Despite having agreed to teach Zoro how to cook an impressive meal Sanji seemed to lose interest almost as soon as he'd promised it and Zoro had no idea why. He'd thought that Sanji might like teaching him, it'd give him an opportunity to show off and be better at something. For all of Sanji's nice qualities he could be quite a show off so Zoro had thought that he'd be over the moon to indulge himself, especially as Zoro had said that Robin would be the beneficiary of his eventual cooking and Sanji was all about pleasing the ladies. Puzzlingly it seemed like it was the last thing that Sanji wanted to do. After about a week and a half of putting it off Sanji had just grudgingly leant Zoro a cook book and declared himself too busy to teach Zoro, not that he seemed that busy.
Zoro has absolutely zero confidence in his ability to cook properly, much less anywhere near to the level that Sanji did. But he was going to try, that was the main thing. It's mid morning and he's already got everything on his list that he needs for his dinner with Robin and he even passed that fancy tailors that Sanji likes and stopped inside for him. The idiot had lost a jacket button off of his favourite black jacket when he fought with that douchebag a while back and he'd been whimpering about it ever since. With one perfect gold button in his pocket he swings by the Baratie on his way home.
He peers through the big plate glass windows of the Baratie but doesn't see his favourite chef anywhere, not even through the hatch to the kitchen. On an instinctual whim he swings around the back of the Baratie and sees Sanji's long lean form clad in black and blue as he stands and smokes outside. Zoro watches him for a second and watches his own internal reaction like a hawk, his heart clenches at seeing Sanji and that's significantly more disturbing than the spark of lust in his brain at seeing the cook's slender strong body. He walks up to him, paying attention to his own reactions.
"Oh, look what the cat dragged in and threw up on the rug." Sanji says flatly, stuffing his hands in his pocket. His jacket is missing because of the lost button. Zoro squints at him as he approaches with his bags, he puts them carefully on the floor and settles in front of Sanji.
"What crawled up your ass and died to make you so pissy?" He demands, frowning at Sanji. It's not unlike Sanji to be moody but the blonde is so rarely distant like this. Usually it's all angry silence and bitching about what's pissed him off, switching wildly from one to the other. Still Sanji usually likes company when he's angry, it helps him calm down quicker, but Zoro's never seen this before.
"Nothing!" Sanji snaps, lighting up another smoke and sucking on it angrily so the tip glows harshly.
"Have I pissed you off or something shit-cook? Cause you seem to be pissed at me in particular, if I have stop being a little kid and just spit it out." Zoro snaps, quite fed up of this bullshit.
"Fuck you and your ego, I'm fine. Is that the stuff for your date with Robin?" Sanji asks, rapidly changing the subject away from whatever it is that's pissing him off.
"Ugh, it's not a date. Why would I date Robin? I'm just making her dinner so I can ask her a favour." he replies shaking his head in exasperation, where does Sanji get these ideas?
"Well, I'm gonna leave you to be an idiot on your own. Later." Zoro grumbles, turning around. As he takes his first step he feels the button in his pocket and pauses, putting his shopping down already.
"Lost already?" Sanji questions, a slight laugh in his tone. That makes Zoro feel better, Sanji can't be that pissed off if he's still talking like that.
"No, I got you something. Forgot about it." Zoro mutters and puts his hand in his pocket to retrieve the button. He scowls a little at Sanji before walking up to him and pressing it into Sanji's palm.
"Here, now you can stop bitching about your suit." Zoro says and turns away.
"Oh... oh Zoro... where did you get this?" Sanji asks from behind him, his voice suddenly soft. Zoro picks up his bags and turns around to face Sanji who is looking down at the button in his hands with wonder in his eyes.
"That fancy pants suit shop, now you can fix your jacket right?" he sighs wearily.
"Yeah. You didn't have to... Ugh. I've been a dick to you Zoro, I'm sorry. This was really thoughtful and I've just been... ugh." Sanji sighs, dragging his hands through his hair in frustration, affording Zoro a rare look at both eyes at once. Zoro's stomach flutters at the thought that there's probably not many people Sanji would do that in front of, he seems to be pretty picky about not letting people see his face, although Zoro has no idea why.
