A/N:Once again I'd like to thank those who commented and favorited my story, it means a lot to me and it's very motivating!

Warnings: Verbal abuse and homophobia.

Chapter 6

Zoro perfectly knew what a paranoid Sanji could be like, so even though he'd managed to soothe him on the phone he also knew that he was probably still clinging to his regrets and anxiety, mentally kicking himself throughout the entire day.

Zoro still partly thought he deserved to feel that way because he needed to learn from his freaking stupid mistakes, but on the other hand he really couldn't leave Sanji alone with his mind for too long.

Once Zoro had a few minutes break at the dojo he sat into the changing room and created a group conversation on Whatsapp so that he could communicate with his brothers and Sanji at the same time, then typed in his idea.

'oi you stupid nerds. tomorrow's saturday so the plan is the following: we go to the movies in the afternoon, then dinner, then club.'

He hit send, then massaged the back of his neck in an attempt to ease the soreness in his muscles.

'look who learned to use whatsapp omg' came Ace's reply, and Zoro rolled his eyes.

'i just laughed so hard that shanks slapped me for scaring him awake from his nap' Luffy answered right after.

'lo and behold the nehandertal boy is evolving' came Sanji's comment at last.

Zoro's teeth gritted so hard that his jaw cracked.

'assholes, just answer!'

Zoro shook his head and checked the time. The next lesson would have started in ten minutes more or less, so he really didn't have much time for staring at the screen of his cellphone.

'we're watching cap 2 yeah?' Luffy was the first to finally ask the right questions.

'dude yes, i wanna see bucky fuckme barnes' Sanji's response came right after, making Zoro huff and shake his head.

'yeah why not' Zoro replied, then added 'pretty sure ace's in too?'

'sure yeah, tho we all didn't like the first one' Ace confirmed short after.

'cap ain't no thor and chris evans ain't no chris hemsworth but yeah'

This time Zoro couldn't help but snigger at Sanji's answer.

'natasha though' Ace replied before Zoro could type in anything.

'nami's doppelganger hahaha' Luffy cut in.

'more like nami's wet dream' Zoro finally succeeded in responding and earned tons of laughing emojis in return.

'i gotta go back to the kitchen, dirty fucks. but im in.' Sanji texted before leaving the conversation.

'we're all in.' Ace confirmed.

'yep yep, cap2 + + club sounds GREAT!'

'do your homework or you're staying home' Zoro typed with a smirk on his lips, when suddenly the door cracked open and a thundering voice nearly made him drop his phone.

"Zoro! Quit slacking off!" Mihawk roared from the threshold, a murderous glare in his eyes.

Zoro huffed and slid his cellphone inside his bag right before he stood up "Comin', comin'..." he grumbled as he watched Mihawk turning on his heels and walking off.

Working with his father was definitely a whole lot of fun – at least he had a nice Saturday to look forward to, he sucked in a deep breath and exited the lockers to greet his students.

The morning after Zoro was greeted by the blinding light of his cellphone screen and a text from Sanji.

'zeff's been a pain in the ass about taking the rest of today off, but he can suck my dick.'

Zoro was about to close his eyes again, since he had no intention of getting up at 9 in the morning on a Saturday, when Sanji sent another text.

'well not literally. ew. i dont want him to suck me off.'

Zoro pulled a face and decided to text him back before shoving the cellphone under his pillow.

'you're fucking disgusting.'

And with that statement he went back to sleep.

When Zoro didn't have an alarm set and ready to go off to wake him up, unless someone physically dragged him out of bed there was just no way he'd wake up on his own at a decent time.

His heavy sleeper skills allowed him to fall asleep anywhere at anytime and keep being dead to the world through a storm or even a war. Even though his keen swordsman senses could make him spring awake at the drop of a hat if needed, that day it just wasn't going to happen.

He had no idea about what was the time, nor did he actually care, but his ears did perk up at one point during his slumber. He heard a muffled conversation and a couple suffocated laughs, and he knew for a fact that something was going to happen to him, yet he didn't have the energy to give a damn.

Zoro had just fallen asleep like a log again when two painful weights were dropped almost simultaneously on his back and ass, making him groan out as he finally woke up to see Luffy and Sanji grinning down at him like the couple of jerks they were.

"I'll slash you both open, you fuckers!" Zoro snarled as he dropped his head back down onto the pillow.

"If only Mihawk could see how you've been easily defeated," Sanji shook his head in disapproval "Tsk, tsk, tsk."

"I was fucking sleeping, gimme a break," Zoro grumbled against the fabric of the pillowcase "and get off my back, literally."

