Zoro was sleeping on an extra soft mattress with a cold pack pressed against him, surrounded by Sanji's scent. Overall he was nice and comfortable, and he didn't want to wake up anytime soon.

But, his cold pack was moving.

He groaned and held it tighter, kept it close to him to prevent it from escaping. It smelled exactly like Sanji, and just like Sanji, he wanted to keep it by his side forever.

"C'mon, you shitty wolf," Sanji chuckled somewhere near his ear, fingers scratching his scalp, "You can keep sleeping, but we do have guests over, and it's lunch time."

Zoro groaned again, and buried his face into Sanji's chest.

Wait.

He cracked his eye open and sure enough, he was in Sanji's bed, basically cuddling him in his arms.

"Uh…" he ineloquently said, frozen in place as he stared up at Sanji, the events from last night finally catching up with him, "Hi."

"Hi," Sanji laughed as he pat one of the arms encircling him, "Can you let me up now?"

Zoro finally let him go, and Sanji pulled away, the warmth of the room quickly filling in the cold spot that he'd left behind.

"You can go back to sleep," Sanji assured him again as he picked out his clothes for the day, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"S'fine," Zoro sat up and rubbed at his eye, "M'awake."

"Yeah, you sound it," he laughed again, and that delightful sound was doing more to rouse him than anything else.

Sanji leaned in again as he passed him by on his way out the door. He ran a hand through his hair, scratching what would have been the spot behind his wolf ears if he'd had those, and giving him a look that could only be described as soft. Before Zoro could do anything more than stare probably much too fondly back, he pulled away and left the room.

Zoro flopped back on the bed and covered his face with his hands.

Maybe Perona had been onto something last night. Maybe it was possible that Sanji returned his feelings, even just a little bit.

What should he do now? Try to seduce him? Make him his mate?

Would Sanji be interested in that? Just because he may possibly potentially like him as slightly more than a friend didn't mean he was interested in the permanence of being his mate.

And how would he even go about it? He'd never considered a mate before Sanji came into his life, never even asked someone out on a date before. He had no idea where to start.

Still, Zoro couldn't help but want.

His stomach growled loudly, so maybe the first thing he should do was get some lunch.

He rolled out of bed with a groan, and left the room as well.

He was greeted by Nami, Usopp, and Chopper, who were sitting on the couch in the living room, eating grilled cheese sandwiches and staring at him with wide eyes.

He growled, instantly on edge, and was about to demand what their problem was when it hit him that he'd just come out of Sanji's bedroom wearing the same pants he'd had on yesterday and nothing else.

His aggression quickly turned to embarrassment, his face flushing all the way down to his chest, "It's not what you think."

"I'm not thinking anything," Usopp assured him way too quickly, "In fact I've never had a single thought ever in my life." He turned to Nami, "What about you?"

"No, yeah," Nami nodded, a mischievous smirk pulling at her lips, "Not one single thought about you emerging from Sanji's room half naked here. Chopper?"

Chopper gaped at him with wide eyes, "Did you sleep with Sanji?"

The other two struggled to hold back their laughs as Zoro groaned, running a hand down his face, "It's not like that. We were just sleeping — actual sleeping. Nothing happened."

"Nothing happened, huh?" Nami raised a brow, "So then, why were you literally just sleeping together?"

Zoro growled, trying to figure out how to explain the different yet complimenting body temperatures thing without sounding too far gone over the vampire, and eventually just said, "It's more comfortable."

"I'm sure it is," she snickered, "Being held while you sleep by someone you lo-"

"Hey, Mosshead," Sanji poked his head into the living room, holding another plate of grilled cheese that he offered to Zoro, "Glad your lazy ass is finally up. Here, come eat."

Zoro grumbled something about how he woke up only minutes after Sanji — which he damn well knew — then realized that the reason he knew was because they were in the same bed, which the others knew about because they saw him come from Sanji's room and-

"You gonna sit down and stay a while or just stand there like an idiot?" Sanji smirked as he sat down in his usual armchair.

Zoro growled at him, but looked around for an empty seat, and was surprised when Sanji pat the arm of his chair, beckoning him over there instead.

His feet moved before he even realized it, as if drawn to Sanji's pull like a magnet. He made himself comfortable on the arm of the chair, and Sanji beamed up at him, his arm resting right next to Zoro's leg, close enough that he could feel the cool press of it through his pants.

Zoro's breath hitched, but Sanji's demeanor didn't change at the contact, if anything he seemed to thrive with it. He was lively and energetic as he engaged with their guests, going so far as to press even more into Zoro, looking completely relaxed and at home.

The conversation went in Zoro's one ear and out the other, all his focus turned to Sanji, to Sanji's arm pressed up against him, to the smile on Sanji's face, to the soft look in Sanji's eye whenever it did land on Zoro.

The hope Perona put in him last night welled up once more, and he let all the forbidden thoughts in his mind loose.

Did he have a chance at something more with Sanji? Could they be something other than packmates and roommates? Could Sanji maybe even become his mate, his one and only?

Zoro would like that very much.

He would like whatever Sanji could give him, whether it was being mates or just boyfriends or even just roommates. He'd be content as long as Sanji was there.

But this new hope, this thing wriggling at his mind, made him want to take that leap, and at least try for more.

When he finally pulled his eye away from Sanji, he caught Nami's devious smirk. His feelings and resolve must have been painted all over his face.

Well, he shrugged at her as he finished his sandwich, if he was going to shoot his shot with Sanji, he wanted it to be perfect, to leave no doubt in Sanji's mind about his intentions.

But Zoro wasn't used to the whole relationship thing. He'd need help.

And Nami had made it perfectly clear she was more than willing to help. For a price, of course.

But whatever price she demanded, he knew Sanji was worth it.


Sanji sighed as he flopped down on the couch. Zoro was out running errands for the rest of the day, and the rest of his friends were busy with their own lives, leaving Sanji with some time to himself.

And, like they have been wont to recently, all his thoughts turned to Zoro.

Ever since Reiju had implied that Zoro might be into him, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He quickly realized his feelings for him had developed far beyond that of a platonic roommate without him even noticing, and now was left wondering if Zoro possibly felt the same.

Could he? Could Zoro, so vibrant and full of life, so loyal to his pack, possibly be in love with him?

The thought was keeping him up at night. Or rather, it kept him from sleeping during the day.

Still, he had no idea if Zoro even was interested. Just a few comments from his sister — who had only known Zoro a few hours — and his fervent hopes and wishes.

He didn't want to risk what he did have with Zoro — the rapport, the roommate, the pack — on some pipe dream that was too good to be true.

"Does Zoro even like me?" He mused out loud.

"Yeah," Luffy answered.

Sanji bolted upright, not even aware that he was here, "What are you doing here?"

Luffy shrugged, his eyes glued to the TV where he was playing a game on his switched device, "Where else would I be?"

"Fair enough," he sighed as he flopped back on the couch, "But since you are here, do you think Zoro likes me?"

"He lives with you," Luffy said as he attached some crying plant thing with a huge backpack to a cart covered in spikes, "And you're awesome. Why wouldn't he like you?"

Sanji groaned, "I know he likes me. What I want to know is if he likes me likes me."

"Yeah. He likes you."

Sanji let out a weary sigh, rolling over to his side so he could give Luffy the full force of his glare, "You're not helping."

Luffy shrugged, adding some flame throwers and what looked like rockets to the cart, "I don't know what to tell you. Zoro likes you in every way a person can be liked."

"W-what?" Sanji knew that if he still had blood to spare, he'd be blushing right now, Luffy's offhanded comment lighting him up from head to toe, "The shit do you mean by that?"

"I mean, Zoro really likes you," he said. In the game, he whacked the cart with a giant stick, causing it to shoot up into the air and rain fire down on the surrounding landscape, killing his character instantly.

