When Zoro leaves his bedroom the next morning he's surprised to see Sanji's door shut and no light coming from the cracks under the door, the other man must still be asleep. It wouldn't be too unusual if Zoro hadn't slept in himself. He shrugs and figures that the dumbass must have been up agonising about the stupid pictures all night.
Sanji had been agonising about it over dinner, he'd been fretting all evening and was still pacing and worrying when Zoro eventually gave up and went to bed alone. After all that Sanji had confessed yesterday, he'd not exactly been hoping to go to bed alone. But even his least subtle of hints hadn't got through to the blonde idiot. But whatever, he was hardly in the mood to beg Sanji for anything, regardless of how gorgeous the blonde was he could still be annoying and Zoro didn't have time for that.
He can hear Usopp and Franky talking quietly in the kitchen, he follows the sound of their voices and when he enters the room he sees that they're both standing over a spread of newspapers and magazines on the brightly lit wooden kitchen table. Zoro sighs, he can guess what they're about.
He slides between the two men and thumbs through the magazines and papers himself. They all show pictures of him and the cook in various shots of passion, the one where he had the cook pinned up against the balcony railing seems to be a favourite, and he can see why, the cooks long, lean, blissed out looking body is a complete contrast to the total control he seems to have over the man. A big change from what would normally ever be expected in your typical master and mate relationship. It sells clearly because it's both sexy and controversial. Great.
The headlines and the stories all seem to be a flutter over his and Sanji's whirlwind romance and their apparently forbidden love. The trite nature of it pisses him off but at least it's mostly positive PR, though with Sanji's father in mind that's not necessarily a good thing either. Usopp and Franky are looking at him expectantly.
"Well, I guess Sanji will want to see this." He grumbles picking up the stupid papers and piling them into a stack to take up to him.
"He's asleep, completely dead to the world, I tried knocking and didn't get a thing." Usopp remarks worriedly.
"Then I'll kick him out of bed." Zoro huffs, he doesn't have any patience for treating Sanji like some spoiled rich brat who had to be catered to because that wasn't who he was. He folds the papers under his arm and stalks off upstairs, letting himself into Sanji's bedroom and shutting the door behind him as if he owned the place. The curtains are all drawn and the room is mostly dark, the occupied bed stands in the centre of the room in a complete mess.
He spies the mop of messy gold hair just peeking out of a pile of duvet in the middle of the bed like a cocoon. There's one solitary hairy leg sticking out of the protective cocoon of covers. It'd be sweet if Sanji wasn't being so irritating.
"Wake up sleeping ugly." Zoro grunts, kicking the bed. Some soft cursing emits from the bed sheet cocoon and after some rustling one evil looking blue eye appears, it focuses on the newspapers under his arm before the covers tighten.
"Get those things out of here!" Sanji orders, his voice muffled through the covers, with one graceful hand pointing in the direction of the papers under his arms.
"They're not going to go away if I take them out of here you know, they're still published, people are still reading them." Zoro points out reasonably, as if talking to a child.
"I don't care!" Sanji says petulantly from inside the covers.
Zoro sighs and puts the papers on the table, freeing his hands to grab at the covers. He tries to pull them off of Sanji but the blonde is clearly holding onto them tight from the inside of his nest.
"You're acting like a child!" He snaps, tugging fruitlessly at the covers. A pale hand snaps out of the covers, so startling Zoro that the other man manages to yank him onto the bed and haul him under the covers too.
"Am not." Sanji pouts in his ear. Sanji's long legs are around his back, a sharp knee lightly threatening his kidneys. He's face down which forces his collar uncomfortably into his neck, he coughs and squirms until he manages to flip onto his side. It's stiflingly hot under the covers and completely dark, he can't see a thing but he knows that Sanji is right in front of his face. He can feel the blonde's knee gently resting on his waist now and he can feel the slight stirring of the air as Sanji's breath ghosts across Zoro's cheekbones.
"Hardly convincing. Just because I put them down doesn't mean that-" he starts again. Sanji growls and flips Zoro again so that he's laying face up on his back with Sanji across his hips and the blonde's hands pinning his shoulders.
"Don't you think I know that? I'm not stupid. I just…" Sanji trails off. The blonde bows his head, trailing silky strands across Zoro's face. He pulls his hands up to rest on the slim man's sides, he realises with a start that Sanji is… naked? No, not naked, still wearing boxers but nothing else.
"I know it's going to be awful, or lead to something awful, I can feel it in my bones. I just want a little longer to pretend that it's not going to happen." Sanji sighs against his skin.
Zoro doesn't know what to say to that, he knows that the idea is dumb. If something bad is going to happen there's no amount of sticking your head in the sand that'll make it go away, either you prepare for it, or, if you can't you just roll with it. But Sanji can't seem to deal with that, he wants to do something but can't and so he's stuck in this terrible panic.
The silent cook's hands start to wander up Zoro's body, slipping under his shirt and feeling his skin. Sanji strokes Zoro's stomach and gently, in an almost ticklish way, traces the line of his diagonal scar up his chest with one hand and down towards his hip with the other. The blonde leans forward to kiss the corner of Zoro's mouth, he ends up gasping into the kiss as the change in Sanji's position reveals that the blonde has his mind on other things right now.
He tilts his hips and arches his back a little to press against Sanji's hardness, causing little stuttering breaths to come from the cook. Sanji smiles against his mouth and wriggles against Zoro's body, pleased at the reaction he's getting from inside Zoro's pyjamas. Not that Zoro can or especially wants to do anything about it, after all he's a got a (nearly) naked Sanji writhing against him, he's only human.
"You're trying to distract me." He says aloud inside the darkness under the covers.
"Maaaaybe." Sanji says stretching the word out as he arches his back so that he can lean down and lick Zoro's navel. Teeth grate against his skin, making his muscles jump, and Sanji slides his shirt up until Zoro gives up and takes it off himself.
