Yay, another chapter :D

Thanks to everyone who supports me by reading and reviewing ^^ This chapter is a tribute to my pre-readers (they know what I mean ;))

Well, please enjoy ^^

Hot as Fire

Chapter 7

The rest of the day Sanji tried to keep himself busy. It was Sunday, so he couldn't do much work for the restaurant. Therefore he settled for cleaning his home until it was spotless and he tried out different recipes. But every time he let his mind wander, he saw the image of Zoro masturbating in his mind's eye.

That morning he had woken to pee and in his half asleep state his brain hadn't registered that the swordsman wasn't lying next to him, nor that the light in the bathroom was on. But when he had opened the door, he was wide awake.

There Zoro had been standing, his pants around his ankles, with his erect cock in his hand. His head was thrown back in pleasure and he was moaning softly, his eyes closed. He hadn't seen Sanji, being too much in bliss from stroking himself. The cook got out of there as quickly as he could and pretended to be asleep when the green haired man had returned.

Of course he understood that, as a man, sometimes things needed 'to be taken care off', but he didn't need to see someone else do it. But what bothered him the most was that Zoro clearly got aroused by a dream or his own thoughts, when Sanji had been curled up against him. That thought sent shivers down his spine.

During the day he managed to keep his thoughts from the incident, by busying himself and in the evening by watching TV. When he was lying in bed however, distracting himself was a lot more difficult. It was rather late when he fell asleep.

The next morning he woke from the doorbell. Yawning he put on a bathrobe and hurried himself downstairs. Opening the door, he saw a beautiful woman standing on the doorstep. He almost closed the door again, realising how he himself looked. But as slamming the door in a lady's face isn't very polite, he waited until she spoke.

"Good morning, Mr Prince," she said. "I'm sorry to disturb you so early. My name is Robin Nico. I'm Mr Portgas' lawyer."

He nodded, though he didn't quite understand. Wouldn't they release Ace? But if he needed a lawyer, did that mean he was being charged?

"May I come in please?" Robin asked.

"Of course!" He jumped aside to let her pass. "Please, make yourself at home. I will get dressed–"

"Please, I'm rather in a hurry," she said. "I would like to ask you some things about your relationship with my client."

"Relationship? I wouldn't call it that, beautiful, I only met him once." He offered her a seat.

She smiled politely. "Yes, but Mr Portgas can be described as rather charismatic. Even after meeting him only once, he still must have left an impression."

Sanji thought about that for a moment. What she said was undoubtedly true. After Ace left, the chef had already gone as far as call him his sort-of-friend and he hadn't believed for a second Ace was the pyromaniac. "In that case, may I offer you some coffee?" he asked.

When she nodded, he hurried himself to the kitchen. When he came back, she had taken a seat on the couch. He placed the coffee with two cups on the coffee table and sat down facing her. "Do you mind if I smoke?" he asked while she took a sip from the hot beverage.

As she shook her head, he lit a cigarette — having a package in the pocket of his robe — and admired his view. Robin was a tall, slim woman with raven black hair and piercing blue eyes. "So, he is being charged?" he asked after exhaling a cloud of smoke.

The woman nodded. "Yes. Only for burning down the Baratie though, so he is not yet labelled a pyromaniac." From her purse she got a block note and a pen. "So, how do you know Mr Portgas?"

"Didn't he tell you?"

"He did, but I like to hear it from your point of view, Mr Prince."

Sanji insisted she would call him by his first name, but then told her of their first encounter. She kept silent during the story, from time to time writing something down. When he was done, she looked through her notes and then asked: "Have you ever had a sexual relationship with Mr Portgas?"

He almost choked on his coffee. "What? No! Did he tell you that?!"

"No, but you are the first person who I have encountered in this case who didn't, aside from his brother of course."

Sanji wiped his mouth clean and sighed. Zoro had told him Ace didn't like to be in a relationship and his flirtatious behaviour betrayed he liked to sleep around. But still, the chef wasn't the most important witness in the case, so surely Robin had talked to more people…

"Why is he being charged?" he asked.

"There is an eyewitness who places him at the Baratie at the time of the fire. So unfortunately your statement claiming you have never seen him before the fire isn't useful anymore." She asked him a few more questions, which he was happy to answer. Finally she flipped through her notes and said: "Well, I think I have all I need. Thank you for your time, Mr Prince."

