dining-room for the staff; a long table was set with at least twenty-or-so soft seats around it –it was easier to describe it as the Sunny's kitchen in double-size, because it looked just like the place, plus with some extra space and also with a long sofa up against the wall in the dining-area.
"…cool, ne?" Sanji's head nodded, his body on autopilot and he had no idea of what he just had said 'yes' to. "And then down this hall,"
'There is a hall?'
"…goes directly to the office, to the right, on the other side of the office you'll find the toilets." Franky showed him around. The office was not too big nor too small, just in perfect size.
'To think that it's me who's going to work in there as well,' he thought with a smirk.
Franky showed them back down the stairs, there leaded further down. Underneath the restaurant it self was the sleeping quarters for the staff, together with the stockroom, an artillery-room –if someone chose to attack this place-, and furthest away, on the other side of this floating restaurant a la ship, was there a huge bathroom.
As they reached the restaurant-area again, Zoro grabbed his hand and was about to pull him away from the ever talking shipwright, as someone entered the room.
"Excuse me, but… is this the restaurant there's searching for new brilliant cooks?" sounded a smug question behind them. Both cook and swordsman turned around and widened their eyes as they recognised the too familiar straw hat lying on the top of blue-blond hair.
"…Oliver?" it was Zoro who noised the question, and Sanji who erupted into laughter, at the sight of the now slightly taller young man.
"Damn it's great to see you again, Oliver!" he chuckled, "it's been so long since last time!" Oliver hugged him back with a huge grin plastered on his face. He looked up and saw just as big a smile plastered on the swordsman, who stood behind the blond.
"Ditto here. Missed ya all… none the less some of my other crewmembers." Sanji pulled away and looked confused at him, as Oliver smiled even wider, nodding his head in another direction. As Sanji slowly looked in that direction, he heard a laugher break out from one of the musicians who he, embarrassing enough, had forgot all about. A blond head bowed over the piano and had to stop playing, for soon to start up again.
"I really wondered for how long you were going to ignore us, boss," chuckled the blond man, who sometimes failed to play the melody correctly again, and finally had to realise that he couldn't play like this, when he barely could control his laugh-attack. "God, you look like you've just seen a ghost, Sanji. What? Am I that horrible to look at?"
"N… Nicki?" said Sanji surprised, with a smile tingling in the corner of his lips.
"Copycat," said Zoro, or rather more sighed. Bad enough that he barely could recognise his lover from that blondie… he now had to go through that again… for the rest of his time?
"Yo, not happy to see me, swordsman?"
"Hell, I'm disgusted to see you again!"
"Haha! Love ya too, pall!"
The black haired young man with the saxophone suddenly stopped with playing as well, and looked at them all with a pout. "Hey, no one's been missing me?" Franky, Usopp –who finally chose to come in to hear what the cook thought about the place-, Sanji and Zoro all tilted their heads to one side.
"…and you are…?"
"Hey! That's not nice at all!"
"Hahaha! Easy, captain, don't break that instrument!" Chuckled Nicki, and went back to play on his piano. Brook stood beside him and laughed his characteristic laugher, while he played on his violin. The man at the drums, who was completely new to all these people, only smiled wider.
"Come on, there's something that I want to show you," whispered the swordsman into the blond cook's ear, after he just had hired his first member of his chef staff.
"What? There's more?" said Sanji and blinked, surprised at that there even could be more than this.
Zoro smiled his special smile that told him that he had another secret that he was hiding, and while Oliver was shown around –just like Sanji just had been- and showed down to the sleeping quarters where he could pack his stuff out, Zoro grabbed Sanji's hand, what was very unusual of him to do, and pulled him over to the aquarium.
"What is it?"
"Remember how the Aquarium Bar was like on the Sunny?" Sanji's smile widened as he saw that childish happy smile grow on the swordsman's face.