"No you're comfy, I think we're gonna use you as a couch." Luffy sniggered.

"He's never gonna get up, this way." Ace sighed, and Zoro lifted his head to spot him as he rested against the doorjamb "Hello, sleeping monster!" Ace waved at him with a smirk.

"What's the damn time, you pains in the ass?" Zoro wiped at the rivulet of drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, then propped himself up on his elbows, shooting a deadly glare at the boys still sitting on him.

"It's 3 pm, we thought you'd died in your sleep or something." Sanji shrugged a shoulder as he picked at some hangnail around the nail of his forefinger with his thumbnail, completely avoiding Zoro's gaze.

"A dream come true, huh?" Zoro swatted the hand that Luffy had buried into his mohawk to ruffle it.

Sanji sighed dramatically and nodded "I would have been very happy, yes." he crossed one long leg over the other and got more comfortable on Zoro's ass.

Zoro scoffed and with a swift movement managed to send both Luffy and Sanji ass first onto the floor, much to Ace's amusement.

"Zoro!" Luffy whined as glared up at his brother "You're no fun at all!"

"Shitty Marimo!" Sanji cried as he rubbed at his lower back.

"I'm gonna go shower, put your chef skills to good use and make me something to eat for when I'm ready." Zoro announced as he picked some clean clothes from his drawers, then pushed past Ace to get to the bathroom.

"Fuck you! You can starve for all I care!" Sanji growled from the bedroom.

"You wouldn't allow that." Zoro replied and grinned when he heard a frustrated moan in response.

–

Zoro was ready in forty minutes and everyone made fun of him for taking too long, so Zoro had to remember everyone that Sanji always took more than an hour and Ace always smelled like he had plunged into a pool of cologne. Sanji nearly threw the sandwich he had just prepared at Zoro's face, and he really only restrained from doing so because it was food, but he did kick him in the shin.

They needed to leave to get to the mall and buy the tickets for the movie, but Luffy was still munching on the third club sandwich that Sanji had made for him and Ace was absolutely adamant that they waited because he didn't want mayonnaise and tomato slices all over his car seats.

"Jesus, Luffy, will you hurry up and finish?" Zoro growled as he thumped his boot on the floor. "We're gonna be late!"

"Don't listen to him, if you eat too fast it'll make you sick!" Sanji spoke around his cigarette as he watched the boy eat.

"Bullshit, he always wolfs things down like it's his last hour on earth!" Zoro huffed and threw his head back in exasperation.

"God, Zoro would you chill the fuck out?" Ace bursted as he stared at his brother with wide eyes and spread arms.

"I'm done, I'm done!" Luffy announced with a full mouth and raised hands.

"You got mayo on your shirt..." Sanji sighed and took a drag of his cigarette.

"Great!" Zoro huffed and ran his fingers through his hair.

Luffy looked down at his shirt and quickly tugged it off "I'll be just a second!" he cried as he sprung to his feet and bolted out of the kitchen and upstairs to change his shirt.

"What's wrong with you?" Sanji asked as flicked ashes into the sink and washed them off under the stream of water.

Zoro looked at Ace with a quirked brow and Ace pointed at him, mouthing "He's talking to you."

"Nothing?" Zoro shrugged a shoulder.

"You were pestering your little brother like there was no tomorrow, you never do that." Sanji turned around to look at him, resting back against the sink.

Zoro rolled his eyes "I just don't wanna be late."

"Thank God you're not driving, then." Ace cut in, making Sanji snort.

"You're such a comedian." Zoro deadpanned, and a minute after he was attacked by Luffy who jumped on his back.

"I'm ready, let's go!" Luffy grinned.

"Let's go then." Ace made his car keys dangle, and Sanji couldn't help but smirk at Luffy all roped around his older brother.

Zoro suddenly felt bad about having nagged his little brother the whole time, so he decided to carry him on his back to the car. He didn't actually mean to be rude to Luffy, but he'd been really looking forward to that evening and he just wanted things to go smoothly – missing the movie because of a sandwich wasn't exactly his plan.

"Shotgun!" Luffy suddenly called out as he dropped back on his feet and ran to the passenger seat of the car.

Ace playfully rolled his eyes "No putting your feet on the freaking dashboard or I'll cut them off."

Luffy sighed dramatically and pulled the door open "What a nazi." he climbed inside the car, leaving Sanji and Zoro to guffaw at Ace's face.

"I'll leave you both here." Ace grumbled as he got into the car.

Sanji shrugged a shoulder and pointed at his own car "Like that'd be a problem."

Zoro snorted and entered the car himself.