He bites his own lip but stops when Sanji leans in to do it for him, evidently the blonde's eyes are more adjusted to the darkness than Zoro's own. He whimpers into the blonde's mouth who laughs back at him before moving on. He whines and trembles under Sanji's touch, lost in a world of darkness where all he can feel is Sanji's clever fingers all over him, his mouth licking, biting or kissing wherever he goes and the silky splay of Sanji's hair as he moves. He's not usually ever this passive but it all just feels so good.
Perhaps it's time to change things up. He wraps an arm around the blonde's waist and flips them, taking his own turn to explore the other man's body. Sanji is clearly enjoying it, his little twitches and jerks from his hips tell Zoro that, along with the gasps that fall from the cooks mouth but still… somehow he gets the feeling it's not right. Sanji seems to be squirming under him, taking every opportunity to get his hands on Zoro, to control where he goes or trying to lead as well.
In a flash Zoro understands, Sanji is freaking out right now because he can't control this situation with his father, he can't control the press and he can't control… well… anything really. And Sanji evidently doesn't do well with being completely helpless. Zoro on the other hand gets that, he gets how it's uncomfortable but well…. He's dealt with it his whole life. It's only recently that he's had much control at all, Luffy and Ace had been a bit of a blip in his otherwise rigidly enforced life, and even his time with them was dictated by how far Chopper could explain his absence away. So he understands that Sanji is scrambling for control over anything right now. He could surrender his, he doesn't mind. He questions whether he trusts Sanji enough and almost immediately concludes that he does.
He smiles against Sanji's skin, bites a mark into his hip and rolls back over, pulling the blonde on top of him. Sanji seems instantly happier, though it's probably subconscious. The cook plasters himself to him, trapping one of Zoro's arms beneath his and tangling his hand in the mess of Zoro's hair, using the leverage to kiss him deeply. Zoro reminds himself that this is Sanji and relaxes. It feels nice kinda, letting someone else set the pace and just responding.
With Ace it had always been a desperate struggle for control, he always had to be on top as well as… well… topping. It wasn't that he didn't trust Ace, he did, but being under someone else made him almost claustrophobic. Maybe it's just because he's been in enough situations where Sanji could have exploited his power and hasn't that Zoro is okay with this.
Still, it's not like he's just laying there. Instead he's discovering things about Sanji's boxers, namely that they're soft and they don't cover an awful lot of the cook. He's also discovering that if he slides his hands down the cook's back it's incredibly easy to slip into said boxers and get himself two nice handfuls of the blonde's perfect ass. Sanji seems to be pretty busy with his own exploration although his hand hesitates just at the waistband of Zoro's pyjamas. Even in the dark under the covers Zoro's eyes have adjusted enough to catch the cook's hesitant look.
"Can I-?" He begins anxiously.
"Anything." Zoro breathes and bites Sanji's neck.
"What, really? Are you sure about this Zoro?" Sanji questions in surprise.
"Yes, now come on." He urges, groping the blonde a little more.
"But- anything?" Sanji presses.
Zoro growls in frustration and flops back onto the mattress.
"Listen cook, either you fuck me, or I'll fuck you if you prefer- I really don't mind, or you get out of bed and read the goddamn papers." He snaps irritably.
Zoro can only conclude that either Sanji really wants him naked or really doesn't want to read the papers, perhaps both, because almost immediately after the words have left Zoro's lips Sanji is shimmying out of his own boxers and pulling Zoro's pyjamas completely away. Sanji lines their dicks up against each other and rolls his hips, pulling a happy moan from both of them.
Sanji settles between Zoro's legs for a moment before suddenly cursing and sliding back up. Sanji breaks them free of the covers and the cooler air makes Zoro's skin tingle pleasantly. The other man scrambles desperately towards his bedside table and starts frantically rummaging in it, for lube, Zoro would guess. In the dull half light of Sanji's room the blonde's pale skin seems to almost glow. He leans over and kisses the smooth skin between Sanji's shoulder blades, earning him a surprised squeak from the apparently now blushing blonde. Sanji finds the bottle he was after and eagerly pulls himself into Zoro's lap and kisses him thoroughly.
Sanji seems antsy and Zoro starts to think that Sanji might be unsure about all of this, especially when Sanji pulls back with a frustrated huff of breath.
"I can't- I just-" Sanji whines shaking his head, the bottle held aloft in one hand.
"What?" Zoro asks with a worried frown. Hadn't Sanji been the one to start this? To say everything in the first place yesterday? Surely he wasn't going to change his mind?
"I just want to do everything all at once and it's just not possible! I want it all!" Sanji exclaims, waving his arms dramatically and making Zoro explode into laughter.
"Well, you can't. So pick something and go, then next time pick something else!" he laughs. Sanji seems to accept that answer and lightly shoves Zoro back and slides down between his legs. Cautiously and then more confidently Sanji wraps his mouth around Zoro's dick. Zoro shudders happily and ignores the unusual feeling as Sanji's slick fingers gently work their way into him, very quickly though Sanji crooks his long fingers in the same way that Zoro used to do that drove Ace wild. As stars explode behind Zoro's lids he suddenly understands why Ace made all that fuss, Sanji's throaty laugh vibrates through him and makes Zoro start to worry that he's not even going to last until Sanji actually gets around to screwing him!
Half of him wants Sanji to hurry up already, even though the other half of him is enjoying every moment of it. Sanji is taking his time though, long enough for Zoro to get so used to his fingers that when Sanji withdraws them he nearly kicks him in revenge. He knows that what he's about to get is even better though and when Sanji slides home he has to bite his lip hard fist his hands in the bed sheets on either side of his head to stop himself from screaming "yes!" at the top of his lungs and alerting everyone within about ten miles of just how good he feels.
"Z-Zoro? You okay?" Sanji asks from above him in a panicked tone. Zoro manages to open one eye, Sanji's face is terrified- ah, he thinks he's hurt him. Biting his lip harder to keep silent he manages to nod desperately and, for added emphasis he hooks his heel around Sanji's hip and jerks the cook closer and further into him. His head falls back and a pleasured shudder wracks his body, it's great but it's nowhere near enough.
