Small miracles chapter 3

-Chapter 3-

"He looks dependable." Zeff said the moment Sanji managed to kick the last slobbering drunk out into the snow and slam the door. "A little old and worn, but-"

"He's just 24." Sanji grumbled, knowing that feigning ignorance was just going to get his shin kicked. "Don't get your bizarre hopes up old man, I'm not going after him."

"Why not? He's very good looking and you seemed to be having relatively friendly human interaction." Zeff grunted, sitting down with a groan and hitting and his shoulders with clenched fists. "That's better than the entitled spoiled women you tend to bring over for your dinner dates."

Sanji moved behind his old man, rubbing at his shoulders to ease the back pain the man usually suffered after a full workday. "Don't talk about my lovely ladies like that!"

Zeff huffed, leaning forward as the younger man worked his fingers over sore muscles. It was always painful to remember how old the geezer was getting. Sanji closed his eyes and selfishly wished that Zeff would stick around forever.

"Besides. He's my boss."

"They make porn movies about that." Zeff oh-so-helpfully pointed out, his braided mustache twitching in amusement. "You could always quit and come work here anyway. Problem solved."

"I don't want to be a waiter or a dishwasher old man, I'm a chef."

"No, you're a cashier at a shitty little store."

"I'm STILL an educated chef!" Sanji hissed venomously, tempted to rub a little harder into his old man's back as punishment but not finding the heart for it. "I'll get my certificate in a few months and then I can come back here and work as a chef."

Zeff made a long disapproving sound and rolled his shoulders back. "Isn't it going to be hard to work with that guy from now on though?" Zeff questioned, sitting up and brushing Sanji's hands off his back.

"No, not really." Sanji shrugged giving his fingers a stretch. "I'll just leave it. I don't even know if he's into men-"

Zeff turned around at that, a comically large frown on his face and his eyes wide with disbelief. "What did you just say boy?"

Sanji paused awkwardly, blinking at his old man who looked like he'd just went blind. "I said I had no idea if Zoro was into men-"

Zeff laughed. Loud and rude and slapped his knee in amusement. Sanji felt increasingly uncomfortable, he'd rarely seen his old man laugh so loudly. Maybe the old fart had drank too much like everyone else?

"Eggplant, that man was sizing up your behind like you'd put up a rental sign on it!" Zeff laughed, sitting back down and pouring himself a drink. "He looked the kind of hungry you can't fill with food."

Sanji blushed at that, feeling awfully self-conscious. "You don't know that, old man! It was crowded and you could have misunderstood something. The man is always scowling you know."

"Not when he's looking at your ass he isn't." Zeff took a sip of his glass, still incredibly amused. "But alright, let's pretend I didn't catch that predatory look on your boss's face when you led him across the floor earlier. He'd still obviously be interested."

"I… Old fart! I don't want to talk about these things with you! It's embarrassing!" Sanji sat down, getting himself another drink, breaking his promise of staying away from alcohol for the rest of the night. Who cared, Zoro was gone anyway. No point in trying to stay sensible.

"He had those earrings-" Zeff groused, gesturing to his ear with a finger, making little swirly motions. "Back when I was young, Left ear meant dominantly homosexual and the right meant-"

"That's old shit geezer." Sanji rolled his eyes, tilting his glass to Zeff and arguing heatedly. "Lots of straight men get piercings now!"

"But three of them? In one ear?" Zeff's brow raised in question, smirk hidden behind his glass. Sanji paused at that, wondering if he'd ever seen anyone else with three earrings in one ear and none in the other.

"Well, he could just be weird-"

"Have you ever heard of the handkerchief code?" Zeff asked casually, taking a drink and placing the glass on the table. "It's also called the 'bandana code' if you want to look it up online." The old man stepped up, stretching his arm a little before heading for the stairs.

"Wait. What? Handkerchief code?" Sanji followed the old man to the stairs, more confused than ever. Zeff didn't say a word as he walked to his own room, with nothing but a;

"good night eggplant, merry christmas."

Zeff slammed the door in Sanji's face. The blond grumbled in annoyance, walking to his old room and throwing himself on the bed. Zeff had changed the sheets apparently; the old man had been counting on him staying over to help with the cleanup first thing in the morning. Or maybe he just knew that Sanji wanted to stay, his apartment was very lonely on Christmas eve.

Sanji picked up his phone, bringing up a search engine and putting in "the handkerchief code" before pressing 'search'. It sounded stupid, like some sort of fancy gentleman duel tradition. He pressed the Wikipedia page that popped up on top of the search and started reading.

"The handkerchief code (bandana or hanky code)." Sanji ran his eyes over the page, it wasn't very long or detailed, but it told Sanji everything he needed to know.