Luffy sighed as he tossed the controller aside and gave Sanji his full attention.

Sanji twiddled his thumbs, still disbelieving that Zoro could possibly feel the same way about him, "How do you know?"

Luffy laughed, "I know because I know Zoro. I know what Zoro likes, and how he acts around people he likes. And it's obvious he's been in love with you practically since he met you. I mean, that first night I was here he wouldn't let you leave his side! So of course he likes you. You have to like someone to love them."

"I…he…" Sanji let out a high pitched whine as he fell back on the couch once more.

Luffy's face appeared upside down above him, "You doing okay?"

"Yeah…" Sanji said softly, "Yeah, I just…I think I love Zoro too."

"That's great!" Luffy giggled, his smile wide enough to split his face, "Zoro'll be so happy when you tell him."

"Yeah," Sanji laughed too, more breathy than Luffy's, but the joy he felt was too much to be kept inside of him.

He started imagining what it would be like courting Zoro. Taking him on outings, exchanging knowing glances across the room under the watchful eyes of their guardians, trading secrets and messages until their love blossomed and bloomed into this beautiful thing that couldn't possibly be contained, until they had no choice but to get married and move in together and finally finally be allowed to touch and-

Sanji gasped, bolting strait up and knocking his head against Luffy's, "Fuck!"

"What?" Luffy asked as he rubbed his head, seeming unphased by the headbutt, "What's wrong?"

Sanji turned to him, his eyes wide in horror at his realization, "We already live together!"

"Yeah," Luffy said slowly, "And?"

"We're both unmarried and we've been living together," he buried his hands in his hair, "What must people think of us?"

Zoro was a man of honor and integrity. His reputation meant everything to him, both as a lone werewolf and as a pack protector. And yet Sanji had the audacity to consider courting him after besmirching his honor in one of the worst ways imaginable.

Zoro had been living in his apartment for months. During that time neither of them had any partners — sexual or otherwise — to speak of. Surely people must have assumed things about them. That Sanji was taking advantage of Zoro to sate his own needs, sure, but he never cared about his reputation or what others thought about him.

That they would think Zoro was some kind of harlot who just let him, that people would think Zoro was low because he was unwed and living with him, that Sanji couldn't stand.

"That…you're roommates?" Luffy answered, his voice ripping Sanji out of his spiral.

The mistakes were already made. Now he needed to work on solutions, ways he could court Zoro without ruining his reputation even more.

"I have to kick Zoro out," came the obvious solution.

"What?" Luffy screeched, offended by the perfectly logical solution, "Why?"

"I can't court him if he lives with me," Sanji explained, "That's not how it works! We've already been doing things out of order, and I don't want to make it worse."

"I mean, it's your apartment, and you can do what you want," he said, his eyes going wide as his voice dipped into pleading, "But…Zoro will be really sad if you ask him to leave."

Sanji frowned as he considered. He'd be really sad too if Zoro left. He liked having him around, liked having his whole pack together.

So, Zoro had to stay.

"Okay," he sighed, "Zoro stays." Luffy began cheering, so Sanji cut him off with a stern, "However, I'm doing the rest of this properly, so no one can accuse me or him of being anything less than perfect gentlemen."

"Sure," Luffy nodded, a wide grin splitting his face almost in two, "I don't get it, but if it means you'll tell Zoro you love him too, then great!"

"It does," he said as he dug around the side table for a pen and paper, "Eventually."

He grabbed a ballpoint pen and a notepad, then froze. Didn't he just say he was going to do this properly? How could he even think about writing this with such pedestrian items?

"I'll be right back," he said as he dropped them back on the table and hurried off to the sitting room.

He dug through his desk in there until he found his old dip pen and ink and a proper piece of paper, all thankfully still functional despite it being about a century since they last saw use. He set up his writing implements as he sat down at the desk, and thought how best to draft the letter.

His letter to Zoro's family, clearly stating his intentions and asking for their permission to officially begin courting him, was an important one. Without Zoro's family's approval, they could throw themselves into more scandal than they already had.

Although, now that Sanji was thinking about it, who would Zoro's family be in this situation? Zoro hadn't seen his birth family since he was a kid, and he had no way of tracking down Kuina's old pack, if there were any of them left who still cared about Zoro in that way.

So that left his most recent pack before Sanji: the Dracules.

But, he froze with his pen halfway towards the inkwell, how would it look for a vampire to write a letter to the infamous Mihawk Dracule? One that exposed the vulnerabilities and secrets of his heart?

Perona then.

Dear Ms. Dracule, he wrote at the top, then paused, carefully choosing his words for this all important letter.

As you may recall, your brother and I share an abode. However in recent times it seems that my affections for him have grown beyond that of simple roommates, and have taken a more romantic turn.

I imagine you have concerns about this, considering my nature and your occupation. Your concerns are understandable, however I know this: my feelings for Zoro are pure and genuine. Loving him has become as much a part of my nature as anything else, to the point where I cannot picture myself as anything other than wholly, completely, and irrevocably in love with him.

I know this is incredibly presumptuous of me, but please allow me the honor of courting him.

As you know, I have the means financially to take care of him, having not an inconsiderable amount of wealth at my disposal. In addition to that, I am the alpha in a pack of ten that, with all our efforts combined, should be more than adequate to see to any and all of his needs. If your worries have not been assuaged, consider this: I love him above all others. If it comes to it, I will choose Zoro and his happiness and his well-being above even my own. Whatever he wants, whether it is in my power or not, it is his.

I await your response.

Sincerely,

Sanji

He read over the letter a couple of times, making sure he dotted every i, crossed every t, and his penmanship was nothing short of perfection.

When he was satisfied, he carefully folded the letter into an envelope, sealed it with his own personalized wax seal, and wrote her name on it.

Now how to get it to her?

He wanted this delivered as soon as possible, but the only person here he could rely on to deliver it was Luffy. And he'd have better luck tossing it in the trash and having the sanitation workers deliver it than for Luffy to without incident.

No, he'd have to do this himself.

He shook his foot until it turned into a solitary bat and placed the letter between its outstretched feet. He then opened the balcony window and watched the bat fly off into the horizon.

He eyed the sky as he watched it go. It was still daytime, which would make it a problem for all of him to go out, but with the overcast day, he felt reasonably confident the single bat would be fine.

The letter was more important anyway. He could lose a foot or two if it meant being able to properly pursue and court Zoro, to be able to tell him how he feels, to take care of him in the way he wants without the lingering threat of scandal.

He nervously paced around the room as he waited for a response, dragging his missing foot behind him. How long would it take the bat to get to Dracule Manor? How long would it take Perona to compose a response? What if she was so repulsed by his confessions that she destroyed the bat and left him with nothing, not even the dignity of her rejection?

He could, in theory, put part of his attention in the bat and see where it was, since it was technically a part of him. But that felt like cheating, and the fluttery anticipation was all part of the process.

Much sooner than he expected, the bat returned.

Its feet were empty, which meant that the letter had been successfully delivered, yet Perona sent no response.

That was answer enough for Sanji, his heart aching as his hopes were brutally crushed under the rejection, but he was thankful she sent the bat back.

Just as it got situated on his empty ankle and turned back into his foot, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and was met with a text.

Perona: lmaooooooo yeah go for it
Perona: im rooting for you guys ?

Sanji sighed, the relief flooding through him almost enough to bring him to his knees.

He had her permission. He could court Zoro.

Now he just had to figure out what the hell that meant.


Zoro got home just as the moon was rising. He closed the door behind him, and felt the telltale shudder run through him, his scalp prickling as his wolf ears burst out, his lower back doing the same for his tail.

When it was all said and done, he flicked his tail and twitched his ears to get rid of any lingering uncomfortableness, then made his way into the kitchen.

Sanji was in there, cooking up a storm of what looked like soup and finger foods. He placed the bag of groceries on the counter and said, "You're keeping busy."

