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“How long have you known me?” Zoro asked, his voice soft, barely above a whisper, reflecting the uncertainty going rampant in his heart. What Sanji told him was just illogical, but he knew Sanji, and Sanji wasn’t crazy.
The blonde softly smiled at him, but there was sadness in his eyes as he replied, “I’ve known you for thirty-two lifetimes.”
<<<
When they first met, Zoro instantly knew he wouldn’t get along with Sanji. Everything about him just rubbed Zoro the wrong way; from the way he talk, the way he dressed, the way he worshiped women, the way he nagged about trivial matters like taking a bath, chewing before swallowing and putting the dirty clothes in the hamper… To be fair, Zoro knew Sanji didn’t like him either; it was apparent in the way he looked and talked to Zoro; hostile and heated, like Zoro had murdered his whole family or something.
That was why Zoro liked to stay away from the cook as much as possible, and Zoro guessed that was also the reason why the cook never made an attempt to talk to him either. Sanji always tried to get along and bond with the other crew members; he asked them questions about their birthplace, their favorite hometown dishes, and their fondest memories. Sanji never bothered asking those questions to Zoro, not even when it was just the two of them in the galley, washing dishes after dinner.
Zoro was fine with that, from the very first time he saw Sanji, he knew they wouldn’t get along, and though he might have taken it just a bit personally from time to time, he never let it interfered when it mattered the most.
“Hey Sanji, why is this mochi colored?” Chopper asked as he pointed at the smaller batch of green mochi Sanji had put aside on the counter.
“Oh, that one’s for Zoro,” Sanji absently replied as he continued to arrange the other white-coloured mochi into works of art on several different plates. “He doesn’t like sweet things, so I put less sugar in his batch.” He said it in such an off-handed manner that Chopper must have thought that it was a common knowledge around here, which was not true, because Zoro never told anyone that he didn’t like sweet things.
Zoro, who was about to walk into the galley to get himself something to drink, heard that, and though he pretended that he hadn’t overheard that conversation as he made his presence known, he couldn’t help but to wonder how Sanji knew.
<<<
Zoro didn’t like being held in the infirmary, and he most certainly didn’t like being drugged out of his senses. He already told Chopper that he did not want to take any painkiller, he’d rather take the pain, it would make him stronger, but Chopper was having none of that, he said Zoro needed more rest, and so he injected another dose, and Zoro teetered on the line between wakefulness and sleep once again.
“What are you doing, rubber monkey?”
Sanji’s voice snapped Zoro out of his sleep. He opened his eyes, battling the grogginess and his heavy eyelids, and scanned the darkened room. His vision was blurry, but he was able to see Luffy, standing at the doorway with something long and white in his hands, and Sanji, blocking Luffy’s exit.
“I’m borrowing Zoro’s sword for a moment, I wanted to try out something,” Luffy said, and Zoro can just hear him grinning like an idiot.
“Idiot, that’s Wadou. You don’t mess around with that one,” Sanji scolded, and Zoro could hear a loud ‘thunk’ accompanying Sanji’s words. “That sword means a lot to him, he would get mad if you treat it like a toy. Put it back.”
“Ouch,” Luffy whimpered, but he did as told and returned Zoro’s sword to the table nearby. “What about this one then?” he asked as he showed Sanji another one of Zoro’s swords.
“No, put that one down too. That’s Sandai Kitetsu, it’s cursed, you don’t play around with cursed swords, Luffy,” Sanji said with an exasperated sigh. “Shusui is actually okay, but marimo really likes that one, so it’s best if you don’t touch it either. Wait, you know what, if you really need something sharp, I can lend you my knife. What are you going to do with it anyway?”
There’s a moment of silent, and out of the corner of his eyes, Zoro could see Luffy silently regarding Sanji. He couldn’t see Luffy’s face, but he just knew that Luffy was looking at Sanji with that look he usually had whenever he was about to have an epiphany.
“Forget it,” Luffy finally said, before he abruptly changed the topic, “So, what are we gonna have for snacks today, Sanji?”
“I made apple pies, but touch them before snack time, and I’ll dice you, shitty rubber captain.”
Zoro heard them leave the infirmary, and sleep claimed him once again. When he woke up the next day, he wondered if he had dreamed the whole thing yesterday, but then when he asked Chopper what the crew had for snack yesterday, Chopper told him that it was apple pies.
<<<
“Are you an idiot?” Sanji asked as he held Zoro’s face in his palms and pressed his forehead against Zoro’s, “I’ve always chosen you.”
“In all sixty-one lifetimes…?”
“In all sixty-one lifetimes.”
Zoro let out a wounded whimper, before he pulled Sanji tighter against his chest and buried his nose on Sanji’s shoulder. A slow music played in the background as they danced to it in the middle of the living room.
“Don’t leave...” Zoro begged him.
“I’ll see you in the next lifetime, marimo.”
<<<
Zoro respected Sanji, that much was a given. Sanji was a decent fighter, someone who was able to hold out on his own during a battle, and when things turned rough, Sanji was someone Zoro could trust to watch his back. And although Sanji never said it out loud, Zoro knew the feeling of respect was mutual, because when Zoro felt that they needed to work together, Sanji wouldn’t hesitate to put aside his disdain for Zoro and immediately agreed to cooperate.
Was there anything other than mutual respect between them? Zoro didn’t really think there was. But recently, he realized that he might be wrong.
“Here, try this on,” Nami said as she shoved a nice set of suit at him.