"Yeah…?" he meant it as an answer, but it came out as a question. Zoro's smile widened and he pulled the cook with him over to the aquarium, only now saw Sanji that the walls didn't meet with the glass of the aquarium, but stopped and showed a small passageway, a hall behind it, and, just as Zoro had said; it was just like on the Sunny. The aquarium went over them as a roof, so it made you feel like you were walking underneath the ocean. Along the long hall there where various doors there leaded out to a long balcony. But Zoro dragged him further down the hall, until they had rounded the corner, somewhere at the end of the bar, where there was a double door there leaded into another place. Now as Sanji remembered the size of this ship, the bar and restaurant didn't 'fill out' the whole place, which meant that there must be another large room too, and it was this room that the swordsman was going to show him.
"Remember what we spoke about that one time at the hotel?"
"Uhm, let me see," said Sanji thoughtfully and suddenly widened his eyes. "Oh my, is this the wardrobe for the waiters? Wait, oh my god, you're actually going to be my first waiter?"
"Shut up, you asshole, stop spouting shit like that,"
"Ah, good… you just scared me there," said Sanji playfully, with a hand on his heart, like sighing in relief. Zoro had to stop himself from hitting the blond, and just opened the doors into the hidden room. If possible, Sanji's eyes widened even more. "Fuck, is this really…?"
Zoro gave him a wryly smile. "A floating restaurant… why not also a floating dojo as well?"
"Shit! Shit shit! Hahaha! I… I never dared to believe that it ever could become possible…!" He stepped inside the dojo there looked like any other ones that he had seen on dry land. He couldn't believe this, he couldn't believe what he saw as Zoro pulled him further around, told him about how they had worked on all of the things, as Zoro told him about how they now both could live the way they wanted to and still be together, never 'doomed' to be on one place forever.
This was perfect… more than perfect.
And then he couldn't keep his tears away any longer and cried, cried of pure happiness as he wrapped his arms around the man that he loved so much and kissed him. Zoro kissed eagerly back, wrapping his own arms around the thin body as well, smiling all along as well. He was happy, happy to know that Sanji loved all this so much. He had been a little worried about how he would take it the thing that they had added a dojo behind the restaurant, seeing him all like this made his heart flutter inside of him. But before the kiss could get any deeper or longer, they where abruptly interrupted by their little friend Ace, as he came into the dojo along with his father Franky, sitting in his large arms. Behind them came Usopp, Oliver and the rest of his nakama.
As they pulled away, the moment Sanji turned around to face them and thank them for all of this, Zoro quietly retreated and hurried silently away, disappearing from this room without the blond seeing him, only his friends saw him and his special smile. One more thing, only one more thing to do and this day would be able to be considered as the best day of their lives.
Sanji turned around to see why he suddenly felt so lonely, and found that Zoro was no longer beside him. He raised a brow in question and looked at his friends, who all had that same knowing smirk tugging at their lips.
"Where did the moss-head go?" He asked, looking around again. "Did I scare him off?"
"I will believe that he is upstairs in your apartment, cook-san," told the beautiful Robin, smiling ever so delicately, as she now held her giggling son in her arms. Sanji's brow rose even more.
"Apartment?" he questioned, not getting what they were talking about, until he slowly understood the meaning of the word. "Wait, we got an apartment here as well?"
"Ya don't think that we'll let you two love doves live among the staff so you wouldn't be able to have any private-time alone, together… to live out the forbidden love of two men~! Aauuuh~!" Franky made his pose and violated Sanji's eyes even more because of those freaking Speedos showing almost everything on that freak-head "That just sounded so beautiful!" he almost sniffled in the end. A vein popped onto the blonds' forehead.
"What sounds beautiful is you shutting your trap before I'll crack that ass of yours even more,"
"Hmm, may I propose to let me about that, cook-san," said the raven lady with a delicate calm voice while she gave him one of her mystical perverted smirks of hers "then you can… hmm… crack a certain swordsman bum instead?" If Franky hadn't been red in the face before, he sure as hell was it now, and Sanji had to admit that he himself felt a bit hot behind his ears, refusing to believe that he was blushing in the moment, and tried to play it away with a smirk.
"What? Is he waiting up there naked with a bucket of vanilla ice-cream to smear out onto his body so I can lick-?"