Sanji flinched, his spoon clattering against the soup and sending some splashback on his shirt.

"Sorry," Zoro laughed at his disgruntled growl as he found a towel for him to clean up, "You're jumpy tonight."

"I'm fine," Sanji insisted as he cleaned himself up as best he could, "I should change before this stains."

"Why?" Zoro asked, tilting his head, "It's not like we're having guests tonight."

Sanji cleared his throat suddenly as he set the towel aside and asked, in lieu of nothing, "Are you busy?"

Zoro just stared at him. He of all people should know that Zoro's plans for tonight were a whole lot of nothing, "No?"

"In that case," Sanji cleared his throat again, his gaze darting away, "Would you care to join me in a cinematic viewing this evening?"

Zoro's brow furrowed, "You…want to watch a movie?"

"Yes," he said, his fists clenched and unclenching at his sides.

Zoro laughed, "You could just ask like a normal person."

"Shut the hell up," Sanji scowled, making Zoro laugh again. This was a much better look on him than that nervous posturing, "Do you want to or not?"

"Sure," he shrugged, "I'll watch a movie."

"Excellent," he turned back to the soup and waved him towards the living room, "I'll get everything set up, you go relax."

"Whatever," he said, but as he left he caught the small, delighted smile on Sanji's face that sent butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

The furniture in the living room was covered in blankets and pillows, with popcorn and other snacks in bowls on the table. For whatever reason, it looked like Sanji was dead set on his movie night, and, in typical Sanji-fashion, going all out for it.

Zoro took a seat on the main couch, rearranging the blankets and pillows to make himself more comfortable, and an idea suddenly struck him.

Movies were romantic, weren't they?

At least, people went on movie dates all the time.

Maybe he could use this as a chance to try and take the next step with Sanji.

A well placed yawn, followed by a stretch, and he could subtly wrap his arm around Sanji, then as the movie went on, they'd be pulled closer and closer until they were pretty much cuddling, and from there, maybe he could be so bold as to kiss Sanji. Maybe Sanji would let him.

He knew his tail was wagging at the idea, but he didn't care as he quickly re-rearranged the blankets to make room in his little nest for the two of them.

Just him and Sanji, alone in a dark room for hours. Anything could happen.

When he'd gotten the couch just right, the intercom buzzed, and Zoro glared down the hallway. Who could possibly be interrupting his and Sanji's romantic evening?

"Can you get that?" Sanji called from the kitchen, "It should be the others."

Others?

Zoro scowled as he made his way to the intercom, and saw Luffy's face pressed right up against the camera, "Zoro? Sanji? Are you there? We're here!"

When he pulled away from the camera, Zoro could see that the whole pack was with him.

Could he tell them to go away? Pack bonding was important, sure, but couldn't he have this one night with just him and Sanji?

He leaned his head into the kitchen, and, to his disappointment, saw Sanji already dishing out ten bowls of soup for everyone.

Shit, Sanji had been expecting the whole pack for his movie night.

So much for a romantic evening alone.

With a heavy sigh, he buzzed them all up, dragging his feet on his way back to the living room as Sanji quickly ran off to change his shirt.

Once they arrived, Nami, Robin, and Jinbei went to help out in the kitchen, but everyone else gathered in the living room and made themselves comfortable. Zoro sat moodily on the couch, glaring at Usopp when he tried to take the seat next to him, forcing him instead on the pillows on the floor with Chopper in his lap. Franky had made himself comfortable in Sanji's usual armchair, Brook hovering above the arm with his legs crossed, and Luffy, ignoring his glares, had flopped onto the couch next to him, already munching his way through one of the popcorn bowls.

"You okay?" Luffy asked, his mouth full of popcorn, "You don't wanna watch the movie?"

"I'm fine," he huffed, even if his bristling tail said otherwise, "Just, why are you all here?"

"Sanji invited us," Franky answered, flashing him a thumbs up, "Seemed really excited about movie night, and any night we don't have to cook is good in our books."

"Yes," Brook nodded, "He did seem insistent about this gathering."

"I'm so excited!" Chopper said, and his tail going a mile a minute backed that up, "I can't wait!"

Zoro sighed, releasing some of the tension in him as he forced himself to relax in the face of Chopper's genuine excitement. He liked his pack, he reminded himself. He liked spending time with them. Yes he was disappointed that he couldn't have one on one time with Sanji, but he had plenty of time for that. Getting all of them together like this, spending time as a pack, was important too, and he was glad Sanji brought them all here.

Sanji and his helpers came out with individual trays of soup and sandwiches, and passed them out to everyone. When they were done, Nami took her seat in the second armchair, Robin curled around Franky in his lap, and Jinbei sat gratefully next to Luffy, leaving the space next to Zoro wide open for Sanji.

Well, he smiled as Sanji took his seat, at least he still got that.

Once everyone was settled, Sanji picked up the remote, leaned just enough into Zoro's side that he could feel them pressing together, and started the movie.

The movie was a cartoon, which already had Zoro rolling his eye, about some cooking rat. The whole thing seemed kind of dumb in his opinion, but as the movie went on, as the rest of his pack got into the drama of it all, as Sanji leaned more and more into him, Zoro found he didn't hate it.

"Anyone can cook," the guy on the screen assured the rat, and Zoro was surprised to hear Sanji sniffling next to him.

He smirked as he leaned in and whispered, "Are you crying over the rat movie?"

"Shut up," he snapped back as he elbowed him in the side, and yeah, he was crying over the rat movie.

Zoro chuckled, but put his arm around him anyway to hold him just a little closer.

And maybe Zoro did like the cooking rat movie, just a little bit.

When the movie ended, Sanji sighed as he offered up the remote, "Okay, who wants to pick the next one?"

They spent the evening passing the remote around, letting anyone who wanted to pick a movie. Nami put on a cheesy romcom, looking pointedly at Zoro as she pressed play, and while Robin's choice of a psychological horror had even Zoro's fur standing on end, it ended with Sanji pressed even more into his side. Luffy countered that with an action movie with lots of flashy fighting and very little plot, while Brook insisted on some old noir that only he and Sanji had heard of.

Overall, it was a fun night.

The last movie ended with Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy fast asleep, so the others chipped in to help clean up. Jinbei and Nami gathered the empty dishes, assuring Sanji they'd take care of them, since Sanji already cooked, while Franky and Robin handled carrying the others to their guest rooms, leaving Zoro, Sanji, and Brook, to put the living room back in order.

Which, since Brook couldn't actually touch anything, was mostly Sanji directing Zoro while Brook added commentary.

When Sanji went to get the vacuum, Zoro spoke up, "I think you can save the vacuuming for tomorrow."

Sanji scowled at him, "Between your and Chopper's shedding and Luffy and Usopp leaving food crumbs everywhere, I think not."

"What's the worst that could happen if you save it for tomorrow?"

"Mice could get in," Sanji insisted, "And mess the place up."

"Wow," Zoro smirked as he leaned against the nearby wall, "You'd really deny some poor mouse the chance to cook?"

Sanji paused for a moment, before sending a glare his way, "I hate you."

"No you don't," Zoro snickered as the vacuum went back in the closet.

Sanji scowled and glanced away, but before he could say anything more, Jinbei and Nami came back into the living room.

"We've finished the dishes," Jinbei announced with a yawn, "If the guest rooms are still free, I wouldn't mind getting some sleep."

"Of course," Sanji perked right up and gestured towards the sitting room, "Yours is right upstairs, as always."

"And as always, I thank you for your generosity," he said with a wide smile as he held up Brook's violin case, "Care to join me, Brook?"

Brook's ghostly gaze slid over to Zoro and Sanji for a moment, and he let out a musical laugh as he followed after Jinbei, "Of course. If I stay awake much longer, I'll be dead on my feet."