"Oh god, Zoro we really don't have to do this if you don't-" Sanji starts again, clearly not getting the message because he has brain damage or he will have brain damage in a minute if he doesn't fucking move because Zoro might just kick his head in! He fists a hand in the cook's golden hair and hauls him forward, wrapping one arm around the back of his neck.
"Sanji if you don't fuckingmoverightnow I am LITERALLY going to die so-ohhhh oh oh, do that again!" He hisses in Sanji's ear as Sanji tilts his hips slightly for balance. The blonde pulls back with a look hedonistic glee taking over the previously surprised and worried expression.
"Well okay then." Sanji purrs. Zoro wants to kill him, he really does. Well, at least until the dumb curly-brow snaps his hips forward and starts to fuck his brains completely out. He's trying to keep up with Sanji, he really is, but it's all too good for him to keep up the rhythm that Sanji is working at so in the end he just settles for holding onto Sanji, the bed frame, the sheets- anything he can get a hold of really, and trying not to fall apart too quickly. He's trying to keep at least vaguely quiet, aware as he is of Usopp and Franky just downstairs, but Sanji seems to be doing his best to draw as much noise from him as possible.
Sanji is whispering stupid things to him, like how he's beautiful like this (Zoro wouldn't know), how good Sanji wants to make him feel (Zoro's really not sure that it's possible to feel better than this, but okay) and how perfect he is (Zoro isn't going to complain). Zoro is really trying to keep quiet, but Sanji is making that nearly impossible. So when Sanji leans down and moans into his ear about how he wants to see him come well… Zoro isn't one to turn Sanji down. The blonde probably didn't need Zoro yelling that many expletives in his ear intermixed with his name but, well, he got what he asked for. Sanji just gasps out Zoro's name and bites hard into Zoro's skin before he loses all rhythm and comes as well.
Zoro isn't sure if they fell asleep and cuddled or whether they're just this tangled up from sex but he's still feeling pretty happy when he wakes up. He decides to shower alone before the impatient blonde wakes up and gets other ideas. He's a little sore, but it's the good kind of sore, like the kind after a good workout. When he wipes the mirror free of steam after his quick shower he scowls at the bite still visible from his crooked-toothed assailant the night before last but on the opposite side of his chest, just on his collar bone, is a perfectly straight toothed mirror to it courtesy of Sanji. Zoro grins and traces the outlines of it hoping that it bruises and stays for ages.
He returns to Sanji's bedroom and throws the cook in the bathroom as well, quickly informing him that, no, he won't be joining him because they have stuff to do today and they actually need to leave Sanji's room at some point. Sanji does return soon enough, Zoro suspects that he's trying to sulk but is still too high on sex to do so properly.
"So, do you want the good ones or the bad one first?" He asks Sanji, holding the newspapers and magazines in his hand.
"Get the worst over with." Sanji groans, falling down on the bed bonelessly.
"Unless you want to just have sex again?" Sanji asks hopefully, Zoro ignores him.
Zoro separates out the newspaper that he'd found. It's the Mail, an especially conservative newspaper that generally hates everyone that isn't a rich white man, it's also not too sure about people who aren't straight either. He slides next to Sanji on the bed and passes it over. The front page of the newspaper shows him pressing Sanji against the railing with Sanji looking utterly helpless, his own expression looks a lot more predatory than he remembers being. The headline screams "Prince caught in submissive sex scandal!"
The body of the so called article reads as follows:
"Sir Sanji Prince, supposedly the height of high society and heir to the Royal Corporation that runs the Royal Institute was caught being scandalously submissive to his own property! They say that when you have too much money the things that you own start to own you, never more true has this been than in this case! The heir, as shown above, clearly has no control over his own mate who is clearly having his wicked way with him whether the Prince wishes him to or not. Is this the right sort of image for the future leader of such a well established institution like the Royal Institute to be behaving? We think not. Lord Prince could not be reached for comment at this time, clearly his son's actions have shamed him and the rest of the family. We would-"
Sanji hurls the paper across the room with a snarl before Zoro can read any further. Zoro rolls his eyes and hands Sanji "hey" magazine. This one is written in a much more friendly style.
"Sir Prince was caught in a steamy tryst with his mate yesterday morning on the romantic tropical beach setting of his family's luxury private island. At first his mate was tied up, and clearly not pleased with being left like that all night! Soon though the gorgeous Sanji was able to woo his love back, and who can blame him! The two make such an attractive pair and it's so sweet to see young love blossoming so quickly between the star struck pair!"
The other magazines continue in much the same fashion, cooing over their passion or their looks, one even went so far as to remark that it's a shame that they're both male as surely their imaginary babies would be beautiful (that one makes Zoro cringe more than a little). A few of the more intellectual papers point out that this kind of give and take in a relationship suggests that Sir Prince practices what he preaches about mates being people with their own needs and desires. That paper even managed to get an interview from Ivankov who stated that he and Sanji are always affectionate and loving towards each other, especially when they think no one's watching. Ivankov even says that he hopes others will see their example of a real relationship and realise that most mates are not treated anywhere near as well.
"So, what now?" Zoro asks, looking across the bed at Sanji as the sprawled out blonde drops the final paper to the floor.
"I don't know." Sanji breathes in a sigh and turns on his side, he brings his hand up and rests it over Zoro's heart.
"The media are probably trying to reach you for interviews or whatever, you should probably do that." He points out.
"Yeah." Sanji agrees listlessly, a small frown furrowing in his brow.
"Stop worrying, you'll be fine." He smiles back reassuringly.
"I guess, I've just got this awful feeling that something terrible is happening and we're just not aware of it yet." Sanji says as he stares straight up at the ceiling.
"You're being paranoid." He accuses and pushes himself up onto his hands and knees so that Sanji is looking up at him instead of the ceiling.
"And anyway," he says leaning down to kiss the blonde's neck, "if you've still got room in your head to worry about that then I'm clearly not doing my job properly." He grins and kisses Sanji's neck.