"Sanji!" protested Usopp with a high-pitched voice; he surely didn't need to hear this. Chopper stood behind the sharpshooter, blushing, while Luffy held onto his stomach cracking up in a loud laugher.
"Well, one can never know… am I not right, navigator-san?"
"Robin!"
"He he ha ha!"
"Luffy! Say something to them! There's a child in here!"
"Hihihi!"
"…okay, you're all gone crazy… poor child even been infected with the 'idiocy' from our crazy captain." Said a more or less disturbed sharpshooter with his shoulders hanging low, he sighed and shook his head.
"You should go, Cook-bro," said Franky as he pushed his sunglasses up with his thumb, giving him a smirk that the blond wasn't too fond about.
"Wait, I am going to find him naked, am I not?" as the shipwright's smirk grew, he didn't know if he should smile or feel a bit freaked out about the possibility of the idea actually to be true, yet alone that that they knew that he was… he shook his head.
"So, how do I get up there then?" he now said, trying to forget the picture there slowly wanted to sneak up into his brain "I don't remember seeing the stairs going any further up than to the kitchen." Franky was about to open his mouth as Ace suddenly interrupted, waving his arms wild around him as was he about to try and fly out of his mother's arms.
"Me! Me! Me show! Me show Sandhi!" he said happily, and as he was placed down onto the ground, he ran happily over to Sanji and grabbed his hand. "Come! Come!" he said as he pulled hastily in his hand, motioning him to follow after him.
Sanji looked a bit worried down at the kid, then up at his mother who just smirked at him along with all the others. He rolled his eyes, choosing to believe that Zoro was not naked, waiting at him with a bucket of vanilla ice-cream and perhaps –no! He should stop thinking like that when having a child pulling excitedly in his hand –the kid didn't have to get traumas about something suddenly growing in his uncle's pants.
He smiled as Ace whined and called him for being slower than a 'toitol', meaning a turtle, and turned his head to face his friends and mouthed his silent 'thanks for everything, guys' as he was dragged away by a impatient little raven, who constantly told him to 'come on'. Sanji chuckled and then followed suit.
Zoro stood at a balcony as they entered what would become their private home and apartment. It was huge, with all what an apartment normally would have; entrance, bedroom, guestroom, bathroom and a large living room there melted together with a nice new-styled kitchen there made Sanji's heart leap once or twice up through his throat. The place was spacey, but not fully with furniture, actually the place was almost empty.
As Zoro saw them coming he went in from the balcony and greeted them with a big smile, only now when Sanji looked really at him, he saw that the swordsman was dressed in a black tuxedo going together with a black shirt there was halfway open, showing off his masculine chest with the new scar running halfway along with his much older and more invincible scar –he felt like drooling and had to stop himself from ripping those too tight pants off him, along with that jacked and shirt of his.
"Like it?" Sanji blinked, looking utterly confused at the alien question. Zoro smirked, knowing what the blond had been staring at like an idiot for a moment. As Sanji finally figured out what the words meant, he smiled a broad smile.. That was all what the swordsman needed as an answer.
"Why is it so empty in here?" asked Sanji as he looked around, not liking the echo the almost empty room gave. Zoro shrugged.
"Thought that since we decided how the most of the place should look like, that you would like to have a change to at least decide how our home should look like."
'Our home,' he liked hearing the sound of those words, it made his stomach flutter and his lips pulling further up into a smile. He ignored the moisture he could feel teasing in the corners of his eyes, and let Ace lead him over to his lover who instead took his hand and gave a nod to little Ace, who pulled back with an overjoyed smile, but stayed in the living room, watching them all the time. Sometimes Sanji still felt a bit freaked out how adult-like that kid acted, when only being three years old. 'Must come from his mysterious beauty of a mother,' Sanji thought and recognised that mystical gleam in his eyes. Yup, just like his mother… awfully cute and scary at the same time.