"Hilarious," Jinbei muttered as the two of them made their way upstairs.

Nami let out a huge yawn as well, stretching in a way that Zoro thought was a hair too preformative, "I think I'm going to call it a night too."

"Oh," Sanji's smile fell for a moment, but was right back in place just a moment later, "Of course! Have the sweetest of dreams, my dear."

"I will," she gave Zoro a mischievous grin, "Try not to have too much fun by yourselves boys."

And with a final cheeky wave, she was gone as well, leaving just Zoro and Sanji alone for the rest of the night.

Perfect.

"So," Zoro said as he stretched his arms, "Do you want to-?"

"I think I'll head to bed too," Sanji cut him off, turning on his heel towards their rooms.

"Oh." Zoro frowned, trying not to feel disappointed, "Are you sure? There's still plenty of time until sunrise."

"Yeah, it's been a long day cooking for everyone," he said, giving Zoro a smile, "I could use some rest."

"If you're sure."

They'd arrived just outside Sanji's bedroom, and stood face to face as Sanji's hand lingered on the doorknob. He looked up at him, and Zoro's heart lurched in his chest at the soft smile gracing his lips, his tail wagging so fast he was sure it would fall off.

"Thanks for agreeing to this," Sanji said, his hand coming up to stroke gently at Zoro's cheek, "I had fun tonight."

"Yeah," Zoro couldn't help leaning into his touch, "I did too."

They stood there for a long moment, just looking at each other, and Zoro wondered if Sanji would invite him back into his bed — just to sleep, of course — and he found himself anticipating it, eager to feel the press of Sanji against him once more.

Sanji's lips looked extra tempted, his mouth parted slightly, fangs poking out, and Zoro found himself drawn to them, leaning just a fraction more, just a hair further, until their lips were only inches apart.

And then Sanji pulled away, leaving Zoro too warm as the heat filled in the space he'd left.

"Goodnight," Sanji said as he went into his room and closed the door behind him.

Zoro blinked at the space where Sanji was, already missing his touch.

"Goodnight," he whispered sadly at the closed door as he made his way to his own room.

Next time. Next time he'd get some proper alone time with Sanji, and use it to get even closer to the vampire.

Next time he'd do it right.


"Are you doing anything tonight?"

Sanji glanced up from the romance novel he'd been reading. He'd been trying to get more ideas for ways to court Zoro, but had gotten so swept up by the love story between the duchess and her loyal handmaiden that he'd all but forgotten his purpose for reading.

Zoro was standing in front of him looking almost nervous, his hands clasped behind his back as his eye darted around to look anywhere but at him.

It was cute, he noted with a small smile. A lot of things Zoro did were cute.

"Uh," he said when he remembered that Zoro asked him a question, "No, I don't think so."

"Cool, great," Zoro cleared his throat and pulled up something on his phone, "The museum is having a special exhibit tonight. You're old — or, uh, you like old things. Because you're so old. You're used to them and stuff."

Sanji drummed his fingers on the arm of the sofa, "Is there a point to this or are you just going to keep insulting me?"

"Right," he swallowed thickly as he showed Sanji his phone, "I, uh, figured you might be interested. So — if you want, you don't have to — do you want to, maybe, I don't know…go? With me? To the museum?"

Sanji looked at the phone. Apparently there was a special night exhibit at the museum right now, which did sound intriguing. It was still the crescent moon tonight, so Zoro could easily hide his ears and tail if they did want to go out.

"Yeah," Sanji grinned as he handed back the phone, "Sounds interesting. I'll go with you."

"Great. Awesome." Zoro beamed at him as he pocketed his phone, flashing him a thumbs up, "It's a date."

And with that he walked away, a noticeable bounce to his step.

Sanji's smile grew as he watched him go. A museum date with Zoro…

He gasped out loud, his good mood fleeing in the face of impropriety. A date with Zoro? Just the two of them? Alone? For maybe the whole evening? Out in public too! What would people say, what would people think?

In order to have a proper, respectable date, they needed a chaperone.

But who could he invite to go to a museum of all places at the last minute?

There was only one option.

He picked up his phone and called Robin.


The museum was only a ten minute walk from the apartment, the night air cool but pleasant. Zoro's beanie was secure on his head to hide his ears, his tail tucked into his jeans while his hoodie hid the bulge as he walked next to Sanji, who had opted for his nicest cloak for this outing, although — after some convincing from Zoro — he had left the cane at home.

Despite Zoro trying to take every wrong turn on the way there, they arrive at the museum in no time at all, and find Robin and Franky already waiting for them out front.

"Oh," Zoro frowned when he saw them, and Sanji could practically see his ears dropping under his hat, "What are they doing here?"

"I invited them," Sanji admitted as he fidgeted with the edge of his cloak, "Robin loves history, so I thought she'd be interested, and it'd be rude not to invite Franky along." He shot him a nervous look, "Is that okay?"

"It's fine," Zoro sighed, "Just wasn't expecting them, that's all."

It was clear he was disappointed, and Sanji was half tempted to tell Robin and Franky to go away, just to get that look off of his face. But this was for Zoro, he reminded himself. Zoro deserved a proper courtship. No matter how much Sanji wanted to skip to the end where they could touch each other without reservations and were together forever, he would do this right.

Zoro smiled as they approached, and Sanji too turned his attention towards their friends.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Robin greeted, that small, unreadable smile on her face, "Lovely night, isn't it?"

"Yes," Sanji smiled at her, "Indeed it is."

"Well then," Franky chuckled as he offered Robin his arm, "Shall we?"

Robin smiled as she wrapped her arm around her husband's, and the two of them walked into the museum.

Sanji's eyes land on their joined arms. His gaze darted to Zoro's empty arm, his hands tucked into the pocket of his hoodie, and he felt his own hand twitch with the sudden desire to wrap his arm around Zoro's, to feel his warmth pressed so close against him.

Instead, Sanji shoved his hands into his own pockets, and followed after his friends.

The museum was surprisingly crowded for an evening. With most people heading straight for the special exhibit, their group opted to explore the other exhibits for a bit.

"Look," Sanji pointed at a stuffed wolf as they passed through a room about North American mammals. He turned to Zoro with a smirk, "Your cousin or something?"

Zoro scowled, but it quickly morphed into a smirk of his own as he pointed out a stuffed bat displayed just above the wolf, "Wow, hey, didn't realize your cousin was here. Don't forget to say hi."

Sanji glared at him, and was met by Zoro's equally intense glare.

It quickly turned into a fierce competition of finding the weirdest, most outlandish looking animal in the room and loudly proclaiming it to be a relative of the other, stopping only when Robin and Franky had had enough of their antics and dragged them into the next room.

Sanji caught Zoro's eye as they left, his grin growing at the amused smile on his face.

The next room was all about ancient weapons from around the world. Zoro's eye sparkled as he caught sight of a couple of katanas on display, and quickly made his way over to get a closer look.

Sanji followed behind him at a more leisurely pace, glancing curiously into the display case to see what had him so worked up, "Nice swords."

"Not just nice," a grin spread across his face, making him look like an excited kid, "Katanas are some of the best swords ever made. From the forge of a true master of the craft, they're works of art."

Sanji raised a brow, surprised by how much he knew, "You really know your stuff."

"I've always liked swords," he admitted, almost sheepishly, "My dad was a collector, Kuina's dad ran a kendo dojo, and Mihawk is a world ranked swordsman on top of the hunting thing, so I've always been around them. Katanas were always my preferred weapon of choice when I was a hunter, aside from," he laughed as he wiggled his fingers, clawless tonight under the crescent moon, but Sanji understood.

Zoro looked downright gleeful talking about the weapons, and Sanji made a mental note to see where he could get a good quality katana for him as a courting gift.