Zoro accepted the black suit in confusion, “What? What for?”
“I noticed that, aside from Sanji, you guys don’t really have anything nice to wear. I think you should at least have a set of nice suit in your wardrobe, just in case. Of course, I’ll add this to your debt,” Nami added after a short pause.
Zoro grumbled under his breath, but decided not to complain and went to try the suit on. As he zipped up his pants and buttoned up the jacket, he noticed that this suit fits him perfectly like an old glove. Zoro didn’t know much about suits, but he knew enough to know that one-size-fit-all suits weren’t supposed to fit this nicely. He wasn’t the only one with that opinion.
“Wow,” Nami said in amazement when Zoro stepped out of the bathroom. Her eyes raked him from head to toes, before she said again, “Wow. Unbelievable.” Zoro was about to ask her what was so unbelievable about him wearing a suit, but then she asked him, “Have Sanji ever taken your measurement before?”
“No, ‘course not, why would he?” Zoro replied, taken aback by that question.
“It’s so strange,” Nami said, now looking slightly confused. “See… When we were getting the suit on the last island, you were still in bed, so we couldn’t bring you to the tailor for measurement. But then Sanji said he knows your measurement, and I thought he was bluffing, but then...” she trailed off as she meaningfully quirked her eyebrows at the suit Zoro was wearing. “Either Sanji’s really good at guessing, or he took your measurements while you’re asleep.”
Zoro didn’t think anyone could sneak up on him with a measuring tape, not even when he was deeply asleep. Sanji could have done it while he was drugged but then…
It was odd, really, because this wasn’t the first time Sanji knew things about Zoro which Zoro didn’t remember sharing with him. This was even odder though, because Zoro himself didn’t even know what his measurements were. How? How did Sanji know? Did he asked around? Did he really took Zoro’s measurements when Zoro was knocked out cold by Chopper’s drugs?
Zoro mull over these questions as he trained that afternoon, but then after he finished training and still wasn’t able to figure out the answers, he decided to just confront to cook head on.
“Oi, cook,” Zoro said as he walked into the galley.
Sanji looked up from the onigiri he was preparing for lunch. With a barely concealed frown, he asked, “What do you want, shitty marimo? Booze’s forbidden until dinner.”
“Did you take my measurements while I was out?”
Sanji blinked, “What?” he looked dumbfounded by that question.
“The new suit,” Zoro said, “How did you know my measurements?”
Sanji slowly straightened up, and Zoro could practically see the moment Sanji started scrambling for an excuse, “I’ve got good eyes for these things, marimo. I can tell just by looking.”
“Then why did Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Franky need to go to the shop to get measured?”
Sanji sighed in exasperation, “I’ve got good eyes, but I could be wrong, non? I was taking a gamble there, I wouldn’t have done it if you weren’t literally tied down to your bed.” he waved his hand to motion Zoro to get lost, “look, I’m busy here, go bother someone else. I’ll call you when lunch is ready.”
Sanji wasn’t telling him the truth, Zoro can tell, “You think I’d buy that? Try again, shit cook.”
“The hell? You really think I sneaked up on you while you were out just so I can get your goddamn measurements? What do you take me for, a creep?” Sanji snorted in disdain. “Look, we’re both roughly the same height. It wasn’t that hard to guess your measurements.”
Zoro didn’t want to concede, but Sanji’s argument sounded solid. Still, there was a niggling sense in the back of his head which insisted that Sanji was hiding something from him. He wanted to ask about how Sanji knew his food preferences, how he knew the names of Zoro’s swords, but then Luffy suddenly barreled into the kitchen, demanding to be fed. Sanji kicked them both out, and he didn’t let them in until lunch was ready.
<<<
In the end, after mulling over it for quiet some time, Zoro concluded that Sanji must have been observing him. The conclusion he reached surprised him nonetheless, because he didn’t think that there was anything more between them than mutual respect and, sometimes, forced camaraderie. Sanji was most likely trying to improve their relationship a little bit, maybe he was tired of their senseless bickering over the most unimportant things. If that was the case, then Zoro didn’t mind playing along. It would be nice to be on speaking terms with the cook, at the very least.
He started small, by saying ‘thank you’ whenever Sanji brought him snacks, and offering to wash the dishes or helping him out with the laundry whenever he was free. He also stopped arguing much whenever Sanji nagged at him to take a bath or put his dirty clothes in the hamper. Sanji, at first, seemed to be taken aback by this change, but he rode with it and let Zoro helped him out.
Zoro had also decided that it would be good to observe the cook too; something which he hadn’t done before. Slowly, he started to notice the little things about Sanji, like how he always woke up at dawn and went to bed after midnight, how he ate only after everyone had had their fill, how he wouldn’t hesitate to just jump between Usopp and a fucking giant hammer…
“Cook!” Zoro shouted as he watched the hammer hit Sanji square on the chest and sent him crashing through the infirmary’s wall. With renewed vigor, Zoro cut down the enemies surrounding him, and then move on to the eight foot bastard who swung that hammer. Just as he finished sending that one to the sea, he noticed that there were several enemy pirates who had sneaked up on him from behind. He made to slice them down too, but before he could even move so much as a muscle, strong legs kicked them overboard, and that was the end of them.
Zoro turned his gaze to Sanji.
“Watch your back, marimo,” Sanji said with a cocky smirk, and if he was masking his pain, Zoro had to applaud, because Sanji was still firm on his legs, even as he moved on to help the others finish up.