Once they arrived at the mall and saw all the people queued up at the ticket booth everyone's eyes popped out of their sockets.

"Oh fuck me sideways." Ace groaned as they approached to get in line behind a family with two little girls and a boy, all wearing Marvel comics shirts.

"Gladly." Sanji smirked, and Ace's face paled all of a sudden as he looked at Zoro.

Zoro limited himself to glare daggers at Sanji, then sunk his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stared at the dropping count of the seats for the screening of The Winter Soldier that they had chosen.

He wasn't even mad at Sanji for cracking that stupid joke, he was just disappointed because of course everyone and their mothers were always going to be more interesting and appealing to Sanji than Zoro.

It wasn't even like Zoro expected anything from Sanji, being his best friend and the person he'd known longer for all his life didn't automatically qualify as boyfriend material, and it wasn't like Zoro had ever made a move or uttered a single word regarding his feelings, still he hoped that something would finally happen someday.

He hardly demanded Sanji to finally turn around and look at Zoro like he was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen on this earth, but he'd just hope that he would slow down with his destructive behavior and not get into any sort of trouble. Zoro respected Sanji very much, no matter the insults and the fights, and loved him more than he cared to admit, and all he wanted was to know that he was safe and happy. And most of the times Sanji wasn't.

"Oi Zoro, why don't we go get popcorn and coke while they wait here in line?" Luffy asked as he nudged Zoro's side.

Zoro scowled down at him "Because you'd just eat all your popcorn and drink all your coke while they're in the queue and then you'll want to buy more." he chastised him, even if he couldn't really bite back a tiny smirk.

Luffy huffed and threw his head back "Come on! I'm not 5!"

Zoro arched up an eyebrow "Kinda."

"Fuck off!" Luffy grunted, and the mother that was right ahead of them in the line glared back at him.

Sanji waved his hand and grinned at the woman "Sorry madam, he's a bit cranky today. I'll make sure it won't happen again!" he turned to slap Luffy's shoulder, then sneered between his teeth "Stop swearing, there are kids here, fucksake!" then as he realized what he'd just done he slapped a hand over his mouth and Luffy, Ace and Zoro couldn't help but burst out laughing as the lady proceeded to lecture Sanji on how he shouldn't mock people like he'd just done.

Once the argument with the lady was over Sanji was as red as a tomato, and fuming with rage, but when it was finally their turn they were lucky enough to find decent seats which definitely brightened Sanji's mood. They weren't exactly central nor particularly high but they did the trick.

Zoro went to buy popcorn and coke for everyone, and Luffy nearly knocked everything to the floor when he almost jumped up on Zoro in excitement.

"Next time we go to the movies we're sedating him!" Sanji growled as they entered the theater. Ace laughed and shook his head while Luffy sulked and stuffed his face with buttered popcorn.

Sanji and Zoro sat next to one another, then Luffy sat near Zoro and Ace right beside him.

"Don't argue during the movie or I'll murder you both." Ace warned Zoro and Sanji.

"I'll help him." Luffy nodded, then the two brothers high-fived. In response Sanji and Zoro stared at them for a moment, then both turned to look at the blank screen, one sipping on his coke and the other popping popcorn in his mouth.

Sanji nudged Zoro's elbow all of a sudden, then pointed down at their bowl of popcorn "What if I bore a hole through the bottom and stick my cock into it, huh? Like in bad porn movies."

Zoro widened his eyes while Luffy and Ace cracked up beside him "Shut up, you sick fuck!" he growled at the exact time in which the lights went off.

Sanji laughed his ass off as he wore his 3D glasses and turned to look at the images that finally began to appear on the screen.

Zoro kept staring at Sanji, a grimace twisting his features as he shook his head and wore his 3D glasses as well. That wasn't even kinky, it was just plain disgusting.

Useless to say, since when movie began and all through the entire screening the four boys commented on the movie with poorly muffled whispers and random bursts of laughter. Ace couldn't help the little moans that escaped his control every now and then when Natasha was on screen, and Sanji wouldn't shut up about how hard he would have wanted to fuck Bucky.

"I thought you'd want him to fuck you." Zoro whispered the first time Sanji said it.

"Dude, he looks more of a bottom than me. Plus that hair is totally made to be pulled on." Sanji explained as he jabbed his forefinger at the screen.

"He's got a point, I'd totally fuck him too." Ace raised his eyebrows, and a couple sitting a row behind hushed them with indignation.

"No homo?" Sanji muttered, and everyone snorted.

Around the end of the movie Zoro's stomach began to tighten. The story of Steve and Bucky somehow hit home and he couldn't help but throw a couple glances at Sanji during the fighting scene between the two.