"Can you tell me about this one?" He asked in the meantime, pointing at a sword with a black blade and a beautiful matching sheath.

"Shushui," Zoro said, his grin growing even wider as he turned back to the sword, "It's a legendary sword actually, used by one of the greatest samurai of the Sengoku period. I'm actually surprised they have it here."

He launched into a whole history of the sword, and Sanji was content to sit back and just listen, hanging on his every word.

"Yo," Franky called out, snapping them out of it, "We're gonna go on ahead, okay?"

"Oh, yes," Sanji cleared his throat as he stepped away. As fascinating as listening to Zoro's passions was, it wouldn't do if they let their chaperons get too far ahead.

Zoro sighed as he followed after them, easily falling into step with Sanji as they moved on to the rest of the museum.

Eventually they made their way to the special exhibit, and it was then that Sanji realized he had no idea what the exhibit was actually about. He'd been too caught up in the thrill of spending time with Zoro and securing the necessary chaperons that looking into exactly what they were visiting had completely slipped his mind.

Supernatural Myths, the sign at the front proudly proclaimed, and Sanji felt a slight chill run through him.

"Uh," he glanced at Zoro, double checking that his ears and tail were completely out of sight, "Did you actually know what this exhibit was all about?"

Zoro frowned, his eye darting away as he thought about it, "Uh, well, I just saw there was a special exhibit, and figured you might like it. I didn't really check what was it was."

"Ah." Sanji said as they passed through the doorway into the main exhibit room, "Fantastic."

The exhibit itself was well thought out and put together. The room was darkened to add to the spooky atmosphere, with carefully placed lights around the exhibits themselves to show them off. The museum had a mix of everything, things Sanji had seen, like mermaids and jackalopes, things he hadn't, like yokai and fairies, and things he was still pretty sure humans just made up, like dragons and Bigfoot. But it was all fascinating, talking both about how these myths fit into their respective human cultures and how humans warded against them.

Of course, the draw in the room was the vampire section.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting of it, but the museum staff had done their due diligence. It was very well researched, going through all the stories humans had collected of vampires, talking about their strengths, their weaknesses, the grip vampire lore had on the humans.

Very interesting, if it wasn't talking about how he didn't exist, and if he did exist, the best ways to kill him.

He stared numbly at the display with a frown, not really sure how to process it. He knew humans feared vampires — feared him — and with good reason. Still, seeing it all out in the open like this just further drove home the point that he was an outcast. That he could never fully belong in human society, with humans.

A warm hand wrapped around his, their fingers threading together. The touch startled Sanji out of his miserable contemplating, and he glanced over to see Zoro glaring at the display.

"I wouldn't worry about this shit," he whispered in his ear, "It's all bullshit, just academic humans talking about things they don't know. Besides, wooden stake to the heart is the most inefficient way to kill you."

Sanji snorted out a laugh as he squeezed his hand, "Yeah, how dare someone be sloppy about trying to kill me."

"You need better PR, dude," Franky said as he and Robin came up behind him, "This doesn't even mention your cooking."

"Indeed," Robin sighed, shaking her head at the display, "After knowing you, all these horror stories seem more like blatant over-exaggerating at best."

A small smile slipped on Sanji's face. Even if the rest of the world hated him, he still had his pack.

"C'mon," he tugged Zoro's hand as he led them away from the display, "I want to see what they got wrong about the werewolves."

The werewolf display was similar to the vampire one, including a breakdown of alleged pack dynamics, a section about wolves vs. werewolves, and once again the best methods to ward off and kill a werewolf.

"Well that seems overly complicated," Sanji huffed, his thumb stroking the side of Zoro's hand in a way he hoped was comforting, "If someone wants to keep you away they don't need silver. They just need a bar of soap."

Zoro scowled, but his shoulders relaxed as some of the tension left him, "At least I can eat garlic without dying."

"Probably not in your full wolf form," Robin chimed in, "As garlic is considered quite toxic to dogs, no matter what form it takes."

"Probably something to ask Chopper about," Franky said as he stroked his chin, "Are things that are poisonous to dogs poisonous to werewolves?"

"Well I know Zoro doesn't like chocolate," Sanji tossed in his few cents, thriving off of the disgruntled look on Zoro's face, "Whether that's his wolf instincts taking over or his lack of taste remains to be seen."

"Shut up," he barked at them with a growl, then tugged at Sanji's hand as he led them away, "Let's see what the rest of the exhibit has to say."

They finished touring the exhibit with no further incidents, although Robin had quite loudly asked why anyone would want to get rid of a ghost in their house since they're such wonderful musicians and polite roommates that had gotten them a few strange looks.

They said their goodbyes to Robin and Franky outside of the museum, and started the trek back to the apartment.

A few blocks into the walk, Sanji realized they were still holding hands.

Thoughts of impropriety and scandal flashed through his head — what if they were seen out and about so brazenly holding hands — but Zoro's hand was warm around his own, the contact doing wonders to comfort him and make him feel safe, and he found he couldn't bring himself to pull away.

So instead he squeezed Zoro's hand tighter, and let him lead them back home.

If they ended up going the long way, well, he wasn't complaining.


"I just don't get what I'm doing wrong."

Nami sighed as she looked up from the magazines she had strewn across her table, "What?"

"This," Zoro gestured at the magazines, filled with articles called How to Snatch Your Dream Man and quizzes like Is He Really Into You Or Are You In The Friendzone, "This was all supposed to help me get closer to him. But it's like we've grown even farther apart!"

"I thought you said he liked the museum?" She asked, a frown pulling on her face, "And that he bought you a katana?"

Zoro blushed. This morning, Sanji had shown up with a Kitetsu of all blades, Sandai Kitetsu, the third of its make, and given it to Zoro with no explanation other than that he thought he'd like it. The blade itself was allegedly cursed, so whether Sanji gave it to him as a simple thank you for inviting him to the museum or an attempt to curse him for it he still didn't know.

Still, it was a beautiful blade, and Zoro loved it all the more because it was from Sanji.

"I'm still not sure about the katana. He tends to go over the top with gifts and shit, so it's probably nothing," he said to Nami, "But he must have invited Robin and Franky along because he apparently can't stand being alone with me anymore," he huffed, crossing his arms as he sunk further into the couch, "And then it turns out the exhibit was all about how to kill him, so I just ended up making him even more uncomfortable around me!"

"The museum was a good idea on your part," Nami assured him with a gentle rub on his arm, "Something you'd both like to do together. Just…maybe check what you'll actually be seeing next time?"

Zoro groaned as he flopped against the back of the couch, "This dating shit is hard."

"Tell me about it," Nami sighed as she leaned back too, "Every time I keep trying to ask out Vivi, something gets in the way. It's like the universe doesn't want us to be together!"

"I thought we were talking about my love troubles," he knocked his knee against hers, "Don't change the subject just because you met a cute girl."

"You don't understand," she whined as she threw an arm over her eyes, "She's so cute."

Zoro sighed, but reached out to awkwardly pat her head.

"Anyway," she said after a moment of that, brushing his hand aside to dig through the magazines, "I think there's a simple solution to both our problems."

She pulled out a magazine, opened to an article How to Win Over That Nervous Nelly: The Trick of Group Outings.

"I'm pretty sure Vivi — and Sanji — are just nervous about taking that step from friends to lovers. They see us making obvious romantic moves and freak out. That's why Sanji keeps inviting other people on your dates, and Vivi suddenly has a previous engagement whenever I ask her out for coffee."

"Or Vivi's busy," Zoro reasoned, "And Sanji hates me."

Nami whacked him over the head with the magazine.

"Anyway," she pressed on, "I'm sure they like us, they're just nervous about taking that leap into a relationship. But if we all go out together — just as friends — then there's no problem. We're just a group of friends hanging out, but if I spend all my time with Vivi and you spend all your time with Sanji, then technically it's a date."

