Small Miracles Chapter 5

Zeff retreated into the kitchen as soon as he got the chance. It wouldn't do to interfere with the affairs of his bratty blond idiot any more than he had to. The ball was rolling, tumbling actually, down a very steep hill.

Zeff started creating stuffing for the turkey, steady hands cutting down ingredients with decades of experience. He glanced up when he heard the clatter of metal on concrete; that Zoro guy who'd just appeared out of nowhere yesterday was rather impressive.

Zeff had spent enough time in his younger years playing wingman to several of his more rowdy friends to know a good target when he saw one. He knew most of the signs too; even if the pierced ears and bandana might be either too obvious or outdated. He was sure he recognized the other man's interest in his son.

It had infuriated him at first, seeing this punk-looking older man, with all his muscles and face-scar, staring at his Sanji like the eggplant's ass was up for rent. Sanji had given him an approving smile though, and Zeff had to admit that if his boy was going to have a butt-buddy, it might as well be a good looking one.

Watching the green haired man carrying two of the heavy supports at once, Zeff gave a small huff of approval. He could feel the beginnings of pride swelling in his chest. Sanji was manning up and getting serious about his feelings for once, and his taste in men was nothing to scoff at.

He'd assumed that whatever was going on between the two of them was purely physical. Perhaps this green haired man was some sort of 'booty-call' that the eggplant had invited over to warm his own apartment later that night; then he'd introduced them.

He'd been shocked at hearing that the man was Sanji's manager from work. He'd been even more surprised when he realized that his dumb little eggplant had no idea he was being assessed. It hadn't taken too much to guide him in the right direction, though, and now Zeff was stealing glances at his son's dumbfounded expression as the other man bent over to push the heavy weights into the back of the room.

Zeff waited for Sanji to catch himself. When the idiot did, it was with an awkward jerk of his entire body, eyes travelling away from Zoro and over to the kitchen. Zeff grinned and held eye contact, arching a brow in amusement as Sanji's face started to turn pink.

Sanji tore his eyes away, inhaling deeply before tapping his foot on the floor, ordering his boss around with a little more enthusiasm than he did around the staff. Zeff found the whole scene hilarious, smiling slightly as he slid the turkey in the oven and set the timer. These idiots made an excellent team.

It only took the duo two hours to put away the large ceramic decorations and boxes of booze. Zeff busied himself in the kitchen, glancing up occasionally to watch as the two of them carried a large ceramic Santa up the stairs, fingers slipping on the sleek paint and hands accidentally touching.

Zeff felt so terribly old watching the two men disappear up the stairs with the last of the decorations. If they weren't back down within ten minutes, he was going to have to go get the radio to drown out any noises he wasn't supposed to hear.

It was slightly disappointing when the two men came running down the stairs a few moments later, elbowing each other and trading insults and bizarre pet names like it was some sort of competition.

Zeff couldn't help but gloat silently. Sanji had always been creative with nicknames, but he'd never had anyone else but Zeff answer him this energetically. The old chef rubbed his temples and sighed, shaking his head as he listened to the two men move tables between them.

"LEFT! LEFT! MY LEFT MARIMO-BASTARD!" Sanji yelled across the hall, cigarette dangling from his lips. "Are you really this lost?" Zeff watched in amusement as the green haired man snarled with reddening ears.

"Just nod or something!" the older man huffed indignantly, moving the correct way and practically dragging Sanji along for the ride. The heavy wooden tables slowly aligned themselves in the correct order. Zeff was in the middle of preparing various salads, brow furrowed as he tried gauging out how much the addition to the dining table might want to eat.

"OI! Roronoa!" Zeff yelled out, both men stiffening instantly where they stood, table suspended between them. Sanji was staring wide eyed at him, but Zeff was glaring at the back of the green head. The head in question slowly turned, slightly awkward grimace in place.

"What is it… old man?" Zoro asked, and Zeff realized that he'd never been introduced properly. The boy didn't know his name! He couldn't hold back a nasty grin as he realized what an excellent opportunity this was to embarrass his eggplant.

"Don't get ahead of yourself you brat! 'Old man' is just for sons and son-in-laws!" The horrified reaction on Sanji's face did his old heart good, and the taller man looked absolutely speechless. "I need to know approximately how much potato salad you're going to eat."