Zoro was like Steve, even though he actually fought Sanji back every time, he didn't enjoy it. Bucky's mindless hostility and violence broke Steve more emotionally than physically, he loved Bucky unconditionally and answered every punch by reminding Bucky that he was his friend and everything was going to be okay, and right when Bucky was about to finish him Steve uttered that sentence that made Zoro's teeth grit and his fists clench.

"I'm with you 'til the end of the line, pal."

He felt Sanji shift in his seat, his right hand clutched the handle of the seat and when Zoro looked at him he saw him push the 3D glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"Damn, why am I getting emotional over these two?" Luffy suddenly whined, and when Zoro whipped his head around to look at him he saw Ace rubbing at his left eye with the tips of two fingers.

"Fuck it, I didn't know we were watching a romantic drama." Ace growled lowly.

"You fucking morons, are you crying?" Zoro grumbled as he stared at them.

"Hey I'm made of flesh and bones!" Ace exclaimed as he pointed at his own face, and Sanji broke into giggles.

"We're all so manly, getting emotional over these faggots." Sanji shook his head as he looked at the screen.

Zoro scowled at Sanji.

So he could still feel something, that was good to know.

On the other hand it was pretty fucking pathetic that the four of them were being emotional over The Winter Soldier, what the hell was wrong with them?

Well at least Zoro wasn't tearing up like Ace. Still he felt like he had a good reason to feel upset about what they were watching, even though the last thing he was going to admit was that he could relate to damn Captain America.

Zoro drew in a long, deep breath as the lights turned back on, then pushed the glasses over his head.

"I liked this one better than the first!" Luffy announced with a huge grin.

"Yeah, me too." Ace agreed and Zoro and Sanji limited themselves to nod along.

"Look at all these idiots leaving," Sanji suddenly commented as he watched people exit the theater as the credits kept rolling.

"Are they ever gonna learn about the after credits scene?" Luffy sighed as he sunk deeper into his seat.

"Let the peasants leave, we don't need them." Ace smirked as he poked Luffy's side, making him squirm.

Zoro grabbed his coke to finish it off, then caught Sanji staring at him "What?"

Sanji shrugged a shoulder "Nothing, I was just thinking that your ass is nicer than Steve's."

Coke went up Zoro's nose and he broke into a coughing fit, worrying Luffy who started slapping him behind the back under Ace's shocked gaze.

"That was a compliment, why the fuck are you dying?" Sanji sighed and shook his head.

Zoro didn't die, but the coke he had inhaled nearly made him miss the after credits scene, so Sanji slapped him really hard on his back and Zoro miraculously stopped choking.

"C-couldn't you do that earlier?" Zoro cleared his throat and wiped away a stray tear from his cheekbone.

"Shht! Let me watch the scene, you can go back to dying later." Sanji waved a hand as he focused on the screen.

Hadn't he cared about the very last scene Zoro would have said something in return and started a fight, but the last thing he wanted was missing an after credit scene and being kicked out of the theater for murder.

Once the movie had definitely ended, Luffy could barely contain himself and started what sounded like a neverending ramble about the movie and how extremely excited he was for the other films that still had to come.

"Yeah, yeah alright it was pretty cool! But the Marimo and I are waiting for our beloved X-Men to come back." Sanji cut in all of a sudden, a smug smirk on his face as he folded his arms over his chest.

It was the small little things like those that made Zoro's heart swell, some stuff were only about the two of them and Sanji never failed to mention it.

"Yep." Zoro nodded casually.

"And he'll wear the Wolverine shirt I got him for his birthday, because he's such a fanboy." Sanji added as he half-covered his mouth with his hand.

"Shut up, you'll cry over the movie and we all know that!" Zoro growled as he shoved his hands inside his pockets.

"I won't!" Sanji denied, then sighed and dropped his head "Okay, I probably will."

Everyone laughed at the confession, but it was quickly disrupted by the roaring sound of Luffy's stomach.

"You can't be serious!" Sanji growled with widened eyes.

"But I'm really hungry..." Luffy frowned as he wrapped his arms around his stomach.

"You just ate a fuckload of popcorn!" Sanji insisted. Zoro didn't even know why it was so hard for him to believe how much Luffy could eat, even thought he had known him since when he was a child.

"They opened up my stomach, nothing more." Luffy sighed.

"Well," Ace cut in, cocking his head to the side slightly "I'm kinda hungry myself."

"I could eat, too." Zoro gave a one-sided shrug and Sanji looked at the three brothers almost disgusted.