Zoro frowned as he thought it over. It made sense, actually. If Sanji was so keen on bringing other people along whenever they hung out, Zoro could stop it by already having people along. And he could get some romantic alone time with Sanji while everyone else was distracted.

"Alright," he nodded, "We'll do that."

"Great," Nami grinned, dropping the magazine back in the pile as she pulled out her phone, "Usopp and I were already going to try this out with Kaya and Vivi at the aquarium tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you and Sanji came along."

"So," he brow furrowed, "It'll be a triple date?"

"No, it's just a group of six friends hanging out at the aquarium," Nami said as she rapidly tapped her phone. When she was done, her eyes slid up to him, "But yes. It's a triple date."

Zoro bit his lip. With the addition of Vivi and Kaya, that would be two people who didn't know about Sanji being a vampire. It might get tricky to hide that fact if they spent too long with him — especially if they were going out in the middle of the day.

But Zoro was desperate. Lately it seemed every time he tried to get alone with Sanji something suddenly came up, or one of their pack mates just happened to drop by, or Sanji explicitly invited the others along to what Zoro thought would be just the two of them together.

He wanted to do this properly, to express his feelings to Sanji in a way he'd understand, to see if Sanji wanted more, wanted this, wanted him.

It was the least he could. Sanji deserved the best, after all.

"Okay," Zoro nodded, "We'll be there."

"Just pick a hat and let's go," Zoro said from the doorway, "We're already running late."

Sanji shot him a withering glare, "This is my first time meeting Usopp and Nami's friends, and I want to make a good impression."

Zoro glanced into the closet, eyeing the three identical black sun hats Sanji was stuck between, before grabbing one at random and shoving it on his head.

"Neanderthal," Sanji muttered as he straightened the hat, but kept the choice. After some quick adjustments he turned to Zoro, "How do I look?"

"Fine," he gestured to the door, "Can we go?"

Sanji scowled, "I don't have a reflection, remember? I can't see what I look like! Can you be a little more helpful?"

Zoro let his eye run up him.

He'd insisted that meeting Nami and Usopp's friends was important, and as such opted for a fancier outfit than usual. In addition to the black sunhat, he was wearing a dark three piece suit, with extravagant frills at the cuffs of his sleeves and a matching trim on the pants. He had a large blue bow tied around his neck, perfectly matching the vest and the stylish heels he wore, the latter of which served to make his already long legs seem endless.

Overall the ensemble was about a hundred years out of fashion, but Sanji made it work. Sanji could make a burlap sack work, in Zoro's opinion, he had a sort of innate grace and self-confidence that made him look gorgeous in anything he put on.

"You look…" a blush rose on his face as he took in the outfit, and he finished with a soft, "nice."

"Oh," Sanji shifted awkwardly, slipping on a pair of gloves, a cloak, and some sunglasses to complete the ensemble, and said, just as softly, "Thanks."

"Yeah." He cleared his throat and gestured towards the door, "Now can we get going?"

They arrived at the aquarium about twenty minutes later, with Sanji clinging to Zoro's arm because the sun was getting to him, but Zoro didn't mind. He was almost disappointed the sun wouldn't be a problem inside the aquarium.

The others were already waiting for them outside, and Nami enthusiastically waved them over, "Hey, you made it!"

"Of course," Sanji let go of Zoro's arm once she was in sight, and Zoro held back a possessive growl as he kissed the back of her hand, "Thank you for inviting us."

Sanji glanced around at the blonde girl standing next to Usopp and the other woman just behind Nami, "Are these your friends?"

"Yep," Nami grinned as she stepped back and waved at Vivi, "This is my friend, Vivi Nefertari. Vivi, this is Sanji and Zoro. I told you about them, remember?"

"Yes, the roommates," Vivi gave them both a pleasant smile as she held out her hand, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you both."

"The pleasure is all mine, my dear," Sanji said with a slight bow, grabbing her hand to kiss the back as well, "Any friend of Nami's is a friend of mine."

She laughed, "I must say, your style sure is interesting."

"Ah," Sanji retreated a step as he gestured at the sunhat, "Yes, well, I'm a tad photosensitive, so…"

"You don't have to explain," Vivi smiled brightly, and Zoro may not be into women, but he could see why Nami was so smitten with her, "It suits you well. You look great."

Sanji beamed at her praise, and Zoro's heart melted a bit at the sight of it as Usopp awkwardly shuffled forward to introduce Kaya.

"It's nice to meet you guys," Kaya said with a soft smile, "I've heard so much about both of you. Thank you for taking such good care of Usopp."

"Ah, the lovely Miss Kaya I've heard so much about," Sanji said as he kissed her hand as well, "Usopp's stories do not do your beauty justice."

Kaya giggled, a faint pink tinting her cheeks as Usopp squawks in indignation, "Hey, I call her plenty beautiful!"

Kaya blushed even further, and Usopp tried to backtrack, "I mean, uh, just like, of course she's pretty, and stuff, it'd be hard not to notice is all I mean and, uh…"

"Anyway," Nami ended his suffering by taking Vivi's arm and leading them towards the aquarium, "Shall we get going?"

They entered the aquarium and walked around through the different rooms. The group stayed together at first, with Kaya and Vivi peppering them with questions, Sanji answering them enthusiastically as Zoro offered the occasional grunt, but they inevitably drifted into pairs to look at the fish.

Sanji rested a gloved hand against the glass as he stared into the tank, his eyes going wide as he watched the colorful fish swim by. A wide smile spread across his face, his whole demeanor relaxing as he somehow became even more beautiful.

"You really like fish, huh?" Zoro said, trying not to sound as besotted as he was.

"Yes," Sanji answered, almost breathless in his joy, "I've always been near the ocean, even as a human, and seafood was my specialty as a working chef. Even after I was turned and stopped cooking professionally, I've always found fish fascinating."

Zoro's eye scanned the tank, and a particularly feisty green fish caught his eye, "Can you tell me about that one?"

And Sanji did. He was able to tell Zoro about practically every fish in the tank, and Zoro was more than happy to sit back and listen to him talk about them so passionately.

"Hey!" Nami called out after a while, bringing the two of them out of their own little world, "We're going on to the next room!"

"Okay," Sanji turned to smile at her, "We're coming."

Zoro sighed as he turned to go, but froze when he felt the telltale signs of a transformation tingle his scalp and lower back.

It was still hours until sunset, but, shit…did he forget to check the moonrise again?

"What's wrong, Moss?" Sanji turned when he noticed he wasn't following, "Are you really that interested in-?"

He gasped, no doubt noticing the wolf ears and tail springing from Zoro.

The room was thankfully empty save for the six of them, and Kaya and Vivi had their backs turned as they headed for the next room.

"You guys coming or what?" Usopp said as the group turned to see what was taking them so long.

Sanji lunged forward, shoving his sunhat over his head and pushing him down to hide him against his chest.

"We'll be right behind you," Sanji assured her, "We just…need to use the facilities first."

"If you want some alone time together, all you have to do is say so," Nami said with a raised brow.

"We'll just be in the next room," Vivi assured them with a smile, "Don't get too far behind, okay?"

With a quick wave, the four of them moved on ahead.

"What the fuck," Sanji muttered as he let Zoro go, "Is the moon up already?"

"I guess so," Zoro scowled as he took the hat off his head to shake out his ears and tail, "Kinda early today."

"You think?" Sanji hissed, glancing over Zoro's shoulder to make sure no one else was coming in. There was a low rumble and some high pitched squeals coming from the next room, meaning a group of children — and their chaperons — weren't far behind.

"C'mon," he placed the hat back on Zoro's head, a bit gentler this time, then took his hand to guide him towards the bathroom, "We've got to do something about the tail."

