Overworked, and Over Done
Zoro walked into his apartment at 11pm, exhausted from his two jobs, and all but fell onto the couch "I'm home" he said into the house, not sure if Usopp was home.
"Hey Dad, how was your day?" Usopp asked coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of cereal in one hand and a spoon in the other
"I hate being customer support, but on the bright side, my new job at Robin's firm is nice and lax, I just run errands for her" Zoro said seating up and taking his shoes off "What about yours? How did your date go?"
Usopp sat down on the couch and set his bowl on the table "Pretty well, we had a picnic, cause neither of us had money for dinner and a movie, oh I took the leftovers from the baratie, hope you don't mind"
Zoro smiled "Of course not, did she like it?"
Usopp nodded "Yeah she loved it, she brought a homemade apple pie, it was good, I took a slice home if you want it"
Zoro shook his head "No it's yours, any more milk?"
"Yeah, still half a liter left" Usopp replied eating his evening snack
"Awesome, oh hey, can you do the grocery shopping tomorrow?" Zoro asked pulling out his wallet
"Sure, do we have a list somewhere?" Usopp asked as Zoro handed him some money
"I'll make one before I go to bed, but for now, I'm going to get my own bowl of cereal" Zoro said standing up and going to the kitchen
"Cool, I'll get it down, Oh by the way, I would really like to fix my bike up when we have money for it, something in the motor is bad" Usopp called from the couch
Zoro put his spoon in the bowl and picked it up "Did you talk to Franky about it?"
"Yeah, he said that he'll need about 200 to fix it up"
"Damn, that poor bike" Zoro said back sitting down at the couch again "I might have the money next pay check"
"Awesome, thanks"
Zoro smiled "No proplem, so when do I get to meet Kaya?"
"We are barely dating, give her some time" Usopp said laughing "I don't want her to meet such a-"
"Such a what?" Zoro asked with a sly smile on his face
Usopp adverted his eyes nervously before he could speak "Powerful personality" he said out after a short silence
"Hahahaha, I see, so when you going to meet her dad?"
"Dude, it was the first date, be cool" Usopp mocked "Alright, well I'm going to go to bed, night dad"
"Night" Zoro responded, then went to the kitchen table and grabbed a pen and paper "What do we need" Zoro thought about Usopp motorbike and the money needed 'no more beer' Zoro decreed to himself
…
"Dad, dad, dad!" Chopper said while jumping on Sanji's bed
Sanji opened his eyes briefly before shutting them, throwing one hand over his eyes "Hey buddy, what's up?" he said tiredly
"It's Sunday, you said you'd take me shopping today so you could show me how to make a stew!"
Sanji tried to smile, but only yawned "What time is it?"
"Umm, 6am" Chopper said and he stopped his jumping
Sanji groaned "Alright, alright, let me wake up and take a shower, then I'll make us some breakfast and we'll go"
"Yay!" Chopper said loudly and jumped off the bed
…
"Ok, so for a simple stew, all you need is some meat, carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes." Sanji said while pushing the shopping cart "And then some bay leafs for flavor, but you don't eat those, you take them out before eating" Sanji looked at Chopper who was walking beside him and smiled
"Okay!" Chopper said beaming with happiness
Suddenly Sanji's phone rang
"Oh, let me get that, hey, go pick out some good carrots and not to fatty meat"
Chopper curtly nodded with a smile on his face and trotted off towards the meat section, within Sanji's line of view. Sanji looked at the phone recognizing the number and flipped it open
"Hello, Camie?"
"Hey mister Blackleg, I'm calling because I can't babysit Chopper on Monday or Tuesday"
"Oh, okay well thank you for calling, what about the rest of the week?"
"Yeah the rest of the week is good, but I have a family event on those days."
"Okay, thank you for calling, bye"
"Bye"
With that Sanji hung up the phone, and pushed the cart towards Chopper
"Hey daddy, how does this look?"
