Exclusive [One Piece (AU), Zoro/Sanji] Part B
Usually, Sanji took great delight in taking out the penis mold.
“Happy to see me?” He asked, poking the mold absentmindedly. “Hm?”
“He’s talking to the dick again,” Patty said in a sing-song voice.
“Talking to it helps it grow,” Carne said with a snort.
Sanji ignored them and poked it again.
Nothing. No delight. No mirth. He felt nothing.
“Dammit, Zoro,” he grumbled.
“I thought he named it Ace,” Carne said.
“That was before he fell in love,” Patty said. “Isn’t that right, Mrs. Roronoa?”
Sanji held up his middle finger as he left the mold alone and headed for the back door. “I’m going on a smoke break.”
He went out to the alley behind the bakery, spit out his nicotine gum, and dug a cigarette out of the nearly empty pack in his pocket. He was in love with Zoro. Of course he was. He’d been in love with Zoro for months. He loved Zoro’s snores, loved the way he looked in Sanji’s bathrobe, the way he talked back to the TV screen. He loved his laugh, the cologne he wore whenever they went out to eat even if it was just to Burger King. He loved the way he kissed, how nice his hair felt under Sanji’s fingers, the ridiculous way he danced, and…and everything.
He was crazy about the guy.
But what if that wasn’t enough? What if just being crazy about the guy didn’t mean Zoro was The One for him? What if he wasn’t The One for Zoro? Seeing other people meant he had other options. If Zoro decided to be with someone else, fine-he had someone else, too. If Zoro decided to leave him for someone else, fine-he had a dozen people that could help him get over his slightly broken heart. But if all they had was each other and Zoro left him, he would have no one, nothing, and he would have to start all over, all alone, with no options and a completely and utterly broken heart.
He couldn’t do it and he didn’t want to do it, but fuck, it’d been so damn hard to hurt Zoro last night. He hoped the guy wasn’t taking it too hard…
[--]
“235, 236, 237, 238…”
Mihawk watched, lounging on his loveseat and drinking a cup of orange tea, as Zoro pumped iron in the corner of his trailer.
“So you’re trying to kill yourself because your boyfriend dumped you?”
“240.” Zoro grunted. “He didn’t dump me. 241. And I’m not killing myself. 242. I’m working out. 243.”
“I see.” Mihawk sipped at his tea and graciously decided to ignore the tears that were falling from his employee’s eyes by the time he reached 300.
[--]
There was another man’s jacket in the bedroom.
Zoro was trying very hard not to look at it. He struggled to keep his eyes trained on the ceiling, tried to focus on the silky hair he was burying his fingers in, on the warm, wet mouth that was engulfing his arousal. Sanji sucked at him, head bobbing up and down, taking him in deep. Zoro breathed noisily through his nose and tried to push away thoughts of Sanji sucking some other guy’s cock. But the image was a persistent one.
Grabbing at Sanji’s hair, he pulled the other man up for a hard kiss, ignoring his growl of protest at being manhandled. Pushing Sanji onto his back, Zoro straddled him and bent down, attacking the skin of his neck. Sanji arched into him, groaning, as Zoro mauled him with teeth and tongue.
Zoro hadn’t intended on marking him, but the damage was done before he knew it. They both realized it at the same time-Zoro as he pulled away and saw the spot, and Sanji as he felt the throbbing that lingered when Zoro released him.
“Fucker,” Sanji hissed.
“Oi, I didn’t mean t-”
“What, are you trying to prove something?” With a sharp twist of his hips, Sanji knocked him off and started to leave the bed, rubbing at the spot on his neck. “Idiot…”
Zoro scowled; his hand shot out, grabbed Sanji by the arm and pulled him back down. Sanji glowered at him and tried to jerk his arm free, kicking at Zoro as the other man got closer. Zoro grunted in pain as Sanji’s foot connected with his jaw. In a burst of anger, he managed to grab hold of the man’s legs and flip him over on his stomach, climbing on top of him and pinning him down; all that working out was good for something, at least.
“Hold still, dammit!”
“Get off!” Sanji thrashed between him, stiffening into stillness only when he felt Zoro’s teeth bite down on the back of his neck. “Fuck-off!”
Teeth marks and spots that were certain to bruise-he marked Sanji’s neck and shoulders. It was a primal urge, a desire to claim what he wanted, needed to be his in front of that fucking jacket. His erection had half-softened and he attempted to revive it, thrusting against the crease in Sanji’s still boxers-covered behind, but his heart wasn’t in it. Sanji’s resistance-though the friction created felt pretty good-was more upsetting than arousing, and he finally gave up, releasing the other man and letting him kick him off the bed.
Sanji turned over and sat up, chest heaving in anger and exertion. “What the fuck was that?”
Zoro lay on his back on the carpet and glared up at the ceiling. “Whose jacket is that?”
“What?”
He stood up, stiffly made his way to the dresser the jacket was draped across. “This,” he snapped, throwing it at the man on the bed. “Whose is it?”
Sanji sighed faintly, looked at the jacket, and slowly starting folding it. “It’s Kuro’s,” he said. “What does that matter?”
“So you’ve been fucking him here? In our home?”
Sanji frowned up at him harshly. “No, I’ve been fucking him here, in my home,” he corrected him. “This is not your home. You’re a-a guest.”