"You damn bottomless pits," Sanji grumbled and shook his head "let's find the less shitty place on the food court floor."

Luffy gave a cheerful cry, then hugged Sanji so tight that Zoro feared he might crack one or two of the cook's ribs.

–

Going out for dinner with Sanji was one hell of a challenge, he could never settle for anything because he kept judging and questioning the healthiness of the food made in any single restaurant. Fast food were completely out of question, even when Luffy practically pushed Ace inside Burger King because he absolutely wanted a Triple Whopper with a side of Grilled Chicken, Sanji barked out his disdain and dragged Luffy out by force.

After almost an hour and thirty minutes of arguing and walking around the food court they settled for a steakhouse, since it looked like their best option, much to Luffy's happiness.

Everyone stuffed their stomachs full with all kinds of meat, french fries and sauces, while Sanji glared at them sideways as he almost elegantly ate his medium rare steak and a salad.

"You drank nearly three beers and we're not even even gone to the club yet, you'll probably spend the night in the toilets, trying not to piss your pants." Sanji commented as he watched Zoro down half of the pint in his hand.

"Get off my back, Cook." Zoro grumbled as he ate the rest of his fries and washed them down with a big gulp of lager.

"You should eat something else, Sanji. It'll probably make you less snappy." Luffy suggested as he stole a bunch of fries from Ace's plate.

"Little bastard, I'll stab you with my fork!" Ace snarled as he threateningly aimed his fork at the back of Luffy's hand.

"I'll help." Sanji deadpanned as he glared over at Luffy.

"He's right, get some sugar in your blood, it might do something about that bitterness of yours." Zoro commented as he knocked back the rest of his beer, and Sanji hit him in the chest hard enough to make him cough up some lager and nearly spit it into Ace's face. "I'll kill you, you damn asshole!" Zoro sneered and took Sanji by the collar of his shirt.

"Go on!" Sanji challenged him through gritted teeth.

Ace grabbed Zoro's wrist and yanked it away "Fucking stop arguing! This was supposed to be a nice evening! Don't ruin it!" he growled lowly as he made sure that no one was paying attention, then when he casually looked down at his dish and found it emptied of the rest of his french fries, he had to slap Luffy in the back of the head.

Both Zoro and Sanji sunk back in their seat, and Sanji sighed "We're all hopeless."

"I just really like these fries..." Luffy whined as he rubbed at the back of his head.

Sanji scoffed and stood up, grabbed his messenger bag and proceeded to walk away with it.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Zoro asked, not caring that he had spoken loud enough for everyone to hear him.

Sanji didn't turn but answered anyway "Gotta get ready for the club."

Zoro turned to look at Ace with a quizzical look.

"Hopefully he won't wear a skirt again, so your boner will be less evident..." Ace shrugged a shoulder, then added "Maybe." with a tiny, yet incredibly smug smirk.

Luffy inhaled the coke he was drinking as he failed to choke back his laughter and Zoro threw the picked bone of his steak at Ace.

Desserts were ordered and thoroughly enjoyed while Sanji was still burrowed inside the men's toilet, and for a moment they actually started to worry that he might have passed out or something.

"Maybe we should check on him." Ace suggested, his eyebrows drawn together in apprehension as he wiped crumbs off the table.

Zoro snorted "I told you earlier. He takes forever to get ready." he was actually just as worried as Ace, but he certainly wasn't going to let it show, nor he planned on bursting into the toilets to see if Sanji was alright.

"I can go check." Luffy offered as he stabbed the last piece of brownies in his plate.

Zoro was just about to give him an harsh reply when his gaze strayed past Ace and Luffy's heads.

Sanji was just fine.

He was actually painfully fine, as he sauntered towards them with feline grace in his tight bondage pants, a fishnet shirt that put his lower stomach tattoo on display, and a tailcoat jacket. His eyes were finely circled with black eyeliner and eyeshadow, making his gaze look like that of a panther, and as soon as they locked with Zoro's he felt his stomach quiver and a jolt bolted right down to his groin.

In that moment Zoro would have gladly punched himself in the crotch, just so that he wouldn't have to hear Ace's endless teasing once he'd stand up from the table and probably too close to Sanji.

"You had all those clothes in your bag?" Luffy was the only one really able to speak up in that moment "That's why it looked all puffed up."

Sanji raised an eyebrow "You all should have dressed more nicely, I'll be ashamed to walk into the club with you three." he sighed and dramatically rolled his eyes.

Ace kicked Zoro's boot from under the table, so that he finally straightened up in his chair and shut his slightly hanging mouth.

"Fuck off, you diva." Zoro managed to say as he quickly got a hold of himself and cleared his throat.