Sanji knelt down and examined the meat "Mh, good, but see this right here, that's a little too much fat, and , if you look at the curve right here, you can tell that they put the fatty side down" Sanji looked at the other choices and grabbed one "Here you want one like this, see the curve, no fat there so you know at least most of it is good"
Chopper listened intently, paying close attention to the details "okay, what about my carrots?" Chopper asked holding up a bag of carrots
"Let me see them" Sanji took the bag and looked over them flipping the bag over and looking at them "Perfect, well done!" Sanji said and shook his hand on Choppers head "Now let's go get some potatoes"
"Okay!" Chopper said smiling
They started walking down to where the potatoes where when they stopped to look at some strawberries
"Do you want some Chopper? They look pretty good"
"They do look good!" Chopper said almost drooling
"Let's see, beef, beef, where is it?"
Sanji looked up to find the familiar voice, and saw Usopp walking behind them heading towards the meats "Hey, Chopper, isn't that Usopp" Sanji pointed to the long nosed man pushing a nearly empty cart
"Oh hey it is, can we go say hi?" Chopper asked looking towards Usopp
Sanji quickly pick up some of the berries and turned the cart back towards the meat section "Sure come on"
"Beef, beef, beef, oh here we go" Usopp picked up the package of beef that Chopper had first picked up
"Hey Usopp!" Chopper said when they were close enough that he didn't have to shout
Usopp jumped a little then looked at Chopper and Sanji "Oh hey guys, you scared me, so what brings you guys around?"
"Were going to cook a stew, daddy's going to teach me!" Chopper said excited
Usopp knelt down towards Chopper "whoa, you're already learning how to cook? That's so cool!"
"Hehehe, yeah I'm really excited!" Chopper danced excitedly
"I bet, I didn't learn how to cook until I was ten! You must be really smart!" Usopp said patted his head before standing back up
"Shut up your compliments don't make me happy!" Chopper said full of glee while doing a happy dance
Sanji and Usopp both chuckled at the youngest ones antics
"You know, that meat is gonna be really fatty" Sanji mentioned as he looked at the package
Usopp grabbed it and looked at it "Really, it doesn't look like it has much fat on it"
Sanji moved to look at it and pointed out the curve "They packaged it fat side down" Sanji scanned the meat again and picked up one that didn't have much fat "Here, this one would be better"
Usopp gratefully took it, putting the other one back "Thanks, I owe you one"
Sanji smiled "not a problem, oh hey, I actually have a favor to ask, I know we don't really know each other, but the person I had to babysit Chopper can't make it Monday and Tuesday, any chance you're free? I can pay"
Usopp thought about the week "Sure I'd be happy to, well I have school tell 2:30, but after that I'm free"
Sanji gave a sigh of relief "Great, he gets off of school at 3, could you pick him up?"
Usopp nodded "Yeah, I know where the school is, I could walk there after my classes are done"
"What's going on?" Chopper asked confused
"Oh, Monday and Tuesday, Usopp is going to hang out with you while I work" Sanji redirected his attention to Usopp "thanks you're a life saver, I'll call your house with my address later, and I'll leave a key under the mat"
"Alright"
"I get to hang out with Usopp, yay!" Chopper said merrily
"So how long would I have to watch him for?" Usopp questioned
"Oh not too long, I get off work at 7 so I'd be home around 7:15" Sanji responded "I'll pay you 10 bucks an hour"
Usopp smiled "Sweet, 10 bucks an hour to hang with this little dude sounds great"
"Cool, oh, your dad won't mind right?" Sanji asked as an after thought
Usopp showed a thoughtful smile "Yeah, I'm sure he won't mind, I'll talk to him tonight to make sure"
"Okay, call me if you can't though"
"Yeah, of course" Usopp responded
"You still got my number right?"
"Yeah" Usopp responded reassuringly
"Great" Sanji nodded "Alright buddy, let's go get the rest of the stuff for the stew"
"Okay, bye Usopp!" Chopper said waving at him
"Bye little buddy, and bye, mister-"
"Blackleg" Sanji answered
Usopp nodded "Mister Blackleg, alright well see ya tomorrow"
…
Zoro walked into Robin's office and looked at the clock '7:30, two and a half hours till I can leave'
"Ah, there you are mister Roronoa, thank you for delivering those papers"
Zoro turned to his boss, "Not a problem Robin, it's my job, so what's next?"