Zoro swallowed hard, holding his sharp stare for several silent minutes before retrieving his jeans and pulling them on. Sanji watched as he went to the closet and dug around for a bit, finally pulling out his duffel bag. He walked through the room, picking up T-shirts, pants, socks, and stuffing them inside the bag. Sanji dug his fingers nervously into the material of Kuro’s jacket as he took the bag and went into the bathroom.
“Zoro, what are you doing?”
His cool reply sounded from the bathroom as he rooted through the medicine cabinet, “I think this guest has overstayed his welcome.”
Sanji tossed the jacket aside and climbed off the bed, trying not to sound as panicky as he felt. “Don’t be stupid, Zoro.”
“I’m done being stupid,” he said, brushing past him as he left the bathroom. He zipped up his bag, put it on his shoulder, and headed for the living room. “Later.”
Sanji reached out as he walked away, grabbed the strap of his duffel bag. Zoro stopped, his back turned to him, and waited. Sanji opened his mouth to speak, to say the magic words that would erase this evening, that would make him stay. But he said nothing. With a resigned sadness settling in the bottom of his heart, he dropped his hand and followed Zoro to the front door, locking it behind him when he left.
[--]
Mihawk, dressed in a satin robe that Zoro was almost certain was meant for a woman, arched a sharp eyebrow. “So you dumped him this time?”
“No one’s dumping anyone! Now move over. I need to crash on your couch for a few days…”
[--]
Luffy and Vivi approached Zoro while he was chugging down a bottle of water after a shift as the World’s Strongest Man. He eyed them over the rapidly emptying bottle, taking in the hopeful way Vivi’s hands were clasped in front of her and the way Luffy looked completely oblivious, as usual. They stood in silence while he finished; Luffy sported a big silly smile on his face, and Vivi shifted her weight from foot to foot. They obviously wanted something and Zoro wished they would just ask for it instead of acting all shy and nervous like he was the Pope or the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
“What?” he barked at them, crushing the water bottle and throwing it over his shoulder.
Vivi jumped a little and took a step back, but Luffy just continued to grin. “We wanna ask you a favor!”
“I figured as much,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “What is it?”
“There’s a, um, meteor shower tonight,” Vivi said. “And we were wondering…”
“If you would take us to the beach,” Luffy finished, “in your pick-up truck!”
Zoro mentally congratulated Vivi for getting a date with Luffy, even if they did need him to tag along, although he doubted the boy saw it quite the same way as she did.
“It’s supposed to be romantic,” Vivi said, glancing at Luffy, whose expression remained unchanged. “You could bring Sanji.”
Zoro scoffed, fingernails digging into his arms. “Why should I bring Sanji? I could bring someone else, right? It’s not like we’re exclusive or anything.”
Vivi’s brow furrowed in concerned confusion, but Luffy just giggled. “Okay, bring someone else!”
“Fine, I will!” Scowling determinedly, he looked around, his eyes settling on a familiar clown juggling oranges for a small crowd of children. “Oi, Buggy!” He called. “Go out with me tonight!”
Buggy fumbled and the oranges fell and bumped him on the head. “Are you making fun of me?!”
Zoro rolled his eyes. “Just say yes.”
“Yes.”
Zoro laughed triumphantly in their faces until he realized just who he’d asked out. Gay or not, he probably would’ve been better off with Paula.
[--]
Sanji slowly spread pale blue frosting across the fifth cake layer. The other layers, already frosted or waiting to be frosted, were laid out and cooling. In a few moments, Zeff would come in to watch him put the first three layers together for the first tier, prepared to chew him out if he made a mistake and to say nothing if he did it perfectly.
He was exhausted. He’d dozed off at the bus stop, making him forty-five minutes late. He hadn’t slept well the past couple of nights. He’d been sleeping in a bed with the same man for months and for him to suddenly not be there…
“Oi, Sanji.”
He blinked rapidly to keep from nodding off. He tried to push away the memory that was threatening to interrupt his work, but he was too tired and the memory was too appealing-too soft, too sweet, too comforting…
“I want to tell you something,” Zoro told them as they came to stop in front of the next big tank.
Sanji glanced at him in the dim lighting of the Arlong Aquarium, saw the serious way he was keeping his eyes trained on the manta rays they were standing in front of. He smirked a little. “Are you talking to me or the fish?”
Zoro looked at him, the corner of his mouth quirking upward. They were alone-though Sanji wouldn’t have really minded even if they weren’t-and Zoro reached over and slid an arm around Sanji’s waist, tugging him close. Sanji returned the half-embrace with one arm and turned his head, hesitating just before kissing his cheek when the man spoke.
“I love you,” he said, so quietly Sanji briefly wondered if he’d imagined the words.
Sanji smiled against Zoro’s cheek, kissed it gently. “Duh. I love you, too, dummy.”
He felt Zoro relax against him and his heart fluttered. His man was so freakin’ adorable. He gave him a squeeze and they stood there, holding each other for a long while, watching the manta rays swim.
“Oi, Sanji.”
He opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder to see Zeff eyeing him sternly. He looked down at the cake layer and saw that not only was it completely frosted, but he’d spread a line of frosting on the counter surface as well.
“Are you ready to make the first tier or not?” His boss asked, sounding considerably less irritated than he looked.