The blonde jolts underneath him and sucks in a sharp hiss of breath as if Zoro had just punched him. Zoro pulls back and stares down at the horrified looking blonde.
His mind replays the last thing he said. "Doing my job properly."
"Oh, no, no Sanji that's not what I meant!" He exclaims hurriedly. Sanji squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head.
"I know, don't… it's fine, I know that's not what you meant, and I know it's not a job to you. Don't apologise." Sanji says, stroking his fingers through Zoro's hair and encouraging the panic to seep back out of Zoro's system.
The blonde opens his eyes again, his expression is sad and his gaze is fixed on Zoro's collar.
"I feel like this thing is always going to be between us." Sanji says mournfully as he gingerly touches the golden padlock hanging at Zoro's throat.
"It's nothing, I have you." Zoro answers fiercely as he bats Sanji's hand away and pulls the blonde into a kiss. Sanji looks at least a little happier after that, enough so that Zoro is content to let him get dressed and head downstairs to see what kind of phone calls he's been getting. Zoro takes some time getting dressed himself and by the time he gets downstairs Sanji informs him that they've got a television interview and they need to change again into something camera-ready and go now.
Zoro finds himself back inside his wardrobe trying to work out what "camera-ready" means and what he has that fits that. Thankfully Usopp comes along to help and picks him out a jacket and some apparently designer trousers. Zoro is flicking through the t-shirts when he spots one with a particularly wide neck, curiously he puts it on and sees that it only barely covers the mark that Sanji left on his chest and if he even stretches a little it becomes obvious, the white fabric a start contrast to the now bruising mark. He's not a manipulative person at heart but he has spent a large proportion of his life being taught how to manipulate people in order to stay alive, doing it on camera is no different. Half of the battle is looking the part. He throws the shirt on and the other things that Usopp helped him pick and follows Sanji hurriedly down to the car.
Franky drives them there whilst Sanji explains about the show, apparently it's some celebrity news show that's apparently avidly followed by everyone or so Sanji insists. Zoro's never heard of it but he's never really watched much TV and never watched talk shows at all, except for that one time when Luffy's remote went missing and even then he and the rubber boy ended up wrestling out of boredom.
When they show up the TV set is buzzing with staff and crew and he and Sanji are instantly dragged off and dusted with makeup which will apparently stop them looking all pale and zombified in front of the TV cameras.
The TV host is a skinny, sultry looking lady with a blue afro called Miss Doublefinger, the show's logo is... as you would expect, two fingers to convention as it were. She announces them to prompted applause from her studio audience and beckons them onto the stage and the big blue sofa opposite her imposing chair. The lights are bright as they walk on so he can hardly make out anyone in the audience, it's a little unnerving. He follows Sanji onto the stage and sits close to him on the sofa, curling his legs under him as if he was on Sanji's own sofa. He's nowhere near as relaxed and happy as he looks but he won't convince anyone by looking stiff and tense, anyway if he couldn't look appealing and relaxed when he was panicking inside then all his years of training as a mate would really have been wasted.
"So, Zoro," Miss Doublefinger says to him with a smile once the applause dies down.
"You're pretty much the most hated guy in the country this morning, teasing us and then taking this beautiful blonde inside and keeping him all for yourself!" She smirks at him, the audience laughs along and a few whistle and sigh dreamily.
"I would say sorry but I'm pretty selfish I guess." he answers back smartly with a grin, making Miss Doublefinger, and her audience, laugh.
"Sanji, is Zoro really as good of a lover as he seems to be then?" she asks with a catlike smile.
"I- I can't really say about that, that's pretty personal." Sanji says reddening slightly. Zoro would smack his forehead if he could, or better yet Sanji's! You don't just go on TV then say it's too personal!
"Well, you looked like you were enjoying yourself just fine! Actually can we get a picture of that?" She calls out and instantly a blown up high definition of Sanji's flushed face mid moan with him kissing Sanji's neck fills the screen, the audience cheers of "oohs" over it.
"Oh god!" Sanji squeaks, turning scarlet.
"I bet that's what you said." Miss Doublefinger laughs. Zoro takes in Sanji's embarrassed expression, he can't do this, he can't play to the cameras. He's just going to blush and tell her it's personal again! If he wants to save this interview and turn it in their favour, which they have to, then he's going to have to do something.
"Yeah, that's more or less what he said." Zoro answers before Sanji can speak again. Miss Doublefinger smiles, looking at Zoro, her smile says that she recognizes that he knows how this game goes. Zoro is cautious though, Miss Doublefinger wants an exciting show and a story but that doesn't mean that she's interested in getting their message out, disgracing them on TV would be just as sensational, he needs to show her that it's worth playing to their angle.
"So, how does this master/mate relationship work between you two? You looked pretty in control there Zoro, do you swap the collar over?" She challenges him, her eyes sharp and predatory.
"Well this thing doesn't come off at all, so no." Zoro says, tugging on the collar at his throat for emphasis, that draws a few laughs.
"It's not about control anyway." Sanji says suddenly, surprising Zoro and Miss Doublefinger both.
"It's about trust and respect, something I think a lot of master/mate relationships are missing. Not that we have that kind of relationship, there's no power dynamic it's just... a relationship." Sanji elaborates with a gentle smile at Zoro, Zoro grins back. Several of the audience go "aww" at them.
"That's so sweet, how long did it take you two to warm up to each other?" She asks.
"A little while, but it became pretty obvious after a few days or so just how good a man Sanji is. It was a little hard to believe at first, I thought that good guy thing was just an act- but it's really him." Zoro answers honestly, he relaxes a little as Miss Doublefinger's expression turns interested.
"Well I knew more or less right away." Sanji chips in smugly drawing teasing "ooohs" from the audience.
"Oh, so you had to woo him around then? Lucky guy, I'm sure plenty of us would have loved to be in that position!" She says flicking a look at Zoro, the audience cheers.
"More like incompetently confess my feelings, I thought that he was gonna turn me down." Sanji confesses awkwardly shifting on the sofa, he doesn't mention that he did that YESTERDAY, but that's for the best.