Zoro didn't say anything as he leaded the blond out to the balcony, and smirked at the surprised expression on the blonds' face as he showed him the little table that he had placed out there, with a chair on each side of it. The wine, the one that he knew that the blond was so fond of, stood to cool off in a bucket full with ice.
"Is that a Brandy Gray Milliair?" asked the chef, as Zoro opened the wine and poured up the two glasses. Zoro gave him a wry smile, handing him the glass, he noticed that the hand taking it was trembling slightly. He thanked his ability to barely hide his own nervousness.
"Thought that you might like it,"
Sanji pulled a smile "Bloody idiot, you're spoiling me too much," Zoro shrugged.
"Aren't you supposed to do that with those you love?"
"Keep on with that, Mr Swordsman, and you'll soon find your pockets emptier than a church on a Monday!"
"Then let it be like that then," he said, smiling, then sipped from the wine. Though he preferred strong booze the most, he didn't think this wine was that bad again, and beside, he knew it was his favourite.
'Just perfect for such an occasion,' he thought, ticking his finger against the glass while his eyes wandered over the crowd of people standing underneath the balcony, some chatting, others slowly showed into the restaurant where the appetizers was about to be served… but nothing was been made in the kitchen of the All Blue Restaurant… that, they had decided, was Sanji's task to open it up by being the first one to cook something there. Zoro couldn't stop smiling by the thought, and unknowingly searched his hand down into his one pocket, where he felt the little box. He took a deep breath of air as his fingertips touched it, and felt his heart beat faster.
'Easy now, Roronoa. You've been through a lot of dangerous fights, nearly killed twice in those fights with Mihawk too –glad that he accepted to take up my challenge a third time as well-… this is nothing… it's no monster I'm about to fight, it's no enemy who's about to kill me… there's no danger… but then why the hell do I feel so scared that I'm close to piss in my own pants?' He growled and clicked with his tongue, completely unaware about that the blond was looking closer at him now, speaking to him. 'Come on, come on… deep breath… take it easy… it can't get worse than he'll kick my ass twice over the Grand Line and all the way back again, and then kill me for ever putting him out into such an embarrassing situation… fuuuck…!'
"…! Hello? Earth calling Zoro? You there?"
"Eh, huh?" Zoro blinked in confusion as he saw the blond wave his hand in front of his face. "What?"
"That's my line, dick-head. The hell's wrong with you?" he said, lowering his hand, and gave him a nervous look-over "you went totally blank there for a moment! Looking like someone who was about to go up to his own execution!" Zoro mumbled something and fumbled with his glass for a moment. "What?"
"I said; it sure feels like it too," Sanji furrowed his brows.
"Zoro-!" He was stopped by a finger to his mouth.
"No, just give me a second, then I'll be there," Sanji blinked, utterly confused by his lovers sudden behaviour.
"Zo-"
"Shh," he said, closing his eyes, his finger still lingering on the blonds' soft lips. He took a deep breath of air and sighed.
"Sanji," he finally said, the change of his voice sounding so serious all of a sudden worried the blond a little; Zoro normally never sounded this nervous. "I've never known what I should do with you, you've always been a pain in the ass for me," Sanji felt his heart drop for a moment, and his throat go all dry "you where a nuisance, an idiot and a fucking retarded idiot who threw his pride over board whenever there was a woman in the near. I… didn't really dislike you, though you tempted me to slice your throat open more than once, whenever you cooed the 'ladies'. Your fucking voice irritated me, your personality went me on my nerves, and your smell alone made me wanna go sniff to one of Usopp' stinking-bombs experiments from time to time. But-!" He said firmly as he sensed the blond was about to protest and clamped his two finger down to catch his lips, catching them and stopping them from moving to form any kind of thinkable words. The mumbles he heard were enough to understand that he was getting a bit irritated by all these unfair accusations.