"Please, call me Sanji," he insisted for the sixth time. "And you don't need me to testify or something, my dear?"

"I don't think that's a good idea. You don't think he did it, and as you don't know him that long, it might look like you are trying to protect Mr Portgas, as his lover."

Sanji groaned and forgetting he was in the presence of a lady exclaimed: "Can a guy not just be straight anymore?"

She smiled. "Of course you can. But Mr Portgas isn't shy about his sexual preference."

He shook his head, surrendering. "Well, if I can be of any use, please contact me again."

"I will." She shook his hand and allowed him to kiss hers. "Thank you for your time."

"If you have time this week, would you like to join me for dinner sometime?" he asked walking her to the door.

"That would be lovely. I will check with my husband when he is available. Good day, Mr Prince." With that she left, leaving Sanji defeated behind.

Unfortunately, Robin was too busy with Ace's case to accompany Sanji at dinner. In the end this was rather convenient for the chef, as things with the restaurant finally got into a stride. He and Zeff had found a new location, so they needed to hire a contractor. They couldn't collect the insurance money yet, which forced them to contract a loan with the bank. In all, the blonde was rather busy.

In the few weeks that went by, Zoro didn't contact him, nor did he meet him anywhere by chance. The chef didn't mind. First he needed a few days to forget about the incident, and after that he was too busy with the restaurant to think about the green haired man. By going to the wedding with Zoro he had repaid his debt, so there wasn't a reason to meet him anymore, was there? Sure, the man was easy to talk to and it was fun arguing and fighting with him. But he could do that with the cooks of the Baratie as well.

So why didn't it feel the same?

Sanji did follow Ace's case in the newspaper. The black haired man had been charged and his trial was getting closer. Robin hadn't contacted him and he didn't speak to anyone who would know something, so he only knew the progress from the papers.

One Friday night however he got a phone call. Frowning he saw it was Zoro, but he decided to pick up anyway. "Marimo."

"Sanjiiiiiiiii!" a loud voice that obviously didn't belong to the swordsman yelled in his ear.

The blonde held his phone as far away from his head as he could, in order not to go deaf. "Luffy? Why the hell are you calling with Marimo's phone?"

"I didn't have your number," the black haired boy said.

"Luffy! Give back my phone!" Sanji heard Zoro yell in the background.

"No! I wanna invite him!"

A slight smile appeared on the blonde's face as he listened to what happened on the other side of the line. Zoro yelled to leave him alone and give back his phone and Luffy refused again.

"Come back down from there, you little monkey!" the swordsman shouted.

"Where are you now?" Sanji asked curious.

"On the roof. Sanji, you didn't cook for me anymore." It almost sounded accusing.

The blonde sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. But I've been busy."

"I thought you would come over more often," the boy pouted.

"Like I said, it's been hectic," the chef tried.

"You should make me meat anyway."

"Fine, I will come over soon." For some reason he couldn't say no to the black haired boy. "How are you doing?"

"Good, we are going out tonight and you're coming too!"

It wasn't even an order, just a simple statement. Sanji rubbed his temples. "Who are 'we', exactly?"

"You, me, Nami and Zoro. But you can bring someone too!"

The chef thought for a moment. He had been working really hard lately, so going out didn't sound that bad. Even if Zoro accompanied them. "Sure, why the hell not? Actually, I have a friend who you'll probably like a lot."

Sanji stood outside the bar smoking. He and his friend had agreed to meet there. Usopp had been his roommate for a while before he went to France. He was a nice fellow who liked to tell tall stories. They had agreed on staying in touch, but though they had spoken on the phone, he hadn't seen his old roommate in a long time.

"Sanji!" he heard a familiar voice.

When he turned around he saw Usopp approaching. His friend had changed a lot since they last met. His dark hair had grown longer, which he had tied into a ponytail. He wore overalls, showing off his muscular upper body. New as well was the goatee that decorated his chin. Only his nose was as long as he remembered.

"Hey Usopp, I see you're finally able to grow facial hair," he teased, slapping the other man friendly on his shoulder.

"It's good to see you too, Sanji. You've changed your hair. Didn't you used to cover your other eye?"