"Oh aren't they just adorable folks?" She says to the audience who all cheer in agreement.
"So, Zoro, is Sanji what you imagined when you signed up to be a mate?" Miss Doublefinger asks.
Zoro's back stiffens at the question, a part of him wonders if she knows the answer and is just baiting him into an interesting topic or if she's really ignorant. His gaze snaps to Sanji, it's his call about whether or not he answers honestly, the blonde's look of gentle agreement unsticks his tongue and makes him speak.
"No." he answers simply, he doesn't miss the way Doublefinger's eyes widen in interest.
"Oh, he's better than you dreamed then?" She asks with a sly smile.
"I wasn't dreaming of this at all, all I was thinking about was getting the money to save my best friend's life. That's what the institute rep said would happen, he told me that if I signed up he'd pay the bills to save her life, she died before I even signed- and he knew it, but he got me to sign anyway. Then I got dragged away from everyone I'd ever loved and thrown in the institute and never allowed out." Zoro says darkly, trying to convey all of the hatred he has for the institute. The audience is silent as the grave, a stunned silence Zoro hopes.
"You mean you were tricked?" Miss Doublefinger asks raising an eyebrow and gasps from the audience.
"Most of us were, or threatened. I hate to break it to you but no mate signs up dreaming of life with some rich heir or heiress. Some people did it so they wouldn't starve, my sort-of-sister did it to save her family, some families just sell their kids because they're just too poor. Don't believe the adverts." he says brutally. He wonders how many mates are watching this and he wonders what they're thinking. Probably that he's signing his own death warrant, he's not sure they're wrong.
"And... well, most mates don't get treated anywhere near as well as I do." he adds looking over at Sanji and thinking about the multitude of kind things that Sanji has done for him since they met.
"Quit looking at me like I'm doing you a favour, you're a person, not some toy. I don't care what the law says about it." Sanji insists gently, Zoro doesn't have to fake his look of adoration for Sanji then, not at all. He leans into Sanji's side and let's his eyes flutter closed for a moment, he is incredibly lucky to have ended up with Sanji.
"So everything that those investigative journalists are saying is true then?" Miss Doublefinger presses.
"And then some." Sanji agrees. Zoro keeps his head on Sanji's shoulder. That ominous feeling that Sanji kept complaining of is starting to bother him now too.
"But you're part of that company, how does that sit with you?" She asks with a raised blue eyebrow.
"Badly." Sanji says flatly. "But I'm trying to change things from the inside, I figure maybe other people are as oblivious about it as I was, or maybe like me they were too scared to say something and thought no one else agreed. I'm hoping that by talking about it other people will help me change things." Sanji says eloquently.
Zoro is... overwhelmed with affection for Sanji then, his kind Sanji. He loves him, he really does. He's tempted to say so but he doesn't want the first time that he says it to be cast under suspicion from the TV cameras, he doesn't want Sanji to misinterpret him, so he stays quiet and just smiles instead.
"Well, that's a lot to think about! We hope that you manage to make it so that everyone is as happy as you two." she smiles. The interview starts wrapping up then and pretty soon they're around the back of the set alone together, off camera and out from under the hot spotlights.
"Well, I guess we'll see how that goes down." Sanji says a little glumly, his expression distant.
"Nothing else to do." Zoro agrees.
"If it's ok with you I think I want to go to the Baratie now, I'm not sure that I want to leave Zeff alone after that." Sanji says worriedly, his brow creasing in worry. Zoro nods in agreement, Zeff's safety was Spandam's big bargaining chip after all, he is the one person Sanji could be hurt through, it'd be mad to leave him alone.
"Let me just... Where did I put my coat?" Sanji frowns absently patting his pockets, as if it might be in there.
"Strip off in someone's wardrobe and forget about it again?" he teases, remembering his first night with Sanji. His feelings towards the blonde are so different now to how they were then.
"Smartass. I think it was in the dressing room." Sanji says back and flips him off with a grin as he goes off to look.
Zoro leans back against the studio wall and sighs, he hopes that Zeff is okay but still... it's hard to shake that unsettled feeling. His ears prick up at the sound of a familiar voice, he strains his ears, it's Robin. He follows his ears and spies Robin and Miss Doublefinger talking about the interview, the TV host is thanking Robin with a sly smile for the tip on the story. Robin knows her… of course she does. Evidently it was her that help set up this interview. Just how many people are in Robin's shady network?
Zoro frowns and slinks back towards where he and Sanji parted. Robin is trying to help them, or rather, she's trying to destroy Spandam and helping them is the most efficient way to do that. Still, he's glad that she's on their side and not against them, it's a scary thought.
When he arrives back Sanji and his coat are waiting for him.
"How did you get lost standing still?" Sanji asks incredulously. Zoro opens his mouth, he wants to say about Robin but then he stops. No sound comes out of his mouth as he remembers how lonely Sanji felt when he discovered just how much Robin was deceiving them. He knows that it's how the world works and that Robin really isn't a bad person. But Sanji is so naïve and trusting, finding out hurt him so badly. He knows that Sanji and Robin are starting to build their bridges back up, the last thing that he wants to do is tear them down again.
"You moved, not me." He lies instead.
"You're hopeless." Sanji tuts and pulls him from the studio building.
They walk to the Baratie together, it's not all that far and the fresh air is nice. Zoro spots a few photographers along the way but he pretends not to notice them, if Sanji notices then he's doing the same but Zoro can't tell. They talk about how the interview went, bicker about whether or not Miss Doublefinger is a good person and both try to wipe the make up off of their faces. All in all it's pretty pleasant.
Surprisingly Sanji doesn't have any messages on his phone from anyone in his family, except for Perona who's message simply reads "ZOMG! I JUST SAW U ON TV!1", not exactly enlightening or angry. There are a few supportive texts and voicemails from Robin, Usopp, Brook and even Hina. It's strangely quiet on the Prince front though, suspiciously so.
