Title: From Here On Out
Author: AoiTsukikage
Rating: R-ish
Characters/Pairing: ZoSan, other secondary pairings
Chapter: 10/?
Word Count: 3001
Summary: Sequel to 'This Is Your Life.' Sanji had thought that balancing real life and working to take down a new crime boss would be easier the second time around. He was wrong. Modern!AU, ZoSan primarily, other secondary pairings.
Chapter Ten
"So, it's been…what, fourteen months? Has he let you fuck him yet?"
"You've got a lot of lip for somebody that should be thankful just to get visitors," Sanji peered at Ace over the top of his glasses and brought his feet up to rest on the bed. "I can walk out of here."
"But you won't," Ace looked smug. "Seriously, Sanji, I know you too well to believe that you'd be happy in a relationship where things weren't equal. So…"
"No, okay? No. He's…he's scared, although he'll never admit that out loud, but you can tell he's not big on the idea," Sanji sighed, because it wasn't something he thought about a lot but, yeah, it was a little irritating.
"Have you guys ever…you know…" Ace pulled a hand out from under the blanket and wiggled his fingers and Sanji groaned and dropped his head into his hands.
"Yeah. Yes, we've done that, and he's okay with it, but there's kind of a difference between a finger and a dick," he grumbled and Ace snickered at him. "Why are we discussing this, again?"
"Because I'm bored? Because you shouldn't be embarrassed to talk about this with me?" Ace blinked innocently, but he was still looking rather pleased with himself.
"I'm not embarrassed, it's just not really your business. I thought you were done with being weirdly protective of me and my sex life," he'd noticed that, especially since Ace had come back, the other man had been a lot happier. "Why the change, anyway?"
"Because I don't need you," Ace shrugged and Sanji squawked and leaned forward. "Not like…look, I love you, you know I do, but before I was clinging onto what I had with you because it made me feel wanted, and that's…I've never had that in my life. You were like a life-line, and it wasn't good for either of us, and I was horrible to Zoro even though I knew he would never let anything happen to you," he frowned then and shifted a little, turning half-onto his side so he could look at Sanji better. "That's why I had to get away, to prove to myself that I could, but then with Smoker being there I think I was starting to substitute him for you and it took a while to figure that out."
"I thought you said you and him…" Sanji let that sentence trail off and Ace barked a laugh.
"We didn't, but he's not even my type and it took forever for me to realize that was the reason I was even looking at him as an option, but when I did it all started to make sense. I've spent my whole life believing that I shouldn't have been born, and it's only recently that I'm starting to realize that it doesn't matter if I shouldn't have been, because I was, and I know by now you guys aren't gonna abandon me. So once I started thinking like that, things…kind of shifted with how I looked at being in a relationship," he sounded like he'd been thinking about this for a long time, and Sanji was proud of him. Ace was massively confusing because he put up such a front of confidence and bravado but inside Sanji knew he was dealing with more shit than anybody his age had a right to.
"And Marco?"
"Yeah. Marco saw right through me," he replied with a wistful smile. "I don't know…if he knows everything about me, and that scares me a little, but I feel…something, with him, that I've never felt before, and I don't know if it's anything more than a fling but he's good for me. I think," Ace had a rather sappy smile on his face and Sanji rolled his eyes and flicked the other man's nose lightly. "Hey!"
"Stop daydreaming about your boyfriend," the blond couldn't even be annoyed, really, because he knew that Marco did know everything about Ace, but he was certainly good for him.
"Can't help it," Ace stretched out his back a little. "Anyway, like I said, I'm enjoying it for now. I mean, you and Zoro are gonna be together forever, but I don't know if it's like that for us," he didn't look disappointed by that, but Sanji had to cut in.
"Woah, woah, woah, who says the Marimo and I are going to be together forever? That's a little premature," he had to admit, the thought had crossed his mind once or twice (and all of his friends just seemed to assume that was going to happen) but…
"Sanji," Ace gave him a look that implied he knew Sanji was full of crap. "Look, back in high school he was a loner and you flirted with everything that moved, and now he's mellowed you out and you've opened him up and you just…you fit, y'know? And that's not something either of you are going to let go of easily," he sounded so certain, but Sanji couldn't deny that everything he was saying was true. "But stop trying to turn this sappy, we were talking about your sex life."
"We are not talking about my sex life," Sanji grumbled, because honestly Ace was as stubborn as they came when he got an idea in his head. "But I do need to ask you if you're up for going to a Christmas party in a couple of weeks, or if your nursemaids will let you leave the house," he added with a grin, and Ace rolled his eyes.
"I'll be fine. Law told me I could go home now if I wanted to but, well, his house is nicer than my crappy apartment so maybe I'm trying to overstay my welcome," he raised an eyebrow and Sanji snickered. "Plus he's gone so much anyway that it's not like I'm intruding."