A bit embarrassed the blonde went with his hand trough his hair. He had switched his hairstyle on the day of Vivi's wedding, because he had a minor infection to his right eye. After that, he had kept it that way, including his goatee and moustache. But not because Zoro had said he liked it!

"Yeah, you know, just keeping things fresh," he murmured. He quickly changed the subject. "But it's good to see you again indeed. It's been a while."

"Yeah, I was rather surprised when you called. But I've been busy and so have you probably."

Sanji nodded and explained what had happened in the last few weeks. "So what about you?" he asked after Usopp had showed his sympathies. "Graduated yet?"

"I'm in my final year now, and I've just started to do a work placement."

Chatting they entered the bar and Sanji introduced Usopp to his friends.

Luffy's eyes started to sparkle. "Are you a cook as well? Can you make me meat?"

"I'm not a chef," Usopp explained. A smile appeared on his face. "But I did teach Sanji all he knows–"

"Really?" Luffy was bouncing up and down from excitement, but Sanji gave Usopp a kick in the head.

"Like hell you did!"

"So Sanji says you two have been roommates?" Nami asked.

Usopp nodded. "When we were both in college, we've lived together for like a year. I study architecture."

Luffy looked a little disappointed – after all, he couldn't eat buildings – but when the architect started to tell a story about how he had rescued the prince of Scotland from a bear attack, he became all excited again. Usopp fitted right in the group, as Sanji had expected.

The blonde on the other hand hardly listened to his friend's story, as he had heard this one many times before. His eyes wandered through the bar until his gaze rested on a group of three girls, who where sitting by themselves. "Excuse me," he said to his friends, before he practically danced away.

Usopp looked over his shoulder and took a sip from his beer. "Ah, how I've missed him making a fool of himself," he snickered.

"Did he always do that? Ditching you to flirt with girls?" Nami asked.

"No no. Well, sometimes. But often it was because of him I got dates." The architect smiled, seemingly lost in nostalgic thoughts.

Nami glanced over to Zoro. "Hey Usopp," she asked circumspect, "you know Sanji longer than we do. Did you ever get the feeling he might be… gay?"

Usopp sat still for a moment, and then almost spluttered his beer over the table. "Sanji? Gay?" he laughed. "No way. You haven't noticed how he is flirting with you?"

"The first time I met him I thought he was overcompensating. It just seems like he is trying too much."

The architect considered her words for a moment, but then shook his head. "No, he's not gay. He really has a soft spot for women, being love struck and all. When we were living together, he had a date almost every night."

"But never a guy?" Nami insisted.

Zoro took a sip from his beer and gave her a warning look. He knew she asked for his sake, but he had rather she just shut up. "Stop it, witch."

The orange haired girl shrugged. "I just think he was a little too convincing at Vivi's wedding."

"Eh? But you're dating, aren't you?" Luffy twirled around on his bar stool. That earned him a smack in the head from Nami.

"Pay attention! They were pretending. Have you seen them together since?"

Usopp looked confused to the friends. "Sanji dated a guy?"

"Not really. He owed me a favour, so I asked him to pretend to be my boyfriend," Zoro explained sighing.

The architect took another sip and mused: "Well, he is a man of his word…"

In the meantime Sanji had taken a seat with the three girls and had ordered them drinks. He was just telling a story about France, which they seemed to enjoy, when he caught one of them, the tallest brunette, staring at his friends.

"Would you like one of my friends to join us?" he asked. When she nodded, he continued: "Who? The boy with the straw hat? The one with the long nose–?"

"It's not that long," she protested, which gave her answer clearly away.

He called his former roommate over en introduced him to the girls. Usopp sat down next to the tall brunette and started some story about how he defeated a giant goldfish. Sanji rolled his eyes, but the girl seemed to enjoy herself.

"What about your other friend?" the smallest asked eager, a girl with red brown hair. "The muscular one?"

"I'm sorry, my dear, I don't think he's interested–"

She pouted, making it feel like his heart broke in two. "Oi, Marimo. Get your butt over here!" he yelled to the other table.

Contrary of what he thought, Zoro actually got up and walked to their table. "What do you want, Curly-brow?" he growled in a dangerously low voice. He didn't like what he saw. The chef had his arm around one of the brunettes, who was radiant. The shortest of the girls looked at him and blinked a bit too often with her eyes.