"What's with you anyway?" Zoro asks. Sanji's mouth twists unhappily as he plays with the button in his hand, running a thumbnail over the pattern on the gold.
"I'm just... dealing with some stuff is all. I know what I should do but..." Sanji shakes his head and seems to drop the conversation.
"You don't want to talk to me about it." Zoro says, and it's a statement, not a question. If Sanji had wanted to talk to him about it then he either would have done so or made a big song and dance about the whole issue to get Zoro to ask what was wrong so that he could spill and still say that he put up a fight about it. This wasn't like that though.
"Sorry." Sanji says shaking his head and looking immensely guilty.
"No, your apology is never going to be enough. I'm going to go home and cry my poor broken little girl heart out because my best friend won't tell me all her little secrets. Then I'll throw our matching friendship necklaces out of the window." He says, his voice dripping with as much sarcasm as he can muster. Sanji cracks up, holding his stomach and doubled over from laughing so hard. Zoro grins, it's nice seeing Sanji happy again, as sappy as that makes him.
"Though if you do wanna talk to someone, Robin's always good. She likes other people's secrets and as morbid as she can be she's usually pretty solid with her advice. She doesn't gossip either." Zoro suggests seriously. He doesn't know if Sanji would have a problem spilling his secrets to a 'delicate lady' after all. Though Robin was hardly that, Zoro knows that well enough. Robin is smart and sharp and she's got a stronger stomach than almost anyone else that Zoro knows, but delicate she is not.
"It's ok, thanks anyway." the blonde replies, shaking his head. Zoro wonders just what it is that's bothering his cook.
...his cook?
Shit.
He really needs to talk to Robin.
"Well, I gotta go. We've both got cooking to do." he says suddenly, not feeling entirely safe being around Sanji until he's got this thing in his head worked out.
"Yeah." Sanji mumbles, his voice sounding strange. Zoro doesn't get a chance to investigate it though as Sanji disappears back inside.
Zoro shakes it off, he has to get back to his place to cook for Robin. She'll be over in a few hours and he needs time to get everything right.
Zoro is still no better a cook than he ever was, apparently spending time with Sanji doesn't transfer the blonde's skills to him through osmosis. Moreover cooking is now so linked in Zoro's mind with Sanji that he keeps getting distracted with thoughts of the blonde. Both his heart and his libido are taking turns in tormenting him. He'll be innocently stirring some cream as it heats and his heart will kick him an image of him doing just that, only for Sanji to come up behind him. He imagines Sanji resting his head on Zoro's shoulder to watch what he's doing as slender and strong arms come to wrap around his waist, closing him into a loose hug. By the time he snaps out of it the cream has burnt. Then he'll be kneeling down to get something out of the oven and his sex drive will wander over to him and make him wonder if anyone's ever blown Sanji in his kitchen and whether Sanji would like that. He's already on his knees after all, he can just imagine looking up and seeing the expression on Sanji's face when- the smoke detector blares and snaps Zoro out of his imagination.
By the time Robin gets to his house Zoro is slightly charred and sticky from cooking. He drops himself onto the sofa again after letting her in. Robin's nose wrinkles at the smell of smoke inside his home.
"How does Chinese takeout strike you?" He asks in fed up exhaustion.
"Just fine Zoro." Robin giggles lightly, settling herself next to him on the sofa as they pick over a menu and order.
Robin doesn't even ask what it is that Zoro wants her advice on, she's playing it cool and pretending like she doesn't know that Zoro asked her around for her advice. She wants him to crack and ask rather than her prying, not that she'd admit that if he accused her. No, she'd be the picture of demure innocence. What bullshit.
"I think I'm in love and I don't know what to do about it." He blurts out over the sweet and sour chicken.
"And how does that make you feel?" Robin asks, popping a spring roll into her mouth daintily.
"Seriously? You're actually going to do the 'how does that make you feel' psychologist bullshit?" He snorts in disbelief.
"No, I'm perfectly happy to drop the whole thing if you don't want to tell me." Robin says simply. She stares at him with her piercing blue eyes and Zoro stares back, he blinks first. He'd have a better chance of beating a cat in a staring contest than Robin. Defeated he slumps down in the sofa, ditching his meal on the side-table.
"I don't know. Confused, miserable, scared." he mumbles, staring at his knees.
