Small miracles chapter 7

Zeff was sitting at the table, watching Sanji try as hard as he could not to flirt with his green haired boss. He wasn't sure if it was because the man was older or his manager, but Sanji simply didn't seem able to get comfortable with simple flirting.

Zoro, who was Zeff's prime candidate for a son-in-law, was stuffing his face, watching Sanji as the blond explained some detail about the stuffing balancing precariously on his fork. It was obvious the swordsman didn't have any interest in how exactly the stuffing was made, but rather his attention was focused on Sanji's enthusiastic hand gestures and wide smile.

With a twist of a bottle cap, Zeff poured himself a drink, trying to get rid of the sugary taste in his mouth from the saccharine scene before him. He extended his hand, tilting the bottle slightly in Zoro's direction. One dark eye glanced over, the corner of the swordman's mouth rising slightly as he held up his glass for Zeff to fill it up.

Sanji finally started eating; shooting Zeff a suspicious look from his seat. Zeff clinked the bottle to Zoro's glass when he'd topped it off, then placed the bottle slightly outside of the swordsman's reach. There was silence for a moment as Zoro took a drink while the clatter of tableware filled the large dining hall of the almost empty restaurant.

Zeff had a bad feeling about Sanji right now. The eggplant had been avoiding proper eye contact since their earlier 'argument' about the blonde's lacking sense of self-worth. The older man frowned into his glass, eyes narrowed on his son. He had a feeling Sanji was more caught up in the fact Zeff had been hurt than what he'd actually been telling him.

As his father, Zeff knew exactly what Sanji needed, even if the blond didn't know it himself. What his baby eggplant needed was motivation, something to drive him to be a little selfish. If that motivation happened to be a person or even just sex, Zeff didn't care. All he knew was that Zoro's attitude was contagious and Sanji had to catch it.

At this point Zeff was contemplating sending Sanji to get something just to have a moment alone with Zoro. He could persuade the man to be more brazen or he could just come straight out at him and offer to trade him Sanji for two goats and a sack of potatoes or something. Young people today seemed to have such complicated ways of coming out and telling someone they wanted to fuck.

"You said you'd been training swordsmanship since you were a brat, so I'm guessing it runs in your family?" Zeff said conversationally, punctuating his question by stuffing a large serving of potato salad in his mouth, avoiding his mustache as he could. Sanji spared him a suspicious glance.

"Yeah, I was raised in a dojo." Zoro swallowed before answering casually, something Zeff was glad the man did. It would be bad if he'd have to start kicking manners into him right away. It WAS Christmas after all. "But there is only so much you can learn at home. If I wanted to get serious I had to move on and make my own name."

Sanji glanced almost fearfully at Zeff at that, and tempted as the old man was to point to the green haired man and say 'SEE?' to his son, Zeff held his tongue. Sanji knew exactly what Zeff thought of this, and it was clear from the awkward expression on his face that the blond wasn't about to argue.

"I'd have thought someone who'd earned himself a title wouldn't be working at a store." Zeff decided to change the subject before Zoro caught on to the tension. "Why aren't you on a sponsorship with your face on magazines? Is it because of your scars?"

"I already asked him that old man." Sanji said irritated, swallowing his food before pouring himself a drink. Zeff huffed in return and Zoro simply looked amused.

"Well I wasn't listening to your flirtatious banter, so I'd like to hear it for myself." Zeff pointed out, raising his spoon and gesturing to Sanji with it. The blond stiffened slightly and grimaced awkwardly. Zeff continued casually, intent on punishing Sanji for his disrespect. "So tell me why you're not a model or spokesman or something."

Zoro took his time finishing his mouthful, apparently contemplating a good answer. Zeff busied himself with eating while he waited; glancing at the clock to make sure he wasn't over baking the dessert.

"There's no real reason. I'm just not a big fan of the whole fame package." Zoro said casually, shrugging slightly. "I've had offers but they've all been... annoying."

"They want you to pose naked or something?" Zeff suggested and Sanji started coughing uncontrollably, drawing in strained breaths and reaching out for the water pitcher and a large glass. Zeff didn't bat an eye while his son struggled for his breath, watching Zoro who glanced between them in confusion.