Robin looked around her desk "Nothing for now, have a seat"
Zoro quickly obeyed and sat down in a empty seat in her cubicle
"So what's new, getting nervous that Usopp's almost an adult?" Robin asked not even lifting her gaze from her desk, where she was working quickly
"Well, I'm a little nervous, I'm trying to figure out how to save up enough money for this college he wants to go to, so that he doesn't have to have some much debt"
Robin nodded "I see, so anything else?"
Zoro smiled, he knew that she knew that something was up, and she was digging for it "well, I did just meet someone, he seems like a nice guy, he got's a little kid, seems like a decent person, a good friend hopefully"
Robin stopped working and looked at him "Oh, interesting, what about the man's other half, wife?"
"He's divorced from what I can tell"
Robin went back to working "you like him"
Zoro smirked "well he is how would you say, sexy, and I'd like to get to know him better, but I'm too busy" Zoro's smile faded a little "So how are Franky and the kids? Heard my son was over there the other day"
Robin smiled warmly "oh he was such a riot; he was playing with the kids while Franky was checking the bike, and he will make a great dad someday… Franky's dad came to visit for a few days, so there are tools everywhere. He and Franky are working on the boat out back; I figure it's only a matter of days until they call over Franky's brother"
Zoro laughed "Well, I hope he didn't cause too much trouble, so how olds the oldest now?"
"Franky Jr. is 14, a freshman in high school, man they grow up so fast, but that boy is such a rebel, I just wish he'd settle down"
"Well boys will be boys" Zoro commented
"coming from the man with the best behaved kid in the world" Robin replied
Zoro smiled "Yeah, you have a point, you know that he has a girlfriend now?"
Robin's smile grew "Really? Have you met her yet?"
"Not yet, the brat says that he doesn't want her to met such a 'strong personality' yet"
Robin put a hand in front of her mouth a laughed a little "Oh my, well I'm sure she is a good person"
"Yeah, I trust that he would pick someone good" Zoro said with a smile on his face, thinking about Usopp
"So this man that you met, did he want to keep in contact?" Robin asked stacking some papers up
"Yeah, we exchanged numbers, you know for the first hour I met him I didn't even know his name, yet it felt like we had known each other for years" Zoro chuckled
"Those are the makings of a great friendship, or relationship" Robin nonchalantly noted
Zoro let his smile fade "Well, with my luck he won't even be bi, so let's just say Friends"
Robin nodded "As you wish, well it seems that I don't have anything for you to do for the rest of the day, so you can go home early"
Zoro looked to her "you sure?"
Robin looked back and smiled "Go home, get some extra rest"
Zoro nodded "thanks"
"You're welcome"
…
"Oi I'm home early!" Zoro said into the apartment as he closed the door
"Hey, what happened?" Usopp asked from the kitchen
Zoro walked towards the kitchen to find that Usopp was cooking something he couldn't place "Robin gave me the rest of the day off, told me to get some rest, so what are you making for dinner?"
"Oh, hamburgers, there almost done"
"cool, sounds cool, thanks"
"Oh I forgot to tell you-" Usopp started but then the phone started ringing
"Hold that thought" Zoro said moving to the phone, and picked it up, however he didn't recognize the number, and answered with a confused look "Hello?"
"Hey, um is this Usopp?"
Zoro looked confused for a moment "Um no, who is this?"
"Sanji, I'm guessing this is Zoro then"
Usopp looked on, only hearing half of the conversation, then suddenly a smile spread across his father's face
"Oh, you sound a lot different over the phone"
"Same, hahaha, anyways, I ran into Usopp earlier and I asked him to babysit for me, I was just calling to give him the address, you don't mind right?"
Zoro smiled "No of course not, here let me give him the phone" Zoro took the phone away from his ear and handed to Usopp, who was utterly confused "Its Sanji" Zoro said
Usopp suddenly took on a look of understanding "Hey Sanji, yeah just let me grab a piece of paper"
Zoro watched as Usopp went towards his room and came back with a paper and a pen
"Okay go" after a few moments Usopp ripped the paper out and folded it "Okay got it, um okay sure" Usopp handed the phone back to Zoro
Zoro took it, now being the one that was confused "Hey?"