"That's understandable, this is new territory for you." Robin says sympathetically, dabbing her mouth with a napkin and settling her own dish on the coffee table before curling up on the sofa to face Zoro.
"It's Sanji." He admits as quietly as possible.
"Please don't take offence to this, but that was pretty obvious." Robin smiles. He covers his face and groans, sliding down further into the sofa cushions. He hopes that this isn't why Sanji has been weird with him lately, he couldn't tell could he?
"So you've progressed beyond feelings of friendship then. I presume that this is sexual too, but please don't tell me that you're just confused because this is the first time that you've been friends with someone that you wanted to sleep with." She questions, her voice a little sharp with protectiveness that Zoro didn't know Robin felt towards Sanji. He feels an uncomfortable flare of territoriality, he's the one who gets to be protective over Sanji.
Good god this is stupid.
"Give me a little credit. And besides, I never said I wanted to sleep with him, you're assuming." He points out, feeling petulant.
"Oh please Zoro, if I have to pretend to be ignorant of everything about this I'll be here all night. Obviously you want to fuck Sanji. What I'm asking is are you sure that this is love?" She sighs impatiently.
Zoro picks at the stitching on his crappy sofa. Yes, Sanji is his friend, his best friend no less but... it's more than just feeling that whilst also wanting to bone him. He flicks his gaze to Robin, she's watching him intently. He sighs in surrender, he knows that she won't blab about what he's told her, she doesn't do that. But she's pretty firm about only giving back what you put in. If Zoro wants all the advice she can give him, he's going to have to give her all of the gory details in return.
"I want everything. Yes I wanna be his friend still and go out drinking with him, and yes I wanna screw him until I make him scream. But... it's more than that. I want to see him wake up in the morning and refuse to let him out of bed because I just want him nearby. I want... I want to see this shitty little place fill up with Sanji's things so it feels like he lives here too, I want to listen to the stupid little songs he hums under his breath when he cooks and just-" Zoro cuts himself off with a groan. What is happening to him?
"That sounds a lot like love to me. Scary isn't it?" Robin smiles gently. Zoro hums in agreement and the two of them fall silent. Robin seems to consider things for a little while.
"How do you think Sanji feels?" She asks eventually, settling herself a little closer to Zoro. He looks at her and for a moment or two he tries to read her, to see what it is that she knows. Robin doesn't ask questions like this if she doesn't have at least some grasp of the truth. She's as unlikely to tell him what she knows though as she is to tell what he's said to anyone else, so he's out of luck there.
"I don't know. Half of the time I think he feels the same and is just to scared to do anything about it and... the rest of the time I'm just worried that I'm seeing what I want to see. I've never been this close to someone before, I don't want to fuck this up." He admits in frustration. The blonde can be so irritatingly hot and cold and sometimes Zoro catches Sanji looking at him with a kind of soft expression that makes him want to just throw his fears to the wind and lean in and kiss the idiot. But the thought of losing him... it isn't something that he can stand to think about.
"A reasonable concern." Robin acknowledges.
"Ugh. This is why I don't do love, it's shit and full of stupid choices." He bitches and grabs up his plate, angrily stuffing a heaped spoonful of egg fried rice into his mouth and chewing it far too fast.
"Do you think that if you're seeing something that's not there that Sanji would react badly to your advances?" Robin asks him curiously.
Zoro frowns in thought. Sure he can imagine Sanji acting badly, blowing up and never wanting to see him again. But just because he can imagine something doesn't mean that it's likely. He's pretty sure that his bond with Sanji is strong enough that even if the cook didn't feel the same for him that things would be fine. A little awkward for a while perhaps, but fine.
"Nah." He says with certainty and eats a little more. Robin remains watching him in silence, sensing that it's not over.
"I'm not being a coward because I'm worried about how he'll react, I'm worried about what'll happen if he says yes." Zoro admits softly.
"Oh?" Robin asks, sounding genuinely surprised.
Zoro thinks a little bit how to phrase this without blurting out Sanji's own secrets. He's fine to tell his own to Robin but not someone else's, that's not right. He puts his plate down and thinks.
"Sanji's had a lot of relationships." Zoro says slowly.
"You think he'll tire of you?" Robin guesses.