Sanji folded his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow "What if we meet a fan that wants to take a picture? I sure as hell won't look like a hobo for that."

"Gimme a break." Zoro grimaced and stood up, his jeans felt a bit too tight on the crotch area but maybe no one was going to notice. "Let's pay and get outta here."

"What about coffee?" Sanji protested as he watched Luffy and Ace stand up.

"It could spill all over your pretty clothes, and we don't want that." Zoro tilted his head, then quickly strutted towards the cashier.

Sanji groaned and followed him along with his brothers.

As they were finally walking back to the garage, as they had just got one off the escalators, Luffy beamed at a lady who was keeping her Staffordshire Bull Terrier on a leash and crouched down to pet the dog for what felt like ages, asking question about him and laughing when the dog licked his face, until Sanji joined in and began to scratch under the dog's chin.

Zoro and Ace didn't have the heart to tell both of them to hurry up because they should have left in a couple of minutes if they didn't want to find a neverending queue outside the club, but the way Sanji was grinning reminded Zoro of how he smiled as a child and it made his stomach flutter.

There weren't many things which put that special look on Sanji's face, sometimes not even singing for an audience made him that happy, and Zoro thought it was important for Sanji to enjoy moments like that more.

He stuffed his hands inside his pockets in a clear sign of wait, and as he was feeling Ace's eyes burning on his skin he had to turn his head to scowl at him.

"What?"

Ace smirked and shrugged, he too had his hands buried in his pockets "Nothing, you just..." he threw Sanji and Luffy a glance to make sure they weren't listening, and then lowered his voice to speak again "You should see your face when you look at him."

Zoro's eyes widened and his body stiffened "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Yes, Ace knew perfectly about Zoro's feelings towards Sanji, still Zoro didn't want to be always that obvious, he didn't want to hear how much he looked like an idiot when Sanji smiled as he pet a dog. It was frustrating and humiliating, and Zoro hated it with a passion.

Ace rolled his eyes and just shook his head, then turned to look at Sanji and Luffy "Guys, I know the dog is gorgeous," he pulled his hands out of his pockets and tapped his forefinger on the opposite wrist, where his watch was "but we should really go."

Zoro frowned, then blinked for a moment, because he pictured he and Ace as a couple of parents who were waiting on their kids so that they could leave the mall. Then when he saw Sanji stand up and turn around to face him he felt that way too familiar stir in his pants, and suddenly the thought he had just had felt deeply wrong and creepy, so Zoro had to quickly turn on his heels and march towards the last escalator that would have brought them to the garage.

In the car Sanji shifted until that he was pressed against the corner of the backseat, then kicked both legs over Zoro's lap as he played with his cellphone and sang half-heartedly whichever song came on the radio.

All Zoro could do was bless his very good health that didn't let him have a stroke or anything, every time Sanji was so incredibly close to him.

–

When they finally reached the club, there was already hardly any spot to park the car in, and Ace nearly bashed his head into the steering wheel in frustration.

"Told you we needed to leave the mall sooner." Sanji sighed as he pocketed his cellphone and rolled down the window in order to have a smoke.

"Shut up, Sanji. You were the one who made us walk around the food court for five years and then–" Ace growled as he looked at Sanji from the rear view mirror, then jabbed a thumb in Luffy's direction "stopped for two more years to pet a dog with this little shit."

Zoro snorted and folded his arms over his chest. He loved it when Sanji got called out on his bullshit, especially when Ace did it.

"How is this suddenly my fault, too?" Luffy groaned and threw his head back against the headrest of the car seat "I thought we were ganging up against Sanji."

Sanji gasped, outraged "That's not–!" his words died in his throat as he obviously couldn't find anything to say in return, so he limited himself to grit his teeth around the filter of his cigarette and mutter out "Get off my ass."

Zoro shook his head and looked over at Sanji "He's right, so just suck it up."

Sanji arched up an eyebrow "What do you want me to suck? Your cock?" he asked in his usual challenging tone.

Zoro quickly grabbed him by the collar of his fishnet shirt and yanked him closer to him "Quit being a smartass, or I'll fucking kill you!"

Sanji laughed in his face, taking the cigarette away from between his lips "You always say that, but you never actually do it!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Ace called out as he turned in his seat to look back at them "I'm seriously gonna murder both of you unless you shut the fuck up!"

Zoro let go of Sanji's shirt and dropped back against his seat, avoiding Sanji's gaze, and Sanji shook his head before taking a drag tobacco.