Zoro swore he wasn’t imagining the sick sound of several bones breaking when Sanji took that hit.
After the battle was over and the enemy pirate ship was driven away, Zoro saw the cook telling Chopper to check on the others first.
“I’ll be fine,” Sanji said to the reindeer, “I think Nami-chan needs your attention more.”
Zoro wouldn’t stand for such stupidity, “Bullshit,” he called out as he approached them, not even bothering to hide his annoyance at the cook, “He got hit by a fucking giant hammer, Chopper, he probably broke a few bones. Go check him out first.”
Sanji glared at him, “Haven’t you heard the phrase ‘ladies first’, marimo?”
“I don’t mind special treatments once in a while, but that’s really going too far, Sanji,” Nami chimed in.
Zoro shot Sanji a look, “You heard her. Now stop being stubborn.”
Sanji shot him another glare, but he conceded and followed Chopper into the infirmary. As he watched Sanji walked away, Zoro couldn’t help but to wonder if this was the first time Sanji had played down an injury he had taken for his nakama.
<<<
It was well near midnight when Sanji finally finished with work in the galley and retired to the cabin. From his place up in the crow’s nest, Zoro watched as he disappeared below deck, before Zoro returned his attention to the sea spread out around him. With nothing else to do for the rest of the night, Zoro picked up his weights and started training.
Roughly an hour later though, the temperature abruptly dropped. Zoro had been sailing in these strange seas long enough to know that they were approaching a winter island. He ignored the seeping coldness as he continued to train, planning on grabbing a coat later when he finished training. Unexpectedly, however, the hatch to the crow’s nest suddenly cracked open, and Sanji climbed up onto the crow’s nest with a bundle of clothes in his hands.
“Thought you might need them,” Sanji said as he emerged.
Zoro paused in his reps, “Thanks,” he muttered, a bit dumbfounded by this gesture. It wasn’t because Zoro didn’t know that Sanji was capable of kindness, it was just surprising to have that kindness directed at him in such an open manner. But then Zoro remembered the unsweetened snack, the onigiri in his lunch box at every outing, the bottle of sake after dinner… Zoro realized that maybe, Sanji had been like this all along, but it was Zoro who refused to see past the cook’s irritating words and pathetic attempts at flirting with women.
“I’ll get you something warm. What do you want? Tea? Coffee? Hot cocoa?” Sanji paused, before he added, “I can make soup too, if you want.”
“Tea’s fine,” Zoro replied, and because he wasn’t one to let things stew in his chest, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “You’re being awfully kind, cook. What gives?”
Sanji snorted, “Just don’t want anyone on this ship to catch a cold, idiot. God knows how contagious those are,” and without another word, he climbed down the ladder, and made his way to the galley.
<<<
“I’m not going to sit around and watch you disappear, shit cook,” Zoro growled, voice betraying his fear, “There has to be a way to break this curse!”
Over the past eighty-three lifetimes, it got easier for Sanji to lie. “There isn’t.”
<<<
After the Strawhat managed to drive off a notorious bunch of pirates from tyrannizing the inhabitant of a tropical island, there was a huge celebration on the town’s square, with lots of foods and drinks, about enough to satisfy their captain’s seemingly insatiable appetite. There was bonfire and music, with people dancing in pairs to the rhythm. The crew members were enjoying themselves, but Zoro, not one for dancing, decided to sit down near the barrels of wine, and drank as the party went on.
He couldn’t help but to notice that Sanji was really good at dancing, stepping about and twirling with Robin, delicate fingers hovering around her waist, deadly long legs swinging with elegance. He was obviously besotted by the fact that he get to dance with one of his so-called angels, and though Zoro was tempted to sneer at him for being such a perverted idiot, he couldn’t find himself to do it, because lecherous expression aside, Sanji was smiling.
And it was as if Zoro just saw him for the first time.
Sanji’s smile was bright and beautiful, giving off a sense of purity which made Zoro’s chest ache with longing. His world narrowed down to that one blonde, and Zoro swallowed hard as he realized that he had somehow stood up and had made his way to the blonde.
Sanji noticed him approaching, and he broke off with Robin to walk over to him. He looked flushed, perhaps from the wine and the heat of the bonfire. “What’s wrong?” he asked, seemingly a bit annoyed that his time with Robin was cut short.
Zoro mentally smacked himself on the back of the head. What was he doing?
“Nothing,” Zoro answered.
Sanji quirked an eyebrow at that, but when silence stretched between them, and neither was about to make a move, a look of realization dawned on Sanji’s face. I quickly disappeared as soon as it came though. “You want to try to dance with me, marimo?”
His tone was teasing, and on any other day, Zoro would have said something snarky in return, just to piss him off. But that night was different. It could have been the exhaustion or the booze, Zoro didn’t know for sure. One thing, however, was certain, he wanted to hold Sanji.
“I… I can’t dance,” he softly admitted when he realized what Sanji was offering him.
Zoro half-expected for Sanji to said something deriding, but surprisingly, Sanji merely offered his hand and said, “I can teach you how.”
He took Sanji’s hand, and as Sanji pulled him into the crowd, he noticed the fond smile on the cook’s face, and the flicker of warmth in his blue eyes. Zoro didn’t know what those meant, but somehow, it felt as if Sanji was looking at him as if he was the center of his world.
The cook, Zoro told himself, must have been really drunk.
Those thoughts were quickly chased out of his mind when he felt Sanji’s firm hands on his waist and shoulder. “Just follow my steps, and try not to step on my foot.”