Apparently, bandana on the left side meant dominant top. Sanji paused, thinking for a moment. Yes, that moment before when Zoro had been walking away and Sanji had most certainly NOT checked his boss's cargo, there had been a dark blue bandana in his left back pocket. Neatly folded and only noticeable if someone was actively trying to get the best view.

He'd seen Zoro with bandanas before. He often kept one tied up around his left arm presumably for sword or martial art practice. He'd seen him wear it around his head once before, when he came into work late and holding a big sports bag over his shoulder.

Did this really mean Zoro was gay? Couldn't this just mean that he really liked bandanas? And… strictly kept them on the left side of his body at all times except for his head and… Sanji trailed off. Sighing as he leant back into bed. Damn it.

Wearing a bandana around your arm was bizarre; so was having three earrings in one ear only. Zeff probably wouldn't lie about Zoro looking at his ass either. This all meant that Zoro was into men and interested. Damn it. He didn't need this temptation.

He was his BOSS. He did NOT want to have sex with his boss! It was morally wrong in so many ways and Zoro was a bastard too!

Sanji bit his lower lip, glancing down at the color code. Sure, it supposedly varied greatly in the small things, but the more constant colors included Zoro's. Dark blue in the left pocket huh? Sanji slipped out of his clothes, sleepy shuffling under the covers and alcohol cancelling out his former inhibitions about pleasuring himself to thoughts of his boss.

Fuck. Work was going to be so damn excruciating from now on. Sanji's hand slid down the front of his boxers, feeling the heat in his palm as he tried to imagine Zoro without a shirt on. Sanji let out a small groan at the mental image, trying to visualize the incredible amount of muscle he knew Zoro was hiding under that shirt.

He'd imagine Zoro leaning over him on the bed, the mattress creaking from the older man's weight as he stared at him with his one functioning eye. The usually slicked back green hair tousled and framing his face. Smirk on his lips creasing the bottom of his eye scar.

Sanji sat up slightly, hand making its way up and down his rock hard member as he imagined Zoro's hand in place of his own. He wouldn't mind seeing what the other man could do with his strength either, confident and demanding as he'd leave Sanji's body trembling and sore in all the right ways.

It might have been the alcohol buzzing through his system, but Sanji's body was twitching and burning in need at the thought. He imagined clinging onto Zoro's shoulders while the other man fucked him so deep and hard Sanji' wouldn't be able to sit at the register for a week, he could barely stiffle a groan, working his hand as fast as he could in the confines of his boxers, body tightening desperately around something that wasn't really there.

Sanji turned his head to stifle his moans in his pillow, the muffled sound of Zoro's name erotic to his ears as he came. When the high of orgasm passed, he'd sobered up slightly, sleep pulling him under. Fuck, he'd just made everything awkward. Sanji sighed, realizing he'd have to wash his sheets with the aprons tomorrow.

Maybe Zeff wouldn't notice. Sanji's eyelids were getting heavy, the snow falling outside piling up on the edge of his glass. He felt so comfortable, wrapped up with his old man snoring in the other room just like when he was a kid and lived here. Christmas brunch was the best too, he couldn't wait for-

Wait. How did Zeff know about the handkerchief code? Thankfully Sanji dozed off before that idea had any time to fester and blossom in the back of his head. The morning when he woke up, he'd forgotten about Zeff's bizarre knowledge and spent the afternoon nursing a headache and helping Zeff clean up the Baratie.

The old man seemed to mostly respect his hangover with short lines and questions and hushed voice, that is, until Zeff cleared his throat loudly, catching Sanji's attention from across the room.

"So when do you go back to work?" Zeff questioned casually, sweeping his way over to Sanji, who was trying to pick up all the plastic decorations someone had attempted to juggle and scattered across the floor.

"Wednesday" Sanji hummed as he pulled up his phone, checking the date. "That's the day after tomorrow? Shit." He was really hoping to get a few more days to get over his newfound issue with his boss. He ran a distressed hand through his hair, looking up at Zeff who gave him a long contemplative look.

"Sanji, you know that I won't care about the people you choose in your life, right?"

"Yeah?" Sanji swallowed thickly, he had a feeling that whatever Zeff was about to say next was going to change his life forever, for better or for worse. He held his breath and waited; tension in his back as he stared at his old man. Zeff looked at him very seriously, crossing his hands over the shaft of the broom and resting his chin on them.

"But it would be a shame to let someone with an ass like that get away."

There was silence in the restaurant as neither of them said a word. Zeff blinked at Sanji, still as serious as the grave as he waited for the younger man to react. Sanji stared back, no expression on his face as he slowly reached into his pocket and lit himself a cigarette.

"You're the shittiest old geezer." Sanji frowned, finding his voice after a long moment of silence. "I thought you were being serious."

"I am." Zeff said, seriously. "I don't understand why this is such a problem for you."