"He did offer," Sanji pointed out. "So that's a yes?"
"Yeah. Of course. Like I'd miss a chance to hang out with all you guys. I haven't seen enough of you since I got back for…well, obvious reasons," he grimaced and tried to look over his shoulder, his eyes dark. "I haven't looked at it yet, not with the bandages off. I'm a little scared to."
"It's not pretty."
Sanji turned to the door, nodding to Marco who was standing with one hand braced up on the doorframe, looking as indifferent as always.
"Thanks," Ace remarked wryly and Marco shrugged.
"I'm telling you the truth. I'm also telling you that I don't care," he added, and Ace looked up in surprise while Sanji grinned around his cigarette, because while Ace would never admit to being shallow, he did consider himself to be attractive and Sanji knew that he was probably worried deep down that it would change how people saw him. "And yes to the party," he added, Sanji nodding in acknowledgment because while Zeff had pitched a fit over Sanji point-blank telling him he was renting the restaurant out for a night, he knew the old man really didn't mind.
Not like he had much of a say in the matter anyway.
000
"Have you ever thought about moving?"
"You saw that story about how Vancouver's like the second-most expensive city in the world to live in, right? We're getting a good deal here, so why would we change that?" Zoro looked up from his books, a pair of reading glasses sliding low on his nose, and it made him look almost bookish in a way that Sanji thought was far too endearing. He looked mournfully toward the kitchen, which was little more than one strip of counter-space and the most basic of basic appliances, and hoped Zoro would get the hint. "Seriously, this is about a kitchen?"
"Hey, if we get a place with a spare room you can turn it into a weight room or training room or whatever, but this place is pretty much a dormitory and I think we can do better," he moved beside the other man and leaned on his shoulder, staring down at the books.
"Maybe," Zoro shrugged. "It's not like I've got any money. I mean, my parents send me what I need, but that barely covers half the rent here and with student loans and everything…" he frowned. "I don't know if we can afford anything else."
"I'd love a house," Sanji knew he was reaching with that one, but it was true. "Or even a townhouse. Some place I could grow at least a herb garden, use some fresh ingredients...come on, Marimo, you can't like living in this shit-hole," he nudged Zoro's foot with his own and the other man closed his book with a sigh.
"I don't. Of course I don't. But the money…"
"Don't worry about the money," Sanji threw his leg over Zoro's so he was straddling him, pulling himself up into the other man's lap and leaning close. "Zeff owns one of the most expensive and well-reviewed restaurants in the city, so I've got more than enough to cover the extra. You'll only need to pay what you're paying now," he knew it was probably sudden to spring this on Zoro, but it was something that had been bothering him for a while and after what Ace had said about he and Zoro being meant for each other…well, maybe it was time to do something a little more permanent than living in a crappy rental apartment. Buying a house together might be a little extreme, but he was never one to take things by halves.
"Where did this come from?" Zoro narrowed his eyes and it was times like this that Sanji was rather forcefully reminded that Zoro wasn't an idiot, and he was far more perceptive than more people gave him credit for. But Sanji knew that he couldn't tell him the truth, not now, because Zoro hated sentimentality and this…was kind of pushing it as far as that went.
"Does it matter?" he asked instead, leaning in for a kiss that Zoro returned after only a few seconds, his hands clamping on Sanji's hips and holding him there.
"Are you trying to use sex to distract me?" Zoro grinned at him, predatory and eager, and Sanji knew he'd found his out and he'd be a fool not to take it.
"I wasn't planning on it, but if that's what it takes…" he trailed off as Zoro pulled him closer, kissing him hard. They hadn't had much time to do this lately, and he knew this was probably going to be quick and dirty and that was so okay with him.
"This conversation isn't over," Zoro all but growled, and Sanji nodded and kissed him again to get his mind off of it, even though he knew that Zoro's memory was surprisingly good when it came to things like this.
Oh, well. He'd worry about that later.
000
"What's this I hear about you not inviting me to your Christmas party?"
"Holy shit, man! Don't do that!" Sanji had his leg raised before he'd even realized it and lowered it slowly, attempting to regain some of his usual poise but he wasn't used to being accosted in the middle of a mall hallway. He should almost expect it from Kaku by now but the other man still managed to surprise him more often than not by showing up out of nowhere.
"Sorry. Christmas shopping?"
"I've been a little distracted," Sanji stopped beside an empty bench and sank down on it, Kaku sitting beside him as he looked at the shoppers bustling about. "And now it's so damn busy everywhere that shopping's a nightmare. Zoro's hard to buy for, anyway; all he cares about are his swords," he sniffed and leaned back. "And I was joking about not inviting you."