Sanji bit his bottom lip and shook his head. “No. Give me a bit a longer.” He averted his eyes, attempting to escape Zeff’s scrutinizing stare, but he still found himself admitting, “I made such a mistake.”
“I know, boy,” Zeff said, voice gruff, but only because that was his way. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”
“Okay.” Sanji ran his open palm over his face and took a few deep breaths to compose himself. He couldn’t handle much of this. He’d have to call Zoro tonight.
[--]
Zoro was pleased to see that the beach was pretty much empty that evening. There was one car next the truck and as Zoro looked down the beach, he saw that it belonged to the family Sanji had made the treasure chest birthday cake for. They were standing in the ocean together, the mother and father holding their son up between them as the waves crashed against them.
As the kids went out onto the sand, Zoro and Buggy went to sit in the back of the truck with beer bottles hidden in brown paper bags. Zoro was going to need alcohol if he was going to be with Buggy, especially if the clown got handsy. (Unfortunately, it was alcohol that made him handsy. What a vicious cycle.)
He watched with amusement as Vivi pretended to be nervous about going into the water so he would hold her hands and guide her. “Young love,” he said.
“Or something like that,” Buggy muttered around the cap of his bottle before twisting it off with his teeth. “Speaking of, what’s it like shacking up with Mihawk?”
“What do you mean ‘speaking of’…?” Zoro frowned when Buggy smirked at him. “He’s very-gay.”
“…Are you just now noticing?”
[--]
Sanji held his breath when he unlocked and opened his front door, releasing it noisily when he saw the apartment was empty. He figured it would be, but still… He kinda had this fantasy where he came home and caught Zoro packing up the rest of his stuff and he tackled him to the floor and kissed him all over until he gave in and…and they did this and that. It seemed like his fantasy wasn’t coming true tonight.
Sighing, he closed and locked the door and toed his shoes off. Unbuttoning his shirt on his way to the bedroom, he slipped it off and left it on the floor. He snagged a sweatshirt off the bed, one he’d taken to wearing to bed lately. It was Zoro’s-a big white sweatshirt with a black scorpion, his astrology sign. He burrowed into it, sniffed at the collar that still smelled like-
“Fuck me, I’ve got it bad,” he muttered.
He heard his cell phone ringing from the living room and he practically fell over his own feet in his haste to answer it. Once he got it and read the caller’s name, his excitement died rapidly.
Kuro.
He tossed the phone onto the couch and let it ring.
[--]
The meteor shower was romantic.
Squeezing Buggy’s clown nose every time he got too close, Zoro spent half his time watching the meteors shoot across the night sky, half his time watching Vivi muster up enough courage to rest her head on Luffy’s shoulder. Luffy didn’t appear to notice when she did it, but Vivi just seemed content with the contact. Zoro understood. There were times when all he had to do was sit close enough to Sanji so that their knees touched and he was happy.
He wanted Sanji beside him.
He wanted to take his cell phone out of the truck’s glove compartment, call Sanji, and fix this broken thing that was keeping them apart. He wanted to tell him he was fine with the other guys, wanted to demand that he be the only guy, wanted to end it all; he just wanted to do something.
So he opened his second beer bottle and squeezed Buggy’s nose.
[--]
Beep.
“It’s me. I want you to come home. I-” (I miss you.)
Sanji flipped his cell phone closed and just held it for a moment, as if Zoro was going to immediately listen to his message and call him back. This was pathetic. He used to be such a Casanova, didn’t give a shit if someone didn’t return his call, if he didn’t see someone for three or four days.
He never sat around moping and wearing someone’s smelly shirt, waiting for the personalized ringtone of the Village People’s “Macho Man” to play.
[--]
The raindrops started falling as soon as the meteor shower ended. While Buggy hurried to the cab of the truck like he was going to melt (of course, his clown make-up probably would melt, which is why normal people didn’t go out wearing clown make-up), Zoro took his time, keeping an eye on the kids as they made their way toward the parking lot. He didn’t miss the way Vivi’s face lit up when Luffy put his straw hat on her head. Zoro couldn’t imagine that’d do much to shield her from the rain, but it was the thought that counted, and he was sure the gesture would keep Vivi happy for days.
As they all squeezed into the cab, Zoro noticed the glove compartment was open and Buggy was looking at his cell phone.
“Any calls?” he asked, briefly hoping that-
“Nope,” Buggy said. “Want me to turn it off?”
“Might as well.”
If Sanji hadn’t called by now, he wasn’t going to.
[--]
Beep.
“It’s me again. Look, could you at least call me back so we can talk? I-” (I miss you.)
Sanji hung up, scowling faintly. “Motherfucker,” he grumbled. “Makes me fall in love with him and feel all guilty and shit and then doesn’t even answer his phone…”
Of course, whose fault was that?
Sulking, he set his phone down on the coffee table, spinning it idly with one finger. He’d really fucked up. And he’d thought having other lovers would make this easier. Right now he didn’t want to see any of them; he didn’t want anyone but Zoro.
Go figure.
[--]
Buggy lived in a smallish apartment that always seemed to smell like tomatoes every time Zoro came over.
“You really like tomatoes, huh?”
“Are you making fun of my nose?!”
“…What?” Zoro shook his head and sat down on the couch, turning his cell phone over and over in his hands.
Buggy sat down beside him and they said nothing for a couple of minutes and it was all fairly awkward until Buggy asked, “So, how do you feel about knife play?”