"Pretend like you have manners, you Neanderthal, and say hi to these ladies," Sanji snapped.

Zoro gave him a dangerous glare, then said to the girls: "Hi," before he walked away again.

"Stupid barbaric Marimo," the blonde muttered, "can't even behave properly in front of ladies–"

"Ehm, Sanji?" Usopp gestured his head towards the small girl, who was pouting again.

The blonde hastened himself to comfort her. "Don't take it personal, my little princess. He just… doesn't like girls."

She sighed disappointed. "It's always the hot ones who are gay, aren't they?"

The shorter one of the brunettes gave her a kick under the table. "How can you say that? Sanji's here too…" She flushed when she realised he had heard her. He smiled at her and whispered in her ear how cute she looked. Her cheeks turned an even darker shade.

The blonde was about to continue the story he had started before Usopp joined them, when they heard a loud clash.

A few feet away from them they saw Zoro standing. He was holding a billiard cue in each hand and one in his mouth. Around his green hair he had tied a bandana. Across the room there was a man shaped hole in the wall, out of which a guy crawled. He looked very pissed. A group of dangerous looking men joined him.

Luffy stood next to the swordsman, the straw hat he wore pushed over his eyes and looking ready for action. Nami was still sitting at their table, massaging her temples and pretending she didn't belong with the men.

Sanji considered the situation for a moment. Here he was sitting with three beautiful ladies, two of them interested in him, since Zoro wasn't an option. But Zoro and Luffy's opponents were in the majority. Though he had no doubt the swordsman could handle them, it still had been a while since he had beaten the shit out of somebody. His feet itched for a good fight. He cut the knot. "Excuse me, ladies." In one jump he was on the other side of the table.

The fight had already started when he joined in. Luffy's strength surprised him. The way he dealt and absorbed punches, it was almost like he was made of rubber. When he saw Sanji, he grinned at him. "Ah Sanji, you're joining in?"

"I can't let you guys be beaten by such lowlifes, can I?" he snickered.

The black haired boy chuckled and ducked as Sanji's leg came his way to kick some guy behind him.

Around them had gathered a group of people cheering them on. The blonde hardly noticed it. With all the work he had been doing lately, he never had time to train his savate. A bar fight was a good way to deal with his frustrations.

But his joy didn't last long. After a few minutes a dangerous looking bouncer came their way, and it wasn't long after that they were kicked out of the bar.

Sanji scrambled to his feet. "Way to go, Marimo. Thanks to you we're probably never allowed in again."

"Why the hell is it my fault, Curly-brow? No one asked for you to meddle in!"

"Meddle? Without me you would be begging for mercy!"

"Like hell I would! You should have just stayed with those girls, Love-cook, where you belong!"

They glared dangerously at each other, their noses almost touching.

Usopp, who had followed them out with Nami, looked surprised at his blonde friend. "Is he always like this with Zoro?" he asked the girl.

She pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm afraid so. But this isn't his nature?"

"Usually he is a lot more easygoing. Sure he has a temper, but only with people he refers to as 'morons'," Usopp explained. "But I've never seen him like this."

Sanji and Zoro continued calling each other every name in the book, until Luffy was doubled over with laughter. "You guys are so funny!"

Nami had had enough. She gave the chef and the swordsman both a smack on the head, and while she was at it, Luffy too. "Would you guys shut up already?" she snapped. "We've already been thrown out of a bar and it's not even ten o' clock!"

"So this is normal?" Usopp inquired.

"If you go out with these guys, it is," she sighed.

"If you'll allow me, Melorine, I know a nice little jazz club about fifteen minutes walking from here," Sanji said.

"Walking?" she asked a bit weary.

"I'll carry you, my beautiful Nami-swan~!"

"You're such an idiot," Zoro grunted.

"What did you say?!" It was only a matter of seconds before they were fighting again.

Nami groaned and looked as if she was about to cry. Usopp just shook his head and Luffy cheered the men on.

About half an hour and a few smacks from Nami later they finally arrived at the club Sanji had mentioned. It was a small place and a bit shabby, but they did have live music. There were only a few guests.

When they entered Sanji immediately walked over to the pianist and greeted him.

"Good evening, Sanji-san. I see you've brought some friends?" the musician said.