"Hey, just wondering if you want to hang out some time, since our boys are good friends I figure we might as well get to know each other better"
Zoro smiled, "Sure, when were you thinking?"
"Um, how about Friday night? We could go to a bar or something"
Zoro frowned "Well it sounds great, but I don't have any money"
"it'll be my treat then, so what do you say?"
"um sure I guess, this Friday"
"Cool, I'll call you with the details"
"Alright, cool"
Zoro hung up and smiled, putting the phone back on the ringer, noticing that Usopp had long since left the room and gone back to the kitchen. Zoro went to the kitchen, with some question in mind. "So when you babysitting Chopper?"
Usopp looked up from where he was flipping hamburgers "Tomorrow and Tuesday, 3 till 7:15ish" Usopp quickly answered "Think you could pick me up from his place?" Usopp asked with a smirk
"Brat" Zoro replied knowing what Usopp was doing "Plus I don't have a day off"
Usopp gave a confused look "I thought you said you had Tuesday off"
Zoro smiled "Nah, I'm going to ask them to switch it to Friday, Sanji wants to get to know each other since you and Chopper are buddies"
"Well he wants to get to know you, that's a start" Usopp noted
"Yeah, you did hear that part where he was married to a chick right" Zoro asked
Usopp nodded "Sure did, but I'm going to point to say something, so listen up"
"Okay" Zoro said looking at Usopp
"My Father is talking to me his biological son about a crush he has on a guy" Usopp ended his sentence by flipping a patty
"Smartass" Zoro commented "But I guess you have a point"
"Don't lose hope" Usopp said smilingly "Okay, dinner is done, but since your home, you can make your own burger"
Zoro smiled "and just today I was talking to Robin about how nice you are" he chuckled
Usopp simply laughed
…
"So what do you think Chopper? Pretty good stew right?" Sanji asked
Chopper nodded with a mouth full of stew, and quickly swallowed it 'It's really good"
Sanji smiled "that's because you did a good job"
Chopper smiled, but then the smile faded, and Sanji noticed
"Something up buddy?" he asked staring at his son
"Daddy, do you feel like you're missing something from your life?"
Sanji nearly choked on his food at such an intelligent question "um what do you mean?"
"Well mommy said that she feels like something is missing from her life and she has… what did she say it was, she had gotten… oh right she had gotten engaged again, do you feel the need to get engaged again?"
Sanji felt a rush of emotions fly through him all at once; she was getting married again? To whom, he the guy good with kids, why hasn't he met him yet? But for now he had to answer Chopper, only thing is that he couldn't think of a answer "Well Chopper those things are very complicated"
"But don't you want to get engaged again?" Chopper asked not completely understanding what he was talking about
Sanji smiled "Maybe one day, but for now, all I need is my son"
Sanji and Chopper smiled at each other and laughed a little, but Sanji couldn't stop thinking about the question all night long 'do I want to fall in love again? I wonder what her name would be, what color her hair? What tone her skin? Could he have a relationship with someone again after what happened with Nami?'
…
"mmhh! This is good Chopper, you made this?" Usopp smiled at Chopper, he was sitting at the table with him and Chopper had wanted him to try some of the spaghetti and Sanji had made yesterday
"Yeah, with some help from daddy" Chopper beamed
"Well it is really good! Good job buddy!" Usopp said finishing his bowl "So want to hear how I defeated a sea monster, with my legs tied?" Usopp smiled when Chopper jumped up in his seat
"W-w-what, you did that? How, what did it look like?"
Just then Sanji entered the house and went to the kitchen and saw that Chopper was engrossed in a Story Usopp was telling. Sanji quickly made his way to the living room and put the money he owed Usopp into an envelope, and then went back to the kitchen
"And that's how it happened, with just my lucky slingshot and a egg" Usopp finished spotting Sanji
"Wow! So cool!" Chopper shouted
"Hey guys, having fun?" Sanji asked sitting at the table
"Yeah! Usopp was telling me about one of his amazing adventures!"