"I know," Kaku assured him, patting his knee. "But you've got good reflexes. I was impressed."
"Yeah, well, be thankful I realized it was you before I sent you flying," Sanji grinned at him. "Anyway, what's the word on the weapons cache?"
"So you know this isn't a chance meeting," the older man crossed his legs and leaned forward. "From what I hear, Law sent a couple of his guys down there to check things out and while the one that's easiest to get into is guarded, it doesn't appear to be heavily so, and he thinks it should be fairly easy to break into when the time comes."
"That's good, then," Sanji knew there was probably more to this than met the eye but he also knew that, in this case, he had to trust other people to know what they were doing and for him sometimes that was hard. "And the Admirals?"
"It sounds like they're expected to leave before New Year's, since Blackbeard hasn't been seen after that night you all ran into him, and apart from that they have no reason to be here. But I'll let you know if we get a more definite date," he added and Sanji nodded. "So? Christmas party?"
"You can be extremely annoying at times, you know that, right?" Sanji glanced sideways and Kaku shrugged, giving him a rather cheeky grin. "Bastard."
"And yet you still like me," he clapped Sanji's leg and stood up. "So should I leave you to your shopping or…?"
"Coffee? I could use a break," he really hadn't done much at all, yet, but maybe if he gave it an hour or so the mall would clear out at least a little bit.
It was probably wishful thinking, but he'd use it as an excuse anyway.
000
"Yes."
"Is there a reason you've just come into the place and said 'yes' without even a 'hello'? Because normally people start with 'hello,'" Sanji looked up from where he'd stuffed the bought Christmas gifts in the hall closet (and he'd been right, the mall had been just as crazy after coffee but he'd managed to grab what he needed and get out of there).
"Yes to looking for a new place. Looking," Zoro emphasized slowly, holding up a hand. "I'm not saying yes to moving unless we find a place that's perfect and doesn't cost a lot, but if you want to look, we can look."
"Thank you," Sanji tried to keep his excitement contained because where Zoro was concerned this was kind of a victory, and he crossed to his boyfriend and looped his arms around the other man's neck, kissing him softly.
"Were you shopping?"
"Yeah, Christmas shit. Kaku was stalking me and told me that the Admirals are supposed to leave soon, so hopefully we can actually get back to doing what we should be soon enough," he broke away from Zoro to go root through the cupboards for something to make for dinner, and Zoro followed him into the kitchen.
"Good. It's about time I saw some action," he looked excited at the prospect and Sanji couldn't even blame him at this point. Not that he ever really felt the type of bloodlust the other man seemed to on kind of a regular basis, but even with what had happened to Ace, his thirst for adventure hadn't really dimmed any.
Besides, he'd be careful from now on. They weren't going to get caught off-guard again.
"You say that now," he said instead, and Zoro scoffed and leaned against the counter.
"Like I've been saying, I haven't had a good work-out in a while, so I'm kind of anxious to do something with my swords besides swing them around all by myself," he replied, and Sanji rolled his eyes although, really, it's only expected.
They were interrupted by his phone buzzing, and he dug it out of his pocket to see a text from Brook, tapping out a quick reply before sliding it back into place.
"What was that about?" Zoro asked.
"Keep it in your pants, we're not going to fight anybody," Sanji elbowed the other man gently. "Brook was asking if there was a piano in the banquet hall because he's willing to provide the live music for the party and, well, I'm not turning down free entertainment."
"You're running the whole thing yourself?" Zoro sounded mildly concerned and Sanji smiled to himself, because the other man could sometimes be a little overprotective even when it came to things he knew nothing about.
Like cooking.
"Yeah, I can handle it. I mean, we always pre-make for banquets and parties, but as far as hiring servers go it's just not safe to let anybody work there that's not in on what we're doing, and if it's just running food, I can manage. I'll convince Shanks to work the bar and other than that as long as we keep Luffy out of the kitchen things should be fine," he decided, mentally running through how much food they'd need (and adding in extra because of Luffy and Ace, of course) and deciding he'd worry about it later.
"Okay," Zoro knew better than to argue with him, of course, and Sanji looked over his shoulder at his boyfriend and smirked. "What?"
"House-hunting. You're still agreeing to that?"
"I agreed to look, remember?" Zoro protested but Sanji knew eventually he'd wear him down, and that as soon as they started looking at places that actually had room to move around in Zoro would probably change his tune remarkably quickly. "We can start that in the new year, okay?"
"Yeah. Okay," Sanji agreed, because he'd give Zoro that much, at least, and went back to mentally planning for the Christmas party that was coming up all too quickly.
Notes:
1. I already have the next chapter written out because of course the party isn't going to go as smoothly as they're all thinking it will…but that's all I'm going to say about that now ;)