Not expecting the moon to be up now, Zoro had worn his regular jeans that fit him tighter instead of the baggier ones he usually preferred when he had a tail, but he didn't have a lot of options. With some maneuvering he was able to shove his tail into his pants, however uncomfortable it was to have it bent at such a tight, awkward angle, although there wasn't much he could do about the bulging in the back.

"Ugh," Sanji groaned when he saw it, "We need to do something about that."

The bathroom door opened just then, and Sanji shoved him into an empty stall, quickly following behind him and locking the door.

"Uh," Zoro said, his face heating up at having Sanji pressed right against him in such close quarters.

"Shut up," Sanji hissed as the intruder went about their business. He jerked around in the confined space to shrug off his cloak, making Zoro blush more at the implications.

"What are you doing?" Zoro whispered.

Sanji scowled, pulling his sunglasses down a bit just so Zoro could see the unamused look he was giving him, before he wrapped the cloak around him as best he could in the confined space.

When the guy finally finished washing his hands and left, they spilled out of the stall. Sanji gave him a quick once over, brushing out and readjusting the cloak and eyeing the hat.

"It's not the greatest look but it'll have to do," Sanji sighed, taking off his sunglasses and offering them to Zoro as well.

Somehow, Zoro found it in him to blush even more, "You sure? I'll have all your sun protection."

"I don't really need them inside," he said as he put them on Zoro's face, "And since you're already transformed, there's no reason we can't stay here until sunset. Besides, just wearing the hat and cloak with denim of all things is so gauche. The glasses make it work."

He wasn't as sure about that, but with Sanji so close and touching him so gently, he wasn't about to protest.

"Come on," Sanji held the door open for him, "We've got to catch up to the others."

They sprinted through the next few rooms looking for the others, and Zoro was almost disappointed he was missing Sanji enjoying all these fish, but since Sanji was the one determinedly pressing onward, his heels clacking an erratic rhythm against the tiled floor, he let it go.

They finally caught up with the others in the penguin room, the two couples watching the penguins dive into the water and swim around in the tank. Kaya had her arm wrapped around Usopp's, her head resting on her shoulder, while Nami's hand was entwined with Vivi's.

It seemed that while he and Sanji were running emergency ear-and-tail interference, everyone else took the time to get even closer together.

The emptiness in Zoro's hand felt like a weight, his hand twitching as it inched closer to Sanji's.

"There you guys are," Usopp called out when he spotted them, "What took you so long?"

"And," Vivi arched a brow, "Why are you wearing Sanji's clothes?"

"Oh," Sanji laughed a little too loudly, "Well, I'm fine inside, but the fluorescent lights were bothering Zoro, so I offered him my sunstuff."

"What a gentleman," Kaya remarked with a smile.

Nami gave them a curious look as the approached the tank, but didn't say anything

They all watched the penguins swimming around a bit, then Kaya pointed out something happening at the top of the tank, "Look, one of them is giving the other something."

Sure enough, one of the penguins was placing something at the feet of another penguin.

"It's a rock," Vivi said in awe, "That's how penguins propose, they present a rock to their preferred mate."

"I guess that's what humans do too," Nami laughed, but her gaze when she looked at Vivi was softer than any Zoro had seen on her before.

Zoro glanced back at the penguins. It was so easy for them to ask out their mate, to be closer to them. Nami, Usopp, and even this stupid penguin seemed to do it just fine. Why was he having such a hard time with his?

He felt something lightly brush the back of his hand, and looked down to see Sanji's pinky finger brushing up against him. He extended his own pinky to touch back, and Sanji wrapped their fingers together.

Maybe Sanji still didn't want to be alone with him, maybe today just made everything worse, maybe everyone else was getting what he so desperately wanted.

Or, maybe he had a chance in there somewhere.

Maybe this was progress.


Sanji ran through his checklist one last time. Sandwiches, salads, drinks a plenty — including Zoro's favorite beer, check. Sunscreen, umbrella, towels, spare clothes for everyone, check.

Everything they'd need for a perfect date at the beach.

Zoro had been getting more sullen ever since Sanji had started his courting. He wasn't entirely sure why, although he secretly feared that Zoro had caught on to his affections, that Reiju and Luffy were completely off base. That Zoro would only put up with this for so long before he confronted Sanji and asked to move out.

But surely the perfect beach outing he had planned would fix that.

"Okay," he turned and offered Zoro the cooler, "Are you ready?"

"Been ready," Zoro grunted as he took it, and followed Sanji out of the apartment.

As they loaded the jeep Sanji had bought for the occasion, Zoro eyed him warily, "Are you driving? Do you even have a license?"

"Why is everyone so caught up on the license thing?" Sanji muttered under his breath as he turned to face him, "I've been driving for ages without it. Do you even have a license?"

Zoro scowled, but got into the passenger's seat without further complaint.

Sanji took a deep breath as he went to the driver's door. This would be fine, he reassured himself. This would be great even. He was going to show Zoro a good time and convince him to consider taking their relationship to the next level.

He could do this.

They drove in silence for a bit, but when they left the city limits, Zoro eventually asked, "You seem excited about this. You wanted to go to the beach that bad?"

"Ah," Sanji spared him a small smile, "Yes, well, I haven't been in a while, and it seems like a nice day for it. Why?" A spike of anxiety shot through him, "Do you not want to go?"

"I do," he said as he picked at the door handle, "Just surprised I guess. You usually avoid the sun."

"I'll be fine with the hat and umbrella," he assured him, "And I feel bad about keeping you from the sun sometimes. We always have to do things inside or at night, so I figured this would be a nice change of pace."

"I don't mind doing things away from the sun if you're more comfortable," he said, but turned and smiled at him, "But thanks. It is nice to get out and away for a day."

Sanji grinned, his heart feeling much lighter as they approached the beach.

The beach was empty, which was good. Sanji had made sure to secure them a private beach for this outing so they had plenty of space and privacy, especially since he wanted them to stay well into the night for the fireworks later. But most of all didn't want any outside interference today of all days.

As they were unloading the car, Franky and Robin pulled up next to them, with Luffy, Usopp, and Brook in tow.

"Sanji! Zoro! You're here!" Luffy shouted as he bounded out of the car, throwing his arms around Sanji in a tight hug.

Sanji hugged him back, but noticed Zoro's shoulders slumping, a small frown cutting across his face.

Robin called Luffy away to help carry their stuff, and Sanji turned to Zoro, "Are you okay?"

"No, yeah," he was still frowning, as he stared off after Luffy, "Just, I thought it was going to just be us today?"

"Ah, well," he cleared his throat as he opened his parasol, shielding him from the sun, "I thought the others might enjoy a beach day too."

"I see," he heaved a sigh as he picked up the cooler, "So, you invited everyone?"

"Jinbei should be bringing Nami and Chopper along soon," he confirmed, puzzled at why Zoro seemed upset, "Is that okay?"

"It's fine," he grunted as he made his way to the beach after the others.

Sanji watched after him, his heart sinking.

How had he fucked this up already? Did Zoro get in a fight with one of their other packmates and Sanji was too distracted by his courting to even realize his pack was falling apart around him?

Maybe this was a sign that pursuing Zoro romantically was a bad idea. He was lucky enough to have him as his friend, and anything more with him was just being selfish.

But maybe he could still save the beach day, turn everything around and make sure everyone had a good time.

Determined to do just that, he followed the others onto the beach.

Jinbei, Nami, and Chopper arrived in short order, along with wood for a fire. Franky seemed excited about the set up, so Sanji left it to him, Brook, and Jinbei to figure out. Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp went straight for the water — and it turned out Luffy couldn't swim, so Zoro quickly joined them. Nami and Robin were laid out in the sun tanning, so Sanji joined them under the umbrella.

"Is Zoro fighting with someone?" Sanji asked them.

"Right now or in general?" Nami asked without opening her eyes, "Fighting is one of Zoro's favorite things."