"But," he said again, this time a bit softer and looked him into his ocean blue eye –the look was breathtaking, he had to admit "the day when you suddenly were gone, when all what we found was a pool of blood… when I found you and saw you like that… I felt something breaking, especially when I could do nothing but to stand and stare… I felt lost, useless… I had failed as he took you then and ran away. I was nothing, just a poor shadow of myself, when we finally came to the conclusion that we couldn't find you again. I felt guilty, and I had never hated myself as much as I did that day, as I finally realised what I was feeling for you. It's weird… you don't know what you got, before it's gone, ripped out of your hands," Zoro looked away "It has to be stolen from you, almost killed, before you'll realise that you actually love the one you've all this time tried to convince yourself that you disliked so much.
And then I was also scared like hell. What if you didn't want me? What then? I knew it would be a torture to walk around on the same ship with the one that you love so much, but then again I wouldn't be able to leave you alone either. To not be able to be there for you. Those times… those days where I watched you crumble, smouldering a little more every day, hurt me so much… but… I'm somehow glad for what happened, happened. Because if it hadn't I would never have realised… and I would never have got you here, like this…"
"…Zoro…" he said slowly, as the man finally released his lips, and placed his glass of wine on the table. He didn't dare to look him into those grey eyes, and kept staring on the glass of wine on the table, while he himself fumbled with his own glass, wishing that he had taken a bigger gulp of it, wished that he would just do that now, but couldn't get himself to do it.
Fuck! He had a really weird feeling about this, and felt his heart start beating even faster than before. He swore that the swordsman would be able to hear it pump loud inside of his chest by now.
"You saved my life, Sanji… multiple times, and on different ways." The blond forced himself to look back up at him, while fighting to keep his cheeks from blushing; Zoro was looking back at him with a look there was full with nothing but pure love, and knowing that that love was for him, made his heart jump a couple of times "You…showed me love," the swordsman kept on "showed me another angle of life, giving it a new meaning, even in the moment where I had given up on everything, and didn't even believe in my own goals and dreams anymore. I figured out what I wanted, what I needed. As long… as long I would be able to see you, happy, safe… as long as your face would be the last thing I would see, knowing that that eye was filled with me, I would be happy, satisfied by that. Because I knew, that it was you I loved, you who I would live for, if I was able to survive, you who I would spend the rest of my days with… until death would separate us… hell, even further than that, if you wanted me to. Sanji…"
Sanji felt a lump sitting in his throat as the swordsman suddenly fumbled into his one pocket, the one he had been fumbling with before -but whatever he was looking for seemed to take all of his strength to calm enough down to not drop it the moment it was freed. And as said swordsman suddenly kneeled in front of him, his heart suddenly stopped working, as he waited for those words he knew was about to come.
'No, this isn't… this isn't true… impossible…!'
"Sanji," Zoro said again, and said blond was close to drop his glass of expensive wine, as his hand was taken and held in such a firm and gentle grip –only now did he realise how nervous the swordsman were, as he could feel his hand shaking.
"Zoro," he shook his head, forcing his tears to stay back and not humiliate him even more than necessary, "…no…" Those grey eyes staring lovingly back at him, as those parted soft lips gasped violently for air, as the swordsman fought to keep calm, took his breath and made his heart melt.
"Therefore I ask you, Black Foot Sanji…" he took a deep breath of air along with the blond and squeezed his hand a little more –he must be able to feel him shaking like a leaf dancing in the wind by now "will you… will you marry me…?"
Sanji closed his eyes as he felt his tears flow down his face. His chest clenched and wrenched, his lungs burned though he was taking deep breath of air, and shook his head. "Get up," he said slowly, biting his lips to prevent himself from falling over his own words.
Zoro looked up at him, and suddenly felt his heart shatter, as the blond repeated the words with a shaking voice. As he finally found out how to stand up, he felt he was about to loose consciousness as his lover denied to look at him, slowly he felt his whole being, his heart and soul breaking and shatter to the ground as splintered pieces of a mirror. He felt cold, as the blond still ignored to look at him, and then… then suddenly said blond laughed.
"You're an idiot, you know that, right?" Zoro didn't know what to answer to this one, or if he should frown or smile, but clung to the hope that it was a smile that he wanted, and pulled a stiff trembling smile.