Then it became very awkward.
Zoro reached over and squeezed Buggy’s nose. “I need another beer.”
He turned his phone on when Buggy went into the kitchen. Three messages. Three messages from Sanji. Swearing softly under his breath and throwing a glare in the direction of the kitchen, he hastily listened to them.
[--]
Beep.
“I miss you.”
[--]
Franky’s risqué groom cake was packaged and set aside as Zeff and Sanji built a box around the pale blue wedding cake. Sanji’s movements were slow and careful-sleep or no sleep, Zoro or no Zoro, work was work and Zeff would strangle him if he messed up such a beautiful cake.
“Do I need to call you a cab?” Zeff asked, although Sanji was almost certain he already knew the answer.
“Yeah,” he said, stepping back to look at the finished box. “Probably.”
Zeff nodded and started to leave to the kitchen, pausing as he opened the door and saw the man standing there, hand in mid-reach for the doorknob. Zoro’s eyes widened just slightly, as if he was afraid Zeff was going to chew him out or punt him across town.
“Cab’s here,” he stated in a voice no more and no less gruff than usual, and walked around Zoro to the front of the shop.
Sanji stilled for a moment before looking at the floor as he pulled out a piece of nicotine gum. Zoro watched him, sighed silently, and looked at the tall cake box.
“How many tiers?”
“Seven.” Sanji glanced at him, chewing steadily to calm his nerves. “You’ve got room in the cab?”
“Yeah.” He scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully. “You’ll have to sit in the back, though,” he said, going over to the table to carefully pick up the box. “You can hold the penis cake.”
“Great,” Sanji muttered, going to retrieve it and following Zoro out to the truck. “Hey, you-” He paused as Zoro gently set the box in the passenger’s seat before turning to look at him. “You didn’t have to do this. I didn’t even think you’d remember.”
“It was programmed on my calendar.”
“Right.” The corner of Sanji’s mouth quirked upward as he remembered doing that, but the hint of a smile fell away as he not-so-casually mentioned, “I-called you last night.”
“I know,” Zoro said, giving him A Look, which Sanji was pretty sure he understood for the first time. “I went out.”
Sanji grew tense as the Jealousy Monster slugged him right in the gut. “Oh.” (Fuckity fuckfuckfuck-)
“We should get going.”
“-fuck.”
“What?”
“I said, ‘yup’.”
[--]
The wedding was taking place in the middle of a green park that looked like something out of a modern fairytale. Lights, streamers, and balloons were strung along the path Sanji took to the gazebo where Robin was sitting in her white wedding gown, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
“You look enchanting,” he said as he came to a stop at the bottom of the steps, hands slipping into his pockets.
Robin lifted her sheer veil and smiled fetchingly. “Thank you. And thank you for the cake.”
He bowed slightly at the shoulders. “Anything for a beautiful lady.” He straightened up, looked over his shoulder to watch the guests as they started to take their seats. “Franky is a very lucky man.”
Robin’s smile widened and she glanced down at the hands in her lap, the engagement ring on her finger. “Yes, he is. And you?” she asked. “Are you lucky?”
Sanji hesitated. Just last week, he would’ve said yes. Last week, lucky meant such a different thing to him. Being lucky had meant being good enough, hot enough, sexy enough to get laid by someone different each night of the week and coming home to the same, good-hot-sexy man who loved him. It certainly hadn’t meant something like this-a wedding, a long-lasting commitment to one person (no matter how good, hot, and sexy), a green wedding cake with a Ferris wheel on top…
“I don’t know,” he said finally, meeting her gaze with a faint smile despite the stinging in the corners of his eyes. “I guess I’ll find out.”
[--]
Zoro was leaning against the side of the truck when he got back, a pack of Marlboros in hand. He offered it to Sanji when he got close enough, but the other man’s hands remained in his pockets. He rocked forward and backward on the balls of his feet and said, “I want you to come home.”
Zoro raised, lowered one shoulder. “I thought it wasn’t my home.”
The corner of Sanji’s mouth curved downward and he kind of really wanted to take those cigarettes. “That was such a lie and you know it. I want you to come back.”
Zoro cracked his neck; a nervous habit. “I can’t help what I feel. I can’t stay with you and pretend to be okay with-”
“I’m not asking you to do that anymore.” Sanji took a few steps closer, put his hands on Zoro’s shoulders. “I-You’ll be my only one.”
Zoro kept himself from melting long enough to ask, “You sure that’s what you want?”
Sanji lifted one hand, ran his fingers once through Zoro’s hair and nodded. “Yeah.”
He might get his heart broken in the end, but Zoro was worth that risk.
[--]
“So, I was thinking three tiers…”
“Three tiers? Luffy can eat three tiers in one bite.”
“Luffy’s not invited.”
“Like hell he’s not-”
“Three tiers, green frosting…”
“Green?”
“Yes. A grassy shade of green to match the garden on your head. And a Ferris wheel on top…”
“On top of my head?”
“…Idiot.”
“Well, you were talking about my-”
“Anyway, a Ferris wheel on top that rotates and lights up and plays ‘Everlasting Love’.”
“…”
“What?”
“…Y’know, maybe we should see other people.”
“Nope. Too late. You love me too much.”
“Yeah. I guess I do.”
“Good. I love you, too. And our future bearded children.”