Zoro was clumsy at first, but as the night went on and as Sanji gently nodded in approval whenever Zoro did it right, he started to enjoy it. He liked moving with the cook, the way Sanji’s muscles rippled with power under his hands, the half-dazed look on Sanji’s face and the small fond smile on his lips as they gazed into each other eyes. From deep within his chest, he felt a primal urge to touch more, to pull Sanji closer, to claim that smile and those lips all for himself. It was overwhelming, maddening, and Zoro was just about to give in when Sanji pulled away from him.
“It’s getting late,” Sanji said as he looked about, “We should go back.”
Zoro, for the first time since he started dancing, noticed that the crowd had thinned down considerably. The musicians had stopped playing, replaced by Brook, who was serenely playing a mellow song with his violin. Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy were all piled up on one another near the barrels of wine, and Nami, Robin, and Franky looked as if they were about to wrap things up and retire for the day.
Zoro glanced at the cook, noting the way he still look flushed and disheveled, the fond smile still playing on his lips. A small part of him wanted to pull him back, tell Brook to play another song, dance the night away, but he held back, because as much as he had enjoyed dancing with the cook, he had also arrived at the painful realization that something profound had changed in the nature of their relationship.
And Zoro didn’t know what to do about it.
<<<
Zoro didn’t have much chance to mull over his relationship with Sanji after that night, because they managed to endlessly get involved in one trouble after another, and finally the crew ended up getting separated. During his training, save from some strange dreams that he really didn’t want to revisit, he didn’t get the luxury to sit back and think about the cook either, so when they were finally reunited two years later, Zoro had almost forgotten that one night when Sanji taught him how to dance, had almost forgotten that their relationship had changed.
Zoro leaned his body slightly to the side, just in time to avoid Sanji’s feet on his face. He opened his good eye and glared at the cook, letting his displeasure known as he asked, “What do you want, cook?”
“Oh, color me surprised. I didn’t think you’d be able to avoid my wake-up kick. Seems like you didn’t spend the past two years sleeping, mosshead,” Sanji said with a sneer, a plate of onigiri resting on his right palm. “I should up the ante next time.”
“Or you could wake me up like a normal person, shit cook,” Zoro returned.
“Of course not, where’s the fun in that?” Sanji handed over the plate of onigiri just before Zoro could reach out for his swords to knock some senses into him.
Zoro quietly accepted the peace offering and plopped one into his mouth. Sanji’s onigiri still tasted the same as he remembered; simple and plain, exactly the way Zoro liked it. He didn’t realized he missed Sanji’s onigiri until he had it in his mouth.
No, it wasn’t just Sanji’s onigiri which he had missed, Zoro painfully realized as he remembered the cold nights during his training; nights he spent dreaming about Sanji coming into his room to bring him more blanket, or Sanji coming up to the crow’s nest with warm coats, hot tea, and snack, and telling him ‘don’t catch a cold, marimo’, or Sanji lighting up the fireplace before he welcomed them home from the latest adventure with steaming mug of hot cocoa on the table and a fond smile on his face. He missed Sanji, because Sanji was everything that is nice and warm; Sanji felt like home.
“What? What are you staring at marimo?” Sanji asked, jarring Zoro from his thoughts. It took him a moment to realize that he had been staring at the cook.
“Nothing,” Zoro murmured before he finished up the onigiri quickly and handed the empty plate back to Sanji. He leaned back against the wooden wall, and because he was feeling a little bit sappy for being reunited after two years, he dared himself to say, “I want curry rice for dinner, cook.”
And to Zoro’s surprise, the cook didn’t try to kick him for that. “Alright,” he said with a nod, “That’s easy.”
And Zoro couldn’t help but smile as a warm feeling spread out from within his chest.
<<<
“A romantic story, hm?” Sanji mused as he looked up at the starry night sky above.
The crew had came upon an island without any inhabitant in sight. They decided that it would be nice to spend a day relaxing on the beach. Nami and Robin spent the day sunbathing while Sanji pampered them to their heart’s content, while the others spent their day playing in the shallow water. When dusk fell, they had barbecue on the beach, and when that was cleared, they lighted a campfire and took turns telling stories while drinking.
Robin had just spooked everyone with a traumatizing horror story, so Brook suggested Sanji tell them a romantic story instead.
“I have one,” Sanji said after a while, “But it doesn’t have a happy ending.”
“I don’t mind,” Nami said, “As long as it’s good.”
Sanji turned his gaze onto the bonfire, and there was a small smile playing on his lips as he started, “Once, there was a swordsman, he was powerful and invincible. Nobody could stand up against him, he was the strongest swordsman in that realm. The Goddess took a liking on him, and made him her Chosen Warlord. The swordsman, of course, was happy, because being the Goddess’ Chosen Warlord is the greatest honor a mere mortal can ever hope to achieve. He stayed by her side and fought in her name. He defeated false gods and won wars for her glory, and the Goddess was pleased with his devotion.
One day, the swordsman fell in love with a fair princess. He loved her so much that he was willing to defy the Goddess just to be with that princess. The Goddess, of course, was angry, and so she placed a curse on the swordsman and the princess. The curse goes like this…
On the day the swordsman confessed his undying love to the princess, the princess would disappear from the surface of the world when the clock strikes midnight. The swordsman would then live a life without the princess. That’s his curse. But the curse doesn’t stop there… It extends from that lifetime, and then the next lifetime, and the lifetime after that. It follows the swordsman through all his following lifetimes. And in each lifetime, it’s always the same story. He would meet the princess, he would fall in love with her, but on the night he declared his love, the princess would disappear forever.” Sanji paused, before adding, “It’s a tragic love story, isn’t it?”