"I mean, with one of us," he said, bringing his knees up to his chest, "He seems mad about something."

Robin's eyes found Zoro in the water, "He seems alright to me."

Sanji frowned as he watched his friends playing in the water. He did look like he was having fun, chasing after Usopp between the waves with Chopper secured on his shoulders, but there was a tenseness in his back that was still there despite all the frivolity.

"Maybe…" he said, although the sinking feeling didn't leave his stomach.

Instead of worrying himself sick about it, he reached into the cooler and pulled out snacks and drinks for the girls, determined to enjoy this outing with everyone.

And everyone seemed to be having a good time. When the fire set up was finished, Franky and Robin played volleyball against Nami and Jinbei. Not knowing the rules, Sanji had no idea who was winning, but he was content to sit back and keep an eye on everyone from under the umbrella, as he reminisced about the old days with Brook.

When the sun started setting, they decided to light the fire. Everyone gathered around it, the swimmers grabbing towels to dry off along the way. Zoro and Chopper emerged with ears and tails already out, claws tucked away but visible as the half moon hovered just over the ocean.

Sanji went to offer Zoro a towel, but instead of taking it, he shook his head and tail repeatedly, sending water droplets flying everywhere.

"You're the actual worst," Sanji scowled, offering the towel to Chopper instead, who took it with a grateful smile.

Once he was dry, Chopper grabbed a sandwich from the cooler and ran off to join the others. Sanji went to follow, but was stopped by Zoro's soft, "Hey, can we talk?"

"Oh," Sanji tried to keep his nerves at bay as he turned to face him, "Sure. What's up?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Huh?" Sanji's brow furrowed, "No? Why would you think that?"

Zoro frowned, glancing away as he rubbed the back of his head, "It's just, it seems like you don't want to be alone with me anymore. Every time I think we're going to be alone, you invite the rest of the pack along."

"Oh," Sanji blinked, surprised by how insecure he sounded, "Well, that's just proper, isn't it?"

Zoro flinched like he'd been struck, and Sanji's stomach sank at the sight.

"Right," Zoro took a deep breath and turned back to him, his green eye wide but determined, "I'm sorry that I'm making you uncomfortable."

"Eh?" Sanji could only blink at him. Uncomfortable was the last thing he felt around Zoro.

"With my feelings," he said, "I just…I've been in love with you for a long time. Since basically the beginning."

"Oh," the corners of Sanji's mouth twitched up into a smile. He had hoped and wished Zoro felt the same way, but hearing him say it, having confirmation that his feelings were so very requited, was making him feel like a giddy lovestruck teenager.

"I thought…" he shook his head and sighed, "I somehow got it into my head that you might like me too. Like me the way I like you, I mean. And I thought, I don't know," he shrugged and glanced away, "Maybe we could be something."

If his heart was still beating, Sanji knew it'd be racing right now. Zoro's words were igniting him inside and out.

Zoro was in love with him. Zoro wanted something more with him.

"But," he continued, "you clearly don't feel the same."

Sanji's brain came crashing to a halt. What the shit was he talking about?

"What the shit are you talking about?"

"I've been trying to get closer to you, to try and tell you how I feel with actions, since that's easier for me than words, but it's clear my feelings for you are making you uncomfortable," Zoro said with a frown, "since you don't want to be alone with me anymore."

"What?" Sanji blinked, taken aback by the turn in the conversation, "What makes you think that?"

Zoro looked at him like he was stupid, and if Sanji wasn't so in love with him he would have kicked him in the head for it, "I keep trying to be alone with you. To go on proper dates and express my feelings to you. But every time I do, you invite the rest of the pack to tag along."

Sanji was dumbstruck. How could Zoro possibly think that was what he was doing?

"I don't know," Zoro sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, scratching just behind his wolf ears, "It's fine if you don't love me back, I never expected you to honestly, and I'm sorry I tricked myself into thinking otherwise. But I can keep my feelings in check, and we can keep being just friends and packmates. I don't want to move out, but if it would make you more comfortable-"

"It wouldn't," Sanji quickly interrupted him, the thought of Zoro leaving shaking him out of his shock, "It would make me miserable."

Sanji reached out and grabbed Zoro's hand, "I do feel the same. I've fallen in love with you and I don't think I can stop it. I don't want to stop it." He gave his hand a squeeze, "I do want something more with you. If you want to take our relationship beyond friends and packmates, that's what I want too."

Zoro's eye went wide, the smile slowly spreading across his face as he said, so soft and full of hope, "Really?"

"Really," he returned the smile with a wide one of his own, "I just want to go about it properly."

Zoro raised a brow, "Go about what?"

"The courting," Sanji said, "We must already be causing quite a scandal, living together like we are. I know your honor is important to you, and I would never want to besmirch it with a half-assed courting."

"Courting," Zoro slowly repeated, "Like that fucking Victorian shit?"

"Courting is a well respected tradition, especially if you want to be romantically involved with someone," Sanji growled.

"So…" Zoro's brow furrowed, "You inviting everyone along was…?"

"Proper courting couples need to be chaperoned," Sanji insisted, "or else their propriety may be brought into question. There could be a scandal."

Zoro stares at him for a long moment before bursting into laughter.

"What?" Sanji snapped at him, "What's so funny?"

"We live together," Zoro said once he got himself under control, "Hell, we've slept in the same bed. I think whatever propriety we had is out the window."

"Exactly!" Sanji said with a huff, "We can't afford any more missteps in our courting. This," he held their hands up for emphasis, "means a lot to me. I want to do it right. You deserve to be properly courted. To not have a single ounce of your honor be brought into question."

"You're such an idiot," Zoro said, much too soft as he cradled Sanji's face gently, mindful of the claws, "I don't care what people think about us."

"But," Sanji balked, "The scandal-"

"Our pack will love and accept us no matter what," he said, the smile growing on his face as he rubbed his cheek with his thumb, "And I don't care about what anyone else thinks, not about this. I love you. If you want to be with me too, then that's all that matters."

Sanji could almost feel his heart beating again as he leaned into his touch, "I do. I want to be with you, in whatever way you'll have me."

Zoro leaned in close, his lips hovering just above Sanji's, his breath dancing across them as he asked, "Can I kiss you?"

As an answer, Sanji closed the distance between them, capturing his lips in a soft kiss.

Zoro opened up to it almost immediately, eagerly surging forward, their fangs clacking together as his tongue found his way into his mouth, but Sanji was too caught up in finally kissing Zoro to care, in how good it felt to have everything he'd been yearning for right here in his hands.

They pulled apart slowly, neither wanting the contact to end completely. Sanji rested his forehead against Zoro's, breathing in as much of him as he possibly could. He could hear Zoro's tail wagging behind him, beating a steady rhythm into the sand.

"What do you want, Zoro?" Sanji whispered against his lips, his arm wrapping around his waist to pull them even closer together, "Tell me and it's yours."

"I want you," he said just as softly, his hand moving to play with the hair on the back of his neck, "I want all of you. I want to be your friend, your roommate, your lover, your mate. Whatever you'll give me."

"I'll give you everything," he answered, pressing his lips lightly against Zoro's once more, "Everything I am, everything you want from me, it's yours."

Fireworks go off behind them, the rest of their pack cheering around the fire as they watch the lights dance across the sky.

"Zoro! Sanji!" Luffy shouted at them, "C'mon, you're missing it! You can kiss all you want later, come watch with us now!"

"Maybe inviting the others was a mistake," Sanji whispered against his lips.

Zoro chuckled, his breath making Sanji's lips tingle, "You think?"

Sanji laughed as he pulled away, taking in Zoro's flushed face and awed smile, and felt something settle within him, a sort of joy and belonging he hadn't felt since before he was turned.

He squeezed Zoro's hand as he led them back to the rest of their family.

He had his Zoro now. He had everything he needed.