“That was pretty funny.”
“I know, gorgeous.”
“Happy to see me?” He asked, poking the mold absentmindedly. “Hm?”
“He’s talking to the dick again,” Patty said in a sing-song voice.
“Talking to it helps it grow,” Carne said with a snort.
Sanji ignored them and poked it again.
Nothing. No delight. No mirth. He felt nothing.
“Dammit, Zoro,” he grumbled.
“I thought he named it Ace,” Carne said.
“That was before he fell in love,” Patty said. “Isn’t that right, Mrs. Roronoa?”
Sanji held up his middle finger as he left the mold alone and headed for the back door. “I’m going on a smoke break.”
He went out to the alley behind the bakery, spit out his nicotine gum, and dug a cigarette out of the nearly empty pack in his pocket. He was in love with Zoro. Of course he was. He’d been in love with Zoro for months. He loved Zoro’s snores, loved the way he looked in Sanji’s bathrobe, the way he talked back to the TV screen. He loved his laugh, the cologne he wore whenever they went out to eat even if it was just to Burger King. He loved the way he kissed, how nice his hair felt under Sanji’s fingers, the ridiculous way he danced, and…and everything.
He was crazy about the guy.
But what if that wasn’t enough? What if just being crazy about the guy didn’t mean Zoro was The One for him? What if he wasn’t The One for Zoro? Seeing other people meant he had other options. If Zoro decided to be with someone else, fine-he had someone else, too. If Zoro decided to leave him for someone else, fine-he had a dozen people that could help him get over his slightly broken heart. But if all they had was each other and Zoro left him, he would have no one, nothing, and he would have to start all over, all alone, with no options and a completely and utterly broken heart.
He couldn’t do it and he didn’t want to do it, but fuck, it’d been so damn hard to hurt Zoro last night. He hoped the guy wasn’t taking it too hard…
[--]
“235, 236, 237, 238…”
Mihawk watched, lounging on his loveseat and drinking a cup of orange tea, as Zoro pumped iron in the corner of his trailer.
“So you’re trying to kill yourself because your boyfriend dumped you?”
“240.” Zoro grunted. “He didn’t dump me. 241. And I’m not killing myself. 242. I’m working out. 243.”
“I see.” Mihawk sipped at his tea and graciously decided to ignore the tears that were falling from his employee’s eyes by the time he reached 300.
[--]
There was another man’s jacket in the bedroom.
Zoro was trying very hard not to look at it. He struggled to keep his eyes trained on the ceiling, tried to focus on the silky hair he was burying his fingers in, on the warm, wet mouth that was engulfing his arousal. Sanji sucked at him, head bobbing up and down, taking him in deep. Zoro breathed noisily through his nose and tried to push away thoughts of Sanji sucking some other guy’s cock. But the image was a persistent one.
Grabbing at Sanji’s hair, he pulled the other man up for a hard kiss, ignoring his growl of protest at being manhandled. Pushing Sanji onto his back, Zoro straddled him and bent down, attacking the skin of his neck. Sanji arched into him, groaning, as Zoro mauled him with teeth and tongue.
Zoro hadn’t intended on marking him, but the damage was done before he knew it. They both realized it at the same time-Zoro as he pulled away and saw the spot, and Sanji as he felt the throbbing that lingered when Zoro released him.
“Fucker,” Sanji hissed.
“Oi, I didn’t mean t-”
“What, are you trying to prove something?” With a sharp twist of his hips, Sanji knocked him off and started to leave the bed, rubbing at the spot on his neck. “Idiot…”
Zoro scowled; his hand shot out, grabbed Sanji by the arm and pulled him back down. Sanji glowered at him and tried to jerk his arm free, kicking at Zoro as the other man got closer. Zoro grunted in pain as Sanji’s foot connected with his jaw. In a burst of anger, he managed to grab hold of the man’s legs and flip him over on his stomach, climbing on top of him and pinning him down; all that working out was good for something, at least.
“Hold still, dammit!”
“Get off!” Sanji thrashed between him, stiffening into stillness only when he felt Zoro’s teeth bite down on the back of his neck. “Fuck-off!”
Teeth marks and spots that were certain to bruise-he marked Sanji’s neck and shoulders. It was a primal urge, a desire to claim what he wanted, needed to be his in front of that fucking jacket. His erection had half-softened and he attempted to revive it, thrusting against the crease in Sanji’s still boxers-covered behind, but his heart wasn’t in it. Sanji’s resistance-though the friction created felt pretty good-was more upsetting than arousing, and he finally gave up, releasing the other man and letting him kick him off the bed.
Sanji turned over and sat up, chest heaving in anger and exertion. “What the fuck was that?”
Zoro lay on his back on the carpet and glared up at the ceiling. “Whose jacket is that?”
“What?”
He stood up, stiffly made his way to the dresser the jacket was draped across. “This,” he snapped, throwing it at the man on the bed. “Whose is it?”
Sanji sighed faintly, looked at the jacket, and slowly starting folding it. “It’s Kuro’s,” he said. “What does that matter?”
“So you’ve been fucking him here? In our home?”
Sanji frowned up at him harshly. “No, I’ve been fucking him here, in my home,” he corrected him. “This is not your home. You’re a-a guest.”