They arrive at the Baratie in less than half an hour, but as soon as its sign comes into view Zoro can simply feel the tension radiating off of Sanji. It's as if he's tensing to prepare for a horrible blow, but when they get inside the kitchen is the same as it ever was, which is to say that it's full of swearing, shouting chefs and Zeff snapping out orders and commands. Sanji relaxes next to him. The steam of the kitchen warms Zoro's cheeks and a million smells of spices and cooking touch his senses, he understands how this place feels so much like home to Sanji. Everything is okay.
Sanji falls into the rhythm of the place instantly, stepping in and cooking, shouting at his fellow chefs. Zoro pauses on the sidelines and imagines what a fifteen year old Sanji must have been like in here, free and untroubled by his real father, in a warm bustling building full of people who (begrudgingly at times) loved him. It makes Zoro's heart ache a little and he wishes that Sanji could have that back. Still, at least he can visit, it's better than nothing.
He starts helping out too, hefting things around and cleaning. Soon he runs out of that and Zeff orders him to go out into the front and wait tables, Zoro can do that. He comes through the door a few hours later, needing to get an order off of Sanji. The blonde smirks at him and hands it over with a kiss, the sudden boomingly loud laugh from Zeff makes Zoro jump so hard that he nearly drops the food, which makes Sanji laugh. Zoro flips the pair of them off and gets back to work, he ignores the way that Zeff grins and slaps the clearly embarrassed cook on the shoulder. He guesses that Zeff probably gets a kick out of embarrassing his semi adopted son.
He backs through the door carrying the plate for the lady sitting at the table that ordered the dish. Later, when she's finished the dish she flags him down, Zoro assumes it's to collect the money for her bill and is mentally running up everything that she had to eat in his head as he approaches her, just so he can make sure the amount tallies. He picks up the dish and a quick rush of mental arithmetic confirms that she's paid, plus a generous tip, he opens his mouth to thank her but she speaks first.
"Could I pass my compliments onto the chef? It was divine." She smiles up at him smooth as silk, her blonde hair falling across her shoulders.
"I'll do that for you." He nods, dreading to think of how huge Sanji's ego would get if he was here in person hearing his from a pretty lady.
"I wondered if I might do it myself? I take it this was Sanji Prince's work yes? He's supposed to be the best here." She says with a small smile and a look that has a hint of predator to it and starts setting alarm bells off in Zoro's head.
"Are you a journalist or something?" He asks her suspiciously as he puts the money into the front pocket of the waiter's apron that Zeff had thrown at his head as soon as he started waiting.
"No, but you're his mate and you're here, it doesn't take an investigative journalist to work out that he must be. Don't worry, I don't work for the press, I just want to pay him a compliment is all." She explains with a cheeky smile.
Zoro hesitates, he wants to tell her to get lost but he doesn't know if she'll actually leave if he does. He tells her to stay where she is and ducks back to the kitchen to find Sanji. He beckons the blonde over to the door to ask him what to do.
"Sir Prince?" The woman says suddenly from behind him, Zoro jumps, she'd followed him! But Sanji is already there and looking at the woman with some surprise in his eyes.
"Yes?" Sanji asks, blinking in surprise at the stranger appearing unexpectedly at the kitchen doors. Zoro shoots a hard look at her, it must look like he deliberately brought her to him, that sneaky woman!
"First of all I'd just love to compliment you on your food, the duck was absolutely superb. Genuinely the best I've ever eaten." She purrs, causing Sanji to flutter and wiggle in glee at such a pretty woman complimenting him. Zoro instantly hates her and tries to resist the temptation to kick her and shout at Sanji, he's never really be jealous before- it's a new feeling and he's not sure that he likes it at all.
"Secondly, you've been served. I hope I haven't spoilt your evening, goodnight." She says primly, handing Sanji an envelope from her breast pocket and neatly turning and leaving the building.
"Served what?" Zoro frowns in confusion as Sanji gawps at the letter in his hand.
"I'm… being sued." Sanji stammers as he reads the letter.
"Sued? By who, for what?" Zoro frowns, not being able think who could possibly have enough against Sanji to sue him. It's not like Sanji ever did anything illegal anyway. Sanji scowls and shoves the letter angrily into his pocket.
"By my father, for fraud and corporate espionage." Sanji growls angrily, his fists shaking with rage.
It turns out that Igaram is a lawyer, and apparently a good one too, which is lucky for Sanji as suddenly all of his family's lawyers are refusing to represent him.
The court date that they're summoned to in the morning is actually a hearing to see if the case against Sanji for his mysterious fraud and espionage would be heard or if it would be thrown out. Sanji and he had come to the conclusion the night before at the Baratie that the espionage would probably be to do with the photos and the TV interview, but the fraud charge had them all puzzled.
Zoro is surprised that he's allowed in the actual court room at all, he isn't allowed to sit with Sanji of course, but he's allowed to sit in the gallery behind him as long as he keeps completely silent. Apparently him trying to talk is regarded by this judge in particular as inappropriate as someone letting their phone ring in court. It's not too bad though, he's sat next to Vivi right behind Sanji and Igaram, pretty front row seats, all things considered. The room is big and wooden and feels more like a church than it does a courtroom, the judge sits in a high up box, regarding them all with an air of distain from behind her glasses.
Warily Zoro looks across at Spandam who sits on the other half of the courtroom, he's in a fancy suit and he's acting very… formal. It's very unlike the self-important Spandam that he's got to know and loathe. He supposes that the lord is trying to impress the judge somewhat. His lawyer happens to be one Rob Lucci, according to Sanji, his father's ruthless lawyer and number one lackey. He was one of the people there at his and Sanji's ceremony, the man who discovered that his clothes had mysteriously changed thanks to Robin when he'd been left unsupervised by them. He gives off a real sinister aura.
The judge presiding over the court is a hard faced older woman with a fading blue rinse and she looks at everyone in the courtroom as if they had personally run over her dog or something. Zoro's uneasy feeling has worsened to a kind of all permeating nausea, whilst Sanji who has been convinced by Igaram that the case will be out in less than ten minutes seems visibly relaxed.