Nami shrugged, “Cliche, but not bad.”
“That story has nothing on the great romance between Prince Usopp and the fair maiden from the north!”
“It’s interesting,” Robin said with a thoughtful nod, “especially the curse the can pass from one lifetime to another. One can only imagine what kind of law governs such power.”
For some odd reason, however, Luffy seemed to take the story seriously, “But that’s not all, right?” Luffy asked, his voice sounded serious, as he looked straight at Sanji. “There has to be a way to break the curse, right?”
Zoro couldn’t help but to imagine Luffy dragging them to find this princess next, just so he can help her break the curse.
Sanji, for a split second, seemed to be taken aback, but he quickly regained himself though, and fell into a thoughtful silence. Sanji looked back onto the starry sky, as if scrambling to make something up to appease their captain irrational demand. “There is a way...” Sanji said slowly. “The princess can break the curse, but she didn’t want to do it, because she loves the swordsman very much. She doesn’t mind not being able to life a full life, as long as the swordsman is alright.”
Luffy wasn’t satisfied with that answer, but he fell silent as he plopped down on the sand again and fold his arms, head bowed contemplatively.
The mood had considerably changed, and Zoro decided to lighten it up a bit by saying, “the princess is dumb. She should’ve broken the curse when she got the chance.”
Sanji, as expected, took the bait, “shitty marimo, you wouldn’t have done it either if you were in her place. But then I suppose, the concept of love is too complicated for monkeys like you to understand.”
“But I have to agree with Zoro-san,” Robin suddenly chimed in. “Though perhaps, not for the same reason. By choosing not to break the curse, don’t you think the princess is being selfish? The princess disappeared when the curse was invoked, but what about the swordsman? He would have to live a life without the princess, and if he truly loves her, then I can only imagine that he would be very lonely.”
Another contemplative silence ensued, and this time, it was broken by Usopp, who decided that it was his turn to tell a story about that one time where he saved a fair maiden from a castle filled with dragons and evil witches. It was, just like his any other stories, most likely made up, but everyone had a good laugh out of it.
Everyone except Luffy.
<<<
“Please,” Zoro was on his knees, begging in front of a young man who regarded him with an unreadable look on his face. “I’ll give you anything you want, just please… Break this curse. I can’t let him suffer anymore.”
“This is not your curse to break,” the magician said.
Zoro’s eyes widened as he looked at him, despair slowly creeping up his heart. “What do you mean?”
“Only he can break this curse, only he has the chance.”
“Then why didn’t he?”
“He always chosen not to. He always put others before himself, and that is his weakness.”
<<<
Luffy recovered the next day, as if nothing has happened. Everyone still think that it was strange for Luffy to get upset over a story, but they chalked it up to another one of Luffy’s antique, and did not bring it up anymore. Zoro, however, didn’t think that this was something he should overlook. The cook’s story was dumb, but Luffy never get upset over something which was unimportant, so Zoro concluded that Sanji and Luffy were hiding something. He knew that it wasn’t his place to probe, they would have told him if it was important, but he was the first mate, he needed to know if his nakama was in danger or not. Also, Sanji has a tendency to do something stupid behind their backs, so Zoro felt the urgent need to investigate.
When they were out on the sea again, Zoro found the cook in the galley, writing down recipes in a thick notebook. When he saw Zoro, he immediately said, “No booze until dinner.”
Zoro shot him a look, but decided not to argue as he closed the door of the galley behind and leaned against it, effectively blocking any escape route. He didn’t want the cook to walk out so easily, “That’s not what I’m here for.”
Sanji straightened up, looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face. He closed his recipe book and asked, “What is it?”
“You and Luffy are hiding something from us, aren’t you?”
Sanji quirked an eyebrow at that, seemingly amused, but he didn’t try to deny it as he said, “yes, but it’s nothing that you should know, marimo.”
“Yeah, like I’d buy that,” Zoro snorted as he folded his arms, “Spill it. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me.”
Sanji smirked, “What’s this? You’re worried about me, marimo?”
Zoro wasn’t taking the bait, “It has something to do with the story you told us, right?” and when surprise flicker through the cook’s eye, Zoro knew he was on the right track. “That story… Is true, isn’t it?”
Sanji sighed, before giving Zoro a look of exasperation, “what do you think, marimo?”
Zoro couldn’t get a read on his face, so he took a stab in the dark and said, “it’s true, and it’s got something to do with you.” An idea began to form in the back of his mind, and even he was horrified by the sheer absurdity. But then, was there any other explanation?
Sanji did not deny Zoro’s statement.
And then realization hit Zoro like a ton of bricks. At first, he did not know what to say, because the idea was just utterly ridiculous, but then he remembered Luffy’s reaction to the story, and he felt his mind reeling with the revelation. It was absurd, it really was, but there wasn’t any other explanation, was there?
Sanji was the swordsman in the story. If that was the case, then… His princess…
“Have you met her…?” Zoro softly asked.
Sanji, for a brief moment, looked surprised, but he quickly regained his composure as he replied, “I have.”