Zoro swallowed hard, holding his sharp stare for several silent minutes before retrieving his jeans and pulling them on. Sanji watched as he went to the closet and dug around for a bit, finally pulling out his duffel bag. He walked through the room, picking up T-shirts, pants, socks, and stuffing them inside the bag. Sanji dug his fingers nervously into the material of Kuro’s jacket as he took the bag and went into the bathroom.
“Zoro, what are you doing?”
His cool reply sounded from the bathroom as he rooted through the medicine cabinet, “I think this guest has overstayed his welcome.”
Sanji tossed the jacket aside and climbed off the bed, trying not to sound as panicky as he felt. “Don’t be stupid, Zoro.”
“I’m done being stupid,” he said, brushing past him as he left the bathroom. He zipped up his bag, put it on his shoulder, and headed for the living room. “Later.”
Sanji reached out as he walked away, grabbed the strap of his duffel bag. Zoro stopped, his back turned to him, and waited. Sanji opened his mouth to speak, to say the magic words that would erase this evening, that would make him stay. But he said nothing. With a resigned sadness settling in the bottom of his heart, he dropped his hand and followed Zoro to the front door, locking it behind him when he left.
[--]
Mihawk, dressed in a satin robe that Zoro was almost certain was meant for a woman, arched a sharp eyebrow. “So you dumped him this time?”
“No one’s dumping anyone! Now move over. I need to crash on your couch for a few days…”
[--]
Luffy and Vivi approached Zoro while he was chugging down a bottle of water after a shift as the World’s Strongest Man. He eyed them over the rapidly emptying bottle, taking in the hopeful way Vivi’s hands were clasped in front of her and the way Luffy looked completely oblivious, as usual. They stood in silence while he finished; Luffy sported a big silly smile on his face, and Vivi shifted her weight from foot to foot. They obviously wanted something and Zoro wished they would just ask for it instead of acting all shy and nervous like he was the Pope or the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
“What?” he barked at them, crushing the water bottle and throwing it over his shoulder.
Vivi jumped a little and took a step back, but Luffy just continued to grin. “We wanna ask you a favor!”
“I figured as much,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “What is it?”
“There’s a, um, meteor shower tonight,” Vivi said. “And we were wondering…”
“If you would take us to the beach,” Luffy finished, “in your pick-up truck!”
Zoro mentally congratulated Vivi for getting a date with Luffy, even if they did need him to tag along, although he doubted the boy saw it quite the same way as she did.
“It’s supposed to be romantic,” Vivi said, glancing at Luffy, whose expression remained unchanged. “You could bring Sanji.”
Zoro scoffed, fingernails digging into his arms. “Why should I bring Sanji? I could bring someone else, right? It’s not like we’re exclusive or anything.”
Vivi’s brow furrowed in concerned confusion, but Luffy just giggled. “Okay, bring someone else!”
“Fine, I will!” Scowling determinedly, he looked around, his eyes settling on a familiar clown juggling oranges for a small crowd of children. “Oi, Buggy!” He called. “Go out with me tonight!”
Buggy fumbled and the oranges fell and bumped him on the head. “Are you making fun of me?!”
Zoro rolled his eyes. “Just say yes.”
“Yes.”
Zoro laughed triumphantly in their faces until he realized just who he’d asked out. Gay or not, he probably would’ve been better off with Paula.
[--]
Sanji slowly spread pale blue frosting across the fifth cake layer. The other layers, already frosted or waiting to be frosted, were laid out and cooling. In a few moments, Zeff would come in to watch him put the first three layers together for the first tier, prepared to chew him out if he made a mistake and to say nothing if he did it perfectly.
He was exhausted. He’d dozed off at the bus stop, making him forty-five minutes late. He hadn’t slept well the past couple of nights. He’d been sleeping in a bed with the same man for months and for him to suddenly not be there…
“Oi, Sanji.”
He blinked rapidly to keep from nodding off. He tried to push away the memory that was threatening to interrupt his work, but he was too tired and the memory was too appealing-too soft, too sweet, too comforting…
“I want to tell you something,” Zoro told them as they came to stop in front of the next big tank.
Sanji glanced at him in the dim lighting of the Arlong Aquarium, saw the serious way he was keeping his eyes trained on the manta rays they were standing in front of. He smirked a little. “Are you talking to me or the fish?”
Zoro looked at him, the corner of his mouth quirking upward. They were alone-though Sanji wouldn’t have really minded even if they weren’t-and Zoro reached over and slid an arm around Sanji’s waist, tugging him close. Sanji returned the half-embrace with one arm and turned his head, hesitating just before kissing his cheek when the man spoke.
“I love you,” he said, so quietly Sanji briefly wondered if he’d imagined the words.
Sanji smiled against Zoro’s cheek, kissed it gently. “Duh. I love you, too, dummy.”
He felt Zoro relax against him and his heart fluttered. His man was so freakin’ adorable. He gave him a squeeze and they stood there, holding each other for a long while, watching the manta rays swim.
“Oi, Sanji.”
He opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder to see Zeff eyeing him sternly. He looked down at the cake layer and saw that not only was it completely frosted, but he’d spread a line of frosting on the counter surface as well.
“Are you ready to make the first tier or not?” His boss asked, sounding considerably less irritated than he looked.
Sanji bit his bottom lip and shook his head. “No. Give me a bit a longer.” He averted his eyes, attempting to escape Zeff’s scrutinizing stare, but he still found himself admitting, “I made such a mistake.”