Sanji slid the envelope over to Usopp "Thank you for watching him the past two days"
Usopp took the money "Not a problem, plus now I have some money to spend"
Sanji smiled "Oh hey, want a ride home?" Sanji asked while getting out of his chair
Usopp tried to hide a smile "Sure, thanks"
"Not a problem" Sanji replied "Come on Chopper go get your coat"
"Okay!" Chopper hopped off the chair and went to the coat rack
…
Zoro flopped onto the couch, kicking off his shoes with his feet; he couldn't believe the day felt so long, just like Monday had felt
"Hey dad, mind moving you face so I can sit down?"
Zoro looked up at his son "Shouldn't you be in bed, you have school tomorrow" Zoro moved so Usopp could sit down
"Yeah, but I needed to talk to you"
Zoro sat up and looked at his son "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, here, take this, to help with my bike" Usopp handed Zoro the envelope
Zoro opened it and took out the money, then chuckled "Nah Usopp, here, take Kaya out on a date with this money" Zoro pushed the money into Usopp's hands
"You sure? I mean the bike is gonna cost a lot"
Zoro nodded "Yeah, but love lasts longer than that bike will, so invest in it, I'll get that bike working"
Usopp smile "thanks, I just feel bad"
"Don't, I'm your dad, this is what I do, now go to bed"
Usopp got up and started off towards his room before turning around "I love you dad"
Zoro smiled "Love you too"
With that usopp went to bed and Zoro was giddy for the rest of the night
…
"Alright cool, I'm on my way"
"Wait, how do you know where I live?" Zoro turned to Usopp, who was currently running to his room
"Oh I dropped Usopp off Tuesday"
"Oh, ok then, we'll see you soon"
"Yup"
Zoro put the phone back on the ringer and went to his Son's room "you did that on purpose didn't you?" Zoro said walking into his son's room, only to find him painting
"What? He offered me a ride, what are you upset about?" Usopp asked smilingly
Zoro sighed "meddlesome little brat" Zoro chuckled out
Usopp laughed too "Just trying to help get my dad laid"
Zoro smiled "Alright, well I'm going to met him outside, good luck on your date"
Usopp gave a salute "Yes sir"
Zoro chuckled and went downstairs.
Zoro waited for about ten minutes until he saw a car pull up and park. Zoro got up and started walking towards it and saw Sanji get out, leaving the car door open
"Ready to go?"
"Yup" Zoro responded "Still your treat right?"
Sanji smiled "Of course"
…
It had been 2 hours and they were already best friends, a special brand of best friends
"Shit cook, don't make fun of my clothes"
"Whatever marimo, I just always see you in a white shirt and whatever that green thing is"
"It's called a haramaki!"
Sanji laughed "I was talking about that thing on your head!"
"It's called hair! At least I don't draw on eyebrows!"
"Oi! What did you say!"
A short silence filled the table between them, the bar was noisy, but they were quiet
"Man, it feels good not to have to kiss everybody's ass" Zoro said after awhile
"Same" Sanji said lightly a cigarette "Want to know what Chopper asked me a few days ago, it shocked the hell out of me"
Zoro got interested "Sure"
"He asked me if I was satisfied with my life, since my ex wife is reengaged, I couldn't believe I was hearing him right" Sanji said taking a drag off of his cigarette and looking away blowing the smoke out
"Wow" Zoro said after the surprise wore off "So?"
Sanji looked back "So what?"
"What'd you say?" Zoro asked not getting his hopes up
"Well I told him that all I needed was him"
Zoro was disappointed, 'oh well' he thought
"But it did get me thinking; maybe I should start dating again, what about you?"
Zoro smiled "This is the only day I have off this month, I got no time for dating, I'd have to move in with them before I could date them"
Sanji smiled "Why are you working two jobs anyways?"
Zoro sighed "debt"
"Debt?"