"Is that… a 'yes'…?" Sanji finally broke into a fit of laugher and barely managed to place the glass of wine to the side, before he opened his arms and caught Zoro into a tight hug.
"You fucking… idiot…! Yes, yes I want to marry you, damn it!" and with that he sealed his words with a passionate long kiss. As they finally parted again, Zoro, who at last felt his stomach flutter and his heart beat happily inside of him, straightened up and put on the ring on his lover's finger, who still stood and chuckled, still didn't get what was actually happening right now, other than he knew that he never had felt any happier. As the ring was slid onto his slender finger, Zoro looked him into the eyes, and kissed him like never before, the kiss was gently, but longingly and passionate and was poured with all the love he felt for the blond, who sighed in delight and kissed just as much back, with as much love in it as in his.
As they once again separated, he stepped forward to the railing and swung his arm out for the people underneath them. "He sa-" Sanji clamped his hand over his mouth and pulled his face so he was staring right into it.
"If you're screaming this out to the 'world' underneath us, I'll damn hell make sure that your ass won't have any healthy colour the next month or so!" he said threateningly, or so he wanted to sound like, as Zoro couldn't stop smiling at the ever blushing blond. He was embarrassed… it looked cute on him, and giving into said blonds' 'orders' he pulled him into his arms, backed away from the balcony and into the living room and kissed him again. Soon he felt Sanji's arms wrap around his neck and his fingers thread through his hair to grab it tight, as was he afraid of to loose balance if he let go.
Ace still stood in the corner and smiled brightly as he saw his two uncles kiss. With a fast move he hurried out onto the balcony without any of them noticing him –probably forgetting that he still was there-, grabbed a chair, climbed up on it and grabbing tight to the railing he leaned a bit out and screamed with his full lungs.
"HE SAID 'YES'!"
Cheers erupted from underneath, and both Sanji and Zoro flinched and parted as they abruptly was reminded on the little raven still being there. Sanji groaned and leaned his head onto his swordsman's one shoulder, fingers grabbing in the fabric of his jacket.
"…oh fuck…" he mumbled, and Zoro couldn't help himself as he saw the red colouring his ears, as he tried to hide himself closer into him, as they heard the cheers going on.
"Might as well get over with it," the swordsman said as he motioned him to go back out onto the balcony. Sanji sighed heavily, but then pulled a long thin smile.
"Yeah, you're absolutely right," Zoro never managed to ask what he meant with that before he was kicked out onto the balcony and hit his head into the railing. Zoro turned around fast, looking baffled and shocked at his fiancé while he rubbed his thumping head from meeting with the bars of the railing.
"The he- … why did you kick me?"
Sanji shrugged, hands in his pockets. "Well, I did warn you for screaming it out loud, didn't I?"
"But… I… it was the kid who did it!"
"Tsk tsk! Blaming a child, now are you? So what if it was him?" said the blond now with a teasing smile there kept growing on his lips, "I just felt like wanting to kick your ass right now!"
Ace fell off the chair, falling onto the floor into a fit of giggles and laugher, his small arms wrapping around his stomach, as happy tears rolled down his cheeks. Zoro blinked, and suddenly pulled a knowing smile as he tackled the blond back into their apartment.
"Oh you so asked for this, Blondie,"
"Bring on the best you can, Marimo,"
"Mommy! Sandhi and Thoro are 'playing' again~!" said the raven among his giggle-fits.
"Damn it, you two!" Sounded Nami's sudden roar of anger, as they distantly heard her stomp up through the stairs "at least wait till there's no children in the near!"
"Oh my, I wonder how long swordsman-san can keep those pants on… oh, that went fast,"
"Robin! What about showing a bit concern about your son's safeness at first, instead of peeking?"
Robin only smiled at her, and Nami decided with a defeated sigh that she should have known it for a long time ago;
"I'm surrounded by perverted idiots…!"
She would wait to beat the hell shit out of those two men, till they were done 'playing'.
~The End~
Authors Last Note:
Thanks for everything folks! Please Review & Review. See you hopefully in my next upcoming stories
~Pernille T. Boldemann