“I know, boy,” Zeff said, voice gruff, but only because that was his way. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”
“Okay.” Sanji ran his open palm over his face and took a few deep breaths to compose himself. He couldn’t handle much of this. He’d have to call Zoro tonight.
[--]
Zoro was pleased to see that the beach was pretty much empty that evening. There was one car next the truck and as Zoro looked down the beach, he saw that it belonged to the family Sanji had made the treasure chest birthday cake for. They were standing in the ocean together, the mother and father holding their son up between them as the waves crashed against them.
As the kids went out onto the sand, Zoro and Buggy went to sit in the back of the truck with beer bottles hidden in brown paper bags. Zoro was going to need alcohol if he was going to be with Buggy, especially if the clown got handsy. (Unfortunately, it was alcohol that made him handsy. What a vicious cycle.)
He watched with amusement as Vivi pretended to be nervous about going into the water so he would hold her hands and guide her. “Young love,” he said.
“Or something like that,” Buggy muttered around the cap of his bottle before twisting it off with his teeth. “Speaking of, what’s it like shacking up with Mihawk?”
“What do you mean ‘speaking of’…?” Zoro frowned when Buggy smirked at him. “He’s very-gay.”
“…Are you just now noticing?”
[--]
Sanji held his breath when he unlocked and opened his front door, releasing it noisily when he saw the apartment was empty. He figured it would be, but still… He kinda had this fantasy where he came home and caught Zoro packing up the rest of his stuff and he tackled him to the floor and kissed him all over until he gave in and…and they did this and that. It seemed like his fantasy wasn’t coming true tonight.
Sighing, he closed and locked the door and toed his shoes off. Unbuttoning his shirt on his way to the bedroom, he slipped it off and left it on the floor. He snagged a sweatshirt off the bed, one he’d taken to wearing to bed lately. It was Zoro’s-a big white sweatshirt with a black scorpion, his astrology sign. He burrowed into it, sniffed at the collar that still smelled like-
“Fuck me, I’ve got it bad,” he muttered.
He heard his cell phone ringing from the living room and he practically fell over his own feet in his haste to answer it. Once he got it and read the caller’s name, his excitement died rapidly.
Kuro.
He tossed the phone onto the couch and let it ring.
[--]
The meteor shower was romantic.
Squeezing Buggy’s clown nose every time he got too close, Zoro spent half his time watching the meteors shoot across the night sky, half his time watching Vivi muster up enough courage to rest her head on Luffy’s shoulder. Luffy didn’t appear to notice when she did it, but Vivi just seemed content with the contact. Zoro understood. There were times when all he had to do was sit close enough to Sanji so that their knees touched and he was happy.
He wanted Sanji beside him.
He wanted to take his cell phone out of the truck’s glove compartment, call Sanji, and fix this broken thing that was keeping them apart. He wanted to tell him he was fine with the other guys, wanted to demand that he be the only guy, wanted to end it all; he just wanted to do something.
So he opened his second beer bottle and squeezed Buggy’s nose.
[--]
Beep.
“It’s me. I want you to come home. I-” (I miss you.)
Sanji flipped his cell phone closed and just held it for a moment, as if Zoro was going to immediately listen to his message and call him back. This was pathetic. He used to be such a Casanova, didn’t give a shit if someone didn’t return his call, if he didn’t see someone for three or four days.
He never sat around moping and wearing someone’s smelly shirt, waiting for the personalized ringtone of the Village People’s “Macho Man” to play.
[--]
The raindrops started falling as soon as the meteor shower ended. While Buggy hurried to the cab of the truck like he was going to melt (of course, his clown make-up probably would melt, which is why normal people didn’t go out wearing clown make-up), Zoro took his time, keeping an eye on the kids as they made their way toward the parking lot. He didn’t miss the way Vivi’s face lit up when Luffy put his straw hat on her head. Zoro couldn’t imagine that’d do much to shield her from the rain, but it was the thought that counted, and he was sure the gesture would keep Vivi happy for days.
As they all squeezed into the cab, Zoro noticed the glove compartment was open and Buggy was looking at his cell phone.
“Any calls?” he asked, briefly hoping that-
“Nope,” Buggy said. “Want me to turn it off?”
“Might as well.”
If Sanji hadn’t called by now, he wasn’t going to.
[--]
Beep.
“It’s me again. Look, could you at least call me back so we can talk? I-” (I miss you.)
Sanji hung up, scowling faintly. “Motherfucker,” he grumbled. “Makes me fall in love with him and feel all guilty and shit and then doesn’t even answer his phone…”
Of course, whose fault was that?
Sulking, he set his phone down on the coffee table, spinning it idly with one finger. He’d really fucked up. And he’d thought having other lovers would make this easier. Right now he didn’t want to see any of them; he didn’t want anyone but Zoro.
Go figure.
[--]
Buggy lived in a smallish apartment that always seemed to smell like tomatoes every time Zoro came over.
“You really like tomatoes, huh?”
“Are you making fun of my nose?!”
“…What?” Zoro shook his head and sat down on the couch, turning his cell phone over and over in his hands.
Buggy sat down beside him and they said nothing for a couple of minutes and it was all fairly awkward until Buggy asked, “So, how do you feel about knife play?”
Then it became very awkward.