"It's a good sign really, it shows how desperate we've made him." Sanji says quietly to him as they sit down. The blonde is trying to be reassuring but Zoro remembers that the last time when he was truly desperate, when he had been defending Nami from Mihawk, he didn't care if he died as long as he took Mihawk out first. He isn't sure that Spandam being desperate is a good thing at all.
"Quiet down, this hearing is now in session." the judge says, banging her gavel and quieting everyone in the room. Sanji flashes him a bright smile that fails to kill the anxious wriggling things in Zoro's stomach.
"Plaintiff to put forward their case." the judge says, looking over her glasses at Spandam.
"The first charge is of fraud, specifically of the confidence trick variety. We can prove that the defendant has knowingly defrauded my client." Lucci says smoothly.
"Proceed." the judge nods.
"Lord Spandam's son Sanji Prince died nine years ago in a shipwreck with his mother, this man here is not Sanji Prince but someone who deliberately claimed to be Lord Prince's missing son many years after the fact." Lucci says with some flair of drama in his eyes.
"What?!" Sanji squawks in disbelief, Igaram shoots him a sharp look in warning. Zoro's eyes widen, that's right out of left field, he hadn't expected that at all!
"Do you have something to say on this matter Sir Prince?" the judge asks with an intense look in her eyes, her expression conveying just how little she approves of Sanji interrupting. Sanji glances at Igaram who nods, giving him permission to speak again.
"I'm sorry for interrupting but this is ridiculous, I'm his son, as much as I wish I wasn't." Sanji mutters that last bit with some venom. Zoro cringes, Sanji needs to learn to shut up!
"You would say that your relationship with your father is poor?" the judge asks him with a raised eyebrow from her high up perch in her box.
"Yes." Sanji answers with a shrug.
"He's still my father though, you don't get to pick your family." Sanji points out reasonably.
"And were you in a shipwreck as the plaintiff asserts?" the judge continues, almost conversationally.
"I was." Sanji nods.
"How did you survive?" she asks. The hairs on Zoro's neck start standing up on end, this feels wrong. He shoots a look at Vivi and sees her wearing a similar look of unease, everyone else - including Igaram looks perfectly relaxed though.
"I was rescued." Sanji answers with a frown, he doesn't like talking about it, Zoro knows that.
"And where were you for the intervening..." the judge trails off waving an expectant hand as she looks at Spandam and his lawyer.
"Six years." Lucci fills in instantly.
"Six years?" The judge finishes, glancing back at Sanji dubiously. Zoro's fingers tighten on the wooden pew-like court bench that he's sitting on. He really doesn't like the sound of this… not at all. Was this supposed to be such a grilling, and from a judge no less?
"I was with the man who rescued me." Sanji answers, his tone suggesting that he too is starting to realise that something is amiss.
"That was… a Mr. Zeff Red, correct? The owner of a restaurant in this city?" She says, flicking through the notes in a file on her desk.
"Yeah, the Baratie. I worked there with him. I don't really see what this has to do with fraud, I'm still Spandam's son." He says leaning forward in his chair as he looks up at the old lady judge.
"You intend to tell me that as a child you nearly died, lost one parent in a tragic accident, miraculously survived thanks to a complete stranger, only to return to the same city that you were from and within that time until you turned sixteen you never once tried to contact your only surviving parent? That seems more than a little implausible. The claim is accepted, you can argue that in court if you're so certain, or so stupid, Sir Prince." The judge declares, banging her gavel.
"Hey!" Sanji exclaims, rising out of his chair indignantly. Igaram instantly grabs him and forces him back into it before the judge spots him. The judge looks to Lucci and Spandam again expectantly.
"The second charge is related to the first. This imposter's mission was to defraud my client as much as possible, taking as much of his money as he could through the form of stocks, shares and expensive gifts. We believe that recently this imposter has received offers from outside parties to bring down my client's company from the inside." Lucci declares.
Sanji stands up so suddenly and sharply that his chair topples behind him loudly.
"That's ridiculous! I've never wanted a damn thing that you've given me and I was happiest without your money and without you! You were the one who made me come back!" Sanji snarls, slamming his palms on the table.
"Liar, you'd throw a hissy fit if even one thing that I bought you got taken away." Spandam says coolly, his lips curling into a sick grin.
A shock of terror shoots up Zoro's spine as he sees where this is going, he looks up at Sanji but the blonde is too hot headed, too enraged to see!
"Sanji!" He hisses urgently.
"Enough shouting in my court, and control your mate, I won't have them speaking in my courtroom!" The judge snaps, pointing her gavel menacingly at Zoro. Sanji makes a shushing gesture at Zoro with his hand, without taking his eyes off of his father, Zoro shuts his mouth.
Spandam looks like a horribly disfigured cat with the cream, this couldn't be going better for him. He looks over at Vivi in a panic, he has to do something but what? She looks equally helpless and tries to subtly kick Igaram to get his attention but this too only earns them a dismissive wage from Igaram and a fierce glare from the judge.
"I don't want a damn thing of yours!" Sanji argues vehemently.
"Please, all you do is take the things that I buy you. You wouldn't give up the things that I bought you for anything, that's how we know you're a con-artist and a fraudster." Spandam says bitingly. Zoro catches the sick man's gaze as it flicks for a split second to him.
"FINE! Would that help?" Sanji demands, looking up at the judge.
"Giving up the things you're supposedly conning your father out of would certainly weaken their case, yes." The judge remarks, raising her eyebrows.
"Sanji!" Zoro hisses urgently, Sanji waves him away.
"Like you would." Spandam laughs, with an air of uncertainty in his tone. Zoro can hear it's fake though, oh god. Zoro's hands tighten on the wooden bench, he feels like he's in one of those old west movies, tied to a train track and watching a freight train hurtle towards him.
"Oh, you don't think I would? Fine. Have it all back, the house, the stocks and shares that you've given me, everything. I never wanted any of it, or you!" Sanji declares. Zoro's jaw hangs open.
The judge stares at them in silence for a second before banging her gavel.