"And I'm trying to save up some money to help pay for college, at least some of it so that Usopp doesn't end up with so much debt"
Sanji nodded "I see"
"So, Chopper went back to your ex-wife today?"
Sanji nodded "Nami, her name is Nami"
Zoro sat back in his chair "So what happened between you two?"
Sanji sighed "Well, it started when we met; I have always treated all women like princesses, and she started to use me, we moved away and got married, Chopper was four when we moved back here to where we met, and the first thing that happened was that my dad, Zeff, sat me down and gave me a reality check on what she was doing to me, and due to how I treat women, I couldn't see it until he pointed it out, turns out she was just taking all my money, I mean the only things she cared about where our son and her shopping, so we split"
Zoro nodded "Damn, she sounds crazy"
Sanji laughed "Yeah, kind of turns you off of women"
Zoro felt a small flutter in his stomach
"Well dating in general really" Sanji added
The flutter was crushed, and Zoro decided to do something stupid in that moment "Hey, I should probably tell you this, just in case you're freaked out by this kind of thing, I'm bisexual" Zoro took a big swig out of his bottle tilting his head back so that he didn't have to meet Sanji's gaze
"Cool, so what's it like with a guy?" Sanji asked taking a drink from his beer, not missing a beat
Zoro nearly spit the beer out, and coughed, he did not expect that answer "Um, well, it depends" Zoro said still coughing
Sanji set his beer down on the table "Sorry, that was awkward, heheh, It's something that I've wondered about for a few years"
Zoro smiled, turning off his attraction for a few moments
"You ever thought to try it?" Zoro asked looking at the bar "There are a few cute guys over there"
Sanji looked over at them then back to Zoro "Sure I thought about it, but I can't be irresponsible like that, I got a kid"
Zoro nodded "Fair enough, but your free for seven days"
Sanji nodded but then frowned "Okay fair enough, but just because I have thought about it doesn't mean I'm going to sleep a random guy just to find out, I could just ask you"
Zoro smiled "You sure you want to hear about it?"
Sanji nodded "Sure"
(Ten minutes later)
Sanji shuddered "Whoa, that was, depictive"
Zoro laughed a little bit "And?"
Sanji tried to smooth himself out and getting rid of a partial erection he felt "Sexual"
Zoro smiled a knowing smile "Turned you on a little bit didn't it?"
Sanji turned a scowl onto Zoro "Shut it"
"What, that's what usually happens, although I mostly just tell chicks about it, or other gay guys, but you're the first straight guy that I did that to, or should I call you bi curious?" Zoro smiled he was getting to carried away with it
Sanji dropped his head "the story probably just turned me on because I haven't" Sanji quickly covered his mouth
Zoro smiled "what were you about to say?"
Sanji sighed "It's been a few years, since I've had some"
Zoro smiled "don't feel so bad, it's been 14 years for me"
Sanji spit his beer out all over the table and some on Zoro "What!? Holy fuck dude"
Zoro laughed "Well once I got Usopp, I stopped playing around and focused on him, but the time he was four I had to start working more hours and couldn't focus on anything but him and work, it was 6 years until I really had a social life again, but most of my friends are married or straight guys"
Sanji shook his head "That's too long man too long, how old are you anyways?"
"32, I got Usopp when I was 18, which means she was pregnant when I was 17. How old are you?"
"26, I didn't expect you to be so old"
"Gee thanks Sanji"
Sanji smiled "Sorry, but damn, I mean can play boy and a hand really get you through 14 years?"
Zoro laughed "let's not talk about my internet search history"
"But how can that be, I mean you're a handsome man, how can it be so long since you had sex?"
Zoro smiled a little bit "I'm have just been trying to beat those teen parent stereo types, I am trying to be a good dad"
Sanji nodded "Damn, that's brave dude"
Zoro laughed "Hey Sanji?"
Sanji was laughing as well, a lot "Yeah Zoro?" he said still laughing
"I like you" Zoro stopped laughing and looked at Sanji, wondering how everything was going to play out now that he put everything on the table
"Thanks, I like you too" Sanji said lowering his laughter to a low rumble
"No Sanji, I like you"
Sanji stopped laughing and looked at Zoro "Wait what?"