"Well some have offered me money for that." Zoro admitted and Zeff was sure he heard Sanji's coughing become stained with a flow of curses; face and ears red in embarrassment. The green haired man poured some water into Sanji's glass helpfully. "That's not why I became a swordsman though, so it doesn't interest me."

Sanji finished his glass of water, taking an unsteady experimental breath before slamming the glass into the table and glaring at Zeff, red faced. "Damn old fart! What do you think you are talking about over the dinner table?"

"Naked people." Zeff said casually, and Zoro started laughing, almost suffocating on his drink for the second time that night. Sanji growled and shook his head, blush on his cheeks as he took over the conversation.

For the remainder of the meal, Zeff didn't get a chance to ask as single question without his excellent innuendos being rephrased into something more child friendly. Damn the brat, Zeff shouldn't have raised him so witty and quick to catch on.

"Well eggplant, it's time to get the lemon pie from the oven." Zeff said as he finished his drink, leaning forward on the table to look at Sanji. "Go on."

Sanji frowned, glancing from Zeff to Zoro before he shrugged. "Alright then, Zoro, help out or you won't get any" Sanji froze half way up from his seat and hastily added; "-dessert, it's lemon meringue pie."

"You have to whip some cream Eggplant, get Zoro to help you with that." The tense jerk of Sanji's body was just mildly entertaining to the old man, who filled his glass up. Effectively robbed of both his chance to be alone with Zoro and to make a sexual joke of what Sanji had said earlier, Zeff grumbled and leant back in his chair.

The whole meal had passed by without as much as a Freudian slip despite Zeff's every attempt to redirect the dinner conversation somewhere sexual. He figured it was time to bring out some of the big guns. He narrowed his eyes on the ceiling and doorways, wondering if there was any mistletoe left from the party the day before.

He glanced around the hall, looking through every corner and frowning when he noticed every last decorative mistletoe gone. Either Sanji had found time to foil his future plans earlier, or during the party the night before his staff had yanked them all down to prank each other. It HAD been strange to see Patty and Carne kissing.

Zeff sighed slightly, shaking his head as he tried to think of another plan. His stupid eggplant just needed a little push. That was all. Just a small little nudge in the right direction. Sanji turned and looked at him, glancing up to the ceiling and then smiled subtly around his cigarette.

The damn brat, Zeff huffed in annoyance, realizing that Sanji had had indeed made sure there was no mistletoe to be found. When exactly he'd had the time to do this, Zeff had no idea.

Well, if the eggplant wanted to fight dirty, then Zeff had decades of experience his innocent little brat did certainly NOT have. He smirked, and Sanji paled slightly, turning back to whipping cream for the pie currently cooling on the counter.

The next hour was spent playing a game of cat and mouse and eating dessert. Sanji was making sure that Zeff and Zoro never had a single moment alone together and Zeff kept implying that was his goal. In fact, Sanji's almost paranoid interest in what Zoro was saying and all of the active questions he was using to prevent Zeff from asking anything embarrassing were doing wonders for the atmosphere.

Zoro, the poor fool, had clearly never had lemon meringue pie before. Granted it was rather hard to make, it was a dessert that not many people bothered making in their own home unless it came from a package. It had been amusing to see the man take a small amount onto his plate, clearly just to be polite.

The green haired fool had either decided he'd eaten way too much to fit dessert in or wasn't a fan of sweets. Zeff had a feeling it was the man's lack of sweet tooth that caused his modest portion, since the moment the man took a bite, his eye opened wide in surprise and he stared at the food like it had started talking to him.

It had been amusing after that, the slices had grown in size and Zeff was certain that half the pie had at some point been on the swordsman's plate. It did an old chef's heart good to see someone so genuinely enjoying their food, it reminded him why became a chef in the first place.

When the three of them were done, there wasn't a single slice left of the pie, and Zoro seemed to be teetering blissfully on the edge of a food coma. Zeff added some alcohol in the man's glass, hoping to give the man the final push that would prevent him from going home and forcing him to spend the night in Sanji's old bed (preferably with the bratty eggplant occupying it as well.) Zeff had earplugs in his nightstand that he hadn't been using since the neighbors got rid of their eternally barking dog.

Zoro finished the story of his first day working in retail and brought the glass up to his lips before he jerked in his seat and put the glass down. The room fell silent as Zoro pulled his cell phone from his pocket, frowning at the screen for a second before grumbling something and pressing a button.