"Uh… as much as I can without being rude?" Zoro suggested, Zeff couldn't help but laugh at this. This guy was a riot.

"A lot then." Zeff hummed to himself, adding to the serving and ignoring the awkwardness that hung over the restaurant or the embarrassed and furious glares Sanji shot him at every opportunity. He was doing this for the good of Sanji's love life, if he didn't encourage this, the blond would probably be sighing wistfully and gazing blankly at the floor for weeks.

Who knew, if this thing turned out as a long term thing, he might even get grandchildren before he was too old to hold them. Heavens knew none of the women Sanji had brought to the Baratie were contemplating a long term relationship.

Was it too much to ask for his son to have a good relationship? For him to be with someone who cared for him, respected him? He just wanted his boy to have someone who he could trust. Someone who wouldn't lie to him or let him get away with talking down about himself, or into that peculiar spiral of self-doubt he sometimes fell into.

Someone who'd make his Sanji a better person without changing him at all. Someone who brought out his best and loved him at his worst.

Zeff sighed and put the potato salad in the fridge and started the sauce. The two idiots in the main hall were lining up the last of the tables and the turkey would be ready for an early dinner soon enough.

He was getting tired of being introduced to a new woman every few months. Seeing the anxiousness or heartbreak in Sanji' face every time he came over for a drink to tell him the woman broke up with him was enough to make him sick. He hated seeing his boy struggle to fall in love, when it really should be effortless. STAYING in love was the struggle.

At least with a man Sanji would be able to be himself a little bit more. Zeff knew that none of those women would have left if they had known the real Sanji, the man he was so proud to call his son he physically ached. He'd never say it out loud, but he had a feeling Sanji knew.

"Oi, old man." Sanji entered the kitchen, swiping one of the freshly washed aprons off the hook. "Anything that needs to be done in the kitchen?" Sanji asked as he checked on the turkey in the oven, humming happily to himself.

Zeff looked over the main hall; Zoro was arranging the last of the chairs at each table, carrying a large pile of them under his arm like they were nothing. The man was far enough out of earshot Zeff supposed.

"Oi, Sanji." Zeff turned around, looking at the blond who was watching him cautiously. "Have you asked him out yet?"

"WHAT? NO!" Sanji howled out in embarrassment, catching himself and glancing over to the main hall where Zoro was looking at the kitchen in confusion.

"Oi? Anything wrong curly?" Zoro pointed to the chairs. Zeff shook his head and waved the young man over, ignoring Sanji who yanked at his sleeve.

"Don't say anything or I swear to God I'm going to replace all your painkillers with tic tacs." Sanji's empty threats would have been move amusing if it hadn't been for the almost pained look in his eyes. Zeff sighed and brushed the young man's hand off, turning to the main hall where Zoro was approaching the kitchen window, covered in a thin layer of sweat.

"Anything you need old man?" Zoro asked with a slightly furrowed brow, glancing over at Sanji who shook his head and attempted to step in front of his father. Zeff frowned at this, how dare his youngster step in front of his father this way? No respect.

He stepped on Sanji's foot with his peg leg, and the blond fell forward in pain, biting his lip and yanking his foot away as he stumbled backwards. Zoro's eye widened slightly as he watched Sanji jump backwards and clutch his foot in agony, whimpering and red faced.

"You're stinking up my restaurant moss-head." Zeff huffed, waving his hand rudely in front of his face. Zoro turned to look at him in confusion, looking down at his arms as pulling at his slightly sweat stained shirt.

"What am I supposed to-"

"Go shower." Zeff pointed up the stairs, and he heard Sanji push at least three pots and two pans onto the floor behind him. His son was so embarrassing sometimes, he only mentioned the man naked for God's sakes, nothing to trash the kitchen over.

"I-" Zoro's brows rose as he shrugged, looking around. "Alright, where?"

"You can use the shower in Sanji's room." Zeff said without a single shred of remorse. Zoro turned to look at the blond behind Zeff, and Zeff did the same. Sanji's eyes were slightly wide and he was staring at Zeff in a mixture of disbelief, terror and awkwardness.