Zoro didn’t need to ask any further to know what that implied. Sanji had met her, and had lost her too. No wonder Luffy was so upset; their nakama has been suffering under their noses, and they hadn’t noticed at all. Zoro didn’t know what he was supposed to say at moments like this, but he knew Sanji, and the last thing the cook needed was sympathy.
As if reading Zoro’s mental struggle, Sanji suddenly changed the topic as he rose from his seat, “I should start preparing lunch. Help me peel the potatoes, will you?”
And just like that, the topic was dropped, and they didn’t talk about it again.
<<<
The idea of Sanji being destined to be with someone didn’t sit quiet well in Zoro’s mind. He didn’t know what jealousy felt like, but when he saw the cook working in the galley and thought about how he wasn’t supposed to be the one to wrap their arms around the cook’s waist, he felt something twist deep inside his chest, cruel and ugly, just like what they often described jealousy as.
Zoro wasn’t in denial, he knew that he was attracted to the cook, and though he wasn’t planning to act on it anytime soon, he had a mind to explore it if the chance arose. But now, in light of the latest revelation, he felt that door had been slammed shut on his face, and Zoro didn’t know what he should do next.
Perhaps, it was for the best; after all, Zoro has a dream to fulfill, and deepening his relationship with Sanji might only serve to unnecessarily divert his attention from his purpose. Zoro wasn’t going to compromise his dream for something so trivial, so he put the idea in a neat little box, shoved it into the deepest corner of his mind, and vowed never to visit it again.
That afternoon, Zoro walked into the library when he heard strange noises coming from inside. He saw Franky, Usopp, and the cook standing around something on the table, while Brook sat on a sofa not far, idly picking on his violin.
“Oh, it’s working!” Usopp exclaimed as a slow music suddenly played out of nowhere.
On a closer inspection, it seemed like it was coming from the strange contraption they were huddling around.
“This is super!” Franky cheered as he did his signature pose.
Sanji laughed shortly, before saying, “This is cool.”
The music reminded Zoro of that night from two years ago when Sanji had taught him to dance. He remembered holding the cook close, remembered his warmth and his smile, remembered the way they moved in rhythm through the crowd, with Sanji’s firm hands on him. Zoro felt his heart yearned.
Just then, they heard Luffy calling from outside that an island was in sight. Everyone scrambled above to see the new island. Sanji, however, stayed back. Zoro didn’t made to move either. The blonde had his gaze fixed on the contraption, a fond smile on his face, and Zoro didn’t know what possessed him, but he approached the cook, held out his hand, and said, “Dance with me again, cook.”
Sanji looked at him, surprised at first, but it was quickly replaced by a cocky smirk, “You really think algae-head like you should be asking me for a dance?” but even as he said that, he took Zoro’s hand and pulled him close.
Zoro snorted, but he was secretly glad that the cook had accepted his offer, so he merely said, “curly brows.” With Sanji leading, they quickly fell into a nice rhythm.
“Seaweed hair.”
“Perverted cook.”
“Shitty swordsman.”
“It’d be nice if you can shut up, shit cook,” Zoro grumbled.
Sanji quirked an eyebrow at that, before his face broke into a sneer, “I win.”
Zoro fought the urge to roll his eye, “What are you? A five-year-old?”
They continued to bicker softly as the continued dancing. The music played on serenely in the background as Zoro studiously tampered down the urge to just remove the polite distance they kept between their bodies and pull Sanji against his chest. He wanted to feel Sanji’s wamth, wanted those firm hands to hold him tight, wanted to bury his nose in the cook’s hair and trail hot kisses down his pale, slender neck. Gods, he wanted.
And just like that, the box which he had sworn not to open again burst open, and Zoro realized that he couldn’t care less if Sanji was destined to be with someone else, he wanted Sanji as his own no matter what. It was a good thing the princess was not around anymore, he pettily thought. Sanji, and all of his nakama, would probably hate him for thinking like that.
“You’re thinking hard about something, marimo,” Sanji remarked all of a sudden, “You shouldn’t do that too often, you’ll hurt your brain.”
Zoro scowled at him, and he opened his mouth to retort, but then Usopp and Franky came back at that moment along with the rest of the crew, seemingly excited to show them the contraption that they had just fixed. Zoro and Sanji pulled apart, but Sanji’s fingers lingered on Zoro’s hand a moment too long. And just like that, Zoro felt a twinge in his chest, and at that moment, he realized that he wasn’t the only one who wanted more.
Sanji wanted him too.
<<<
“Welcome,” the young magician said as Zoro walked into the room, an amused smile playing on his lips. “I’ve been expecting you, Roronoa Zoro.”
Zoro didn’t need to ask how he knew; he was, after all, The Magician. “Then you also know why I’m here?”
The Magician nodded.
When silence fell between them, Zoro impatiently said, “they said you grant wishes.”
“Not for free.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Another silence.
“I’ll pay the price,” Zoro broke the silence again, “Name it. What do you want from me?”
The Magician smiled tiredly; he’d had this conversation ninety-eight times already.
<<<
It was close to midnight when Zoro was jolted awake by a strange dream. He dreamed about pinning Sanji under him, peeling his layers of clothes one by one, and leaving his marks on Sanji’s pale skin. He dreamed about Sanji calling his name, touching him back, breathe hot and heavy as he told Zoro to defile him. Zoro looked down at his pants, and realized that he was half-hard already. Looking around, he noticed that the others were sleeping, and that the cook was nowhere in sight. Sanji was probably still cleaning up the galley. Still, he wouldn’t dare do anything in that room, Luffy was there, and he would rather throw himself into the ocean than having that conversation with Luffy.