Sanji sighed and rubbed his temples tiredly, blowing smoke into the stale and alcohol scented air. "For the first reason, he's my boss."

"How does that matter? He's still a person." Zeff huffed, hitting Sanji on the head with the shaft of the broom "-don't assume people are just their job eggplant."

"That's not what I mean! If I try something and get shot down, work will be awkward for weeks!" Sanji mumbled rubbing at the bump Zeff had given him with the broom. Zeff didn't look convinced, so he decided to give his second reason.

"Secondly, Zoro's huge!" Sanji spread his arms to emphasize the width of the man's shoulders. "What if he's into some seriously kinky stuff too? I don't know how he got all those scars!"

Zeff's brow arched questioningly, "Is that a con or a pro?"

"CON! You're being difficult shitty bastard!" Sanji groaned in frustration, shaking his head. "I've never been with a guy that much bigger than me! He's older too, he's probably used to guys with much more experience."

"Never heard of a guy who was turned off by a virgin-"

"I'm NOT a virgin old man!" Sanji growled in annoyance, not that it was any of his old man's business who he'd slept with. "But I've never had a guy who was that much older than me."

"you're talking like he's three times your age." Zeff huffed unimpressed,

"He's 24 years old and- I DO NOT 'LIKE' HIM." Sanji objected, heat in his face. "He's good looking, but he's also an annoying bastard AND my boss!"

"24 years old is not even an age difference since you are both over 20." Zeff huffed, rolling his eyes. "You are the one who insists on making this more complicated than it needs to be. Don't you have his number? Ask him over to have a drink tonight."

"NO!" Sanji objected, crushing his cigarette in the ashtray. "I'm not going to do such a terribly embarrassing thing!"

"Then ask him over to your apartment then."

"THAT'S WORSE!" Sanji collapsed into a chair, rubbing his temples in exasperation while Zeff watched him in annoyed adoration. "It's worse because… I might…"

"Eggplant, I don't think I've ever seen you enjoy yourself on a 'date' as much as you did last night." Zeff said in a low tone. "-and I've seen dozens of your dates."

Sanji paused at that, looking the restaurant over. Had he really enjoyed talking to Zoro that much? Sure, hours had passed like minutes, he supposed he had enjoyed it. He groaned low, looking at the floor for a minute before he looked up at Zeff.

"Do you think I should talk to him?"

"I think you should." Zeff nodded once. "We're having turkey."

Sanji groaned in embarrassment, picking up his phone. He had Zoro's name listed under "shitty manager". He pressed 'call', nervously listened to the dial tone. Maybe Zoro wouldn't answer! After all, the man might have plans on Christmas da-

"H'llo?" Zoro's voice was sleep drunken and rough, sounding more like he'd belong in a porn movie than on the phone. Sanji's voice faltered slightly, his heart racing in his chest. Shit, he'd woken up his boss! On christmas day! SHIT!

"H-hey, it's me, Sanji." Sanji began, trying not to listen to the shuffling of bed sheets on the other end of the line.

"S-shit! I overslept, I'll be right down and-" Zoro's voice was broken off by a yawn, and Sanji couldn't help but laugh.

"It's christmas day, the store is closed." Sanji pointed out, and the sound of Zoro's belt clattering disappeared.

"huh… then why the fuck are you calling then?"

"Well…" Sanji swallowed thickly, feeling like an idiot and glaring at his smirking old man with the fury of a thousand suns. "We were cleaning up after the party, and we could use some help with the heavy stuff… If you can spare a few hours there's drinks and food included."

Zoro was silent on the other end of the line, Sanji couldn't even hear him breathing and the only clue the other man hadn't hung up was the lack of a dial tone.

"What kind of dinner?"

"We're having turkey." Sanji said and tried to keep the hope out of his voice, Zeff was giving him a thumbs up from the bar, gesturing to the bottles. "-and we have plenty of leftover alcohol."

"What time do you need me?"

Right now.

"just sometime later, the sooner you arrive the sooner we finish I guess." Sanji held his breath, he could hear the creaking of bedsprings on the other end of the line. "Just whenever you finish your family stuff."

"I'll be right over."

Zoro hung up, leaving Sanji practically vibrating with a mix of tension, excitement and horrible gut wrenching awkwardness.

"so?" Zeff pressed, looking unimpressed as ever.

"He's coming over." Sanji stared at the phone like it just sprouted eight creepy legs. "I need to take a shower."

Sanji ran upstairs, cursing himself for not thinking ahead and bringing a clean set of clothes. He could hear Zeff chuckle from downstairs.

I've actually started the next chapter. I'll hopefully just finish this story in the next couple of days. before it becomes irrelevant.

read over by sunshinesthroughtheclouds. thankies~

I'd love to hear what you have to say! I'm taking prompts for this one as long as they sorta fit in, this story was largely prompts!