"You have some clean towels Sanji?" Zeff said as he gently tried to shake his foolish eggplant from his apparent stupor. How was he supposed to work with this? He'd already gotten the man to agree on stripping naked and getting soaked in Sanji's bathroom; and the blond was still looking at him like he did something bad.

"S-sure." Sanji shook his head, walking over to exit the kitchen. "Come with me marimo." Zeff watched the two men walk up the stairs, turning down the heat of his sauce to a low shimmer. Hopefully his idiot son would seize the chance and join the other man, both of them were clearly thinking about it.

He cleared his throat and Zoro's improper gaze averted instantly, the two of them disappearing up the stairs to Sanji's bedroom. There. He'd done all he could for now, maybe Zoro would act on his desires and make the first move. If Sanji rejected the man's advances by this point even Zeff wouldn't be able to salvage the situation.

With every minute that passed without Sanji returning downstairs, Zeff's mood got lighter. If those two worked up an appetite he might have to add to the soup. Zeff walked over to the mess of pots and pans on the floor, groaning as he picked them up.

"I'll help old-fart." Sanji said causally from behind him, walking to Zeff and barely dodging the pan swung for his head.

"W-WHAT!? CRAZY OLD FART-"

"Why are you DOWN HERE?" Zeff slammed the pan to the table, huffing in annoyance and rubbing his poor aching temples. He was too old for this shit.

"Where else should I be?" Sanji grimaced, lighting himself a cigarette despite know Zeff didn't approve of cigarettes in the kitchen. "Are you seriously expecting me to join Zoro in the shower?"

Zeff stared at Sanji for a moment. Trying to figure out where exactly his plan had failed. Sanji returned his intense stare and no matter how much Zeff went over the events of the day, he didn't find a single flaw in his actions. It had all been movie-perfect.

"Don't you want to have sex with that man?" Zeff eventually asked, soft and concerned, looking at Sanji slightly confused. He was starting to worry there was something wrong with his son, perhaps he had some bad experiences before that were scaring him away?

"Don't use that tone old man." Sanji said guiltily, kicking at nothing on the tiled floor of the kitchen. "There's nothing wrong. I just-"

"Just? If I personally guarantee that the man wants you naked-"

"It's not just about rejection. I just don't think it's a good idea. Zoro's my boss." Sanji said sincerely, pulling one of the kitchen chairs over to sit on them. "If this works out great, then I won't be able to work without…" Sanji serviced his cigarette into the sink, cheeks flushed. "-without being … hard all the time."

Zeff rolled his eyes. "If that is the worst-"

"And if it goes BADLY." Sanji interrupted, looking at his cigarette burn to avoid eye contact. "I might get fired for having sex with my boss… or worse, ZORO might get fired."

Zeff paused at that, studying the expression on Sanji's face. There was that wistful little smile on his face that had broken Zeff's heart a thousand times before. It was Sanji's 'giving up' smile. It was one of the top three Zeff despaired seeing on his face, right next to heartbreak and fear.

"I have no idea who Zoro is." Sanji said with a soft heartbreaking chuckle. "I don't know why he works at that store. I don't know if he really needs the money or if he can't get a job anywhere else. I can't risk his job just because I would REALLY like him to f-" Sanji cut himself off awkwardly, cigarette between his lips.

Zeff didn't say anything. Watching his son give up on the one person he'd really been genuinely interested in, for possibly the first time in his entire life, enraged Zeff. At the same time he could see Sanji's reasoning. But the idiot was doing the one thing he ALWAYS did, and Zeff wasn't about to let it slide this time.

Sanji stood up, shaking his head and breathing smoke into the air as he opened the window. "So you can stop trying to get me into bed with Zoro old man." Sanji chuckled slightly, shaking his head. "I don't know him well enough to expect him to risk-"

"Tell me Sanji," Zeff said with a grumble, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at his son. He tried to keep the annoyance from his voice, but he felt some of it seep into his son's name. "-how old is this Zoro?"

"He's 24-"

"And how old are you?"

"I'm 20, but I'll be 21 soon and it really isn't such a big-"

"I'm just trying to figure out where you came to the shitty conclusion that he needs your mothering." Zeff stomped his peg leg into the tiles, watching Sanji's brow furrow in confusion.