"Agreed, the defence will surrender all items and assets gifted to him or belonging to Lord Spandam." She declares finally.
Zoro feels like he's going to throw up, he whines and leans forward, resting his head in his hands. Vivi's gentle touch rests on his shoulder. He hears Lord Spandam's sick laugh, it has an edge of mocking mania to it, and why wouldn't it? He's won.
"What's so funny?" Sanji demands angrily.
"You idiot." Zoro says weakly, barely able to believe that this is happening at all. He looks up to see Sanji looking at him in irritated confusion, Spandam looks deliriously happy, Lucci looks smug.
"You didn't buy him, I did. That's also how I know you're not my son, no child of mine would be so stupid." Spandam laughs from across the room.
Sanji's skin pales instantly, now he gets it. Zoro glares at him, he's a fucking idiot, that's what he is. How could he fall for such an obvious trap and why on earth didn't Igaram see it either?!
"Just win this, okay? And do it quickly." He says quietly as he looks up into Sanji's horrified expression.
"Wait- no, you can't- Zoro doesn't count! He's not a thing, he's a person!" Sanji exclaims, spinning on his heel to face the judge.
"No he's not. And I've had enough of this, get that out of my court- bailiff!" She judge orders and Zoro sees and hears several heavy booted men make their way towards him from around the room. He should probably be panicking, thinking of a way out. Like that bailiff walking towards him now, he could punch him in the throat, leap the next one, dodge and then- but no. They'd shock him, shoot him or anything else. And if he manages to escape they can track him, they will find him, they'll hunt him down. There's… there's no point in fighting, he's powerless.
"No! Please! Anything but Zoro, he's not- please!" Sanji begs, throwing himself to his knees, but the judge is having none of it.
Zoro eyes the closest bailiff and turns his gaze to the furious looking Vivi.
"Please keep an eye on Sanji, stop him from doing anything dumb- or… dumber than this at least. Nami's alive, she's with Robin." Zoro hisses urgently in her ear. The surprise registers on her face but she quickly disguises it, clever girl.
"I'll do what I can." Vivi nods. Slowly her elegant hand rises up and touches the ring on her collar as her sad eyes meet his. A gesture of respect for the doomed.
Zoro's skin crawls as thick fingers wrap around and under the back of his collar and haul him bodily off of the bench by it like a goddamn animal. He pulls against gravity and gasps in pain as the hard metal and plastic collar cuts sharply into his trachea. The bailiff drops him on the floor and subtly takes the opportunity to kick him as he bends down to grab Zoro roughly under the arm from where he lies coughing on the floor and haul him to his feet with the aid of another. He offers no resistance and starts to walk with them, what good would resisting do anyway?
"Zoro! No!" Sanji yelps.
Zoro looks up to see the blonde sprinting for him but another bailiff steps in the way and tries to stop him. Sanji's face contorts into a picture of fury as Zoro is pulled ever further away. Sanji spins in a graceful arc and kicks the bailiff clean across the room, to gasps from the room. The other bailiffs draw weapons and advance menacingly on him, all the while Spandam is watching like a kid on Christmas morning.
"Sanji, don't!" Zoro urges, he doesn't want the blonde getting hurt, not for him! There's nothing that Sanji can do anyway!
"I'm not letting them take you!" Sanji yells, grabbing his hand and pulling. The bailiffs grab Zoro around the middle and pull back, he feels like he's going to rip. Sanji's eyes are desperate as he tries to pull Zoro away. A bailiff grabs Sanji and tries to pull him apart from Zoro but the blonde is not letting go.
Against his better judgement Zoro grabs Sanji's wrist back tighter and shakes from the inside out- as if an earthquake is ripping through his heart, he doesn't want to go, he doesn't want to be apart from Sanji. As he stares desperately into Sanji's eyes he feels overcome by the terrible premonition that this may be the last that he sees of him, that Sanji might lose this court case and never get him back.
Sanji is screaming and shouting, kicking at the bailiffs and Zoro is doing the same, never taking his eyes off of Sanji. The whole court is in uproar, the judge is screaming for Sanji to be arrested, the gallery of people are all yammering excitedly and Spandam's twisted laughter echoes through the room. The bailiffs pull Zoro outside, dragging Sanji and the other bailiffs with them.
His grip on Sanji's wrists starts to slip and he feels the blonde's fingers slide ever so slightly down his hands, there are three bailiffs pulling at Sanji now and a third has joined the ones pulling at Zoro.
"Please! NO!" Sanji screams, his fingernails digging into Zoro's skin and scratching into it. Tears are streaming down the blonde's face freely and Zoro is certain that he's doing the same. He can't lose Sanji, he can't! Sanji has been so kind to him, he's been strong when Zoro's been weak, he's healed parts of Zoro's soul that he thought would never heal. He'll never have that again, if he's forced to be someone else's mate they'll never be anything like Sanji, he'd rather die!
Sanji's fingers are tangled with his now and both of them are straining to hold on, but it's futile, they'll never manage to hold on. Zoro struggles, kicks one of the bailiffs in the jaw and tries to claw Sanji back.
"I LOVE YOU!" He shouts at the top of his lungs. He shouts because it's true and because he may never get another chance to say it, he may never see Sanji again and he can't just leave without ever saying it. Why had he not said it before now? He supposes that he was scared, scared that saying it would ruin everything, worried that is wasn't the right time, or fearful that Sanji would back off and say that he was interested but not that interested. He'd thought that they had all the time in the world to get around to it. He was so stupid!
Sanji kicks hard enough to knock one of the guys clean off of him and uses the momentum to lunge forward and grab Zoro's arm hard in a grip that feels unlikely to let go. The blonde pulls close so that their faces are almost touching.
"I love you, I've always loved you, I'll always-" Sanji insists desperately. Suddenly a sharp pain flashes in the back of Zoro's head and the world goes dark, his grip on Sanji fails and the last thing that he hears before everything falls away is the agonised heart-wrenching howl of his name from Sanji.
Then there's nothing.