"Yes. Brook, meet Nami-swan, Luffy, Usopp and Marimo," the blonde introduced them.

"My name is not Marimo, Curly-brow!"

They glared at each other. Brook rose from his piano stool. He towered high above them and had the biggest afro any of them had ever seen. He bowed to Nami. "Excuse me, but may I please see your panties?"

Before the girl could react, Sanji had kicked the skinny man. "That's no way to talk to a lady!"

Luffy pulled at the blonde's sleeve. "Sanji, I'm hungry. Cook me something."

Nami gave him a punch in the head. "Stop whining. Sanji is free tonight too."

"It's okay, Melorine, I'll fix him something." With that the blonde walked away.

"But we haven't ordered yet," she stammered.

"It's okay, Nami-san. Sanji works here temporarily. He didn't tell you?" Brook inquired.

She shrugged. "He just said he knew the place."

A while later the chef came back, carrying two trays with five plates on them. "I took the liberty into making you all something I think you will like," he said, while placing the plates in front of them.

On Luffy's plate lay different kinds of sausages and other meaty snacks. With a happy exclamation of "Yay, meat!", he attacked the food.

Nami got a piece of orange cheesecake, Usopp homemade potato crisps and Brook some pancakes.

"Did you make them with extra calcium? I need to have strong bones, as I'm hardly more than skin and bones! Yohohoho!"

Sanji rolled his eyes, having heard these so-called 'Skull-jokes' a little too often lately and turned his attention to Zoro. The swordsman was staring at his plate like the cook was trying to poison him. "What? You don't like it? It's–"

"Onigiri, I know." The green haired man's gaze was fixed on the triangular shaped balls of rice.

"I thought you would like it, having been to Japan and all. I even gave you some wasabi on the side to match your hair," the blonde added chuckling.

Zoro scowled at him for that last remark, but then he said: "It's been a while since I had onigiri… Thanks, Cook." He took a bite and made a noise that indicated he liked it. The others started to eat as well, except for Luffy, who was already cleaning his plate with his tongue.

Sanji lit a cigarette and watched contently how his friends enjoyed the food. Especially for Zoro's opinion he had been nervous, he was the only one blunt enough to say that he didn't like it.

Wait, since when did he care what that marimo thought? He didn't. If he didn't like it– No, of course he liked it, this was Sanji's fucking food. Everybody loved it.

The evening turned out to be quite pleasant. Brook played tunes on the piano, with which Luffy and Usopp loudly – and very off key – sang and danced along with. They already had become the best of friends. Nami had found a group of men playing poker, whom she had innocently asked to teach her – and then swindled them as she was quite the poker player. They forgave her though when she showed them some cleavage.

Zoro was drinking beer in the corner when Sanji joined him. The blonde had been busy all night serving drinks and snacks, even though it was his night off. It surprised the swordsman the blonde was holding a beer bottle as well. So he finally dared to drink around him again.

"You okay, Marimo? You've been quiet all night," the chef asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Maybe because of Ace?" Sanji inquired. "His trial is in a few days."

"Luffy's alright and he's his brother."

"Luffy is easily distracted. But am I wrong?"

Zoro stared at his booze. "He'll be fine. He didn't do it."

The blonde just nodded and took another sip.

It was late when they left the bar. Nami would bring Usopp and Brook home, having parked her car nearby the previous bar, but as she didn't like her vehicle to smell like smoke, Sanji had said he would walk home. They wouldn't all fit in anyway. Zoro offered to accompany him, which he suspiciously accepted.

After taking leave from their friends, they strolled in an amicable silence as the blonde smoked.

When they approached his house, he said: "You didn't have to walk me all the way home, you know."

Seeing Zoro's confused look he snickered. "You had no idea where we were going, did you?"

The green haired man looked purposely the other way and the blonde could swear he blushed. "Not my fault everything here looks alike," he mumbled.

Sanji chuckled again. "Well, this is my house."

Zoro looked like he considered to say something, but decided to stay silent. They just stood facing each other for a moment, both with their hands in their pockets.

Finally the swordsman sighed and turned around. "'Night, Cook."

"Marimo…?"

He stopped and turned curiously.

"…Do you wanna come in?"

Now it was his turn to become cautious. Did the blonde just invite him into his house? But like hell he was going to pass up an opportunity to see how the cook lived… And what kind of bed he had. A smirk crept on his face. "Sure."