Zoro decided to get out of his hammock and went up to the deck. Fresh air might help clear up his head, maybe he could throw in a round of workout or two for good measures. The cool night air hit him as he emerged, and glancing up, he saw the moon hanging on the horizon, bright and large. As he made his way to the bow, however, he noticed that the cook was there, looking out to the moon and sea.
Sanji was the last person Zoro wanted to talk to that night though, but before he could change his mind and head for the crow’s nest instead, Sanji turned around, and what Zoro saw made him freeze.
Fresh streak of tears were running down the side of Sanji’s face and his visible eye was watery with unshed tears. The cook was crying. Upon seeing Zoro, Sanji quickly turned around to hide his face, “What the fuck are you doing here, shitty swordsman?” he growled as he furiously wiped away his tears, “Get lost, can’t you see I’m having a moment here?!”
Zoro didn’t budge.
“You deaf or something? Get lost!” Sanji raised his voice.
“Talk to me cook,” Zoro said, trying to project calm, trying to let Sanji understand that he wasn’t going to think less of him just because he saw him crying. Sanji is one of the strongest men Zoro ever came across, so for him to cry like that, then Zoro can only imagine what kind of anguish Sanji was in. Zoro wanted to help, he sincerely wanted to. He didn’t like seeing Sanji so tortured. “What’s wrong?”
Sanji sniffled, shoulder shaking for a few moments, before the silence fell between them. Zoro dared himself to take a step closer, then another, until he was directly behind the cook. The fact that Sanji hadn’t roundhouse-kick his head was a good sign. Those shoulders trembled again, and Zoro found himself wishing he could wrap his arms around him and chase away his sorrow.
“This whole… Curse… it’s just so fucking unfair, isn’t it?” Sanji finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. He flicked the butt of the cigarette he had been smoking out into the sea.
Zoro then understood that Sanji have been thinking about his princess. He didn’t know what to say, he was never good with words, but he wanted to support Sanji, wanted to make him feel better. He didn’t like hearing his nakama sound so lost and broken. Sanji didn’t deserve to carry that kind of sorrow in his heart.
And so he said, “If you’re lonely, I’m here, cook. You can talk to me.” He paused, watched Sanji’s shoulder tensed, before he continued, “I’m not your princess, but… You’re an okay guy, cook, and...” he took a deep breath, before he said it out loud, “And I like you. I don’t care if you treat me as a substitute for your princess, I don’t care if I’m not the only one in your heart. I just want to see you happy, cook. And I’ll make you happy, that’s my promise to you.”
For the longest moment, Sanji didn’t say anything, and just when Zoro was starting to think that Sanji was going to turn him down, Sanji turned around, his blue eyes were overflowing with unspoken sorrow, and with fresh tears streaking down his cheeks, he sobbed out, “I know you will, I never doubt that you will… And I want to live… I want to live long enough to see you fulfill that promise, I want to live, and see you achieve your dream, I want to live, and find All Blue with you… I… I...”
Zoro felt his blood growing cold.
Sanji choked on another sob, “Is it such a great sin, to love you?”
Fear, panic, and terror gripped his heart before he can even comprehend those words properly. Fueled with sudden desperation, he reached out to grab Sanji, to hold him close and stop anyone from taking him away.
The clocks on Sunny Go pointed twelve o’clock sharp.
“Zor - ”
<<<
“Athena wants to show you how fragile a human’s love can be,” The Magician explained. “Her intention is to drive him to despair, and have him betray your love. That is why he retained all the memories of his past lifetimes, that is also why he needs to kill you in order to break the curse.”
And Zoro couldn’t hold back the bitter laugh from escaping his lips, “Isn’t there any other way to break this curse…?”
The Magician looked at him with his deep blue eyes; eyes that reminded him of the person who had disappeared before him five years ago. “No. But Athena isn’t as ruthless as you imagined her to be.”
“What does that mean?”
“The curse… has an expiry date. It will end by itself, in one lifetime.”
<<<
Zoro caught Sanji before he hit the ground.
“Cook! Oi, what’s wrong? Open your eyes, cook!” Zoro felt his heart racing, felt his whole body thrumming with adrenaline and fear. He knelt down and let Sanji lay on the floor, while he pulled the cook’s upper body to rest against his chest. Sanji was unconscious in his arms, but he was still breathing shallowly, as if he was merely sleeping. Zoro wiped the tears from Sanji’s face and held him close to his chest while he tried to calm down his own racing heart.
His mind was reeling, he was thinking of the things Sanji told him just now, but then he realized that it wasn’t as important as making sure Sanji was safe, so he collected the cook in his arms and rushed him to the infirmary.
He woke up Chopper, and unintentionally woke up everyone. Three minutes later, they were all crowding the infirmary, concerned for their friend’s condition. Zoro hovered by Sanji’s side, never once taking his eyes off him for more than a few seconds, afraid that Sanji would disappear if he did.
“I can’t find anything wrong with him,” Chopper said as he tucked away his stethoscope, worry knitted on his furry forehead, “I’ll stay up and watch over him though. You guys can go back to sleep.”
“No,” Zoro suddenly said, “I’ll watch over him. You can go back to sleep, Chopper.”
Chopper argued, but Zoro remained firm in his decision. When the furry doctor relented and Zoro was finally left alone with Sanji again, he sat down on the wooden chair next to the bed, and bowed down his head as he tried to come to terms with what just happened.