Zoro reached over and squeezed Buggy’s nose. “I need another beer.”
He turned his phone on when Buggy went into the kitchen. Three messages. Three messages from Sanji. Swearing softly under his breath and throwing a glare in the direction of the kitchen, he hastily listened to them.
[--]
Beep.
“I miss you.”
[--]
Franky’s risqué groom cake was packaged and set aside as Zeff and Sanji built a box around the pale blue wedding cake. Sanji’s movements were slow and careful-sleep or no sleep, Zoro or no Zoro, work was work and Zeff would strangle him if he messed up such a beautiful cake.
“Do I need to call you a cab?” Zeff asked, although Sanji was almost certain he already knew the answer.
“Yeah,” he said, stepping back to look at the finished box. “Probably.”
Zeff nodded and started to leave to the kitchen, pausing as he opened the door and saw the man standing there, hand in mid-reach for the doorknob. Zoro’s eyes widened just slightly, as if he was afraid Zeff was going to chew him out or punt him across town.
“Cab’s here,” he stated in a voice no more and no less gruff than usual, and walked around Zoro to the front of the shop.
Sanji stilled for a moment before looking at the floor as he pulled out a piece of nicotine gum. Zoro watched him, sighed silently, and looked at the tall cake box.
“How many tiers?”
“Seven.” Sanji glanced at him, chewing steadily to calm his nerves. “You’ve got room in the cab?”
“Yeah.” He scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully. “You’ll have to sit in the back, though,” he said, going over to the table to carefully pick up the box. “You can hold the penis cake.”
“Great,” Sanji muttered, going to retrieve it and following Zoro out to the truck. “Hey, you-” He paused as Zoro gently set the box in the passenger’s seat before turning to look at him. “You didn’t have to do this. I didn’t even think you’d remember.”
“It was programmed on my calendar.”
“Right.” The corner of Sanji’s mouth quirked upward as he remembered doing that, but the hint of a smile fell away as he not-so-casually mentioned, “I-called you last night.”
“I know,” Zoro said, giving him A Look, which Sanji was pretty sure he understood for the first time. “I went out.”
Sanji grew tense as the Jealousy Monster slugged him right in the gut. “Oh.” (Fuckity fuckfuckfuck-)
“We should get going.”
“-fuck.”
“What?”
“I said, ‘yup’.”
[--]
The wedding was taking place in the middle of a green park that looked like something out of a modern fairytale. Lights, streamers, and balloons were strung along the path Sanji took to the gazebo where Robin was sitting in her white wedding gown, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
“You look enchanting,” he said as he came to a stop at the bottom of the steps, hands slipping into his pockets.
Robin lifted her sheer veil and smiled fetchingly. “Thank you. And thank you for the cake.”
He bowed slightly at the shoulders. “Anything for a beautiful lady.” He straightened up, looked over his shoulder to watch the guests as they started to take their seats. “Franky is a very lucky man.”
Robin’s smile widened and she glanced down at the hands in her lap, the engagement ring on her finger. “Yes, he is. And you?” she asked. “Are you lucky?”
Sanji hesitated. Just last week, he would’ve said yes. Last week, lucky meant such a different thing to him. Being lucky had meant being good enough, hot enough, sexy enough to get laid by someone different each night of the week and coming home to the same, good-hot-sexy man who loved him. It certainly hadn’t meant something like this-a wedding, a long-lasting commitment to one person (no matter how good, hot, and sexy), a green wedding cake with a Ferris wheel on top…
“I don’t know,” he said finally, meeting her gaze with a faint smile despite the stinging in the corners of his eyes. “I guess I’ll find out.”
[--]
Zoro was leaning against the side of the truck when he got back, a pack of Marlboros in hand. He offered it to Sanji when he got close enough, but the other man’s hands remained in his pockets. He rocked forward and backward on the balls of his feet and said, “I want you to come home.”
Zoro raised, lowered one shoulder. “I thought it wasn’t my home.”
The corner of Sanji’s mouth curved downward and he kind of really wanted to take those cigarettes. “That was such a lie and you know it. I want you to come back.”
Zoro cracked his neck; a nervous habit. “I can’t help what I feel. I can’t stay with you and pretend to be okay with-”
“I’m not asking you to do that anymore.” Sanji took a few steps closer, put his hands on Zoro’s shoulders. “I-You’ll be my only one.”
Zoro kept himself from melting long enough to ask, “You sure that’s what you want?”
Sanji lifted one hand, ran his fingers once through Zoro’s hair and nodded. “Yeah.”
He might get his heart broken in the end, but Zoro was worth that risk.
[--]
“So, I was thinking three tiers…”
“Three tiers? Luffy can eat three tiers in one bite.”
“Luffy’s not invited.”
“Like hell he’s not-”
“Three tiers, green frosting…”
“Green?”
“Yes. A grassy shade of green to match the garden on your head. And a Ferris wheel on top…”
“On top of my head?”
“…Idiot.”
“Well, you were talking about my-”
“Anyway, a Ferris wheel on top that rotates and lights up and plays ‘Everlasting Love’.”
“…”
“What?”
“…Y’know, maybe we should see other people.”
“Nope. Too late. You love me too much.”
“Yeah. I guess I do.”
“Good. I love you, too. And our future bearded children.”
“That was pretty funny.”
“I know, gorgeous.”