"You're fucking annoying, Jesus!" Ace groaned, then spotted a car backing up into the road. "Fuck yes!" he cried out victorious as he steered his own car into the direction of the now empty spot.

"Yes! Finally!" Luffy threw both his fists in the air and hit them on the roof of the car "Oops!"

"Luffy, stop denting my car!" Ace chastised him with a glare, then finally parked the car.

Zoro got out of the car before anyone else and quickly made his way to the club, leaving the others behind and absolutely not caring about what they could think.

Sanji was too much to handle for him, and not in terms of being attractive. No matter how much Zoro had tried to be nice and plan out that evening to make him feel better, Sanji always felt the need to piss him off more than anyone or anything else could. It was a gift that Sanji had, a shitty one, but still a gift.

Many times Zoro wondered why in the world he had to be in love with him, of all the people. Still, every time he asked himself that question, his own brain reminded him of all the good things about Sanji and how they made up for his terrible attitude. Not that Zoro himself was exactly a saint, he knew he could be an asshole just as much as Sanji, but at times like those Zoro needed to be away from Sanji to prevent things from getting seriously ugly.

He hoped that the couple of minutes away from Sanji and the others could be enough to blow off some steam, even though it was clearly impossible.

Zoro walked up to the queue and scanned the people standing ahead of him. He could recognize quite a few faces, and most of them were people who usually showed up at their shows or hung out at the same places that Zoro and the others went to.

When he spotted a particularly familiar green head he really hoped that Perona and Hancock weren't around to torment both he and Luffy. Now that he was thinking about it he definitely hoped that Duval wouldn't be there either, or else Sanji would have been tailed and haunted by his number one fanboy.

Zoro was just trying to peek from over the people in line before him to see if he could spot any unwanted company when he felt someone yanking really hard at the hem of his leather jacket. Zoro put on his murderous glare and whipped around really hard, ready to punch a bitch, but realized just in time that it was just his little brother.

"You're extremely rude, you know that?" Luffy scowled at him and folded his arms over his chest.

"And you were gonna be punched stupid, you know that?" Zoro answered as he fixed his jacket and pretended like Sanji hadn't just stepped beside Luffy.

"He's right, why did you run away like that?" Sanji quirked an eyebrow and dropped the burnt out butt of his cigarette on the concrete.

Zoro ignored him and turned back around only to see Bartolomeo flailing his arms and waving at them with the biggest grin ever plastered on his face.

"Your admirer is here." Ace snorted, and Zoro glared daggers at him.

"You could actually get laid tonight, for once. Play your cards wisely." Sanji commented from behind Zoro.

It took all of Zoro's self control to ignore those words and keep from starting a fight with Sanji.

Bartolomeo seemed to be in company of other people who made him blush extremely hard and that he proceeded to argue with right away. Zoro thought he knew a couple of the voices that were teasing Bartolomeo, but he couldn't quite place them, especially since he couldn't care less. At least they weren't feminine voices with annoying laughs.

Until...

"Horohorohorohoro!"

Zoro's blood froze in his veins and his entire body stiffened, rooted to the spot he couldn't even muster up the strength to turn around and face her. They were both there, Perona and Bartolomeo were there and Zoro didn't know how his night could turn worse, not even if he tried to think about it.

He could hear Sanji laugh into the back of his hand, while Ace held it in and Luffy openly let out a bark of laughter.

"Oi, where were you last time we played?" Luffy asked, and Zoro was deciding whether biting off his tongue and dying on the spot was worth it.

"I had work to do, unfortunately!" Perona replied "I was modeling out of town for a goth clothing line."

Zoro was holding his breath as if it helped him disappear or maybe camouflage to the rest of the environment like a chameleon, but Perona grabbed him by his elbow and tugged sharply on it.

"Turn around, you rude idiot!" the girl growled, and Zoro turned around with a defeated, miserable look in his eyes.

"Hey..." Zoro hummed, making Sanji burst out in a throaty laugh that had him bent over with his hands on his knees.

Zoro was cursed, there couldn't be a different explanation to being so shit out of luck.

"We're going to a club, not a funeral! Cheer up!" Perona poked Zoro's cheek with a smirk.

Zoro conjured up all of his will power in order to not grab Perona's wrist and snap each one of her skinny fingers when something suddenly caught his and everyone else's attention.

A group made up of a girl and two guys approached them, and as soon as they were within hearing reach the girl spoke up.

"Hey you," she pointed at Sanji "yes you, blondie."

Zoro perked up and forgot completely about Perona.

"I have a name, darling." Sanji replied as he pulled a cigarette out and prepared to light it up.