"Let me finish." he grumbles, shooting her a glare. Robin holds up her dainty hands in a peace gesture.
"Lots of his relationships end badly, the idiots he picks don't like him as much as he likes them." He says vaguely, willing Robin to get his point.
"This is new to me, what if... what if I end up doing the same to him? I don't want that. Is there some way I can know if this is a solid thing or what?" He asks, looking at Robin.
"Oh Zoro, if only there was. That's the gamble that you take whenever you get involved with someone. Sanji knows that and you should too. It's just part of the risk. And you're both big enough and old enough to be able to deal with that consequence." Robin says softly, her words unflinching but her hand gently reaching out to soothingly rub between Zoro's shoulder blades, as if she can ease the blow of her words.
"I don't want to hurt him though." He says quietly. The thought of Sanji hurt makes him want to break things and hunt down the asshole that did it, he doesn't know what to do about the idea that he could hurt Sanji.
"He'll know that." Robin comforts him.
"You think I should do it then? Tell him?" Zoro questions, looking at her.
"I'm not going to tell you what I think you should do, I just think that whatever you choose to do you should accept the consequences of. If you don't tell him then you risk depriving yourself of a relationship you potentially could have had and lost a lot of happiness, and Zoro you deserve to be happy. You've had your own life on pause for so long with Kuina that you need to live your own fully for once. But if you choose to get into a relationship with Sanji then you have to accept that there's a possibility of one of you hurting the other and you need to accept that." Robin says firmly, in her best no nonsense voice.
"So I'm fucked either way." Zoro concludes, flopping back onto the sofa.
"Welcome to love." Robin laughs gently, making Zoro smile slightly himself.
"Now come on, you promised me that we would marathon some good slasher movies. You're the only one who watches them with me." Robin beams, shoving Zoro on the shoulder. He laughs and falls off of the sofa before rolling to the side to slide a DVD in the player.
"I'm the only one with a strong enough stomach to do this, that's why." He grins, settling himself back on the sofa.
"Wusses." Robin smirks, digging back into her Chinese chicken just as someone in the first thirty seconds of the film is messily eviscerated on screen.
Zoro eats some prawn crackers and pulls out his phone. He opens a text to Sanji and starts to write.
"I'm a terrible pupil, I burnt everything. We're having takeout and watching slasher movies."
His phone silently pings to life almost immediately, a message from Sanji.
"That is just sad. You are a terrible date. And to clarify, you're being called sad by a guy who's spending the evening sewing a button onto his jacket and getting through a bottle of wine on his own."
Zoro laughs softly and pauses before replying. Sanji thinks that this is a date again, is he being paranoid? Or... jealous perhaps? Could Sanji have been pissy because Sanji feels something for him and doesn't like the idea of him seeing someone else. It's not like he'd told the blonde that he... ah. He had mentioned something about considering love hadn't he? In fairness he'd done it to see what Sanji's reaction would be, not that it'd told him a lot. Though he supposes that Sanji could have paired that with the idea of him asking Robin over and...
"I'm an idiot." Zoro groans, smacking himself on the forehead.
"Accepting it is the first step towards rehabilitation." Robin says sagely, grinning in the dark.
"Not a date. I don't sleep with women, OR date them. Just needed to bribe her for advice, told you she was good." Zoro writes back hastily.
"Lucky for Robin, I'd hate to see her with someone as shitty as you! Remind me to teach you how to cook properly sometime, so you won't be such a disaster! :D"
Zoro smiles to himself, putting his phone away and drinking a little more of his beer. His mind flicks to all of his imaginings of Sanji when he was cooking. He'd really like for some of those to come true.
But for now he has bad takeout to eat and a terrible slasher movie to watch with Robin.
"The blonde will die last." Robin predicts grimly.
"The girl or the guy?" Zoro questions, looking at the actors.
"Girl." Robin answers.
"Five bucks says she goes before the guy." Zoro grins, pulling his wallet out.
"I do love taking your money." she smirks.
"Not as much as Nami!" he laughs, making Robin snigger, placing her own money on the table for their bet.
Zoro relaxes into the sofa, the feel of his phone in his pocket comforting. He's not sure what he's going to do yet, but he feels a little clearer about his choices now.