<<<
“That means… I’ll never see him again in this lifetime?”
The Magician nodded slowly. He never liked this part of their conversation.
“Don’t fuck with me!” Zoro lashed out, “I went through hell just to find you, and this is it?! There’s no way to bring him back? Do I have to spend the rest of my life knowing that it was my fault that the shit cook will never see All Blue?! Don’t fucking joke around!”
The Magician had no other words aside from, “I’m sorry.”
“The most powerful magician, my ass,” Zoro hissed venomously, “You’re fucking useless!” and he stormed out of the shop, slamming the door shut as he left.
<<<
The memories flooded back, and it felt surreal. At first, Zoro felt like he had been slammed with a sledgehammer, his mind barely able to keep up as the new memories came one after another. Slowly though, he filtered through them, sorting them out sequentially based on his past ninety-nine lifetime with Sanji.
He remembered now; their first lifetime, the Goddess, the curse, and then meeting – and losing – Sanji again in the next lifetime, and then the next, and then the next. He remembered everything.
<<<
The door slid open again. The Magician looked up from the book on his lap.
“I have a wish,” Zoro said without much preamble. His eyes were dark, burdened, filled with despair; a stark contrast to the same man who had came in earlier with hope in his eyes.
The Magician knew where this was going. He had gone through this conversation ninety-eight times as well. “What is your wish?”
“When that curse ends, I want all my memories to be transferred to the me in that lifetime,” Zoro said. “I want to make sure that the me there treasures that damned idiot cook for the rest of his life.” he paused, before adding, “You can at least do that much, can’t you?”
<<<
Sanji woke up just as the sun rose, as if he was just waking up from a peaceful night of sleep. Zoro watched as Sanji sat up and looked about, seemingly confused about his environment. When his gazed landed on Zoro, he asked, with confusion clear on his face, “Why am I sleeping in the infirmary? And why are you here?”
“You didn’t remember what happened last night?”
Sanji looked even more confused, but that question got him thinking, and after thinking for a while, he said, “I remember finishing up in the galley and then heading for bed, but then...” he frowned, “Fuck, what happened after that?”
<<<
“As long as you are willing to pay the price.”
“Name it.”
<<<
“You passed out,” Zoro lied to him, “Maybe you were tired.”
Sanji frowned, “I didn’t...” he fell quiet, as if still struggling to remember.
“I’ll call Chopper. He wants to check up on you as soon as you wake up.”
And Zoro left the still-confused Sanji in that room, fully-aware of what just happened.
<<<
“All of his memories with you. Every. Single. One. Of them.”
<<<
Chopper gave Sanji the green light after checking him up that morning, and Sanji returned to performing his daily duties as if nothing had happened. Zoro watched him though, paid close attention, just to make sure. Sanji, of course, caught him staring several times, but he didn’t say anything about it as he moved about in the galley.
That afternoon, Sanji brought anmitsu for snack. It was sweet.
Zoro gave the rest to Luffy after the first bite. Sanji didn’t seem too happy about it.
“Stupid taste-impaired monkey,” the cook grumbled unhappily before he stalked back to the kitchen.
Zoro deeply inhaled, and told himself that it’s fine. Being forgotten just like that sort of hurt a little bit, but compared to those lifetimes without Sanji around, this was nothing.
“You should fix it, Zoro,” Luffy, who had been happily eating next to him, suddenly said. “Whatever it is that’s going on between you and Sanji.”
Zoro smirked at that, “There’s nothing going on between me and shit cook, Luffy.” And because this was Luffy he was talking with, he added, in a much lower voice, “Not anymore.”
Luffy looked at him, his face tight and serious. “That’s the problem, idiot.”
Zoro laughed, before he threw a grin at Luffy and said, “don’t worry, I’ll fix it. Eventually. No need to rush, I have a whole lifetime now.”
Luffy smiled in satisfaction and nodded in approval, “if you make him sad again, I’ll beat you up.”
“Don’t worry, captain. I’ll definitely make him happy.”
It was a promise he had uttered a hundred times, in a hundred different realities, now it was time for him to make good on his words. He wouldn’t betray Sanji by breaking that promise, especially not when Sanji had endured a hundred lifetimes without betraying him.
Suddenly, Zoro felt like he had a lot of things to do. But just as he was about to get up, Sanji stalked out of the galley, face looking pissed as fuck.
“Listen you damned seaweed, I don’t get what your problem is, but if you have anything against my cooking, you should say so!” Sanji raged, “I may not like you, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy seeing you starved. Now tell me what the fuck was wrong with the anmitsu, or I swear to god I’ll put my foot so far up your ass you -”
Zoro decided to do Sanji’s blood pressure a favor by cutting him short and saying, “I don’t like sweet things, cook.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? You should’ve told me earlier, you damned mosshead.”
Zoro easily shrugged, “Why didn’t you ask?”
Sanji was taken aback by that question. He folded his arms and looked away, seemingly considering it for a moment, but after a while, it was clear that he didn’t have a good excuse. With a grunt, he patted himself for his cigarette and lighter, and after puffing out smoke, he pointed his cigarette at Zoro and said, “Alright, I’m giving you a chance to talk, shitty swordsman. What else don’t you like? While you’re at it, tell me what you do like, okay?”
Zoro couldn’t hold back a fond smile as he replied, “if you insist, shit cook.”
It felt like it was the start of another love story.
Zoro swore he wouldn't let this one end tragically.