The girl shrugged off Sanji's words and went on "You're the guy who dressed in drag last night at the Metal Mayhem." her tone was harsh and cold, and Zoro could smell trouble.

Sanji's eyebrows arched up as he puffed on his cigarette "That would be me, yeah." he exhaled the smoke from the corner of his mouth, making sure that he wasn't going to blow it directly at the girl's face.

"I still wonder why the fuck a pillow biter like you would hit a stage," she spilled out, venomous, making everyone stare at her in disbelief. "You're a fucking freak."

Zoro's jaw tightened almost painfully, and as he was really tempted to keep on glaring at the girl, he couldn't help but throw Sanji a glance.

Sanji looked impassive, but Zoro could tell that his lips had tightened just slightly around the filter of his cigarette. His nostrils had somewhat flared and his hands were both clenched into fists as they rested burrowed inside Sanji's pockets.

Zoro knew that Sanji was strong and that he could definitely fend for himself (and he actually always could do that) but those words were like a kick in the stomach and he could tell that they threatened to reopen old wounds, and send both he and Sanji back to when they went to school. Back to when Sanji was constantly bullied by way too many people, made fun of by way too many girls he'd meant to woo.

"You see, sweet lady," Sanji puffed on his cigarette, he was so calm that it was actually scary "on stage, with my band, I do as I please." he replied in a simple, low voice.

The girl laughed, infecting the two young men who were standing by each of her sides, and the sound was cold and cruel, and it made Zoro's hands itch so bad that he had to tighten his fists even harder.

"No one wants to see a fucking faggot sway his hips on stage," the guy on the girl's right with black hair shook his head. "It's both creepy and ridiculous."

"Yeah, I pay for a metal show and I get what?" the other man, sporting long brown curly hair scowled at Sanji, eyeing him from head to toe. "A damn cock sucker swirling his skirt on a stage," he growled as he pulled a face "why don't you leave music to real men?"

Zoro's eyes darkened as he felt anger wash over his body and hatred pumping through his veins. He wanted to speak up, he wanted to beat those ignorant idiots to a pulp, but he also knew that Sanji wouldn't have wanted him to do any of those things. So Zoro bit his tongue and dug his nails into his palms, he could feel the skin ripping but he didn't care, it didn't even hurt a bit.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Luffy bursted all of a sudden "Sanji's more of a man that you'll ever be, you assholes!" his face was twisted in anger as he stepped ahead.

Zoro would have stopped Luffy or called him out, only to keep Sanji's pride intact, but his little brother had every right to back up a friend. He glanced at Ace whose eyes looked blacker than ever, he had assumed an hostile stance but he was holding back for the exact same reason as Zoro.

"Fucking hell, you have midgets protecting you?" the girl guffawed as she pointed at Luffy, and the boy bared his gritted teeth in response.

"You're the rudest girl I've ever met, you might be as pretty as you want but you're disgusting!" Perona suddenly sneered as she scanned all three of them "And the same goes for you bastards."

Everyone turned their heads to look at Perona, Zoro would have lied if he'd said that he wasn't pleasantly surprised to hear her defend Sanji like that, for some reasons he didn't think she would ever do that.

"Perona..." Sanji half whispered as he stared at the pink haired girl.

"He even has girls defending him, this just gets better by the moment!" the brown haired guy laughed along with his two friends.

"Watch your mouth!" Sanji snarled as soon as they started laughing at Perona.

Zoro's head whipped in Sanji's direction. He could tell that he was slowly losing his temper, but Zoro knew it wasn't for the insults directed at him but to those that concerned his friends, especially when they aimed them at Perona.

"Or what?" the girl challenged him.

"He'll hit you with his purse, of course." the black haired guy snorted.

"That's the best you can come up with? Really?" Sanji half-laughed.

"You think you're scary?" the man went on, an amused look on his face "Go back to work the streets, you mattress muncher!" he shook his head "He's wearing a fucking fishnet shirt, the faggot! That'll bring loads of customers!"

It was then, when that last sentence was uttered that Zoro's vision went red and he acted out of sheer impulse, punching the guy so hard in the face that he collapsed on the ground, groaning in pain and holding his bleeding nose with both hands.

Years and years of training with Mihawk had taught Zoro the importance of calm and focus, how keeping concentrated and not being driven by emotions allowed one to think with a cold mind and act or react in the rightest or best of ways. It was really too bad that when it came to Sanji all those precious teachings went down the toilet at the drop of a hat and Zoro turned into a ferocious beast.

To be continued...

A/N:I know you hate cliffhangers, we all do, but I promise you that I won't keep you in the dark for too long and I'll update soon, since I've had to split this chapter in two parts.