He followed Sanji into the house. "Make yourself at home… Within reason," the blonde said after hanging his coat.

Zoro looked around. The room was very tidy and was decorated with tasteful interior. The swordsman plumped down on the couch. "Have had a lot of girls here, Cook?" he blurted out.

"Plenty." A small smile appeared on his face.

"Do I still want to sit on this couch?" the green haired man teased.

The blonde flushed. "D-don't be disgusting! I wouldn't do that on my couch."

That made the swordsman cock his eyebrow. "You mean you've never done it on a couch?"

"Why would I want to do that? I have a perfectly fine bed…"

"Sometimes you just don't get that far." He looked at Sanji. "Never had that?"

"N-no…"

An awkward silence fell between them. The chef broke it by changing the subject and asked the swordsman if he wanted to drink something. When he nodded, the blonde disappeared into the kitchen. While he was gone Zoro studied the pictures that hung on the wall. His eyes lingered on one of Sanji when he was eleven or twelve. He was wearing a white cooks shirt, a dark blue knee-breeches and a white apron. His left hand rested on his hip and in his other one he was holding a cooking knife as long as his forearm.

When the cook came back he found Zoro snickering. "You know, even with that knife and deadly glare at the camera, you were really cute."

"Shut up. I've never been cute."

"I disagree." But only then the swordsman turned around and saw what Sanji was holding. He immediately shut up.

"That's better. I'd thought you would like it." He swung the bottle of sake teasingly in front of the swordsman's face. "Now behave."

Zoro pouted a little, but the sake was too tempting. He sat down on the couch again and Sanji handed him a cup. He waited until the blonde had taken a seat as well, before he said smirking: "Kanpai." (1)

Sanji raised his glass as well, but though the swordsman emptied his cup in one swing, he only took a small sip. He trusted himself to drink around the swordsman again, but with moderation.

"So, you're really not worried about Ace?" he asked as he refilled Zoro's cup.

The swordsman seemed to pick his words carefully. "I know he isn't the pyromaniac. But I don't have much faith in the justice system."

"They say they have an eyewitness," Sanji said cautious.

"The fucker is lying."

"Do you know where Ace was that night?"

"I'm not his fucking babysitter! He didn't tell me either, but I'll be damned if he isn't protecting someone. That little shit better step up soon."

The blonde waited until Zoro had finished his rant and then said: "I'll drink to that."

They kept chatting for a long time. At a certain point Sanji was lying with his head on Zoro's stomach, his long legs draped over the arm of the couch. Neither of them knew how they had ended up that way. The cook's eyes were half closed already.

"Ya getting tired?" the swordsman asked softly, stroking through the golden locks. He couldn't help but smile a little. When Luffy had called Sanji, the swordsman had hardly expected to end up on the blonde's couch. Sure, not the way he'd hoped, but still. After Sanji told him he had seen him masturbating, he hadn't dared to contact the chef again. And as time passed by he lost hope Sanji would contact him. But tonight everything seemed to be okay between them again.

"I'm not tired. And you're drunk." With his forefinger he poked in Zoro's cheek.

"Why do you think that? I can take a lot."

"You're stroking my hair."

"I don't have to be drunk to do that."

When Sanji snapped his head up, he knew he had said too much. "Heh, maybe I am drunk. You'd know, you're the expert," he quickly said.

That earned him a kick like only Sanji could do. The blonde got up and rubbed his eyes.

"You don't have to get up." The swordsman tried to hide his disappointment.

"Hm, I probably should, or otherwise I fall asleep on your lap."

Zoro was about to say he didn't mind, but decided that wasn't such a good idea. "I should get going then."

"Sit, Marimo."

Surprised he sunk down into the cushions again and waited for Sanji to return with a blanket. "You can crash here. I'm not letting you walk home now."

"Worried I might get mugged?" the green haired man teased.

Sanji snorted. "No, but I don't feel like looking for a lost little Marimo in the middle of the night." He got ready to leave, when the swordsman said: "'Night, Cook."

A small smile appeared on his lips. "'Night, Marimo."

~ To be continued ;)

(1) Cheers in Japanese

And for those of you who are interested, Usopp is wearing his post time-skip outfit. See you next time :)