"I have an attraction to your looks and personality" Zoro took a sip on his beer, not tilting his head back
"What a weird way to phrase it" Sanji said tilting his head to the side
"I didn't want you to misunderstand twice"
Sanji smiled "I think you are drunk"
Zoro smiled "I don't get drunk"
"So you're serious?"
Zoro nodded
Sanji sat back in his seat "Oh… does Usopp know that your bi?"
"We talk about everything, he's rooting for us" Zoro said trying to maintain a cool smile and not show how nervous he is
"Ah, I see" Sanji said swirling his beer
"Look, I'm sorry for doing that, but since it is out here, I think we have two choices, I'm willing to forget this ever happened and remain friends, but I also really want a shot to be with you."
Sanji was surprised, to say the least
Zoro knew he just blew his shot, 'what the hell was I thinking, god damn it why did I blurt all this shit out… what the hell am I doing, I don't have time for dating'
"Um, well then, I don't know what to say Zoro"
Zoro stood "yeah, I'm sorry for that, I'll leave, have a good night" Zoro quickly threw a few bills onto the table to pay for his drinks and then left, he figured that he couldn't let Sanji pay after doing that to him
…
Zoro slammed the door behind him and kicked off his shoes and sat onto his couch, he had barely sat down when he felt his legs being restless, and so he started pacing the room. He figured he had been at it for a few hours by the time Usopp walked through the door
"Dad? What's wrong? Why are you back before me?"
Zoro stopped his pacing and turned to Usopp "Hey, how'd your date go?"
"Dad? What is wrong, you look like shit" Usopp asked in worry
Zoro dropped onto the couch "I made a complete idiot of myself" he started laughing "I don't think I know how to ask somebody out anymore"
Usopp tilted his head "Did something happen with Sanji?"
Zoro chuckled "um you could say that"
…
"And then I left" Zoro finished
"Damn" was all Usopp could think to say
"Yeah, kind of blew my shot huh?"
"Well… maybe, but he didn't reject you"
"Yeah but he was in shock, why couldn't I just let us be friends?"
(knock knock knock)
Zoro and Usopp both looked towards the door
"Are you expecting some one over?" Zoro asked
"No, you?"
Zoro shook his head and went to answer the door
"You bastard!" Sanji shouted
Usopp saw Zoro back up a few steps
Sanji walked in and spotted Usopp
"Hey Usopp, I'm going to borrow your dad for a few minutes" and with that Sanji grabbed Zoro by the collar and dragged him all the way back to his car
"You bastard, you can't do that to people!" Sanji said a little bit quieter this time "You can't just drop a bombshell like that then run off!" Sanji began digging into his pocket "And I said it was my treat so don't insult me by paying when we both know you can't afford it!" Sanji said pushing the money back to Zoro, who was currently speechless
An awkward silence filled the void between them before Sanji spoke again
"I have things from my past that might still be chasing me, bad things from a time when I was stupid and fucked up. That's the real reason I haven't been dating, because I wouldn't be able to have a honest relationship, I can't tell you what they are or how they affected me, and I sure as hell don't want to get Usopp or you involved if they should come back, but I do want you to know that I would be willingly to give it a shot, if I could"
Zoro stared at Sanji through the cold night air, and saw the fear in his eyes, the worry, the despair and pain it was causing him, and only wanted to do one thing. To protect Sanji, and make the fear's go away, to make him feel safe.
"You know Sanji, I had a dream, two nights ago, and in my dream, we were living together. Usopp and Chopper were playing outside, you were cooking and I was helping out, then we all sat down for dinner. The dream had such a cozy atmosphere that I didn't want to wake up, but I did, and I went to my two jobs back to back, and talked with my friend who is happily married, and then came home, and talked with my son for five minutes before we both went to sleep, this isn't a confession of love, because, as much as we get along, frankly we barely know each other, so no I'm not sure that I love you, and I'm sure that you don't love me either, but I'm willing to try and have a relationship, and deal with any problem that should appear together… what I'm saying really is that, I'm so damn tired… of being a single dad.
TBC