"What?" Zoro's voice was annoyed and he glared down at the glass in front of him, running a finger along the edge. There were some strangled, muffled sounds from the other end of the line and Zoro's eyebrow twitched slightly, finger retracting from the glass edge to rub at his temple.

"My Christmas was merry until you called." Zoro said tiredly, looking at the clock right above the kitchen. "But it's almost midnight. Can't you pull him free yourself?"

There was loud screeching yelling from the other end of the phone line, Zoro help the phone away from his ear until it passed, frowning as he rolled his one functional eye. It didn't have the same effect when it wasn't a set. Sanji was looking more and more disheartened as the one sided conversation dragged on, and Zeff couldn't watch the joy fade from Sanji's eyes without taking a large drink from his glass.

"Fine. No need to scream." Zoro sighed into the phone, taking a drink from his glass. "Later." He hung up with an annoyed huff. He looked up, shaking his head apologetically, clearly trying to suppress a small smile. "A friend of mine got himself stuck in a chimney."

Both blonds exchanged incredulous looks before turning back to Zoro, eyebrows arching questioningly in perfect unison, their expression practically mirrors of each other. Zoro laughed at that, shaking his head.

"I'm not lying. I actually do have a friend stupid enough to get stuck in a chimney, and I have to help pull him free." Zoro said with a grimace, finishing his drink and placing the glass on the table. He didn't seem eager to leave though, and Zeff's moustache twitched suspiciously.

"Well, you're awfully calm about it." Zeff pointed out with a frown, and Zoro smirked absent mindedly.

"It happens all the time, well, not with chimneys specifically-" Zoro laughed softly, tucking his phone in his pocket. "He'll live even if he has to wait a little; he deserves to freeze his ass off for getting himself into that mess."

"Well it wouldn't be good for you to be hung over at work tomorrow anyway." Sanji sighed and stood up; Zoro followed him and dusted some crumbs off his pants. Sanji faked a smile, nodding Zoro over as he went to get his coat.

"I don't get hung over." Zoro's tone was a little disheartened. He had barely followed Sanji, halfway across the hall before the blond returned with his coat. Zeff could see the reluctance in the man's movements as he put on his coat and walked to the front door.

Sanji was seeing him off, the idiot. Zeff frowned in annoyance, getting to his feet and walking towards them. Zoro was tying his boots on, fingers moving slowly on the strings. Sanji stood on the top of the short steps above Zoro, looking down at him tie his shoe laces with the most pained expression on his face.

"Thanks for dinner Cook. Same to you old man." Zoro said as he finished tying off his shoe, standing still for a moment without making for the door. "It wasn't half bad. I can see how this place turns a profit."

"Shut your ugly face moss brain." Sanji snorted, no venom in his tone as he buried his hands in his pockets, looking to the side rather than Zoro. "It was the best food you've ever eaten and you know it."

Zeff had had enough. Taking one extra step towards them, he hooked a peg leg in front of Sanji's ankle and pat Sanji on the back hard enough to trip him forward. Zeff watched calmly as his son fell face first down the steps and onto the man below.

Flailing slightly and catching himself on Zoro's shoulders for balance, he bumped into Zoro harshly enough to knock him backwards a single step, the swordman's hands instinctively coming up to Sanji's sides to steady him.

The room was silent as Sanji's face was buried in Zoro's chest, completely hidden by the jacket and black sweater. If it hadn't been for the burning red at the tip of his ears, no one would have known Sanji was blushing. For almost a full second, neither man moved and Zeff turned around; confident he'd finally succeeded.

Now all he had to do was leave them alone for a moment and they'd work the rest out by themselves.

"So. See you at work tomorrow?" Sanji's voice was slightly hoarse and Zeff paused in his step, glancing over his shoulder to glare at his idiot son walking his love interest out the door.

"Yeah." Zoro's reply was slightly apathetic, Zeff was at the verge of screaming at both of them to 'fuck already'. He could scarcely believe what he was seeing, Sanji was ACTUALLY allowing the man to leave. He´d had enough. This was too much, he needed a drink.

Zeff ignored the sounds of half-hearted goodbyes and stormed over to the bar, picking up the bottle and ignored a glass altogether as he took a drink. He'd done ALL he could. He'd literally - physically - shoved them together and given Sanji every chance he needed to make any effort to take what he wanted.