"What are you-"

"You do this stupid shit all the time. You think that you need to look out for everyone." Zeff started, Sanji bristled in annoyance at that, opening his mouth to argue but Zeff held up a hand to stop him.

"Sanji, if someone else wants to risk something for your sake, you don't have to constantly bend out of the way in fear of costing them something."

"But-" Sanji began, and Zeff walked up to him, catching him by the jacket and pulling the taller young man down to look him in the eyes. Sanji might be taller, but he was always going to be his little brat.

"You're worth it."

Sanji paused at that, awkward as he tried pulling away from Zeff's frowning expression. The older man wasn't about to let his brat go though, fisting the fabric hard enough to crease. He had to get this through his thick skull. He constantly put others ahead of him. He wasn't a chef because he rushed to his old man's sickbed. He'd refused himself so much throughout his entire life. He constantly gave praise but refused to receive it unless it was about food.

He'd raised his boy proper, but he'd turned out a little too selfless for his own good. Egotistical at times, but usually it was just boasting. He carried everyone else's interest first and didn't want anyone to sacrifice anything for his sake. He'd refused to allow his former lovers to attend contests or such if it clashed with something they already had planned.

'A day out with your friend is much more important than my martial art's tournament.'

'It's just an audition, no need to reschedule your manicure'

'My ribs will heal fine, no need for you to skip going to the beach because of me'

"I'm pretty sure that a grown man knows exactly what he's willing to give up." Zeff said in a calm tone, letting go of Sanji's shirt. If Sanji would only realize that he should have someone that thought he was worth dying for. If only he'd just value himself more.

It pained his old heart to see Sanji suffer so much for the sake of some imaginary burden no one asked him to carry. Sanji slowly rose up, inhaling deeply and staring at Zeff, eyes slightly wide and looking rather disturbed.

"Old man… Zeff- " Sanji's voice was low and slightly trembling, cigarette burning up completely between his fingers, forgotten. Zeff was really hoping that his idiot son would think about what he said, or at least contemplate it for a minute, or even just a second.

"Oi! Curly!" Zoro came down the stairs, wiping his green hair on the towel. "Your soap smells like shit." He wasn't wearing a shirt, wet skin on display as the man walked closer. Large jagged scar across the man's muscular chest.

Sanji didn't seem to be in any state to speak, so Zeff decided to bail his idiot out this one last time.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Zeff huffed, walking close to get a better look at the scar. "You have one hell of a scar right there. Are you a criminal?"

"Not a criminal. Swordsman." Zoro shrugged, turning around and looking at the hall. "I couldn't put my sweaty shirt back on after washing, so I figured I'd just wear my sweater."

Zeff watched as the man turned around, walking of the heap of black fabric that was his discarded hoodie. Zeff ran his eyes over the man's muscular back - there wasn't a single scar on there. Impressive.

Sanji was probably thinking about something else, judging from the paleness off his face and the way he tried sucking on a long dead cigarette absent mindedly. Zeff didn't have to think very long to realize where all that blood was located. Zoro pulled the hoodie on, shaking his head and tossing the towel onto a chair.

"Bring that chair over here." Zeff waved, calling across the room. "We're finishing up dinner and I think you've earned that drink."

The man was over with the chair within a minute, approval on his face as he slammed the chair by the window and grabbed one of the glasses by the bar. Zeff couldn't help but smile at this; it wasn't going to be hard to find a good gift for his future son-in-law. He handed one of the half-finished bottles over, nodding in approval when the man read the label carefully.

"This is all you get before dinner." Zeff said with a hum, pulling Sanji over and positioning him at the soup pot right in front of Zoro as he walked over to check on the desert.

"This is good booze." Zoro's approving tone did an old man's heart good. At least Zeff was now certain Zoro recognized quality in both booze and men.

"-and my soap does not smell like shit marimo!" Sanji hissed over the edge of the half wall. "It's not my fault an idiot like you has no idea how tropical raspberry and lemon smells like!"

to be continued!

Thanks to MistressHasty who beta'd this!

/oh god it's so much fun to write Zeff this chapter was gonna kill meeeeeeeee./