The front door shut and Sanji locked it. Resting his forehead against the cold wood tiredly, he rummaged through his pockets for his cigarettes. Zeff's beard stood horizontally from his face, eyebrow twitching as he scrutinized Zoro walking down the stairs outside from a clear view through the window. He watched as Zoro turned around to look at the door.

Zeff held his breath. If the bastard knocked and made a move now, there was still hope. Sanji was still resting against the door, lighting himself a cigarette with heart wrenchingly slow movements. The swordsman outside took one step to the front door, and paused. Zeff watched Zoro answer the phone as Sanji pocketed his cigarettes.

With one last look at the door, Zoro rubbed the back of his neck and turned on his heel, walking away into the snowfall while talking on the phone.

Zeff's heart sank and he took another drink. Sanji tucked his hands in his pockets along with his cigarettes, not sparing Zeff a glance as he turned to walk to his old room, staring at the floor with distant unseeing eyes and shoulders slumped in resignation.

Knowing that arguing at this point would only bring about another temperamental screaming contest that would upset the neighbors at this hour, the older man held his tongue. Zeff bit back any comments that tried to make their way past his lips as he tried to get the angry shaking to leave his body.

Once again Zeff watched his son, the person he loved the most, disappear up the stairs in silence. He took another drink, trying to count the times his son had marched up those stairs heartbroken. It was possibly over a dozen times, but never had his steps sounded so melancholic. Never had his face looked so terribly hopeless.

Zeff's every nerve was strung and he glanced to the window, perhaps he could follow that green haired bastard and drag him back to the Baratie? Zeff huffed at his own stupid idea, it had started snowing rather hard, all footsteps would be covered and Zeff had no idea where he could have gone.

How was he supposed to fix this? How was a father supposed to deal with his son breaking his own heart again and again?

Zeff slammed the bottle on the table, stomping his way up the staircase to the top floor. He'd had enough. He didn't want to see that expression ever again. This was the last time. He didn't bother knocking when he came to Sanji's door. The blond had no doubt already heard him coming down the hall and Zeff was in no mood to be polite.

He twisted the doorknob and shouldered the door open roughly, taking a step into the room and glaring at Sanji, who was smoking by the window. The snowfall outside was heavy the window was open wide, cold air flowing into the room and Sanji's breath was a mix of cigarette smoke and warm air.

"I don't want to hear it old man." Sanji said softly, blowing smoke out through the open window. "It's better this way."

"Don't give me your shit excuses eggplant." Zeff snarled, crossing his arms in the doorway. "How is both of you being unhappy better? You like him and he likes you; it's not complicated."

"I told you-" Sanji began testily, crushing his cigarette as he turned to Zeff. The old man stomped down his peg leg.

"Yes. I know. You think he'll get fired and hate you for it. You assume it's not going to work out in the end and make your job hard for both of you." Zeff said casually and Sanji jolted in place, in slight shock of apparently having his mind read. "You think you're too inexperienced."

"That's…" Sanji started, hesitation in his tone. His argument trailed off as his eyes glanced outside the window.

"I didn't raise a coward."

Zeff turned on his heel and slammed the door after him as he left. Stomping down the hallway to his own room, he left Sanji standing speechless and wide eyed with his cigarette balancing precariously between his fingers.

Maybe he'd been too harsh? Zeff sighed and sat down on his bed, rubbing at his temples as he tried to calm himself down. The last thing he wanted was to make Sanji even more miserable, he wasn't sure he could take much more of that without losing his mind.

There wasn't much he could do about it now. Zeff shook his head slightly, his leg was aching and his nerves were fried. Sanji was going to be the death of him one day, he was sure he'd aged twice as fast because of the damn brat.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to go to sleep without calming down first, Zeff tried to make his way as quietly as possible past Sanji's room to get the remaining alcohol. He paused when he noticed Sanji's door was slightly ajar, possibly bounced open when Zeff slammed it closed earlier.

Through the crack Zeff could see Sanji sitting on his bed, rolling something small and silvery in his palm as he smoked, expression determined and thoughtful. It had been much too long since Zeff saw that look in Sanji's eyes, the drive to overcome a challenge.

Zeff retreated back to his room without a sound. He had nothing to worry about; his little eggplant would be fine.

Thanks to mistressHasty for being the beta for this chapter!

I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter.